a market-town of England, Hampshire, in a flat country, on the left bank of the Avon, which spreads out here into a broad sheet of water, with many islands, on the skirts of the New Forest, 20 miles W.S.W. of Southampton, and 92 S.W. by W. of London. It is an old but generally well-built town, containing a parish church, part of which dates as far back as 1230; other churches belonging to Wesleyans, Independents, and Unitarians; a grammar school, and national schools. Woollen cloth, hosiery, and beer are made here; markets for corn are held weekly, and fairs for horses and cattle twice a year. The town was in existence as early as the times of the Romans, and was a place of some importance under the Anglo-Saxons. Pop. of the parish (1851) 3928.

RINGWORM is a disease of the skin, which appears in small circular patches, or rings of vesicles round the circumference of a circle of apparently healthy skin. These vesicles are small, and contain a transparent fluid, which is discharged in three or four days, when little dark scabs form over them. Sometimes there is a succession of the circles on the upper parts of the body, as the face and neck, and the arms and shoulders. The more formidable and infectious species of ringworm appears in distinct patches of an irregularly circular figure, on the scalp, head, and neck. It generally occurs in children of three or four years old and upwards, and often continues for several years. While the patches are in an inflamed and irritable condition, we must be content with regular washing or sponging with warm water, or some emollient fomentation. The application of a solution of one drachm of nitrate of silver in half an ounce of dilated nitric acid has been well recommended. The constitutional treatment is of consequence. A nutritious diet must be prescribed, containing a due admixture of animal food; the clothing must be warm; regular exercise must be enjoined; and a course of tonic medicines, such as iron or quinine, must be ordered.