[The Saucepan Man]

its in appendix A after The Disaster of the gladden fields. There is that why the hobbits decreased in size.

Mahal. I think that this must be the passage that you are referring to:

In another version of this note more is said of the diminishing stature of both Halflings and Numenoreans:

The dwindling of the Dunedain was not a normal tendency, shared by people whose proper home was Middle-earth; but due to the loss of their ancient land far in the West, nearest of all mortal lands to the Undying Realm. The much later dwindling of hobbits must be due to a change in their state and way of life; they became a fugitive and secret people, driven (as Men, the Big Folk, became more and more numerous, usurping the more fertile and habitable lands) to refuge in forest and wilderness: a wandering and poor folk, forgetful of their arts, living a precarious life absorbed in the search for food, and fearful of being seen.

Now, I read this recently and interpreted it as a comment on what happened to Hobbits after the advent of the Fourth Age. Christopher Tolkien prefaces the passage as a comment on Hobbits' (and Numenoreans') diminishing stature, but this, I think, must be referring to their diminishing stature as a race. In other words, as time passed, Men (of the standard size) became more dominant and Hobbits became marginalised. The word "dwindling" in reference to both the Dunedain and the Hobbits is referring, I think, to their dwindling in population, influence and innate power.

And looking at the passage agin, there are three key reasons why I think that this interpretation must be the right one:

First, it starts off by talking about the dwindling of the Numenorean race from the time of Numenor to the time of the War of the Ring. Now, I do not believe that Numenoreans significantly diminished in height over this period, so it must be talking in terms of their diminishing power as a race.

Secondly, the reference to Hobbits being driven to take refuge in forest and wilderness and losing touch with their arts seems to be talking about a time after their existence in the Shire.

And thirdly, their marginalisation is by the "Big Folk", so they must already have been small in (physical) stature at the start of the process.

So, I think that this passage is talking about why Hobbits did not continue to exist as a dominant race as the Fourth Age (and the successive Ages) progressed.

And, what a sad postscript for Hobbit-kind. [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img]