590 
Typical Farms in Cheshire and North Wales. 
and a portion of the ewe lambs are drafted into the flock, which is again 
restored to its normal number of 120 by repurchases in the autumn. 
Thirteen breeding sows of the Large White breed are kept. The first 
farrows of the year are fattened and sold off at from 9 to 10 score weights. 
The secondjbellies 'are disposed of as suckers. They are fed on d airy offal and 
mixed Indian meal and thirds flour. 
The farm carries more stock in the aggregate than it did ten years ago. 
The annual expenditure and average for the last 17 years in food pur- 
chased is shown by the subjoined table : — ■ 
Corn and CaJce, 1 892 . 
£ s. d. 
Cotton-cake and linseed-cake ..... 335 10 0 
Maize, &c., meal and flour, and grinding . . . 589 19 0 
Home-grown corn consumed 181 0 0 
Manures 20 7 5 
Freights on do 4G 11 1 
£ 
s. 
d. 
£ 
s. 
d. 
£ 
s. 
d. 
1892 . 
1,173 
7 
6 
1886 
. . 960 
14 
10 
1880 . 
. 836 
16 
10 
1891 . 
1,332 
8 
7 
1885 
. . 1,074 
17 
6 
1879 . 
. 939 
6 
11 
1890 . 
966 
15 
1 
1884 
. . 975 
13 
4 
1878 . 
. 893 
4 
7 
1889 . 
. 1,092 
19 
2 
1883 
. . 1,055 
9 
5 
1877 . 
. 805 
0 
8 
1888 . 
. 767 
17 
11 
1882 
. . 946 
13 
2 
1876 . 
. 684 
6 
6 
1887 . 
. 804 
0 
1 
1881 
. . 881 
18 
6 
16,191 
11 
7 
Or an average for the 17 years of 952 1. 8.?. llr/. a year. 
There are two cottages belonging to the holding. They have good 
gardens, and are occupied by stock-man and waggoner. The other labour 
requisite for the working of the farm is drawn from Lord Crewe’s estate. 
The cottages are let at reasonable rents direct to the labourer, who is ex- 
pected to work on the estate. Several have 3 acres of land attached to 
their cottages, and are thus enabled to keep a cow. This, as Mr. Byrd 
remarked, is a great boon to the cottager — an opinion with which the writer 
fully concurs. 
The labour bill has not increased of late years. In 1892 it amounted to 
1/. 7s. per acre, while the average for the last 17 years was 1/. 8s. 5 d. This 
diminution may perhaps be accounted for by the completion of improvements 
of a permanent character. No Irish or casual labour is employed. Mr. 
I). E. Byrd, who is the responsible manager, is a most systematic and 
accurate book-keeper, but unfortunately the records reveal the fact that 
the past year was the worst experienced since 1879. This he attributes to 
less returns in cheese, with diminished prices, up to Lady-day, and lower 
prices of stock. 
So far the present season has been discouraging, but let us hope that 
Mr. Byrd’s pessimist record of last year will not be beaten. 
8. The Farm of Mr. William Cookson, Alpraham Hall, 
Tarporley, Cheshire. 
Mr. Cookson farms in the parish of Bunbury, near Beeston Castle, on 
the New Red Sandstone (New Red Marl), between 150 and 200 feet above 
the sea level. The land is partly of sandy loam and partly of a stronger con- 
sistency, underlaid by a subsoil of sand, clay, and some peat. The farm has 
been in Mr. Coolcson’s occupation for 10 years, and is held under a 21 years’ 
lease from Lord Tollemache, terminable by the tenant at one year’s notice. 
The agreement embodies the usual Cheshire customs, and sets forth a liberal 
sliding scale of allowances for tenant’s outlay. The rent has not been altered, 
