the small river Drone, a tributary of the
Rother, in a busy industrial district in which are numerous coal-mines,
and there are iron foundries and manufactures of tools and other iron
and steel goods. The church of St John the Baptist, with a lofty spire,
is a good example of Decorated work, with Perpendicular additions.

DROPSY (contracted from the old word _hydropisy_, derived from the Gr.
[Greek: udrops]; [Greek: udor], water, and [Greek: ops], appearance),
the name given to a collection of simple serous fluid in all or any of
the cavities of the body, or in the meshes of its tissues. Dropsy of the
subcutaneous connective tissue is termed _oedema_ when it is localized
and limited in extent; when more diffuse it is termed _anasarca_; the
term _oedema_ is also applied to dropsies of some of the internal
organs, notably to that of the lungs. _Hydrocephalus_ signifies an
accumulation of fluid within the ventricles of the brain or in the
arachnoid cavity; _hydrothorax_, a collection of fluid in one or both
pleural cavities; _hydropericardium_, in the pericardium; _ascites_, in
the peritoneum; and, when _anasarca_ is conjoined with the accumulation
of fluid in one or more of the serous cavities, the dropsy is said to be
general (see also PATHOLOGY).

Dropsy (excluding "epidemic dropsy," for which see below) is essentially
a symptom and not a specific disease, and is merely an exaggeration of a
certain state of health. Fluid, known as lymph, is continually passing
through the capillary walls into the tissues, and in health this is
removed as fast as it is exuded, in one or more of three ways: part of
it is used in the nutrition of the tissues, part is returned to the
general circulation by the veins, and part by the lymphatics. Any
accumulation constitutes dropsy and is a sign of disease, though not a
disease in itself. The serous effusions due to inflammation are not
included under the term dropsy. A dropsical fluid varies considerably in
composition according to its position in the body, but varies only
slightly according to the disease which has given rise to it. Its
specific gravity ranges between 1008 and 1018; the mineral salts present
are the same and in about the same proportion as those of blood, nor do
they vary with the position of the exudation. The quantity of albumin,
however, depends much on the position of the fluid, and slightly on the
underlying disease. In oedema the fluid contains only traces, whe