THE GREAT STORM OF MIDSUMMER DAY, 1897.
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also the cost of preparation, the cost of the seed, and the cost of the removal
of the destroyed crop. The cottagers, with the exception of the potatoes,
which were struggling—and somewhat successfully—to put up heads, have
lost all vegetables in their gardens, and, unless they get harvest work else-
where, will lose all their harvest wages as well.
" At Mill-green, about four miles from Chelmsford, the storm seemed to
have been most violent. Fine old trees, oaks with large and widespread
roots, had been uprooted, and lay in one particular spot like skittles in an
alley at the end of a game. Four houses (two large ones) had the roofs
(strong red tiled ones) entirely demolished on the windward side. In one
case a large chimney stack had fallen through the roof, fortunately without
damage to any of the inhabitants ; and I was told that all the glass in the
windows on the windward side had been entirely broken away and had been
renewed. I should think that two thousand pounds would be a minimum
cost of repairs to the four houses I looked at. A vinery in the garden of one
of these houses had six panes of glass left out of about two hundred, and the
vines inside were hopelessly damaged. The fruit trees—apples, &c— were
scored in the bark as if they had been shot; and the smaller fruit bushes—
currants, gooseberries, &c.—had lost all fruit and all leaves. Fortunately,
the hay crop is an excellent one, and, generally speaking, has been well got.
This will in some cases save farmers from what otherwise (in default of
assistance from outside) must mean absolute ruin.
" To sum up the situation, the result of this twenty minutes' hailstorm
has been in the area affected :—
" 1. Total loss to the landlord of the year's rent.
" 2. Total loss to the tenants of the crop on arable farms.
" 3. Loss to the labourers of harvest wages, damage to roofs, windows,
&c., of their cottages, and (with the exception of potatoes) their garden crops."
Blackmore. At Sprigg's farm 30 trees were blown down, some of them
being close together ; one of them measured 41/2 feet through the trunk, and
tons of earth were lifted up by its roots.
When the storm broke, it caused two horses to bolt with a mowing
machine, which was smashed up ; and another pair ran away with a water
cart. They knocked down three other horses, and the whole five rolled into
a ditch in a heap.
A large barn, 60 feet long, was blown completely down ; and during its
fall a horse inside had a marvellous escape. When the wooden end bulged
open, previous to collapsing, the animal sprang out and escaped without the
slightest injury.
Some idea of the fury of the gale may be gathered from the fact that two
men who were sheltering in a building immediately adjoining the barn never
heard the barn fall, and were greatly surprised to find it down when they
came from their shelter !
An examination of the crops revealed a complete state of ruin, the cereals
being cut down, and the magnificent crops of old meadow grass battered
about as if someone had been beating them with a rammer !
At Fringrith Hall was pointed out a peculiar result of the storm. It was
a fallen ash tree, several feet in circumference, which stood in the centre of a