LAND NEAR TOWN OR RAIL 69 



and salesmen's charges before they have any prospect of 

 a crop. This wasted energy should be put into the 

 planting and cultivation of the land, and it will amply pay 

 for the attention. 



Land near to a Town or Railway. Planters on a 

 large scale will do well to give this matter full con- 

 sideration. Proximity to a railway provides facilities for 

 prompt despatch of produce, and also convenient carriage 

 of manure from the cities or towns. But land which is 

 situated near to a town or railway station is so much dearer 

 that it may pay better, after all, to get land which is further 

 afield, as a horse and van are needed for road cartage and 

 also for work on the land, and once fruit is loaded up, 

 a few extra miles are not very serious. Much time can 

 be saved by arranging purchases to be brought back in 

 the van. 



Cheap Land. Many planters have had cause to regret 

 that they commenced cultivation on a particular piece of 

 land merely because it was cheap. If the soil is clay it 

 requires first of all to be artificially drained, and afterwards 

 it needs years of tillage, before it is brought into a good 

 working condition, and, if situated in a valley, serious losses 

 are likely to be suffered from spring frosts. Hungry, sandy 

 soil requires very much manure to make it fertile, and the 

 virtue of applied dung so soon gets washed below the feeding 

 roots, that this soil also proves very expensive. Good loamy 

 soil is easier to work and more lasting. Thin, chalky soil 

 is often too dry in summer and should be avoided. 



Purchase of Land. It is best for planters to buy free- 

 hold land, if their capital will permit them to do this, or 

 even to purchase land, and let half the money be raised 



