RANCHING INCIDENTS. 71 



to sell me his property. By that time I was com- 

 mitted to Bonnington : the property there was paid 

 for, and I had sunk an appreciable amount of addi- 

 tional capital towards developing the place. My 

 preparations for erecting greenhouses were already 

 well advanced. The glass was on the spot, the timber 

 was ordered and (in the Canadian phrase) might be 

 "shipped" any day. And I had no fault to find 

 with my Bonnington purchase. I felt I should act 

 unwisely to make any change. After taking some 

 time to think over the offer — which was in some ways 

 a tempting one — I made up my mind to decline it. 

 But it was decreed that the matter should not rest 

 there. 



I was again brought into contact with the owner 

 of the ranch. He renewed his offer. In the mean- 

 time the attractions which I had formerly seen 

 in it had acquired added importance, and other 

 reasons why it might be a desirable thing to make 

 a move had begun to press in upon my mind. This 

 time I did not hesitate very long, but resolved to close 

 with the offer. In this way I became the owner of two 

 fruit ranches before I had been six months in the 

 country. There was a keen and growing demand for 

 fruit land, and prices were steadily going up, so that 

 I did not think I was running any very serious risk 

 in saddling m3'self with this additional responsibility. 

 For another thing, in the new ranch I should be 

 much nearer Nelson, and on a waggon road only three 

 miles distant. We should thus be able to sell and 

 deliver our flowering plants and cut flowers and other 

 greenhouse produce with our own vehicles inde- 

 pendently of the railway. Moreover, the two children 



