544 
The Farm-Prize Competition, 1884. 
fallow, to manure it and sow wheat, in which the following seeds 
are sown : — 10 lbs. cocksfoot, 10 lbs. Timothy, 5 lbs. meadow 
fescue, 1 peck of perennial rje-grass, 5 lbs. Dutch clover, 4 lbs. 
cow-grass, 2 lbs. perennial red clover, 4 lbs. alsike, 2 lbs. trefoil, 
and 2 lbs. rib-grass. The seeds were obtained from F. Dixon 
and Co., Chester. In the next spring 10 cwt. of ^-inch bones 
were applied. The young layers are not mown, but grazed 
with light-mouthed sheep and voung cattle. The flourishing 
appearance of the comparatively young grass (five or six years' 
growth), its rich colour and well-knit sward, evidenced the 
success of the system. We were shown one field in which a 
portion was not clean when laid, and though this was dressed 
twice with bones, and the rest only once, it is not half so good, 
justifying Mr. Holme's dictum, that land must be clean before 
laying down. All land laid down by the tenant remains as arable, 
and is either paid for or ploughed out. Another field adjoining 
that last described, which had been laid four years, was so 
bad at the time of entry, that Mr. Holme had the option of 
breaking, but wisely preferred improvement by consuming cake 
Avith sheep. It has now an excellent face, is full of herbage — 
on which sheep thrive better than on the old grass — and is 
worth twice as much rent as the strong arable land. Mr. Holme 
states that in early days when the farm required help, as much 
as 1000 tons of manure had been purchased annually. Nearly 
three miles of farm-roads had been made by the tenant with 
clinkers and stones from the land. The Hill Farm runs up to 
and surrounds the elevated mound, on which are the remains of 
Stafford Castle, a ruin dating from the twelfth century, some 
portions of which are still well preserved. Below the Castle 
are some irrigated meadows, useful both for early food and hay. 
The land being so strong, is not well suited for sheep, and in 
1879 a large proportion were rotted. Cheviot ewes are bought 
in crossed with Long Wool rams, and the produce fed out. This 
spring a heavy loss of lambs occurred, attributed to over-feeding, 
causing curd in the stomach. The appearance of most of the 
grass-land was eminently satisfactory. The crops, on the whole, 
were excellent, but some of the tillage-land costs too much labour 
to pay ; and it is most desirable in the interests of landlord and 
tenant that such fields should be laid down as soon as prac- 
ticable. We must notice the excellent take of young seeds. 
One field laid for hay was extraordinarily bulky. The usual 
mixture — 4 lbs. red clover, 4 lbs. cow-grass, 2 lbs. each of alsike, 
white clover, and trefoil, and a bushel of rye-grass, — was drilled in 
wheat, and this crop was dressed this spring with 6 cwt. of soot 
per acre. The other seeds which had been grazed were also excel- 
lent, and with rain would doubtless yield heavy crops. Wheat, 
