216 
Farm Prize Competition, 1908. 
within the town and the house most certainly is, being the end 
one of a row of very comfortable dwellings just off the main 
road. Mr. Dryden’s holding is in the midst of a population of 
10,000, and herein lies the commercial value of the farm, with 
the further advantage of good railway facilities owing to the 
presence of the collieries. The town of Seaham affords an 
immediate market for a very considerable amount of the farm 
produce, besides supplying a quantity of manure, &c. The 
close proximity of the town of Sunderland, with its population 
of 146,000 and excellent railway facilities, is also of great 
value to the local farming community. The soil generally 
may be described as a strong clay loam of a deep rich 
character ; there are, however, a few acres on the gravel where 
the soil is lighter. The areas under various crops in 1908 were 
as follows : — Turnips, 30 acres ; oats, 30 acres ; potatoes, 
50 acres ; wheat, 30 acres ; clover, 50 acres ; tares and cabbage, 
10 acres ; total 200. The general system of cropping on the 
arable land is “ green,” followed by “ white.” A specimen 
rotation might be turnips, oats, clover, potatoes, wheat. 
Oats being taken after potatoes when there is not time to 
get wheat in. 
Turnips. — The wheat stubble is ploughed deeply twice (once 
before Christmas and again early in the spring). The .land is 
set up in drills into which are carted fifteen to twenty loads per 
acre of well-rotted farm-yard manure. In addition to this the 
land receives about 7 cwt. per acre of mixed turnip manure. 
The drills are then closed and the swede seed sown on the 
ridge at the rate of about 4 lb. per acre. The singling and 
second hoeing of the turnips are done by piece-work at the rate 
of 13s. per acre for the double operation ; the final operations of 
pulling, topping and tailing, &c., are done by day-work. An 
average crop of swedes is about 40 tons per acre on this farm. 
The roots seen were good and the land thoroughly clean, and 
it had evidently been well cultivated. 
Oats. — The oat crop comes after turnips and receives no 
special manuring, with the possible exception of a little top- 
dressing of nitrate of soda in the spring, if necessary. Mr. 
Dryden has a decided preference for the white short variety 
and changes the seed every two years. The oats are drilled at 
the rate of about one sack per acre. No hoeings are given 
to the oat crop, which is usually looked over for thistles and 
then left alone until harvest. Harvest operations are done by 
day-work. An average crop of oats for the district is 70 
bushels per acre. 
Potatoes . — Following Oats . — During the autumn, farm-yard 
manure is carted and spread upon the stubble at the rate of 20 
to 25 tons to the acre, this being ploughed in before Christmas 
