600 
Typical Farms in Cheshire and North Wales. 
generally realise more than their original cost, and the lamhs and wool leave 
a profit for tlieir keep. Wool has recently made 9 jd. per lb. No cake or 
corn is given on the grass after the beginning of May. The five breeding 
sows produce about 80 pigs per annum. The first bellies are fed from 10 to 
15 score weight on whey and some Indian meal and bran, and the second lots 
are sold as stores. They are of good quality. The outlay for food purchased 
is heavy, amounting to an average of 500/. per annum, while at the same 
time about 150/. worth of home-grown beans and oats is consumed on the 
holding. It is not surprising, then, to find that the farm carries as much 
aarain stock as when Mr. Lea first took it, 25 years ago. Fruit and 
poultry are both sources of profit on this well-managed farm. As much 
as 140 hampers (112 lb. weight) of plums have been sold in a year, while 
apples and pears bring in some revenue, and considerable returns are 
realised from the smaller fruit of the garden and other produce there 
grown. 
There are three cottages let with the farm, and these are sublet by 
Mr. Lea to the horseman, who receives 16s. a week and cottage and 
garden rent free ; to the head cowman, who occupies cottage and garden 
and four acres of land rent free, with 12s. a week as wages, equivalent to 
1 Z. per week ; and to a labourer at 15s. per week and cottage and garden 
rent free. Another labourer who comes from an adjacent village gets 15s. 
per week. The ordinary hours of work are from 6 a.m. to 6 P.M., but 
stock-men are earlier and later. The labourers have piecework in potato- 
raising, and beer and extra wages in hay and corn harvest. Three Irishmen 
are employed for a month in the summer months at 14s. per week and a 
little skim-milk each day. The indoor servants consist of under horseman, 
who receives 18/. per annum and all found ; under cowman, the same ; 
and two boys at 10/. each. Mr. Lea’s two unmarried sons, aged 23 and 19 
years respectively, also take part in the work of the farm. The labour 
account, however, is not debited with then - industry, without which it 
amounts to about 30s. per acre, or 450/. per annum, and has increased during 
the last decade. Last year was the worst Mr. Lea has experienced for 
many years, and this he attributes partly to the wet season, and partly to 
higher labour charges, damage to crops, and depreciated values of produce. 
11. The Farms o/ Me. Thomas Parton, Weston Hall, near Crewe, Cheshire. 
Mr. Parton’s two holdings are in the townships of Weston and Cliorlton, 
three miles from Crewe. The arrangement of the buildings at Weston is 
shown in the plan on p. 599, and at Chorlton in the plan on p. 601. The 
altitude is over 200 and under 250 feet, and the climate fairly good, but 
rather severe in the spring. 
They lie upon the New Red Sandstone formation, covered by drift (clay, 
sand, and gravel). The soil varies from sandy loam to heavy clay, and there 
is a small acreage of a peaty nature. The lighter soil is devoted to arable 
culture. The Chorlton holding is, as a whole, of a heavier character than 
Weston Hall. There are two residences, Weston Hall being occupied by 
Mr. Parton, and Chorlton by one of his sons. The gardens and orchards 
cover about 2 acres. The latter contain apples, pears, and plums, from which 
some monetary return is derived. The buildings are commodious and well 
arranged. A large capital outlay has been incurred upon them by Mr. 
Parton, and the conversion of the old steadings to meet the requirements of 
the times has been thoroughly and economically carried out in accord- 
ance with his views. The plans given herewith will fully explain their 
construction and capacity. The cowhouses have hay tallats over them, 
and are ingeniously ventilated, and the floors are concreted. Surface drains 
