' /M 
 
 McCoMBIE-AuLD 
 
 C O LLE CT r O N 
 
 NEW- YORK -STATE 
 COLLEGEo'^AGRICULTURE 
 
Cornell University Library 
 S 459.H63 
 
 Report on the present state of the agric 
 
 3 1924 000 911 259 
 
The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924000911259 
 
E E P B T 
 
 ON THE 
 
 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGRICULTURI 
 OF SCOTLAND. 
 
EEPOET 
 
 PRESENT STATE OF THE AaRICULTURE 
 OF SCOTLAND, 
 
 AREANGED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE 
 
 HIGHLAND AKD AGEICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 
 
 To be presented at the International Agriovltural Congress at Parisr 
 in June 1878. 
 
 EDINBUEGH: 
 
 PEINTED BY NEILL AND COMPANY. 
 
 1878. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In drawing' up the foUowiiig Eeport on the Present State of 
 Agricultnie in Scotland, more than ordinary difficulties have 
 been experienced from the shortness of time that eotdd be 
 allowed for the purpose, as, owing to some untoward circum- 
 stances, the invitation from the Society des Agriculteurs de 
 France was only received by the Directors of the Highland 
 Society at their meeting on 9th January, while the date given 
 for reception of the Eeport was 1st March, An application to 
 delay the Eeport until, 1st April was readily conceded, but even 
 that delay afforded but scant time for its satisf&,ctory prepara- 
 tion, tlnd'er these circumstances, it was felt that the only plan 
 of proceeding was at once to apply to Members of the Society 
 and others who were specially conversant with certain of the 
 details to be introduced in the Eeport, and whose engagements 
 would admit of their devoting the time required to draw up 
 and contribute them. In this way, thanks to these contribittors, 
 the Society has been able to collect together sufficient materials 
 bearing upon aU the salient points in Scottish Agriculture, to 
 form a very fair and comprehensive digest of its pres'ent condi- 
 tion, which they now offer to the consideration of the Inter- 
 national Agricultural Congress. 
 
 While the Society adopts and is responsible for the general 
 details given, it must not be considered as identifying itself 
 with all the opinions expressed by the different contributors. 
 
VI PEEFACE. 
 
 It may be, perhaps, permitted to state that the various 
 portions of the Eeport have heen contributed by the following 
 gentlemen: — , 
 
 o 
 
 Alex. Buchan, Secretary of the Scottish. Meteorological Society, 
 
 Edinburgh. 
 Ealph Richabdson, W.S., Secretary to the Geological Society of 
 
 Edinburgh. 
 John Wilson, Wellnage, Berwickshire (late of Edington Mains). 
 James Drennan, Auchinlee, Ayishire. 
 James Mollison, Dochgarroch Lodge, Inverness-shire. 
 Alexandek M'Neel Caird, Genoch, Wigtownshire. 
 Robert Scot Skirvino, Edinburgh. 
 James Mblvin, Bonnington, Mid-Lothian. 
 Thomas Mtlne, Niddrie Mains, Mid-Lothian. 
 John M. Martin, yr. of Auch'endennan, Dumbartonshire. 
 John Usher, Stodrig, Roxburghshire, 
 Robert Hutchison of Carlowrie, West Lothian. 
 Dr Andrew P. Aitken, Chemist to the Society. 
 Thomas Duncan, Recorder and Clerk to the Society. 
 John MacdiarmiD, Jiinior Clerk to the Society— 
 
 The whole being arranged and edited by Professor Wilson, Pro- 
 fessor of Agriculture in the Edinburgh University, with the 
 valuable assistance of Mr Forbes Irvine of Drum, Chairman of 
 the Society's Publication Committee, and Mr F. N". Menzies, 
 Secretary of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGK 
 
 Introduction, ...... 1 
 
 I. Physical Geography aSd Climatology of Scotland. By- 
 Alexander Buchan, ... . . . 3 
 
 II! Outlines of the Geology op Scotland, particularly in 
 
 its relation to Agriculture. By Ralph. Richardson, 16 
 
 III. Farming of the East and North-Eastern Distriqts. 
 
 By John Wilson, , . . . . .23 
 
 IV. Farming op the West and South- Western Districts. 
 
 By Jam,es Drennan, ..... 60 
 V. Farming op the Central and North-Western Districts. 
 
 By James Mollison, ....'. 102 
 
 VI. Land Ownership and Tenure. By Alex. M'Neel Caird, . 122 
 
 VII. Farm Labour and Labourers'. By Robert Scot Skjrving, 134 
 
 VIII. Farm Machinery. By James Melvin'and Thomas Mylne, 147 
 
 IX. Horses : The Clydesdale. By John M. Martin, . . 159 
 
 X. Cattle : 
 
 The Ayrshire. From The Highland Society's Transactions, 164 
 
 The Polled Angus or Aberdeen; Do., . . 171 
 
 TheGaUoway, Do., . . 177 
 
 The West Highland, Do.,. . . 182 
 XL Sheep : 
 
 The Cheviot. By John Usher, . . . .191 
 
 The Blackfaced or Highland. By John Macdiarmid, . 193 
 
 The Border-Leicester. By John Usher, . . . 199 
 
 XII. Forestry of Scotland. By Robert Hutchison, . . 202 
 
 XIII. Application op Science to Agriculture. By Dr Aitken, 212 
 
 XIV. National and other Agricultural Societies op Scot- 
 
 land. By Thomas Duncan, .... 221 
 XV. Agricultural Statistics of Scotland, 1877. From the 
 
 Government Returns, . . . . ■ . 245 
 
B E P K T 
 
 OK THE 
 
 PIffiSEOT STATE: OF THE AGRICULTURE 
 OE SCOTLAND. 
 
 INTEODUGTIOK 
 
 A FEW introductory remarks will explain tEe reasons which 
 induce the Highland Society to adopt the following arrangement 
 in presenting their Eeporton the present state, of the Agrictdture- 
 of Scotland to the International Agricultural Congress at Paris.- 
 A glance at the map of Cfreat Britain wHL show that Scotland 
 forms its extreme northern portion lying between the 54° 38" 
 and 58° 41" parallels of north latitude. If we include the- 
 large olitlying islands of Orkney and Shetland at its- northerm- 
 extremity, it runs up to the 60' 49'' degree of north -latitude. 
 
 The area of the- mainland contains about 20,000,000 acres, 
 of which about 3,530,000 are under tillage occupation, and 
 1,138,000 in pasture. The farm live-stock comprises — 
 
 Cattle, .... 1,102,074 
 
 Sheep, .... 6,968,774 
 
 Horses, .... 188,736 
 
 Pigs, .... 153,257 
 
 The geology, geographical position, and physical conformation of 
 the country of course materialjy influence its agriculture, and the 
 natural forces of soil and climate control its surface occupation. 
 
 It has been thought best for the purposes of this Eeport to 
 foUow these natui-al indications, and thus to divide the coimtry 
 into three great districts : The East and ISTorth-Eastern ; the 
 
 A 
 
^ INTRODUCTION. 
 
 West and South-Western ; and the Central and North- Western. 
 The first, -which is bounded along its entire range by the North 
 Sea, possesses a comparatively dry climate, and is therefore well 
 adapted for the growth of cereal crops, and the, feediTig of cattle 
 and sheep, and a system of general tillage husbandry marks 
 the entire district. In the second, bounded equally on its whole 
 extent by the Atlantic Ocean, the humidity of the climate has 
 induced a pastoral occupation, in which the breeding of cattle 
 and sheep, and dairy husbandry form the principal agricultural 
 features. The third or central district is chiefly seen in the 
 form of ranges of hills and exposed elevations, where the chmate 
 is in many places so rigorous that both vegetable and animal 
 life is subjected to great difficulties, and where only the hardy 
 native breeds of Scotland — cattle and sheep — can find a sub- 
 sistence sufiicient to induce their pastoral occupation. Keeping 
 this arrangement in view, a brief summary of the natural 
 physical characters of the country, and also of the principal 
 economic features bearing upon the condition of its agriculture, 
 are given, followed by the agricultural details of these three dis- 
 tricts, with short descriptions of the several breeds of Farm- 
 Stock, Horses, Cattle, and Sheep peculiar to Scotland, which will 
 be found under the following heads : — 
 
 1. Physical Geography and Climatology. ' 
 
 2,. Outlines of Geology. 
 
 3. Farming of East and North-Eastem Districts. 
 
 -4. Farming of West and South-Western Districts. 
 
 ■5. Farming of Central and North- Western Districts. 
 
 ■6. Land Ownership and Tenure. 
 
 7. Labour and Labourers. 
 
 8. Farm Machinery. 
 
 9. HoBSBS : The Clydesdale. 
 
 10. Cattle : Ayrshire,' Polled Angus, Galloway, and Highland Breeds. 
 
 11. Sheep : Cheviot, Blackfaced or Highland, and Border-Leicester 
 
 Breeds. 
 
 12. Forestry. 
 
 13. Application of Science to Agriculture. 
 
 14. The National and other Agricultural Societies. 
 
 15. Agricultural Statistics of Scotland (1877). 
 
T. 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Physical Geography. — In no country does the physical configu- 
 ration of the surface exercise a more decided inflijence in changing 
 and otherwise modifying the climates of the different districts than 
 in Scotland, particularly as regards the bearings of the climatology 
 of the country on its agriculture. This result arises from the cir- 
 stance that a high and almost continuous ridge of mountains runs 
 from north to south, or more strictly speaking from N.KW. to 
 S.S.E., and thus- approximately perpendicular to the prevailing 
 W.S.W. winds, which come laden with the vapours of the Atlantic. 
 
 This ridge of high ground may be regarded as having its north- 
 ern terminus at Duncansbay Head, from which it passes in a 
 W.S.W. direction towards the head of Loch Shin ; then in a S.S.W. 
 direction to near the head of Loch Nevis ; then east to Loch 
 Laggan ; then south towards Benlomond ; then south-easterly to 
 the western spurs of thePentland Hills; then south to the Leadhills, 
 from which its course is south-easterly to the Cheviots. To the 
 ea.st of this ridge of high ground the rainfall is comparatively 
 small, and the climates of all districts at some distance from 
 hUls, and not exceeding 500 feet above the sea, are dry, and 
 suited for the successful cultivation of the cereals ; whereas to 
 the west of it the rainfall is heavy and the climate moist, and 
 therefore better adapted to the rearing of stock. It wUl be shown 
 farther on that the offshoots from this range to the east, such as 
 the Cheviots, Pentlands, and Lammermoor HiUs, and the broad 
 mass of the Grampians, have important bearings on the agricul- 
 ture of these parts of Scotland, from their influence on the heavy 
 autumnal rains ; whilst the high mountain spurs, striking out to . 
 westward of the watershed, and the lochs which run deeply into 
 the land, powerfully affect the climates of the western districts: 
 of Scotland. 
 
 On the other hand, in Ireland the physical configuration of 
 the surface has nothing like so decided an influence on the. 
 
PKESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 climatology of that island, because the mountain systems there 
 are rather massed together into isolated groups than ranged in a 
 continuous high ridge, lying perpendicular to the prevailing winds. 
 In the United States the range of the Alleghanies has but little 
 influence in changing the character of the climates on either of its 
 sides, because they do not lie across, but in the line of the pre- 
 vailing south-westerly win^ of ttiese States. 
 
 ClimMtology of Scotland. — The climate of Scotland, in its 
 beamig on the s^griculture of the country, depends on its 
 latitude, its position and relations to the Atlkntic, but more 
 especially on the prevailing-winds and the physical conflguration 
 of the snrfece. 
 
 The Prefoailmg Winds of Scotland, as regards directibn and 
 force, averaged, from the observations made during the past 
 twenfy-one years at fifty-five stations of the Scottish Meteorolo- 
 gical Siiciety; as follows : — 
 
 
 DneEcaraoNi 
 
 ¥ 
 
 Forces 
 lb8.per' 
 Eq.feot . 
 
 !25 
 
 f4 
 
 'h 
 
 02 
 
 si 
 
 OS 
 
 ! 
 
 
 Jannaiy 
 
 Febmarjt . 
 March. 
 
 April . 
 
 June . 
 
 July . . 
 , August 
 September . 
 
 October 
 November .. 
 , Docembec .. 
 
 Yeae' 
 
 2 
 2 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 ' 3' 
 2 
 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 
 ' 2 
 
 Z 
 
 : 3 
 
 2 
 2 
 3 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 ■ 4 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 3 
 2 
 
 3 
 3 
 3 
 
 2 
 3 
 3 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 4. 
 3 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 ' 3 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 ' 3 
 
 ' ? 
 3 
 3 
 
 8 
 6 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 : 6 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 7 
 
 6 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 5 
 5 
 
 4 
 5 
 6 
 
 6 
 6 
 6 
 
 6 
 5 
 6 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 3 
 3 
 
 3 
 3 
 3 
 
 3 
 3 
 3 
 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 1-80 
 194 
 1-81 
 
 1-55 
 1-25 
 1-19 
 
 1-20 
 
 ■1-21 
 
 1-40 
 
 1-66 
 1-41 
 1-81 
 
 29 
 
 27 
 
 34 
 
 34 
 
 36 
 
 73 
 
 65 
 
 37 
 
 28 1-52 
 
 It thus appears that the mean direction of the winds is very 
 nearly W.S.W., the wind prevailing from S.W. and W. on 138 
 out of the 365 days of the year ; and that the direction from 
 which the wind blows with least freq,uency is about RNJE., the 
 wind prevailing from N. and NE. only on 56 days. 
 
 There is a secondary Tna-giTrmm direction which prevails in the 
 greatest degree in the spring months, beginnmg with March, 
 
Physical gkography and climatology. 5 
 
 Thus the number of days in March, April, and May, on which 
 the different winds prevail, is N. 9, N.E. 9/E. 12, S.E .8, S: 9, S.W. 
 15, W. 14, KW. 10, and calms 6. Hence, in Scotland the 
 secondary maximum direction of the wind which occurs in 
 spring is very nearly due E. In the extreme north of Scotland 
 there is a decided tendency to a substitution of S. and S.E. winds 
 for the W. and S."W. winds which prevail elsewhere in Scotland. 
 This greater preponderance of southerly winds in the north of 
 Scotland is simply the curving round of the prevailing winds of 
 north-westerly Europe as they pass these islands on their way 
 to Denmark and Scandinavia, where the prevailing "winds become 
 southerly and south-easterly. . To the more southerly direction 
 of the prevailing winds in the north, the relatively high winter 
 temperature of this part of Great Britain is partly due. (See 
 %2.) 
 
 The influence of season is felt in the relative prevalence of 
 westerly and easterly winds, and the deflections to which they 
 are subject. The great westerly aerial current which comes to 
 us laden with the vapours of the Atlantic, has two annual 
 periods — the first from DecemlDer to February, and the second 
 from July to September. Easterly winds, on the other hand, 
 acquire their greatest frequency from March to May, and in 
 November ; 'whilst June and October may 'be Tegarded as inter- 
 mediate. 
 
 There is a striking difference between the 'westerly 'winds of 
 winter and those of summer, the explanation of which is to be 
 found in the relation between the prevailing Vidnds of Scotland 
 and those of the continent of Europe in these seasons. The 
 tendency of the prevailing winds of the north-west of Europe in 
 winter is to curve round and in upon Iceland as a centre ; and 
 hence, as they pass northward over Scotland, they gradually 
 acquire more soutMoig ; whereas in summer, the tendeiicy of the 
 prevailing wind is towards the central regions of the EurOpeo- 
 Asiatic continent ; and hence, in 'its passage over Scotland, the 
 •westerly aerial current acquires northiv^ — in other wordsj tends 
 to curve round to the direction of the prevailing winds of the 
 south-west of Norway, which are northerly in summer. Thus, 
 ■while, as already explained, the southing of the prevailing winds 
 in winter in the north of Scotland tends to maintain the tern- 
 
b PRESENT STATE OF THE AGRICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 peratuie of this region at a higher degree, the northing of the 
 summer winds lowere their summer temperature, as may be seen 
 in the crowding together of the jsothermals in fig. 3 — results 
 which have important bearings on the agriculture of Orkney and 
 Shetland. 
 
 The influence of the physical configuration of the surface in 
 deflecting the winds from their normal course detailed above, is 
 well illustrated by the observations at the various stations of 
 the Scottish Meteorological Society. Thus at South Cairn, in 
 the west of Wigtownshire, where the coast for some distance 
 lies north and south, and the ascent from the coast inland is 
 pretty steep, the prevailing winds are S. and N., the number of 
 days from these two directions being 158, whereas the number 
 of days of S.W. and KE. winds is only 42. In other 
 words, the prevailing winds are deflected out of their normal 
 course, and blow in the direction of the narrow channel which 
 separates this county from Ireland. On the other hand, at 
 Glasgow the prevailing winds are deflected more into a true 
 westerly and easterly direction, as they pass over the com- 
 paratively low watershed which separates the Firths of Clyde 
 and Forth. So strongly are the winds deflected out of their 
 course by the valleys and ridges they cross, that each one of 
 the eight winds (N., KE., E., &c.), except the S.W., is markedly 
 deficient at three or more of the stations. 
 
 The influence which these real differences in the direction of 
 the wind and the apparent or local differences resulting from 
 the physical configuration of the surface, have on the climate, 
 particularly on the local climates, and the bearing of the subject 
 on different agricultural products, would form subjects of inquiry 
 of great practical importance. 
 
 But the chief infiuence which the physical geography of a 
 region has in modifying its climatology is of a different char- 
 acter, and consists in the rate at which the air parts with its 
 moisture as the wind sweeps over the different districts ; and the 
 degree in which it -has been already robbed of its moisture 
 before arriving at the different districts. In other words, the 
 chief points of inquiry into local climates, considered from an 
 agricultural point of view, are the distribution of the rainfall 
 through the seasons of the year, and the differences of tempera- 
 
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY. 7 
 
 ture, sunshine, and cloud necessarily resulting from the states 
 of the air as regards the amount of moisture in the different 
 districts. 
 
 The Rainfall is the most capricious element of climate every- 
 where; hut in such countries as Scotland, whose surfaces are 
 diversified by mountain ranges, hills, valleys, and plains, and by 
 different exposures to the rain-bringing winds, this characteristic 
 of cUmate is more strikingly shown. So far as observations 
 have been made, the annual rainfall varies from 128 inches in 
 Glencroe, immediately at the foot of Eest-and-be-Thankful, to 
 about 24 inches in several of the best grain-producing districts 
 in the eastern division of the country. These, the extreme falls, 
 are restricted to very limited areas ; but there are extensive' dis- 
 tricts where, on the one hand, the annual rainfall is not less than 
 100 inches, and on the other hand does not exceed 28 inches. 
 
 As the result of the rainfall observations made at 127 stations, 
 the mean annual rainfall of the western slope of Scotland is 50 
 inches, and that of the eastern slope 38 inches, the difference 
 being due to the different degrees of their exposure to the 
 humid "WiS.W. winds of the Atlantic. 
 
 In the west, the smallest rainfall occurs in localities at no 
 great height above the sea, and with no hills in the vicinity. 
 Thus in Tyree the annual amount is 40 inches ; and this is also 
 about the rainfall of the low-lying part of Ayrshire, from the 
 mouth of the Doon to Portincross. On ascending the Firth of 
 Clyde from this point, it rapidly increases to 46 inches at Largs, 
 49 inches at Brisbane, 59 inches at Skelmorlie, and 65 inches 
 near Greenock. This rapid increase of the rainfall over so 
 limited a district, at places close to the coast, is due to the 
 approach towards this part of the coast of the high lands form- 
 ing the watershed of this part of Scotland, which, taken in con- 
 nection with the hills behind Dunoon on the opposite side, pro- 
 duces a sudden contraction in the channel through which the 
 south-west winds must pass in their onward course. 
 
 The rapid increase in the rainfall in ascending valleys up 
 
 which the rain-bringing winds blow, may be further illustrated, 
 
 the deflection of the prevailing W.S.W. winds into other direc- 
 
 • tions, such as S.W., S.S.W., or S., as already explained, being 
 
 kept in view. Thus, ascending Loch Lomond, the rainfall at 
 
,8 PKBSJINT STATE .OF THE AGEICnLTUBE OF SCOTLAlfD. 
 
 Ballocli 0?i.stle is 55 inebes^ Oameron House, 63 inches; Xuss, 
 79 incliesj Firkin, near Tarbet, 99 inches; and Aidlui, at the 
 head of the Loch, 115 inches: Lock Long, Oastle Toward, 50 
 inches; Dunoon and .Arddarroch, 75 inches; Arrochar, 101 
 inches ; and Glencroe, 12,8 inches:: and Zoch ^ym, Callton Mor, 
 63 ijiches ; Kilmory Castle, 5.9 inches ; Inveraray, 60 inches ; 
 Cairndow, 93 inches ; and Glen Fyne, 102 inch^. In the high 
 ground to which these valleys lead up, the rainfall is very great 
 wherever it has been observed, being 104 at Tyndmm, 114 at 
 Bridge of Orchy, and about 120 at Drishaig, near Ben Oruaohan. 
 There cannot be a doubt that over the extensive upland moun- 
 tainous region toward which these W.S.W. "winds blow, up valleys 
 gradually narrowing and rising, the rainfall exceeds 100 inches, 
 tind that this j-egion is one of the chief condensers of the atmo- 
 sphersic vapour in these islands. A rainfall equally heavy ob- 
 tains over other large tracts of the West Highlands, such as 
 Loch Shiel, Glenquoich, Loch Hourn, and the greater part of 
 Skye. It is an impressive sight to see for the first time the 
 deep trenches with which the constantly recurring floods have 
 scarred the sides of the mountains in all directions, and the all 
 but absolute crystal purity of the streams when in high flood, as 
 if the loose soil was long since all washed into the sea. 
 
 It has been stated that the rainfall of the lower districts of 
 A3T;shire is about 40 inches. At Girvan, however, in the low 
 ground near the shore, and but little above the sea-level, the 
 annual rainfall is 50 inches. This considerably increased rain- 
 fall at Girvan is caused by the hills behind Girvan, about two 
 miles to the east or leeward of it. This peculiar feature of the 
 rainfall, viz., the influence of a ridge of hills largely increasing 
 the rainfall for some distance to windward of it, deserves to be 
 specially kept in view. The distance to which this influence is 
 felt, and the degree to which the rainfall is thus increased, are 
 problems which still await investigation. 
 
 There is a peculiarity in the rainfall of the valleys sloping 
 southward to the Solway Firth which deserves remark. The 
 rainfall of the valley. of the Ken is larger than that of the Nith ; 
 the' latter is larger than that of Annandale; and the lower part 
 of Eakdale is still smaller. The amount of the rainfall, how- 
 ■eveoc, rises more rapidly, and apparently to a (greater amount, in 
 
PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY. 9 
 
 sasccnding the valley of the Esk, tban in ascending tbe valleys 
 of the Annan, Mth, or Ken. It would appear as if the prevail- 
 ing W.8.W. winds, in their easterly course across the successive 
 ridge separating the "valleyB which poui their waters into the 
 Solway, hecome gradually drier ; but that the winds which have 
 swept up the Solway Firth are to a great extent deflected up 
 the valley of the Esk, probably in the direction of the remark- 
 able depression in the watershed of the south of Scotland near 
 Teviothead. 
 
 In the, east the rainfall is very different. Proceeding down 
 the Teviot and the lower part of Tweeddale, the amounts are — 
 Teviothead, 65 inches ; Borthwickbrae, 45 inches ; Hawick, 33 
 inches ; Jedburgh and Springwood Park, near Kelso, 25 inches ; 
 and Milne-Graden, 27 inches ; thus showing a rapid and con- 
 'tinuous diminution ficom Teviothead to Kelso. This diminution 
 is due to the gradual drying of the westerly winds as they con- 
 tinue to deposit their moisture, and to the increased warmth they 
 acquire as they flow down the valley, thereby diminishing itheir 
 relative humidity. In the vaUey of the Forth the diminution of 
 the rainfall is even more striking. Thus at Glengyle, at the 
 head of Loch Katrine, ibis 94 inches ; Bridge of Turk, 64 inches; 
 Lanrick Castle, 47 inches ; Pohnaise, near Stirling, 39 inches ; 
 Linlithgow, 30 inches ; Edinburgh, 26 inches ; and East Linton, 
 24 inches ; the fall at East Linton being thus only about the 
 fourth part of that at Glengyle, 
 
 The rainfall among ithe mountains and highlands of Aberdeen- 
 shire is comparatively small, scarcely reaching in any case, so 
 :f ar as observed, 40 inches, thus contrasting sharply with the rain- 
 fall in similar situations in the west of Perthshire, where over 
 wide districts it amounts at least to double that in Aberdeenshire. 
 The cause of the difference is to be found in the extensive stretch 
 of hills to the west and south-west of Aberdeen, notorious for its 
 copious rainfall, thus rendering the climate of Aberdeen much 
 drier. 
 
 It has .been stated that the rainfall of Milne-Graden, near Cold- 
 stream, is about 2 inches more than that of Jedburgh and Kelso. 
 Looking at the monthly amounts, it is seen that this is due to 
 the larger rainfall of Milne-Graden during September, October, • 
 and November. In the low-lying grounds of the east of Scot- 
 
10 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 land generally, these are the months of heaviest rainfall. An 
 examination of the records shows cleaily that the occurrence of 
 the maximum rainfall in autumn in these parts of the country is 
 caused by the heavy and long-continued rains from the east, 
 often torrential in their character, which break in upon and 
 frequently terminate tracts of fine harvest weather, and which 
 neither extend far to westward (seldom as far as western Perth- 
 shire) nor to the higher agricultural districts. When these 
 rains accompany N.E. storms, the downfall is most excessive 
 along the foreshores of the Moray Pirth and the Firth of Forth, 
 which are opposed to the storm from the north and east. "When, 
 however, the storm is from the S.E., which is the most frequent 
 direction, the rainfall is heaviest in the parts of Berwickshire 
 which slope up towards the Lammermoors, in Fife, and along the 
 east coast northwards to Fraserburgh. Hence the driest districts 
 in Scotland are the low-lying open situations north of the 
 Cheviots, similar situations north of the Lammermoors, about 
 Nairn, and Culloden, and Invergprdon, all these places being at 
 no great elevation above the sea, well protected to W-S-W. by 
 extensive mountain tracts, and to the south-east from a large 
 proportion of the heavy autumnal rains. 
 
 Of these easterly rains, the months of December 1876 and 
 August 1877 may be cited as examples which in many districts 
 are without precedent for the enormous quantities of rain which 
 fell, amounting to 150, 200, 300, and upwards per cent, above 
 the averages of these months. In such cases, perhaps in all 
 such cases, the rainfall is far under the average in the north-west 
 of Scotland, and the weather is generally fine. In no year did 
 this feature of the Scottish rainfall preponderate so frequently 
 and to such an excess as in 1872, when, during eight of the 
 months of that year, 'N., KE., E., S.E., and S. winds were in 
 excess, amounting in all to 28 days above the average. The 
 following map shows the distribution of the excess of the rainfall 
 of this unprecedentedly wet year : — 
 
PHYSICAL GEOGBAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY. 
 
 11 
 
 u l>er ceiit. 
 
 per cent 
 
 25 per cent. 
 
 g 25 per cent. 
 
 60 per cent. 
 75 per cent 
 
 75 per cent. 
 
 50 per cent. 
 
 Here it is seen that large districts in the east had a xaini'all 
 fully three-fourths greater than the average, and over nearly the 
 whole of the east side of the country the rainfall was at least a 
 half more than usual, whilst in the north-west it was consider- 
 ably below the average. The greatest deficiency— 16 per cent, 
 below the average — occurred at Scourie, in Sutherland, and the 
 greatest excess — 91 per cent, above the average — at West Grange* 
 near Culross, the records at the other stations showing all the 
 gradations between these extremes. 
 
 There is a physical feature which has an all-important bearing 
 on the rainfall and agriculture of a very large portion of Scotland, 
 viz., the great depression which occurs in the watershed of the 
 country in that part of it which is between the Pirths of Forth 
 and Clyde, the depression being greatest along the line of rail- 
 ways between PaUdrk and Ardrossan. The Firth of Clyde and 
 
12 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGEICUETUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 the comparatively low ground of Dumbartonshire and Stirling- 
 shire lay open Perthshire to the W.S.W. winds, so that its western 
 division has a rainfall which rivals in amounts and times of 
 occurrence of maximum falls the raiafall of Argyllshire. To the 
 opening afforded by the Firth of Clyde is to be added the break- 
 down in the watershed about Beith, by which a heavier rainfall 
 occurs at Glasgow. This increased rainfall extends eastwards to 
 Stirling, and thence over Fife on the oue hand, and, on the other, 
 across Linlithgowshire to the west of Mid-Lothian, including 
 the Pentland Hills. In Fife this influence is felt, in a rain- 
 fall from 2 to 5 inches in excess of what obtains on the 
 opposite shores of the firth, and in a markedly greater prevalence 
 of cloud. From Glasgow to Bothwell the raiafall diminishes 
 from 44 to 30 inches ; the latter place, and district around, being 
 by a long way the driest locality in the west of Scotland, its great 
 climatic advantages being due .to the high hills to the south- 
 west, which partially dry the winds in their passage across them. 
 
 As regards the month of maximum rainfall, it occurs in 
 October in Shetland, Orkney, the east of Scotland generally, and in 
 Clydesdale, near Bothwell, where the rainfall is small for a western 
 district ; in BeceTnher, in the north-western districts and western 
 Argyllshire, and in the mountainous ' districts of Argyllshire, 
 Perthshire, Dumbartonshire, Lanarkshire, and Dumfriesshire — in 
 other words, those districts immediately exposed to the W.S.W., 
 being situated either on the Atlantic seaboard or among the hills 
 which overlook it ; and in January, in Ayrshire, Wigtownshire, 
 Mthsdale, Eskdale, east of Perthshire, and axound the Oclul 
 Hills, none of these districts being immediately open to the 
 Atlantic. Whilst at a large number of places in the east October 
 is the wettest month, yet a,t a considerable number of pflaces the 
 ' maximum rainfall occurs in July, August, and even September, 
 particularly in the south-east, where the rainfall is small and 
 thunderstorms are frequent in summer. 
 
 The month of minimum rainfall is Jwm in Shetland and 
 Orkney, this being also the month of least fall in Faro, and in 
 the coast of Norway north of Bergen ; Way in the northern, and 
 April in the southern half of Scotland, the dividing line between 
 the two passing from the mouth of the Clyde to Montrose. In 
 the south of Scotland the rainfall of March and April tends to 
 
PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHI AND CLIMATOLOGY. 
 
 13 
 
 an equality, March, however, being at several places the driest. 
 month. In the central and eastern districts of England the 
 driest month is March, or even in some, cases February. 
 
 The TerniperaturetMhicla.. is of peculiarly vital importance .to 
 the Scottish agriculturist,, is much less complex in the manner of 
 its distribution.. It is best understood when taken in connection 
 with the temperature of the wholaof the Bribish Islands. Fig., 2 
 shows the isothermals for January, the; coldest month, and fig. 3 
 
 Pig. 2. 
 
 Pig. 3. 
 
 for July, the warmest month for the British Islands. The 
 north and south direction of the isothermals points out in a 
 striking manner that, in winter their position is not deter- 
 mined by the sun, but by the warm waters of the Atlantic, and 
 by the moist and mild W.S.W. winds which come therefrom. 
 From the mean January temperature, which is about 39° in the 
 west and 37° in the east, it follows that, allowing for a diminu- 
 tion of 1° for every 300 feet of elevation, the mean temperature 
 of January falls to freezing, 32°, at no place where the height 
 does not exceed 1500, above wl^ch there is practically no culti- 
 vation. The bearing of this fact on the practice of agriculture 
 is obvious, particularly when it is. considered that hard frosts, 
 when they do occur, are seldom long continued. It is also to be 
 noted that this winter temperature precludes the annual or 
 
14 
 
 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGRICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 frequent recurrence of heavy floods from the melting of large 
 accumulations of snow on the hills. 
 
