A PROGRESSIVE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2672, 31 May 1905, Page 6

A PROGRESSIVE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

In England there is no more progressive society connected with agriculture than the Berkeley Hunt Agricultural Society in Gloucestershire. Not only has it a splendid one-day exhibition, to which several thousand visitors are annually attracted, but it has the interest of agriculture at heart all the year round, and in a gieat measure the continued V 'prosperity of the Berkeley Vale is due to the efforts of

this society. A few years since it became apparent that something must be done to encourage the young farmers in the district to take- a deeper interest in their calling, and iri coiisequence the society originated a most unique set of competitions, or rather "examinatitons. Lord Fitzhardinge gave a first prize of £10, whilst the society added a second of £5, and a third of JB2 lOsTor members, members' sons, or employees of members, Tinder 25 years, and residing within the limits of the Berkeley Hunt, who shall by an oral and written examination best satisfy an examiner as to their general knowledge of practical agriculture, most correctly estimate the relative values and weights of a number of cattle, sheep, and pigs to b-j submitted to them, and pass their opinion as to the value and soundness of cart horses, thatch a rick in the -best and most workmanlike manner on the farm where they reside, execute two perches ot hedging and ditching in the most workmanlike manner. Time allowed for the latter items, five hours.

This scheme was originated six years ago, and the competition has become keener each year, until this year (1904) the class comprised 16 members, all of whom turned up to face their examiners, Professor Blundel, from the Royal College of Agriculture, Cirencester, and Mr George Taylor, Cranford Manor, Hounslow. The written examination paper was an exceedingly stiff one for lads who had no theoretical training, and who had to depend upon their practical knowledge gleaned on their father's farms, supplemented by as much reading as possible beside their own firesides during the winter months. Thus it will be seen that these competitors develop the great ideal of self-reliance combined with self-help, but at the same time the viva-voce examinations revealed the weak side of agricultural training ; thus, the arable farmers knew very little about the rearing of calves and the sale of milk, or the converting it into dairy products, whereas, on the other hand, the grass land farmers thoroughly conversant with dairying were quite at ease with their answers until various clover and sainfoin seeds were produced for their inspection. Here they failed. It •is certainly a hard test.

But the ordeal was not over yet. These young men had to inspect a couple of dairy cows, and give their opinions re the same, estimate the weights of two fat beasts, and deal with their merits and demerits, and further, estimate the weight of two fat sheep (in this respect the widest estimate was only 41b off the actual weight), and answer queries as to the price per Ib and general market value. Afterwards they had to estimate' weight and value of a pen of five bacon hogs, and after this express an opinion as to the merits, value, etc. , of a working Shire horse and a strong cart three-year-old. But the task was not over yet, as t-he xicks had to be thatched under the inspection of a steward, and in order to fit himself for the task the competitor had in all probability thatched all the other ricks on the farm where he resided Tins meant that this competition meant the thatching of afc least 100 ricks in high-class style. Then, later in the season, came the hedging and ditching, and some difficult fences were provided. The improvement in this latter class of work 'has been really remarkable, and therefore it will be seen how necessary it has been to allow a rather liberal maximum of marks with so many competitions to be covered. The test, as will be seen, is severe, considering that hitherto technical training has been provided, and yet out of the 16 competitors 11 were noticed by the examiners. . The fixst prize winner won with 393 marks, the second prize winner secured 380 marks, and the third prize taker had 267 marks to his credit, whilst the first of the certificated ones was only two marks behind him.

The interest in these young farmers' classes has stimulated an interest in another direction : that is, the condition of the farm fences within the limits of the Berkeley Hunt. Mr A. >M. Fry, of Bristol, offered a prize of £25 annually for three years, whilst three other gentlemen gave prizes of £15, £10, and £5, for the bestfenced vale farm in the society's district, the conditions being that these prizes were to be open only to tenant farmers who farm not less than 90 acres of vale land, such farm to have been crossed by Lord Fitzhardinge's hounds at least in the two seasons previous to the competition. Land fenced with stone walls not to be included in the stipulated area. No wice. barbed or otherwise, shall have been used in or alongside any of the fences during the previous hunting season (October 1 to April 15) ; but this shall not apply to wire fencing placed on both sides of a young fence. The farms had to be judged in Xovembev, and as there were 27 entrants, the capable judges appointed had to put in

several hundred miles of inspection. The sudden springing of these prizes on the vale caught many of the farmers in a general state of unpreparedness. and they endeavoured to make up for neglected opportunities by the hurried laying of many miles of fences and the slashing back of others, whilst ditches that had. not been cleaned out for years were hurriedly submitted to the spade. Then the judges had to contrast neatly-cropped fences on the arable farms with well-kept, high, thick-set ones for shelter purposes on the windward side of otherwise bleak pastures. The awards of the four prizes gave general satisfaction, and there were several commendations. Jlhe judges recommended that another year the farms be divided into two classes, those over 90 and not exceeding 150 acres, and for farms exceeding 150 acres. A singular coincidence in connection with these competitions — the young farmers' classes and bestfenced farms — is the increased interest taken in the hedging and ditching competitions by the labourers of the district, as this year, there were' 23 entries. The following was the written examination paper submitted to the young farmers' class, and is here inserted because it apprises farmers in the colonies of the scope of the information expected of the rising generation of agriculturists in England. 1. Of what three feeding materials are linseed cake, cotton, cake, and maize principally composed. State why one food is of more money value than another. What is the present value of the above goods per ton. ' 2. You have a stack of clover hay on your farm, and a similar stack of meadow hay. To what animals would you prefer giving each, and which do you thing will have the best feeding value? How would you estimate the amount of hay in a stack? 3. What, in your opinion, are some of the causes of abortion among cattle. How would you try to prevent it? The same with regard to ringworm and husk in calves and footrot in sheep? 4. When would you sow the following, and in what quantities per acre? Mention the value of each : Wheat, barley, oats, rye, turnips, swedes, mangold, carrots, potatoes, vetches, mustard, rape, broad clover, Dutch clover, trefoil, sainfoin, lucerned. 5. How much butter ought you to obtain from lOOgal of milk? Presuming that in summer you make milk into stilton cheese, how much ripe cheese would you "expect to get? Why would it he better to make the cheese in summer instead of in winter? How many cows would you require to keep up that quantity of milk per week? Mention some of the principal points to ensure good cheese or butter. State also how you would make use of the skim milk and -whey. 6. If you had a flock of 100 ewes at Michaelmas, state how you would treat them until after lambing time, and how you would manage them and their lambs until the latter were sold. What would be the value of the ewes when bought, and how much should you expect to get . for their produce when sold to the butcher? 7. Give an account of tlie best system of managing farm horses, stating cost of food and attendance, value of harness per horse, shoeing of each per year? Would you breed your own? If so, state the way you would treat the mares and foals until the latter were ready for selling to the best advantage.