It was a saying in the place that not a speck of dust could be blown on to the estate by the wind, or a straw blown off, without it being duly entered in the master's books.
Cecil's idea was to excel in all things.

Some had been famous for shorthorns before him, others for sheep, and others again for wheat.

He would be celebrated for all.

His shorthorns should fetch fabulous prices; his sheep should be known all over the world; his wheat should be the crop of the season.

In this way he invested his capital in the soil with a thoroughness unsurpassed.