SOUTH AFRICA 23 



dew or that the dew was the vehicle of introduction 

 to the horse, such being either drawn up through 

 the nostrils into the lungs or entering the stomach 

 when the animal was feeding. It was obvious 

 then that horses should not be turned out to 

 graze until the dew had evaporated ; even with 

 this precaution a large percentage acquired the 

 disease. If by chance a horse did recover, he 

 was termed " salted " — that is, immune from any 

 further attack. Yet orood "salted" horses were 

 very scarce ; consequently a large number of un- 

 salted horses had to be purchased annually. 



On referrinof to the article on dew in T/ie 

 Encyclopcadia Britannica I find that for hundreds 

 of years this phenomenon has been the subject of 

 research and investigation. The ancients believed 

 that dew was shed from the stars, and was of a pure 

 and celestial essence ; they also believed that it 

 possessed the power of extending the duration of 

 life and that the external application of it corrected 

 any disposition to corpulence. 



Dew of course rises from the earth, and it 

 brings with it in some cases poison from soluble 

 metals. In Derbyshire, in the vicinity of Mat- 

 lock, domestic farm stock are affected if they 

 are permitted to graze or feed when the dew 

 is on the ground, acquiring a disease called 

 belland, or lead poisoning. I believe in South 



