Mr. At her tori s Farm. 367 



had a great character, and in the Report of the Man- 

 chester and Liverpool Society for 1853 (the year after 

 Mr. Atherton succeeded his father at Chapel House), 

 his neighbour, Mr. John Cartwright, appears as the 

 prize-taker for the best cultivated farm of not less than 

 150 acres, and Mr. William Ashton for that between 

 60 and 100 ; while Mr. James Langshaw has a prize 

 for laying down land to grass, and Mr. Atherton for 

 mangold wurzel, swedes, and yellow globes. Plenty 

 of medals and money were brought home by them and 

 Mrs. Edwards in the intervening nine years ; but '61 

 found both Mr. Atherton and Mr. Cartwright with 

 prizes for laying down land to grass, and the former 

 with a sub-soiling prize as well. 



A sight of the capital midden with its 600 to 700 

 tons of " ripe, rotten dung," speaks both to eye and 

 nose of mangolds, with nearly 44 tons to the acre, and 

 turnips with 42^. Kooria Mooria guano is also called 

 in aid, and applied very freely by hand to the turnips 

 after the potatoes are taken away. Mr. Atherton has 

 been rather fond of the latter combination of green 

 crops. The potatoes are planted in March in drills, 

 and then ridged up ; in May or June a ridge of turnips 

 is sown at the side of the drill ; and in the latter end 

 of June the early potatoes are taken out and sold, and 

 the turnips remain. It was for a crop grown on this 



exhibited) and another heifer or two came from Wetherby, and with 

 them the Duke of Wetherby (17,753), the first-born of Duchess 77th, 

 on hire. After a short season with him a second sale took place in '62, 

 the 51 averaging 6jL $s. &/. Since then Mr. Atherton has never 

 lacked a good animal. In '64 he bought Mr. Mark Stewart's two 

 heifers of the Cherry tribe, and one of them, Southwick Cherry Flower, 

 illustrates the i8th vol. of the Herd Book. He also bought some of 

 the Kirklevingtons, which he has recently sold at a large profit to Mr. 

 Pavin Davies. The American bull Lord Oxford 2nd (20,215) was pur- 

 chased by him soon after landing in '62 ; after nearly four years use he 

 was exchanged for Imperial Oxford (18,084), who died in a short time, 

 and was replaced by Thirteenth Duke of Oxford (21,604) (bred at 

 Holker), from Killow. The latter has lately been sold with some 

 heifers to Mr. Edgar Musgrove. 



