sentences:  In 1936, he spent £85 (about a working man's wages for half a year) at one New Plymouth nursery alone and, by the end of his life, he had spent on average £1000 annually on plants from overseas and New Zealand".In the 1920s, Cook could still finance the expansion of his property from his other income and funds, but in his mid-fifties, he had to sell of his farmland to get further money for planting new trees in the 'Circus' park.At the end of his life, Douglas Cook had effectively invested all his money in his arboretum.