178 



Notes on Natural Hidory. 



from the Church of Kingston Doverill. It now exhibited the singular appearance 

 of a transparent tube of about 3 feet in diameter at the lower end where it 

 touched the ground, but much greater at the upper end where it joined the cloud 

 from which it proceeded, aud certainly considerably more than a mile in length. 

 The two ends appeared nearly stationary, but the middle part still remained 

 flexible; and bending in all directions, sometimes almost to a right angle. The 

 spectators, who were numerous, were naturally alarmed, and expected some 

 catastrophe, at least a sudden discharge of water, by means of the spout, which 

 in the vale where the village is situated, might have been attended with serious 

 consequences, but no such circumstance occurred. It continued for upwards of 

 twenty minutes during which it moved, being drawn perhaps by the motion of 

 the cloud, over a field of wheat, in a rather zig-zag direction, towards the Church, 

 for about 150 yards. In addition to the external motion above mentioned the 

 spout appeared to those who had the best opportunities of observing it, to be 

 internally agitated, as if by a strong current of air, or some other fluid rushing 

 down it in a spiral direction ; while at the lower end, a cloud of dust or smoke 

 was thrown up to some height in the air. What the precise nature of this was I 

 have not been able to ascertain. Some of the spectators imagined it to have been 

 dust blown up by a strong wind from the spout, while others describe it as a 

 thick smoke or steam. It had in its slow progress almost reached the inclosures 

 near the Church, when it suddenly withdrew and disappeared. It was remarked 

 that an under cloud was at this moment approaching very near the upper part of 

 it ; and if I may be allowed to conjecture, I should say that this under cloud 

 destroyed the phenomenon by acting as an electrical conductor. I cannot learn 

 that any noise or rushing was heard. The young wheat over which the spout 

 passed was marked by a darker colour than the rest of the field, and this ap- 

 pearance remained visible for several days ; the next storm of rain, however, 

 restored it to its original colour." 



T. H. Bakbe. 



Stormy Petrel (Procettaria pelagica) at Salisbury. 



In the Salisbury Journal of November 17th, 1894, it is stated that a male 

 specimen of this bird was picked up in an exhausted state at Salisbury by Mr. 

 Piggott, a milkman, and was. stuffed by Mr. G% White, of Fisherton. 



A Slab of Upper G-reensand from the Blackdown Beds. 



In the cabinet of fossils bequeathed by the late Canon Jackson to the Society 

 is a small slab from the Blackdown beds of the Upper Greensand which is worthy 

 of a short notice in the Magazine. 



The slab of light grey fine-grained sandstone with a few scales of mica, 

 measuring lOin. by 5in., and nearly a regular oblong in shape, varying from 

 ^in. to fin. in thickness, is completely covered on one side by a most remarkably 



