232 Farm Prize Competition^ 1912. 



years. The soil consists of a medium loam and some clay. 

 Perfect freedom of cropping is enjoyed and the general acreage 

 under crops was as follows : — Barley, 45 acres ; wheat, 31 acres ; 

 oats, 24 acres ; swedes and turnips, 2.") acres ; maiden seeds for 

 mowing, 9 acres ; while other 9 acres maiden seeds had been 

 ploughed out and sowed with corn, having i^roved too weak, 

 owing to the excessively hot summer, to be allowed to stand. 

 Mr. Wass always aims at a full crop and never allows weak 

 ones to stand if this can be avoided. This may cause temporary 

 disproportion of roots, seeds or corn. Thus, this year the 

 sowing of 30 acres of permanent grass caused a slight disturb- 

 ance of acreage under various crops. 



Cropping and Rotation. — The usual system of cropping 

 followed is turnips, barley, oats or barley, clover, wheat. 

 Seeds are sown only once in seven or eight years and the 

 cropping rotation is sometimes varied by taking a third white 

 crop of wheat or barley in order to ensure a period of rest 

 from clover for the land intended to be sown with seeds. 

 Twenty acres of land were this year in the third white crop 

 and looked well and clean. 



Three acres of old grass were reserved for mowing, the 

 remainder being grazed. Of the 30 acres newly-laid grass for 

 permanent pasture, 23 acres have been allowed for by the 

 landlord who returns to his tenant the amount of his seeds bill 

 which generally runs about 25s. per acre. He allows also basic 

 slag for one or two dressings subsequently. The mixture 

 used for laying down land to permanent pasture contains 

 small quantities of all the best grasses and herbage, experience 

 having demonstrated the fact that generally those grasses 

 survive which are best siiited to the soil. 



Manures and Manuring. — The manures used on this farm 

 are practically confined to farmyard manure and proportionate 

 allowances of basic slag, superphosphate, kainit, sulphate of 

 ammonia, and nitrate of soda. Variations of the nitrogenous 

 manures are made according to the crop to be manured. For the 

 pasture land, basic slag at the rate of 8 cwt. per acre is used, 

 while that for hay is given 6 tons of farmyard manure one year, 

 and the next, 3 cwt. of superphosphate and 1 cwt. nitrate of 

 soda. This alternate manuring costs about 17s. 6^. per acre. 

 The basic slag is not applied every year. One year is allowed 

 to pass then the slag is repeated ; another year passes then 

 superphosphate at the i-ate of 3 cwt. per acre is applied. After 

 another year the basic slag treatment comes on again and the 

 pix)cess is repeated. The system of manuring for corn crops 

 may be briefly stated as follows : — For wheat, 8 tons of farm- 

 yard manure spread over the land in the autumn, 2 cwt. of 

 superphosphate, 2 cwt. kainit applied at sowing, 1 cwt. nitrate 



