286 
Farm  Prize  Competition,  1909. 
Tbe  buildings  are  good  and  suitable,  and  are  kept  in  very 
tidy  condition.  No  cottages  go  with  the  farm. 
The  landlord  allows  timber  for  fencing,  good  oak  gates  at 
2s.  6(i.  each,  and  the  cost  of  metal  for  roads. 
Labour  here  runs  from  1.5s.  to  16s.  per  week  with  allowance 
of  cider.  Mr.  Hill  is  efficiently  assisted  in  the  conduct  of  the 
farm  by  his  sons,  so  that  his  outgoings  in  labour  only  amount 
to  150Z.  per  annum.  Purchased  foods  cost  97Z.  per  annum. 
Hoeing  and  singling  mangold  costs  14s.  per  acre  (twice  over) ; 
hoeing  corn,  4s.  to  5s.  per  acre  ; hedging,  9rf.  per  perch. 
This  farm  was  characterised  by_  good  and  economical 
management,  clean  land,  good  crops,  and  rent-paying  stock. 
Glass  V. — First  Prize  Farm. 
Occupied  by  Mr.  Francis  Hawkins,  Sugwas  Farm,  near 
Hereford. 
This  farm  is  held  under  a lease  from  His  Honour  Judge 
Ingham,  and  has  been  farmed  by  Mr.  Francis  Hawkins  for 
thirty-five  years,  having  been  occupied  by  Mr.  Hawkins’  father 
for  the  previous  sixteen  years.  It  consists  of  263  acres  arable, 
209  grass,  and  68  acres  of  pasture  orchards.  The  soil  is  a 
light  free-working  loam  on  a gravelly  subsoil  which,  in  some 
places,  runs  into  large  stones  and  has  a tendency  to  burn. 
The  lease  does  not  bind  the  tenant  to  any  prescribed  form 
of  cropping,  and  on  this  farm  we  have  the  wisdom  of  the 
“ open  ” agreement  clearly  demonstrated  by  good  crops  on 
clean,  well-cultivated  land  full  of  condition.  The  rotation  of 
cropping  followed  is  the  ordinary  four-course  of  roots,  barley 
or  oats,  clover,  wheat,  with  any  slight  variation  rendered 
necessary  by  season  or  other  circumstance.  The  areas  under 
various  crops  this  year  were  wheat,  66  acres  ; barley,  42  acres  ; 
oats,  34  acres  ; peas,  10  acres  ; clover,  50  acres  ; roots,  58  acres ; 
potatoes,  3 acres.  Peas  are  grown  when  clover  fails.  Rape 
is  sometimes  sown  if  another  crop  has  missed.  If  it  is 
considered  necessary  or  desirable,  a second  white  crop  may 
be  taken  after  wheat,  in  which  case  the  wheat  stubble  is 
ploughed  in  the  autumn  and  cultivated  in  the  spring  for  oats, 
or  ploughed  twice  for  barley.  A few  vetches  are  grown  for 
the  horses,  and  this  land  is  afterwards  planted  with  roots. 
The  root  crop  consists  mainly  of  swedes,  and  receives 
practically  the  whole  of  the  applied  manure  for  the  rotation. 
Swedes  are  manured  with  10  tons  per  acre  farmyard  manure, 
4 cwt.  ground  bones,  4 cwt.  kainit,  and  \ cwt.  of  nitrate 
of  soda.  The  raw  bones  are  ground  at  home,  and  if  a little 
slow  in  their  beneficial  action  for  the  swedes,  they  leave  some- 
thing for  the  succeeding  crops.  The  seed  is  drilled  in  rows 
