892 



THE NATURE BOOK 



an ideal one for the birth of folk lore, yet 

 the Forest is singularly poor in legend. 



Frequenting the Forest as I have for 

 many years, photographing its inhabi- 

 tants, human and otherwise, I have been 

 unable to find an\i;hing of great remark 

 in the nature of legend or superstition. 

 I remember well on one occasion asking 

 an ancient inhabitant if he had ever heard 

 of any ghost story or legend connected 

 with the Forest. After some little thought 

 he rephed, " He didn't think he had ever 

 heard tell of any ghosts being seen about. 

 He did remember that his grandfather 

 used to go up on to Beaulicu Heath to look 

 at the skeleton of a highwayman hanging 

 in chains, in the skull of which some tom- 

 tits had built their nests." 



A very remarkable character of the 

 Forest passed awa}' about three years 

 ago in old Brusher Mills, who for many 

 years had picked up a hving as a snake 

 catcher. At one time he made a fairly 

 good hving by this curious trade, supply- 

 mg the Zoological Gardens and dealers 

 with grass snakes and adders. 



For many years he hved in a rude hut 

 that he had built for himself in the Forest, 

 and it was a very sore point with old 

 Brusher that the verderers turned him 

 out of his hut and destroyed it. It was a 

 necessary act, however, because the old 

 man had remained on the site so long that 

 it was almost approaching the time when 

 he could have claimed squatter's rights. 



The Verderer's Court, in which all 

 offences against the Forest laws are tried, 

 is called the Court of Swain Mote ; a 

 name which, according to Manwood, is 

 derived from the old Saxon word " mote," 

 equivalent to the Norman " court," and 

 the famihar " swain," or freeholder. 



The foresters are permitted to turn out 

 to graze in the Forest a certain number 

 of ponies and cattle ; they also have 

 rights to cut turf which is used for fuel ; 

 and those foresters who hold the full 

 commoner's rights are permitted to turn 

 out tlicir pigs in the legal " ovesting " 

 or " pawnage " months, when the acorns 

 and beech mast have faUcn to the 

 ground ; that is, from about September 

 25th to November 22nd. 



One of the most typical sights in tlie 

 New Forest during the early summer is 

 that of the half-wild ponies and their 



foals. During the daytime, in the summer, 

 the ponies frequent the open land, where 

 there is generally a gentle breeze blowing 

 which helps to keep away the irritating 

 flies, and it is a pretty sight to see the 

 foals at play, chasing each other across 

 the lawns and frolicking in the wann 

 summer sunlight. 



As evening approaches the mares whinny 

 to their foals, and generally draw off to- 

 wards the Forest glades, seeking shelter 

 and warmth in the denser foliage during 

 the night. 



One of the most remarkable things 

 about these ponies, to my mind, is their 

 knowledge of the treacherous marshlands. 

 Here and there, scattered over the Forest, 

 we come upon areas of marshy, quaking 

 bog, where one has to pick one's foot- 

 steps with considerable caution. The 

 quaking bogs are areas of soft spongy 

 land that tremble beneath your footsteps, 

 and where you have to w^alk circumspectly, 

 for a false step means an immersion in the 

 bog, or possibly even one's total dis- 

 appearance beneath the surface. 



Now when wandering out across the bog- 

 land studying and examining the plants 

 peculiar to that environment, or observing 

 the birds that frequent these lonely wastes, 

 one remarks at once the tracks of the 

 Forest ponies ; and so long as one follows 

 in their footsteps there is little fear of 

 going through the surface of the bog to 

 a greater depth than, perhaps, over one's 

 ankles. It is wonderful the way in which 

 these paths twist and turn through the 

 bog ; the ponies, apparently by some 

 instinct, knowing exactly how far they 

 may venture out on these treacherous, 

 quaking lands. The result is that, unless 

 driven frantic by fear, they travel across 

 the bog-land without any mishap ; and, 

 indeed, it is a very rare occurrence for a 

 Forest pony to founder in the marsh. 



Returning home one evening through 

 the Forest, I came upon a curious friend- 

 ship existing between a hen and a cow 

 belonging to one of the foresters. The 

 cow was turned out of her byre every 

 morning and wandered off into the Forest 

 accompanied by this white hen. When 

 the hen grew tired she would fly up on to 

 the back of the cow and sit down com- 

 fortably and calmly and have a ride. I 

 found that there was a good deal of give 



