Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/26

 14 contitutions, appears to be the heir at law. Hence it follows, that, where the appointment is regularly made, there cannot be a hadow of right in any one but the peron appointed: and, where the neceary requiites are omitted, the right of the heir is equally trong and built upon as olid a foundation, as the right of the diviee would have been, uppoing uch requiites were oberved.

, after all, there are ome few things, which notwithtanding the general introduction and continuance of property, mut till unavoidably remain in common; being uch wherein nothing but an uufructuary property is capable of being had; and therefore they till belong to the firt occupant, during the time he holds poeion of them, and no longer. Such (among others) are the elements of light, air, and water; which a man may occupy by means of his windows, his gardens, his mills, and other conveniences: uch alo are the generality of thoe animals which are aid to be ferae naturae, or of a wild and untameable dipoition; which any man may eie upon and keep for his own ue or pleaure. All thee things, o long as they remain in poeion, every man has a right to enjoy without diturbance; but if once they ecape from his cutody, or he voluntarily abandons the ue of them, they return to the common tock, and any man ele has an equal right to eie and enjoy them afterwards.

Rh
 * there are other things, in which a permanent property may ubit, not only as to the temporary ue, but alo the olid ubitance; and which yet would be frequently found without a proprietor, had not the widom of the law provided a remedy to obviate this inconvenience. Such are forets and other wate grounds, which were omitted to be appropriated in the general ditribution of lands: uch alo are wrecks, etrays, and that pecies of wild animals, which the arbitrary contitutions of poitive law have ditinguied from the ret by the well-known appellation of game. With regard to thee and ome others, as