CHAPTER III 



WANBOROUGH PLAIN DAYS 



AT Michaelmas 1893 my father took over 

 Wanborough Plain, a farm of some 450 acres 

 of mostly arable land. After the preceding dry 

 summer the ingoing valuation was a high one. 

 Prices for the fodder crops were pretty stiff, but 

 then we sold them off at a good price. The straw, 

 I know, was soon cleared at around £5 per ton, and 

 hay -£12 to £13 per ton. Many years later the 

 same situation presented itself when I came into 

 Burderop. It really cuts both ways, provided, of 

 course, one does not get into a tangle when signing 

 the farm agreement. But to-day any obligation 

 not to sell hay and straw is not tolerated, or ever 

 will be again I should imagine. All that really 

 matters is that one should give an obligation to keep 

 up a good head of stock. 



The date I have mentioned, 1893, was the begin- 

 ning of twenty-six years of my life spent on Wan- 

 borough Plain. Years which brought many inci- 

 dents to me and gave much colour to the neigh- 

 bourhood. Colour was introduced by the coming, 

 soon after I arrived, of a strong racing contingent 

 headed by the great trainer W. T. Robinson, 



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