The Farm-Prize Competition o/1890. 
795 
shearing looked more like wethers than lambs, were folded on 
winter vetches, and getting mangel (of which sufficient were 
in hand to last a month), and ^ lb. -of cake, and \ lb. maize 
each per day. The vetches were mown daily, and put between 
two narrow rows of hurdles, on either side of which the lambs 
were penned. Mr. Franklin prefers forcing his lambs rapidly, 
towards the last six weeks of their stay on the farm, rather than 
commencing at once on their arrival. 
Much care is devoted to the manufacture and £; matching" 
of cider, of which about 200 hogsheads are produced yearly. 
Before pounding, the apples are sorted so that only those 
of equal ripeness are ground together. The cider is care- 
fully racked and matched, and examined daily during the 
process of fermentation. An excellent quality of sweet cider is 
thus secured, which is sold to agents who supply the London 
and other markets. Every attention is paid to cleansing the 
casks or hogsheads, and for this purpose a mechanical appliance 
is used which greatly facilitates the work. Mr. Franklin finds 
that, like all other home producers, cider makers are affected by 
foreign competition, especially from America, whence cider is 
sent at low freights as ballast in the large steamers, and comes 
into this country duty free. 
The labour bill amounts to about 500?. a year, and includes 
the wages of a bailiff, whose services have become necessary 
since Mr. Franklin's infirmity. The labourers get lis. to 13s. 
per week, and 3 pints of cider daily. Xine of them live in 
cottages on the farm. In harvest time the cutting, binding, 
and setting up of the corn is let at is. per acre ; machine and 
horses lent free. The stacking is done by day work. Three of 
the labourers are recommended by Mr. Franklin for long and 
faithful service. One of them (the shepherd) was bound as a 
parish apprentice to Mr. Franklin's grandfather, and has since 
been on the farm or with the family for 55 years. Mr. Franklin 
speaks in high terms of all three. 
A day-book aud ledger is kept, as also is a detailed cash- 
book, in which the cash transactions are entered under the 
several headings, so that the total receipts for cattle, sheep, or 
corn, or cider, and so on for each year, are shown, as also the 
payments for labour, stock bought, feeding stuffs, <xc, purchased. 
A record is also entered of the cost price of each lot of animals 
purchased, and the money received upon their sales, so that at a 
glance the money left by each lot can be ascertained. Mr. 
Franklin's experience coincides with that of most stock farmers, 
namely, that the year 1889 was the best there has been for 
graziers and feeders for many years. 
