SCOURING LANDS OF CENTRAL SOMERSET. 297 
blue lias clay. Central Somerset unfortunately abounds in 
pastures which are 66 tart, 5 ’ and exhibits this peculiarity in 
a very characteristic and virulent manner. Many of the 
upland and border pastures on the northern side of the 
Polden Hills, and immediately skirting the moors forming 
the great Brue Level, possess in a high degree the property 
of scouring cattle, more especially dairy cows during the 
summer months. The Polden Hills, indeed, are notorious 
for the prevalence of scouring land. Such land occurs to 
the east of the district just mentioned in the direction of 
Pilton, Pennard, and Shepton Mallet, but in the northern 
and western parts of the county scouring pastures are rarely 
found. Some of the worst land in this respect, I understand, 
may be found in the parish of Cossington, on the northern 
side of the Polden Hills. To this locality my attention was 
particularly directed; I therefore visited this district last 
summer and personally made inquiries into all the facts and 
local opinions deemed likely to throw light on the cause or 
causes of this mysterious peculiarity, which more or less 
prevails in the neighbourhoods of Walton, Shapwick, Eding- 
ton, Baltonsborough, Pennard, Pylle, Barton St. David, 
Paddimore, Load, Othery, Burtle, Butleigh, Street, Edgarly, 
and other localities, 
Scouring land, however, is not confined to central Somerset, 
nor to blue lias clay ; for in Gloucestershire and other coun¬ 
ties scouring pastures here and there occur. Thus in the 
neighbourhood of Cirencester certain pastures exhibit this 
peculiarity, although they are not situated in the lias but in 
the oolite formation. In every instance that has been 
brought under my notice, however, I find that scouring land 
rests on an impervious yellow or blue-coloured clay subsoil, 
of considerable depth. Most frequently the subsoil is a true 
lias clay, but examples are not wanting in which scouring 
land rests on forest-marble clay, Oxford clay, and clays of 
the great oolite formation. 
Respecting the cause why cattle scour during the summer 
months on certain pastures and not on others, many conjec¬ 
tures have been made and various theories suggested; but 
not one explanation, however reasonable it may appear in a 
particular instance, takes into account the multiplicity of 
facts which really have to be considered in forming a com¬ 
prehensive and satisfactory theory on this subject. Hence, 
of all the explanations hitherto offered, the best are but 
partially true, and they are frequently irreconcilable with 
established facts. 
Leaving unnoticed several of the more palpably erroneous 
