Farm  Prize  Competition,  1909.  297 
cut  being  harvested  for  seed  when  the  clover  is  well  “headed.” 
The  rye-grass  seed  is  readily  separated  from  the  clover  by 
means  of  the  screens  in  the  winnowing  machines.  The 
first  cut  is  usually  taken  about  the  third  week  in  June. 
If  the  second  crop  is  well  headed  it  is  left  to  become 
perfectly  ripe  and  cut  for  seed,  otherwise  it  is  used  for  a 
fodder  crop  and  is  found  to  be  very  good  feed  for  fattening 
sheep. 
Wheat  follows  the  clover,  and  is  in  its  turn  followed  either 
by  oats,  barley,  or  beans,  according  to  the  character  of  the  soil. 
Wheat  averages  45  to  50  bushels  per  acre  and  oats  about  70 
bushels. 
There  are  46  acres  of  mowing  grass,  which  are  treated  each 
year  with  a dressing  either  of : (a)  2 cwt.  fish  guano  and 
2 cwt.  superphosphate,  or  (6)  3 cwt.  superphosphate,  2 cwt. 
kainit,  and  | cwt.  sulphate  of  ammonia  or  nitrate  of  soda  per 
acre.  The  fish  guano  is  found  to  be  very  effective.  The  pas- 
tures are  well  grazed.  Basic  slag  has  been  tried  on  several  of 
the  fields,  but  in  one  instance  only  has  it  shown  any  marked 
effect. 
The  hops  are  all  grown  on  a deep  loam  soil  by  the  side  of 
the  river  Teme.  One  hop-yard  of  26  acres  is  grown  upon 
wire-work,  the  remaining  23  acres  upon  poles.  Most  of  the 
hops  are  “ Mathons,”  for  which  variety  the  soil  appears  to  be 
very  suitable.  A few  “ Bramlings  ” and  “ Fuggles  ” are 
grown  for  early  and  late  picking  respectively.  The  “Fuggles” 
crop  heavily  but  the  “ Bramlings  ” do  not  stock  well.  The 
hops  are  planted  in  rows,  9 ft.  apart,  a distance  of  3 ft.  3 in.  to 
3 ft.  8 in.  being  allowed  from  stock  to  stock,  which  means 
about  1,300  stocks  to  the  acre. 
In  the  wire-work  yard,  three  strings  fixed  V-shaped  are 
allowed  to  each  stock,  two  “ bines  ” being  trained  up  each 
string.  In  the  pole-work  yard,  where  two  poles  13  ft.  to 
14  ft.  long  are  placed  to  each  stock,  two  hop  wires  to  one  pole 
and  three  to  the  other  are  usually  found  most  satisfactory  in 
giving  the  required  amount  of  bine.  As  far  as  possible,  all 
the  manual  work  required  is  done  by  piece-work,  calculated  at 
so  much  per  1,000  stocks.  Following  the  custom  adopted 
throughout  the  Midland  plantations,  practically  all  the  soil 
cultivation  is  done  by  horse  labour,  differing  in  this  respect 
from  much  of  the  Kent  work. 
As  soon  as  practicable,  after  the  hops  have  been  picked, 
the  ground  between  the  hop  rows  is  ploughed  up  to  the  stocks 
to  get  all  possible  benefit  from  the  winter  frosts,  and  the 
reans  being  deeply  moulded  leaves  the  stock  well  drained. 
Ploughing  down  commences  in  the  first  favourable  weather 
after  the  middle  of  February,  the  whole  of  the  earth  being 
