Report on the Farm-Prize Competition of 1874. 569 



7 yards apart, at his own expense ; and in one year he dug and 

 levelled with the spade ^h acres of old grass, and did 33 miles 

 of draining. I think it was the year following that he was 

 awarded a silver cup, offered by Lord Charles Russell, for " The 

 Tenant-Farmer who should have done the most draining at his 

 own expense." 



Fifteen years ago, the farm, which then belonged to Delme 

 RadclifFe, Esq., of Hitchin, was bought by the Duke of Bedford, 

 and since then great improvements have been made, for the late 

 and also the present Duke seem to have been always ready to 

 help those who have tried to help themselves ; and it is no doubt 

 owing to this that there are so many first-class tenants on his 

 Grace's estates. The accompanying plans (pp. 570, 571) of the 

 farm as it was, and now is, will show the alterations that hav^e 

 been made by removing old fences (of which 10 miles have 

 been stubbed up by Mr. Checkley at a cost of I5. per pole), 

 and the site of the new buildings erected by the Duke two 

 years ago. The farm is now laid out in fields of from 20 to 

 40 acres each. 



The new quicks, except a few previously planted by Mr^ 

 Checkley, have been planted by the Duke, who has, until two 

 years ago, when they were thrown to the tenant, cleaned and 

 kept them in repair entirely at his own expense. 



The four-course system of cropping is adopted entirely, viz. : 



1. Fallow, all roots if possible. 



2. Barley or oats. 



3. Half beans and half clover. 



4. Wheat. 



Fallow. — As soon as the wheat stubbles are cleared after 

 harvest, and the land forked, it is broken up with a steam 

 cultivator twice over, which is hired for the purpose, from 9 to 

 10 inches deep, at a cost, including coal and labour, of 30s. per 

 acre. Horses were used until two years ago, when Mr. Checkley 

 was persuaded to use steam power, and of this change on his 

 strong land he has already found the benefit. Farmyard dung 

 to the amount of from 25 to 27 loads per acre is put on if 

 possible in the autumn or winter, with 5 or 6 cwt. of salt sown 

 broadcast over it, and then nothing further is done until about 

 the first week in April, when the land is ridged up and 2 cwt. 

 of superphosphate or mangold manure is sown between the 

 ridges, which are then split and drilled with mangold (orange 

 globe being nearly always grown), about 4 lbs. of seed per acre, 

 and 28 inches between the rows. After being horse-hoed several 

 times, and when the plants are sufficiently strong, they are set 

 out 24 inches apart at a cost of 3s. Gd. per acre, Mr. Checkley 

 finding boys to do the singling, which costs dd. per acre more ; 



