The Story of a Norfolk Farm

An instructional film about the work of a Norfolk farm.

This film shows the various operations on an unspecified Norfolk farm. The workers are haymaking, using a horse drawn rake, they then turn the hay by hand using pitchforks. The dried hay is loaded onto a horse drawn trailer and stacked in a Dutch barn. A large car is visible in the background. Next a worker is shown climbing a home made wooden ladder to cut a bale of hay for sale. The men are then shown scything the lucerne before tying it into bundles and loading it into another horse-drawn cart.The next sequence looks at poultry rearing. There are shots of the rearing house and the film shows the process of incubating the eggs and young chicks. The eggs are shown on a tray and then hatching. A close up sequence shows the chick emerging from the egg and taking its first few tentative steps. The chicks are shown at various stages in their development and then out in the yard being fed by a farm worker. A breeding pen is seen next with the cockerel (a Light Sussex) and the hens (Rhode Island Reds). Blood testing is shown in close up. Two cocks are shown fighting. The hens are shown ready for sale, being weighed and put into crates. Finally, a man is seen collecting eggs in buckets. The next sequence is concerned with pig rearing. Young store pigs are shown and then again at various stages of growth until they are fully grown. The pigs are then transported to market. The farmer's sideline, breeding pedigree spaniels is also shown, with shots of the puppies in the shed and playing in the yard.The next topic covered is the cultivation of runner beans. The ground is prepared and the film shows the farmer measuring the depth of the furrow. The farm workers are shown preparing for the crop, inserting stakes and strings for the runner beans, and then hoeing by hand. There follows a close-up shot of the beans. A horse-drawn plough is shown cultivating the land between the rows. The beans are picked and packed for market by hand. A woman is shown doing this. The beans are packed very carefully. The next sequence is similar although shorter and shows corn on the cob growing and being prepared for market. The final sequence shows the cultivation of fruit. A man is shown pruning the trees before they are sprayed with insecticide. An oil driven pump provides the men with the insecticide. Trees are seen in blossom and then the film finishes showing the pear crop on the trees

Keywords

Farming; Farms; Fruit farming; Poultry farming

Intertitles

This is the story of a Norfolk farm ... From dawn to dusk the work of the farm goes on. Here the seed is sown and the harvest is gathered. In the summer months fruit and vegetables are dispatched to the markets. Poultry and pig rearing play an important part in the work on this farm...Dusk, the last load. Cutting out hay for sale. After twice cutting the 3rd crop sells for greenmeat. Mown and tied in bunches for London horses. Poultry. Incubator and rearing house. Incubation. The light breaks - and the egg. Starting life in the world. Succeeding stages. Blood testing operations. Now for father. Ready for sale. The goods delivered. Pigs. Pigs - buying young stores. Rapid growth. Sideline - pedigree puppies. Runner beans - Scarlets. Speed the plough. Deep cultivation. Staking and stringing. Hoeing. 12 miles of bean rows. Horse cultivating. Picking and packing for market.Corn on the cob. Packing for market. Fruit. Spraying with insecticides. The End.

Background Information

Greenmeat is a term in use in Essex and north Suffolk. It is not generally in use in Norfolk