 The peculiar interest attached to the isothermals of July lies 
 in the fact, shown by the Scottish Meteorological Society six- 
 teen years ago, that, as regards Scotland, when the mean 
 summer temperature is as low as 56°, the cultivation of wheat 
 and barley is quite possible, even though the weather during 
 spring be comparatively cold and backward, provided the rainfall 
 and cloud in summer and autumn be not above the average. 
 It is to be added, however, that wheat and barley will be 
 sufficiently ripened should the mean temperature of July or 
 August fall below 56°, provided the temperature be high during 
 the day ; nay, even these cereals will ripen with a mean July or 
 August temperature of 54° 6' ; but in such cases aUiigh tempera- 
 ture, accompanied with bright sunshine, must prevail at the 
 critical stages of the flowering and ripening of the crop. 
 
 It follows that if the summer temperature fall 2° or 3° 
 below the average, the harvest will be more or less of a failure 
 
 [Fig. i. 
 
 over a large part of Scotland. Further, if the mean temperature 
 does not fall so low, but the day temperature, from want of sun- 
 
PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY. 15 
 
 shine, is low, the quality of the grain will be deteriorated ; and 
 when the day temperature is markedly low, as in the summer of 
 1877, the quality of the grain will he so inferior, that the whole 
 crop can only be regarded as a failure. 
 
 It happens that when low barometric centres lie over England, 
 the North Sea, Denmark, or the southern portion of Scandinavia 
 — in other words, to southward or eastward of Scotland — the 
 usually warm southerly breezes of summer give place to coldraw 
 winds from the east and north ; and when this takes place during 
 the critical stages of the crops, the effect on the harvest is very 
 disastrous. This occurred from July 19 to August 1, 1877, and 
 the mean temperature fell to that represented in fig. 4 ; from . 
 which it will be seen that during the most important stage in 
 the gi'owth of the crops the whole of Scotland had a temperature 
 imder 56°, and the efiects were the more intensified, seeing that 
 the day temperature was, owing to the clouded state of the skies, 
 below its average to a greater extent even than the mean 
 temperature. The temperature sufficed for the growth of straw, 
 but was altogether inadequate to carry on the functions which 
 are concerned in ripening the kernel of the seeds, upon which 
 the quality of the grain depends. Hence, many of the wheat 
 and barley flowers never ripened into seeds, and of those which 
 did ripen, the tough outer covering of the seed, usually thin, was 
 large and abnormally developed, and the white kernel, usually 
 large, was small and deteriorated. 
 
IT. 
 
 OTJTLINES OF THE. GEOLOGY OF SCOTLAND, PARTICULAELY 
 IN ITS RELATIONS TO AGKIGULTTJEE, 
 
 The marked- peculiarity in tihe surface geology of Scotland 
 is the vast aGcumulation, called variously "glacial drift," 
 "boulder clay," and "till," which covers so laige a portion 
 of the country, although,r fortunately for agriculture, with some 
 breaks.. The Scotch. " till" consists, of a deep,, tumultuous, and 
 unstratified deposit of tenacious clay, crowded with pebbles, 
 more or less rounded, striated, and polished, and chiefly derived 
 from the rocks, of the district, but often fax travelled. 
 
 It was Agassis who first suggested that Scotland had been 
 glaciated, as Switzerland and Greenland, are to-day. He visited 
 Scotland in 1840, and travelled, throughout, the country, compar- 
 ing its superficial phenomena with those of his native land. 
 The illustrious author of " Etudes sur lea Glaciers " had no hesi^ 
 tation in ascribiag to the action of ice many of the most striking 
 superficial phenomena of Scotland, and considered that its locks 
 had frequently, as they show to this day,, been planed, polished, 
 and striated by ice. 
 
 Among the other remarkable superficial phenomena of geo- 
 logical interest in Scotland are its boulder erratics, its " crag and 
 tail " hills, its " kames," its raised beaches or old sea-margins, 
 and the parallel roads of Lochaber. 
 
 Turning to the sedimentary rocks of Scotland, the most cur- 
 sory view of a geological map of the country discloses at least 
 one singular feature. ' The observer of that map seeks in vain 
 for those more recent or mesozoic rocks which cover so large a 
 portion of broad England and France. He finds certainly, in 
 sporadic patches, in out of the way corners, traces of those rocks, 
 but he sees that Scotland is composed almost entirely of the most 
 ancient or Palaeozoic rocks. 
 
 Let us glance rapidly at the leading rocks of Scotland from 
 north to south. The Shetland Isles are chiefly composed of the 
 metamorphosed Lower Silurian rocks, which we see also forming 
 
OUTLINES OF GEOLOGY, 17 
 
 the Scottisli Highlandsi The Orkney Islands, agaia, are entirely 
 composed of the Old Eed Sandstone rocks which cover Caithness, 
 from which Orkney is severed only by the Pentland Firth. In 
 the Highlands of Sutherland and. Eoss the leading rock-formation 
 is the Silurian, represented by lower metaaiorphoBed rocks. 
 Crossing the line of the Caledonian Canal, we find a broad 
 diagonal band of the same rocks traversing the island from north- 
 €ast to south-west, now rising to the lofty Grampians, now sink- 
 ing into deep ravines and lochs, but presenting ever the same 
 «urface outline of mountain, moor, and stream. The next diagonal 
 band, that of the Old Eed Sandstone rocks, crosses the island from 
 Stonehaven to Helensburgh. The next, that of the Carboniferous 
 i'ocks, occupies the district between and surrounding the Firths 
 •of Forth and Clyde, the centre (as its Coalfields would practically 
 imply) of Scottish industry and population. Carboniferous rocks 
 are likewise found along the Scottish Border, viz., in the Merse 
 of Berwickshire, and from liddisdale to the Solway. The last 
 diagonal band crosses the Scottish Lowlands from St Abb's 
 H6ad on the east to Portpatrick on the west, and consists of 
 Lower Silurian rocks. Fringing these great and leading forma- 
 tions of Scotland, we find Lauientian and Cambrian rocks in the 
 north-west, and Secondary strata in the north-east and in the 
 Hebrides. 
 
 The Secondary rocks of Sootlamd contain representatives of -the 
 Cretaceous and Jurassic formations. Cretaceous rocks are repre- 
 sented to a very limited extent in Mull and the neighbouring 
 Morvern coast. Jurassic rocks are found along the coasts of 
 Skye, Eaasay, and Mull on the west coast of Scotland, and at 
 Brora on the north-eastern coast of Sutherland. These Second- 
 ary rocks are evidently the vestiges of formations once widely 
 spread, and have escaped the extensive denudation which has. to 
 such an enormous extent destroyed the contemporary and even 
 older deposits of the district. For apparently the same reason, 
 the Triassic and Permian rocks, the most recent of primary or 
 Palaeozoic age, are but slenderly represented in Scotland. The 
 former are found on the coast of Elgin, whilst the latter oceiipy 
 portions of Dumfriesshire. In the Triassic beds of Elgin were dis- 
 covered specimens of reptiles peculiar to the Triassic period. The 
 Permian sandstones of Corncockle Muir and Lochar Briggs, Dum- 
 
 B 
 
18 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULT0BE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 friesshire, have displayed numerous impressions of reptilian 
 footprints. 
 
 Descending still further in the scale of Palaeozoic life, we come 
 next to the Carhoniferous rocks, which occupy a prominent 
 position in Scotland. Economically they have been an enormous 
 boon to a country in which agriculture, ~ however successfully 
 pursued, cannot, owing to the climate and the small expanse of 
 available soil, adequately provide food for the population. The 
 Coalfields of Scotland may be said to occupy four great basins : 
 (1) Ayrshire, (2) Lanarkshire, (3) Edinburghshire, and (4) Fife. 
 Below the Coal measures are sandstones, &c., belonging to the 
 period of the Millstone grit ; and below these occur the Carbon- 
 iferous limestone group of marine limestones, with sandstones, 
 shales, and coal seams. Below these are what have been deno- 
 minated the Calciferous sandstones, which consist of sandstones, 
 shales, and limestone of an estuarine character (Burdiehouse). 
 This series is economically a very important one. Out of its 
 sandstones, which are very compact and fine-grained (Craig- 
 leith, &c.), the city of Edinburgh has been mainly built. Its 
 limestone is of a valuable character, and is now considerably 
 worked ; whilst, to the west of Edinburgh, a great industry, that 
 of Paraffin OU, derived by distillation from the shales of this 
 series, has sprung up of recent years, and assumed ever-increas- 
 ing proportions (Addiewell, Uphall, &c.). 
 
 Following the Carboniferous series is the Old Eed Sandstone 
 formation, which crosses Scotland in a broad diagonal band, 
 stretching from the coast of Forfar on the east to the estuary of 
 the Clyde on the west. Eocks of this age also encircle the Moray 
 Firth, and, after covering Caithness, cross the Pentland Firth, 
 and form the Orkney Islands. Eed sandstone rocks, which 
 formerly were assigned to the upper group of Old Eed Sandstone 
 age, but, from recent investigations, have now been transferred 
 to the earliest Carboniferous epoch, occupy considerable tracts of 
 country in Berwick and Eoxburghshires, and traverse Scotland 
 from Haddington to Ayr in a broken diagonal band. They also 
 appear in Fife and Kinross. We shall look in vain for mineral 
 gifts in rocks of this series, but, agriculturally, the supeqacent 
 soil is often very good. 
 
 The next great geological system, the Silurian, is largely repre- 
 
OUTLINES OF GEOLOGY. 19 
 
 aented in Scotland, covering nearly two-thirds of its entire area, 
 Eocks of Upper Silurian age (Ludlow and Wenlock) have been 
 recognised in the vicinity of Edinburgh (Pentland Hjlls), near 
 Kirkcudbright, in Ayrshire, and near Muirkirk. The great Lower 
 Silurian system of Scotland is divisible into metamorphosed and 
 unmetamorphosed rocks, the former (consisting of quartz rocks, 
 mica schists, and clay slates) composing the Scottish Highlands 
 from Sutherland to Cantyre, and the lat,ter (Llandeilo and 
 Caradoc beds) stretching across the Scottish Lowlands from the 
 North Sea to the Atlantic. In the latter, the graptolite shales 
 of Moffat, the oldest f ossiliferous strata yet detected in the Silurian 
 district of the south of Scotland, have proved an interesting 
 field for the study of Palaeozoic life. 
 
 Eed' and purple sandstones and conglomerates of Cambrian 
 age form the districts of Applecross and Gairloch, and encircle 
 Loch Broom; whilst the still more ancient gneiss of Laurentian 
 age stretches southwards from Cape Wrath to Loch Enard, passes 
 from Gruinard Bay through Loch Maree to Gairloch, and forms 
 the islands of Lewis and the Outer Hebrides. 
 
 Whilst we have, therefore, in Scotland but a meagre repre- 
 sentation of Secondary rocks, we have an ample and complete lisk 
 of Palaeozoic and primary ones. In fact, the country is mainly 
 built up of such rocks, and the secondary beds merely fringe their 
 borders. 
 
 Eeference has hitherto only been made to the aqueous or sedi- - 
 mentary rocks. There are in Scotland, 'however, many examples^ - 
 of igneous and volcadic rocks, which claim a brief notice. , 
 Two distinct epochs of violent igneous activity in Scotland have 
 been clearly recognised. The first appears to have lasted from i 
 the commencement of the Old Eed Sandstone period down to ■ 
 the close of the Palaeozoic era ; the second during nearly the 
 whole of the Tertiary epoch. To the former of these periods are 
 assigned the granite of the Grampians and the masses of crystal- 
 line and igneous rocks which occur from Peterhead to the Boss.: 
 of Mull, from Cairngorm, Ben N"evis, and Ben Cruachan to the^; 
 Moor of Eannoch. The granites of Kirkcudbrightshire alsp- 
 belong to this period. To the same 4poch are referred the lavas 
 of Lome and the adjacent islands, and the trap-rocks forming 
 nearly the whole of the hill-ranges of central Scotland, such ^ 
 
■20 
 
 PRESENT STATE OF THE AfiEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 the Ocllils, Sidlaws, Pentland and Braid Hills> Campsie Fells, 
 Eilpatrick Hills, &c., as also Arthur's Seat, and the many pietur- 
 'esque crags with -wiich the Lothians and Fife abound. 
 
 The second igneous period occurred long afterwards, viz., in 
 Tertiary times. Sub-aerial volcanoes then appear to have existed 
 in the islands of ~MuU, Bum, Skye, and St Eilda, and in the 
 peninsula of Ardnamurchan, which httrled aloft ashes, lapilli, 
 And scoriee, and from whose sides issued streams of lava, now 
 forming felstones, '&c. The base of the volcano of MuU must have 
 had a circumference of at least forty miles. The volcano of- Skye 
 tFas not inferior in its dimensions to that of Mull. The granite 
 ■of Arran has also ' been referred to the Tertiary period. The 
 ■soils produced by the weathering and disintegration of these 
 roeltB and' formations are welli-nigh as various as the sources 
 -niience they have been formed,, their productive capa,bilities 
 l)eing perhaps in this country influenced more by their particular 
 locality and their climatal conditions than by the mineral con- 
 stituents they respectively contain. 
 
 The following table shows the wheat-producing districts of 
 Scotland, and the various rocks with which they are associated 
 in each district. The limit of wheat cultivation in Scotland is 
 500 feet above the sea-level : — 
 
 County. 
 
 Area most favour- 
 ably situated 
 for Wheat. 
 
 Situation iu 
 County. 
 
 Principal underlying 
 Rocks. 
 
 -Ayr, . 
 
 '• Berwick, 
 Clackmannan, 
 Dumbarton, . 
 DimifrieB, . 
 
 Carryforward, 
 
 Acres. 
 26,000 
 
 28,000 
 6,000 
 
 - 4,000 
 6,000 
 
 ( From Monkton ] 
 < and AyrtoGir- > 
 ( van. ) 
 ( The Merse and. 
 ( river sides. 
 
 Coast. 
 
 Clyde side. 
 
 j Coast and Eiver- 
 { sides. 
 
 Carboniferous and 
 trap-rock. 
 
 Do. do, 
 
 Caiboniferous and 
 
 alluvium. 
 Old Red, trap, and 
 \ alluvium. 
 Permian and allu- 
 vium. 
 
 70,000 
 
OUTLINES OF GEOLOGY. 
 
 21 
 
 County. 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 ■4^ 
 
 B 
 
 
 m 
 
 o 
 
 CO 
 
 fg: 
 
 a 
 
 i:: 
 
 fi-i 
 
 c3 
 
 -§ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 
 
 Situation in 
 County. 
 
 Principal underlying 
 Kooks. 
 
 Brought forward, ; 
 Etiinlsuigh, . 
 
 Elgin or Moray, 
 
 Fife, . 
 
 Forfar, . 
 
 Inverness, . 
 Kincardine, . 
 
 Kirkcudbright, 
 
 Lanark, 
 
 Linlithgow, . 
 
 Perth, . 
 
 Eenfrew, 
 
 Ross and Cromarty 
 
 Eoxhurgh, . 
 
 Stirling, 
 
 Wigtown, 
 
 Acres.- 
 70,000 
 
 26,000 
 
 20,000 
 
 100,000 
 
 70,000 
 
 70,000 
 
 6,000 
 4,000 
 
 4,000 
 
 25,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 100,000 
 
 ■ 16,000 
 25,000 
 
 18,000 
 20,000 
 20,000 
 
 Sea Boast districts. 
 
 Laigh of Moray 
 (sea coast). 
 
 Eastern division 
 (SlAndrews,&c). 
 
 Strathmore, Dun- 
 dee, & Montrose. 
 'Nearly whole \ 
 county, except- ( 
 ing Lammer- 1 
 moor Hills. ) 
 
 East coast. 
 
 Coast. 
 
 Coast. 
 
 LowerWard(Glas- 
 gow, &c.). 
 
 From Linlith- 
 gow eastwards. 
 
 Carse of Gowrie, 
 Perth, and 
 Bridge of Earn. 
 
 Clyde side. 
 
 Easter Boss. 
 )■ Tweed . and 
 
 I Teviotdales.' 
 
 ! Carse of Stirling 
 and Falkirk. 
 Southern district 
 (sea coast). 
 
 Carboniferous and 
 
 trap. 
 Triassic and Old 
 
 Red. 
 Carboniferous, Old 
 
 Bed, and trap. 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 Carboniferous, fel- 
 stone, and trap 
 tuff. 
 
 Old Red. 
 
 Old Red and Silu- 
 rian. 
 
 Silurianand Carbon- 
 iferous. 
 
 Carboniferous, trap, 
 and alluvium. 
 
 Carboniferous and 
 trap. 
 
 Alluvium, Old Red, 
 and trap. 
 
 AUuvium and trap. 
 Old Bed. 
 
 Carboniferous and 
 trap. 
 
 AUuvium. 
 
 Silurian and allu- 
 vium. 
 
 604,000 
 
 The total acreage of Scotland under Corn crops in 1877, accord-* 
 ing to the Grovernment Agricultural Eeturns, was 1,412,679 acres, 
 of which 81,185 acres were under wheat. In the foregoing table 
 the counties unrepresented (as having little or no wheat land) are 
 Aberdeen, Argyll, Banff, Bute, Caithness, Kinross, Nairn, Orkney, 
 Shetland, Peebl es, Selkirk, and Sutherland. AH the 1 eading rock- 
 formations of Scotland are represented in the table ; Carboni- 
 
22 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGBICULTUEj; OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 ferous rocks occurring in eleven, and Trap-rock in twelve, of the 
 , twenty rone wheat-growing counties of Scotland. 
 ' Although the general, geological features of Scotland, like 
 those of other countries, have received the attention for years 
 past of distinguished men of science, and are now well estab- 
 lished and acknowledged, the special relations of Agriculture to 
 Geology and Meteorology, and the Agricultural survey and surface 
 mapping of country, are matters which have been hitherto in 
 most countries but little studied, and appear to be well worthy of 
 the attention of the International Agricultural Congress about to 
 assemble at Paris. 
 
III. 
 
 THE FARMING OF THE EAST AND NORTH-EASTERN 
 DISTRICTS. 
 
 In drawing up a Eeport on the present condition of the agriculture 
 of Scotland, it is necessary to remind the reader that so recently 
 as 120 years ago it was only beginning slowly to emerge from a 
 state of utter rudeness and wastefulness. As our grandfathers 
 saw it, the whole country, with the most trifling exceptions, was 
 unenclosed ; there was scarcely such a thing as a plantation of 
 trees ; in the total absence of roads and bridges there were no 
 wheel-carriages, and no means of conveying commodities save 
 on pack-horses; there was no artificial drainage, and what 
 tillage existed was restricted to the naturally dry land; the hollow 
 parts were full of bogs, marshes, and stagnant pools ; the people 
 suffered grievously from ague, and their sheep were destroyed 
 by the rot. Until about the middle of the eighteenth century, 
 the land, even in the most favoured southern counties, was 
 occupied by cultivators who lived together in townships, often 
 in the immediate vicinity of the castellated house of the pro- 
 prietor ; the arable, or " infield " land, being apportioned among 
 the tenants, on a system called " run-rig," by which each in 
 turn got a narrow strip or rig in regular sequence, until the 
 ■whole town-land, in its varying qualities of soil, was thus dis- 
 tributed among them. The grazing of the " outfield," or uncul- 
 tivated portion, was allotted on a similar principle, each tenant 
 being entitled to keep a certain fixed number of cattle or sheep 
 in proportion to his share of the tillage land. Oats, here {Hor- 
 dewm vulgare), and peas were the only field crops ; and the straw 
 ■of these crops, with such rough herbage as they could find in 
 the fields, the only winter food of the cattle, which, before the 
 .return of spring, were often so reduced by starvation as to be 
 unable to rise without assistance. A few cabbages, parsnips, 
 And latterly potatoes, were grown in gardens for Homestic use. 
 About 1760 a gradual advance, in the value of farm produce 
 
24 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTURE OF SCOTLAND.' 
 
 caused by the increase of population, and of wealth derivecJ 
 from iaanufactures and commerce, began to exert a most bene- 
 ficial influence on the national agriculture. The lapd, hitherto 
 split up into minute portions, and cultivated by the tenants and 
 their families without the aid of hired labour, began to be con- 
 solidated into larger holdings, and let on leases for a considerable 
 term of years to those tenants who possessed most energy and 
 substance. A more rational system of cropping began also to 
 supersede the previous thriftless and barbarous practice of sow- 
 ing successive crops of corn until the land was utterly exhausted, 
 and then left, foul with weeds, to recover its powers by an in- 
 definite period of rest.- Instead of this, green crops, such as 
 turnips, clovers, and ryegrass, began to be alternated with grain 
 crops, and gave rise to the term alternate htisbandry, by which 
 the improved system came to be spoken of. Frequent recourse 
 to a summer fallow also did much towards mellowing the 
 stronger soils, and ridding them of the prodigious stock of weeds 
 which they retained as tokens of former mismanagement. 
 
 Hitherto the husbandry of Scotland had in every respect been 
 Vastly inferior to that of the most favoured parts of England, 
 from which, however, it now began to borrow freely. > About 
 the year 1764 an enterprising young Eoxburghshire farmer 
 (Dawson of JVogden) went to Leicestershire, hired himself as a 
 ploughman for a few months to the celebrated BakeT^ell of 
 Bishley, and having mastered the details of turnip-culture, at 
 once put them in practice oh his own farm. Thus was intro- 
 duced in Scotland a field orcJp peculiarly adapted to its soil and 
 climate, and which has ever since formed the very keystone of 
 her whole system of husbandry. 
 
 From 1770 to 1795 the agriculture of Scotland made steady 
 and general progress. It was towards the close of this period 
 that in the most advanced counties the land already thrown 
 into compact farms began to be enclosed by efficient fences. 
 ISTtft only was each farm surramBded by a ring fence, but its 
 entire area was sub-divided into rectangular fields of a size pro- 
 ■ portioned to that of the farm, and the convenient carrying out 
 on it of a regular rotation of cropping. Wherever the soil and 
 climate was suitable for the growth of the white thorn {€ratcegus 
 oxycantk), the fences; whether exterior or su*b-division, were 
 
FARMING OF THE EAST AND NOKTH-EASTEBN DISTRICTS. 25 
 
 formed of that shrub, usually planted in double rows, about five 
 feet apart, and guarded on both sides by wide and deep dTtches, 
 ■ which served the double purpose of protecting the young thorns 
 from the encroachments of cattle, and of carrying off surface 
 water from the lands surrounded by them. It was in this way 
 that the country was first cleared in some good measure of stag- 
 nant water. Simultaneously the counlTy was being penetrated 
 in all directions by substantial roads on which wheel-carriages 
 could be freely used. One of the immediate results of this was 
 the universal applicatiqn to the arable lands of calcined car- 
 bonate of lime, spread over the surface in a powdery state at the 
 rate of about six tons of the unslaked lime per acre. The first 
 application of this powerful ingredient so increased the produce 
 of all field crops as greatly to stimulate agricultural progress. 
 It was about this period that the cumbrous ' Scotch plough, 
 drawn by six or eight oxen, everywhere gave place to the handy 
 " swing" plough, im^jroved and introduced by Small in 1760, 
 drawn by a pair of horses, and managed by a single ploughman, 
 without the aid of a driver ; and that Meikle's thrashing machine, 
 propelled by "water, wind, or horse power, rendered obsolete the 
 slow and laborious flail. Kear the close of this period the list 
 of field crops was enriched by two additions of special import- 
 ance to Scottish husbandry, viz., the Swedish turnip and the 
 potato oat; and more important still, this auspicious time wit- 
 nessed the introduction from England of shorthorn oattle and 
 Leicester sheep. 
 
 The agriculture of Scotland was thus making steady progress; , 
 when suddenly the whole of Europe became involved in the 
 wars of the French revolution. In 1795, under the combined 
 operation of a deficient harvest, and the cutting off of foreign 
 supplies of grain, the price of wheat, which for the twenty pre- 
 ceding years had been under 50s. per quarter, suddenly rose to 
 81s. 6d., and in the following year to 96s. In 1T97 the fear of 
 foreign invasion led to a panic and a run upon the banks, iii 
 which emergency the Bank-Eestrietion Act was passed, which 
 suspended cash payments and ushered in a system of unlimited 
 credit transactions. Under the stimulus of these extraordinary 
 influences, every branch of industry expanded with unexampled 
 rapidity. In no department was this progress so apparent as in 
 
26 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 agriculture. The high price of all kinds of farm produce fur- 
 nished the most powerful inducement to improve the lands then 
 under tillage, and to reclaim others that had previously lain 
 waste. This extraordinary state of matters continued with vary- 
 ing effect, from 1795 until 1814. The agricultural progress of 
 Scotland during these twenty years is probably unparalleled in 
 the history of any other country. As one proof of this, the 
 rental of her land, which in 1795 amounted to two millions of 
 pounds sterling, had in 1815 risen to five and a quarter millions 
 — that is, had well-nigh trebled in twenty years. 
 
 This period of sudden prosperity and spasmodic effort was 
 followed by, another period of general disaster and great depression. 
 The return to a gold currency — a sound measure in itself — was 
 so accomplished as to bear very heavily on our Scotch, farmers 
 with their leases for a term of years. The preponderating, in- 
 fluence of landowners in the British Legislature enabled them at 
 this time, on pretext of protection to native agriculture, to re- 
 impose heavy duties on the importation of foreign com — a 
 measure which deluded our farmers, repressed our trade, and 
 embittered our politics for a whole generation. The concurrence 
 in 1824 of abundant crops and enhanced prices, consequent upon 
 a revival in the trade of the country, enabled and encouraged our 
 fariners to resume the march of improvement. In 1825, ground 
 bones, which had for sometime been used as a manure for turnips 
 in the eastern counties of England, were for the first time brought 
 to Scotland. As soon as it became known that a manure had 
 been discovered, so potent and so portable that a single cart-load 
 of it would sufficiently dress three acres as to secure an abundant 
 crop of turnips, and that it was to be had in any quantity at a very 
 moderate cost, what really amounted to an agricultural revolu- 
 tion was the immediate consequence. Thousands of acres of poor 
 land, — especially in the inland and upland parts of the country, — 
 which formerly would not pay for the ploughing, were at .once 
 brought into profitable tillage. It was about the same time that 
 the steam-en^ne began to be used on farms for driving thrashing 
 machinery. Much had already been done towards the drying of the 
 wettest parts of farms by deep underground drains formed with 
 stones ; but about 1835 Mr James Smith of Deanston expounded 
 by his writings, and exemplified on his farm, his now well-known 
 
FARMING OF THE EAST AND NOETII-EASTEEN DISTEICTS. 27 
 
 system of "thorough draining" and subsoil ploughing, which has 
 since been practised to such an extent as to have changed the 
 very appearance and character of whole districts of Scotland, 
 and prepared the way for all other agricultural improvemeuts. 
 These extensive drainage works were greatly facilitated, and 
 their cost reduced, by the substitution, about 1840, of pipes of 
 burnt clay for stones. Tileries, with appropriate machiiiery for 
 the production of drain pipes, speedily sprung up all over the 
 country wherever deposits of brick-earth could be found. Sq 
 extensively has the system of thorough underground drainage 
 been carried out, that, in all our best cultivated districts, the old 
 plan of keeping the surface soil comparatively dry by throwing 
 it into parallel rounded ridges of a, uniform width of five or six 
 yards, with open cross-cuts in all hollows and at the end of the 
 ridges, has been entirely abandoned, and the land laid as flat as 
 possible; to the great furtherance of mowing and reaping by 
 machinery, of ploughing by steam, and generally of all tillage 
 operations. 
 
 Since 1845 our supplies of extraneous fertilisers of a concen- 
 trated and portable kind have been largely augmented, first by 
 guflno from Peru and other deposits from within the tropics, and 
 more largely still by superphosphate of lime prepared from bones, 
 and more especially from mineral phosphate, inexhaustible stores 
 of which now have been discovered in all parts of the world. 
 
 The most influential accessory to our Scottish agriculture of 
 recent times bears date frojn 1845', in which year the opening of 
 the Nprth British EaiLway gave us direct and speedy access for 
 our products to the great consuming centres in England. Since 
 then railways have ramified through the whole country to its 
 utmost limits, and have brought, as it were, the best markets to 
 every man's door. 
 
 Previous to the present century, the implements and machines 
 used in agriculture were few in number and primitive in con- 
 struction. With the progress of the art, a constant crop of new 
 contrivances has grown up to meet its new requirements,, until 
 at length the manufacture of agricultural implements and 
 machinery has become one of our great national industries. It 
 is superfluous to go into particulars in this department) as our 
 English friends have doubtless treated of it fully in their Eeport,, 
 
28 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUBE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 and it is certain to t© largely illustrated, by spedmens contributed 
 to, the Paris Exhibition by our most eminent makers. 
 
 Contemporaneous with all this agricultural progress, there has 
 been going on ia all parts of Scotland a very extensile planting 
 of forest trees for the embelHshing of mansions, for securing 
 shelter from injurious storms, and for the profitable growth of 
 timber, on much land, either so sterile or so steep or lying at so 
 great an elevation to be unavailable for agricultural or pastural 
 piirposes. A close inspection of the extensive woods and plan- 
 tations which now form so prominent ajid pleasing a ieature- 
 in our Scottish landscape, at once discloses the fact that seldom 
 are the trees of above one hundred jews' growth, amd far mor& 
 commonly of less than half that age. 
 
 As -the result of all that has been done, we may be permitted 
 to say, that if any of our agricultural friends from France will 
 honour us by a visit, they will not fail to mofeice, in aU our best 
 districts, the large and we^H-shaped form of the fields, the general 
 efficiency and fitness of the farm buildings, roads, and fences, 
 the thoroughness and finish of the tillage operations, the clean- 
 ness and luxuriance of the crops, and the numbers and excellence- 
 of the flocks and herds that adorn the pastures. It will enhance 
 the interest of such a professional inspection if the visitor w 31 bear 
 in mind that aU that he beholds is literally the work of a single 
 century. 
 
