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XXXII. — Report upon the Market-Garden and Market- Garden 
Farm Competition, 1879. By Charles Whitehead, Barming 
House, Maidstone. 
Among the numerous and liberal premiums that were offered by 
the Mansion House Committee in connection with the Inter- 
national Exhibition of the Royal Agricultural Society of 
England, were handsome prizes for market-gardens and market- 
garden farms. It was expected that there would be a large 
entry in the three classes of this competition, seeing that so 
much of the land near London, upon all sides of the Metropolis, 
is devoted to market-gardening, in which much skill is displayed 
and a large amount of capital invested ; while beyond the 
limit of market-gardens proper, the cultivation of vegetables 
and herbs is extensively adopted in alternation with ordinary 
farm crops, upon what have been styled market-garden farms. 
The Mansion House Committee and the Council of the Royal 
Agricultural Society were, however, much disappointed to find 
that but little interest was taken by the market-gardeners and 
farmers, and it was thought by some that the competition had 
not been sufficiently ^made known to the public. The first 
announcement of it was advertised for some time in the Agri- 
cultural and Horticultural Journals, and failed to attract more 
than two or three competitors. The Council of the Royal 
Agricultural Society therefore requested these to allow the time 
for sending in entries to be extended, and with their con- 
currence the schedule of prizes was again advertised for some 
weeks in the same and in other journals, without much result ; 
for in the end it was found that only two entries had been made 
in each class. 
No doubt a feeling of jealousy, and an unwillingness to let the 
secrets of the prison-house be made public, prevented many from 
entering. It was ascertained by the Judges during their pere- 
grinations that there was a decided objection on the part of 
many market-gardeners and market-garden farmers to have their 
market-gardens and farms inspected, and their methods of Culti- 
vation and systems of cropping reported upon, and their profits 
made known to the world. Some had an idea that their land- 
lords would raise their rent if they saw "in print" that their 
tenants were making a good thing out of their land. This 
notion has, it is believed, in many instances prevented com- 
petition for the prizes offered by Local Committees, or private 
individuals, for farms in the neighbourhood and at the time of 
the annual Exhibition of the Royal Agricultural Society. 
The main object of the Mansion House Committee in offering 
