Northumberland and Durham in 1887 ; Classes 4 and 5. 225 
In Class 5 there were four competitors for the two Prizes of 
50^. and 2bl. offered for the " Best-managed Arable and Grass 
Farm of 100 acres and upwards, occupied and carried on in 
conjunction with a Colliery." 
The Judges commenced their first inspection on Tuesday, 
December 14, 1886, and finished it on Saturday, the 18th, one 
of the coldest days of the winter. Their second inspection 
began May 17, 1887, and ended May 26. All the farms had a 
full day given them on this inspection, except two of the 
smallest, which were taken on the first day. On the third visit 
two farms in Class 4 and one in Class 5 were not visited, but 
all the others and one of those entered in Class 1 (the winning 
farm in the champion class) were carefully inspected, beginning 
July 4. The awards were all decided upon on July 8, were 
made known at Newcastle during the Show, and were reported 
in the last ' Journal.' 
Class 4. 
The competitors in Class 4 all resided within a few miles of 
Newcastle, and the list on page 226 shows their names and ad- 
dresses, and certain features of their holdings, in a tabular form. 
It will be seen from this Table that the competing farms 
varied in character in almost all the points mentioned. But the 
differences did not end there. The proportions of the arable 
and pasture lands differed greatly. One farm grew a large 
quantity of corn ; another had more than half its area in pas- 
ture; a third had only a sixth in grass ; whilst a fourth had but 
an eighth. Again, on the farms near to Newcastle, the growth 
of hay, green fodder, and root crops for sale in that town made 
their cultivation almost as important an object to their tenants 
as the production of milk; whilst on the two others farther 
away the rearing and grazing of stock for feeding or for other 
purposes than dairying had no inconsiderable bearing on the 
system of cultivation and management followed. But the 
greatest difference (and one which forced itself most on the 
minds of the Judges) lay in the extent to which the production 
of milk was made the leading feature. Milk only is mentioned 
because, although the farms were entered as " Dairy Farms pro- 
ducing Milk, Butter, or Cheese," the first-named commodity was 
almost the only dairy production, butter and cheese being seldom 
made, and only when the supply of milk exceeded the demand 
for its wholesale or retail distribution. As a consequence of 
this, the production of milk followed chiefly the difference in 
number of milking cows kept in proportion to the extent of the 
farm. Thus, on one farm the cows kept were as one to three 
acres ; on two others as one to six acres ; on a fourth as one to 
VOL. XXIV. — S. S. Q 
