Prof. Loomis on Hail Storms. 53 
“ Shape of the hail.—In Benton at the commencement of the 
hail, the masses were angular, having a resemblance to broken 
ice; while further along the track they assumed a smoother and 
more uniform surface, being oval or oblong. In many instances 
the surface is described as being notched or scolloped; and in 
some few as being covered with icy spikes, like icicles somewhat 
resembling a burr. It is the opinion of those who examined 
these stones the most minutely, that they were not formed by the 
union of several masses, but were distinct and individual in for- 
mation. They were compact and very solid ; so hard that they 
might be thrown with great force against a house and not be 
roken. 
“Velocity.—All agree that the hail fell with great velocity and 
force. Mr. E. W. Cleasby, a very correct and veracious man, 
whose statement is appended to this letter, says that hail stones 
very solid and weighing in the vicinity of 10 or 12 ounces, averag- 
ing one on about every two feet, fell in a piece of unmowed grass. 
In their passage through the grass they entangled it so as to carry 
it imbedded into the sward ground to the depth of some two 
or three inches, and after the melting of the hail, left the turf 
full of holes like little bird’s nests. These holes remained through 
the season. As a test of the force necessary to effect this, he 
repeatedly with a pitch fork handle having a rounded head, tried 
to ome it into the ground to an equal depth, and was unable 
0 it. 
“Many of the barns in this neighborhood have their roofs 
covered with what are styled ‘long shingles’—that is with spruce 
Shingles without previous boarding. Whenever these large stones 
fell upon such roofs, they broke a hole completely through ; and 
ces, was obliged to hide under the scaffold. The marks and 
bruises upon the buildings caused by the hail are still to be seen. 
ays one person, ‘they looked like little pnmpkins falling.’ The 
roar and rattle of the hail was distinctly heard at the village in 
Warren, a distance of four or five miles, and was likened to the 
noise of a heavy train of cars. 
. d.—During the storm there was but little wind. The 
hail fell nearly perpendicularly. ‘The general bearing of the 
Wind as appears from my weather table on that day, was west- 
south-west ; and the direction of the shower was in correspond- 
ence with this. 
A 
ing. Such also is the testimony of people living there. — aiid 
A ae Oe eer e 