 After this brief historical resume, let us describe as succinctly 
 as possible fcte characteristic features and present condition of 
 the agriculture of the eastern side of Scotland. The task is to a 
 certain extent simplified by the fact that over this ■whole stretch 
 of country, extending from the English border to the Orkney 
 Islands, the system of husbandry is" in its main features essen- 
 tially the same. As a rule, the whole of the arable land is culti- 
 vated by tenant farmers, to whom it is let on leases for a term of 
 years — nineteen or twenty-one years being the usual teiTn. In 
 these leases the tenant is bound, under penalties, to adhere to a 
 strictly-defined'rotation of cropping. With certain exceptions, due 
 to specialties of soil or situation, the "five-course may be said to be 
 the rotation of this side of Scotland. Under this course, one- 
 fifth of the farm is annually in oats ; one-fifth in turnips, or 
 other drilled green crop ; one-fifth in barley or wheat, with the 
 
FARMING OF THE EAST AND NOETH-EASTERISr DISTBICTS. 29 
 
 seeds of clover and grass sown amongst the grain crop ; one-fifth 
 in mixed dover and ryegrass (called yoimg gxass in Scotland) ; 
 and. the remaining fifth the same seeds allowed to lie for pasture 
 for a second year. If the farm includes a portion of land in old 
 grass, the tenant is usually prohibited from, ever breaJdng it up. 
 It is as the result of prolonged experiments that this five-course 
 rotation has secured such universal acceptance. It provides for 
 a well-balanced system of husbandry, in which grain and green 
 crops are beneficially, proportioned and arranged. The prepon- 
 derance of the green crops provides for the keeping of live stock 
 in the largest possible numbers ; the manure thiis prodiiced 
 ensures good crops of corn, and the work of the farm is equally 
 distributed over the whole year. Whenever the soil is so de- 
 ■cidedly argillaceous as to be unsuited for turnip culture, a rota- 
 tion embodying the same principles, but extending to six years, 
 is in use. Under it the sequence is — 1st, oats ; 2nd, beans ; 3rd, 
 wheat; 4th, naked fallow; 5th, wheat; and 6th, clovers and grasses. 
 Sometimes the seeds lie for a second year, making a course of 
 seven years. On fertile loams, such as abound in the Lothians, 
 in Pife, and in portions of s(?me,other counties, this six-course is 
 varied by substituting potatoes, in whole or in part, for beans ; 
 turnips for bare fallow; and barley, after turnips, instead of 
 wheat. When corn was dearer and labour cheaper than is the 
 case at present, the five-course was often shortened to one of 
 four years, by ploughing up the seeds after one year. ' From the 
 excessive advance in wages, and the other costs of tillage, the 
 tendency at present is to abridge rather than increase the area 
 under tillage. Whatever the rotation prescribed in the lease, 
 the tenant, as a rule, is debarred from selling straw, turnips, oic 
 dung off his farm, and is bound to consume the whole fod- 
 der and green crops by his live stock, and apply the dung so 
 produced to the farm. If hay or potatoes are sold off the farm, 
 the area that may be under these crops is strictly defined, and 
 usually with a stipulation that a proportionate quantity of pur- 
 chased manure shall be brought on to the farm. Such restric- 
 tions and stipulations are of course introduced for the purpose of 
 maintaining the fertility of the farm, and of restraiining the tenant 
 from wasting it by careless cultivation or excessive propping. 
 Previous to the introduction of concentrated portable' manures 
 
30 PKESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 and the now prevalent practice of giving cakes and meals to 
 sheep and cattle along with the green crops of the farm, these 
 restrictions in cropping and in the disposal of produce were 
 reasonable and beneficial. Now, however, when many tenants 
 expend in the purchase of manures and feeding stuffs an annual 
 sum equal to or exceeding the rent of their farms, and when all 
 do so to a greater or less extent, it has become impolitic and 
 unjust to retain the old restrictions under such altered circum- 
 stances. There is a growing opinion that so long as a tenant keeps 
 his land clean and in good condition, it, is alike for his interest 
 and his landlord's that he should be at liberty to crop as he 
 likes, and to sell what he pleases. 
 
 ■ With so much uniformity in the tenure of land, and in the 
 rotations of cropping, throughout eastern Scotland, there exists, 
 as might be ainticipated, a corresponding similarity of agricultural 
 practice. So much is this the case that a description of the annual 
 routine of work on a weU-managed farm anywhere wiU serve as 
 ' a type of the whole. This similarity of practice is as remarkably 
 illustrated in the live stock of the farm as in other departments. 
 The Clydesdale stallion and the shorthorn buU. are everywhere 
 resorted to for the improvement of local breeds of horses and 
 cattle ; and wherever a breeding flock of sheep is kept on low- 
 land arable farms, with rare exceptions, the " Half-bred " is the 
 kind preferred. This cross-breed betwixt the Border Leicester 
 ram and the Cheviot ewe has, during the past thirty years, risen 
 so steadily in estimation that it is now everywhere recognised as 
 the most profitable farmer's sheej). It would be hard to deter- 
 mine whether, at present, it prospers more in Orkney and 
 Caithness, or in its native habitat on the English Border. 
 
 There^is, however, one respect in which a great diversity 
 is seen, and that is in the size of arable farms. A reference to 
 the statistical table included in this Eeport will show that they 
 are largest in the Border counties, where farms of less than 
 fifty acres are few in number, and those of from 300 to 500 acres 
 the most common. It is found, however, that an area of a 
 square mile (640 acres) is about the limit of size that can con- 
 sistently, with economy of labour, be cultivated in connection 
 with one honiestead ; and hence, when that extent is much ex- 
 ceeded, a supplementary steading has to be resorted to. In the 
 
FARMIKG OF THE EAST AND NOETH-EASTEEN DISTEICTS. 31 
 
 fertile soils of the Lothians and Fife there is a predominance 
 of farms of from 200 to 300 acres each. As we cross the Tay, 
 and proceed northwatds, we find, along with a multitude of 
 holdings, called crofts, of 10 acres, and under, a few farms of 500 
 acres and upwards, a great number under 100 acres, and those 
 of from 100 to 300 the most numerous of all. The size of farms 
 involves a social problem difficult of solution, and yet of the 
 utmost importance in its bearings upon national prosperity. 
 There can be no reasonable doubt that the breaking up of the 
 old system of " run-rig " and common grazing, and throwing the 
 land into compact farms, was an indispensable preliminary to 
 any improvement on our ancient system of husbandry. It may 
 also be conceded that a large farm (meaning thereby one of from 
 300 to 500 acres) involves the minimum cost of roads, fences, 
 and buildings ; that it admits of a better combination and 
 economy 6f labour ; and that it can afford to employ with ad- 
 vantage an equipment in implements and machinery beyond the 
 reach of smaller holdings. It may, however, be questioned 
 whether these material advantages have not been secured to the 
 prejudice of our agricultural community as a whole. It seems 
 highly desirable that a very much larger number of the people 
 engaged in agricultural labour should have a direct interest in , 
 the land which they cultivate, and, in order to secure this, that 
 holdings adapted to the labour of a pair of horses should be 
 greatly multiplied. Paltry crofts of poor land, incapable in the 
 most favourable season of yielding food enough to sustain a 
 single family are simply an expedient for perpetuating human 
 poverty and misery. But such a multiplication of small farms 
 as would be, at the same time, large enough to hold out to 
 every energetic and aspiring ploughman the possibility and 
 prospect of some day attaining to the position of a farmer, and 
 thus bridge over what is at present to him and his class an im- 
 passable gulf, seems a plan well fitted to sweeten the breath of 
 society and strengthen, the foundations of our social system. 
 
 The labour-power in people and horses necessary for the work- 
 ing of a farm, whatever its size, is a fixed quantity throughout 
 the year, the only exception being at corn-harvest or at potato- 
 lifting, when that esculent is grown as a market crop, at which 
 seasons additional help is always needed. The right proportion- 
 
32 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGKICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 ing and using of the forces employed on a farm, so that its work 
 shall always he done effectively and at the proper season, and 
 yet at the least possible cost, determine, as much as anything, 
 in each instance, whether the business of farming is to prove a 
 gaining or a losing one. To work a farm of free soil on the five- 
 course rotation, a usual proportion is one man and a pair of, 
 horses' for each 100 acres, or rather for each 20 acres of the 
 fallow crop division. On heavier soils the whole tOlage opera- 
 tions are not only more laborious, but the necessity of carting 
 the whole turnip crop to the homestead, instead of consuming a 
 large proportion of it by sheep where it grows, so adds to the 
 work that. 15 or 16 acres of fallow break may be as much as can 
 be accomplished. The cultivation of beans, and still more of 
 potatoes, with a six-years' rotation, largely increases the labour 
 of the farm, and must be provided for accordingly. On holdings 
 employing only two ploughs, the farmer is usually his own fore- 
 man and shepherd, and the hardest worker on his farm. On larger 
 ones, employing four or five ploughs, the time of the master is 
 fully occupied in diligent oversight and direction of work and 
 .live stock, in buying and selling, ' and in keeping the accounts. 
 In addition to his ploughmen, he req[uires a foreman, cattle-man, 
 and shepherd, and in every case a proportionate number of young 
 persons — ^usually the sons and daughters of his adult labourers 
 — for overtaking the lighter work of the farm, such as spreading 
 manure, pulling and gathering weeds, thinning and hoeing 
 turnips, and pulling and trimming them when matured, assisting 
 at haymaking and harvest work, and afterwards at the thrashing 
 and dressing the corn. 
 
 As soon as -the grain crop of the country is secured, a fresh 
 agricultural campaign opens by our farmers everywhere proceed- 
 ing to cart out and spread upon the oat stubble all manure then 
 in their cattle yards or anywhere about their homesteads. Some 
 good managers store up the whole dung made on their farms 
 during the preceding twelve months, and apply it in this way at 
 this season. They do so mainly on the ground that it econo- 
 .mises labour, and especially so at the potato-planting and turnip- 
 sowing seasons, when it is most valuable and time most pressmg. 
 The stubble land is then ploughed with a strong furrow, 8 to 10 
 inches in depth,, that it may be mellowed by the alternations of 
 
FARMING OF THE EAST AND NOETH-EASTEKN DISTRICTS. 33 
 
 the weather, and get into iitbing condition for the operations of 
 the ensuing spring. During October and November the lifting 
 and storing of potatoes, mangolds, and turnips, and the thrashing 
 and marketing of corn, as straw and cash are required, make a 
 busy-time on the farms. In those "parts of the country which 
 are adapted for wheat-growing, the land from which the root 
 crops just referred to have been removed, as well as bare fallows 
 and bean stubbles, will be ploughed, and sown with that grain 
 before November closes. During December, the ploughing of 
 the lea^ — that is, the two-year-old seeds — in preparation for the 
 oat crop, will either be completed or far. advanced, unless frost 
 sets in, and arrests the ploughs. When this occurs, the manure 
 which has been accumulating under the cattle in their yards or 
 boxes since they were housed in autumn is carted either to a 
 dungpit or to convenient places in the fields, and laid up in large 
 heaps, on to which the carts are driven to consolidate the dung 
 and check undue fermentation. Owing to our insular position, 
 our frosts are seldom of long duration at one time. Whenever a' 
 change to mild weather takes place, ploughing is resumed, either 
 finishing up the lea or successive portions of the land from which 
 the turnip crop is being cleared off, either for consumption by 
 cattle at the homestead, or by sheep on the ground where it has 
 grown. The securing of his turnips from frost will have Occu- 
 pied the anxious care of the farmer. This is done in various 
 ways. So much of the crop as is to be used for catble-feeding is 
 pulled, trimmed, and carted to some suitable site near the home- 
 stead, and laid in flat heaps about 8 yards wide, 30 inches deep, 
 and of any length required. As the storing proceeds, these heaps 
 are covered with a coating of straw, thick enough to exclude 
 frost. The straw thatch and ropes with which the corn stacks 
 are covered are reserved, as thrashing proceeds, for the covering 
 of the turnip heaps. But as this storing of the turnips is a 
 tedious process, and frost may set in before it is accomplished, 
 many farmers endeavour to secure, at least, partial protection to 
 a portion of the crop by working a double-mouldboard plough 
 between the turnip drDls, and thus covering the bulbs with earth 
 as much as possible. By this rapid process, although perfect 
 security is not realised, so large a measure of it is as to render it 
 highly expedient to have recourse to it. As regards the portion 
 
 c 
 
Si PRESENT STATE OS THE AGKICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 of the turnip crop to he devoted to sheep-feeding, that whieh is to 
 ■loe; sliced for the hoggetsahoutDecemberand January is trimmed 
 and put into round heaps, containing about two tons eajch, 
 arranged in straight rows at regular intervals, to secure equal 
 treading of the ground and -distribution of the manure. These 
 hieaps are thickly coated over with earth, and soj in the hardest 
 frosts, this crust has but to be broken up with a mattock, when 
 the turnips are turned out fresh and sound for daily use. For 
 spring use, the earthing up by the plough, as already described, 
 is trusted to, and the roots put together in heaps, as weather 
 admits and need requires. 
 
 Eeserving in the meantime a description of the winter 
 management of sheep and cattle, we return to the strictly 
 arable operations. As soon as the parching winds which 
 usually prevad in 'March have sufficiently dried the land, the 
 sowing of spring corn is diligently urged forward- — oats on the 
 ploughed-up lea division of the farm, and barley after the 
 turnips. Anxious efforts are used to have this work completed 
 if possible not later than the third week of April. Sowing the 
 seed corn broadcast by means of a machine which covers from 
 fifteen to eighteen feet in width, is the favourite paractiee in Scot- 
 land, but tlie use of the driE sowing machine is on the increase. 
 The sowing of the seed corn is always followed closely, up by 
 the requisite amount of harrowing, lest sudden rain should 
 interrupt the work when in an unfinished state. Clover and 
 grass seeds are now sown by the broadcast machine over the 
 autumn-sown wheat and recently sown barley. Always in the 
 case of the former, and sometimes also in the latter, if rain has 
 caused the surface soil to be encrusted, a turn of the common 
 harrows is given, after which the small seeds are sown, and 
 covered as slightly as possible by brush-harrowing and rolling. 
 The whole of the corn lands are rolled at this season, and stones 
 gathered off, to secure a smooth surface for the effective use of 
 the reaping machine. For the same reason, " seeds " and meadows 
 intended to be mown for hay are now rolled and cleared of 
 stones. If beans are cultivated, they are sown before the oats 
 and barley — in February if possible. The most approved mode 
 of sowing beans is by a drilling machine, in rows sixteen inches 
 apart. A portion of land on the oat division, proportioned to 
 
FARMIlfG OF THE EAST AND NORTH-EASTEEN DISTRICTS. '35 
 
 the size of the farm, is sown with vetches at successive periods, 
 to he used as green forage in early autumn. If the culti- 
 vation of potatoes is limited to the requirements of the people 
 on a farm, this crop is planted immediately on the completion 
 of the operations just described — that is, in the last week of 
 April ; but in those districts where it is so largely grown as to 
 be the most important crop at the farm, every endeavour is 
 made to have the planting accomplished as early as possible. If 
 a sixth, or even larger portion of a farm is to be planted with 
 potatoes, the work must be proceeded with as early in spring as 
 the state of the soil will admit of it. Machines for dropping the 
 " sets " in furrows opened by the plough — ^fchree rows at once — 
 have recently been introduced and used successfully, with an im- 
 portant saving of time and wages. An additional reason for 
 early planting is that it usually lessens the risk from blight. 
 
 In this condensed review we have now arrived at the season 
 for sowing turnips — the crop which more than any other rules 
 the fortunes of our whole system of Scottish agriculture. About' 
 the 10th of May, if the land has been got into the proper state 
 of cleanness and tilth, the sowing of swedes is proceeded with 
 The universal practice in Scotland is to sow the whole turnip 
 crop on raised drills, or ridgelets, twenty-seven inches apart. 
 .Furrows at these distances are first opened in the finely pulverised 
 soil by the double-mouldboard plough; the manure, of whatever 
 kinds, is evenly distributed in the hollows thus formed, and is 
 immediately covered up by the reverse action of the plough, 
 which thus leaves raised ridgelets, enclosing the manure, where 
 the open furrows were at first. The seed is deposited near 
 the surface at the rate of four lbs. per acre for swedes, and half 
 this quantity for other sorts, by a machine which sows two 
 rows at a time, and which, by its action, slightly penetrates the 
 ridgelets and. covers the seeds in its progress. After the swedes 
 (which, in the southern counties, usually occupy half the divi- 
 sion) are got in, the yellow fleshed varieties are sown, and last 
 of all, the softer and more rapid-growing white sorts — save that 
 a few acres of these whites are sown fijst of all, to be ready for 
 use by the end of September, as will be afterwaids explained. 
 Turnip sowing is usually completed about the middle of Jime. 
 The dung produced on the farm, whether spread on the stubhle 
 
36 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 and ploughed in in autumn, or in the bottom of the drills at the 
 time of sowing, is applied at such a rate per acre as to give a 
 share of it to the whole crop ; and along with 'this, always at the 
 time of sowing, a liberal allowance of concentrated manure, such 
 as guano, bone-meal, and superphosphate of Hme — ^usually aU of 
 these in combination. Five or six cwt. per acre of those 
 auxiliary manures is a customary dressing. In sowing so small a 
 seed as that of the turnip, and that at the driest and hottest 
 season of the year, success depends on two somewhat conflicting 
 conditions, viz., fineness of tilth and sufficient moistness to 
 ensure rapid germination. Steam-propelled implements, which 
 deeply stir the soil without reversing the surface, are peculiarly 
 adapted for this work, and are increasingly used for it. What- 
 ever the power made use of, these conditions are best secured by 
 keeping at the surface the soil which has been mellowed by the 
 elements, and by retaining what farmers call the winter sap. If 
 the first sowings of swedes have germinated regularly, and if the 
 seedlings have in any good measure escaped the ravages of the 
 turnip beetle {Ealiica nemorum), they will be ready for being 
 thinned by the time that the sowing of the other turnips is 
 completed. In doing this, a horse-hoe or drUl-grubber is first 
 worked betwixt the rows, and as closely up to the turnip plants as 
 possible, to clear away all annual weeds that have sprung up 
 with the crop ; and then, by hand-hoes, the plants are set out so 
 as to stand single, at about twelve inches apart. 
 
 The mowing of the mixed clovers and ryegrass, and making it 
 into hay, now competes with turnip thinning for the attention 
 of the farmer. The efficient mowing machines and horse-rakes 
 now at his command, and which enable him to use horse power 
 so largely, have greatly simplified and cheapened this important 
 process, which, to be well done, must needs be done quickly. If 
 the crop admits of being cut all rouiid the field, each machine 
 wiU mow at the rate of an acre per hour, and thus, either by 
 using relays of horses, so as to utilise all the daylight, or by 
 using several machines following each other, or by cpmbining 
 both expedients, it is a common occurrence to have the hay crop 
 of the farm cut down in one day. Hitherto English farmers 
 have much, excelled their Scotch brethren in the art of haymak- 
 ing; but in recent years the latter have been making rapid pro- 
 
FARMING OF THE EAST AND NOETH-EASTEEN DISTEICTS. 37 
 
 gress. The ever-increasing demand for clover hay, for the feed- 
 ing of the immense number of horses employed in our cities and 
 towns and in connection with railways and public works, has in 
 many parts of our country raised it to the rank of one of our 
 most remunerating farm crops. When the price of this article 
 depends so largely on its quality, it is certain in future to be 
 more skilfully handled than when it was produced chiefly for 
 consumption on the farm. 
 
 Early in July, while the growing corn is not more than knee 
 high, the fields are gone over, and by means of spuds cleared of 
 thistles and other tall weeds. The hedge bottoms and pastures 
 are also gone over, and these pests dealt with before their seeds 
 are formed. All this time both horse and hand hoes are kept 
 constantly at work in the turnip fields, which are always gone 
 over twice in this way, after thinning, and more commonly 
 thrice, before the ripening of the grain crops necessitates the 
 concentration of the whole forces of the farm on the crowning 
 labour of the year — ^the reaping and securing of the corn. lu 
 our earliest districts, reaping in average years begins from 
 10th to the 20th of August. This arduous work is now all but 
 exclusively performed by means of reaping : machines, drawn 
 each by a pair of horses. The number of machines employed is 
 of course in proportion to the extent of the farm, but one to 
 each sixty or seventy acres of crop is about the ratio. When 
 cwo or more are required, they work in concert, following each 
 other at such an interval as to allow time to the three or four 
 pairs of lifters and binders required for each machine to clear 
 the track by gathering and binding the cut corn into sheaves, and 
 setting these up in stocks of four or five pairs each. On fertile 
 lands the crops are usually bulky, and more or less swayed over 
 by wind and rain, so that they can seldom be reaped otherwise 
 than by the machines being worked in one direction only, and 
 returning empty after each cut. In such cases, those of the 
 " manual-delivery " type are preferred, because' of the readiness 
 with which they can be used so as to meet the varying lay of 
 the crop. Each machine cuts down from five to eight acres per 
 diem, according as the conditions are favourable or otherwise to 
 the progress of the wort Where the crops are usually short in 
 the straw, and so more likely to remain erect, " self-delivery " 
 
38 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 machines are preferred, as they clear their own track, and so cans 
 woirk all round, a field, getting through the work at a very rapiiJ 
 rate. There is now a hopeful prospect that we shall soon have- 
 machines which wiU turn off the cut corn in automatically bound' 
 sheaves. In onr moist climate the sheaves are rarely dry- 
 enough to keep in stacks in fewer, than ten or fourteen days- 
 When fit, they are carried on one-horse harvest-carts either to a 
 stackyard at the homestead, or to some convenient site on the 
 way to it, or it may be to a corner of the field in which the crop- 
 grew, and there built up in round stacks, each containing the 
 produce of from one to three acres. The size of the stacks is- 
 always contingent on the condition of the sheaves. If thoroughly 
 dry, the larger size is used; if only moderately so, as often 
 happens in unfavourable seasons, then the quantity put together 
 in each stack must be reduced until the point of safe keeping is 
 reached. The plan of having the corn-stacks in detached groups 
 at convenient sites economises time and labour at a season when 
 these are invaluable, and it has the further advantage of lessen- ■ 
 ing the risk of loss by fire. As quickly as possible the stacks 
 are protected from raiu by a covering of thatch, securely fastened 
 on by 'Straw ropes. The twisting of thesQ ropes furnishes in-dooE 
 work on rainy daj's before and during harvest. Care is taken tOr 
 reserve as much of the straw of the previous crop as will thatch, 
 the new one, and .to have it prepared for this use before harvest 
 begins. 
 
 We should perhaps here introduce a few wortfs regarding the 
 forces, animal and mechanical, by which our farm work is 
 accomplished. The use of oxen for field labour has for a 
 long time been abandoned, and our farm work, whether on field 
 or road, is now performedj^^by horses. These vary much in size- 
 and, weight in different .districts — those of medium size and 
 smart action being preferred where the soil is light, and a larger 
 and stronger class on stiff soils, and where there is much heavy 
 cartage. They are all more or less of the Clydesdale breed. In 
 summer they are usually turned out to graze during the mid-day 
 interval of rest, and at night, or whenever not at work; but on 
 some fairms they are fed at that season on green forage, "iven to 
 them in the stable, or m the then unoccupied cattle yardsi 
 Along with the green food, they always receive their daily 
 
FAEMIETG OF THE EAST AND NOETH-EASTERN DISTRICTS. 39 
 
 aUowanoe of oats Tphen at work. As soon as harvest work 
 begins, they are housed at night, and as long as the severe 
 autunin laboiir laists, they are liberally fed on good hay and oats — 
 about 18 lbs. of the former and 12 to 14 lbs. of the latter daily. 
 During the short days of winter, the hay is wholly or partially 
 withdrawn, and replaced by oat or bean straw, with a small 
 quantity of Swedish turnips or potatoes ; but the nourishing and 
 strength-giving oats, in three feeds daily, is always continued, 
 although in smaller quantity when the work is light. With the 
 return of spring and of severe labour, the full allowance of hay 
 au'd oats, often with the addition of a few beans, is again given. 
 The maintenance of the horses is always a heavy item in farm 
 expenditure ; but the true way to economise here is to employ 
 only the best class of horses, to feed them well, and then to get 
 the work done by as few of them as possible. 
 
 Cultivation by steam power is in partial use in, nearly every 
 county embraced in this Eeport. In a few eases proprieferore and 
 farmers have purchased this powerful machinery for their private 
 use, but more commonly companies or individuals' provide the 
 tackle and work it for hire. As in other novel applications of 
 steam power, it is probable that the best form and most econo- 
 mical manner of using has not yet been attained to in this case. 
 There can be no doubt that, when handled with competent skill, 
 tillage operations performed by steam power are much superior 
 in effectiveness to those of a similar kind performed by horse 
 power. The great cost of such machinery is likely for a time 
 to hinder its general use, but in one way or other it may be 
 expected that by-and-bye this difficulty wiU. be overcome. 
 Powerful machinery of this kind, with implements expressly con- 
 structed to overcome special obstacles, has been for several years, 
 and is at present, being successfully use'd in Sutherlandshire in 
 reclaiming large tracts of waste land in that county. Within the 
 last year a set of these special implements was used with entire 
 success in the reclamation of waste land on several. Lammermuir 
 farms. By first thoroughly breaking up the tough turf, with its 
 coveriEg of heather and other coarse herbage, and then compressing 
 and mincing it into morsels, the land can be sown with rape the 
 first season, and is ready thereafter for ordinary tillage operations. 
 
 In the pueoeding account of the annual routine of our farms. 
 
40 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OE SCOTLAND. 
 
 reference is made to the various crops which we cultivate, in 
 connection with their respective seasons of sowing. 
 
 WJieat, from the fact that its principal seed time occurs at the 
 season which has been chosen as the starting-point of the agri- 
 cultural year, as well as from its iBtrinsic value, claims the first 
 place in such an enumeration. The varieties of wheat in culti- 
 vation among ns are very numerous. An obvious classification 
 is into white and red-grained varieties; the former of which, 
 cceteris faribus, always command the highest price of the two, 
 and are most in vogue with farmers whenever we have several 
 good years for wheat in succession. A recurrence of unfavour- 
 able seasons just as certainly brings about a temporary preference 
 for the hardier red sorts. Productiveness, rather than fine 
 quality, ought always to guide the choice of the grower ; for an 
 additional sack per acre has more effect on the nett money 
 value than a high price per quarter for fine quality. From 30 
 to 40 bushels per acre is an average crop of wheat, with a weight 
 per bushel of from 60 to 63 lbs. Wheat admits of being sown 
 in spring also; but it is a hazardous practice, which for the 
 present has fallen into comparative disuse. Indeed, a reference 
 to our statistics of cropping shows that the cultivation of wheat 
 in Scotland has much diminished of late years, with a corre- 
 sponding increase of that of barley. This is due to the fact that 
 with our markets open to the world they are so abundantly 
 supplied with wheat, superior to our home-grown, that an 
 average crop of the latter has come to be worth less per acre 
 than one of barley, which suits our climate, yields abundantly, 
 and is of a quality superior to any that we import. The quantity 
 of seed used is determined by the variety to be grown, the con- 
 dition of the land, and by the time of sowing. It may be taken 
 at from two to three bushels per acre. 
 
 Barley has accordingly for the present a preference over 
 wheat, and is our staple grain crop, in succession to turnips, 
 wherever the climate is adapted for it. The Chevalier variety 
 {HaMeum, distichum), from its many good qualities, is the one all 
 but exclusively cultivated. The time of sowing is March and 
 April, and the quantity of seed from two or three bushels per acre 
 for broadcast sowing, and half a bushel less for drilling. The 
 richer the soil the earlier should be the date of sowing, as this 
 
FARMING OF THE EAST AND NORTH-EASTERN DISTRICTS. 41 
 
 tends to give stiffness of straw, and thus lessens the risk of 
 lodging. In our northern counties, and at high elevations, the 
 four-rowed barley, called here {Hordeum vulgari), is largely 
 grown, as it is hardier, and ripens earlier than the two-rowed sort, 
 From 35 to 50 bushels is a common] rate of produce of barley 
 per acre, with a weight per bushel of 52 to 56 lbs. 
 
 But Oats is the staple cereal of Scotland, being the crop that 
 with rare exceptions is always sown after lea. Not only so, but 
 on farms exceeding 700 feet above sea-level, and, indeed, where- 
 ever the soil and climate are not good enough for wheat and 
 barley, the hardy, useful oat is the only cereal cultivated. An 
 additional recommendation to it is that its straw yields a much 
 better fodder than any of the Other cereals. The varieties of 
 the oat in cultivation are so numerous that it wonld be endless 
 to give their names. Prom four to five bushels per acre is a 
 usual seeding when the fertility of the soil and other conditions 
 are favourable ; but in late districts six bushels is not con- 
 sidered too much. Owing to the great diversity of soil and climate 
 in which the oat is cultivated, there is a corresponding diversity 
 in the rate of produce per acre and weight of grain per bushel, 
 — ^the former ranging from 30 to 60 bushels and the latter 
 from 38 to 45 lbs. per bushel. 
 
 Bye is so little cultivated in Scotland as not to claim notice here. 
 
 Two general remarks regarding our cereal crops may here be 
 offered. The quantity of seed sown per acre in Scotch practice 
 is considerably in excess of what is customary in southern 
 England. In our later climate, it is considered desirable so to 
 stock the ground with plants at seed-time as not to give much 
 encouragement to tillering, and thereby lose time and injuriously 
 protract the period of ripening. The thick seeding in the one 
 case, and the thin seeding in the other, are due to diversity of 
 circumstances, and in both success justifies the diversity of 
 practice. In the case of cereals, although not restricted to 
 them, a general law requires, as a condition of their well-doing, 
 a frequent change of seed from a soil, and more especially from 
 a climate, diverse from that in which they are to be sown. Not 
 only so, it is a further condition of continued success that new 
 varieties be introduced from time to time; for rarely do we see 
 the favourites of one generation of farmers continue to occupy 
 
42 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 the first place in the estimation of the succeeding one. And 
 this is not the result of caprice or fashion, but is due to the fact 
 that under continued cultivation our choicest cereals do umdei^ 
 a gradual degeneration. 
 
 The Bean, as a farm crop,' is at present less grown in Scotland 
 than it once was. Thorough draining has fitted for the successful 
 cultivation of turnips much land which formerly was devoted to 
 the growth of beans, while in part it has also been superseded by 
 potatoes. It is still, however, an important field crop, with some 
 present indications that it may again somewhat recover its posi- 
 tion. The time and mode of sowing have already been desciibed. 
 The seed required is 3 bushels per acre, from 30 to 40 bushels are 
 an average crop, and 65 to 68 lbs. an usual weight per bushel. 
 
 Peas are not a crop of much importance in Scotland. They 
 are sometimes sown, as vetches also are, in mixture with beans ; 
 the stout stalks of which act as supports to these weak-stemmed 
 climbers, and enable them better to mature their seeds. 
 
 Vetdves are, however, largely grown as a forage crop. Few 
 farmers omit to sow an acre or two to supply food for their 
 harses when engaged in harvest work. The value of this kind 
 of forage for cattle food, at the period of transition from grass tt> 
 turnips, has already been noticed. Yetches are also frequently 
 grown for the feeding of lambs immediately after they are weaned, 
 which is done by folding the lambs on vetches as on turnips, 
 save that in this case the fold is formed with hurdles, through 
 the bars of which the animals push their heads and eat the greea 
 forage, which is mown in successive swathes and put within 
 their reach. Once daily the hurdles are shifted close up to the 
 growing crop. This is an exceedingly wholesome food for lambs, 
 which, after a few weeks of it, take on to turnips more readily 
 and safely t;han when they are changed direct from the pastures 
 to the turnip-fold. Vetches are also sometimes mown when in 
 full bloom, and made into hay. This practice is specially adapted 
 for high-lying sheep farms, on which a crop of this excellent 
 kind of hay is often more valuable than one of oats. The clovers 
 and grasses sown with thte vetches, being relieved early in the 
 season, get well rooted and established before winter, and make 
 a better pasture the following summer than when they are held 
 down by having a crop of oats ripened over them. ' 
 
FAIUVIING 01 TJHE EAST ADD NOETH-EASTERN DISTEIOTS. 43 
 
 CaTrba^ is an excellent food for sheep and cattle, and is being 
 increasingly cultivated for this purpose in Scotland. It comes 
 into pky in July and August, and fills up most opportunely the 
 gap which in dry summers occurs with disastrous results to the 
 stock, betwixt parched-up pastures and yet' immature turnips. 
 The cabbages are spread about on the pastures, and are much 
 relished by the animals, which are thus carried prosperously over 
 a critical period in which otherwise they would sustain serious 
 damage. Our farmers are rapidly getting into the way of grow- 
 ing a few acres of the drumhead cabbages annually. The seed 
 is sown at the beginning of August in beds — one lb. of seed 
 being suf&cient to produce plants enough for an acre. The seed- 
 lings are sometimes allowed to remain in the beds until the fol- 
 lowing March, when they are planted out in the field in rows 
 thirty inches apart each way. It is a better plan to pmll the 
 plants from the seed-beds in October, and prick them out close 
 together in a sheltered plot.; By this treatment they get well 
 rooted, and stand the ordeal of transplanting to the open field 
 in spring much better. 
 
