THE NEW FOREST. 237 



There can be no doubt that these rights of common 

 over the Forest had been, from time immemorial, of the 

 greatest value to the small owners of land, copyholders, 

 and tenants in the neighbourhood, and were the main 

 cause that many small owners still existed, and had 

 resisted the tendency elsewhere to aggregate land in 

 few hands, and, still more, that small holdings of land 

 prevailed, and had not been consolidated into large 

 farms. They were also of equal value to the cottager 

 with his half-acre of land attached, in respect of which 

 he could turn out a cow or a pony, and could drive his 

 pigs into the Forest to feed on the acorns. The 

 neighbourhood of the Forest is the best place in 

 England one of the very few still remaining for 

 studying the condition of small owners, tenants, and 

 cottagers under such circumstances, and for appreciating 

 the effect, upon such classes in the agricultural com- 

 munity, of the great in closures of past times. 



The existence of these rights undoubtedly accounts 

 for the large measure of prosperity among these people, 

 and for the absence of pauperism. The Forest itself, 

 on account of its varying conditions, its great variety 

 of soil and water-supply, of shelter and exposure, is 

 peculiarly suitable for the turning-out of hardy cattle 

 and ponies. They can at all times, and in every kind 

 of season, find fitting places for feed and shelter ; any 

 deficiency in one part is supplied by sufficiency or 

 excess in another ; and the animals travel long distances 

 to find the most suitable conditions, whether for 

 water and shade in dry seasons, or for dry land 



