THE PRINCIPLES OF BOTANY. 
75 
his head rope, and places himself as obliquely as the heel- 
ropes will allow of. When he is not trammeled he will 
stand invariably across the stall. 
This unnecessary slant, together with the heel ropes, has 
been a prolific cause of injury to the ulnarean and calcanean 
prominences and the bursal sacs in their region, more fre- 
quently, however, to the former protuberance. We cannot ever 
complain of “ shoeing ” being a cause of “ capped elbow.” 
(To be continued .) 
THE PRINCIPLES OF BOTANY. 
By Professor James Buckman, F.L.S., F.G.S., &c. 
(Continued from p. 15.) 
Having already considered the cereal or grain-producing 
corn-grasses, we would now direct attention to the herbaceous, 
meadow and pasture grasses. 
When we consider that the peculiarities of our climate 
render possible the growth of meadows of the greenest and 
most succulent herbage of a more luxuriant character than 
that of any other country, and also that so much of the food 
products of man and the animals under his charge are de- 
rived from the meadows, we may well conclude that grasses 
are among the most important of plants. 
We have said that this is due to “ peculiarities of climate,” 
and if anything were wanting to prove this position it may 
surely be found in a short consideration of the exceptional 
climatic conditions which prevailed during the past year and 
their effects upon produce of all kinds. 
During the summer of 1870 both hay and aftermath were 
reduced to a minimum, with the inevitable result that in 
dairy districts the produce of cheese and butter, mostly so 
much in excess as to contribute to the supply of the metro- 
polis and the neighbouring towns and truly agrarian parishes, 
has scarcely been sufficient for the district itself. Meadows 
capable of carrying hundreds of head of stock upon aftermath 
in the autumn were tenantless, or if obliged to be occupied, 
the poor animals — few and far between — could only be main- 
tained in health by the use of hay, corn, or cake, or all of these. 
So that, indeed, instead of exporting food for the people, corn, 
and especially maize, has been obliged to be imported in 
large quantities. Having, then, to pay for these products 
