The Farm-Prize Competition, 1884. 
571 
richly-wooded park, with a peep at Aqualate Mere beyond, a sheet 
of water covering 200 acres, and adding much to the beauty of 
the landscape. The house is good and substantial, and the 
buildings roomy and fairly convenient. Formerly both the 
large yards were unprovided with shedding, but Mr. Pearce has, 
at his own expense, erected a capital shelter shed with an iron 
roof. The other yard would be greatly improved if entirely 
covered over, for which outlay a good interest could be paid. 
At the east end of the feeding-house already noticed is a large 
space divided into a root, store, and mixing-room. Above 
the root-house is a chaffing floor, the chaff being conducted 
by a spout into the mixing-room. Mr. Pearce prefers slicing 
to pulping ; cattle eat more, and the roots, he thinks, remain 
longer in the stomach, and so more nourishment is extracted. 
Whether this latter is a fact we do not know, but the fattening 
animals have as many swedes as they can eat, with wheat 
straw, and a little hay in racks, and about 4 lbs. of chaff 
a. day. No rock-salt is used. 
The cart stable, which is a separate building on the opposite 
side of the range, is roomy, well-ventilated, and fitted with iron 
mangers and racks, with a harness and hay-room in the centre. 
All liquid drainings are collected in a tank. 
The farm is well roaded, and is intersected by a railway ; the 
higher side is principally arable. The soil varies considerably, 
is very thin in places, and here and there are waste patches 
where the sandstone rock comes to the surface. The enclosures 
are large, and the fences admirably kept. Judging from the 
large twitch heaps which we found rotting down in No. 1456 
and other fields, and which were utilised to grow potatoes on, 
and which were got out in preparing for roots last year, we 
should credit Mr. Pearce with having well cleaned land, that was 
foul on entry. This decayed matter was to be mixed with lime 
before application either to seeds or grass. At our second in- 
spection in May, we found most of the crops in promising con- 
<lition, the land generally clean, and one large field. No. 1412, 
for roots, not then sown, in excellent state. One field of white 
spring wheat after seeds was suffering in some places from the 
daddy-long-legs grub, which, despite careful hoeing, must result 
in a patchy crop ; this field had greatly improved in July, and 
promised more than an average crop. Another field. No. 851, 
was sown with mangolds and swedes, 7^ cwt. of manure, supplied 
by the Cannock Chase Company, having been used ; both man- 
golds and swedes were doing well. Mr. Pearce experiences 
some difficulty in getting his seeds to stand every fourth year. 
Manure is principally applied either on the young seeds in 
autumn, or the following year for the wheat crop. 
