ITS HISTORY. 13 



and extended to the whole year except during the 

 fence month, commencing the 25th June, when 

 the cattle were required to be withdrawn, on 

 account of the does and newly-born fawns ; but 

 since the Crown allowed their rights to fall into 

 abeyance the close time has not been enforced. 

 In most royal forests there is another close time, 

 called Winter Heytiing. This extends through 

 the winter months, and is for the purpose of 

 reserving the food, which is then scarce, for the 

 deer ; but I cannot find any record of this having 

 been enforced in Epping Forest. 



The same persons who enjoyed the privilege of 

 commoning cattle had also the right of pannage, 

 i.e. of turning out their pigs at Michaelmas to eat 

 acorns and beech-mast. The amount of pannage 

 varies in different seasons, but it was always a 

 valuable right, woods being often considered 

 rather by the number of pigs they could feed than 

 by the timber. 



The right of lopping was enjoyed in some manors 

 by persons to whom special assignments had been 

 made of so many acres, and in Loughton the right 

 extended to all the householders of the parish. 

 This right had an important influence on the fate 

 of the Forest, as I shall presently show. The 

 object of the forestal laws being to maintain the 

 status quo, it is not surprising that the condition 

 of the Forest, as I have described it, remained 

 without material alteration for many centuries ; 

 but I now come to what I have called the second 

 period — the utilitarian age — when it was sought to 

 absorb the waste for cultivation and building. The 

 earliest expression of the idea that this was bene- 

 ficial which I can find is contained in Harrison's 



