FEBRUARY 119 



cost of i7/ I pointed out that, speaking prima facie, and with a 

 mind open to correction, it seemed useless to spend i?/. of the 

 parish money upon a safe when we had few or no documents to 

 put in it. But although the Council as a body admitted that 

 there was some force in this argument, it was not held to be con- 

 clusive, since, urged the opposition, there might at some future 

 time be documents, and that then a safe would be greatly missed. 

 The matter came up again and again ; indeed, I am not sure that 

 it was settled when, at last, I resigned the chairmanship. I did 

 not again stand for the Parish Council, as it seemed to me that 

 the amount of time spent in discussion was disproportionate to 

 the results achieved. Possibly, however, we are an extra argu- 

 mentative set in Ditchingham, and in other parishes it may be 

 different. 



February 25. I have been ill for the last few days and unable 

 to go about the farm, but this afternoon I managed to get out for 

 a little to see the drilling, until I chanced to meet the doctor, who 

 sent me home. On the 23rd we drilled the oats on the top of the 

 fourteen-acre on Baker's, No. 42, and on the 24th on the two 

 pieces of glebe, Nos. 39 and 40. Here they went in but fairly 

 well, for, after it has been ploughed for some weeks, this land, 

 being so gravelly, has a tendency to set hard and impede the 

 action of the drill. 



The two bullocks which I mentioned as having been sold on the 

 22nd turned the scale when cleaned at 47^ stone each, that is, 

 exactly midway between the estimates of the seller and buyer. This 

 is instructive, as it suggests that a man's perfectly honest preju- 

 dice in his own favour amounts to about five per cent. at least 

 where cattle are concerned. It was supposed by both parties 

 that one of these little bullocks weighed three stone more than 

 the other. In fact, however, the difference was only three 

 pounds, which shows how easily the best and most experienced 

 judges may be deceived in their estimates of the weight of live 

 stock. 



