Farm-Prize Competition^ 1880. 
519 
sound and regular-sized handsome bulbs. The swedes were 
also very good considering the situation. 
The land is cropped thus: (1) turnips and swedes; (2) oats, 
and occasionally a little barley ; (3) seeds, generally grazed for 
two years and longer, if they do well ; and (4) oats. Very 
few seeds are mown, there being 40 acres of meadow-land for 
the purpose. The turnip break generally consists of about 
25 to 28 acres. Half of this is planted with white, and half 
with swedes. 
For either of these the land is not touched from its state of 
oat-stubble till April, when it receives its first ploughing. The 
whole of the spring corn is always sown before the ploughs are 
put in the stubbles. The land gets four ploughings in all, and 
a good deal of grubbing. Turnips are never sown on the high 
land till the 20th of May, and very often in June. It is of 
course ridged, and 20 loads (or about 15 or 1(5 tons) of manure 
are applied per acre, besides 9 cwt. of dissolved bones. The 
artificial manure costs about 3Z. per acre ; and extravagant as 
this may seem to the southern farmer, I am convinced that it is 
well spent. The turnip-crop here is the foundation of the 
system upon which stock-farming is rendered profitable ; and 
to get really first-class crops a large outlay is necessary ; but 
this is amply repaid by. such roots as we found on this farm. 
Where no farmyard-manure is applied, for white turnips, &c., 
the land gets 12^ cwt. per acre of dissolved bones, at a cost 
of 4/. 6s. per acre. 
The land is not very subject to weeds, and presents no great 
difficulties beyond those I have mentioned. I alluded to the fact 
that the farm had been limed, but I did not mention that the 
large quantity of from 10 to 22 cartloads per acre has been 
applied. It has been found exccedirigly beneficial both to corn, 
to roots, and to grass. A large field near the house, now in 
grass, was nine years ago broken up, cropped, and laid down 
again. Mr. Lowthian declares its value previous to this was nil. 
When in cultivation it was heavily limed, and a wonderful crop 
of turnips was produced by this and the application of 10 cwt. 
of bones per acre ; and this was followed by an equally remu- 
nerative crop of oats. The former poverty of the land may be 
judged by the fact that when first broken up there was a crop 
of oats not equal to the seed sown. It is now a very useful 
pasture, having never forgotten its treatment. I need scarcely 
say there is a limekiln on the farm, or these large dressings 
would scarcely have been applied. 
Labour. — All labourers board in the house. There is one 
married man in occupation of a cottage, but he too gets his 
meals in the house. There are about fifteen persons fed in the 
house daily, but this includes a son of Mr. Lowthian's who is in 