 Mangolds, as regards their cultivation, are treated in all re- 
 spects as swedes are, save that the seed of the former requires to 
 be sown earlier — in the last week of April if possible — and that, 
 by the last week of October, the crop requires to be pulled, the 
 tops only cut; off, and the roots stored in long pits, and carefully 
 covered with a thick coat of earth. Our Scotch climate is much 
 better adapted for the growth of turnips, than of mangolds; yet 
 it is well worth while to grow a few acres of the latter, because of 
 their excellent keeping property, their fitness as food for pregnant 
 ewes, and the good stead in which they stand fattening cattle in 
 late spring, when swedes get out of season, or are all consumed. 
 
 Potatoes have long been an important field crop over the whole 
 of Scotland — primarily for local consumption, but also, in various 
 parts of the country, as a market crop. From the beginning of 
 the current century, this was the case all around the coasts of Fife, 
 and in some similar localities, where a concurrence of fertile soil, 
 a command of town manure, and of water carriage, gave facilities 
 for producing a crop that is so greedy of manure, and too bulky 
 to bear the charge of cartage to distant markets. The simulta- 
 neous introduction of Peruvian guano and of railways removed 
 
44 . PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 both difficulties. When the>then mysterious potato blight broke 
 out with such virulence in the year 1846, it was discovered that 
 the dry climate of East Lothian (which is one of the driest in 
 Great Britain) gave it a partial immunity from blight, aud also 
 that the soil of that district yields potatoes of the very choicest 
 quality ; her farmers were prompt to discern their opportunity, 
 and' took to potato-growing on the largest possible scale. Ever 
 since that jnemorable year this crop has retained its place of 
 prominence in that district-^not without fluctuations of fortune, 
 but yet without serious disaster until 1877, when unprecedented 
 rainfall and sunless skies caused an all but total failure of pota- 
 toes. The large profits realised from potato-growing, in the early 
 years of this period; caused an excessive competition for farms, 
 and raised the rent of land to an excessive pitch. And now, at 
 the end of thirty years, when a collapse has come, it is probable 
 that, including the whole period, the losses from potato-growing, 
 direct and collateral, have after all exceeded the profits. It 
 seems improbable that this crop will ever again occupy the 
 prominent place that it has done. 
 
 As the blight (Peronospem infestans) usually makes its onset 
 in August, there is an obvious advantage in cultivating early 
 sorts, and in planting early, that the crop may be as near 
 maturity as possible before it is attacked. Recent researches 
 have also shown us that the germs of the disease (oospores) are 
 retained in the " haulm '' or stems of the infected plants, which 
 may. thus be the means of perpetuating the disease from one 
 season to another when the climatal conditions are favourable to 
 its development. This would show us the policy of effectually 
 destroying the " haulm" of a diseased crop immediately after it is 
 lifted. For this purpose burning it is the best and easiest remedy. 
 
 Clovers and grasses are the only othfer field crop requiring 
 notice here. Fifteen pounds of mixed clovers seed, with from 
 two pecks to a bushel of ryegrass seed, is a common allowance 
 per acre. Eed clover is the most valuable for mowing either 
 for green forage or for hay ; when it is to lie for one year only, 
 and to be used chiefly for mowing, 12 lbs. of red clover in 
 mixture with one peck each of perennial and Italian ryegrass, is 
 a common seeding. For pasture, and to lie for two or more 
 years, 4 lbs. each of alsike, white, yellow, and cow clover, with 
 
FARMING OF THE BAST AND NOETH-EASTERN DISTRICTS. 45 
 
 half a bushel each of perennial and Italian ryegrass, is used. In 
 lieu of part of the ryegrass, but sometimes in addition to it, 
 2 lbs. each of Timothy and cocksfoot grass, and 1 lb. each of 
 sheep's parsley and rib-grass per acre, are sown. Por permamenfc 
 pasture a great variety of the natural grasses, and a larger quantity 
 of seeds altogether is sown, and often without the accompani- 
 ment of a corn crop. 
 
 Extending to a radius of about five miles around Edinburgh, 
 there is a suburban farming which claims separate notice. The 
 produce of these farms is carried into the city in the shape of 
 green forage, potatoes, turnips, straw, and hay ; and the carts 
 which convey these commodities take back to the farms large 
 quantities of horse and cow dung. From 20 to 40 tons of this 
 dung is applied per acre for root crops, with large dressings of 
 concentrated manures in addition. Heavy top-dressings of the 
 latter are also applied to crops of mixed clover and ryegrass for 
 mowing. With such a style of manuring, farmers are not restricted 
 to a rotation, but grow whatever crops they think will best 
 remunerate them, including two cereal crops in immediate suc- 
 cession if they choose. Powerful Clydesdale horses of the most 
 valuable kind are here used both for tillage work and for the 
 heavy cartage. Steam power is being increasingly used here 
 for tillage operations. Formerly the citizens of Edinburgh were 
 supplied with milk chiefly by dairymen, who had their cow- 
 houses within the precincts of the city. Since contagious diseases 
 became prevalent amongst their cows, the stringent regulations 
 enforced by the magistrates have tended to drive such establish- 
 ments outside the city, and many neighbouring farmers have in 
 consequence taken up this milk trade. 
 
 Within a manageable distance of Edinburgh, about 700 acres 
 of land are in the aggregate devoted to the production of culinary 
 vegetables and fruits. At various other centres of population, 
 and specially near the towns of Perth, Dundee, and Aberdeen, 
 large quantities of small fruits are grown both for sale in a fresh 
 state, and for making conserves. Our climate is too cold, and 
 our skies too often clouded for the successful growth of the larger 
 and finer fruits; but the small summer fruits, such as straw- 
 berries, gooseberries, raspberries, and currants, are produced in 
 great abundance and of excellent quality, 
 
46 PEBSENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKE OF SCOTLAITD. 
 
 One more speciality of farming near Edinburgli remains to be 
 noticed, viz., its sewag<& irrigation. The irrigated meadovra have 
 been in operation since 1760, and bave bad a career of nninter- 
 rupted success, both as regards the maintenance of thdr fertility 
 and the return of a large free revenue. These meadows are partly 
 on the west and south sides of the city, but mainly on the north- 
 east, lying between Edinburgh and the sea, and are known as 
 the Craigentinny meadows. The soil of the latter is nearly pure 
 sand, and is excellently fitted for disposing of the laige 
 quantity of foul sewage which is turned on to it the 
 whole year round. The extent of these irrigated meadows 
 is about 350 acres in all. They are let annually by auc- 
 tion, and realise a rent averaging between £25 and £30 per 
 acre. The mowing begins in April, continues until October, 
 and is repeated five times during that period yearly. The irriga- 
 tion is conducted in a rough and ready way, without much cost 
 having been incurred either in the original construction and 
 maintenance of the works, or in the management of the sewage. 
 These meadows cannot be referred to as a successful attempt to 
 purify foul water by irrigation, but, such as they are, they have 
 been eminently successful as a financial investment. 
 ( Turning now to the Live Stock department of our agriculture, 
 let us first of all give some account of the treatment of such a 
 flock of sheep as is to be met with on arable farms where a 
 regular breeding stock is kept. The number of breeding ewes 
 wUl average about forty per 100 acres. As already stated, they 
 are either of the kind called " half-bred " — that is, the first cross 
 between a Cheviot ewe and Border Leicester ram — or the pro- 
 duce of the females of this first cross with a second blend of 
 Leicester blood, which are called "three-parts-bred." As it is 
 not expedient to proceed further than two crosses with the 
 Leicester ram, it is the practice of lowland farmers to buy 
 annually from the higher districts a sufficient mimber of ewe 
 lambs of the first cross to maintain the number of their 
 breeding flock, and to fatten for the butcher market the whole 
 lambs of their own breeding. The ewes are kept until they 
 are four and a-half years old — that is, until they have borne 
 
 three crops of lambs. Every autumn the full-aged ewes 
 
 which, of course, are a third of the flock — are drafted out and 
 
FiiEMms oar the east and noeth-eastesn disteicts. s' 
 
 sold as store stsock to farmers, eith.er at home or in England, wh 
 occupy lands specially adapted for fattening, and who, puttinj 
 them again to the ram, sell their produce as fat lamhs, and the: 
 the dams as soon as they are ready for the hutcher. Taking, a 
 before, the end of harvest as our starting-point, and assuminj 
 that, the lambs had been weaned about the middle of July, am 
 their number augmented by the purchase, at the August sales: o 
 as many ewe lambs of the first cross as will suffice, to keep u] 
 the breeding flock, there will now be upon the farm, as its winte 
 stock of sheep, somewhere about two lambs, for each ewe. Sooi 
 after weaning-time the whole flock, young and old, are one b; 
 one immersed, all but the head, in a. bath containing a solutioi 
 of arsenic, or other suitable ingredient to rid them of irritating 
 parasites. The lambs are grazed on the cleanest and best pastun 
 which the farm aftbrds, such as the fresh growth of clover afte 
 the hay crop has been removed (called " foggage " in Scotland) 
 and afterwards for a short time on the young seeds among th( 
 barley stubbles. But besides clean pasture, the general practici 
 now is to give a daily ration of artificial food, such as cakes o 
 linseed and decorticated cotton-seed (broken small), maize, a 
 other grain,, and fresh bran, all mixed together in equal weight 
 of each, and served out in troughs at the rate of four ounces pe: 
 head. This small allowance of dry nutritious food has a mos: 
 potent effect in promoting their growth and preserving thei 
 health. Towards the end of September some white globe turnips 
 with the leaves attached, are daily scattered about in the pasturi 
 where these lambs, or hoggets, as they now begin to be called 
 are grazing, to train them to this new kind of succulent food 
 which is very soon to be their staple dietary for the next slj 
 or seven months. Early in October they axe " laid on to turnips' 
 by folding them on a portion of the turnip field, from which ai 
 least two-thirds of the rows of turnips have been removed. This 
 gives ample bare ground for the hoggets to lie upon without soUinj 
 their food, in the mecessarily small space enclosed in their firs 
 fold. The fold is formed by means of long webs of twine-nei 
 attached to light wooden stakes driven into the ground. Thi 
 slight and very portable fence, about 3 J feet high, is eaisilj 
 erected, and as easily shifted as occasion requires. In doinj 
 this a row of holes are formed in the ground, by means of i 
 
48 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. . 
 
 pointed iron crowbar, into each of which a stake is dropped, and 
 made firm hy a few blows with a wooden mallet. When the 
 sheep have pretty well eaten down the turnips in this first fold, 
 it is enlarged by shifting the nets, so as to include a few more 
 rows of turnips; but taking care not to give more than two or 
 three days' supply at each shift, that the food maybe always 
 fresh and clean. As the turnip bulbs are eaten level with the 
 ground, the bottom parts are dragged out by a narrow hoe, that 
 the sheep may get freely at them, and clear up the food without 
 waste ; and so the consumption of the turnip crop proceeds from 
 day to day. But sheep will not thrive if tutnips, which contain 
 90 per cent, of moisture, form their only food ; and therefore the 
 daily ration of supplied food, already described, must be con- 
 tinued, and gradually increased to meet the demands of the 
 rapidly-growing aaimals. And in addition to the cake and 
 grain, there is mixed with it a daily allowance of dry fodder, 
 consisting of eqnal parts of good hay and fresh oat straw, reduced 
 to half -inch lengths by passing it through a chaff-cutting machine. 
 If this fodder is administered in racks in its natural state, the 
 sheep will pick out the best, and trample down and waste the 
 half of it ; but if cut into chaff they will eat every morsel. This 
 dry food is served out in wooden troughs, which are shifted daily, 
 that the droppings of the she^ may be equally distributed over 
 the land. 
 
 About the middle of October the rams are put to the ewes, 
 before which care is taken to have the latter in fresh and im- 
 proving condition. If this is well managed, the probability- is 
 that two-thirds of them will produce twins. One ram to fifty 
 ewes is a suitable proportion. A larger number of ewes is often 
 given, but it is a mistake to overtask the male, as it often proves 
 the cause of serious disappointment and loss. 
 
 Early in December the scooping out of the turnip Ijulbs 
 begins to loosen and break out the milk teeth of the hoggets. 
 Whenever the first symptoms of this are observed, the turnips 
 are pulled, trimmed, put together in heaps of about two tons 
 each, sliced into thin longitudinal slices by a suitable machine 
 and served out to the sheep in troughs set down in the fold. 
 Much oversight is needful to ensure that the food is supplied to 
 them with regularity and cleanliness — always enough, and yet 
 
FAEMING OF THE EAST AND KOKTH-EASTEEN DISTEICTS. 49 
 
 never too much at once — and that the turnip troughs are shifted 
 twice a-day, that the hoggets may have clean ground to stand 
 upon, and their excrement he equally distributed over the whole 
 of the land. There is no such effective way of enriching and 
 improving light and poor soil as by the treading and manuring 
 which it receives in the process of consuming a turnip crop by 
 sheep, which are getting at the same time a liberal allowance of 
 cake and corn. In the case of hoggets that are to be ready for 
 the fat market, at from twelve to fourteen months of age, they 
 are fed on yellow turnips until about New Year's Day, and 
 thence to the end of the turnip season on the more nutritious 
 swedes. Ewe hoggets intended for breeding stock, and others that 
 are to be kept to a later date and fattened on the pastures, are 
 better to be fed on yellow turnips only, with as much of the 
 chopped dry fodder as they will eat, and a very small allowance-, 
 of cake. 
 
 The breeding ewes manage to pick up their living on the- 
 pastures until the end of the year; but as the herbage gets- 
 scanty and innutritious, it is well to supplement it with a little- 
 farinaceous food. Whenever frost and snow set in, white or- 
 yellow turnips, of which a store is provided for the purpose, are- 
 spread over their pastures, at the rate of a cart-load daily for 
 each hundred ewes, and along with this a full allowance of 
 chopped hay and straw, and cake or grain of some suitable kind, 
 at the rate of 1 lb. per head per diem. The ewe has now a 
 rapidly-growing fcetus — probably a pair — as well as her own 
 body to sustain, and she must be liberally fed if both are to 
 prosper. This mode of feeding continues to the end of the period 
 of gestation. The first of the lambs will be due about the middla 
 of March, when the ewes are gathered every night into a dry„ 
 roomy fold, which is daily littered with a fresh coating of clean 
 straw. The fold is surrounded by a roofed shed, open in front,, 
 about half of which is partitioned by hurdles into small pens^ 
 into one of which each ewe that gives birth to twins is placed 
 with her lambs for the first twenty-four hours, after which they 
 are taken to the young seeds, which now begin to yield a little 
 succulent herbage — the best possible food for promoting a full 
 flow of rich milk, but which has to be supplemented by turnips 
 or mangolds, with cake or corn, until the advancing season 
 
5.O.. PRESENT STATE OF THE AGKICULTUIiE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 brings: a full bit& of clovers and grasses. The lambing season is 
 an anxious and laborious one for the shepherd, who can be little 
 absent from his flock day or night. The male lambs are cas- 
 trated, and the whole of them docked at. about a fortnight old. 
 
 The hoggets are meanwhile- consuming their share of the turnip 
 crop, the last of which must be cleared from the ground not later 
 than the middle, of April, that the land, may be ploughed and 
 sown with barley ere it b& out of season. As the pastures are 
 seldom sufaciently advanced at this date to receive the hoggets, 
 turnips enough must be kept, in store heaps to feed them at some 
 odd corner until grass is ready. If they have been well managed, 
 during the winter they are now ready for market, and are at once 
 put through the washing-pool, and thereafter shorn and sent to 
 market in weekly detachments,, But with such, treatment as has 
 been described, it is increasingly common to send such hoggets 
 to market in their wool about February or March when about 
 deven or twelve months old, by whick time they have probably 
 attained a carcase weight of from 70 to 80 lb., each. Young 
 sheep of such weights: are worth more per lb, than when they 
 have increased to 90 lb. or upwards,, as the additional weight 
 consists chiefly of fat, which by its excess detracts, from the retail 
 value of the meat. Many farmers, therefore^ consider it better 
 practice to sell their fat hoggs at this early stage, and to buy in 
 others that have been less forced' to consume the remainder of 
 their turnips, and to be fattened off on their pastures. If about 
 October the farmer sees that his- turnip crop is to be an abundant 
 one, he buys such a number of older sheep in store condition as 
 he deems requisite, and.sell& them when fat. 
 
 Such is the system of sheep husbandry practised on all farms 
 consisting of dry friable soil in the Border counties, and generally 
 in the Lowlands of Scotland. Qn farms of strong soil, which 
 "would be injured by folding sheep on the turnip fields, it is 
 customary to keep a flock of breeding ewes^ but to sell the lambs 
 as soon as they are weaned., A large part of the grasSj and nearly 
 the. whole of the turnips, on such farms is devoted to the rearing^ 
 and fattening of cattle.. In, the Lothians, fewer sheep of any kind 
 are kept on arable farms than is done in the Border counties, 
 and for the most part regular breeding flocks are restricted to 
 arable farms skirting the hills.. On the lower lands, where 
 sheep are kept at all," it is on the plan already referred to of what 
 
FARMING OF THE EAST AND NORTH-EASTERN DISTRICTS. 51 
 
 is called- "a flying stock/* eitter of Ml-aged ewes to breed fat 
 lamlDS, or of hoggets' or wedders from less favoured districts, 
 bought in to be tept here for a limited time until fattened. 
 Many sheep are fattened' in Fife, but few are bred there. Her 
 farmers are large purchasers of lambs of the besi!' quality from 
 the Border countiesi as' well as of older sheep in store condition 
 from various quarters'. In Forfarshire, the dty and fertile farms 
 of Strathmore are admirably adapted for sheep breeding, and it 
 is on the increases there ; but still cattle have the preference. 
 Many Highland wedders ate, however, there fattened on turnips. 
 From this northwards, to the Dornoch Frith, the arable lands' 
 are essentially a cattle country. There is, however, a kind of 
 sheep husbandry peculiar to these cattle counties. As soon as 
 the cattle are housed in October, immense flocks of young sheep' 
 are brought down from the great Highland sheep-grazings to be 
 wintered in. the low country. They clear up what the cattle' 
 have left on the pastures, and also such pickings as the stubbles 
 affotd, after which they get a stipulated allowance of turnips and 
 of hay during snow storms. They return to their native hills' 
 about 1st of March, when their owaers pay for their " wintering " 
 to the arable farmer such sum as they had previously bargained 
 for. In Caithness, in addition to a share of this wintering busi- 
 ness, a very great number' of half -bred' sheep are bred and reared, 
 a portion of which are fattened at home ; but the most of them 
 are sent to more southerly counties as shearlings; to be there 
 fattened. 
 
 To keep up the supply of these half-bred sheep, to which I 
 have so often referred, there must necessarily be an available 
 source from whence both of the pure breeds concerned in pro- 
 ducing this favourite cross breed, viz., Bbrder-leicester rams and' 
 Cheviot ewes, can be obtained in adequate numbers. The pure 
 Cheviot females, either as full- aged draft ewes, or the surplus 
 ewe lambs, are supplied chiefly from the numerous flocks of that 
 breed that are found on the grassy hills of the English Border 
 country, or from the equally numerous flocks in Sutherland: and 
 the adjoining counties in the north, to which this breed was 
 transplanted at the close of the last century, and where it has 
 greatly prospered^ To supply the male parent, flocks of pure 
 Border-Leicesters, kept for the express purpose of breeding rams 
 (the onlyTDurpose for which thev are now ke'DtV are to be met with 
 
52 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTURE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 in all parts of Scotland. They are most numerous in the district 
 around Kelso, which may be regarded as the headquarters of the 
 breed, and at which town about 2000 of these shearling rams are 
 annually exposed for sale by auction on the second Friday in 
 September. A similar sale is held in the same week at Edin- 
 burgh, which rivals the Kelso one in numbers, while lesser sales 
 are held at market towns in the central and northern counties. 
 
 This is perhaps the fittest part of this Eeport at which to de- 
 sfiribe the management of the mountain breeds of sheep — the 
 Cheviots and the Blackfaced — with one or other of which the pas- 
 toral farms of the south of Scotland are stocked. The grassy dales 
 of the Teviot, Tweed, Esk, and Liddle have long been the head- 
 quarters of the Cheviots. The heath-clad hills of the Lammer- 
 muirs, of Peebles, Lanark, and parts of adjoining counties are 
 more generally occupied by the hardier Blackfaced breed ; but 
 as the habits and treatment of both are substantially the same, 
 one account will suffice for both. 
 
 It is necessary to state at the outset that a revolution in the 
 management of these hill country farms, and in the kind of sheep 
 kept upon them, began about thirty years ago. With the intro- 
 duction of artificial fertilisers and tile-draimng, there arose a de- 
 mand for, and a possibility of supplying, a kind of sheep better 
 adapted to modern requirements than the pure Cheviot. Where- 
 ever the circumstances were suitable, hill farmers began to break 
 up by the plough the lowest and best parts of their grazings, to 
 enclose and subdivide them by dry-stone walls into conveniently- 
 sized fields, to apply the indispensable dressing of lime, and then 
 by the liberal use of bones and similar manures, to grow turnips 
 and clovers. As fast as these artificial green crops were avail- 
 able, they substituted half-breds for pure Cheviots to as great aik 
 extent as their command of these green crops admitted. The 
 money value for wool, lambs, and draft ewes realised from half- 
 breds having been about double that from Cheviots, it is no 
 wonder that this change of breed made, and continues to 
 make, rapid progress. But it is not to this extent only that 
 Cheviots have been displaced by this process. This withdrawing 
 from their walk of the lowest and best land has placed the 
 Cheviots at such a disadvantage, that it has been found necessary 
 in many cases to replace them on the higher ground by the 
 hardier Blackfaces. And so, as a result of these changes, there 
 
FARMING OF THE EAST AND NOETH-EASTEEN DISTRICTS. 53 
 
 are many grazings which a generation ago were stocked entirely 
 with Cheviots, from which they have now disappeared. It is 
 much to be regretted that the Cheviots are thus being elbowed 
 out from opposite sides. While this is due in part to the cause 
 now stated, it is perhaps even more owing to the fact that the 
 present Cheviots are much less hardy than their ancestors of 
 thirty years ago. About that period a process of so-called improve- 
 ment began by the introduction of a slight cross of Leicester blood. 
 This increased the size, good looks, and money value of the breed, 
 and was so universally adopted that there is probably not a single 
 Cheviot flock now in existence that is entirely free from this mixed 
 blood. It is discovered when too late that the hardiness of the 
 Cheviots has been so impaired by this means, that they cannot now 
 subsist on some grounds where once they throve and prospered. 
 We begin the description of the management of the hill flocks 
 ■with autumn; and assume that the yearly cast of lambs and full- 
 aged ewes has been disposed of, and only as many of the best of 
 the ewe lambs retained as are required to keep up the breeding 
 stock. It was at one time the practice to graze these ewe 
 lambs or hoggets by themselves on the best of the ground. 
 Now, they are kept separate only for a few days, until the 
 milk dries off the ewes, when they are returned to the flock, 
 and each hogget associates again with its own dam. When 
 sheep are allowed to follow their natural instinct, they dis- 
 tribute themselves over the ground in small groups, as wild 
 animals do; and the same individuals are found about the 
 same neighbourhood day after day. The plan of grazing the 
 h®ggets and ewes together has proved a most successful one. 
 The hoggets are guided by their dams over their walk to the 
 herbage suited to the season, they get early acquainted with 
 the ground, and grow up a healthy shifty stock, more easily 
 managed, and better able to cope with trying seasons than 
 when wintered off their beat and brought on to it at a more 
 advanced age. Each hogget and its dam keep together until 
 the latter gives birth to another lamb, when it is a pretty, sight 
 to see the family trio still associating through the summer. In 
 October, advantage is taken of dry weather to immerse the 
 whole flock one by one in a poisonous bath, for the purpose of 
 destroying skin parasites, as was described in the case of low- 
 country flocks. About the 20th November the rams are ad- 
 
mitbed to the lock at the rate of one for Bvery two score of ewes 
 As the ewe .hoggets graze with the flock, it is necessary t( 
 guard them from receiving the male at their still immature ag€ 
 and for this purpose a piece of pack-sheet is sewed firmly ovei 
 their tails. The rams are withdrawn about 1st January. T( 
 maintain the vigour and good qualities of the flock it ii 
 necessary to have a frequent change of blood. To d( 
 this, the flockmaster buys every iautumn, often at a higl 
 price, one or two rams from some jQock of known excellence 
 and to these he puts som^ of his best .ewes, carefuUy selectee 
 from his whole flock. ThesB are kept in an enclosed field imti 
 the rutting season is over, when after receiving a distimc.tiv( 
 mark they are returned to their respective lots. Erom the pro- 
 geny of these selected ewes a sufficient number of the best mah 
 lambs is reserved to keep up the breeding stock of the farm. 
 
 .Except in severe snowstorms, the flocks subsist during th( 
 entire year on the natural produce of their pastures. It ii 
 nepessary, however, to be provided for such emergencies botl 
 as regards food and shelter. Eor this purpose, each shepherc 
 {who has about ^ix hundred sheep, on a range of about a thou- 
 sand acres, assigned to him) has^ at suitable parts of his ground 
 several artificial shelters or " stells," with a hay-stack beside eacl 
 of them. The best shelter is a square plantation of pines, of no: 
 less than ten or twelve acres, isurrounded by a stone wall. JFaii- 
 ing this, a circular space, twenty yards in diameter, surroundec 
 by a dry-stone wall six feet in height, with an opening on om 
 side five feet wide, must suffice. In these wild and stormy die 
 triftts, no little skill, promptitude, and courage, on the part of th( 
 shepherd, is needed to get the different sections of his flock each t( 
 a place of safety, on the breaking out of sud.den snowstorms. As 
 soon as the vehemence of tJie storm abates, he endeavours to,ge 
 the sheep out to the nearest piece of rough heather or rushes 
 which they get at by scraping away the snow with their feet 
 So long as they can get at their natural food in this way, thej 
 will scarcely eat hay ; but when the herbage is completely buriec 
 by deep snow, and sealed up by froat^ they are fain to take t( 
 hay, which is then served out to them, twice daily, in handful 
 laid over the snow^ or in bags of network hung on stakes. 
 
 Towards the end of March, or early in April, if the weather ii 
 dry enough to admit of it, opportunity is takeii to set fire to thi 
 
FAKMING <M IHB KAST AND JNOEIHtEASTEKU DISTEICTS. 55 
 
 roughest portions of old heather and other coarse herbage, which 
 being thus cleared off, a fresh young growth springs up, which 
 yields sweeter and more wholesome pasture to the flocks for 
 several succeeding years. Endeavours should always be made to 
 manage this muir-burning so as to clear away the dry effete 
 heather in narrow strips, and thus secure a regular intermixture 
 of old and young heather. 
 
 The lambing season is one of anxiety to the flockmaster, and 
 of incessant toil to his shepherds and their sagacious dogs. They 
 must be afoot from " dawn 'til dewy eve," visiting every part of 
 their wide range several times a-day, to see that all is right, and 
 to give assistance when necessary. The ewes of these hardy 
 mountain breeds seldom need man's aid in the act of parturition ; 
 but yet cross-presentations occur even with them. Deaths also 
 occur of newly-born lambs, in which case the dam is driven to 
 the nearest "stell," and a twin lamb (of which there usually are 
 enough to serve this purpose) is put in the dead one's place. As 
 it is by the sense of smell principally that a ewe discriminates her 
 own lamb, the skin of the dead lamb is stript off and wrapped 
 about the living one, which is then shut up with the dam in a. 
 very small pen, by which means she is induced, usually in a few 
 hours (and always the sooner the fuller her udder is), to adopt 
 the changeling. As the lambing season draws to a close, the 
 shepherd collects the unlambed ewes into a pen, examines them one 
 hj one to ascertain which are.pregnant, affixes a particular mark 
 to the barren ones, and turns them adrift to the hills, and retains 
 the others in a small field near Ms cottage, where he can easily 
 attend to them until they have lambed. The lambs are castrated 
 and docked at from ten to twenty, days old. 
 
 On these elevated sheep-walks shearing does not take place 
 xmtil July. It cannot, in fact, be done until the young wool has 
 begun to grow, and so admit the shears to work freely betwixt 
 the skin and the old matted fleece. The sheep are previously 
 washed by causing them to swim several times across a pool 
 with a gentle current flowing through it. They are forced to 
 plunge in from the mouth of the pen artificially raised a few 
 feet above the surface of the water. This sousing and swimming 
 in pure water cleanses the fleece effectually. In the case of 
 blackfaced flocks, washing is generally dispensed with, as it is 
 considered more profitable to allow the natural grease to remain 
 
56 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGKIOULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 in the. fleece. Wheu there are several shepherds on the same 
 farm, they shear in concert, often aided by some hired assistants, 
 as it is an advantage when each distinct lot can be shorn in one 
 day, and thus avoid the disturbance of more than one gathering. 
 The lot to be shorn are gathered from the hill at early morning ; 
 the lambs are separated from their dams and confined in a roomy 
 enclosure ; after which the adults are taken to the shearing place 
 at the homestead. The shearers are seated on low sparred wooden 
 stools, or narrow benches built of green turf, arranged in a row 
 in front of a narrow pen full of the unshorn sheep. Each seats 
 himself astride on his stool or bench, with his back to the pen, 
 when a man in it catches and hands over the rails a sheep to 
 each of them. The sheep is first laid on its back upon the stool, 
 and the wool shorn from its under parts ; after which its legs are 
 bound together with a soft woollen cord, and the fleece is shorn 
 first from the pne side and then from the other, by a succession 
 of cuts running from head to tail. The fleeces are thrown upon 
 a cloth and carried direct to the wool-room, where. they are freed 
 from clots, neatly wound, and stored away by women. Before 
 the shorn sheep is released, a b6y dips the owner's cipher in 
 melted pitch, and stamps it on the skin of the animal At an 
 early age, every lamb retained for breeding purposes receives hoo 
 ear marks — one called the " stock mark," which is common to the 
 whole flock and uniform; the other called the " age mark," which 
 is varied every year, and enables, the shepherd, every autumn, 
 easily to cull out every ewe that has then attained full age. 
 Once or twice a-year all stray sheep found upon the farms of 
 a well-defined district are brought to a fixed rendezvous, where 
 their marks are examined by the assembled shepherds, and each 
 sheep restored to its proper owner. In some counties a set of 
 marks are assigned to each farm, and entered in a register kept 
 by a public official. This laudable practice facilitates the iden- 
 tification and recovery of stolen sheep. 
 
 The lambs are weaned in August or September. The requi- 
 site number of the best ewe lambs are selected and reserved for 
 breeding stock, and the remainder of the lambs sold to the 
 grazier or butcher as may be most suitable. In October the 
 full-aged ewes are drafted out and sent to market,, thus winding 
 up the pastoral year. 
 
