'The Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society. From December 1854 to March 1856. (New Issue.) Edited by the Secretary. Volume XII.' [‎24] (135/258)

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DR. G. BUIST
ful and striking appearance. The ground looked as if a large sheet of surprizing whiteness
was spread upon it. It is nearly two hours ago and the stones have not disappeared or melted
away. The natives say that they never witnessed such a sight before. What injurious ten
dency this :n *y have upon plants and trees, it is impossible to say."
Another Correspondent from Chittagong says: —
“ Ever since this new moon or Sunday before last, we have had constant rain and wind,
night and day, and the weather altogether has been more like what we experience in the
height of the rains in the month of July and August than anything else. Rut to-day’s occur
rence has crowned all. At three o’clock in th" afternoon it commenced, first raining slowly
with a slight wind, which in the course of ten minutes swelled into half a gale, and with it
came down or rather rained such a shower of hailstones as I have never witnessed before.
“ The ground was literally covered with hail, and so much so that the grass could scarcely
he seen on account of it. The trees were stripped of almost of all their leaves. The hail re
mained on the ground for about an hour after the storm had ceased. The weather has not
yet cleared up i 1 —Englishman, May 1.
47.— HAILSTORM AT LAHORE ox the 26th APRIL, 1855. —Lat. 31.36 N-, Long. 74.14 e. Alt. 1,180.
The weather still the subject of general speculation : early on Thursday we had a
sharp fall of ruin, with the usual accompanimenas of high wind, thunder and lightning, and
during nearly the whole of the day it blew from the East, just as it blows towards the end of
June, when the rains are at hand. During Wednesday night the temperature rose till at times
it became “very hot” in the opinion of those even accustomed to bear with the heat. Towards
four, on the afternoon of Thursday, symptoms manifested themselves of a storm gathering to
the South-West. It approached very gradually, and then appeared to be turning to the North,
but the sensible veering of the wind from East'to North and North-West, pointed at a proba
ble change in its direction. About half-past four a few heavy drops of rain, and the appear
ance of the clouds, heavily charged with electricity, seemed to indicate hail j in ten minutes
more the signs became more defined, the wind increasing in intensity, and soon after small
stones began to fall. In two minutes more the violence of the wind, the rain, and the hail
were such, that no one could have lentured to face thnn. Birds fell struck to the ground by
the immense stones, measuring, in some instances, close upon two inches in diameter, as if
shot ; unfortunate catile, wandering about, were bleeding in all directions. Trees were snap
ped asunder as if mere sticks, many torn up; telegraph posts torn down: branches stripped of
their leaves; flowers scattered to the winds, and the crops still standing beaten flit to the
ground; in one short quarter of an hour the whole country, over which the force of the storm
was expended, bore the appearance of a winter day in Europe, the hailstones lying in many
places thick as snow. All the windows to the nortti in European dwellings, in the barrack,
&c. were broken ; hardly a chopper is to be seen in the town. In fact, desolation hail set its
seal wherever the storm passed. Its greatest force was felt east of the town as far as Shalee-
mar. The Garden of the Agri-Hortieultural Society was fortunately beyond the worst of the
storm and has suffered comparatively little. The vegetables of the season, cucumbers, me
lons, &c., the tobacco and onions, lay in the fields as if ground, and in some instances not a
or a drop of rain fell at Meeau Meer .—Lahor Chronicle, April 28.
48. HAILSTORM AT GOOJRA (PUNJAB) ON THE 2jTH APRIL 1855. Lat. Long.
We regret much to learn, that considerable damage has been done to the crops in the
Goojra district by the late falls of hail.— Englishman, May 16.
49. HAILSTORM AT PAUNCH GUNNY, MAHABLESHWAR ON THE 1 OTH MAY 1855 Lat. Long.
m3? take , U ' e fol^wing extract from a letter from Totness Far..., Paunol.ghu.my, near Maha-
1 leshwar, dated the 12th May “On the afternoon of Thursday the 10th May ni were visited
rain and haiTlro^ F by a lleavy '^nderstorm and a perfect deluge of
ram and hail from E. 8. E., which lasted for upwards of an hour. The storm commenced at
bv P it"aid n tin?d a i Va r ! de8t ? b0Ut 3 .?°- "’as terrific ; o^e ni^n w^ struik
deader 1 e shwm i.™!® 8 ° ff; , a,lfl l,ere there «'e head of cattle found
of a ne3t U. of » lhe h a l1 covered the ground, and varied in size from the bigness
ot apea to that of a nutmeg. Ihe stems of the plantain trees in mv brother’s lmouiiiI are
rTeTblXn irndd^sDov^dV? ^ the ' ea ' es of "early all tL fig and ot!r young
tions broke^Xt t v f LU !' Se brancbes " f trees iie “rewn about in alfdirec
brothep's residence here t he^hiw r, 'e ,<,C0 **l^ , f* > * S *"’** ,# * ** a,,S ^* U< ^™ V ^*^®*
miles to the E S V ot Pniinf*l lf ri, n nn 1 1111 i S * coinmence( * at a village three or four