228 Agricultural Capabilities of tlie New Forest. 
rights can, of course, be ascertained by public auction ; and so can 
the value of the right of pasturage over that portion of the forest 
to be retained as public land for recreation. Tliere are, of course, 
acres, I may say miles, of forest which afford little or no sus- 
tenance to either horses or cattle ; but they are so interspersed 
with patches which afford either a scanty or abundant feed, that 
no line can be drawn between them. If, however, we take the 
whole acreage not enclosed, and divide the same by the number 
of animals, we shall find about 1 2 acres per animal as the pro- 
duct of the calculation, or about an average renting value of 
Is. Qd. per acre. It may be worth mentioning, that in Exmoor 
Forest, where the celebrated Exmoor ponies are raised, it is, 
or used to be, customary to let the feed at so much per head, 
according to the age of the animal ; thus three-year-old cattle 
were charged 1/., and horses of any age 1/. hs,, and sheep 2s. 'dd. 
for the twelvemonth. 
The pannage, considering the short time in which it can be 
exercised, viz., from September 25 to November 22, is of more 
comparative value than the pasturage; and as it yields a certain 
amount of revenue to the Crown, viz.. Is. for pigs under one year, 
and 2s. above, the number of swine can be more accurately 
ascertained than in the case of other animals. I am indebted to 
the courtesy of the Deputy-Surveyor for the information afforded 
by the following Table : — 
Number of Pigs tw-ned into the New Forest during 5 Years, 
from 1865 to 1869. 
1865 1,575 
1866 5,893 
1867 3,475 
1868 5,139 
1869 3,721 
19,803 
Average per annum . . 3,960 
It will probably be the best plan to ascertain the money value 
of this right of feeding the acorns and mast to satisfy the claim 
in the same manner as the other rights are disposed of, and then 
to relet hereafter the pannage for a fixed number of swine; as, 
of course, so long as the planted portion is retained, the pannage 
will be of some value. 
It has already been stated that the Forest was once consider- 
ably more than double its present size. Not that the Crown had 
the same kind of right over the whole, for a considerable portion 
