Comjjosili'jn of some of the Ancient Pastures of England. 751 
uniformly among sheep in a flock subjected to like disease- 
producing influences. 
Professor Steel further remarks that Dick showed how over- 
growth of horn through insufficient wear altered the bearings of 
the foot, throwing extra strain on the crust and producing 
laminitis ; how the diseased state of the laminae rendered the 
horn soft and penetrable by grit ; how the horn curling over, 
inclosed grit and filth, which gradually worked their way up to 
the sensitive parts ; and how excessive growth of hoof gave rise 
to strains and other injuries of the pastern and fetlock joints. 
He also noticed that inflammation of the skin of the interdigital 
space might arise from the friction of long, coarse grasses, and 
be known under the popular name of Scald. He found this the 
most frequent form in low, rich pastures, where the grass was 
long, but on dry soils the form commencing from the sole was 
generally observed. 
The characteristic illustrations shown in figs. 5 and G are, 
by permission of Principal Williams, of Edinburgh, reproduced 
from his work on Veterinary Surgery. 
THE COMPOSITION OF SOME 
OF THE FAMOUS ANCIENT PASTURES 
OF ENGLAND. 
Much has been written in recent years on ancient pastures, but 
much has yet to be learned before we know fairly well their 
story, and the light they throw on the problem of making a good 
pasture. With the view of accumulating further knowledge, 
I was requested by the Seeds and Plants Committee of the Royal 
Agricultural Society to inspect such pastures in England as had 
a good record for feeding or fattening stock. To ascertain the 
localities desirable to visit in this investigation, I addressed 
letters to all the members of the Council, and obtained infor- 
mation which induced me to visit twenty-three districts and to 
inspect some 150 pastures. These represented very different 
types on varying soils, well distributed over the whole of England. 
In two of the districts I found only fields that had been laid down 
within a known and comparatively recent time. Much interest- 
ing information was obtained, though not bearing on the inves- 
tigation in which I was engaged. Partly for the same reason, 
and partly because the pastures in many of the districts agreed 
