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Transactions of the Boyal Society of South Africa. 
destroyed, while a two-year-old heifer belonging to Mr. Du Plessis was 
killed. 
Packing cases outside Mr. Durand's homestead were smashed to match- 
wood. The thatch on two rooms adjoining the homestead was completely 
demolished, a circumstance which rendered the rooms altogether -untenable, 
while at Mr. Odendaal's homestead one hailstone crashed clean through the 
verandah roof — of corrugated iron — leaving a hole of about 3 in. in 
diameter. At the end of five minutes smaller hailstones fell, and continued 
for some ten minutes. No great quantity of rain fell — in fact just before 
the water began to " run " on the veldt the storm ceased.' 
" Apparently the foregoing details were received with incredulity by the 
readers of the paper, which on the following day printed a comfirmatory 
letter from the owner of Thorn Park — Mr. A. E. Adams, who wrote : 
" 'On Wednesday we experienced a terrible hailstorm, the like of which I 
had never before seen. I have often heard of hailstones the size of turkey- 
eggs, but have not seen them, but some of those that fell on Wednesday 
afternoon were larger than goose-eggs. The majority were the size of tennis 
balls. The circumference of one I measured was 13f in. one way and 9| 
in, the other, and many weighed just over a pound. Luckily no wind 
accompanied the hail. I had three sheep killed, while a number had one or 
more legs broken and their eyes knocked out. Mr. Durand lost 30 sheep, 
and Mr. Du Plessis a cow. 
" ' My garden was knocked to atoms ; scarcely anything is left. Galvanised 
iron was dented all over, and a few holes were knocked in the iron. Any 
number of springbok and stembok were killed over on the flats.' " 
(2) From the same paper of January 8, 1916 : 
" Mr. J. Allen, of Kildavale, Rhodesia, writes to the Bedford paper as 
follows : On December 15 we had an exceptionally heavy hailstorm here, in 
which the hailstones were the largest ever seen by inhabitants of this part 
of the country. On this farm they were as large as tennis balls. We 
measured four of them, the largest being 13^ in. in circumference, and 
weighing little over half a pound, and the remaining three measuring 
between 10 and 12 in. A neighbour, however, seems to have beaten this, 
one measuring 18 in. in circumference and weighing a pound. The storm 
lasted about ten minutes, the hail being small at first, and increasing in size. 
Luckily the storm was not accompanied by wind, otherwise the losses would 
have been much greater. As it is, one farmer lost 28 sheep killed, and many 
with legs broken and minus eyes. The cattle had large lumps on their bodies, 
some also losing eyes. Many holes in the ground caused by the stones 
were from 1 to 2 in. deep. Old natives born here say they have not seen 
hailstones as large as these." 
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