The 6pertator , Nip 230 1853 THE tempestuous weather of last
week caused many disasters both by land and sea. From many parts of the country come sad accounts of waste of property by floods—hay washed away, growing crops spoilt, and buildings damaged or destroyed. The agriculturists in the Reading district are great sufferers. At Nottingham, culverts burst, and the lower parts of houses were inundated: the lower lands were covered with water. Further accounts from Wales swell the list of losses. Many bridges have been swept away; while in some places the hay has been floated off the fields, potatoes have been washed from the ground, and numbers of moveable articles have been carried along by the rivers converted into torrents. At Laugharne, a large piece of the ancient castle-wall fell down. In several localities animals were killed by the lightning. " Altogether, such a widely-spread devastation occasioned by heavy floods. has not been known for many years."
Around Banbury the floods were very extensive; and at Brackley the country, for several miles, looked like a vast lake. In Leicester, factories and dwellinghouses were invaded: in some places the residents had three feet of water in their lower rooms. A number of men made a good deal of money by conveying people in carts through the streets that had been converted into rivers.
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