 It remains still to give some account of the other great de- 
 
FARMING OF THE EAST AND NORTH-EASTERN DISTRICTS. 57 
 
 partment of our live stock, viz., our cattle, Eeferring the reader 
 to the account elsewhere given of our distinct breeds of cattle, 
 with the localities in which respectively they are to be found, it 
 is desirable to say something about their farm management. We 
 have had occasion already to mention the fact that our northern 
 counties are, par excellence, our cattle counties. Of these Aber- 
 deen occupies the front rank, whether as regards its area, the gross 
 number of its cattle (which exceeds by a good many thousands 
 that of its sheep), the superior quality of its cattle, and the 
 skiU displayed by its farmers in the whole management of them. 
 It is from these counties chiefly that the " prime Scots" are sent, 
 which are always referred to in the London market reports as 
 bringing the highest price for their meat produce. The soil or 
 climate of Aberdeenshire possesses some quality which imparts 
 to the grass and turnips grown upon it a special fitness for the 
 rearing and fattening of cattle. Its native polled breed of cattle 
 also possesses such a combination of vigour and kindliness as fits 
 it for turning these green crops to the best account in so bleak a 
 district. A stranger visiting Aberdeenshire cannot but be sur- 
 prised to see such admirable cattle grazing on such apparently 
 poor pastures. These north country farmers show their practical 
 skiU and sound judgment in the pains they take in selecting 
 their breeding stock, and, in particular, in not grudging to pay a 
 good price for a bull of pure descent and good quality. They also 
 fully understand the importance of so treating their young cattle 
 as never to allow them to lose their "calf flesh," but to maintain 
 them always in a growing and improving condition as long as 
 they are in their possession. Those whose farms are unfitted for 
 carrying good cattle forward to maturity, and who, in conse- 
 quence, sell them as store cattle at one year, or one and a-half 
 years, or two years old, are yet careful to have them as big of 
 their age and as forward in condition as possible. In doing this 
 they consult not their own interests only but also that of the 
 purchasers of such young stock, who complete the fattening 
 process, and send the finished article to market. 
 
 Formerly Berwickshire was an important cattle-breeding dis- 
 trict, part of which were also fattened by the breeders, but the 
 majority were sold as two-year olds to English graziers. Since 
 about thirty-five years ago the great increase of her turnip crops. 
 
58 PEESENT STATE OP THE AGEICULTTJEE OF SCOTLAMI!. 
 
 both as regards area and weight per acre, has ■wrought an entire 
 change in her system of cattle husbandry. The number of cattle 
 now fattened, and the weight of beef sent to market, has enor- 
 mously increased, but the number bred in the county has as 
 remarkably decreased. Her supply of young cattle is chiefly 
 obtained from the north and north-western counties of England, 
 with a limited munber from Ireland. These young cattle are 
 nominally of the shorthorn breed ; but a very large proportion 
 of them are of an inferior mongrel race, with little more affinity 
 to shorthorns than their red and white colour. As they are for 
 the most part bred and reared in districts where there is little 
 tillage and no turnips, they are wintered on meadow hay alone, 
 and by the return of spring are usually in a poor and starved 
 condition. Most of them ultimately, with generous feeding, 
 attain to large size and heavy weight of carcase ; but they have 
 an undue proportion of internal taUow, and never have the thick 
 level carcase of prime flesh possessed by cattle that have been uni- 
 formlj weU nourished from birth to maturity. The same remark 
 applies to the Irish cattle, by which, iti addition to a share of 
 those from the north of England, the farmers of the Lothians, of 
 Fife, and of Forfarshire largely replenish their. pastures and 
 feeding yards. There are at present indications that dissatis- 
 faction with the q^uality of these cattle, and frequent losses from^ 
 diseases introduced by them,, are inducing a gradual return ta 
 home breeding. 
 
 It would unduly lengthen this Eeport to describe in detail the 
 whole process of the breeding, rearing, and fattening of cattle. 
 Let it suf&ce to say that, for ten or twelve weeks after their birth, 
 calves are fed on warm new milk three times daily ; that, as 
 early as possible, they are trained to eat a Little good hay^ shced. 
 turnips, and linseed cake ; and that, at the proper season, they are 
 turned out daily into a clean, sheltered pasture; but are brou^it 
 into a yard at night, and a small allowance of linseed cake given t» 
 them. During their first winter they are kept in roomy, well- 
 sheltered yards, and fed on white or yellow turnips, fresh oat 
 straw, and two lbs. daily of the best linseed cakes. The last 
 named item is given, not only to promote their growth, but as 
 an effectual antidote to the fata;l blood disease called " blackleg" 
 {Rcematosepsis), They are again grazed on good pasture during 
 
FAEMING OF THE EAST AND NOETH-EASTERIT DISTKICTS. 59 
 
 their second summer, and early in September are brouglit into the 
 yards at night, and fed, In addition to pasturage, with green forage 
 of vetches, or clover, or cabbages. Pulse crops in a green succulent 
 state, and the pods filling with soft grain, is a forage on which 
 fattening cattle at this season make more rapid progress than on 
 any other kind of food. Early white turnips first supplement, 
 and presently supersede the green foiage. By 1st October the 
 cattle are wholly housed, and receive two feeds of turnips daily — 
 from fifty to 60 lbs. at each feed — and two messes of oat straw cut 
 into chaff, moistened with cold water^ and then mised with linseed 
 or rape cake broken small, and meal of whatever kind of grain is 
 cheapest at the time. This mess is allowed to lie in a heap for 
 twenty-four hours before it is served out to the cattla Some- 
 times a small quantity of treacle is dissolved in the water with 
 which the chaff is moistened, to render it more palatable and 
 nourishing. The allowance of mixed cake and meal is at first 
 at the rate of three lbs. per head per diem, which is ultimately 
 increased to six lbs. for a few weeks before the cattle are sent 
 to market. A few lbs. each of good hay daily during the last 
 month is serviceable in giving the finishing touch to the cattle. 
 The comfort of the animals is carefully attended to by giving 
 them always a soft bed of clean dry straw, to induce them to lie 
 as much as possible ; and for the same jeason they are kept free 
 from all disturbance. 
 
 There is now a concensus of opinion that whether as regards 
 the weU-doing of the animals^ the economy of food, or the pre- 
 servation of the manure, fattening cattle should be kept wholly 
 under cover. It is still a debated point whether this should be 
 in covered yards, with the cattle loose, and in lots of six or eight 
 together, or tied up in stalls in long double ranges, or each in a 
 box of eight feet by twelve feet, also .in double rows, with par- 
 titions formed by strong posts and rails. The two last plans 
 have the important advantage that each animal has the undis- 
 turbed use of its own quarters and rations, and can have its food 
 varied in quantity and quality in any way that its condition may 
 require. The frequent use of currycomb and brush is grateful 
 and beneficial to aU fattening cattle, and is especially so when, 
 by confinement, they are restrained from rubbing and licking 
 their skins. 
 
IV. 
 
 THE FARMING OF THE WEST AND SOUTH-WESTERN 
 DISTRICTS. 
 
 The humid atmosphere of the west of Scotland unfits it for the 
 growth of grain in comparison with the eastern counties. The 
 district extending from Ayr and Troon to Kilmamock is one of 
 the driest in the south-west. The average annual rainfall at Ayr 
 for the last twenty-two years is about thirty-six inches. In the 
 north of Ayrshire, towards Greenock, the fall is much greater, 
 and it is very heavy over the hilly district on the south, border- 
 ing on Wigtownshire and the stewartry of Kirkcudbright. In 
 the lower districts of Wigtownshire the fall is eight or nine 
 inches more than at Ayr, and the inland hilly regions of Gallo- 
 way are very rainy. Upper Nithsdale and Annandale have a 
 wet climate, but the lower valleys of the Nith and Annan have 
 only a little heavier fall of rain than the vicinity of Ayr. 
 
 Notwithstanding disadvantages of climate, the extent of land 
 under cultivation in the four south-western counties is sufficient 
 to make their agriculture of much importance. It comprises the 
 greater part of the ploughable land up to altitudes at which 
 doubtful, ripening in late harvests renders cropping precarious. 
 In round numbers, Ayrshire has 313,000 acres, Dumfriesshire 
 223,000, Kirkcudbright 173,000 acres, and Wigtownshire 145,000 
 acres under regular rotations of cropping and grass. 
 
 The most of those lands had to be drained to adapt them for 
 the requirements of modem agriculture. Very little of the 
 Ayrshire land was naturally dry. There are lengthy stretches 
 of sandy land near the sea-coast, and also a considerable 
 extent of gravel, trap, and other light soUs throughout the 
 county, but clays and clay loams greatly preponderate. In 
 Dumfriesshire sandy and gravelly soils are extensive. The 
 arable lands of Kirkcudbright and Wigtown contain a large 
 proportion of rocky soil, most of which was naturally dry. In 
 
FAEMING OF THE WEST AND SOUTH- WESTEEN DISTRICTS. 61 
 
 Ayrshire protably more than nine-tenths, and in the other three 
 counties nearly three-fourths of the arable land required thorough 
 draining. 
 
 Tile-draining was begun in Ayrshire in 1824, and since that 
 time has been extensively carried out. Twenty-five years ago 
 a depth of thirty inches was fixed as the minimum on some 
 Ayrshire estates, and the depth was gradually increased until 
 forty-two to forty-eight inches became the rule with the 
 Enclosure Commissioners. A depth of four feet does well in 
 porous soils, but experience teaches that it is wasteful in the 
 boulder clays of Ayrshire. In those tenacious subsoils the 
 same expenditure on drains, thirty-six to forty inches in depth, 
 and placed proportionately closer, does more good. 
 
 Draining was not begun in Dumfriesshire at such an early 
 date ; but the advantages to be derived from it were clearly dis- 
 cerned as soon as beginnings were made, and the landlords and 
 tenants were ready to take prompt action when a Government loan 
 was offered for the purpose under Sir Eobert Peel's Act in 1845. 
 Upwards of £70,000 of the Government loan was expended in 
 the county in the course of a few years. In the Stewartry of 
 Kirkcudbright and Wigtownshire, which are classed together 
 under the common name of Galloway, the drainage over a large 
 extent of country was difficult to execute on account of the 
 rocky nature of the land. These difficulties have been overcome 
 with wonderful spirit, and the proportionate increase in the value 
 of land since 1840, by agricultural improvements, is probably as 
 great there as in any part of Scotland. A considerable number 
 of small proprietors in Kirkcudbright have occupied and 
 improved their own land, but the advance has been quite as 
 rapid in Wigtownshire on lands held under lease. 
 
 Previous to the great change which was made by thorough 
 draining, the agriculture of the south-west of Scotland was for 
 the most part in a very unsatisfactory state. With the excep- 
 tion of a comparatively small extent of friable and tolerably dry 
 land, Ajrrshire and Galloway were \insuitable for drilled green 
 crops. In the early part of the present century,. intelKgent men 
 were deeply dissatisfied with the difference of the agriculture in 
 the east and west of Scotland. With the drier climate of the east 
 coast an ameliorating rotation was followed, while the western 
 
62 ' PRESENT STA^TE OF THE AGHICULTTJEE OF' SCOTLAND. 
 
 counties had made little advance npon tlie practice of mediseval 
 times; A writer at that period atateJ that a stranger crossiiig 
 the country would he justified in supposing that the two sides 
 of it lay under diflferent governments; and he pointed out a 
 clause in Ayrshire leases, which provided for the preservation of 
 the land in good condition, by the stipulation that not more 
 than three crops of grain should he taken in succession. Even 
 these clauses, however rude as they now seem, were improve- 
 ments upon the former practices, when pieces of land were sown 
 with oats, year after year, as long as the crops were considered 
 worth the labour expended upon them. The introduction of 
 method was an improvement. The cropping clauses' in leases 
 were introduced in the latter part of the eighteenth century. 
 They provided that the tenant should cultivate the whole of his 
 ploughable land in regular succession. The three crops might 
 be oats; beans, or here ; and grass seeds were sowti- with the third 
 crop. Hay was taken in the fourth year, and the ground was 
 afterwards under pasture for a stipulated number of years. The 
 manure consisted of lone, compost, or dung from the farm yari 
 A considerable part of Ayrshire is on the Coal Measures, and 
 farmers had convenient access to hme in many parts of the 
 county. It was freely used during the first thirty years of this 
 century. Doing much good for some time, it was depended 
 upon as almost the sole means of unprovement within reach of 
 the cultivator of wet land, and dressings of it were applied until' 
 it became of little advantage. As lime lost, its effect, it was 
 found to be better to take two instead of iiiree corn crops, and 
 shorten the period under pasture. 
 
 On the drier land a better practice was followed. A potato 
 crop was taken between the two crops of grain, and the land 
 was so-?5Ti out in comparatively good condition. In Dumfries- 
 shire the sandy and gravelly soils were well adapted for potato 
 culture. The crop was extensively grown, and its ameliorating 
 effect raised in some degree the character of Dumfriesshire: 
 farming in comparison with neighbouxiag counties. Turnips 
 were grown in favouratte situations, but as a general farm crop 
 in the southwest of Scotland it cannot be said that they date 
 back much more than fifty years. 
 
 Dumfries and GaUoway, unlike a gteat piartof Ayrshire, were not 
 
FAEMING OF THE WEST AND SOXJTH-WESTEEN DISTEICTS. 63 
 
 limed to excess previous to the introduction of more enligMened 
 management. The formation of railways has now brought, lime 
 more generally within the reach of farmers in those counties, and 
 great advantage is derived from it. Marl was raised last century 
 in various parts of Wigtownshire, and it produced a wonderful 
 effect upon weak, worn-out land. It seemed invaluable in the 
 absence of other fertilising agents. 
 
 The change in the nature of the land which was effected by 
 " thorough draining" did a great deal to lessen the difference be- 
 tween the character of the agriculture of the east and of the west 
 coasts. The south-west remains' under comparative disadvantage 
 in average seasons as regards amount of rain and humidify of 
 atmosphere ;■ but the medium soils of Ayrshire, and nearly the 
 whole arable lands of Galloway and Dumfries, were made 
 suitable, under skilful management,, for the growth of green 
 crops.- And the farmers were ready to take aidvantage of the 
 change. A spirit of inquiiy had been fostered by agricultural 
 societies and farmers' clubs, some of which were instituted long 
 ago in Ayrshire. The Kilmamock Club was formed about 1790 ; 
 the Carrick Society was instituted a few years later; and in 
 more recent times, the St Quivox, the Lockerbie, and other 
 Societies have done good service in the diffasion of practical 
 knowledge throughout the south-west. The use of bone manure 
 had led to the extension and improvement of green crop 
 husbandry in Dumfriesshire before the days of thorough drain- 
 ing, and good examples were shown in the same way by enter- 
 prising men on the coast lands and other manageable soils of 
 Ayrshire and Galloway. The farmers of the south-west had thus 
 become familiar vsdth the advantages to be derived, from land 
 which was adapted for green cropff, and they entered with 
 alacrity into the change of management which draroing brought 
 within their reacK 
 
 The improvements connected with the preparation of the land 
 for green crop husbandry involved a great amount' of work in 
 many parts of Galloway. Main conduits were constructed at 
 great expense for the drainage of swamps, and stones and pieces 
 of rock were cleared away with laborious perseverance. The 
 heathery hill side and the morass have changed their aspect, and 
 are now covered at the beginnings of autumn by rich pastures or 
 
64 PKESENT STATE OF THE AGRXCULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 luxuriant crops of turnips. But a great paxt of the Galloway 
 land does not yield very productive crops of graia, notwithstand- 
 ing the fertile state into which it has been brought by liberal 
 management. Over all the weaker lands an abundant growth of 
 turnips and grass is the farmer's object, and profit is sought 
 through the medium of sheep and cattle rather than by the sale 
 of grain. 
 
 The. rotation of cropping is much the same throughout Dum- 
 friesshire and Galloway. In breaking up from pasture a crop of 
 grain is taken — sometimes barley, but generally oats. A green 
 crop follows, consisting of turnips, potatoes, mangold, carrots, or 
 cabbages. In the third year a crop of wheat, oats, or barley is 
 taken, and the seeds of ryegrasses and clovers are sown with the 
 grain. In the fourth year there may either be hay or pasture ; 
 and the rotation may be lengthened by a fifth, sixth, or seventh 
 year iu pasture. Five years is the ordinary length, but there is a 
 growing inclination to extend it. With a louger interval between 
 the crops the turnips are safer from the disease known as 
 " fingers-and-toes " {dadylorhyza), and with soundness there 
 are heavier crops. The longer time for accumulation of vege- 
 table matter in the soil is also favourable for the crops of grain 
 both as regards quantity and quality. On some soils it is 
 thought that as much value of com and turnips may be grown 
 under a six-years' course as under a five. If that be so the 
 additional year of grass would give a large balance in favour of 
 the lengthened rotation which many skilful farmers are disposed 
 to adopt. 
 
 In Ayrshire, throughout the districts of Carrick, the greater 
 part of Kyle, and the more friable pEurts of Oanningham, the five- 
 years' course is generally followed. As a rule the grain is more 
 productive than in the southern counties, and its growth for the 
 market is a more important part of the farmer's business. On 
 some of the rich and highly rented farms near Girvan and Ayr 
 the course is restricted to four years by leaving out the year of 
 pasture. The whole extent of land in Ayrshire under a four- 
 years' course is not, however, very great. 
 
 After changing, as the land was drained, from the old course 
 of two crops of oats and one of hay, to the modem course with 
 an intervening green crop, the farmers over a large extent of the 
 
FARMING OF THE WEST XSD SOUTH-WESTERN DISTRICTS. 00 
 
 north of AyrsMre have returned nearly to their old practice. 
 At first the change to a rotation containing a green crop seemed 
 to offer advantages. With the aid of. guano heavy crops of oats 
 were raised, and the turnip crops were good in favourable years. 
 But a succession of adverse years followed. In 1860, 1861, and 
 1862 the turnips did no good on stiff soils even at' moderate 
 altitudes, and the land was deteriorated instead of being im- 
 proved. After being finely pulverised the clay soil became 
 unmanageable under heavy falls of rain, and its mechanical state 
 unfitted it for corn or grass. Complaints of losses became 
 general. The crops were deficient, and the pastures did not 
 maintain the former amount of stock. In these circumstances 
 there seemed to be no alternative. The green crops were 
 reluctantly given up, and grass seeds were agaia sown with the 
 second crop of oats. Equally heavy clays, however, continue to 
 be cultivated with a green crop or fallow year ia the rotation 
 on farms near the Ayrshire sea-coast. And good results are said 
 to be still obtained with retentive land in Wigtownshire, although 
 the climate is probably moister than it is in the neighbourhood 
 of Kilmarnock. With a higher temperature, however, near the 
 level of the sea, the moisture is carried off njore rapidly by 
 evaporation. 
 
 The Agricultural Eeturns show that fully one-third of the 
 cropping land of Ayrshire is now sown out with the second crop. 
 That is inclusive of undrained land in upland districts, where the 
 oat crop is grown priacipaUy for fodder in winter. A consider- 
 able extent of cold thia land, at high altitudes, is cropped in 
 this manner, and there is reason to suppose that the average of 
 profit drawn from it is not great. It is too frequently an 
 expensive, way of procuring fodder. 
 
 In Ayrshire, last year, the proportion of green crops and bare 
 fallow to com crops was 18,432 to 59,573 acres, On a consider- 
 able area of heavy land, where the green crop is still retained in 
 the rotation, two crops of oats are taken before the green crop, 
 and one is taken after it. In such cases the time under grass is 
 usually extended at least one year. After two corn crops the 
 land is more friable than after one, and therefore more easily 
 pulverised for the green crop, while the difficulty of cleaning 
 is not much increased on land of that class which has been 
 
66 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGRICDLTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 several years under, grass. But any explanation must have in 
 some degree the nature of an apology, as the practice tends to 
 reduce rather than add to the fertility of the soil. In Dum- 
 friesshire the extent of green crops and fallow last year was 
 26,587, and the corn crops 50,261 acres. A smaller yield of oats 
 in Dumfriesshire than in Ayrshire lessens the inducement to 
 over-crop with grain. In Kirkcudbright the proportion is still more 
 indicative of good farming and manageable land. It has 18,390 
 acres of green crops and fallow to 32,661 acres of grain. The prac- 
 tice has grown in Kirkcudbright, to a greater extent perhaps than 
 in any other part of Scotland, of sowing out after turnips -without 
 taking a white crop. A present sacrifice is made for the future 
 advantage of several years of fine grass; and that would be 
 done only where grass is skilfully turned to the best account. 
 In Wigtownshire the proportion is similar to Dumfriesshixe. It 
 has 19,604 acres of green crops and fallow to 38,904 of com. 
 With a pretty large extent of strong alluvial soil well adapted 
 for the growth of wheat, Wigtownshire has more bare fallow than 
 any of the other south-western counties of Scotland. In Ayr- 
 shire the summer fallow has almost disappeared, notwithstanding 
 the large area of retentive land. 
 
 In going through the rotation of five years the management 
 doe's not vary very much in the south-western counties. The 
 ploughing of lea is generally begun soon after Martinmas on 
 stiff soils or ta the late districts, and in warmer localities about 
 New Tear's day, after which it is carried on steadily in open 
 weather. Previous to the last ten years the swing plough was 
 used everywhere in turning over the soU. The English wheel- 
 plough was occasionally tried and always laid aside. But the 
 introduction of double-furrow ploughs directed attention to the 
 advantage of the wheel in lessening the friction, and conse- 
 quently the draught. It was found that the draught of a 
 good double-furrow plough, carried on wheels, was about the 
 same for three horses as the draught of a single-furrow 
 swing plough, resting on its sole and share, was for two 
 horses. With large, level fields of friable land, the double-furrow 
 plough has been found a valuable implement; but it is not 
 adapted for steep, stiff land in Ayrshire, nor for the patchy cul- 
 tivation amongst the rocky knolls of Galloway. The single- 
 
FARMING OF THE WEST AND SOUTH-WESTEEN DISTEICTS. 67 
 
 furrow wheel-plough has coiae more extensively .into use, and is 
 very efficient for deep ploughing in the cultivation which follows 
 the lea crop. - ■ . 
 
 ■ Oafe are almost invariably grown as the lea crop. In rare 
 instances barley is taken on weak, sharp land in Wigtown- 
 shire, but it is scarcely seen as the crop after lea in Ayrshire. 
 The sowing of oats is seldom begun before the middle of Marchi 
 After that time- favourable opportunities are turned to account 
 both on light soils in the lower districts, and on cold upland, 
 fields where the danger of late harvests is never forgotten. On: 
 friable lands ia the earlier parts of Ayrshire the drill-sowing 
 machine is used by a few farmers, who find; that it enables them 
 to save a little seed, compared with broadcast sowing, and gives 
 on tiie whole rather better crops. But the fickle cUmate of the 
 west Coast prevents it from coming into extensive use. In un-. 
 steady weather the farmer is glad to follow the speedier method 
 of broadcast sowing either with the machine or the hand. : Drill- 
 sowing machines are used to a considerable extent on the best: 
 farms in Dumfries and Galloway. , In the lighter s6fls of thess 
 counties they are of more benefit than in Ayrshire ; but as a 
 a rule the farmer who has had experience of sowing-machines, 
 whether drill or broadcast, restricts hand-sowing as much as'. 
 possible. 
 
 In the growth of oats the Galloway land requires niore seed 
 than is found suitable in Dumfriesshire, and the difference is 
 ^eater when the comparison is made with Ayrshire. ^ Short 
 varieties of Oats are grown in Wigtownshire, and the 
 qtiantities of seed range from 4 to 5^ bushels per imperial 
 acre. Long varieties of oats are mostly sown in Dumfriesshire, 
 and the amount of seed seldom exceeds 5 bushels, on well- 
 manured land. With short oats the quantity is less. In AyrT 
 shire a long variety is more extensively grown than any other. 
 It is suitable for the soil and chniate, though it is. not a 
 favourite in many other parts of> Scotland It is grown to some 
 extent on the poorer soils in the upper parts of Dumfries- 
 shire. The quantities sown vary from 3 to 4 bushels, per 
 acre on the finer lands of the early. districts, of Ayrshire. In 
 later localities, and especially on rough, undrained land more 
 seed is used. Fine crops have been grown from 2 bushels 
 
68 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGKICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND- 
 
 per acre, put in -with the oom-drill in a favourable season, but 
 sucb a small quantity is not regarded as a safe practice even 
 on tbe most suitable land. A remarkable early variety has been 
 grown several years in Ayrshire, and is pretty well known in 
 Scotland imder the name of Swiss oats. 
 
 The plentiful supplies of fine Peruvian guano, which were 
 obtained at moderate prices about 1845 and for a loi^ time after- 
 wards,made top-idressing of oats a common practice. Thatpowerfnl 
 manure made the produce on inferior and otherwise indifferently 
 managed land not far behind the returns on good farms. Since 
 guano became scarce, and cranparatively poor in quality,, its 
 place has been taken by superphosphate, more or less enriched 
 by additions of salts of ammonia. Over a laige extent of Ayr- 
 shire and Dumfrieshire it is found that fuU crops cannot be 
 raised without top-dressings; but they are not used so much 
 with oats in Galloway. Under a stimulated growth the 
 straw is generally softer in Galloway than in Ayrshire. The 
 management over a pretty large area of Galloway conduce 
 to a high state of fertility, and lessens the need for top- 
 
 In the lower districts of the different counties the green crop 
 :ia the second year of the rotation is generally followed by wheat 
 or barley in the third. In such wet seasons as the end of 1876 
 ^and 1877, the extent of wheat is less, and the spring sowing of 
 barley or oats is greater in extent. There is not much wheat 
 sown at a greater height than 360 feet, tho'qgh it may occa- 
 ^sionally- be seen in Ayrshire at altitudes up to 500 feet. In 
 the higher districts the green crops are followed by oats. The 
 growth of wheat in the south-west has gradually fallen away 
 during the last twenty years. In 1855, the extent of wheat 
 in Dumfries was 3244 acres ; eleven years later, in 1866, it had 
 fallen away to 962 acres ; and after the lapse of another period 
 of eleven years, in 1877, there was only 378 acres. Taking a 
 shorter period in Kirkcudbright, the change is from 993 acres ia 
 1871 to 214 acres in 1877 ; and in Wigtown from 4364 acres in 
 1871 to 2832 acres in 1877. In Ayrshire the extent of wheat 
 in 1856 was 16,879 acres ; in 1873 it was 6461 acres ; and in 
 1877, partly on account of an imfavourable seed time, there was 
 Qnly 3804 acres. The unsteadiness of the weather in the 
 
PAKMING OF TflE WEST AKD SOUTH-WESTERN DISTRICTS. 61J 
 
 western counties after the middle of Octoli'er is greatly against 
 the successful growth of wheat. 
 
 A considerable extent of wheat Is grown after bate fallow oia 
 strong tenacious soils in Wigtownshixe, and the same thing may 
 be seen on a small&i scale in Ayrshire. Farm^-yard manure n 
 ploughed in, and the wheat is sown, if possible, in September. 
 I'rom 2 to 2^ bushels peT' aere of seed should siifSee at tiiat 
 period of the season, as the plants have time to become strong 
 and thicken in the ground. On the greem csrop land as much as 
 possible is sown in IfoTember. It is the favourite mdnth for 
 light land, with the exception of exposed situations, such as the 
 coast of Carrick, where the storms of winter are injurious to the 
 young crop, and sowing is therefore deferred till January or 
 [February. Many good farmers in Wigtownshire plough in 15 to 
 20 tons of dung on their turnip land in preposation for wheat, 
 and it assures them of a bulky crop, aS Well as a fine growth of 
 grass in the following years of the rotation. In Ayrshire, with 
 <a more extensive growth of potatoes, there is littie farm-yasd 
 manure to spare in that way, but top-dressings are now very 
 common with spring-sown wheat. They send up a more 
 vigorous plant, and strengthen it in time for summer growth. 
 In the early parts of Ayrshire experienced farmers used to sow 
 wheat at favourable opportunties till the equinox, but there is' 
 now less anxiety on the best managed farms to get in a fuH 
 acreage of it. The return is generally greater after early sowing, 
 and the substitution of barley ia spring is very much in favour 
 of the grass, to which a higher value is now attached than in 
 former times. The growth |of rye has almost been discontinued 
 on the weak lands which were cropped with it twenty or thirty 
 years ago, as a good undergrowth of young grass is seldoin got 
 along with it. A little is still grown on poor sandy soil ia Ayi* 
 shire, and on weak moss in Wigtownshire. The strong soils of 
 Ayrshire produce good crops of beans. They are sometiajes 
 grown with a slight mixture of late oats on lea which has bfeea, 
 dunged. These crops are very productive, and the oats are 
 easily separated from the beans after thrashing. 
 
 In ordinary seasons the com harvest is begun about Dumfries, 
 and along the Wigtown and Ayrshire coasts in .the first "week of 
 August. In the second week it becomes general in early 
 
70 . PKESENT STATE OF THE AGRICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 localities, and the work extends gradually towards the uplands-. 
 But the time of beginning varies. greatly. The harvest of 1877 
 was one of the latest within inemory. There was little reaping 
 in August in the lower districts, and many farmers in late 
 localities did not begin till October. With such late ripening 
 the returns are unsatisfactory; the grain is light, and the fodder 
 is generally damaged by rain befor.e the crop can be gathered into 
 the stack-yard. 
 
 In good seasons reaping is now an easy task. The work Ls 
 nearly all done by the reaping-machine, and the change from 
 the sickle is a wonderful lightening of toil to the rural population. 
 The reaping is likewise better done and fiiushed in less time. The 
 labour was considerably reduced when the scythe took the place 
 of the reaping-hook, but the crop was not so well gathered. 
 The International Exhibition in London in 1851 brought the 
 reaping machine into notice, and it has since been improved and 
 gradually adapted for general use. Implement makers gave 
 imwearied attention to it ; one improvement followed another, and 
 in the troublesome harvest of 1860 its advantages were obvioiis. 
 Tor a few harvests there were difficulties arising from defects in 
 the machmes, and the want of that practical knowledge in using 
 them which can only be obtained by experience. These diffi- 
 culties are now surmounted, and it is not uncommon to hear 
 farmers speak of finishing their reaping without interruption 
 from breakage or derangement of gearing. In ordinary cases 
 there should not be more than a fortnight's reaping on a farm. 
 There is generally advantage to be gained in being able to over- 
 take the work in good time. 
 
 The time during which the crop remains in stooks varies 
 according to the natiire of the weather. Oats are now reaped 
 with a green tinge, and a longer time is therefore required to 
 prepare them for being put into the stack without danger of 
 heating. But when oats are cut before the green hue is lost, 
 and properly managed afterwards, there is no disadvantage as 
 regards: quantity or quality of grain, and the fodder is more 
 valuable than when it remains uncut tiU fully ripe. 
 
 In ordinary seasons no great difficulty or anxiety attends the 
 ingathering of the crops in the lower districts of the dififerent 
 counties. The grain is carted to the stack-yard, built into neat 
 
FAUMING OF THE WEST AND SOUTH-WESTERN DISTKICTS. 71 
 
 round stacks, 10 or 12 feet high to the eaves, with pjrramidal tops, , 
 which are afterwards made secure with thatch andropes. In the 
 late upland districts the harvest season is usually an anxious tiijie. 
 Working at a more advanced period, with a shorter day and too 
 frequently broken weather, advantage must be taken of every - 
 favourable opportunity. In bygone times the zeal of the workers 
 in adverse harvests seemed scarcely less than the earnestness of 
 their employers. That is not so noticeable now ; but there is 
 seldom any disinclination shown to increased exertion and long 
 hours, when necessity for extra effort arises from changeable 
 weather. On the sniall farms, which are common throughout 
 the higher ranges of arable land, the harvest hands are encouraged 
 by the example of the farmers themselves, who usually work as 
 constantly and as hard as their men. 
 
 When harvest work is over attention can be given to the 
 green crop break of the following year. ■ The climate of the west 
 of Scotland is not very suitable for autumn, cultivation, but a 
 little is done in favourable seasons. In some places the farmers 
 begin as soon as the crop is removed to run the gi-ubber through 
 the oat stubbles, a few inches under the surface, after which the 
 land is harrowed and weeds are gathered and carted off. A 
 great saving of work in spring is thus effected. On the liglitest 
 land farmers incline merely to grub and clean in autumn, and 
 to plough with a deep furrow in spring; but where the soil is 
 heavier it is advisable to follow the grubbing with a deep furrow 
 a,t the beginning of winter. It is the proper time in the rotation 
 for deepening the cultivation, as auy new soil that is brought 
 up is subject to the influence of frosts in winter. When 
 grubbing and ploughing have been accomplished towards the 
 end of the year there is no preparation required for the potato 
 land in spring except harrowing, to smooth the surface for the 
 drill plough. 
 
