FARMING AND FOXHUNTING 



answer ? Ah, not a bit of good," the old man 

 would say, " Horder, you can tell us," and a smile 

 of satisfaction came over the old man's face, when, 

 of course, the correct answer was forthcoming from 

 the Lord to be. And then there was another 

 renowned man at Snell's during my short stay — 

 E. B. Maton — who afterwards filled the farming 

 world with amazement at the beginning of this 

 century, but I cannot think that he derived much 

 farming information from Snell's school at Swindon. 

 I remember that he was there as a junior master 

 and left, I believe, after me, to start his farming 

 career. I have often wondered how he came to 

 do it, and can only conclude that he had a most 

 amazing faculty to pick out his farm managers — 

 men who knew more than he did himself. But 

 whatever it was, the fact remains that he was in 

 his day a most successful farmer by general consent. 



By the early part of 1889 my schooling days came 

 to an end and the very important question was put, 

 " Are you going to be a farmer or have you an idea 

 of something else ? " As far as I can remember 

 the question did not long remain in doubt and a 

 farmer it was to be. Where is the farmer who has 

 sons (I was never so fortunate) who can resist the 

 temptation to have one around him when he leaves 

 school just to relieve the tension ? Has he not been 

 looking forward to it for years ? Is he not then 

 provided with some cheap labour at cost price, 

 besides someone to get up in the early mornings to 

 give the orders for the day ? 



I well remember climbing up the step-ladder of 



8 



