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Johnson, who thought it possible that some drain might have been the destination ofthe lightning, and that it had broken into it, and the soil fallen down as a matter ofcourse ; or it was possible that a meteorite might have fallen. These opinions appear-ing to be well founded, and the parties wishing me to visit the spot, I repaired thither,about fifteen miles from Manchester, as soon as I could make it convenient. Thehole was partly in a pea-bed and partly in a potato-bed, its centre being directlybetween them.

I first got Mr. Leaf’s servant to clear away the sunken soil from the bottom of thehole ; which done, and deepened to nearly two yards and a half, he found a nearlyhorizontal cavity in the substratum of sand. The hole sloped a little downwards, andwas large enough for the man to creep into, but it proceeded only about a yard anda half in that direction. The Rev. Mr. Hutchinson, who is next door neighbour toMr. Leaf, sent his servant man to our assistance, and by the joint labours of the twomen, a great quantity of earth was soon cleared away; and although no meteoritewas found, there were sufficient indications of a formidable power being at work.Broken pea-sticks, pea-straw, split potatoes, and soil from the surface, were found atvarious depths as low down as five yards; and in several places the soil which was forceddown, which is quite mellow on the surface, was compressed into a state of compactnessequal to that of stiff brick clay. Several small stones also, such as whin-stones, beingfound split into fragments, and exhibiting recent fractures, and these at differentdepths indicated that a violent force had been exerted. The probability is that adischarge of lightning had struck that place, and that from some cause or another acavity had previously existed in the sandy substratum, into which the upper stratumwas driven by the electric force. No marks of the effects of a very high temperaturewere observable amongst the inflammable materials surrounding the hole. On recon-sidering the circumstances, however, there appears great probability of a mass ofheavy matter having fallen at this place, as lightning alone is not known to produceany similar effects.

W. S.

Caution to Experimenters with the Electrical Kite*

On Friday last, about half-past two in the afternoon, clouds began to form in variousquarters of the heavens in rapid succession, from mere specks or streaks to immensegroups, with every appearance of being highly electrical.

I repaired to the Artillery Barrack Grounds with an electrical kite, and in a veryshort time got it afloat, letting out string through the hands from a coil or clue,which was thrown on the ground. When about a hundred yards of the string had

* Philosophical Magazine, for October, 1834.