560 
The Farm Prize Competition of 1892. 
This grass land is mostly of good quality, and about 40 to 
50 acres are cut for hay annually. 
Horses . — Eleven working horses are kept, six being mares. 
These are good useful animals in fair working condition, and 
looked as if they were kept for service and not for show. The 
ploughing has all to be done with four horses at length, the land 
being very heavy. This will account for what would seem rather 
a large number of horses for a farm of this size. From the back- 
wardness of the season these animals must have had a hard time of 
it in the spring, to have got rid of the consequent arrears of work 
so well. Still, they had been well looked after, and maintained 
their condition. They were still being fed in the stables on hay 
and corn at our June visit, the very dry weather having caused 
a great shortness of keep. Mr. Palmer had in addition two 
three-year-old colts and a hackney. 
Cattle . — From twelve to fifteen cows are kept. They are a 
cross between the Shorthorn and the Hereford, three crosses of 
the Hereford being first taken, and then these crossed back by 
the same number of crosses of Shorthorns. After this it goes on 
to one cross of Hereford, which leaves the herd at the present 
time one cross of Hereford to three of Shoi’thorn. The results of 
this system appeared to be most satisfactory, for the cattle all 
showed characteristics of the Hereford strain as far as wealth of 
flesh and fattening qualities are concerned, and had also retained 
all the milking points of the Shorthorn. In fact, we wei’e 
very much impressed by the way in which the distinctive 
qualities of both breeds had been retained by careful manage- 
ment. The bull which is now in use is a very good Shorthorn, 
one of the long, low, and wide type, and calves by him 
were a nice lot. Mr. Palmer had been unfortunate, prior to 
our first visit, in having a great deal of abortion among his cows. 
No milk is sold, but butter is made and disposed of at 
Warwick and Leamington at an average of Is. Id. per lb. all 
the year ronnd, the skim-milk being used for rearing calves. 
At our first visit, which took place in February, the number 
of cattle was eighty-three, made up as follows : — 
12 cows in-milk or in-calf. 
7 heifers in-calf two years old. 
C feeding steers ready for the 
butcher. 
10 feeding cows and heifers. 
4 two-year-old steers. 
15 two-year-old stirks, served or for 
service. 
22 yearlings. 
G weanlings. 
1 Shorlhorn bull. 
83 
The feeding heifers and steers were having about 
bushels of pulped roots mixed with straw and hay chaflT, together 
