The  Yorkshire  Farm-Prize  Competition , 1883.  50i) 
“ golden  feet,”  and  where  straw  in  some  cases  is  a nuisance 
difficult  to  be  got  rid  of, — contrast  strangely  with  the  grazing 
farms  on  the  hills  and  in  the  dales  of  the  YVest  Riding,  where 
the  plough  is  an  obsolete  implement,  and  where  cattle  are  treated 
to  the  roughest  prison  allowance  in  the  matter  of  beds,  having 
to  rest  their  bodies  on  the  bare  stones. 
Journeying  through  the  East  Riding  along  the  Vale  of  York, 
by  rail  from  York  to  Hull,  the  traveller  will  notice  a range  of 
hills  to  the  left,  running  apparently  parallel  to  the  railway. 
These  are  the  Yorkshire  Wolds,  which  extend  from  Hull  to 
Scarborough,  and  are  famous  in  the  annals  of  British  agriculture. 
The  district,  which  is  bounded  by  the  Humber  on  the  south, 
the  German  Ocean  on  the  east,  and  the  base  of  the  Wolds  on 
the  west,  is  called  Holderness,  or  “ Hollow-derness.”  Much  of 
this  district,  from  Hull  along  the  banks  of  the  Humber,  is  warp- 
land  reclaimed  from  the  sea ; and,  though  heavy  strong  land  to 
work,  in  favourable  seasons  it  grows  very  good  crops. 
The  highest  point  in  Holderness  is  only  about  100  feet  above 
the  sea.  On  these  higher  grounds  the  soil  is  more  friable,  and  is 
well  adapted  for  growing  roots.  In  driving  through  this  district 
around  Hedon,  the  Judges  found  the  best  grain-crops  that  they 
met  with  in  Yorkshire.  Many  of  the  farms  seemed  well  laid  out, 
carefully  fenced,  with  suitable  buildings,  and  a good  proportion 
of  excellent  grazing  land.  Mustard  is  grown  for  the  mustard 
mills  to  some  extent  in  this  district.  The  Judges  bad  their 
attention  directed  to  some  fields  where  the  crop  was  in  flower  ; 
but  in  no  case  was  it  grown  on  a competing  farm,  nor  had  they 
before  them  in  any  instance  any  speciality,  such  as  liquorice, 
chicory,  &c.,  although  in  some  districts  these  plants  are  exten- 
sively cultivated. 
It  will  be  readily  inferred — the  soil  and  situation  of  the  Wolds 
being  so  different  from  those  of  Holderness — that  the  systems  of 
agriculture  pursued  in  the  two  districts  are  equally  varied.  On 
the  Wolds  the  motto  is,  “ grow  all  the  seeds  you  can,  all  the 
turnips  you  can,  and  all  the  sheep  you  can  ; ” while  in  the 
deep  lands  of  Holderness,  wheat-growing  and  cattle  feeding  are 
the  farmer’s  mainstay.  Turnips  in  Holderness  are  almost  in- 
variably grown  on  the  flat,  sown  by  a drill  which  deposits 
artificial  manure  and  seed  at  the  same  time — a safe  system 
in  a dry  season  ; while  in  the  Wolds  the  practice  is  to  ridge 
with  double  plough,  put  foldyard-manure  in  the  ridges,  sow  in 
artificial  manure  by  hand,  cover  these  by  splitting  the  ridges, 
and  deposit  the  seed  with  a double  ridge-drill.  All  over  the 
county  the  first-sown  turnips  had  done  badly  ; the  dry  cold 
weather  in  May  had  either  prevented  the  seed  from  vegetating, 
or  had  assisted  the  fly  to  carry  off  the  young  plants.  The  country 