 On the sea-coast land near Girvan, and on the early farms of 
 Ardrossan and West Kilbride, the practice is to plough in dung 
 after harvest from time to time during winter. In those famous 
 potato-lowing districts the| farmers have the advantage of con- 
 siderable quantities of sea- weed, which is a valuable auxiliary 
 manure. It is spread on the surface of the high land, and is 
 ploughed down in large quantities. In addition to its fertilising , 
 
72 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 effects its saJine matter helps to save the crops on sandy soils ia 
 times of drought. 
 
 "Where the land has got no preparation heyond a ploughing 
 in autumn or winter it has to be grubbed and made free from 
 weeds in spring. On farms where the management is generally 
 good this preparation does not require long time, as friable land 
 alone is cropped with early potatoes. But the soil should be 
 well pulverised. If the weather is fine the planting is begun in 
 February in the earliest districts, but farmers in other localities 
 incline to be ten days later, as they incur more risk from frost 
 towards the end of April iu exposed places. With the dung already 
 ploughed in, the planting is not tedious work. From three and 
 ■a half to four acres may be planted in a day, with two pairs of 
 horses and the reqiusite number of workers. About Ayr and 
 St Quivox, where the dxmg is nearly all put into the drills at 
 the time of planting, double the number of horses may be 
 necessary for an equal extent of land. Each method has 
 advantages of its own. In exceptional seasons, such as 1867, 
 when severe frost set in at the middle of March and went far 
 into the ground, the dung preserves the potato "sets" from' 
 ■damage, and itg heat may quicken the growth. But in what- 
 ever way it may be applied, large quantities of manure are 
 indispensable to the successful growth of early potatoes. There 
 is no fact more fully attested by experience. On a well- 
 managed farm close to Ayr, under a rotation of four years, there 
 is a combination of the two methods of applying' the dung. 
 The quantity applied is from forty to forty-five tons per acre 
 for the potato and carrot crops. One-third of the quantity is 
 ploughed down with the stubble, and two-thirds are put into 
 the driUs in spring. From six to seven cwt. per acre of guano 
 is sown upon the dung in the drUls with the object of forming 
 an early growth, and the growth is usually very rapid after the' 
 plant begins to spread its leaves. 
 
 The time of lifting the crop varies with the nature of the 
 season. In average seasons a pretty large extent is taken 
 Tip about Girvan and West Kilbride in the last week of 
 June. The price is so high at first that a produce of little 
 more than two tons per acre is profitable, and many fields 
 are cleared before the yield is four tons. Glasgow, with its 
 
TAEMING OF THE WEST AND SOUTH-WESTEEN DISTRICTS. 73 
 
 popTilation of upwards of half a million, is the principal market' 
 during the first three weeks of July. By that time the crop has 
 improved, the general supply has increased, and the prices have 
 gradually fallen. Large quantities are then sent to Newcastle 
 and to Manchester and the populous towns of the West Eiding 
 of Yorkshire. The time of lifting the crop extends towards the 
 later districts, and the produce is sent both to Scotch and English- 
 markets tiU. the eve of harvest. 
 
 With the fields cleared at the middle of July there is time for 
 another crop, if there is moisture in the soil, to make seed 
 germinate. In the showery climate of West Kilbride a cover- 
 ing of some crop is usually got, but it is not always so on th& 
 Girvan coast. In some years, when rain falls freely in July, 
 full crops of turnips are raised in this way, but with repetition 
 the turnip soon shows symptoms of disease on weak light land. 
 Eape or mustard can be grown for sheep, and bulky crops of 
 barley are grown for cutting green and carting in to cattle. The 
 rapidly grown barley is succulent, and probably not very 
 nutritious. In other cases ryegrass seed is sown, and if it 
 sprout at once there is grazing from it for lambs at the begin- 
 ning of September. 
 
 The growth of potatoes for the early market is of com- 
 paratively recent origin in Ayrshire. A little was done in the 
 vicinity of Ayr twenty-five years ago, and in those times £18 to 
 £20 per acre was considered a high price for a well grown crop., 
 At a later date, when higher prices were got, the practice was 
 extended along the coast of Carrick to Girvan, and it was found 
 equally suitable on the deep red soil of 'West Kilbride. It gives 
 the farmer not only the speediest, but in many cases the most 
 important return of the year. Hundreds of acres in WesiJ 
 Kilbride are let year after year to . a Glasgow potato-dealen 
 at rates varjdng. from £13 to £17 per acre. In these contracts 
 the farmer supplies the land, puts on the seaweed and dung,; 
 and does all the horse work of cultivation and cartage to the 
 railway station. The dealer supplies the guano and the seedy 
 plants the crop, raises it, and disposes of it in the market. It is. 
 something to the credit of both the dealer and the farmers 
 that these transactions have stood the test of good and bad, 
 seasons, and mutual confidence remains unshaken. This kind 
 
74 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGRICULTURE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 of contract, however, Kas not spread in Ayrshire. The lai^er 
 part of the crop about Girvan, Ayr, and other early localities, 
 is sold by the acre, and in many cases the farmer takes the 
 chance of profit, or faces the risk of loss, by lifting the crop him- 
 self and consigning it to agents for sale. A number of the 
 early sales last year ranged from £30 to £38 per acre, but as 
 a rule anything from £24 to £30 is regarded as a good price in 
 the best localities. 
 
 Carrots are f oimd to be the best paying green crop about Ayr 
 and St Quivox. The ground is prepared and manured in the 
 same way as for potatoes, and the seed is sown in the last week 
 of March, or the first week of April The sowing-machine 
 makes two rows on the drill, about six inches apart, and care is 
 taken to have the dung neatly covered so that it may not 
 interfere with the sowing. As the harrow cannot be used upon 
 the drill, there is generally a considerable growth of annual 
 weeds before the crop appears. If that growth were not 
 checked, the yoimg plants would be choked as they come up, 
 A heavy expense is therefore incurred at that stage ior hand- 
 weeding. With two or three wet days at that time, there may- 
 be difiBculty experienced in overtaking the work and prevent- 
 ing the young crop from being spoiled. The expense of weeding 
 and thinning, one year with another, is about £5 per acre. Com- 
 pared with a potato crop, this outlay is more than half compen- 
 sated by the comparatively small cost of the carrot seed. A variety 
 of red carrot, called Intermediate, is principally sown in Ayrshire, 
 and heavy crops are raised. The sales are made by the acre, 
 and in the case of early crops a considerable part is sent to 
 market in autumn. AVTien full grown, twenty to twenty-five 
 tons is considered a good crop, and some successful growers realise 
 £40 to £45 per acre for it. 
 
 The St Quivox farmers find that carrots should not be sown 
 again on the same land at shorter intervals than eight to ten 
 years. In a four or five year's course the crop may be taken 
 every second rotation. One-half of a field may be under 
 carrots,, and the other half under potatoes, in one rotation, and 
 next time the crops can be reversed. The difference in results 
 is sometimes very obvious when the limit is overstepped at the 
 
FARMING OF THE WEST AND SOUTH-WESTEKN DISTKICTS. 75 
 
 middle of a field, and the carrot crop taken on the same ground 
 in succesive rotations. 
 
 In the growth of mangold, Ayrshire takes the lead amongst 
 the Scotch counties. It had 871 acres last year, and Wigtown- 
 shire had 292 acres. The whole extent grown in Scotland was 
 about 2100 acres. Mangold is a plant of comparatively warm 
 climates, and it requires good management so far north as 
 55 degi-ees of latitude. Deep and thorough cultivation, 
 liberal manuring, and early sowing are all essential, and with 
 every attention, the crop is likely to be light in a late season. 
 But good crops are grown on early land in favourable years, 
 and it is highly valuable in spring and the early part of summer, 
 on account of its keeping qualities. It is also useful as a 
 change of crop on land which has been too much under 
 turnips. 
 
 Potatoes for ripening and raising in autumn are grown more ex- 
 tensively in Dumfries and Galloway than in Ayrshire. Occasion- 
 ally paying well, the farmer is tempted to persevere with them, 
 but they are a precarious crop, on account of the loss by disease in 
 wet seasons. They are generally planted in drills about thirty 
 inches apart, and are not manured so heavily as the early 
 crop, which is almost grown before the time of full summer 
 heat. 
 
 There is no great difference in the mode of preparing- land for 
 the turnip crop in the various counties of the south-west. The 
 rainy climate has prevented autumn cultivation from coming 
 into anything like general practice. There is a little of it in the 
 east of the Stewartry. In Ayrshire it is confined to land for part 
 of the early crops of potatoes, carrots, and mangold. The 
 stubble is ploughed down with a deep furrow wherever the soil 
 admits of it. A heavy ftirrow is impossible with a great deal of 
 the Galloway land, but it is the proper time to increase the 
 depth where it can be done to advantage. In the preparation 
 at the beginning of summer, the grubber is gradually taking the 
 place of the plough. It does the work more speedily, and does 
 not dry the land so much in occasional seasons of drought. The 
 object is to pulverise the soil and free it from weeds. There is 
 not a great deal of hand- weeding at that stage on well-managed 
 farms. With the land well cleaned once, and liberally manured, 
 
76 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGRICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 SO as to raise heavy crops afterwards, weeds do not usually- 
 become troublesome again, except on soils like some of the St 
 Qnivox land, where it seems impossible to extirpate the " couch " 
 {Tritwum repems). 
 
 The drills are made about twenty-eight inches apart for 
 turnips, though in some farms the swedes are allowed thirty 
 inches. In Ayrslure there is generally some dung put into the 
 arills, but the Galloway farmer depends more upon light 
 manures, as he ploughs in a considerable part of his farm-yard 
 manure for crops of grain. The Galloway farmers as a rule do 
 not stint their green crop break in respect of manure. Guano, 
 bones, and superphosphate are freely applied. In Wigtown- 
 shire usually more than one-half is crushed bones, and most of 
 the remainder dissolved bones and superphosphate. In the 
 east of the Stewartry, and in Dumfriesshire, the proportion of 
 crushed bones is not commonly so great. Many good turnip- 
 growers in the different counties are partial to a mixture of 
 several manures, including a little ammonia to quicken the growth 
 in the early stages. Considerable progress has been made in 
 Wigtownshire in the way of bringing manure-distributors to the 
 stage of practical utility, and the attempts seem likely to have a 
 successful result. 
 
 On some weak lands a different rotation of cropping is 
 followed. Near Dumfries a large extent of land which was 
 reclaimed from Lochar Moss is managed in a course of five 
 years. This course includes two green crops, one crop of grainj 
 and two years of pasture. Potatoes are taken instead of gTain 
 when the lea is broken, and the land is easily prepared for 
 turnips next year. It is said that the turnips under that 
 management are very free from disease, although on farms not 
 far distant, including some of the best arable land in Diun- 
 friesshirCj it is found that a longer interval than five years 
 would be desirable. A similar practice is sometimes seen on a 
 smaller scale in Ayrshire. A piece of light land in a field may 
 be cropped with early potatoes after lea, and with carrots or 
 mangold in the following year. With the tender roots of young 
 grasses decayiag in the soil, the potatoes generally do well, and 
 the land is brought into a higher state of fertility than would be 
 attainable if two corn crops were taken. 
 
FAEMING OF THE WEST AND SOUTH-WESTERN DISTRICTS. 77 
 
 The practice has long been followed on that farm of sowing from 
 three to five cwt. per acre of salt upon the green crop land in 
 spring. It is thrown upon the ploughed land in February and 
 March, when there is stiU a probability of sufficient rain to wash it 
 into the soil. The soil is very sandy, and it is believed that the 
 salt does good to the crops in time of drought. It is likewise 
 thought that the salt checks or destroys wireworms and grubs 
 when it is applied at that period of the season. It is not easy to 
 hurt a wireworm in the ground, but it is said in the neighbour- 
 hood that the crops on the farm are remarkably free from the 
 ravages of those insects. 
 
 The practice of sowing out land with grass and clover seeds 
 without a white crop is more important, from the extent to which 
 it prevails in Kirkcudbright. Much value is set upon grass in 
 that county, and any small present loss which arises in omitting 
 the oat crop when land is laid out for permanent grass is not 
 much taken into account. But the practice is not confined to 
 land that is being taken out of cultivation. It is not uncommon 
 for farmers in the east of the county to sow out regularly part 
 of their land in that manner and plough it again in its course. 
 An oat crop is taken after lea, and it is succeeded by a well- 
 managed and highly manured turnip crop. The turnips are eaten 
 on the ground by sheep, and in the following spring the land is 
 ploughed and sown with seeds. A little rape or grain of some kind 
 sown with the seeds is useful for keeping down annual weeds. The 
 rape or grain is eaten by sheep, and in favourable seasons the 
 grasses soon, gain strength. It is important that the land should 
 be well cleaned when it is under the green crop, but of course the 
 most careful management at that stage cannot guard against 
 growth from the seeds of annual weeds in land that contains 
 them. High rents have been got for large fields when the grass 
 is young, and it is believed that the practice has been profitable. 
 Its value is put to a more convincing pecuniary test when the 
 trial is made on a large scale than it can be with farmers who 
 have only a small part of their land under such treatment. 
 But the farmer has to look keenly into results, and when 
 a practice which involves a present sacrifice is growing in favour 
 with him, it may reasonably be inferred that it is judicious. 
 
 Kilmamock may be regarded as, the centre of an extensive 
 
78 • ■ PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEIOULTtJEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 district in Ayrshire in which, after thorough draining of the 
 land, and the adoption of a modem rotation, including a green 
 crop, the farmers have returned to their old practice of sowing 
 out with a second crop of grain in succession to the first. The 
 change was not completely made to a green crop rotation, though 
 it was generally in favour twenty years ago. But several 
 wet late seasons came upon the county, the turnips did no 
 good on the heavy soils, and the land was in a distempered 
 condition at the time of sowing out. The grain crop which 
 followed was comparatively poor, and the grass was not satis-' 
 factory. Farmers were forced to consider their position and 
 prospects under the change of management, and the prospects 
 were of a discouraging nature. In seasons such as 1857 and 
 1859, when the turnips were bulky, they had derived little 
 direct advantage from the green crop. The land was unsuitable 
 for sheep, and it was thought that the turnips were inferior in 
 feeding quality. There would of necessity be a want of 
 that skill in the selection and management of fatting 
 stock which could only be gathered by experience. With 
 indifferent returns in good seasons serious losses were the 
 only possible results in wet years, and small returns came with 
 great increase of expenditure. The green crop took all the dung 
 on the farm, and there was nothing to top-dress the thin grass with. 
 The natural grasses gradually disappeared, the clovers did not grow 
 well on a cold subsoil in a damp climate, and a deficiency of grass 
 seemed a too serious drawback ia a dairy district. Where leases 
 stood in the way, permission was gradually obtained from 
 estate managers to revert to the old mode of tillage, as the belief 
 was general in the necessity of doing so. The common practice 
 now on farms which consist entirely of heavy land is to grow a 
 small extent of potatoes for the farmer's household, a few 
 cabbages for the cows in autumn, and a, small extent of turnips, 
 principally for early winter. The green crop, of cotirse, is grown 
 in the year following the lea crop, and the rest of the land is 
 sown out with the second crop. The manure of the farm is 
 partly applied to the lea in the autumn before it is broken up 
 for oats, partly to the stubble for the next oat crop, and partly 
 to the young grass after the hay crop has been removed. The 
 lea is ploughed frpm five to six inches deep, and the stubble 
 
FARMING OF THE WEST AND SOUTH-WESTERN DISTRICTS. 79 
 
 land for the second crop about eight inches deep. A little top- 
 dressing is sometimes given with the seed for the second crop, 
 ^and the grass seed, ahout two bushels per acre of perennial rye- 
 grass, with a little alsike (Trifolium hybridum) and white clover, 
 is sown two weeks later. In the following winter the young 
 ■ryegrass is pastured with calves or sheep till the beginning of 
 April, but care is taken not to overstock it. The ryegrass is 
 allowed to grow in July until the seed is fully ripened, after 
 ■which the hay is reaped and harvested somewhat in the manner 
 of a crop of oats. 
 
 This mode of management does not involve a heavy annual 
 expenditure ; but it could not be carried on successfully except 
 on soils which would be fine wheat and clover land in a better 
 climate for corn. There is little difference ia the value of the 
 two successive crops, with the exception that the grain of the 
 second is rather .lighter than the first. The hay crop of the 
 third year is thrashed before harvest, and the hay is sold or 
 stacked for use on the farm. The weight of the thrashed hay is 
 considerably less than the weight of a similar crop of green cut 
 hay, and the value is from 10s. to 15s. per ton less in the 
 market. From 24 to 30 bushels per acre is regarded as a fair 
 produce of seed. This practice is followed over a great extent 
 of land which is rented at fully 40s. per acre, and in a district 
 which is almost entirely a dairy country. After the two crops 
 of oats, and one of hay, the larld is kept five or six years under 
 
 From two to three acres of grass may be required for each cow, 
 according to quality and condition of land. A few young cattle are 
 reared for keeping up the dairy stock and giving some scope for 
 selection. On many farms about one-third or one^fourth of the 
 calves are thus retained, and the rest are sold to the butcher. 
 This mode of management, which has become so prevalent 
 in the north of Ayrshire, would not do well in the south of that 
 county ;' and it would be ruinous on the weak and friable soils 
 which cover a great extent of Galloway and Dumfries. It may 
 not be very reasonable to attempt to gainsay the opinions of 
 intelligent men who are guided by experience; but doubt is 
 frequently expressed as to the propriety of ripening ryegrass for 
 seed , on land that is afterwards to be grazed four, five, or sis 
 
80 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGKICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 years. When full consideration is given to the superior staple 
 of the soil, the question may still arise whether the profit from 
 the seed is not more than coimterbalanced by the loss upon the 
 hay itself, and the weakening of the grass for subsequent years. 
 
 There is little land in the Cunningham district under permanent 
 grass. Farmers say that it is unsuitable for permanent grass, 
 but their opinion is not founded on experience, as their pastures 
 are broken up at an age when they are least profitable. After 
 lying six years a gradual improvement in value might be ex- 
 pected on strong fertile soils, and the improvement might be 
 quickened by top-dressings in a district which is not very far 
 away from large supplies of manure in Glasgow. It would be 
 a great advantage to the dairies to have part of the land under 
 rich old pasture. 
 
 There is also a large extent of dairy land in the high district 
 of Kyle, near Auchinleck and the Giunnocks- The altitude is 
 from 500 to 900 feet, and as a great part of the soil is thin and 
 cold, the growth of oats for a supply of winter provender is a 
 precarious business. "When thin land, on a " tUly " subsoil, is 
 cultivated at such a height, the fodder is the principal object, as 
 the grain is not a sure source of profit over an average of years. 
 In late seasons the com does not fill, and the fodder is spoiled 
 by rain in October. Another forage plant was therefore needed, 
 and the want seems to^ be supplied to a considerable extent by 
 the growth of Timothy grass (Phleum pratense) for hay. It is 
 well adapted for the district, as it stands severe weather, grows 
 luxuriantly on deep soft alluvial soils, and even thrives, under 
 good management, on cold subsoils with a thin surface. Intel- 
 ligent men, who have had experience in the growth of Timothy, 
 are of opinion that if it were turned fully to account the uplands 
 of Kyle would be considerable enhanced in value, as it might 
 be grown with profit on soils which are suitable for it in what 
 may be called a secondary degree. 
 
 Sandy or gravelly soils are not so suitable as retentive land 
 for Timothy grass, but heavy loams make fine Timothy meadows. 
 The land must be carefully prepared before it is laid out as 
 meadow. The preparation may be either by a weU-managed 
 green crop or bare fallow. Sometimes the seed is sown along 
 with oats, but more frequently the white crop is omitted. If 
 
FAHMING 05 THE WEST AND SOUTH-WESTERN DISTRICTS. 81 
 
 oats are taken, it is of importance that tlie land should not he 
 too rich at that stage, as the young grass is very tender, and sure 
 to be destroyed amongst grain that is too heavy to stand. It is 
 a safe plan to apply part of the manxire afterwards. In sowing 
 after green crop, and without an oat crop, it has been found a 
 good practice to plough the land at the beginning of winter, or 
 as soon as the green crop is removed. The soil which is to 
 form the seed-bed is thus exposed during the winter to the 
 mellowing influence of the atmosphere. In spring the level 
 surface is pulverised finely by the harrow, and well compressed 
 and smoothed by the roller. The seed is then sown broadcast at 
 the rate of 16 lbs. per acre. Two lbs. of alsike clover {Trifo- 
 Uum Jiyhridum), and two or three lbs. of rape seed are generally 
 sown with it. There is not niuch annoyance from annual weeds 
 on heavy upland soils, and the rape is little needed to keep them 
 down, but it gives a good bite for sheep towards the end of the 
 season. Nothing heavier than a very light " brush harrow" shoidd 
 be allowed to follow the sower, as little of the seed would 
 germinate if it were covered to a depth of one iach. • Even at. 
 half that depth a great deal of the seed would do no good. In 
 the meantime farmers have only a short experience to guide 
 them, but so far it points to sowing Timothy grass without an oat 
 crop as the better practice. As the meadow may lie unbroken 
 for eight or ten years, if it is kept rich with manure, it is of 
 more importance to get a regular cover of young grass than tO' 
 grow a crop of oats in a high coiantry. 
 
 Amongst the ujflahds of Kyle there are stretches of thin, dark- 
 coloured, mossy soil, resting on damp, retentive till. Such land 
 does not yield much either under pasture or the ordinary course 
 of cropping; but in some instances good returns have been 
 obtaiaed from it as meadow land. Fields of that description, 
 which had been pastured for a number of years, have been turned 
 to good accouiit in the following manner. The land had been 
 in ridges of about sixteen feet wide, and rising a little towards 
 the centre. A drain two feet deep was made in each fxirrow, at 
 a cost, when the work was done, of fully £6 per acre. A crop 
 of oats was then taken, and if the old grass roots were not easily 
 destroyed a second oat crop followed. When the crop of grain 
 was removed the land was immediately ploughed with a very 
 
82 PKESENT STATE OF THE AGBICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 thin furrow, if the weather in autumn was favourable. The thin 
 furrow was afterwards broken well with the harrow, and the 
 ground ploughed again deeply enough to cover the pulverised 
 surface with clean soil. It lay in that state during winter. 
 With favourable weather again in spring a moderate dressing of 
 farm-yard manure was spread carefully over the surface, and 
 ploughed in with a furrow so shallow as not to bring up the 
 roughness which had been turned down at the beginning of 
 winter. Oats were then sown, a,n^ after harrowing, the roller 
 was used to compress and smooth the surface. After this pre- 
 paration sixteen lbs. of Timothy and two of Alsike clover 
 seed were sown and left without additional harrowing. The 
 young grass was generally very weak in autumn and winter, but 
 '*■■ grew luxuriantly in the following summer, yielding, as a first 
 meadow crop, about 2^ or 3 tons of hay per acre. After the hay 
 was made a flock of small blackf aced lambs, at the rate of two for 
 each acre, was put upon the " aftermath " and allowed to remain 
 till the month of May. A top dressing of three cwt. of super- 
 phosphate and one cwt. nitrate of soda per acre was then applied, 
 and the profit from grazing the lambs nearly paid for the 
 manure. The practice was continued year after year of putting 
 on lambs in autumn, and top-dressing with superphosphate and 
 nitrate of soda in May. The pasturing in spring did not lessen 
 materially the amount of hay. Satisfactory results were thus 
 obtained. The crop of hay generally averaged 1^ ton per acre 
 for six or eight years, and then failure of the Timothy made 
 renewal advisable. Those trials have turned out well, but the 
 practice should still be regarded as experimental. 
 
 When the weather does not permit the preparation of the 
 land for the sowing of oats along with the Timothy the alterna- 
 live is a summer fallow. If the land is got into proper tilth for 
 the seed at midsummer a little rape is sown with the Timothy, 
 but later than July the rape does little good, and the young 
 grass, not very strong, is better without stock in winter in a 
 rainy climate. In changeable weather, after sowing late in 
 summer, the grass sometimes disappears in the course of the 
 first ^vinter, and grows again rapidly on the occurrence of sum- 
 mer heat.' If it is too thin in spring, a quantity of seed may be 
 sown at the middle of April, and on moderately firm land it 
 
FARMING OF THE WEST AND SOUTH-WESTERN DISTRICTS. 83 
 
 will generally come away well without any harrowing. The 
 greatest trouUe is experienced with loose, mossy land, which 
 has a tendency to throw out superficially rooted plants in 
 winter. When that takes place rolling and re-sowing is the 
 remedy. The Cambridge roller, with its concentric riags, would 
 be a more useful compressor than the common roUer in preparing 
 the land for Timothy seed. 
 
 The middle of May is found to be early enough for the appli- 
 cation of top-dressings of a stimulating nature in a late climate. 
 If the growth begins too soon, the young hay may be damaged 
 by frost so much as not to recover during the season. 
 
 Timothy has been grown to some extent on land of a high 
 acreable value in the middle districts, and has proved remunera- 
 tive, with good management, especially on soft alluvial soils. 
 On most of the farms where it is grown, both in the uplands of 
 Kyle and in the dairy district of Cunningham, the practice is to 
 top-dress with dung every second or third year. Heavy cuttings 
 are thus obtained, and renewal of the plant is not required for 
 many years. As a forage plant it has,- in a moist climate, the 
 advantage of being iirmer at the time of cutting, and more easily 
 made into hay than ryegrass,, and it is not less valuable as 
 regards nutritive quality. 
 
 There is no great extent of land in the south-west of Scotland 
 laid down as irrigated meadow, although the undulating nature 
 of the country and the numerous rUls which trickle over it 
 seem to offer facilities for that mode of raising hay. Farmers • 
 say that little good is got from irrigating with pure water in 
 ordinary seasons, but decided advantage is obtained when liquid 
 manure from the farm-steading is carried over the land with it. 
 Increased attention is now paid in Ayrshire and Dumfriesshire 
 to natural meadows. Their produce is of great value for dairy 
 stocks in winter. With occasional dressings of farm-yard 
 manure, heavier crops and finer hay are obtained than by taking 
 away constantly from the land without giving anythiag back ; 
 and the natural meadow has this advantage that it does not need 
 renewal. 
 
 Liquid manuring, by means of tanks at the farm-steadings, iron 
 pipes extending to the fields, and steam-power to force and distri- 
 bute the liquid, was attempted on a large scale in Ayrshire about 
 
84 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGKIOULTUBE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 thirty years ago. The plan was skilfully worked out, and large 
 crops of grain, turnips, and Italian ryegrass were grown. Those 
 farms where the system was in operation attracted visitors, from 
 all parts of the country, and even from the Continent. Similar 
 works soon followed in different parts of England, and farmers 
 had to submit to admonitions from enthusiasts as to their want 
 of spirit in heing slow to follow'the example. M. Lavergne spoke 
 of Cunning Park farm as " the wonder of the United Kingdom," 
 but, like MyremiU farm, it did not pay. After persevering 
 attempts for eight years the works were discontinued. Irrigation 
 with liquid manure was tried a few years later on several farms 
 on the shore of Carrick. At Legg the steam power was saved, 
 as sufficient pressure was obtained by gravitation. The work 
 was carried on there in the most careful, skilful, and economical 
 manner, but it has been discontinued within the last two years. 
 The attendant exj)ense has been proved to exceed the advantages 
 in the most favourable circumstances, 
 
 A large extent of the young grass in Galloway is pastured, 
 instead of being allowed to grow into a crop of hay. light land, 
 especially, is improved by this practice ; and the situation of the 
 Galloway comities, at a distance from large centres of population, 
 lessens the inducement to produce hay for the market. Very 
 little hay-seed is raised there. In ordinary circumstances, the 
 farmer merely seeks to provide a sufficiency of fodder for the 
 winter. A good deal more of the ryegrass is made into hay in. 
 Dumfriesshire, and considerable quantities of seed are ripened 
 in parts of that county. With pasture enhanced m value by the 
 improvement and skilful management of stock, there is stiU 
 greater reason to question the propriety of ripening ryegrass on 
 the light land of Dumfries than on the stronger soils of north 
 Ayrshire. But the ripening of seed-hay is carried on extensively 
 on a considerable part of the comparatively light lands of 
 Carrick, as well as on the tenacious soils near Kilmarnock. It is 
 little seen, however, on the best managed farms of the lower dis- 
 tricts of Ayrshire. On farms under a four-years' course, green 
 cut hay is taken, and it is also mown, though not so extensively, 
 on well-managed land in the middle districts, under rotations of 
 five or six years. The dense populations and the busy trade of 
 Glasgow and the neighbouring towns reqtiire many horses and 
 
FAKinNG OF THE WEST Am> SOUTH-WESTERN DISTRICTS. 85 
 
 nmnerous dairies, whicli cause a contimial demand for hay ; and 
 of course the aTrerage price must be high enough, in relation to 
 other products of the farm, to make the raising of hay profitable, 
 or else the supply would faU away. 
 
 Most of the hay, whether green cut or ripened, is mown with 
 light machines, which do the work well. They are unfitted for 
 some of the broken land of Galloway, where the protruding rocks 
 render the arable land so patchy and irregular as to make its 
 cultivation a marvel to the occupants of easily-managed fields. 
 And the raking, as well as the mowing, is generally done by 
 horse power. The saving of labour is not the only advantage 
 which is derived, from the mowing-machine and the horse-rake. 
 In a fickle climate the work can be done far more rapidly when 
 favourable opportunities occur, and the hay is thus got up in 
 better condition. The manual labour on the farm is lightened, 
 and there is less occasion for long hours of toil in a changeable 
 season. 
 
 The methodical practices of a drier and steadier climate are 
 inapplicable in the west of Scotland. A measure of time cannot 
 be given for the work of haymaking. The object is to get the 
 Lay into cocks, and afterwards into ricks on the land, as speedily 
 as possible without risk of heating. 
 
 Dumfriesshire has given a good example, by adopting an 
 improvement which seems to be of importance. A great number 
 of sheds for hay have been erected in different parts of the 
 county, and they have gradually come into use for the storage of 
 com crops. They are built very cheaply. The pillars are of 
 timber, generally of home growth, and the roof is. slated. They 
 are usually made 12 feet high, and about 18 feet wide, the 
 length being regulated by the requirements of the farm. The 
 cost of the erections is about £2 for each ton of hay which they 
 are capable of holding. Less progress has been made with these 
 buildings in A3T:shire, but farmers are giving attention to them. 
 They are made wider in Ajn^shire than in Dumfries. 
 
 Farmers who have had experience of the sheds express no 
 doubt that advantage is derived from them. They can cart their 
 hay from the field instead of putting it into tramp ricks, and it 
 keeps well with the current of air which goes through the shed. 
 There is no thatching or roping of stacks, which is a considerable 
 
86 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 saving of labour and material ; the hay is secure from rain as 
 soon as it is imder the roof, and there is no damage by exposure 
 when it is taken down for use in winter. It is built up in 
 sections, of whatever width is found most suitable. The corn is 
 built up in the same manner, and the saving of labour in the 
 busy time of the corn harvest is a matter of importance. In- 
 stead of the best men of the farm being employed in building 
 and keeping or dressing the stacks, they can fork and send in 
 the grain actively from the fields, and women or youths can 
 build up the sheaves in the sheds, and the grain is at once safe 
 at a period of the season when the rainfall ia the west is some- 
 times very heavy. 
 
