552 
Report on the Farm Prize Competition in 
they may make a tremendous start when, they get down to the 
lavish dressing beneath them, but all the same they had clearly 
been losing valuable time, and it could not be forgotten that 
they were the crop of the farm. Mr. Machin had been so unfor- 
tunate as to follow a practice, which however good in a moist 
time is very dangerous in a dry one, such as was experienced in 
the present spring. He had allowed the ploughs to get a good 
deal ahead of the drill, and when sown the turnips could not 
germinate. Whilst sympathy was felt with the reasons given 
for the practice, and their weight acknowledged, it was yet 
found impossible to commend it. The reason of the plan was, 
the immense pressure of horse and hand-labour entailed in haul- 
ing so many tons of manure upon the land, and getting the 
whole work of the turnip sowing completed within the short 
season which had been found the best for performing it. Hence, 
in order to forward the work, the dung hauling is begun before 
it would be wise to sow the turnips. If when the time for sow- 
ing comes the weeds have made such a start as to threaten to 
outgrow the young turnips, Mr. Machin has hit upon a very 
ingenious method of stopping them. It is a hoe or scraper 
shaped to the ridge which precedes the drill and lightly shaves 
the upper surface of the mould. But ingenuity notwithstanding, 
the turnips in the present instance had not been able to germi- 
nate, or at all events to grow healthily, and other competitors 
had solved the same difficulty successfully. 
There were but fifty acres of wheat on the farm, and a good 
deal of this was after roots, oats mainly following the second 
year's seeds. 
The permanent grass is chiefly of a very secondary or mild 
character, and is mostly pastux-ed with lambs, of which about 
1,000 are usually bought. 
The team-horses are very superior animals, of great size and 
substance, and few, if any of them, are much over five years old. 
That a great deal of just pride is centred here it was very plain 
to see, and the cart-horses, as well as others of a lighter class, 
which are bought or bred on the farm, are clearly hobbies of 
Mr. Machin's heart in more senses than one. Whenever a pro- 
mising young animal is to be picked up reasonably, it is bought 
and put to grass and corn. At four years old all the purchases 
are taken into the teams in place of as many five-year-olds, 
which are sold. Mr. Machin calculates that this system of per- 
petual change not only avoids the gradual depreciation of all- 
round value, which afflicts the like property of his neighbours, 
but nets him an average profit of lOZ. per horse besides; which 
it certainly ought to do considering the judgment and capital 
