The Landowner 



as was capable of improvement, and by gradually 

 ploughing up and cropping the hopelessly bad 

 pasture. 



(3) By so improving the land through better 

 cultivation and by the application of lime, 

 artificials, etc., that half and quarter crops 

 would be the exception instead of the rule and 

 the yield of all crops would be increased. 



It was a large business to handle, and many 

 mistakes were made. 



One of the chief mistakes, I think, was the 

 sharing of the services of the expert with several 

 of my neighbouring landowners. At the time 

 I was glad to take this course, but looking back 

 I am now convinced that my own 3,000 acres 

 alone, considering the condition they were in, 

 required more work than the one man could 

 properly give. In consequence of this joint 

 employment of an expert the whole plan failed 

 to a great extent in execution. But the chief 

 source of loss arose from increasing the head 

 of stock before we had sufficiently augmented the 

 supply of foodstuffs by means of fodder crops, 

 etc. We might have succeeded, however, if an 

 unusual drought had not supervened, which still 

 further reduced the supply of food on the farms 

 and necessitated large purchases of fodder and 

 even of straw, a course which is always disas- 

 trous to the finances of a farm. 



I farmed these three large farms for four 



31 



