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IV. — Report on the Dairy and Stock-Far ni Prize Competition, 
1885. By J. Chalmers Mokton, Editor of the ' Agricultural 
Gazette.' 
The Judges had three classes of farms submitted to their 
inspection : — First, " dairy farms in which the management and 
cultivation are devoted to the production of milk, butter, and 
cheese," arranged in two divisions — Class 3, of 100 acres and 
upwards, and Class 4 of less than 100 but more than 30 acres : 
2nd, stock-breeding farms, "where the management is principally 
directed to the breeding and rearing of live-stock — cattle, 
sheep, and pigs " — including Class 5, of 100 acres and upwards, 
and Class 6, under 100 and more than 30 acres : and 3rd, 
Class 7, " farms of not more than 40 acres where the principal 
part of the labour is contributed by the farmer's own family." 
In pursuance of their instructions, they inspected all the farms, 
22 in number, which were submitted to them under this classifi- 
cation, on three separate occasions, in November, April, and 
July respectively — spending about a fortnight on each occasion, 
walking over the land each time and taking full notes of the 
equipment of the homestead and of the fields, also of the 
character of the stock, and of the field and dairy management, 
and of the quality and quantity of the produce of all kinds. 
In November we could observe the character of the soil and 
of the stock, we examined the buildings and implements, and 
we learned all the particulars of income and outgoings — costs, 
and expenditure of every kind. In April the field-work was 
generally forward, potatoes planted, preparations made for green- 
crops, and the condition of the land could be observed. The 
earlier make of cheese, some of it already sold, was generally 
fit for inspection on the floor of the cheese-room. In July 
the dairy-work was in full swing, corn-crops were in ear, potatoes 
covered the ground, hay-making was in progress or com- 
pleted, turnips and other green-crops were in various stages of 
forwardness. 
It is now proposed to give the substance of the notes taken on 
these occasions, together with the information which was obtained 
by a somewhat elaborate circular inquiry addressed to the 
tenants of all these farms. We are not particularly anxious 
here to justify our awards; but, having made them to the best 
of our judgment and ability, we wish to point out such particulars 
of the management and its results as may be of interest to agri- 
cultural readers. The somewhat arbitrary definition of the several 
classes of farms submitted to us resulted nevertheless in a 
satisfactory uniformity among those in each. The farms in most 
