553 
The Farm Prize Competition 0 / 1892. 
whole, can hold its own with the most favoured districts of 
England. The scenery presents little of the grander and sterner 
aspects of Nature, but in its simple, reposeful, and truly English 
loveliness, it has a charm peculiarly its own. Though it has no 
mountains, and might, therefore, seem tame and flat to perfervid 
disciples of Mr. lluskin, the gently undulating character of the 
whole surface redeems it from monotony. Geologically it is 
occupied almost entirely by the Liassic, Upper and Lower 
Triassic, Permian, and Carboniferous formations. The climate 
is mild and wholesome, and favourable not only to the life, but 
to the health of vegetable produce. The abundance of plant- 
life in “ leafy Warwickshire ” makes it a happy hunting-ground 
for the botanist, and stocked the all-absorbing mind of Shake- 
speare with that wealth of plant lore which is one of his most 
striking characteristics. The soil is fertile, and, as a rule, boun- 
teously rewards the toil of the husbandman. 
Dowered as Warwickshire is with every advantage of soil and 
climate, it is no wonder that agriculture flourishes there. If 
Nature has done much for it, man has also done his share in 
bettering her handiwork. About flve-sixths of the whole area 
of the county are under tillage or in grass. The average size of 
the farms is about 150 acres, and in point of management and 
productiveness they will probably compare not unfavourably 
with any others in the kingdom. 
The Judges appointed by the Council were Mr. J. B. Ellis, 
of West Barsham, Norfolk, and Mr. J. P. Terry, of Berry Field, 
Aylesbury. In accordance with their instructions, they purposed 
to make the first visit of inspection on January 11, but were 
debarred from doing so by the inclemency of the weather, the 
ground being covered with snow, and a sharp frost prevailing. 
On this account the inspection was delayed a fortnight, the 
Judges arriving at Leamington on January 25, and proceeding 
to their work the next morning. 
The field of labour was pretty evenly distributed all over the 
county, from Birmingham on the west to the borders of Leicester- 
shire on the east, and from Coventry in the north to Stratford-on- 
Avon in the south. As might have been expected from the large 
extent visited, the soil was very variable, ranging from sharp 
gravel and sand to heavy red clay, the transition from one stratum 
to another being often very abrupt, and occuii’ing, in fact, in the 
same field. 
On account of the late harvest and the abnormally wet 
autumn of the previous year, the Judges were prepared to And 
cultivation in a very backward state, especially on the strong 
clay and red marl farms, and in this they were not disappointed, 
Q Q 2 
