248 
Farm  Prize  Competition,  1910. 
All  food  left  by  cows  when  at  grass  is  daily  collected  and  used 
along  with  the  whey  from  cheese-making  for  feeding  the  pigs. 
“ When  the  grass  begins  to  go  off,  4 or  5 tons  of  mangolds 
are  carted  on  to  the  night  pasture.  The  mangolds  at  this  time 
are  ripe  and  a fine  food,  cattle  do  wonderfully  well  upon  them, 
and  they  make  up  for  any  shortage  of  grass  that  occurs  during 
July,  before  the  “ after-grass”  comes  on. 
“ The  cows  are  dried  off  for  two  months  when  possible. 
When  quite  dry,  they  get  in  winter  about  6 lb.  of  ground  oats 
and  meal  mixed  per  day,  and  in  the  summer  about  4 lb.  to 
assist  in  putting  on  condition  ready  for  calving. 
“ No  cotton  cake  or  meal  are  given  to  cows  within  three 
months  of  calving  as  they  have  an  effect  on  the  calf  after  birth, 
causing  it  to  have  contracted  joints,  &c. 
“ As  far  as  possible,  all  cows  fed  off  for  beef  are  usually 
drawn  out  between  April  and  July,  and  do  not  go  out  to  grass, 
a good  trade  for  beef  being  usually  met  with  at  that  season. 
“ Most  of  the  cows  fed  off  are  such  as  have  become  second- 
rate  milkers  or  have  developed  udder  trouble.  These  are 
generally  first  season's  beasts,  so  mostly  go  out  leaving  from  1 1. 
to  3 1.  over  cost.  Useful  young  utility  cows  are  bought,  but 
fancy  prices  are  not  given  to  please  the  eye.  Shorthorn  bulls 
from  known  milking  strains  only  are  used  for  stock  purposes, 
in  preference  to  the  beef-bred  Shorthorn. 
“The  cows  are  groomed  daily,  Sundays  excepted.  The 
udders  and  teats  are  thoroughly  rubbed  and  cleansed  by  boys 
before  each  milking  to  prevent  dirt  getting  into  the  milk  and 
contaminating  it. 
“ All  milk  is  passed  through  a fine  wire  sieve,  then  through 
several  thicknesses  of  fine  calico. 
“The  milk  is  refrigerated  to  58°  F.,  which  ensures  a reason- 
able safety  for  its  keeping  sweet.  An  abundant  supply  of  water 
is  brought  by  gravitation  to  two  large  refrigerators,  and  then 
passes  on  to  a number  of  large  troughs  for  the  cattle  to  drink : 
a feature  of  the  greatest  importance  for  a healthy  dairy  herd 
and  pure  milk  supply.” 
The  tenant  is  responsible  for  the  upkeep  of  drainage, 
fences,  gates,  roads,  but  not  of  the  cottages.  Manures  and 
lime  cost  at  Parkside  400 1.  ; straw,  135 1.  ; meals,  &c.,  2,320/.  ; 
wages,  1,378/.  per  annum. 
Many  improvements  have  been  effected  by  the  tenant, 
including  the  removal  of  over  three  miles  of  old  fences  and 
the  cleaning  of  those  adjoining  the  tillage  land  ; also  the 
planting  of  over  two  and  a half  miles  of  new  thorn  fences. 
On  the  two  farms  over  100  acres  have  been  drained,  and 
4 acres  of  old  pitholes,  &c.,  filled  in  and  brought  into 
cultivation. 
