THE SPOILING OF THE LAND. 
225 
so obvious that they hardly require mentioning, and we only 
refer to them in order that we may not be accused of a wish to 
encourage “ wild nature ” to the detriment of the farmer or the 
traveller. 
At present, however, every one of these characteristic 
features of our English scenery is not only in imminent danger, 
but actually in course of destruction ; and the result in many dis- 
tricts is alarmingly apparent. The road-side strips of grass, 
pleasant to the eye and restful to the feet, have been ruthlessly 
stripped and scraped away, and this in little-used country roads, 
already more than broad enough for any traffic that is ever likely 
to pass over them. The hedges are cut down — not by the 
farmer, who might plead justification for such action, and not 
only when their exuberance encroaches on the footway, but 
even when a ditch runs between them and the road : or they 
are cut straight along the front, so as to present a uniform 
straight surface. The vegetation of the banks is ruthlessly torn, 
scraped and scarified — not that it is doing any harm or in any 
way interfering with the good ordering of roadway or footpath, 
but apparently because it is necessary to find work for certain 
folk when nothing useful can be found for them to do. The 
result of this cannot fail to be the extermination of many rare 
and interesting plants. To make matters worse, the loppings of 
hedges, the dehvh from the banks, the scrapings from the road- 
sides, are in many instances left for days, and even weeks, 
to blow about where the wind listeth,'thus producing an effect 
of untidiness greatly in excess of that which these features would 
present if left alone. 
In what we have written there is no word of exaggeration. 
We can cite, simply from the observations of this autumn — for 
this year the work of devastation began earlier than last — 
numberless instances of everything we have mentioned, and of 
many similarly destructive operations. So far as we can learn 
these operations are undertaken at the order of the local District 
Councils. We may be wrong, but the impression conveyed to 
our minds is that these bodies employ a certain number of men 
for whom they are bound to find occupation, and there being, as 
we have already said, nothing useful for them to do, they are 
turned on to this kind of work. If this be so, things will go 
steadily from bad to worse. Indeed, they are already progress- 
ing in that direction, for this year the work has not only begun 
earlier but it is being carried out more vigorously. 
We see only two ways in which this disastrous state of affairs 
can be remedied. The first is by means of the press, which, 
unfortunately, has so far been singularly apathetic. The second 
is by the presence on the local district councils of men who will 
use their influence in the direction of restraining the destruc- 
tive policy which apparently dominates these organizations. If 
Selbornians in their respective districts would take the matter in 
hand, and get themselves or other suitable persons returned for 
