1910.] The Scouring Lands of Somerset. 



535 



districts for many years — to say by an examination of a field 

 whether it will scour or not. Very often scouring fields pro- 

 duce an abundant growth, and give the impression of bearing 

 most excellent and nutritious herbage ; on the other hand, 

 some fields with a poor, weedy growth are notoriously 

 "teart." 



There can be little doubt that the actual cause of "teart- 

 ness " lies in some abnormal property of the herbage, but 

 the chemical examination of a large number of samples of 

 grass from scouring fields, compared with samples from 

 neighbouring sound fields, has failed to show any consistent 

 peculiarity in the composition of the scouring herbage. 

 Analyses, both of the dried grass and of the juice expressed 

 from the fresh material, have been carried out, but it cannot 

 be said tfiat the figures obtained throw much light on the 

 subject. 



The Geology and the Soil of " Teart " Land. — In Somerset 

 scouring land is entirely confined to one geological forma- 

 tion — the Lower Lias. The late Dr. Voelcker, in his Report 

 in 1862,* states that scouring land may occur not only on 

 the Lias formation, but wherever the subsoil is a heavy, 

 tenacious clay, e.g., on Oxford Clay or Oolite clays. The 

 writer, however, has never been able to hear of pastures with 

 properties quite similar to those of the "teart" lands of 

 Somerset occurring outside that county, or on any formation 

 except the Lias.f At all events, in Somerset the scour- 

 ing land is confined to the Lower Lias clay with remarkable 

 accuracy; and it is possible to trace the boundary of 

 this formation in some places by inquiring which is 

 "teart" and which sound land. 



The most interesting cases of this sharp distinction are 

 where the Alluvium adjoins the Lias clay, as it does at so 



* Jcurn. Bath and West Soc, Vol. x., p. 183. 



t In some parts of Lincolnshire, notably the Vale of Belvoir, and in 

 parts of Gloucestershire, the geological conditions are almost identical with 

 those in the scouring districts of Somerset, i.e., Lower Lias not much covered 

 by drift. I am informed that in the Vale of Belvoir cattle do scour a good 

 deal when first put on the strong pastures in the spring, or when turned on 

 to luxuriant aftermath, but there are never serious complaints of damage 

 from this cause. This tends to confirm the opinion that with the Somerset 

 teart " lands we are simply dealing with an exaggerated case of a normal 

 occurrence in Lias pastures. 



