78 i 
The Farm Prize Competition of I89G. 
close upon 1,000/., whilst the stable manure from Plymouth 
cost him about 600/., in addition to some 300/. worth of town 
scavengings. When to this is added the residue from an outlay 
of 4,500/. in cake and other feeding stuffs, it will be readily- 
admitted that he puts " plenty into the land." One considera- 
tion, therefore, which the Judges had to take into account was 
whether he got " plenty out " in return, especially as the chief 
of their instructions was to take " profit " into account in 
deciding upon the different methods of management. An in- 
spection of his books, and a careful consideration of the crops 
grown, and prices obtained, left no doubt upon their minds that 
the return in this case warranted the outlay. 
Such is the ordinary course of treatment and cropping of the 
great bulk of the arable land of the farm. But a somewhat 
different method is followed in the case of one field (Chelson 
Meadows), which, being low-lying and a strong alluvial deposit 
on stiff clay, requires special and exceptional treatment. This 
field forms part of a tract of about 200 acres which, lying below 
high-water mark and covered by high tides, was reclaimed about 
eighty years ago at the expense of a predecessor of the present 
Earl of Morley, by an embankment of about 2,000 yards long, 
and has since been drained and brought into cultivation. Tart 
of the land is in Mr. Vosper's occupation — other parts, chiefly in 
grass, are laid to adjoining farms, and are used as the race 
course for the Plymouth meetings. The particular field specially 
referred to has been cropped as follows, viz.: 1881, mangel; 
1885, wheat; 188G, mangel (heavily dunged); 1887, wheat 
(limed eight tons to the acre) ; 1888, clover (cut twice, bundled, 
and sold green) ; 1889, the same (gas lime, six to seven tons 
put on fresh) ; and 1890, mangel. 
In January last this field was being ploughed by one of 
Davey, Sleep, & Co.'s balance ploughs, which laid the farrow slice 
seven inches deep perfectly flat (fig. 1). The land was then left 
untouched until the end of April, when it was cultivated or 
"tormented" two or three times, then manured with Plymouth 
scavengings at the rate of ninety-seven cart loads to the acre, 
and afterwards ploughed over very shallow — say two inches 
deep. This was followed by various rollings, harrowings, and 
pressings (with Cambridge presser), until reduced sufficiently 
fine to be fit for drilling. As this land can only be worked 
when dry, Mr. Vosper, when he finds it favourable, sends as 
many of his men and horses there as can well be spared. As 
many as twenty-two horses have been working in one field- — 
small as the largest on the farm may be — at the same time, and 
it is a common saying amongst the neighbours that " Vosper 