 The greater part of the best pasture id the south-west of Scot- 
 land is stocked with cows. Dairy farming and the cultivation 
 of crops are carried on together. The cattle known as the Ayr- 
 shire breed are almost the only variety in use for dairy farms. 
 They were formed in the course of last century by skilful or 
 fortvmate crossing, and their value as milk stock is now 
 generally recognised throughout the country. They are docile and 
 moderately hardy; they do pretty well on middling or even 
 inferior pasture ; they give a large produce of milk ia proportion 
 to the food which they consume ; and they are not difficult to 
 fatten for the butcher. 
 
 The Ayrshire stock found the way to a number of farms in 
 Galloway and Dumfries ia the early part of this century. For a 
 long time they were almost entirely in the hands of Ayrshire men, 
 who went southward for farms, and generally entered upon land at 
 increased rent. The success of the dairies carried on by these ad- 
 venturous men, and the rent-producing qualities of Ayrshire cows, 
 began to be admitted at times when prejudices were strong 
 amongst the rural population ia all parts of the country. In recent 
 times Ayrshires have risen rapidly in favour, and have become 
 the principal stock in the lower parts of Wigtownshire and the 
 best districts of Kirkcudbright. In the east of the Stewartry the 
 native polled breed, or Galloway cattle, are more generally found, 
 especially on inferior farms. The Ayrshires have likewise be- 
 come numerous in Dumfriesshire, especially in the upper parts 
 of Nithsdale and Aimandale. The dairies are found at much 
 higher altitudes in Dumfries than in Galloway — some of them 
 
FAEMING OF THE WEST AND SOUTH-WESTERN DISTKIOTS. 87 
 
 are at heights of seven or eight hundred feet, and little of the 
 Galloway land is adapted for dairy stock at such altitudes. 
 
 In Ayrshire the native hi'eed is almost the only variety that 
 is seen, with the exception of shorthorn crosses for fattening, a 
 few of which are bred in the county, hut most of them are 
 brought from Ireland or England. 
 
 The number of cows in Ayrshire varies a little from year to 
 year. It is generally about 45,000. In Dumfriesshire there 
 are nearly 17,000 ; in Kirkcudbright, upwards of 12,000 ; and in 
 Wigtownshire, nearly 20,000. Of late years the numbers have 
 increased more in Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbright than in the 
 other two counties. This increase may be partly attributable to 
 enhancement in value of produce arising from recent improve- 
 ments in cheese-making. 
 
 There is a great difference as regards the size of the dairies 
 in the different south-western counties. They vary much in 
 Dumfriesshire. In Ayrshire the dairies are generally small 
 throughout the cheese-making districts. The number of cows in 
 probably more than one-half of the dairies does not exceed 
 twenty. The smaller dairies in Galloway would be thought 
 large in Ayrshire. Many of the Wigtownshire dairies have from 
 eighty to one hundred cows. A herd of less than forty is 
 regarded as more expensive to manage in proportion to the 
 number. 
 
 A wonderful change has taken place within a short time in the 
 character and market value of Scotch cheese. Only a quarter of 
 a century ago the whole was classed as Dunlop cheese. A few 
 attempts had been made from time to time to imitate the 
 products of English dairies, and though partial success was 
 attained by individuals there was no general improvement that 
 could be noted for a long time. Then, aa now, there were 
 families of cheese-makers who had a higher reputation than their 
 neighbours. In the absence of anything which could deserve the 
 name of method their acute observation taught them a way to 
 make a comparatively good article, and country carriers took 
 their cheese in retail quantities to Edinburgh households. Any 
 merit attendant on success was due entirely to the farmer's wife 
 or daughter, as the women received no assistance from the other 
 sex. The work of the dairy was regarded as inconsistent with 
 
88 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 manly dignity ; though the farmer, no doubt, was gratified when 
 his cheese brought an extra price. 
 
 More than, fifty years have elapsed since the' Highland 
 Society directed attention to the inferiority of Scotch cheese, 
 and made attempts in the way of improvement. In 1824 a 
 prize of £10 was offered by the Society for the best imitation 
 of double Grloucester cheese made that year in Scotland; and 
 premiums of a similar kind were offered at their shows now and 
 again for thirty years. In 1854 the Ayrshire Agricultural Asso- 
 ciation acted with more effect by sending two of their members 
 to obtain information in England as to the best modes of cheese- 
 maMng. !N"ext year, a Somerset farmer and his wife were engaged 
 to make Cheddar cheese in Ayrshire. The new mode was at once 
 adopted, and it spread rapidly over the south-western counties. 
 
 The opinions of the cheese-dealers , form the safest guide as 
 to the degree of success which has attended the change of manu- 
 facture. The improvement was very obvious in a short time 
 amongst a large proportion of the Ayrshire dairies, and in 
 Cralloway it was more general and more complete. The Dunlop 
 cheese, or a hybrid under that name, is still made to some extent 
 in Ayrshire, and forms an imperfect standard for comparison. 
 With improvements in its manufacture, partly taken from the 
 Cheddar, the Dunlop has been enhanced in value by the move- 
 ment. There is probably no exaggeration in the statement that 
 the new mode has added ten shillings per cwt. to the value of 
 the cheese made in the south-western counties. This indicates 
 an inci-ement of more than £120,000 in the annual returns from 
 cheese dairies in the south-west of Scotland. 
 
 Provision merchants in Glasgow have almost ceased from 
 buying fine English Cheddar for wealthy and fastidious cus- 
 tomers, and the reason given is that they get as thoroughly fine 
 cheese at home. 
 
 The most of the Ayrshire dairies are in the hands of their 
 owners, and are managed by the wives and daughters of the 
 farmers. As a rule, the dairies are too small to afford suitable 
 employment to persons of skill who work for hire. The 
 farmer's wife generally makes the cheese, and her attention is 
 divided between that work and the cares of her household. 
 Where two farms are held by one tenant, however, it is not an 
 
FAEMING OF THE WEST AND SOUTH-WBSTEEN DISTEICTS. 89 
 
 tmusual practice to let a "bowing," as it is called, on the 
 second farm. The entry is commonly at Martinmas. The 
 supplies of food, the extent of pasture, and the amount of 
 accommodation are specified, and the rent for the year may he 
 fixed at from £9 to £15 per head, according to the quality of the 
 land, the advantages of locality, and other considerations. In 
 Galloway a larger proportion of the cows are let in " bowings." 
 The rents vary from £9 to £14 when fixed in money, or, when 
 paid in produce, 17 to 20 stones of cheese, of 24 lbs. weight, for 
 each cow, with a deduction of from one-fourth to one-fifth for 
 cows of the first year. But the practice of contracting 
 with a competent person for the management of the dairy 
 stock, and the manufacture of the cheese, is increasing in 
 favour. A skilful manager will get payment in money and 
 perquisites equal to thirty shillings per head of cows ; and if 
 his cheese fetches a high price at Kilmarnock show, or if the 
 amount of produce exceed a stated limit, he receives a sub- 
 stantial benefit. A very skilful cheese-maker naturally prefers 
 a "bowing" to the position of a manager, as he gets the extra 
 price which is readily given for superior quality of cheese ; and 
 in some instances the difference may amount to more than £1 
 per cow. On the other hand, the stipulations as to food furnish 
 powerful reasons to the farmer for retaining the dairy in his own 
 hands. In a fine season, with a luxuriant growth of grass, he 
 can put on more stock if his cows are not let ; and in a year of 
 deficient pasture he can take his own way as to supplies of 
 auxiliary food. 
 
 The winter feeding of cows varies on different farms. The 
 general inclination is to make the farm self-sustaining as far as 
 possible. In Galloway two tons of yellow turnips, or an equi- 
 valent in cabbages, if they are grown on the farm, may be given 
 from the time when the grass begins to fail tiU. Martinmas. 
 Eor winter and spring, five tons of yellow turnips or swedes, 
 and two or three bushels of beans ground into meal, is a 
 common allowance of auxiliary food for each cow. There is, 
 perhaps, nothing that is better than bran and bean meal for 
 improving the quality of mUk in spring. There is less, of 
 defined practice in Ayrshire where bowiags are not so numerous. 
 The following is an' outline of the management on a good 
 
90 PKESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUBE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 upland farm, where the farmer is skilful and attentive to his 
 business. The cows are put dry in December, most of them 
 early in the month. A few turnips are afterwards given, along 
 with oat straw, tUl the beginning of the spring quarter. BoUed 
 food, consistiug of turnips, chaff, chaffed hay, and a little bean 
 meal is given once a-day from Candlemas (February 2d) till 
 the time of calving, which begins about the end of March. 
 As natural meadow or Timothy hay is the principal kind of 
 fodder from the first of March, the cows do well without 
 cooked food in years when the hay is well saved, but with 
 increasing experience the inclination is to feed more liberally. 
 But feeding may easily be overdone in a dairy stock. "With 
 high feeding there is increased risk, and the cows do not last 
 so long. In a higher farm, where no turnips are grown, the 
 same dairy owner gives a little cake to his cows tiU the 
 time when cooked food and bean meal are used. He gives 
 a little bean meal to the whole of his cows for two or three 
 weeks after they are put upon the pasture. Some Ayrshire 
 farmers with poorer pastures give bean meal to their cows 
 during the whole grazing season. On low-country farms, where 
 turnips are plentiful, they form the principal addition to the 
 fodder, as in Dumfries and Galloway. Eyegrass is forced into 
 early growth with top-dressings to supplement the pasture, . 
 when that is needed in June, and vetches or clover come at a 
 later period of the season. 
 
 In part of north Ayrshire the dairies are within the distance 
 at which mOk is sent to Glasgow daily in the farmer's cart 
 Most of the farmers at considerable distances churn the whole 
 rank, and send the butter and butter TnilTr to Glasgow, or to its 
 teeming suburban populations. 
 
 Cows are highly fed in dairies which supply milk to towns. 
 Distillery refuse, and other descriptions of food which increase 
 the quantity of milk, are freely used, although forced secretion is 
 trying to the constitution of the cow. In butter dairies more 
 care is necessary in regulating the food, or else a good article 
 would not be produced in winter ; but there is stiU a temptation 
 to over-feed and wear out the stock. 
 
 It is a common practice in all the dairy counties to fatten the 
 cows that are drawn from the milk stock. In the ordinary run 
 
FARMING OF THE WEST AND SOUTH-WESTERN DISTRICTS. 91 
 
 of cheese dairies, about one ia seven is taken out annually, and 
 in dairies near towns the proportion is larger. In the north of 
 Ayrshire a number of farmers keep their-old cows from the bulls 
 at the usual season. They get a supply of milk from them in 
 winter when milk is valuable, and sell the cows for Glasgow 
 dairies when they are near their time in August or September. 
 
 A supply, of good young stock for keeping up the dairies is 
 a matter of importance. The rearing of dairy stock is 
 carried on extensively in Ayrshire. The number of calves 
 brought up annually throughout the county is nearly one to 
 three cows, and as comparatively few of them are reared for 
 fattening, there is a large surplus beyond the requirements at 
 home. It is different in Galloway and Dumfries, where cattle 
 are reared extensively for feeding. In the best dairy districts, 
 however, farmers like to , rear part of their stock. Galloway 
 draws annually to a large extent from Ayrshire, and the prices 
 of young stock have advanced in nearly the same ratio as the 
 prices of dairy produce. The young cattle are bought near the 
 end of the grazing season, when they are 2-| years old. They 
 calve about the end of the followiug month of AprU. Good 
 useful animals, such as would have cost £9 to £10 twenty years 
 ago, are worth £12 to £13 now. Great numbers of Ayrshire 
 cows and yoimg cattle go northward to fill up the stocks near 
 Glasgow, where the sale of milk and butter is more profitable 
 than rearing ; and there is a constant draught of the stock to 
 different parts of the coimtry. Purchasers appear occasionally 
 from the United States and the British colonies. The coarser 
 kinds of Ayrshire stock are gradually disappearing, and the 
 fine-boned, symmetrical, milky-looking animals, which not very 
 long ago were seldom seen except in fancy stocks, are now 
 diffused through the country. The finest gathering of Ayrshire 
 cattle, in the course of the year is at the Ayrshire Association's 
 Annual Meeting at Ayr at the end of April, where the first great 
 competition of the season may be seen. 
 
 The feeding of pigs is closely connected with Ayrshire cattle 
 and dairy farming. The four south-western counties have nearly 
 one-third of the whole pig stock in Scotland. Ayrshire 
 and Dumfriesshire have each more than 15,000, and the two 
 Galloway shires had 18,500. Dumfries has long had a great 
 
92 PRESENT STATE OP THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAOT). 
 
 stock of pigs. At a time previous to thorougli draining, the 
 Dumfriesshire farmers grew potatoes extensively on their sharp 
 land, and, as they were far from markets, part of the crop was 
 consumed by pigs. This practice is changing in consonance with 
 other alterations, but the piggery must remain of importance in 
 connection with the cheese dairies of the comity. The pig- 
 geries are constructed according to different plans, but all 
 recognise the pecuniary value of giving comfort to the animaL 
 Scarcely any feeder now gives whey alone to his pigs. The most 
 common addition to it is Indian com ground and boiled or 
 steeped. There is as much improvement in breeds of pigs as in 
 any other kind of farm stock in recent times. The long-faced, 
 big-boned, lanky animal of olden times has disappeared, and a 
 handsome, plump, quickly maturing successor is in his place. If 
 the piggery be well managed it should yield a payment of from 
 twenty to thirty shillings per cow for the whey, after deducting 
 the price of purchased food. 
 
 Though the Galloway breed of cattle has given place to the 
 Ayrshire on the greater number of the best arable farms in 
 Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbright, it is stiU of great importance 
 in some extensive straths along the moor-edges. The hardy 
 young stock are brought up on rough, low-rented land. They 
 are wintered in the more sheltered fields, with a little meadow 
 or hill hay to supplement the herbage. The black cattle are 
 still preferred for dairy stocks on a considerable number of good 
 low country farms in the Stewartry, where skilful management 
 has brought them to high value. In Dumfriesshire the Gallo- 
 ways are widely diffused throughout the county, and great 
 attention is paid on fine farms to improvement of the breed. In 
 the higher districts the most of the cattle are sold as two-year 
 olds to the low country graziers, or to dealers who send them to 
 England. 
 
 There is. not a great extent of rich old pasture in the south- 
 western counties, though a large area in Ayrshire is naturally 
 adapted for grass. The greater part is in parks near the 
 residences of country gentlemen, and on the whole it brings 
 higher annual returns to the proprietors than cultivated land of 
 similar quality. Middling fields are frequently stocked with 
 young cattle or sheep, but the best grass is eaten by fattening 
 
FAJIMING OF THE WEST AilD SOUTH-WESTEBN DISTEICTS. 93 
 
 cattle. Part of the stock is usually ■wiatered on the parks in 
 Galloway, but in Ayrsliire cattle are all under cover in winter. 
 
 A few occupants of good arable farms in Ayrshire and Gallo- 
 way, and a large number in Dumfriesshire, have feeding stocks 
 in preference to dairies. They purchase cattle fox their pastures, 
 and for fattening in winter. These differences of management are 
 generally attributable to difference in taste, or special aptitude, on 
 the part of the fanner. A man who is a good judge of stock, 
 and clever in buying or selling, may succeed well with a chang- 
 ing stock; while his neighbour, on a farm of similar character, 
 may find the dairy most profitable. The dairy gives the steadier 
 return ; and when it is managed with the degree of skill which 
 many of the Galloway and a considerable number of the Ayr- 
 shire cheese-makers have attained, the probabiUty is that it like- 
 , wise gives the larger money return on the average of years. A 
 combination of the two is followed by farmers who keep shorthorn 
 bulls. They rear the calves of the dairy cows, and sell the 
 young stock fat as two-year olds. A valuable cross is thus 
 obtained. It is reared at less cost than the pure shorthorn; but 
 there is a drawback upon the cows, as they frequently suffer from 
 the size of the calves. 
 
 The importance of caitle feeding as a branch of farm business 
 is increasing in Dumfries and Galloway. With liberal applica- 
 tions of manure large crops of turnips are grown in ordinary 
 seasons, and the extensive use of purchased feeding stuffs enables 
 the farmer to fatten a greater proportionate number of cattle. 
 The markets in. the southern counties are well supplied with 
 store cattle in October, and farmers buy according to there 
 wants. The greater value of well-bred cattle is more and more 
 recognised by the skilful purchaser ; and the comparatively high 
 prices given for good stock are the best encouragement that can 
 be offered to breeders who aim at improvement. 
 
 Most of the cattle are stall fed in Galloway and Ayrshire. A 
 few farmers feed in loose boxes, but in Dumfriesshire a greater 
 number do so. In both ways the feeding is skilfully managed. 
 
 The feedmg of sheep on the arable land is probably carried 
 on in Dumfries and Galloway with as much skill and success as 
 in any part of the country. The practice of preparing one-year- 
 old half-bred sheep for the butcher was greatly encouraged in 
 
94 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Annandale from fifteen to twenty years ago by tlie Lockerbie 
 Farmers' Club,, and the example of the Dumfriesshire farmers 
 has been widely followed. 
 
 Some finely managed flocks near Kirkcudbright are shorn 
 early in April and sent to the market, but in Wigtownshire they 
 take a few weeks longer. In Annandale the management is as 
 creditable as in former times, though it is not so remarkable on 
 account of the advance which has been made in other districts. 
 
 The " sheep walks " of the four south-western counties contain 
 upwards of one-and-a-half millions of acres. The hills of 
 Wigtownshire, and the moimtain range which lies in the north 
 of the Stewartry and the south of Ayrshire, are stocked with 
 the hardy blackfaced breed, which thrives on land where the 
 Cheviot would do little good. The wetter descriptions of " sheep 
 walks," which comprise most of the hill ground in other parts 
 of Ajrrshire, are also stocked with, blackfaced sheep, as well as 
 the highest of the Dumfriesshire hills. In Dumfries generally, 
 and in the drier and grassier parts of the Stewartry, the Cheviot 
 breed is preferred. In the hands of skilful breeders the Cheviot 
 sheep have been brought to a high degree of excellence in the 
 county of Dumfries. 
 
 Ifo class of farmers in the south-west has prospered so much 
 in recent times as good managers of large sheep walks. In 
 Mthsdale, which may be mentioned as a central district, they 
 axe men of good general education, as well as rural capitalists 
 and enterprising farmers. The largest farms are let at rents of 
 from £1000 to nearly £2000, and some of the more active and 
 successful tenants hold additional farms in the same neighbour- 
 hood, or in distant parts of the country. 
 
 On the worst class of sheep pasture in Galloway, and also on 
 some hills of a better kind, what is called " a running stock " 
 of blackfaced sheep is kept. The best of the male lambs are 
 retained and grazed as wedders tiU they are three years old, and 
 a selection of the ewe lambs is kept to fill up the void caused 
 by the annual draught of aged stock. The rest of the lambs 
 are sold. In the other description of stock, known distinctively 
 as " ewe stocks," suf&cient numbers of the best lambs are selected 
 for keeping up the breeding flocks, and the inferior ewe 
 and the whole of the wedder lambs are sent to the market. 
 
FAEMING OF THE "WEST AND SOUTH-WESTEEN DISTEIOTS. 95 
 
 The ewe stocks pay most rent, if the land is suitahle for 
 them. 
 
 The Cheviot stocks generally yield more return than the 
 blackfaced. But there is a high range of country, extending 
 from Carsphairn in Kirl^cudbright, across New Cumnock, Auchia- 
 leck, and Muirkirk, in Ayrshire, and stretching south-eastward 
 into Lanarkshire, where the blackfaced breed is little behind. 
 In that district rents have run up tiU they reach 9s. to 10s. 
 per sheep on good farms. That is as high as most of the 
 Cheviot rents in Mthsdale. The rents for Cheviots in Dum- 
 friesshire may be roughly stated as ranging between 8s. and 12s. 
 per sheep. Many of the farms, however, are of a mixed nature. 
 They have low-lying arable land, which is valuable in combination 
 with the hOl pastures, and gives an agreeable diversity of occu- 
 pation. 
 
 On the skirts of the Ayrsl^ire moorlands, and on some sheep 
 walks at a moderate elevation, cross lambs are raised with the 
 Leicester tup and the blackfaced ewe. The produce are called 
 " cross-bred " lambs, to distinguish them from the Leicester and 
 Cheviot produce, which are known as " half-bred." The cross- 
 bred hoggs are the more suitable of the two for the comparatively 
 heavy land of Ayrshire, and good results are obtained with them 
 as regards weight and early maturity. Where crossing is 
 fbllowed a ewe stock is expensive to uphold. Many of the ewes 
 fail soon, their wool becomes deficient in value, and compara- 
 tively large purchases of ewe lambs or hoggs are required. The 
 gi-eater part of the Ayrshire " cross-breds," however, are the pro- 
 duce of draught ewes, kept for a season on the lower land. On 
 some of the grassier straths Cheviot draught ewes are annually 
 put on to raise " half-bred" lambs, but the practice is not ex- 
 tensively followed.. 
 
 The entry to hill farms is at Whitsunday (May 15th), and the 
 stock is commonly taken over at a valuation from the out-going 
 tenant. If the land is too wet, the new tenant enters into con- 
 tracts for drying it by means of open drains. The cost of that 
 work is about 90s. per 100 linear poles of 5^ yards each. The 
 drains are made 22 to 24 inches wide at the top, and 6 to 8 
 inches at the bottom. The depth is 14 to 16 inches, if there be 
 soil enough to admit of going'so far down. On earthy land the 
 
96 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 drains may be made 12 to 18 yards apart ; on mossy lands the 
 distances may be 30 to 40 yards. If the moss be over-drained the 
 plants natural to it — draw-bent and moss-crop — are weakened 
 or destroyed, and they are of great value to the sheep in spring. 
 The drains should be thoroughly cleaned out every six or seven 
 years, and the cost of that work is about 70s. per 100 poles. The 
 drains appear to produce more effect after cleaning than at the 
 first opening. 
 
 A breeding stock, as valued and given to an in-coming tenant, 
 consists of ewes, the requisite number of tups, and the young 
 sheep which come in by rotation to keep np the stock. The 
 ewes, Cheviot or blackfaced, have their first lambs at two years 
 of age, and the number of ewes of the first year ranges from one- 
 third to one-fourth of the whole number. The proportion 
 depends upon the nature of the seasons and the healthiness of 
 the stock. The death-rate throughout the year varies greatly on 
 different farms and in different districts. 
 
 Only a few farmers can keep their hoggs at home, and it is 
 becoming more and more difficult and expensive to get good 
 " winter quarters " for them. They are commonly sent away at the 
 beginning of November, and brought back at the 1st of April. 
 
 The tups are put amongst the ewes about the 22d of Novem- 
 ber. There may be a tup for 40 or 50 on the hiU, accord- 
 ing to the nature of the " haft " and other circumstances ; and 
 on enclosed ground, with careful supervision, there may be 80 
 or 100 ewes to a valuable ram. A haft is the particular piece of 
 land to which a flock of ewes are confined. The shepherds have 
 to be very attentive and careful at that season. The tups are 
 removed at the end of the year, and lambing begins a day or two 
 after the middle of April. 
 
 A shepherd commonly tends from 20 to 30 scores of sheep, 
 according to the nature of the land, or its configuration as afford- 
 ing views of the flock. 
 
 A gratifying change has taken place within the last fourteen or 
 fifteen years in the condition of every class of workers on the farm. 
 They have better houses and higher wages. If a large number of 
 them are not more independent than their predecessors, the evil 
 arises from their own want of prudence. The frugal and thrifty 
 have comforts of a homely kind, and are able at the same time to 
 save a little for the future. 
 
FARMING OF THE WEST AND SOUTH- WESTERN DISTRICTS. 97, 
 
 The extensive mining andiron works in Ayrsliire, with their vast 
 collateral requirements, caused a great demand for men iu the 
 prosperous times a few years hack. Cottagers were induced to 
 change their old occupations by the prospect of higher weekly 
 wages. Between the demand for works withia the county, and 
 the constant draft of hands to Glasgow, the farmer began to 
 experience an unwonted difficulty in keeping up his staff. . A 
 steady rise of wages was the consequence, and in the course of 
 ten or twelve years the rates of payment were increased about 
 fifty per cent. This was a great boon to the better part of the 
 peasantry. The commercial gloom of the last two years has, 
 however, brought a reaction, but, as far as can be seeix, there 
 wUl not be a serious reduction. 
 
 Owing to tiie vicinity of Glasgow, the rural labourers have 
 always been paid a little better in Ayrshire than in Galloway. 
 With increased means of communication between the counties, 
 the difference is likely to be less in future. On a farm ia the 
 centre of Ayrshire, which may be taken as an illustration, three 
 married ploughmen are paid at present £36, £34, and £32 per 
 annum in money. In addition they each get 12 J cwt. of oat- 
 meal, 4 cwt. of potatoes, and a good cottage and garden. Their 
 coals are carted without charge, and little benefits fall to the lot- 
 of well-doing men which are not enumerated at the time of 
 engagemeiit.. The average of the three amounts to fully £48 per- 
 annum, including the cottage. The Dumfries rates are slightly 
 lower, and in Galloway the value of the cottar's whole re- 
 muneration may be £2 to £3 less than it is in the middle and. 
 north of Ayrshire. On the farm just mentioned the cottar's wife- 
 gets 2s. 6d, per day for a month in. harvest, when ordinary 
 female workers have to run the risk of broken time. Common 
 farm labourers get 18s. per week, and they provide houses for 
 themselves in the nearest village. The pay of female workers at 
 weeding, and other occupations apart from busy seasons, varies 
 from Is. 3d. to 2s. 6d. per day in different localities. The times 
 of higher wages are [during potato raising and the hay and corn 
 harvests. In Wigtownshire the time of turnip thianing is one of 
 the busiest seasons. The farmer's skill adds to his difficulty at 
 the instant ; for the weU prepared land, and the liberal applica- 
 tions of manure, send forward the young crop faster than it can 
 
 G 
 
"98 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKB Of SCOTLAND. 
 
 be singled. In the Galloway dairies, men and women have 
 more scope for skill, and better remuneration than they receive 
 in Ayrshire.. Dairymaids get £10 to £15 for half-yearly wages 
 in both counties, according to their qualifications, with board 
 in the fann-house ; while unskilled female servants get £6 to £8 
 in Galloway and £7 to £9 in Ayrshire. Shepherds are scarcely 
 so well paid as the cottars on arable farms ; but the value of 
 such an emolument as the keep of " a cow and her follower " de- 
 pends upon the thrift of the shepherd's wife, and may sometimes 
 exceed the ordinary calculation. 
 
 In providing cottages for workers on the fajm, a great deal has 
 been done in the south-west, and very much still remains to be 
 accomplished. Thorough draining, and the improvements which 
 followed it, led to imperative calls upon landlords for extension 
 of steadings. Little had been done during the long previous 
 period of agricultural depression; and when an improvement began 
 the farmer thought of accommodation for stock, and other out- 
 lays which were likely to produce rent, rather than the welfare 
 of the uncomplaining cottar. And in reaUty moral as well as 
 material well-being was involved in the consideration. The 
 old cottages, had ia many parts of Ayrshire, and worse in 
 Galloway, were not only feaal, damp, and unsightly, — they were 
 likewise so deficient in accommodation as not to supply the 
 ordinary requisites of decency for the household. In many 
 cases the abode of the labourer had only a single apartment for 
 parents and children. Long accustomed to the degradation 
 which such a state implies, the cottar did not aspire to anything 
 better, and it became almost a necessity that landlords should 
 mate sacrifices for the sake of future good. And little encourage- 
 ment was received from many of the men whose condition was 
 to be ameliorated. When more commodious dwellings were 
 erected the cottar was reluctant to provide little articles of 
 furniture for a room, or indeed to use any pait of the house 
 except the kitchen. Ifotwithstandiug this want of appreciation, 
 enlightened proprietors carried on their projects of improvement. 
 On a number of large estates cottages were built with three 
 sleeping apartments. The hope was entertained that the rooms 
 might be gradually used, and ia cases of illness in a family the 
 advantage of an additional apartment Jwas evident. But that 
 
FARMING or THE WEST AND SOUTH-WESTEEN DISTRICTS. 99 
 
 'extent of accommodatioii was a costly anacliroiiisin, and the plan 
 was reduced on many estates. 
 
 The rise in the price of materials and labour has added about 
 40 per cent, to the |cost -within a few years, yet building is 
 ■carried on more or less actively by the landed proprietors of the 
 ■■south- west, according to the means at their command. The 
 •direct return for the outlay is small ; but a silent and persistent 
 :remedial agent has been put into operation to elevate a long- 
 iieglected class, and much good may be done before encouraging 
 'effects are visible. A comfortable home may help to counteract 
 the attractions of the public-house, and lead the cottar to over- 
 come habits which too often are barriers to improvement in his 
 humble sphere. 
 
 In days within the memory of old men it was not regarded 
 ;as a wonder when gentlemen took too much strong drink, and 
 in more recent times the farmer was not reluctant to spend a 
 market evening with a " drouthy crony." But those habits are 
 ■changed. At fairs and other meetings the farmer transacts his 
 business and returns home when his work is done. Of course 
 there are exceptions to this rule, and the regularity at some 
 market gatherings may be more noticeable than at others, but 
 in all there is a satisfactory advance in the way of sobriety. 
 And the change is working its way downward in lihe social 
 scale. It is reaching the peasant, and though the improvement 
 may be slow of growth it is not the less likely to endure. • 
 
 In the cost of Idbow the mechanical inventions of this 
 busy and ingenious age help to compensate the farmer for the 
 higher rate of payment. On a judiciously-managed Ayrshire 
 farm of 280 acres, the number of horses has been reduced 
 from four pairs to three, principally on account of improved 
 implements and machines, and the land is fuUy as well 
 cultivated. The farm is worked on a five years' course, 
 and the lahour costs about 40s. per acre, exclusive of keep 
 of horses and materials used by the blacksmith, joiner, and 
 saddler. That is a rise of nearly 50 per cent., or 13s. to 14s. 
 per acre, within the last twelve or fourteen years. Farmers 
 have likewise to reckon interest on a greatly increased capital, 
 and they have to meet additional risk in iofses, which have 
 well-nigh doubled in value in the course of a lease of nineteen 
 
100 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGEIC0LTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 years. One way and another an addition of more tlian 20s. per 
 acre must be raised from the soO. to make the farmer's pecuniary 
 position as good as it was fourteen years ago. That must be 
 sought from skUful management, liberal applications of manure, 
 and enhanced returns for the products of green crops and grass. 
 In the vicinity of large towns the high prices of hay and straw 
 have recently given important advantages to the occupants of 
 land under a four years' course. 
 
 Notwithstanding aU the difficulties that have to be over- 
 come, the rent of land continues to increase on renewal of 
 leases in the south-west. On many of the best pastoral farms 
 there has been a rise of not less than from 50 to 70 
 per cent, since 1862. On such land the difference in. the 
 outlay for labour is of comparatively small importance. 
 The dairy improvements have made a very considerable con- 
 tribution to value over a great part of the country, and 
 particularly in Galloway. Parms that are well adapted for 
 the growth of green crops have decidedly an upward tendency, 
 and in some parts of Ayrshire they have a special value for the 
 production of carrots and early potatoes. The smallest rise is 
 on strong clay land iinder cultivation. The rents of heavy 
 aUuvial soils in parts of Wigtownshire are almost stationary, as 
 the cost of labour goes far to balance the advantages of modern 
 management ; but on the clay lands of Ayrshire there are few 
 renewals without addition to rent. With a lengthened rotation 
 on some of the heavy land, grass is relatively of more importance 
 than in former years. 
 
