300 BENEFIT OF COMMON RIGHTS 



districts, after having seen those worked in con- 

 nection with Forest rights, one could not but be 

 struck by the difference in the greater economical 

 working of the land as displayed in the latter type. 

 The large stacks of hay on the Forest holdings, 

 where practically all the land had been mown, en- 

 sured an amount of winter keep for a head of stock 

 which it would not be possible to winter on the 

 larger holdings ; and at the time of my visit the 

 abundant aftermath on the several small fields con- 

 trasted with the bared pastures of the farms where 

 the cattle could not be turned out on common 

 land. There is no doubt that where common land 

 exists it enables the bordering cultivated area to be 

 made the very best use of by a large number of 

 small men, and that any system of afforestation 

 which would lead to enclosing large tracts would 

 mean ruin to a population who are under the present 

 system getting the greatest value out of this so- 

 called waste land ; and they are, moreover, enabled 

 to live well on an acreage which could not other- 

 wise possibly support them. 



PRICE OF LAND, RENT, ETC. 



The average price per acre for land sold in small 

 lots is about 40. In some cases for very small 

 plots 90 and 100 has been realized. For large 

 plots the average price is 20 to 25 for land which 

 would have fetched double that price twenty years 

 ago. It is noticeable that there has been no cor- 



