24 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
extent. In fact, we have in it the first indication of that struggle 
between the Crown and the commoners which has always been 
the great impediment to all forms of arboriculture in the New 
Forest since the days of the Commonwealth. 
It will perhaps interest my readers to hear what was the 
precise form of cultivation employed. It is as follows: ‘‘ Pits or 
beds of three spits of ground each were dug a yard apart, and 
three acorns planted triangularly in each bed. Half a bushel of 
acorns were allotted for each person to plant in one day; two 
regarders attended every day during the time of planting to see 
that it was properly done ; and after the ground was fully planted 
with acorns it was sown with hawes, hollyberries, sloes, and 
hazelnuts, and drains cut where necessary, and traps were set to 
catch mice, and persons attended daily to re-set the traps and 
keep off crows and other vermin.” 
Whether from subsequent neglect or not, the plantations thus 
formed were never thinned at all, but allowed to grow up like a 
nursery quarter. Although contrary to every theory of plantation 
management, it cannot be denied that they were in this bad soil 
successful in growing a heavy crop of oak timber on moderate land. 
In fact, when some years ago the French professors of the School 
of Forestry at Nancy, with their pupils, visited this Forest, they 
expressed the opinion that nowhere had they seen a greater 
number of cubic feet of pure oak on the acre. We may thus 
learn a lesson from the mistakes, as they appear to be, of our 
ancestors, and note that where a heavy crop of timber, rather than 
handsome specimen trees, is the object, thinning may be easily 
carried to excess, especially on bad land. 
By this Act of William ITI. the pollarding of trees received its 
death-blow ; it was made a punishable offence for any keeper to 
top or lop any timber trees for the purpose of browsing the deer, 
and as the custom of farming the coppices had fallen into disuse, 
no one had any interest in thus dealing with the trees.) We may 
therefore assume that all of the old pollards are of a date of more 
than two hundred years ago; and the lover of beautiful scenery 
cannot fail to contrast their picturesque forms with those of the 
more modern woods—even of those as old as William III.,—while 
there is food for reflection to the forester as to the additional age 
and beauty of form that has been conferred on those trees that have 
been thus maltreated in their youth. 
However, this revival of forestry did not succeed so well as it 
