THE MEANING OF " MOOR."
[To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR.
Sts,—Is not the difficulty which the writer of the article on " Ways of the Water-hen " in your issue of June 17th finds in the naming of the " Moor-hen " due to a modern change in the use of the word " moor," and its limitation to waste, usually upland, areas? I find in Johnson's Dictionary that the first meaning attached to the word is " A marsh; a fen; a bog; a tract of low and watery grounds." Not to mention Sedgemoor, there is in this parish a low-lying meadow on the edge of the Kennet, which was obviously once a marsh, the name of which is "Speen Moor." I daresay there are other instances of the word being so applied in other parts of the country.—I am, Sir,
CHARLES II. MELVILLE
(Colonel, late Army Medical Service).
Speen, Berks.
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