On the Hoof disease. 199 



Being desirous to ascertain whether the disease of the 

 grass to which Mr. VV. referred, had grown in meadows 

 that had been deprived of their usual supply of water, I 

 addressed a letter to him in reference to this point, and 

 received the following answer^ 



Tredyffrin, June lOthy 1815. 

 Sir, 



Your favour of the 30th ult. came to hand the 4th 

 inst. Since the receipt of it, I have made numerous inqui- 

 ries, for the purpose of obtaining additional information, 

 respecting the disease, (of which I communicated an ac- 

 count) and on the season preceding its prevalence &c. ; 

 but I regret to inform you, that farmers, in general, are 

 so deficient in observation, and so entirely oat of the prac- 

 tice of recording facts, that I have not been able satisfac- 

 torily to ascertain, whether the season, in which the ** in- 

 jurious hay was made," was a dry one or not. 



However, my father informs me, that as nearly as he 

 can recollect, about that period, the ditch which conveyed 

 water to his meadow, became so filled with accumula- 

 tions of mud and other matter, as to render the supply 

 very imperfect. As a deficiency of watering, appears to 

 be the cause of the unwholesome qualities of the hay, it 

 is highly probable, the injurious hay was made during the 

 season that water was wanting. But shortly after this 

 time, the death of my grandfather, in a great measure ex- 

 cluded my father from the benefit of the water. The 

 original plantation, being divided into two farms, and that 

 of my father lying farther down the stream, the water of 

 the artificial course is exhausted, before it reaches his 

 land. It should however be remarked, that since that 

 period, he mows his grass while it is very y^ung, and 

 before the seeds are touched by the ** smutty affection." 

 Indeed the farmers generally, in this neighbourhood, since 



