THE DAILY LIFE OF OUR FARM. 181 



where I am anxious to establisli a spring, we came 

 incessantly upon rock, and have had to knock up the 

 tube and adjourn. In one place certainly we hit a 

 crevice, a fact that was indicated by the tubes per- 

 sistently taking an oblique direction under influence 

 of the blows of the monkey, and getting full of water 

 some feet in depth. However, when we screwed the 

 pump on it would not work, and I have since found 

 that we had got into a pocket of clay, wherein it is 

 difficult to establish a well after this patent. But get 

 into a sandbed, and it's rare fun. I have just been 

 examinino^ the settlement of colourinof matter in a 

 tumbler full of thick water that we pumped out of a 

 new place just before dark. There is an inch of water, 

 clear and bright enough, resting on a stratum of the 

 oiliest-looking marl, and beneath the marl a stratum of 

 beautifully fine and extremely keen sand, almost too 

 fine, I fear. The sand we desire to strike is of about 

 partridge-shot size. I have already had fifteen pounds' 

 worth of gratification afforded me by that seven pounds' 

 purchase, and there's a lot more coming. 



The results of our various experiments, whether they 

 turned out for better or worse, it is right we should 

 record. The swede crop that I had intended ploughing 

 up has begun to spring in earnest, so that we hope we 

 shall have a sufficient quantity to prevent our playing 

 tricks with the regular course of cropping. The man- 

 gold-wurzel has swelled grandly of late, and I shall 

 have a really good weighty yield ; but it is curious that 

 a few of Sutton's champion swedes, the seed of which 

 got deposited with the mangold seed in May, although 

 showing a fine bunch of leaves, have at base only a 

 tough long thin radish-shaped bulb, showing to my 



