HISTORY OF PURCHASE 67 



auction. A farm was about to be hammered 

 down at a price that seemed an unusually 

 cheap bargain. JMr. Fels, who was evidently 

 in a speculative mood, accordingly made a bid, 

 and forthwith became the owner of a property 

 he had never seen and probably never heard of 

 before. The purchase price was about £7 or 

 £8 per acre and the area some 700 acres. This 

 briefly is the history of the acquisition of the 

 estate. 



The next move was immediately to deter- 

 mine what should be done with his purchase. 

 Mr. Fels had long cherished the idea of settling 

 a group of small holdings on lines which he 

 hoped would prove successful. The oppor- 

 tunity of putting this scheme into operation 

 was now presented, and to this use it was 

 decided the property should be put. A visit 

 to the estate was consequently made for the 

 first time to formulate his plans into a definite 

 proposition. 



On arrival the land must certainly have 

 accorded an uninviting reception to its new 

 owner. About 150 acres consist of saltings 

 and are impossible to cultivate. The remainder 

 is a heavy clay, as heavy as could be found in 



