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REPORT OF THE JUDGES ON THE 



CHAMPIONSHIP HEDGING COMPETITION, 



HELD AT SHREWSBURY ON 



FEBRUARY 25, 1914. 



Should the Royal Agricultural Society decide to continue the 

 competitions another year, we would suggest that instructions 

 should be given to the competitors to lay the fence to be cut 

 all one way and from the ditch side should there be one. In 

 this competition most of the pieces were laid towards the ditch, 

 which should not be. 



We were much interested in the work done, some of which 

 was very creditable and entailed a lot of work, but in our 

 opinion the majority of competitors did not realise that the 

 fence being cut was between two pasture fields that apparently 

 carried a good head of stock, including horses ; the consequence 

 was, in our opinion, they cut far too much live wood out, and 

 thus did not leave (after layering) a sufficient quantity of 

 brush or back on the opposite side to the ditch to keep the 

 cattle away from the fence, as it is done in Leicestershire, 

 Warwickshire and Northamptonshire, until the young shoots 

 have grown up ; this also affords much better shelter to stock, 

 especially to ewes and lambs. 



Much of the work tlone by the competitors made a hedge 

 sufficiently strong had it been between two arable fields, but 

 not nearly strong enough in pasture fields. 



Some very creditable work was done by quite youths 

 (especially one of seventeen years), apparently the result of 

 lessons they had received, and, in our opinion, such lessons 

 imparted, either by the different associations, societies, and 

 probably County Council classes, are doing much good, and 

 should be encouraged not only to provide better fences 

 and shelter, but to enable the workmen to earn good wages ; 

 skilled hedgers in our Midland Counties earning high wages 

 per week. 



We consider the Society acted wisely in grouping 

 together the competitors from the three counties of Shropshire, 

 Montgomeryshire and Staffordshire, because they had a good 

 opportunity of learning much by comparing work done in the 

 different districts. 



r. c. coopbk, 

 Wm. W. Hutton. 



NOTE BY SIR GILBERT GREENALL, BART., C.V.O. 



For some years past the bad state of the fences in many 

 parts of the country has been a matter of general comment. 



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