QUEEN VICTORIA AS A FARMER.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1260, 23 April 1896, Page 4

QUEEN VICTORIA AS A FARMER.

If instincts and tastes are hereditary, gays a writer in Pearsons Weekly, as they of course are known to be, it is no matter of surprise to find the Queen as a farmer. “ Farmer George ” did much to improve the Windsor Farm, and his tastes have shown themselves very strongly both in his granddaughter anu great-grandson, the Queen and the Prince of Wales.

But the great developments of the operations at Windsor were dun to the fostering hand of the Prince Consort, who gave much of both time and trouble to the work, and the improvements in the farm itself, in its buildings, ami in the quality of the stock, were made under his personal direction. Therefore, though the predecessors of Her Majesty have all taken more or less interest in fanning, yet it is during the present reign that this has been taken up with a determination to make the Windsor estate what it is —a model farm, or farms, for there are several. In this the Prince Consort was stronglv supported by the Queen, who ever Loc>k tho deepest interest in his work. Since his death the improvements and developments have been | continued, not merely as a sacred duty, as it would have been in any case, but | with an evident pleasure, and as an example to others who have the same , opportunities. j At Balmoral and Osborne similar I work was also carried on, but ncces- | sarily to a lesser extent than at Osborne. To a large degree, therefore, in looking at the Queen as a farmer, wo must speak of her in conjunction with her lamented husband.

In her farming Her Majesty occupies a position which sho is seldom accorded. Probably it is generally thought that the farms at Windsor are on land for which no rent is paid, and carried on regardless whether they pay gr not.

This is not the case, and it may surprise many to learn that the Queen is a tenant farmer, and, like every other occupant of this by no means enviable position, of late years has had her rent to pay, and possibly has known what it is to be unablo to mako both ends meet. Whether tho Queen has sought for and obtained, like nearly every

tenant farmer, a substantial reduction of rent we are unable to say.

This will be a secret locked in the breasts of her landlord, the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, and the heads of the Windsor farms. .1 hey are now practically two in number—the Shaw Farm and the blemish Farm.

At one time the Norfolk, Bagshofc, and Bapley farms were all held by the Queen, but they were given up a few

years ago. The Shaw Farm, so called because it was at one time held, before the estate was purchased by the crown, by a Frenchman, Mona, do Shaw, wrs originally joined to the Lrogmore property, and was occupied by the Princess Augusta ; but on her death in IS 10 the Prince Consort took it in hand, continuing as the tenant till his death in 18GI j since which lime it has been in the possession of Her Majesty. Here we find the splendid buildings which form one ot its chief characteristics. '1 he cost ot the buildings erected by the Prince must have been enormous, and with those on the Home Farm must have absorbed a very large sum of money. Tiioy arc adapted for the breeding ot stock, and at the present time there aro upwards of 200 head of cattle on the place, besides a large number of sheep and pigs. The principal herds are those of shorthorns and Jerseys, but there are also a number of ITerefords and Devons. The object is not merely ornamental, | for the practical production of beef and dairy produce is ju.-ver kept in view. Considerable success has been achieved in the production of fat stock, and the prizes won at leading Christmas shows have proved that the system of feeding is thoroughly understood by those in charge of the farm. The operations are and have been closely watched by members ot the Royal family, and at the residence of Mr Tait, the manager, who succeeded to this position on the death of his j father in 1882, there is a suit of apart incuts devoted to the use of U<e .Majesty, from which she can privately go through the entire range of buildings. It is the Dairy Farm, near which is the magnili xnt range ot poultry-houses, where in days gone by members ot the family were wont to walk in the morning, and in the comfortable room which forms the centre of the block partake of new-laid eggs, that will attract chiefly llu; attention ot visitors. The magnificent dairy was built according to the directions of the Prince Consort, and it embodies all that is desirable in a place where cream and butter are to be kept. Tho cow-house which supplies the milk for use in the dairy is very handsome, and the records kept ol the production of each animal are most complete. In every way this Home farm deserves the name it has so long received, that of “ model.” Recognising the importance of helping the workers on the estate, among the various improvements effected have been the dwellings of the labourers, which are now worthy of the whole place. And in the first year of his tenancy the Prince Consort established an even ing school for his workpeople, which is continued still, and has been the means of doing a large amount of good. Both these examples have been followed, by the Princo of Wales on his Sandringham estate.