COMMONS. 87 



As might be supposed, a sheep common as used by 

 the early settlers signified as much land as would fur- 

 nish commonage or pasturage for a sheep. Its original 

 equivalent seems to have been an acre and a half of 

 land. In the olden time all the land, except such 

 pieces as were set aside for homesteads, and designated 

 as " house-lot land," was held in common by the 

 twenty-seven original proprietors. Estimating the 

 whole extent of available land in round numbers at 

 about 29,000 acres, each man's share would be 

 720 commons for sheep. The product of 720 X 27 = 

 19,440, which represents the whole number of sheep 

 commons at the outset. When at a later period cer- 

 tain large tracts of land were laid out to form " divis- 

 ions,'' and designated by names such as "Squam," 

 u Southeast Quarter," " Smooth Hummocks," etc., each 

 division was divided into twenty-seven shares as nearly 

 equal in size as the nature of the case would admit, — 

 quality and quantity considered. When these divis- 

 ions were laid out, the number of proprietors was no 

 longer twenty-seven, as it was constantly increasing by 

 inheritance as well as by bargain and sale, and few 

 individuals could claim a whole share in any one of 

 the divisions ; but each share was supposed to contain 

 seven hundred and twenty undivided parts, and each 

 land-owner owned the same fractional interest in one 

 of these shares as in a full share of all the common 

 iands. Lots were then drawn to determine in what 

 particular share of the new division each man's inter- 

 est should fall. The share might contain one acre, 

 or it might contain fifty acres, according to the ex- 

 tent of the division laid out; but 720 was the con- 



