The  Yorkshire  Farm-Prize  Competition,  1883. 
545 
liis  stock  consisted  of  50  sheep,  3 horses,  2 cows,  and  G heifers,  and  some 
little  stacks  of  corn  and  hay. 
in  November  1878  my  agent  hired  a cow  to  John  King,  of  Strensall,  near 
York.  King  owned  a threshing-machine,  and  was  getting  on  very  well ; hut 
unfortunately  he  became  bound  for  a brother:  the  brother  failed,  and  John 
King  was  ruined  by  the  failure.  He  feared  the  creditors  might  seize  my 
cow,  and  to  prevent  the  risk  of  this,  he  set  off  from  Strensall  one  cold  winter 
night  and  drove  the  cow  to  Hackness.  He  walked  forty  miles  between 
sunset  aud  sunrise  to  save  me,  as  he  believed,  from  the  risk  of  losing 
the  cow. 
My  experience  of  the  cottagers  and  farmers  of  the  North  Riding  of  York- 
shire is,  that  they  take  quite  as  much  care  of  a hired  cow  as  if  it  were  then- 
own;  indeed,  in  proof  of  this,  I may  meution  that  though  I have  hired  out 
over  150  cows  since  I established  the  system  nearly  seven  years  ago,  I have 
only  lost  one  of  these  in  calving,  and  only  seven  cows  have  died  from  every 
cause,  whilst  in  the  hirers’  care. 
I have  received  great  assistance  from  my  agent,  Mr.  Marshall.  He  is  a 
man  who  never  tires  of  working  for  the  benefit  of  his  poorer  neighbours.  I 
am  also  indebted  to  Lord  Derwent  of  Hackness  for  considerately  placing  his 
park  at  my  disposal,  on  reasonable  terms,  without  which  I should  have  found 
it  difficult,  before  I rented  the  farms  which  I now  occupy,  to  carry  out  the 
hire-system  satisfactorily. 
My  practice  has  been  to  purchase  10  or  12  heifers  at  a time,  in  the  spring 
and  summer  months,  and  to  send  them  to  the  Hackness  Park ; when  ready 
to  be  hired  out,  my  agent  has  usually  given  notice  to  that  effect  by  having 
bills  posted  up  on  the  doors  of  the  blacksmiths’  shops  in  the  villages  in  the 
district. 
Cows  that  are  returned  as  “ drapes  ” I now  have  fattened  on  my  own  farms. 
In  1878  I made  the  mistake  of  buying  several  four-year-old  cows  instead 
of  buying  heifers  only,  as  hitherto.  This  mistake  cost  me  fully  100?. 
A good  Ayrshire  cow  cost,  in  that  year,  20?.,  whilst  a good  heifer  only 
cost  about  16?.  I obtained  5?.  for  the  use  of  the  cows,  and  4?.  to  4?.  10s.  for 
the  use  of  the  heifers.  In  the  spring  of  1879  most  of  the  cows  hired  out 
in  1878  proved  not  to  be  in-calf,  and  consequently  were  not  worth  more  than 
about  10  guineas  each  as  store  “drapes;”  whereas  the  heifers,  that  missed 
being  in-calf,  were  worth  about  12  guineas  each,  being  younger  and  therefore 
better  adapted  than  the  cows  for  grazing  purposes.  After  taking  hire  and 
interest  into  account,  there  wag  a loss  of  about  5?.  per  head  on  the  cows,  but 
on  the  heifers  there  was  no  loss. 
It  is  a very  important  matter  in  hiring  out  dairy  cattle  to  begin  by 
buying  heifers.  Cattle  bred  in  a district  north  of  the  point  where  they  are 
to  be  kept  will  be  lound  to  thrive  the  best. 
In  Ilolderness,  where  the  pastures  are  usually  good,  I find  that  Cumberland 
and  Westmoreland  Shorthorns  are  well  adapted;  hut  for  the  lanes  of  the 
North  Riding,  Ayrshire  and  Kerry  cows  are  more  suitable. 
' Cottagers  can  afford  to  pay  a rate  of  hire  equal  to  one-third  the  cost  of 
a cow. 
Cows  kept  for  supplying  the  hirer’s  family  with  milk  and  butter  are 
healthier  than  cows  that  are  kept  by  milk-sellers;  milk-sellers  being  apt 
to  sacrifice  the  constitution  of  their  cows  in  their  efforts  to  stimulate  the 
supply  of  milk. 
After  paying  all  expenses,  and  notwithstanding  many  mistakes,  the  capital 
invested  in  this  business  yielded  5 per  cent,  per  annum,  on  the  average,  for 
the  first  five  years.  In  the  sixth  year  it  yielded  15  per  cent.,  and  the  pro- 
bability is  that  the  return  for  the  current  year  (the  seventh)  will  be  equally 
satisfactory. 
