The Farm Prize ComjtetiHon of 1892. 
■555 
season of 1891, as many of the fields had to be sown two and 
three times owing to the ravages of the turnip fly. 
Most of the land in Warwickshire is well adapted for the 
breeding and fattening of sheep. Nearly all the lambs bred, 
with the exception of the ewe tegs, which in most cases are 
retained for making up the flock, are fattened out within the 
year and sent to the different repository sales in the county, 
in the months of February and March, in their fleeces. This 
practice has gained favour during the last three or four years 
on account of the low price obtainable for wool. As a proof of 
the great fall that has taken place in the price of mutton since 
1876, tegs that were then making 70s. to 80s. each, are now 
only worth about 50s. — a fall of about 30 per cent, in price. 
On very few of the farms was any distinct or pure breed of 
sheep kept, those most in favour being the Oxford Down or 
Shropshire, but usually a cross between the two. The lamb- 
ing season in Warwickshire is generally rather late, commenc- 
ing in a few instances in the third week in February, but 
mostly at the beginning of March. Ewes are usually kept 
during the winter months on the old grasses, with a small 
allowance of crushed oats and hay. In some parts of the county 
the haulm of the peas, after picking, is gathered and stacked, and 
used for foddering the ewes instead of oats and hay, for which it is 
an excellent substitute, as from 5 to 7 per cent, of peas are left 
in the straw. The employment of artificial foods is for this 
reason much diminished. Where the turnips are drawn off, the 
ewes are folded on the land at night, eating the tops, and being 
supplied in addition with a portion of hay. 
On account of the low price of beef and the growing demand 
for milk, dairying in Warwickshire has again come into fashion, 
and instead of beef being principally made as formerly, the two- 
year-old steers are sold off to be fatted in other counties. 
A tabulated statement of all the farms entered for competition, 
in which full particulars as to the acreage, soil, &c., can be seen 
at a glance, is set forth on p. 556. 
That the courage of the Warwickshire farmer has not been 
damped by the cycle of bad times through which he has passed 
is shown by the fact that the entries for this competition are more 
than five times as large as in 1876, numbering 26 against only 
5. The entries were as follows: Class I., 9; Class II., 10; 
Class III., 7. 
The competitors throughout showed the greatest willing- 
ness to give us every information in their power with respect to 
receipts and expenditure. Still, in a great many cases no real 
