The preternaturally fine, weather lof the past three weeks, stil, eloudint sunshine day' after its dangerous. side, not only in the drying up of gardens When alt young planta and "seeds the prevalent forest fires. To-day are ly" needing water,
coming over the lovely stretch of common between Woking and Chobham Y saw many sad wide patches of blackened stumps "and Scorched earth. A fire in the re~ gion of Virginia Water, " which Turned a considerable expanse, has Jed: to, special notices, being. issued appealing to the public to be careful in dropping cigarette ends. by making' fires for plenies anywhere in the Great Park and its neighbourhood. On. the. Newburgh Priory Estate, in Yorkshire over }500 acres of " valuable" moorland were burnt out at the beginning of this. week.
Worst of all have been the fires in Ashdown Forest, no fewer than 82 of them in the past few weeks, the last of them occurring four days ago. Patches burt range to as mach as 25 acres in some places, fand in all not less than 770 acres, Here unfortunately there is not the slightest. doubt that incendiary ies have been at work, Ashdown Forest, was put_under the control of a Board of Conservaters in 1855, and their duties are expressly to defend certain rights fof. commoners—grazing, firewood cutting and so forth—and to check forest. lands from being enclose Unfortunately the commoners pes, to. ave got it into woads latterly that the Board are [working against them, though with the Board' declare, and re their revenge, When wuts get an iden into they are as dificult to Shantung men,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.