Somersetshire Farm-Prize Competition, 1875. 
583 
At our final inspection we found the growing wheat crops 
improved, although not heavy ; they appeared to be suffering in 
a slighter degree from red-rust than on anv of the other farms 
looked over. The barley was not good ; but the beans, on the 
other hand, were strong and well-podded. The clovers were 
weak, especially those of the first year's growth. Mangolds were 
a disappointing crop, considering the trouble that had been be- 
stowed upon them and the superior cultivation of the field they 
were on. Swedes were looking well, and the turnips were in the 
act of being sown on a good fallow after vetches and trifolium ; the 
[former fed off, and the latter partly fed and partly carted away 
'for the horses. The vetches had been a very heavy crop, and 
the trifolium also was good. The live stock were all thriving. 
Numbers and description of stock : — 
Cattle 60 
Sheep 267 
Working Horses .... 8 
Pigs 4 
The cattle are of the Devon breed, and 17 dairy cows are 
kept. The young stock are reared, as before described, and the 
steers are brought out fat at three years old. 
The sheep are Devon Long-wools. The wether lambs are 
fattened on the turnips and swedes, and are sold early in the 
.spring, the off-ewes being sold when ready in the summer. 
Fences, Roads, and General Neatness. — The fences dividing 
the pastures are constructed of iron, ?nd are neat in their 
jappearance. Those separating the plough-ground are the old 
Somersetshire boundaries so often before alluded to. Many of 
the old hedges have been removed by the tenant, and some 
ilterations have been well devised and executed in the re- 
Jivision of fields. The roads round the buildings have been 
made by the tenant, and every part of the premises is well 
cared for. 
Manures and Food Purchased. — Manures purchased amount 
annually to about 25/. for nitrate of soda for top-dressing 
grain ; and about 45Z. for bone superphosphate for roots. 
Food purchased costs about . . £65 per annum. 
Home-grown Corn consumed . 75 „ 
Total .... .£140 
Cottages, Labour, and Permanent Improvements. — There is one 
cottage attached to the farm. The labour-bill last year came 
to about 1/. per acre ; but the calculation for cider allowed is 
ow. This shows an advance on the previous year of nearly 15 
