The New Landowner
The question has now arisen whether this body should, or could, own land. In all parts of the country I myself, and doubtless others with greater frequency find people who desire that bits of land should be preserved " in perpetuity." Here is a Devon landowner who hates the thought of his charming valley being ruined. Here are members of the public who, finding access difficult and seeing desecration, demand a National- Park. Here are naturalists seeking to keep the breeding home of a rare or precious species (of bird, insect or plant) permanently inviolate. The serious efforts now being made to create a National Park are bringing into the open the necessity of at least a certain amount of land purchase and ownership by a permanent body or Trust. We have some delightful examples of friendly co-operation. Scolt Head, for example, famous among naturalists, on many accounts, is owned by the National Trust but surveyed and managed for the most part by the Norfolk Naturalists Trust, which else- where is itself a landowner.
Previous page
