1922.] 



Farm Institutes. 



517 



Principal of the Farm Institute, lives in one of the houses; the 

 other, " Southolme," which has lately been enlarged, is occu- 

 pied by the domestic staff and contains, besides rooms for the 

 warden, matron and teaching staff, the students' dining room, 

 common room and recreation room. There is a playing field 

 on the farm and games are encouraged. 



The Farm. — The farm is 168 acres in area, the soil for the 

 most part varying from light loam to heavy clay, one-third being 

 typical Northampton sand; the land is clean and hedges and 

 boundaries are well looked after. Of the 110 acres of arable 

 land rather more than half is under corn. Trials are carried 

 out with different varieties of cereals and roots, and experiments 

 are conducted in the manuring of crops and the feeding of 

 stock. During the years 1919-20 and 1920-21 the farm was 

 run at a profit — an unusual feature among institute farms at 

 that period. 



A special feature is made of live stock on the principle of 

 building up from small beginnings. The cattle are dual- 

 purpose Shorthorns, mostly of Cumberland and Westmorland 

 breeding. Calves are reared and milk records are kept. A few 

 of the cattle are pedigi'ee and it is proposed to grade-up and 

 ultimately to register in the Shorthorn Herd Book. The Prin- 

 cipal has been able to acquire an exceptionally fine lot of 

 cattle. He is in close touch with the breeders of pedigree stock 

 of all kinds, of whom there are many in the county, and who are 

 always willing to allow the students to inspect their herds. 

 The pigs are registered Large Blacks, kept on a modified open- 

 air system mainly on the arable land. Draft auction sales, an 

 innovation that might well be extended to other Farm In- 

 stitutes, were held on the farm in 1920 and 1921 and helped 

 materially to bring the work of the Institute to the notice of 

 the farming public who attended in large numbers. 



The light land is particularly suitable for the folding of sheep 

 and a flock is maintained during the winter, chiefly on arable 

 land crops. 



The horses are of Shire blood : breeding is engaged in as 

 circumstances permit. A flock of poultry (White Wyandottes) 

 is kept. 



The Courses of Instruction.— The primary object of the educa- 

 tional work is to provide instruction in the principles under- 

 lying the practice of agriculture, with special reference to the 

 manuring of crops and the feeding of stock, to the study of 

 far?n book-keeping and the application of ])usiness principles 



