Market-garden Farm Competition, 1879. 
857 
When three harrows are used, one horse is required. Four 
require two light horses, and six want two strong- animals. 
There were at least 1200 dozens of cabbages per acre upon 
this land, whose prices ranged from 6s. to \0s. per tally of 
5 dozens ; or, taking an average of 8s. per tally, equal to 96Z. 
per acre. This, it must be remembered, is an exceptional price, 
caused by the scarcity at that time. 
In the next field, No. 2, comprising 22 acres, were Early 
Horn and James's Intermediate carrots after potatoes. The 
land had been steam-ploughed in the autumn, and 28 tons of 
London manure put on in the early spring and " scuffled " in. 
About 10 lbs. of seed were sown broadcast, mixed with finely 
triturated earth. The carrots were intended for bunching, that 
is, for marketing when they are about half an inch in diameter, 
in bunches of from 20 to 40. Taking the last three years, the 
average return for carrots appears to be nearly 70/. per acre ; but 
it is an expensive crop, for the hoeing costs 4/. per acre, and in 
ordinary seasons the expense of pulling, washing, and bunching, 
is also considerable. When the Judges visited the farm there 
was a hard fight going on to keep the weeds down. Some of these 
carrots had literally to be raked over with small-toothed iron 
rakes to get rid of the weeds. But this process did not materially 
affect the carrots, which looked remarkably thriving through- 
out. French Shaw potatoes upon No. 3, 14|^ acres, looked most 
vigorous. These were after wheat, and were intended for early 
digging, and had been put in early in March. Twenty-eight 
tons of dung were ploughed in for this crop, just after Christmas. 
On the next field, 7 acres. No. 4, there was wheat of a sort 
called " Kissingen," a red wheat, with peculiarly stout, upstand- 
ing straw, which had been drilled in February, with 5 pecks of 
seed per acre, after parsnips, for which crop the land had been 
heavily dunged. The plant was decidedly thin, as it had had 
no chance to grow properly ; but it had pulled up and wonder- 
fully improved by the end of June, and looked all over like 
yielding 5 quarters per acre. Peas of the sort called Harrison's 
Glory, and the Yorkshire Hero, occupied No. 5 field ; one 
bushel of seed was drilled here, after parsnips, and were most 
luxuriant. No. 6, containing 5 acres of scarlet-runners,* after 
broccoli, were doing very well, set in rows 3 feet apart. Upon 
No. 7 were 14 acres of " two-bladed" onions, which had succeeded 
cucumbers, the land having been steam-ploughed and manured 
with nearly 30 tons of dung, and 65 lbs. of seed were sown 
broadcast. These are small-bulbed onions, well suited for 
pickling, and many tons are sold by contract to Messrs. 
* The first scarlet-runners were gathered about the 15th of August, or 6 weeks 
later than usual. 
