the bell is uninjured the door leading into the tower was found to have been blown over the west gallery and scattered on the chancel steps and at the foot of the pulpit. The electric wires throughout the building were fused, but the valuable windows are intact, and so far as can be seen the main building has not been injured. A portion of the roof adjoining the belfry has received slight damage, and it is thought that the top of the tower will have to be rebuilt from the point where it rises above the roof. Yesterday morning the portions which might prove dangerous were pulled down, and later, under the superintendence of Mr. W. H. May, architect, the necessary work of repair was started. It is thought possible that the bell rope hanging down the middle of the tower may have been sufficiently damp to act as a lightning conductor, and so localize the damage.

From the same paper of 13 February, 1914 :

At 2.30 yesterday afternoon a terrific thunderstorm broke over Holsworthy. The south-west pinnacle of the church tower was struck by a thunderbolt, and fell to the ground. The road was blocked for vehicular traffic. A very high wind prevailed, and carried the debris for a considerable distance.

The pinnacle in falling penetrated the roof of the south aisle, and took off the corner of the porch. A large stone fell against a cottage on the opposite side of the road, but fortunately did no damage.

Many of the granite stones weighed several hundredweight, and embedded themselves from 18 inches to 2 feet in the churchyard, as well as making big pits on the highway. The iron railings and the granite coping of the boundary were also badly damaged, and the granite steps leading to the belfry were crushed to atoms.

The pinnacle, which was 25 feet in height, was taken clean off to its base. The battlements appear to be seriously damaged. Several loose stones are overhanging the embrasures, and the flagstaff is displaced.

Messrs. Sidney Pearce, of Camelford, James Harris and Samuel Jeffry, of Holsworthy, had a lucky escape. They were driving in a jingle towards the tower, and had reached the Tower Printing Works, when the pinnacle fell.

Mr. John Prouse, who lives in a cottage directly opposite the tower, was standing in his doorway, when large stones fell at his feet.

A funeral took place at the church at three o'clock. On Whit-Sunday, 1890, when the north-east pinnacle was struck by lightning, and portions of it fell into the church, as on this occasion, a funeral had been arranged for the same hour as the

pinnacle fell, but the storm on that occasion was so severe that the funeral had to be delayed.

Messrs. Owen Jeffery and B. Budd were eye-witnesses of the occurrence. They were standing in Messrs. German's shop doorway sheltering from the storm, and happened to be looking at the tower at the time. Interviewed, Mr. Budd said that the pinnacle appeared to be lifted quite two feet in the air. When they saw the pinnacle rising they were so frightened, thinking that the whole tower was coming, that they rushed off, one of them snatching up a child in his arms that was going towards the church.

The storm was so severe that all telegraph and telephonic communications were disturbed at the post office.

Some peculiar effects were experienced with the electric light. In some places where the light was burning the shock switched it off, whilst in other cases it switched on the light.

Considerable damage was done to window glass, and several people were thrown off their chairs in their rooms, whilst many fainted.

(Contributed by Mr. H. B. S. Woodhouse.)

ZOOLOGY.

From the Western Morning News of 8th April, 1914 :

EARLY SWALLOWS.

SIR,-Your natural history readers may be interested to know I saw six swallows on telegraph wires at Bilbrook, on the Taunton and Minehead road, at 11.30 to-day. They were together, and left the wires together.

Dunster, 6 April.

F. P.

In the month of November, 1912, I observed at about four o'clock on a sunny afternoon, several swallows or martins (I was unable to be quite certain which) flying about apparently hawking for flies, etc., on the Great Torrington Commons near the station of the L. and S.W.R. Railway. Probably they were a late brood prevented from emigrating with their companions. Whether they survived through the winter is extremely doubtful.

GEORGE M. DOE.

APPEARANCE OF LARVE IN LARGE NUMBERS.

On Wednesday morning, 26 November, 1913, my attention was drawn to my garden path, from front door to the streets, cement and bordered by a ridge of cement on each

side next to the grass plots, which was strewn all over with many hundreds of larvæ. The night had been cold but dry. These larvæ were about an inch long, with rather pointed extremities, and were of a dirty earthy black to grey colour. They did not seem to have much power of locomotion, but some had climbed over the brass doorstep and were found in the tiled porch.

The next morning was milder, and only a few specimens were seen, but on the Friday morning, after a cold and dry night, the same kind of thing was seen as on Wednesday, but only about half as numerous.

Each morning since has been more or less mild and wet, and only about a dozen or even less have made their appearance.

Having inquired of local scientists what they were, I have been informed by one that they were a kind of wireworm.

