308 BIRD LIFE IN ENGLAND. 



proviso of the law : namely, that the exercise of this right 

 shall be limited absolutely to the proprietors whether nobles 

 or peasants of not less than two hundred and forty Bava- 

 rian acres * of land if situate in the plain, or of four hundred 

 Bavarian acres if in the mountains ; and further, to the 

 proprietors of this extent of land only in those cases in. 

 which the entire two hundred and forty or four hundred 

 acres respectively lie altogether so as to constitute one com- 

 pact plot or parcel of land not intersected or divided by 

 other lands. From this limitation, as to the rights of the 

 chase, the law, however, exempts smaller portions of land if 

 completely inclosed by a wall or other description of thick 

 fence, as well as gardens and other plots of ground imme- 

 diately attached to country houses or farm buildings, pro- 

 vided they be railed in ; and further, no piece of land is held 

 to be otherwise than compact or undivided in the sense 

 of this law, if merely intersected by a road or stream. 



As I have already stated, the number of proprietors of 

 large landed estates, it may even be said of estates of more 

 than a few hundred acres lying compactly together, is very 

 limited in Bavaria, whilst by far the larger proportion of 

 the land is in the hands of so-called peasant proprietors, 

 owning on an average perhaps from fifty to a hundred acres. 



Consequently, the practical result of the enactment above 

 described is that, as a general rule, the rights of the chase 

 in this country are enjoyed by persons who hire them from 

 the communal authorities, the exception to the rule being 

 the case of a proprietor exercising those rights on his own 

 land. 



The size of the communes varies very considerably in 

 different districts of Bavaria ; but I am informed that it may 

 be assumed on an average, at about two thousand or three 

 thousand Bavarian acres. The price usually obtained for 

 the lease of the shooting depends, I need hardly state, very 

 greatly on the locality of the commune, and on the quantity 

 * One hundred acres on " Tagwerke," are equal to 84^ English acres. 



