284 
Farm  Prize  Competition,  1909. 
years  ago.  However  that  might  be,  there  is  no  question  as  to 
its  excellent  condition  now.  The  tenant  admits  that  the  farm 
is  well  adapted  for  a dairy  farm,  but  not  having  experience  in 
that  line  he  started  as  a grazier  and  corn  grower,  and  by  dint  of 
hard  work  and  good  management  has  succeeded. 
The  farm  looks  well  and  full  of  condition.  The  pastures 
have  a good  face  on  them  which  is  not  natural  to  the  land,  but 
only  possible  with  good  feeding.  Land  clean  ; crops  good  ; 
fences  and  implements  well  looked  after  ; general  management 
good  ; were  the  conditions  the  Judges  found. 
Class  IV. — First  Prize  Farm. 
Occupied  hy  Mr.  William  P.  Hill,  Moorend  Estate  Farm, 
Slimhridge,  Gloucestershire. 
This  farm  is  held  on  a yearly  tenancy  under  Lord 
Fitzhardinge,  and  has  been  occupied  by  Mr.  Hill  for  seven- 
teen years.  It  consists  of  145  acres  of  pasture  land  (including 
6 acres  of  orchard)  and  36  acres  arable  land.  The  tenant  is 
not  bound  down  to  any  particular  form  of  cropping.  The 
arable  soil  is  light  with  a gravel  subsoil,  but  some  of  the  pas- 
ture is  on  heavy  land.  A three-course  system  of  cropping  is 
adopted — 
Roots  Beans 
Oats  Barley 
I I 
Beans  Roots 
Wheat. 
Twelve  acres  of  wheat  are  grown  each  year,  followed  by  6 
acres  of  winter  oats  and  6 acres  of  barley.  Beans  follow  the 
oats,  and  roots,  chiefly  mangold,  follow  the  barley,  then  back  to 
wheat  again  on  the  bean  and  root  land.  Wheat  and  barley 
average  40  bushels  per  acre. 
Manuring. — Beans  are  dressed  with  10  tons  per  acre  of 
farmyard  manure,  and  the  crop  averages  about  36  bushels  per 
acre.  Roots  receive  per  acre  20  tons  of  farmyard  manure  and 
5 cwt.  of  a local  fertiliser.  The  root  crop  consists  mainly  of 
mangold,  only  1 acre  of  swedes  being  grown.  The  oat  crop  is 
usually  top-dressed  with  4 cwt.  per  acre  of  a local  fertiliser, 
the  average  yield  being  60  bushels  per  acre.  The  pasture  land 
receives  no  special  treatment,  being  well  grazed  by  the  dairy 
