Report on the Farm-Pnzc Competition of 188G. G19 
fields, and the more so that here and there docks were to be 
seen on them. These, perhaps, cannot be wondered at, consider- 
ing the great difficulty there is in eradicating docks when once 
they get established ; and it may be imagined to what extent 
they had overrun Bexwell Farm, at Mr. Procter's entry, when 
we mention that he offered 505. an acre in vain to his labourers 
to dock a field, — a process which ultimately cost him bl. an 
acre. 
Mr. Procter keeps no books, at least they were not forth- 
coming ; but he gives the impression of being far too shrewd a 
-•nan of business not to have some method of his own to record 
liis business transactions and enable him to see how he stands. 
Labour. — The yearly sum paid for labour runs to about 560/., 
averaging per acre over the whole farm IZ. 9s. 8rf. 
Grass-land. — The greater part of the grass-land is very good, 
-ind certainly is not deteriorating in Mr. Procter's hands, both 
ittle and sheep eating cake on it. The meadow-land is dressed 
.vith farmyard-manure every alternate year. He has a great 
horror of mowing pasture-land ; his predecessor on the farm 
mowed a fattening pasture, with so deteriorating an effect that 
five or six years of heavy cake-feeding barely restored it to 
its pristine power of growth and condition. 
Live-Stock. 
Cattle. — In the matter of cattle supply the system adopted 
may be described as a self-supporting one, calves being reared 
yearly equal in number to the fat cattle sold off. Ten good 
non-pedigree Shorthorn milk-cows and a pure bred pedigree 
bull are kept, which usually produce everv year 10 calves ; 
15 to 18 more being bought ; while 25 bullocks and heifers, and 
2 or 3 fat cows are sold off fat. As a rule, from 90 to 100 head 
of various ages are on the farm. In November we found 97 ; in 
May, 95 ; in July, 96. They are sold at ages varying from 
2^ to 3 years old, one lot going at Christmas, another towards 
May, but sometimes a few are kept until July. 
Until the fall in the price of beef these cattle gave a return at 
the rate of 11. per month, dating from birth until sold to the 
butcher. 
The mode of rearing calves is as follows. From a fortnight 
to three weeks after birth they have new milk, and then milk 
twelve hours old, with the cream removed, for two or three weeks 
longer. After that they get what old milk there is to spare, 
supplemented with linseed-gruel. They are kept in the yards 
the first year, getting green food in summer, and a mixture of 
cut hay and straw with roots during the winter. They are put 
2 s 2 
