Prof. Loomis on the Hail Storm of the first of July, 1853. 43 
from the testimony of spectators, that this wall fell at the first on- 
set of the blast, when, as we shall presently see, the wind blew 
nearly from the north, or perhaps a little east of north. 
violent current from the north, driven into the triangular space 
ADC, would necessarily become condensed between the wall 
and the tower, exerting a force to push the wall outward, and the 
wall had little strength to resist the pressure, being weak not only 
from its great height, but also being unsupported at the north end. 
The bricks also had been recently laid, and the mortar was not 
yet dry. On the east side of the tower, was a similar wall EH, 
but only 14 feet high, which was not prostrated. Its security is 
probably to be ascribed to its inferior height. 
The following facts at first seemed to me a little puzzling. 
Near Paterson, a large oak limb, a foot thick, was twisted off at 
the height of fifty feet, and prostrated in a direction pointing S. 
20° E., the top of the limb lying towards the base of the tree. 
Within a short distance I found another large oak limb, torn off 
at a great height and thrown towards S. 40° E., with its top also 
turned towards the base of the tree. Not far off, I found a third 
limb in a similar position. Broken limbs were generally found to 
have been carried eastward, with the top pointing to the S.E., 
and the base towards the N.W. ‘The three cases I have here 
Specified were exceptions to the general rule, and it appears to me 
that they are to be explained by supposing that the branches 
turned a somerset in falling. 
A like case occurred with the steeple of the first Presbyterian 
Church in Williamsburgh. The spire fell across the street—the 
top struck a brick house on the opposite side of the street and 
broke off, while the upper portion of the spire remained imbedded 
in the roof of the house which was crushed in by the blow. The 
remainder of the spire, which was now the frustum of a pyramid, 
fell down into the street ; but it is probable that the smaller end 
of the frustum struck the pavement first, for the steeple turned a 
Somerset along the street towards the east, and lay after the storm 
with the smaller end of the frustum turned fowards the church. 
A similar supposition will satisfactorily account for the observed 
Position of the three limbs above mentioned. 
n the woods between Acquackanonck and Paterson, I meas- 
ured with a pocket compass the direction of a large number of 
Prostrate trees. The following list shows the entire range of the 
bearings which I measured ; nof arranged in the order in which 
they were measured, but classified according to the points of the 
compass. They were 
S. 70° W.; 8. 20° W.; S. ; 8 : 
10° E.; $. 20° B.; §. 25° E.; S. 30°; 8. 35° E.; 8. 40° 
E.; §. 45° E.; S. 50° E; 0° E.; east. 
