Book Introduction: Reference is made to arrangements proposed by the British Government in 1870 for the preparation and publication of a compilation of information in regard to the past history and management of English Forests and to circumstances which have led meanwhile to arrangements for the publication of this compilation.

In the absence of any previous work for the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, I prepared for myself a rough sketch of the history of British forests, and the treatment of them from the earliest times to the present ; and this having served my purpose, I have filled up the outline and revised the compilation for the press, hoping that in the lack of something better it may be acceptable to others desiring such information.

Local Notes and Queries, and other Antiquarian and Natural History Matters connected with the County of Hampshire.

From the preface: It has often been suggested that there should be some permanent record of the meetings of the Hampshire Field Club. This Club is doing much by its periodical visits to various parts of the county to make known many interesting features in out of the way corners, and to elicit an interest in local antiquities, which has already borne fruit in increased study and better preservation.

The only full and regularly published reports of these meetings are those of The Hampshire Independent, and the republication of these will doubtless be welcomed by many besides members of the Club.

Charles John Cornish (1858 to 1906).

1 - THE CENTRAL FOREST AND ITS CAPITAL
2 - THE CENTRAL FOREST CONTINUED
3 - THE WILD DEER AND FOREST PONIES
4 - THE NORTHERN FOREST
5 - THE SOUTHERN FOREST AND BEAULIEU

From the text: Lyndhurst - The town has no mean outskirts, or squalid surroundings. The woodlands run up to its old houses like a sea ; and the parks surrounding the fine mansions, which fringe the forest capital, are mere incidents in its scenery, lost and absorbed in the wild woods around them.

Beyond Emery Down - The only trace of man's presence was the rudest and most primitive dwelling known to civilized life. In the centre of a clearing, surrounded on three sides by a towering ring of monster beeches, was a deserted charcoal burner's hut, with the "burning circle" in front of the door.

John Richard de Capel Wise (1831 to 1890).

The New Forest: its History and Scenery’ was first published in 1863. The book by which all others are measured.

It ran to five editions with a number of variations in the 19th century together with a reprint in the 20th. It remains a standard work because he captured an understanding of the area by his own observations and enquiries together with enlisting help from many local specialists.

The book contained sixty-two illustrations drawn by Walter Crane and engraved by William James Linton. Wise walked through the district with Walter Crane selecting the views to illustrate. This would prove to be Wise's most successful book

Gerald Lascelles was the 2nd Deputy Surveyor of the New Forest from 1880 to 1914. This book contains a detailed account of the author's time at The Queen's House in Lyndhurst while overseeing 92,000 acres. The The Forestry Commission was not established till 1919.

From the author: "....From the time of my appointment to that of my retirement, my leisure hours, except when on leave, were few, and had always to be made up for by working double tides. My home, however, was in the New Forest, at the old King's House (the Queen's House for all the earlier years of my service) at Lyndhurst ; and it is with my experiences there, rather than with my other work, that I propose to deal in these pages. I do not propose to attempt anything in the shape of a history of the New Forest that would be a difficult and much more serious undertaking!"