288 Report on the Farm- Prize Competition of 1872. 
top-dressed during the winter with lime and earth compost, 
each acre receiving about 15 loads, which may be taken to 
represent one ton of lime. About one-half the crop is mown 
for hay, dried in the usual manner, and at the end of 7 or 8 
days carted into stack. The fog, or aftergrass, affords a rich 
pasture for the lambs in August, and the ewes tup well upon 
it in September and October. 
Oats. — After remaining down in grass one, two, or more 
years, the clover-leas are for the most part ploughed for oats. 
This is done in December or January with Hornsby's 2-furrow- 
plough ; the land is harrowed in March, and drilled with 
B bushels per acre, lengthwise the ploughing. Black Tartar 
oats succeed remarkably well, the yield seldom being under 
50 bushels per acre. This year, however, v.'e were shown a 
crop which cannot fall far short of, if it does not actually reach, 
70 bushels per acre. 
The present aspect of the Labour question, and the induce- 
ments now offered for sheep-breeding, have induced Mr. Powell, 
and many others besides him, to leave their arable land longer 
in grass, if not to lay away altogether such fields as ma}- be 
adapted for sheep-pasture. At Eglwysnunyd, a 20-acre field, 
well watered, drained, and fenced, and lying furthest from the 
homestead, is intended to remain down as long as it will graze 
to advantage. The seeds, sown three years ago, were only those 
used in alternate husbandry, but, having taken remarkably well, 
and a copious dressing of lime and rich old earth having been 
applied during the first year, there is every prospect of a good 
sward forming. Adjoining this field is another of 30 acres, a 
rather thin, weak gravel, put down, in 1868, with permanent grass 
seeds (from Messrs. Sutton and Messrs. Wheeler), at a cost of 32*. 
per acre, 2 lbs. per acre of alsike clover being added to the 
mixture. This field, being at the extreme boundary of the farm, 
and watered at the lowest point by a copious spring, was laid 
away many years ago, but having, by degrees, become foul, 
benty, and unproductive, leave was obtained to plough it up, 
and put it through a course of cropping ; the conditicHis being 
that it should be cleaned, manured, and laid down again, entirely 
at the expense of the tenant. This addition to his acreage of 
grass land, though it may not be permanent, has enabled Mr. 
Powell meanwhile to increase the number of his flock very con- 
siderably (and we all recognise, though we cannot estimate, the 
benefits conferred upon light soils by the "golden hoof" of 
the sheep), while at the same time it has lessened the labour 
bills. Moreover, as he depends very much for winter provender 
for his cattle-stock on the produce of nine acres of richly irrigated, 
and 40 acres of well-composted meadow ground, the slight 
