COUNTRY LIFE
A Crisis in Preservation
The National Trust has come to a crisis or something very like it ; and the fact was not hidden by those who spoke on its behalf at an entertainment in London this week. The history of a particular event within my own accidental knowledge will illustrate the nature of the crisis. A beautiful estate in the West was sold by its owner, and bought, chiefly perhaps for the profit of its timber. Almost every tree up to walking-stick size was cut down and rough scrub succeeded. Worse than this, the top of one of the loveliest hills in the West began to be " developed " ; and development means the multiplication of what Carlyle called "concrete mendacities." This was more than one neighbour could endure and he, or she, bought the hill top and offered it to the National Trust. The gift was refused, wholly and solely for the reason that the National Trust could not afford to accept it The purchasers arc left in a quandary. They want to protect the site in perpetuity; and find the alterna- tives not easy. * * * *
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