THE ELECTRICAL DISTURBANCES.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11493, 28 January 1903, Page 8

THE ELECTRICAL DISTURBANCES.

I>R. FARR'S OPINIONS.

At about 10 or 15 minutes to one o'clock two men working at Lancaster Park weTe engaged in eating their dinner under the pavilion, when something, apparently a meteorite, fell and buried .itself in the Park. Its arrival was accompanied by a report like a small cannon, and it went a great depth into tbe earth, perforating a drain pipe oh its way. The workmen say it was accompanied by a flash of blue light, and seemed to zig-zag as it came down The spot where it entered the ground is about three or four chains from the pavuion, and tufts of earth were torn up. _ lhe ho.c in the ground is three inches in circumference. The men dm' down about two feet, but did not come acira anytinDg unusual.

Anotiher cuTious phenomenon was witnessed ;n Fakgmve street about, twenty mmutes to one o'clock, by Mr W Cunningham, lie wag approaching ilr Jones's ho«*, on the city .side of fne railway, when, as he described it. the air seemed to gather , ip and take a Wue v whole place eeenied to buret out into flames ot nro. _,ir Cunningham was about six feet away when this ball of fire, as it may be called, burst about, four feet above the ground. At one period Le thought it was coming <liwct for him , A 4 mMldoUß crashing sound accompanied the bursting of the ball of fire. Beyond the apparent sbnvelhng up of some foliags there were no indications that any damage had been

Dr. Fan-, of tne Magnetic Observatory, on being questioned by a representative of The Irees regarding these two occurrence, eaaa that *he lirrt might .have been either a meteorite or a fW «f lightning If a meteorite it may have penetrated the earth to the depth of five or ,ix feet and it will be well worth while to go down Jiat depth in order to find it, ' Dγ Fair Van of op'nion tiiat the FaWve V-wet ocotirrence was due to a discharge of liahtmng. ia guch a storm ac was experienced electrical a point in the a:r. not far up. and lie eart io , n n cu!d ■ be «normous, and ran to 10,000 volts. When the a> U%3v charged vrnh electricity a dlschaw Lk take piaoe somehow, «nd a LgLtaing flash would relieve tiie tension. To an ob sen-er such a discharge might appear to oome from above. *^