THE NEW FOREST. 233 



of about 800 acres, one of the ancient reservations, 

 completely surrounded by forest land. I have often 

 heard him say that the deer came upon his land in 

 such numbers, and so devastated the crops, that it 

 was impossible to let the property, or to cultivate 

 it to any advantage, and not being able to reside there, 

 he was ultimately obliged to sell it at a very low price. 

 This was at the time when the forestai laws were still 

 maintained, and when it was not lawful for any owner, 

 within the limits of the Forest, to erect fences, so as 

 to exclude the deer. 



Great abuses existed in the Forest from an early 

 time, not merely as regards the timber, but also in 

 respect of the deer. Poaching became a trade, and. 

 demoralised the people in the neighbourhood. It was 

 proved before a Committee in 1848 that not more than 

 110 bucks were annually killed for the Crown on the 

 average of years, and that each buck cost upwards of 

 100. The greater number of these were given to 

 owners of land in the neighbourhood, in return for 

 preserving the deer. 



Of the wooded parts of the Forest, a portion consists 

 of groves of ancient timber of natural growth and of 

 very great beauty. In these the oaks and the beeches 

 stand in groups separated by irregular patches of dwarf 

 gorse and heather, or by glades fringed with ferns, or 

 by broad lawns or moor. Many of the trees have been 

 pollarded in past times to browse the deer. Bratley Old, 

 JBramshaw Wood, Denny Wood, and Mark Ash, are 

 among the noblest relics of the ancient Forest. In 



