Report on the Farm-Prize Competition of 1886. 
G53 
■of Gawdj Hall, it cannot be debited with more than, if so much 
as, one half of it, and if we add 20/., making the total 126Z., it 
probably would not be far out, and shows the cost per acre to be 
about 1/. 9*. Before he became bailiff for Mr. Holmes, his staff 
was less by one man. 
Purchased cakes and corn are consumed to the extent of 75/. 
jearly value, besides corn grown and consumed on the farm by 
stock other than horses, amounting yearly to 40/. 
The yearly outlay for artificial manures, chiefly dissolved 
bones, with ammonia in some form added, averages 35?. 
Two-thirds of the arable is cropped on the ordinary four- 
course shift — wheat, roots, barley, seeds — but on the other third 
this is deviated from, and an extra crop of corn is taken in lieu 
:)f roots, the rotation being wheat, oats, barley, seeds. Oats are 
substituted for beans, which to a limited extent oh the other 
strong-land farms take the place of clovers ; and though we do 
not say a word in justification of this rotation, we must bear 
witness to the fact that the crops so grown were excellent, 
especially the third white crop — the barley ; and that the land 
was perfectly free from weeds of every description. 
Roots. — Mangolds are chiefly grown ; the preparation com- 
mences soon after harvest by looking over the stubbles and 
forking out any couch that may be in them. The land is then 
either twice cultivated by steam, if a set of tackle can be 
conveniently hired, otherwise it is ploughed 6 inches deep, three 
horses being required for the opeiation. In November, if 
possible, but in any case before the end of the year, it is thrown 
into 30-inch ridges, and so lays rough and open till the end 
of February ; and if then dry enough, the manure, about 5 cwt. 
of superphosphate, balanced with ammonia as a mangold- 
manure, is sown broadcast over the ridges, which are then split 
tiack and allowed to remain until the beginning of April, by 
which time the surface is well weathered, and a tilth fine enough 
for the reception of the seed obtained. It is then drilled 
•with 4 lbs. per acre, an unusually light seeding. The practice 
in thinning out, before this year, was to leave the plants 
30 inches apart, which, with ridges 30 inches wide, gave a 
l)lant that had space on every side. This year the distance 
between plant and plant is from 18 to 24 inches, but even that 
distance, we think, is too wide. 
It will be observed that the practice in preparation of the 
land for mangolds is identical with that on the First Prize Farm 
in Class 3, and is by far the most economical, and perhaps the 
only way to make sure of a plant on soils so heavy and tenacious 
in texture. It can only be done, or at least should only be done, 
when the land is clean and free from weeds. 
Provided plant food can be extracted to make good crops of 
