48 
Report on Messrs. Prout and Middleditcli s 
haxXey, for which it is intended. In early spring the wheat is 
sometimes harrowed, and invariably, as soon as practicable, it 
is horse and hand hoed, every advantage being taken of fine 
weather, and all available hands being set to work. The spring 
corn, forced with superphosphate or guano drilled with it, and 
shortly top-dressed with nitrate, speedily, covers the ground, and 
hence seldom requires hoeing. 
The labour question has troubled Mr. Prout less than many 
of his neighbours. His steam-tackle economises both horse and 
hand labour, and keeps his labour account under 30s. per acre. 
His engine-men have from 18s. to 21s. a week ; carters 16s.; 
ordinary labourers 15s.; some of the regular hands have also 
their cottage and garden rent free, and cows have been kept to 
supply each family with 3 pints of new milk daily — a boon which, 
however, has hardly been sufficiently appreciated ; and the men, 
recently offered their choice of going on with their 3 pints of 
milk or accepting as an equivalent 2s. a week, grasped at the 
money, to the almost certain detriment of the health of their 
young growing children, who can get no other food so good and 
nutritive as milk. Like other employers, Mr. Prout complains 
that, pay as he may, he does not now get as much work done 
as formerly ; young active men are said to be scarce, and he 
threatens to import a few picked hands from the North, whence, 
twelve years ago, he had the active intelligent bailiff, who has 
been of great service in successfully carrying out the details of 
his system. In the subjoined amounts paid for labour from 
1868—74 the bailiff's wages of 100/. a year are included. Unlike 
most other farms, the labour payments have not increased during 
recent years ; they exhibit an annual average of 635/. 14s. 4fZ. 
£ 
s. 
d. 
18G8 .. .. .. 
.. .. GOO 
14 
0 
1869 
.. .. 651 
14 
6 
1870 .. 
.. .. 634 
5 
6 
1871 
.. .. 578 
8 
6 
1872 
.. .. 756 
8 
10 
1873 
.. .. 653 
9 
6 
1874 
.. .. 567 
14 
6 
The economical use of artificial manures is a matter of grave 
consideration with Mr. Prout, as with others who pursue high 
farming. Chief amongst the dcbateable points are what amounts 
yield the best returns ? Wiiat are the suitable combinations 
of phosphatic and ammoniacal fertilisers? What mode of ap- 
plication is least wasteful ? In the soil newly worked up 
by steam, and on the poor grass-land recently converted into 
arable, Mr. Prout's thorough cultivation secured full grain-crops 
with little outlay for artificial manures. For several years his 
