Dairy and Stock Farms. 
519 
few mangolds, for which last, however, the climate is not suited. 
The swedes are grown on mixed artificial manure, at a cost of 
5/. an acre. The farmyard-dung 1 all goes to the young seeds 
and to the potatoes, 20/. worth of horse-manure being also pur- 
chased for this purpose. The oat and wheat crops, though even 
and clean — the young grass and clover coming up well among the 
latter — were not extraordinarily heavy, having suffered from 
the cold wet spring. The seeds, which had borne a good crop of 
hay, were providing useful keep for the sheep and yearling cattle. 
Two bushels of permanent and one of Italian rye-grass, with 
13 lbs. of mixed clovers, are sown per acre. — -The farm garden 
contained trial beds of different sorts of farm root-crops, as well 
as fruit and vegetables for home use. — The great produce of 
beef, mutton, bacon, and cheese, together with a certain pro- 
duction of wheat and potatoes, with but moderate expenditure 
on bought cattle-food and manure and labour — the whole farm 
meanwhile improving in cleanness and fertility — justify the 
award of the first place to Mr. Mackereth's occupation. 
Weaverbank Farm, in the parish of Minshull- Vernon, near 
Middlewich, to which the second prize in this class was awarded, 
is 116 acres in extent, of which 40 are arable. It is occupied 
and worked by Mr. Charles Hollingshead, his two sons, and a 
hired labourer — the labour of the dairy (there are generally 
more than 30 cows) being done by Mrs. Hollingshead and her 
daughter. The arable land is cultivated on the four-course 
rotation — wheat, clover, oats, and green crop (including potatoes, 
swedes, mangolds and cabbages). The wheat crop, varying from 
6 to 9 acres in extent, according to the size of the field falling in 
its turn, and the potato crop, generally 4 to 5 acres of Regents 
and Skerry Blues, are sent to market : all other home-grown 
produce is consumed on the farm ; and in addition to this, more 
than 100/. is annually spent (in 1874, 199/.) in cake and Indian 
corn for cattle and pigs ; and 60/. to 70/. is spent annually in 
bone-dust for grass-lands, and artificial manure for turnips. 
Thirty-three cows are milked this year : 7 or 8 heifer-calves 
are generally reared and brought into the herd at three years 
old, as many of the older cows being fattened off". The earlier 
bull-calves are also fattened and sold. From 5 sows 16 or 18 
hogs are annually fattened, and 30 or 40 young pigs sold as 
stores : the receipt from this source last year was 144/. The 
make of cheese varies from to more than 6 tons annually. 
Last year it was 5 tons 14 cwts. from 32 cows. The cheese is of 
good quality and had made at the last sale 79s. a cwt. When 
the Judges walked over the farm in July there was an admirable 
herd of large Shorthorn dairy cows in full milk, except two or 
three which had slipped their calves and would be fattened. 
VOL. XIII. — S. S. 2 N 
