THIRTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE NEW FOREST.
By the Hon. GERALD LASCELLES.
With Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 12s. 6d. net.
It is safe to say that never before has a book been written about the New Forest by a writer with such qualifications for the task as the author of this interesting work. Brought up in the atmosphere of large estates, he was appointed to an official post in the New Forest at a comparatively early age, and has spent the best years of a long life there. The whole series of its records has been at his disposal, and engaged as he has been for over thirty years in administering its resources, promoting its welfare, and composing the rival claims of its inhabitants, he has gradually acquired an unequalled knowledge of its history, forestry, sport, and politics. Its politics he has left severely alone, but on all other topics he enlarges with the affectionate zeal of a true lover of the woods. Much entertaining and curious information about forest customs and hunting lore in bygone times will be found in the volume; the vicissitudes of the famous King’s House at Lyndhurst are traced, and the entertainment it provided for the royal visitors. The successive steps taken in regard to the magnificent timber of the forest, the deer, the game, and the privileges of its inhabitants, are vividly described, and the results of modern sport are contrasted with those of earlier days. The author is equally at home in the hunting field or the game covert, and as a modern devotee of hawking knows few rivals. He has already made his mark in literature by his contributions to the Badminton volume on Falconry and to the Victoria County History of Hampshire.