Another gentleman pronounces them the larvæ of the fly known as the Daddy-long-legs, and avers that though they usually live under the soil, yet they occasionally make their appearance on paths bordered by garden soil, just as in my experience.

I was informed on the Thursday morning after the Wednesday when I first saw them that a similar occurrence had taken place in another (town) garden not a quarter of a mile distant.

There was a recurrence of the appearance of these grubs on the morning of Christmas Eve, when from fifty to one hundred, I should judge, were found early in the morning scattered on the footpath, and smaller numbers, from a dozen to three or four, and so on, have been noticed on frosty mornings at intervals during February.

H. B. S. WOODHOUSE.

I am inclined to think that they were the larvæ of one of the members of the Daddy-long-legs family (Tipulidœ), known amongst gardeners by the name of "leatherjackets." Their appearance in such numbers was doubtless due to a sudden change in the temperature which attracted them out of the ground, where they are very destructive to the roots of grass and other plants. G. M. D.

TWENTY-SEVENTH REPORT OF

THE COMMITTEE ON DEVONSHIRE VERBAL PROVINCIALISMS.

TWENTY-SEVENTH REPORT of the Committee-consisting of Mr. J. S. Amery, Mr. R. Pearse Chope, Mr. C. H. Laycock, Rev. J. F. Chanter, Rev. G. D. Melhuish, Rev. O. J. Reichel, Miss C. E. Larter, Miss Helen Saunders, and Mrs. Rose-Troup; Mr. C. H. Laycock and Rev. O. J. Reichel being Joint Secretaries-for the purpose of noting and recording the existing use of any Verbal Provincialisms in Devonshire, in either written or spoken language, not included in the lists already published in the Transactions of the Association.

Edited by CHARLES H. LAYCOCK.

(Read at Tavistock, 22nd July, 1914.)

THE Rules and Regulations of the Committee were reprinted with the Twenty-second Report in 1909, Vol. XLI; but should any member not have a copy, the Editor will be glad to supply him with one on his application.

CONTRIBUTIONS.

Each provincialism is placed within inverted commas, and the whole contribution ends with the initials of the observer. All remarks following the initials are Editorial. The full address of each contributor is given below, and it must be understood that he or she only is responsible for the statements bearing his or her initials.

J. J. A.
M. A.

A. C.

CONTRIBUTORS.

J. J. Alexander, Grammar School, Tavistock. =Maxwell Adams, 13 South Parade, Southsea,

Hants.

Sir Alfred Croft, Rumleigh, Bere Alston.

J. F. C. Rev. J. F. Chanter, Parracombe Rectory,

=

Barnstaple.

R. P. C. R. Pearse Chope, Hollyhurst, Blythwood Road, Crouch Hill, N.

G. M. D.

T. J. J.
C. E. L.

=

George M. Doe, Enfield, Great Torrington.
T. J. Joce, 3 Manor Crescent, Newton Abbot.
Miss C. E. Larter, 2, Summerland Terrace,
St. Marychurch.

C. H. L. Charles H. Laycock, Cross Street, Moreton

H. J. L.
G. D. M.

O. J. R.

66

=

hampstead.

Harford J. Lowe.

Rev. G. D. Melhuish, Ashwater Rectory,
Beaworthy.

Rev. O. J. Reichel, À la Ronde, Lympstone.

ARMED. Of a man and his wife, as expressive of a very uxorious man, He armed her about everywhere.' C. E. L."

66

BALED. Applied to eggs ready for hatching, in which a small hole has been formed by the chick inside, preparatory to its emergence. Christow, 1911. T. J. J."

The word is really "bill'd." See Bail, 18th Report, Vol. XXXII, p. 57.

BATTS=boots. Supplied by W. P. O. J. R."

BEARED=borne. Servant, of a pie, 'he'd ha' beared a little longer in the oven.' C. E. L."

One more instance of the weak past participle, which is so marked a feature of our dialect.

"BETTER-WAY-it would be better if.

'I better-way

go straight on wai Enoch Wotton's yarn.' Jan Stewer in Western Weekly News, 9 Jan., 1909.

"You better-way get it off yer mind, misses.' Ibid., 27 Feb., 1909. R. P. C."

See Best way, 22nd Report, Vol. XLI, p. 68.

66

BIGATIVE=conceited.

The word was used by one servant of another; "'er's very bigative.' On my repeating it to a third, E considers the housemaid very bigative,' she at once replied, 'Yes, got a good opinion of herself." C. E. L."

This is the invariable dialectal form of bigoted, and is usually applied to one who is obstinately self-opinionated.