BEDINGHAM, DITCJIINGHAM ^ THE FARMS 43 



above advice (even should he go wrong on the Chippendale), it 

 will, I believe, prove the most profitable work to him for which he 

 ever paid money. Yet, under the existing conditions of agricul- 

 tural affairs, in advising the purchase of East Anglian land at any 

 price, on reflection, I feel that I may be wrong. 



And now, having sufficiently contemplated the cloud, let us 

 look at its silver lining. If I am somewhat out of pocket over 

 my farms for the period that they have been in hand, it is largely 

 due to exceptional circumstances, such as the state of the land 

 when I took it over that necessitated an unusual outlay, and, 

 so far as the light soil is concerned, the persistent droughts of 

 the last few years, which have made it very unproductive. More- 

 over, it would seem that at last the corner has been turned, 

 seeing that on separate balance sheets struck for 1897, by which 

 I mean balance sheets that do not carry on the trading losses 

 of earlier years, a profit was earned on the Bedingham Farm of 

 75/. 195. 3^., and on the Ditchingham Farm of 252/. 13^'. 2d. 

 It must, however, be understood that this money remains in the 

 land — one cannot draw it out and spend it ; though, on the other 

 hand, there is a substantial cash balance at the bank, over and 

 above the amount originally belonging to the farm. Moreover, 

 there is now a total of sixty-two acres of my own land laid down in 

 permanent pasture, thirty-eight and a half at Ditchingham, and 

 twenty-three and a half at Bedingham, all of which, in time, as 

 I trust, will make good sound meadows, worth from a pound to 

 thirty shillings the acre. 



Also this farm, which eight years ago was in so desperate a 

 condition, is to-day, with the exception of certain docks in the 

 marsh meadows, in good heart, and where necessary pipe-drained. 

 At Bedingham, too, the tall fences that 1 found there have gone 

 under the soil in the shape of bush-drains, and the land generally 

 is not in such a state that I should be ashamed for a farming 

 friend to walk over it, though there remain jobs to be done to 

 the buildings. Notably a new stable is wanted, but the present old 

 hovel still serves its purpose, and must hang for a few more years. 



