A Letter from Mr. Halley at Chester, Giving an Account of an Extraordinary Hail in These Parts, on the 29th of April Last

Atque haec est partium hujus animalis brevis quaedam enarratio: earum vero usus (exceptis branchiis spuris) exhibere super vacaneum est, si quidem exanalogia cum reliquis id genus animalibus, a me publicatis, facile intelligi atque explanari possint. aaa. os caputque. bb. meconium aterrimum. c. cor prorsus subter membranam latitat, dd. pericardium, an vesica urinaria rhomboidos. eeeee. intestinum rectum pericardio super equitans. fffff. magnus musculus centralis gg. alius musculus laceratus testis fortiter adhaerens. hhhh. branchiae internae. i.i. uteri prolongati exitus, duobus foraminibus distinctus tanquam in androgyrus. kk. uteri pars superior albida. l.l.l. uteri pars inferior crocea. m.m.m.m.m. lumbus variegatus sive musculus retiarius secundus. IV. A Letter from Mr. Halley at Chester, giving an Account of an extraordinary Hail in these Parts, on the 29th of April last. SIR, Promised Sir John Hoskyns last Week, to send the Society an Account of a very extraordinary Hail, that fell in these Parts on the 29th of April last, since which I have farther enquired into the Circumstances of it, in order to make the Relation as exact as I might. The Vapour that disposed the Aqueous Parts thus to congeal came with a South-West Wind out of Carnarvan-shire, passing passing near Snowdon with a horrid black Cloud, attended with frequent Lightnings and Thunder. As yet, I hear no further of it Westward, than out of Denbighshire, where it left St. Asaph to the right, and did much Damage between it and the Sea, breaking all the Windows on the Weather-side, and killing Poultry and Lambs, and at Sir John Convey's at Desert, a stout Dog; and in the North part of Flintshire several People had their Heads broke, and were grievously bruised in their Bodies. From Flintshire it crossed over the Arm of the Sea that comes up to Chester, and was only felt in Cheshire, at the very N.W. Corner of the Peninsula, call'd Wirall, between the Aëstuaria of Chester and Leverpoole, at a Town call'd W. Kirkby, where it Hail'd but for three Minutes, it being on the extrem Point thereof, on the right hand, but it Thunder'd dreadfully, and was here, about Three in the Afternoon; but the main Body of it fell upon Lancashire, in a right Line from Ormskirk to Blackburn, which is on the Borders of Yorkshire; and whether it cross'd the Ridge of Hills into Yorkshire, we know not, but the breadth of the Cloud was about two Miles; within which Compass it did incredible Damage, killing all sorts of Fowl and small Creatures; and scarce leaving any whole Panes in any of the Windows where it passed: but which is worse, it plowed up the Earth, and cut off the Blade of the green Corn, so as utterly to destroy it, the Hail-stones burying themselves in the Ground; and the Bouling-greens where the Earth was any thing soft, were quite defaced, so as to be rendered unserviceable for a time. This I had from an Eye Witness, The Hail-stones, some of which weighed five Ounces, were of differing Forms, some round, some half round, some smooth, others embossed and crenulated, like the Foot of a Drinking-glass, the Ice very transparent and hard, but a snowy Kernel was in the midst midst of most of them, if not all; the force of their Fall argued them to fall from a great Height. These are the Circumstances have yet occur'd; next Week when I go to Snowdon, I may chance to find the beginning of this Hail, at least trace it as far as the Sea; and perhaps you may hear further of it out of York shire, beyond York, towards Burroughbrigg, and Rippon. What I take to be most extraordinary in this Phenomenon is, that such a sort of Vapours should continue undispers'd for so long a Tract, as above sixty Miles together, and in all the way of its Passage occasion so extraordinary a Coagulation and Congelation of the watry Clouds, as to encrease the Hail-stones to so vast a Bulk in so short a Space as that of their Fall. Yours, &c. V. Part of another Letter, Dated May r. giving a larger Account of the same Hail-Storm. Because you will shortly hear a Report of a prodigious Hail-Storm, that fell in our part of this Country on Thursday last, between Three and Four a Clock in the Afternoon, I will hastily hint something of the matter to you, lest your self and acquaintance should think it fabulous. We had only the extreme Skirt of the Shower here, and there fell not above a Hundred Hail-stones in our Court, but they were much larger and harder than the oldest of us had seen: A Gentlewoman sent for one into the House, and found it by Measure to be about