274  Farm  Prize  Competition,  1909. 
The  50  acres  of  pasture  is  of  rather  inferior  quality,  but  is 
well  grazed  by  the  heifers  and  cow  stock,  and  receives  the 
liquid  tank  manure  from  the  cows  and  horses.  The  50  acres 
of  water-rtieadows  are  kept  for  the  sheep  and  the  dairy  herd. 
One-third  of  the  area  is  grazed  by  the  sheep  in  the  spring 
while  folding  on  the  rye  and  Italian  rye-grass,  and  the  other 
two-thirds  by  the  dairy  cows  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  year, 
and  the  cows  continue  to  graze  the  meadows  all  the  summer. 
As  soon  as  the  feeding  of  the  water-meadows  is  finished  in 
the  autumn,  the  “ drowner  ” commences  working  up  the 
meadows,  trimming  grass,  shovelling  out  mud  from  the  water- 
ways and  drains,  and  making  good  with  turf  any  uneven 
places  which  may  have  been  caused  by  cattle  treading.  The 
hatches  are  then  drawn  and  sufficient  water  let  down  to  run 
evenly  over  the  beds.  The  water  is  allowed  to  run  over  the 
meadows  continuously  for  about  fourteen  days,  after  which 
it  is  shut  out  for  about  seven  days.  This  course  is  followed 
throughout  the  winter,  and  in  ordinary  seasons  there  is  suffi- 
cient grass  on  to  which  to  turn  the  cows  and  sheep  by  March 
25.  Should  frosty  weather  or  very  cold  cutting  winds  occur, 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  water  to  be  kept  running  over 
the  grass  to  protect  it  from  the  frost  and  wind. 
The  water  is  shut  off  from  the  meadows  about  a fortnight 
before  grazing  commences,  so  that  the  meadows  become  firm 
and  the  grass  hardened.  As  soon  as  the  grass  is  fed  off,  the 
water  is  put  over  the  meadows  again,  and  they  are  fit  for 
further  grazing  in  six  weeks’  time,  and  so  the  process  continues 
through  the  summer. 
Horses. — There  are  thirteen  working  horses,  all  bought  as 
geldings,  at  from  four  to  five  years  old.  The  horses  were 
good  and  suitable  for  their  work.  Occasionally  a horse  is 
sold  for  town  work.  Their  ration  consists  of  oats,  at  the 
rate  of  2^  bushels  per  horse  per  week,  and  hay.  Half-a-pint 
of  linseed  gruel  per  horse  is  given  each  night  with  the  food 
as  a preventive  against  colic.  During  summer  the  horses  have 
lucerne  instead  of  hay. 
Cattle. — The  cattle  consist  of  forty  cows  in  milk,  ten  dry 
cows,  ten  two-year-old  heifers,  ten  one-year-old  heifers,  twelve 
calves,  and  two  stock  bulls,  all  of  the  Shorthorn  type,  the  bulls 
being  selected  from  milking  strains.  All  the  stock  is  home-bred, 
with  the  exception  of  the  bulls.  Most  of  the  calves  are  sold, 
only  about  ten  of  the  best  heifer  calves  being  retained  each 
year  to  keep  up  the  herd.  During  winter  the  cows  have  per 
head  from  50  to  60  lb.  pulped  mangold  and  chaff,  3 lb. 
undecorticated  cotton  cake,  and  3 lb.  of  either  decorticated 
cotton  cake  or  soya  bean  cake.  From  April  to  October  the 
cows  are  on  the  water-meadows.  The  herd  is  tested  from  time 
