128 OUR WOODLAND TREES. 
law of necessity for making our woods give way 
over a large extent of country before the advance 
of the husbandman. But undoubtedly the hmit 
of cultivation, so far as the cultivable area is con- 
cerned, has already been more than reached; and 
there has, too often, been evidenced—more espe- 
cially, perhaps, of late years—a ruthless disre- 
gard of natural beauty in the unscrupulous de- 
struction of beautiful Trees, not always—indeed 
not generally—for purposes of utility: too often 
for the satisfaction of private greed. 
Had we still the entire extent of what is called 
the New Forest—‘ new’ now no longer; and were 
the whole of this area unbroken wood, it would 
not be too large for the recreation and enjoyment 
of our toiling population. Much of it, however, 
is no longer public land, and it is sad to see the 
extent to which enclosure has been carried. The 
Trees have also disappeared over a large surface 
of what was, in former times, undoubtedly thickly- 
wooded country. Much of this land still exists 
as breezy gorse-clad common, and as such remains 
as the people’s inheritance; and there is many a 
stretch of Tree-covered upland, many a leafy 
