Derby Prize- Farm Competition^ 1881. 
489 
bay is a wooden chamber, in which can be stored all the chaff 
cut up in a day, and that would be all the straw threshed in a 
day, lor one of Maynard's chaff-cutters is hired at 20s. a day, 
and cuts up the straw as fast as the machine threshes it. In the 
other bay is a large cistern, 6 or 8 feet deep, with dividing 
walls 5 feet high. Into this the grains are put and well trodden 
down. The pulper, Bentall's cylindrical, is on the old barn 
floor, and the horseworks to drive it outside ; so here altogether 
is the food in the mixing-house. A door at the end of the bay, 
under the chaff-chamber, opens into the largest cowshed, and all 
the cows can be conveniently fed with but little labour or loss 
of time. 
The winter food consists of a daily allowance to each cow 
of a small foddering of clover-hay night and morning : 1 bushel 
grains, mixed with cut chaff, pulped roots, and 5 lbs. Indian 
and rice-meal, and when full of milk, 4 lbs. or 5 lbs. cake (half 
decorticated cotton, and half linseed), and half a bushel of roots. 
Grains are high or low in price according to the abundance or 
scarcity of grass and roots, and the time of year — with a scarcity 
of roots and dear fodder they may be (irf. or more at Burton ; in 
summer they are often 2d. or Zd. per bushel, malt measure. At 
this latter price, Mr. Hellaby generally buys his supply. He has 
another cistern in the stackyard which gets filled, trodden down, 
and covered with soil. Most of the stock seem to get grains and 
do well on them. Calves, sheep, dairy cows, and feeding-cattle, 
have them and thrive. About nine cow-calves are reared yearly, 
the others being sold under a week old, at 40*. to 505. each. 
Those reared are fed by hand, and get from 10 pints to begin 
with, and gradually diminished to 3 pints, of new milk a day 
for ten weeks ; when they get strong they are turned out, but 
continue to have artificial food, 1 lb. linseed-cake, and 1 lb. 
Indian meal a day, and a few grains. These come into the 
dairy at 24 to 27 months old. 
Feeding Cattle. — In the meadows by the Trent, in May there 
were 18 very good cattle — heifers, and draft cows — eating 1^^ 
peck grains, and 5 lbs. maize-meal apiece daily ; with them, in 
the 25 acres, were 16 feeding sheep. All were doing very well, 
and by July 7th three of the heifers had gone to the butcher at 
about 28/. a head. It was thought in December that the bull was 
one of Mr. Hellaby's worst beasts ; by the later inspections he 
had improved, but did not look up to the quality of the cows ; 
his owner valued him for his milking blood, and probably he 
was right. The younger bull will grow into a better animal 
than the other. 
Horses. — Five cart-horses, two milk-horses, and one nag are 
kept. The cart-horses are chiefly home-bred, and are a very 
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