304 Report on the Farni-Frize Competition, 1871. 
Wheat, — Autumn wheat is sown after ley, which generally 
consists of 65 acres ; in addition to which 25 acres of springs 
wheat are generally sown after turnips or mangolds. The ley is 
ploughed as early in August as it can be spared, and if not 
pressed it is Cambridge-rolled, and left in either of these states 
till the latter end of October, when it is well harrowed, and 
afterwards drilled with Browick red wheat, seed at the rate of 
10 pecks to the acre being used. Wheat after turnips and man- 
golds is sown as early in February as the season will admit, and 
none later than the 1st of March. This land is merely ploughed, 
harrowed, and drilled with a red Nursery variety, about 13 
pecks of seed being used to the acre. No wheat ever needs 
hoeing, and top-dressings are not applied as a rule. 
A small piece of wheat was shown us in the middle of a 
field that had succeeded kohl-rabi, Avhich had been eaten on the 
land by sheep, not pulled or stored, but allowed to grow during 
the winter. The whole field was sown at the same time, but that 
portion which had grown kohl-rabi was very deficient as com- 
pared with the remainder, which had grown turnips and man- 
golds. Mr. Forester's explanation was that the kohl-rabi, not 
having been pulled in the autumn, had formed large roots, and 
had therefore taken much more out of the land than the other 
crops, which had been stored. 
Beasts. — Twenty-six pure Hereford cows of the best quality 
are kept for breeding purposes. Their produce are reared, and 
mostly sold at 2^ years old about Christmas. It is very rarely 
that either bulls or heifers are sold for breeding purposes, 
although their quality would fully justify the practice. The 
average price of the oxen sold last year, an account of which 
Mr. Forester gave us, was 31/. 3s., and some of these were not 
quite two years old. He further informed us that they had had 
no cake during the previous summer until the 10th of August, 
within 10 weeks of the day of sale. The reason for their not: 
having had cake earlier was that in 1869 he had to cease giving 
cake owing to the laxative quality of the keep (this would be 
accounted for partly by the gross nature of the grass). Mr. 
Forester says that at this time he was not awar6 of the virtue of 
cotton-cake as an astringent, and last season (1870) the cattle were 
doing so well upon the scanty and parched, though comparatively 
nutritious, herbage, that he feared to change their diet, until the 
pastures became so bare that it was absolutely necessary to have 
recourse to extra means of support ; he then tried a mixture of 
cotton-cake with the linseed-cake, with the best effect, and has 
continued its use ever since. 
The cows are kept during the winter upon chopped straw and 
a few pulped turnips, and as they near calving have an increased 
