254 CASKS OF LIGHTNING DISCHARGE. 



so that I only saw the reflection of the light. Mr. Feilding 

 was at the time passing along the road below the hill on which 

 my house stands, when he saw a ball of fire descend in a curve, 

 slowly, about 50 yards from the house, close to the ground, 

 between him and the house. It appeared to explode with a 

 tremendous noise. Careful examination of the grass where the 

 ball fell showed no trace of burning or other mark. Simul- 

 taneously with this phenomenon, a large tree (Irvinia) in the 

 Economic Garden was struck by lightning, but hardly injured. 

 This stroke was the last flash of the storm." 



(2) "A thunderstorm was taking place over the Bukit 

 Timah Road, beyond the Economic Garden, one Sunday about 

 two years ago, at between one and two p.m. The sky was 

 bright, but not cloudless, and the sun brilliant over my house, 

 and I went out on the lawn to look at the distant storm to the 

 North. I saw a zigzag flash apparently about three-quarters of a 

 mile away, and, almost absolutely simultaneously, a peal of 

 thunder came from behind me, and behind the house to the west. 

 I saw nothing to account for this, but Mr. Robertson-Glasgow, 

 who was sitting in a room facing west, saw a luminous body, 

 not ball-shaped, though more or less rounded, moving in a 

 downward curve to the South, till it disappeared behind some 

 trees, and was followed by the thunder. It was less bright 

 than the sunlight." 



The only local cases of damage to buildings reported are 

 those at the Cape Rachado and Muka Head Lighthouses. The 

 writer was fortunately able to inspect the former not long after 

 the occurrence, and found it to be an interesting example of side 

 flash, a discharge having left the very fine "Lightning Rod 

 Conference" copper conductor at a bend and made sundry holes 

 in solid masonry walls, traversing two rooms and finally being 

 dissipated over the sheet of rain water collected in a courtyard. 

 The Lightkeeper's report shows that in this case the " expen- 

 diture of observers" deprecated by Dr. Lodge, nearly occurred, 

 as the matting under two low wooden beds, on which some of 

 the lighthouse attendants were lying at the time, was torn to 

 pieces. The report concludes: — "In that time Serang, Tindal 

 and two Lascars is inside the room grate of the Almighty 

 pity there had not been anything happen." 