 The highest rents in the south-western counties are paid for 
 fine early land in Ayrshire. In West Ejlbride £5 per acre has 
 been lately reached in letting small holdings, although the 
 distance from Glasgow by railway is thirty-seven miles. That 
 is exceptionably high, however, for the best locality. The rent 
 of a few farms in the neighbourhood of Ayr is near to £4, and 
 some of the land in the vicinity of Girvan is stiU more valuable 
 but there is not a large extent in the four counties worth £3 
 per acre of yearly rent. A great deal of useful land in Dumfries 
 and Galloway is rented at from 30s. to 40s., and for inferior land 
 the downward scale extends until the rent of a sheep-walk is 
 reached. 
 
FAKMING OF THE WEST AND SOUTH-WESTERN DISTSICTS. 101 
 
 The Valuation EoUs give an indication of the change which 
 has taken place in the value of land. In comparing present 
 figures with the rents fourteen years back, we find a great 
 advance in the south-west. Ayrshire, with a large proportion 
 of heavy arahle land, shows the least difference ; and Dumfries- 
 shire, with its extensive area of good pasture, has the greatest 
 rise. In the Stewartry and Wigtownshire the advance is nearly 
 as great as in Dunifries. Separating the lands in the Valuation 
 EoU from houses, minerals, and railways, we find that the 
 advance upon the annual rent of the land, in foiurteen years, is 
 eq^ual to 21^ per cent, in Dumfriesshire, and nearly 15 per 
 cent, in Ayrshire. The rise in the annual value of houses and 
 lands together, within the same time, is 27^ per cent, in the 
 Stewartry, and 25^ per cent, in Wigtown. Allowing for the 
 difierence made by including houses, the_ rise is probably nearly 
 26 and 24 per cent, respectively, in the Stewartry and in Wig- 
 townshire. 
 
 A considerable part of the increase of rent, especially on 
 arable land, is attributable to' improvements. On some large 
 estates the average outlay by the proprietors over a period of 
 thirty years has been equal to one-fifth of the gross rent ; but part 
 of it would be required to uphold the steadings. There is also 
 a gradual improvement in value arising from good management 
 by tenants. Apart from thorough draining — which is not 
 commonly a tenant's work — the raising of stones, the deepen- 
 ing of the soil by thorough ctdtivation, and the enrichment of it 
 by the free use of manures, add materially to the value of a 
 farm during a lease. In favourable circumstances large returns 
 have been got by landlords for outlays on permanent improve- 
 ments ; but, on the whole, very high rates of interest have not 
 been obtained for the money expended. On this point it is not 
 easy to make even an approximate estimate, on account of the 
 impossibility of separating the returns for improvements from 
 what would have been the natural increase of value on the 
 unimproved land. « 
 
THE FARMING OF THE CENTEAL AND NOKTH-WESTEKN" 
 DISTEICTS. 
 
 The northern Highlands of Scotland may he held to extend from 
 the Firth of Clyde in the south to the Pentland Firth in the 
 north, a distance of ahont 250 milea in length, and varying in 
 breadth from 30 to 60 nules. This part of Scotland is by far 
 the most sterile, not one six-hundredth part being fit for culti- 
 vation. Properly speaking, it constitutes one enormous mass of 
 rock, the surface of which frequently extends in narrow valleys, 
 limited plains, lakes, bogs, and morasses, but is more generally 
 covered with rock many hundreds of feet above the general level 
 of the plains, and there are numerous summits upwards of 300O 
 feet above sea-level, and several peaks upwards of 4000 feet in 
 height,— Ben Ifevis, the highest, being about 4370 feet. The 
 northern and western boundaries of this part of Scotland are 
 generally abrupt declivities upon the sea-coast. At some parts 
 the rocks are all but perpendicular to a height of many hundreds 
 of feet, and one would almost suppose them to be actually over- 
 hanging the sea. 
 
 The climate along the whole west coast of Scotland is uni- 
 formly mild, though decidedly more moist than is agreeable, this 
 arising from its geographical position, its extreme mildness being 
 accounted for by the influence of the Gulf Stream on the Atlantic 
 Ocean, by which it is bounded. The population is scanty, and, 
 exclusive of towns and villages, may be taken as not over two 
 to the square mile. 
 
 The whole of this range is of a pastoral character, and, with 
 the exception of a few deer forests, the whole will be found fully 
 stocked with sheep or cattle of the breeds suitable to the different 
 elevations and varieties of herbage. Although the climate along 
 the whole west coast is mUd, further inland, however, it is most 
 severe, such as in the heights of Badenoch and other parts of the 
 
FAEMING OF THE GENTRAL AHD NORTH-WESTEKN DISTEICTS. 103" 
 
 Orampians, -where les3 or more snow may be seen perpetually, 
 and where nothing^ but the hardiest breeds of sheep can exist in 
 the form of stock. 
 
 There is also within the limits of these districts much well- 
 cultiTated arable land and numerous^ well-built farm steadings, 
 and in no part of the kingdom' is it more important to have root 
 and grass crops abundantly produced. There is perhaps no class 
 of farming in Scotland that will at the present time give the sama 
 return of profits as that derived from Highland sheep farming ; 
 but. it is impossible to take full advantage of the pasturage of 
 these high-lying hills and glens in summer without keeping a 
 larger stock than can possibly be maintained from the same 
 source in winter, and it is therefore absolutely necessary that 
 roots and low-ground pasture be provided for the younger and 
 weaker classes of sheep during the severity of winter, not only 
 to maintain the strength and vigour of the stock to be kept and 
 bred from, but also to lighten the stock remaining on the hills, 
 so as to prevent death or deterioration from the scarcity of food 
 that otherwise would prevail. The necessity for roots, and hay, 
 and low-ground pasture is therefore being more felt year by year. 
 
 Increased competition for sheep farms has of late years caused a 
 corresponding rise in rents, and land is now stocked up to the 
 last sheep it will carry, and many hundreds of thousands of 
 young sheep are regularly sent off the farms on which they 
 were bred for the winter months to other places where roots and 
 sown grass pasture can be obtained. This entails always a con- 
 siderable expense. The carriage by railway or steamer — some- 
 times ioth — for distances varying from 50 to 150 miles out and 
 back, and the cost of pasturage, &c., for say five months — together 
 about 8s. 6d. per head for sheep under one year old, and in value 
 not over 20s. each — indicates the heavy cost in connection with 
 this one department of Highland sheep farming. 
 
 And this is by no means the only difficulty the sheep 
 farmers of this part of Scotland have to contend with. There 
 are many extensive tracts of beautiful gxazing land that are 
 positively unhealthy — that is, on which a large proportion of 
 the stock at certain seasons of the year is lost by death, and that 
 from causes which are most difficult to understand. Various 
 means have been used to prevent as far as possible this loss, such 
 
104 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUBE OF SCOTLAND, 
 
 fis surface drainage, removing of young sheep to low pasturage in 
 autumn, and a change of feeding-ground for older sheep in spring. 
 
 There is also a want of fences, particularly on the boundary 
 lines of farms, so as to prevent straying," and to afford more quiet 
 to the stock. There is too often considerable loss on high farms 
 by sheep falling over rocks during snow storms, and at times 
 there are losses by stock being " drifted " up in snow. 
 
 Fortunately, infectious diseases are almost unknown in purely 
 hill stocks, though great watchfulness is needed to prevent 
 "scab" (JDermatodectes ovis), one of the most ruinous diseases 
 hill sheep are subject to. To prevent this disease, it is abso- 
 lutely necessary to have all hill sheep " dressed " at least once 
 every year; and the great prevailing practice throughout the 
 Highlands of Scotland is to smear every sheep in autumn — 
 say October — with a mixture of tar and grease, commonly Ameri- 
 can tar and butter melted, and mixed together in equal parts. 
 The mode of applying this salve is very laborious and altogether 
 expensive — not less than one shilling per sheep. This dressing 
 is not -only a thorough preservative from " scab " (Bermatodectes 
 ovis) and " ticks " {Melaphagus), but affords great protection from 
 the effects of the storms of winter, and on high-lying farms this 
 mode of dressing is to-day quite as much in practice as it was 
 thirty years ago. Various " dips" are also in use, and these are 
 quite as effectual, if properly applied, for the prevention of scab 
 and ticks, on stock kept on low-lying farms, but on high farms, 
 and where pasture is scarce and winter severe, no dressing. is 
 equal to tar and butter. 
 
 Two distinct breeds of sheep only are kept on the mountain 
 grazings of the northern Highlands of Scotland, viz., the com- 
 paratively long woolled, spiral horned, "blackfaced" native 
 sheep of Scotland, and the shorter woolled though heavier sheep, 
 known as the " Cheviot." 
 
 Both breeds are remarkable for their hardiness and activity. 
 The first named breed is, however, more adapted for the high 
 and heath-clad hiUs of Argyllshire and Perthshire, as well as for 
 the higher ranges of Inverness-shire and Eoss-shire ; whilst the 
 Cheviot sheep, though not less hardy or active, are better suited 
 for the greener pastures of Sutherlandshire and the western 
 portion of Inverness-shire, as they do not feed so freely on the 
 
FARMING OF THE CENTEAL AND NOKTH-WESTEEN DISTEICTS. 105 
 
 purely heath-clad hillside, which the blackfaced actually prefer. 
 Both breeds have been greatly improved during the last twenty- 
 five years. 
 
 Cheviot sheep are excellent feeders, and are generally finished 
 for the butcher on turnips, with a small allowance of corn, cake, 
 and hay in winter, or on spwn-grass pasture in summer, giving 
 also corn and cake — with such feeding they will readily kill — 
 at 3^ to 4 years up to 90 lbs., and in some cases to upwaMs of 
 100 lbs. 
 
 The blackfaced native breed is a much more handsome and 
 stylish sheep than the Cheviot. He is also a grand producer of 
 mutton. It is true, the wool is much coarser in quality, but it 
 is longer in staple, and is always in as good demand as the 
 Cheviot,- being specially adapted for the manufacture of strong 
 heavy cloths, whilst the mutton is superior to that of any other 
 race of sheep, and invariably brings a higher price in the 
 market. 
 
 As a rule, the blackfaced will not kill up to the same weight 
 as the Cheviot; in three or four year old wedders, the difference 
 would be from 8 to 10 lbs. in favour of the Cheviot, and the 
 progress in fattening — if fed on roots and grain — would be slower 
 in the blackfaced than in the other, owing doubtless to the former 
 being more restless in partial confinement. The practice, how- 
 ever, of fattening blackfaced wedders, folded on roots in the field, 
 is regularly adopted throughout Scotland, and is found to pay 
 the feeder quite as well as when applied to any other breed of 
 sheep. A blackfaced wedder will clip about the same as a Cheviot, 
 whilst the ewe will be under a little; and as the price of Cheviot 
 wool is invariably higher, that breed has in this respect a de- 
 cided advantage over the blackfaced. 
 
 More real improvement has been effected in the blackfaced 
 sheep during the past twenty-five years than in the Cheviot. 
 Not only are the form and size of the sheep greatly improved, 
 but the quantity and quality of the wool has been nearly if not 
 wholly doubled. 
 
 Twenty-five to thirty years ago the fleece of a north country 
 blackfaced sheep more resembled that of a goat than the fleece of a 
 sheep of the present day, and this improvement has been effected, 
 without any crossing whatever, merely by the introduction of 
 
106 PKESENT STATE Ot THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAITD.. 
 
 south' country sheep of better form and greatef size, thus main- 
 taining the hreed in all its original rohustness and purity.. 
 
 Indeed there is no other breed of sheep we could possibly 
 draw upon for the improvement of the blackfaced, without de- 
 stroying the grandest characteristics of this noble breed, and no 
 attempt at such has ever been made.. 
 
 The number and value of sheep now occupying the pastures, 
 of our hiUs and glens are very great; in money value we believe 
 nearly equal to the absolute purchase price of the land they now 
 occupy if taken at the current rate of fifty years ago. On. 
 medium sized farms,, worked by, say three shepherds, assisted 
 by the tenant himself, it is no unusual thing to find the stock of 
 sheep not under £10,000 in value, whilst on the largest holdings 
 the value of sheep would be quite double that amount- 
 Sheep farmers, like arable farmers, have of late years begun to- 
 feel the want of hands when extra work such as shearing and 
 " smearing " has to be done, and a higher rate of wage has to b& 
 paid, with the risk also of much disappointment by rainy weather, 
 which so often prevails on the whole west coast of Scotland, and 
 during which neither shearing nor " smearing " can be done. 
 
 There is a universal call for additional wire fencing through- 
 out the whole district, particularly for' boundary fences, so as to 
 lessen the cost of herding and prevent the disturbance of stock, 
 by constant trespassing, as well as to prevent loss from straying 
 off the farm. Sub-division fences would also be of great benefit, 
 thus facilitating a proper division of the stock as well as a reser- 
 vation of the better and more sheltered pastures for bad weather 
 or for hay cutting. "With the present low rate of fencing wire, 
 and the, recent adoption of light lath " hangers " in place of about 
 five-sixths of the usual fixed standards, a good deal of fencing, 
 is being cheaply done in some of the better managed districts, 
 and we doubt not the beneficial results, will lead to stUl mors 
 being done. 
 
 The foregoing remarks apply generally to the whole north- 
 west of Scotland. The prevailing practices of the dififerent coun- 
 ties and sections of counties, with that of the principal islands, 
 require special notice. 
 
 The county of Argyll lies an the west coast of Scotland and 
 to the north of the Firth- of Clyde., Its greatest length is about 
 
FARMING OF THE CENTEAL AND NOBTH-WESTEEN DISTEICTS. 107 
 
 115 miles, and its greatest breadth about &6, Its area is about 
 3200, square miles, or rather more than two miUions of acres, 
 about one-seventh of which is under cultivation. The county 
 is very mountainous and highly picturesque. The north-east 
 portion, where it borders on the Grampians, is the most rugged ; 
 near the coast it is more level, though some of the mountains by 
 the sea rise to a great height,, not less than 2000 feet. There 
 are upwards of twenty-five islands within the county, but with 
 the exception of MuU., Jura,, and Islay, which, are about 30 
 miles, in length, all of them are small. The line of coast is 
 most irregular — sea lochs running far inland, and thus making 
 the coast-line of the county upwards of 600 miles in length. 
 
 Like, the whole of the. west coast, the climate is mild and 
 moist. There is, as already stated, a considerable extent of 
 arable land within the county, which is generally cultivated in 
 accordance with the five or six course rotation ; and in some 
 parts of the county, such as Cantyre, very heavy crops both of 
 grain and roots are grown, so high as 28 tons per acre of turnips, 
 8 tons of potatoes, and 10 qrs. of oats per acre. These would be 
 regarded as heavy crops on the best cultivated land in the king- 
 ,dom; the average for the county, however, is about 30 bushels 
 oats, 16 tons of turnips,, and 112 bushels potatoes, and 2 to 2|- 
 tons hay, per acre., , 
 
 The larger sized farms are generally held under leases of 
 eleven to nineteen years, " crofts," and smaller holdings from year 
 to year. The farm buildings are mostly inferior,, save those 
 recently erected, which are good and suitable. 
 
 Argyllshire, is the greatest caitle-hreedmg county in the High- 
 lands, and not only this, but the cattle bred are of the purest 
 and best description. The Ayrshire breed receives some atten- 
 tion, and will be met with of fair average quality ; but the pure 
 bred " kyloe," or what is known as the " West Highland " breed 
 of cattle, will be found in greater perfection in ArgyUshire than in 
 any other part of the kingdom, and large herds, both on the main- 
 land and in the , islands, are annually bred and reared to the age 
 of three and four years. In many parts of Argyll and in the islands 
 the animals are never housed, nor do they even in winter get arti- 
 ficial food, unless on occasions when very severe weather prevails. 
 
 There is no more handsome animal of the cattle tribe than a 
 
108 PKESENT STATE OF THE AGKICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 well bred " kyloe " ox at the age say of four years. By that time 
 he will be fairly developed, and his magnificent head and horns 
 will have acquired their best form. The now fashionable and 
 universally admired " Shorthorn " lacks the style and gay car- 
 riage of a well bred " kyloe," nor can the shorthorn surpass him in 
 the beauty and truthfulness of his lines, — the long level back, 
 the beautifully filled quarters, perfect thighs, flanks, and bosom 
 which cannot be excelled by any other breed of cattle. 
 
 It is a sight never to be forgotten to see a herd of pure brfed 
 "kyloe" bullocks rising from their lair on a frosty morning, stretch- 
 ing their long level backs, and then shaking the icicles (not the 
 dew) from their shaggy manes, and as the sun breaks forth, winding 
 their w&y to the higher and more exposed pastures, with their 
 long silky, coats, thick and mossy at the roots, waving in the 
 blast, and looking quite as if they defied all wind and weather. 
 
 The better class of these animals readily sell, at the age of 
 four years, off their native pastures, at prices varying from £18 
 to £24 a head. 
 
 Argyll and its several islands are particularly adapted for this 
 class of cattle, and they have been greatly improved of late 
 years. What makes them still more attractive is that they are 
 now bred in great variety of colour — ^black, red, dun, white, 
 cream-colour, and brindled. No two colours, however, ought to he 
 seen on the same animal. 
 
 On some parts of Argyllshire there are very superior Clydes- 
 dale horses, and also ponies, bred. The ponies and cobs bred in 
 the Island of Mull have long been famous, and for hardiness and 
 endurance in work cannot be surpassed. They sell, when " broke " 
 for harness, at very high prices. Often as high as eighty guineas 
 has been paid for a well-trained young cob. 
 
 Though large flocks of blackfaced sheep are kept in Argyllshire, 
 it is by no means a good sheep district, and the loss by death in 
 spring from paralysis and other ailments is always very heavy, 
 sometimes not under 10 per cent., whilst cattle are particularly 
 healthy. 
 
 Surface drainage of sheep-ground, and improved managemeint 
 generally, have of late years tended to lessen the death-rate and 
 to increase the size of the sheep and the growth of wool. The 
 gross annual rental of Argyllshire is about £450,000, of which 
 
FARMING OF THE CENTRAL AND NORTH-WESTERN DISTRICTS. 100 
 
 sum £30,000 is realised from shootings. The county is fairly- 
 supplied with roads, and the Caledonian and Crinan canals have 
 done much in hringing the several districts and the islands into 
 communication with the city of Glasgow and other towns. There 
 are very few public works of any kind in the county; still 
 labour is high, and poor-rates and other local rates are also very 
 high — ^not less than Is. 6d. per pound on tenants, and a like 
 sum on proprietors. 
 
 Of Perthshire, we shall only notice that portion which may be 
 regarded as chiefly pastoral, or, properly speaking, the highlands 
 of Perthshire. This, however, forms g[uite five-sixths of the 
 whole county. Unlike Argyll, Perthshire is very compact, 
 and surrounded entirely by neighbouring counties. It is perhaps 
 the most picturesque district in Scotland, and affords a greater 
 variety of surface soil and climate than any other county in the 
 kingdom. The most important river is the Tay, which drains 
 nearly the whole county. The highest points in the county are 
 Ben Lawers, 3984 feet above sea-level ; Ben More, 3835 feet ; 
 Ben Ledi, Ben Venu, near Loch Katrine, and others. 
 
 The soil in the mountain districts is light and sandy, but 
 along the banks of the Tay, the Earn, the Teith, and other 
 rivers the soil is very fertile, and splendid crops are grown. 
 
 Tayside has perhaps the finest potato land in the country, 
 rents varying from 20s. to 40s. per acre, and farms generally 
 held under leases. The high grazings proper are stocked with 
 blackfaced sheep of a superior class, and in the " straths " aad 
 lower grazings the West Highland, or " kyloe " breed of cattle, 
 are bred and reared in great perfection, though we should say 
 inferior to those of Argyllshire. No doubt some very superior 
 herds of this breed are to be found within the county. 
 
 The climate of Perthshire is severe, and the pastures, excepting 
 in the low grounds and valleys, are far less rich and luxuriant 
 than on the west coast generally. Sheep, however, are much 
 more healthy, and there is not one-tenth of the loss by death 
 which occurs on the west coast. The rent per head of sheep for 
 hni grazings is therefore higher than in Argyll or the west of 
 Inverness-shire ; that for Perth may be set down at about 53. 
 per head for blackfaced sheep. 
 
 Large numbers of the Ayrshire breed of cattle are kept, both 
 
110 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 for breeding and for dairy purposes, on tlie lower pastures of the 
 county. They are veiy carefully managed, and often superior 
 animals are exhibited ; but few horses or ponies are bred for 
 sale in the highlands of Perthshire. 
 
 There are few complaints of damage done by game in this part 
 of Perthshire, nor is there much complaint by tenants of high 
 poor-rates or other local rates ; but there are considerable com- 
 plaints of the want of additional cottage accommodation. There 
 are few public works of any kind. The whole county is well 
 supplied with roads, and no part of the Highlands has more 
 railway accommodation. The gross annual rental of the county 
 is upwards of £950,000. 
 
 The counties of Inverness, Eoss, and Cromarty can be con- 
 sidered as one district, the general rural economy throughout 
 these being so much the same. Inverness is the largest county 
 in Seotland, including the Western Islands, which belong to it. 
 Its area is 2,700,000 acres. The area of Eoss and Cromarty, 
 including Lewes, is about 2,000,000. The whole of this district 
 is extremely mountainous. The remarkable groups of conical 
 hills, such as the Cuchullins, in Skye, and those of Glenshiel 
 and Appleoross, in Eoss-shire, are far grander than anything else 
 of the kind in any part of the kingdom. 
 
 There are a great number of beautiful fresh-WBCter lochs in 
 Inverness-shire, the principal of which are Loch Ness, Loch 
 Lochie, Loch Aikaig, Loch Morar, Loch Laggan, &c. Those of 
 Eoss-shire are Loch Maree and Loch Tannich, with many others 
 of minor importance. The principal rivers are the Wess, the 
 Spey, the Lochy, and the Beauly, all of which are very valuable 
 salmon rivers. There are no large rivers in Eoss and Cromarty, 
 the Carron and the Conon being the principal, on which there is 
 fair good fishing. 
 
 The rocks of Inverness-shire are chiefly of the primary class. 
 Gneiss and mica schist are the most numerous, though huge 
 masses of granite and trap are met with in the Grampians. 
 Limestone has been found, and sandstone is abundant. Veins of 
 lead and silver have been discovered ; also iron. 
 
 The arable land of Inverness, Eoss, and Cromatty is almost 
 entirely in the extreme eastern division of each county, and 
 forms but a very smaU portion of the whole. Both arable and 
 grazing farms are held under leases. 
 
¥AEMING OE THE CENTEAL AM) NOKTH-WESTEEN DISTEICTS. Ill 
 
 The great bulk of this extensive district is under sheep, — '"we 
 should say about two-thirds Cheviot and one-third blackfaced. 
 The whole western portion, including the island of Skye and 
 the Hebrides, is almost entirely stocked with Cheviots. More 
 inland, including the whole of the Monaghlea mountains of 
 Inverness-shire, and the central high land of Eoss-shire, the 
 blackfaced predominate. 
 
 Both breeds are thoroughly well managed, and the value of 
 either, on some of the larger sized farms, amounts to a very 
 great sum. There are individual tenants in the county of 
 Inverness paying a yearly rent for land they occupy of close on 
 £5000 ; this rent would fairly represent the value of their stock 
 to be not less than £60,000. 
 
 The expense connected with the management and out-winter- 
 ing of Highland sheep is enormous ; and before the whole can 
 he met, and any margin of profit left, the rent must be derived . 
 from the sales of wool alone. This result, however, has not 
 been realised, we fear, for some time past, owing to the pre- 
 valence of low prices for that article. 
 
 The central and higher districts suffer most from continued 
 snow storms, by which there is frequently heavy loss to the 
 flocks from starvation. The principal losses throughout the 
 western division, near the coast, are from paralysis, or " trem- 
 bling," as it is commonly termed. We have known a spring 
 loss of 700 ewes on one "mediuiii-sized farm in one year, which, 
 with the loss of lambs also, would represent a sum of not less 
 than £2000. Notwithstanding all these drawbacks, sheep 
 farmers as a rule are in very independent circumstances, and 
 many of them are men of large means. 
 
 The great market of the year for the sale of the hundreds of 
 thousands of sheep which are annually sent from the counties of 
 Inverness, Eoss, Sutherland, &c., is held in Inverness in July of 
 each year. 
 
 TMs market is peculiar, in so far as no stock whatever is 
 shown, the buyer depending entirely upon the integrity of the 
 seller, together with the character the stock is known to possess. 
 It ifi, too, a great source of pride to the sheep farmers of this part 
 of Scotland to be able, as they are, to say that no question in- 
 volving legal proceedings has ever yet arisen out of a misrepre- 
 
112 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUBE OF SCOTLAND, 
 
 sentation of stock sold at this market, ■which has been in ex- 
 istence since the commencement almost of this present century. 
 
 Wool used to be sold at this market in the same way as the 
 sheep, but it is now almost wholly consigned to agents, and dis^ 
 posed of at the periodical sales in Edinburgh, Glasgow, &c. 
 ' There is no more important question amongst sheep farmers 
 at the present time than how the heavy spring losses in sheep 
 can be prevented ; and we cannot help thinking that additional 
 fencing, and the complete enclosure of meadow land, so as to 
 have it preserved either for pasture in spring, or for hay-cutting 
 for spring use, shoiild be tried. 
 
 We also think that lambing ewes might without great diffi- 
 culty be kept in small " hirsels," and in severe and dry springs, 
 and as the lambing season draws nigh, get a moderate allowance 
 of " chaffed " hay and cake. This would no doubt entail covered 
 troughs and much labour, but a loss in money, such as we have 
 spoken of, if thus expended, would go far to prevent the like for 
 a number of years to follow. 
 
 Few — very few — cattle are kept on the mainland of the High- 
 lands of Inverness and Eoss, but a good mauy are kept in the 
 islands, and some of a very superior description ; they are of the 
 pure "kyloe" breed. The cattle are seldom housed, even in winter, 
 and little or no artificial food is supplied, unless to calves and 
 the younger classes. 
 
 There is a very large cottar population throughout the whole 
 west coast of Argyll, Inverness, and Eoss shires; also in the 
 islands. 
 
 The circumstances of this class are far from satisfactory, and 
 many attempts have been made for their amelioration, with, we 
 regret to say, little success. 
 
 The "croft" of twelve to fifteen acres is, we think, bad. It pre- 
 vents the occupier from going from home to find remunerative 
 employment, and it does not afford enough labour of itsel£ He 
 consequently hangs half idle at home in semi-starvation. When 
 near the coast, much might be, and often is done, at white fish- 
 ings ; but it is very precarious, and there is no class in more 
 utter poverty throughout the Highlands than the half -fishermen, 
 half-crofters. The small lot, with the mere cottage and potato 
 plot and hiU grazing for a cow, costing about £2 a year, is, we 
 
TAEMING OF THE CENTKAL AND NORTH-WESTEKN DISTEICTS. 113 
 
 think, much the hest arrangement. Then the head of the 
 family can go where remunerative labour may be had, and may 
 save at least 12s. per week while so employed. 
 
 A great deal of land formerly held by crofters and very small 
 farmers has been thrown into the large sheep grazings through- 
 out the Highlands, and much has been said and written con- 
 tlemnatory of this proceeding. 
 
 Those, however, who have been thus removed and who have 
 turned themselves to regular every-day labour, are now to be 
 found in ordinary comfort, their families being brought up to 
 real usefulness; whilst those who still cling to the bleak hill-side, 
 cidtivating land totally unsuited for the production of good grain, 
 •and exposed to moist and capricious seasons, are still in semi- 
 starvation and comparative barbarism, such as no ordinary work- 
 ing man in the agricultural districts of the country would for a 
 single day submit to. 
 
 Of late years this part of Scotland has been improved greatly 
 ty railway and steamboat communication. 
 
 Magnificent steamiers now ply twice a week each way in 
 summer, and once a week in winter, between Glasgow and 
 Stornoway and most of the islands, touching also many points of 
 the mainland. There are also steamers running daily between 
 Skye and Strome, in connection with the Skye branch of the 
 Highland Eailway. 
 
 The convenience of these for the conveyance of live stock to 
 •and from the low country, as well as for bringing in smearing 
 materials and other requisites connected with the great business 
 of sheep farming, cannot well be over-estimated, and will yet 
 lead to further improvement in the direction we have indicated. 
 The gross annual rental of Inverness-shire is about £400,000, 
 that for Eoss and Cromarty shires is about £283^000. 
 
 Deer forests are generally fenced so as to keep out sheep 
 occupying adjoining ground, andwhen- not fenced, arrangements 
 are being made for their being so. 
 
 Parochial, educational, and other local rates are not under Is. 
 per £ on tenants, and the same sum on proprietors. 
 
 The public roads throughout the whole district are the best 
 :n the kingdom. The Skye branch of the Highland Eailway is a 
 ?reafc -boon to the 'entire district. 
 
 IT 
 
114 PKESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 The county of Sutherland follows that of Eoss-shire, which 
 bounds it on the south. Its entire area is 1886 square miles, or 
 about 1,200,000 acres. 
 
 The general aspect of Sutherlandshire is wild and bleak and 
 extremely uninviting. The interior consists of a succession of 
 mountain ranges and extensive moors, broken up by numerous 
 straths and glens overhung at many points by bold and lofty peaks. 
 The alpine character of the whole is well maintained by the 
 numerous lakes that lie at the bases of its everlasting hills. 
 
 The western and northern districts of the county, along the 
 sea coast on to Cape Wrath, furnish numerous headlands, pro- 
 montories, and cliffs of the very wildest and boldest description. 
 These contrast greatly with the southern and eastern portions, 
 where many beautiful and even fertile valleys are to be seen. 
 
 There are several good arable farms along the coast on this 
 side of the county, which are managed in accordance with th? 
 most approved system of modern farming. Within the last ten 
 years the Duke of Sutherland has not only laid down a line of 
 railway many miles in length, opening up the best parts of the 
 county, but he has also carried out the most thorough and 
 gigantic reclamations of land that have ever been effected in a 
 like period of time, or on the same great scale, within the king- 
 dom. 
 
 We have already alluded to the desirableness of having 
 cultivated root and grass crops in the centre of a great sheep 
 district, and we have no doubt the Duke of Sutherland saw the 
 need of this when he undertook the great land improvements 
 he has already effected, and is still carrying out almost in the 
 centre of his immense sheep territory. 
 
 No account of the agriculture of Scotland would be at all 
 complete without a notice of this great undertaking, as well as 
 the details of how it has been done. 
 
 Operations were commenced some half a dozen years ago, near 
 the Duke's own line of railway, at a place called Shinnes. The 
 surface was comparatively green rough land, covered with scrub 
 or light brushwood, stones, heather, and bog; in short, such a sub- 
 ject as will be found in many other extensive tracts of the High- 
 lands. The works have been persevered in ever since, in the face 
 of many difficulties, until there are now over 2000 acres of 
 
FARMING OF THE CENTRAL AND NORTH-WESTERN DISTRICTS. 115 
 
 what was absolute waste turned into fertile fields, growing all 
 the varieties of crops cultivated throughout the county. 
 
 Handsome and complete homesteads have also been built, and 
 the landscape completely transformed and beautified. 
 
 Steam power was the great agent employed in the reclamation, 
 directed by the Duke's own genius, aided to some extent by 
 men of experience in minor operations of a like kind, as well as 
 by the inventors of the newest and most powerful implements 
 and engines suited for such. work. 
 
 No sooner was a section of the surface to be improved staked 
 off, than down went a couple of powerful engines, one at each 
 end, and a plough of enormous size and strength drawn to and 
 fro by these engines was kept going without any stoppage, and 
 right through all and every obstacle. The principal obstacles 
 were the huge undecayed roots of ancient trees, which lay 
 imbedded in wet peaty soil, of which there was a great deal. 
 
 The form of the coulter of the plough, which had to be ulti- 
 mately adopted, was a revolving cutting disc, which obviated 
 many difficulties that otherwise would have been all but insur- 
 mountable. This revolving coulter had the effect of raising the 
 " sock " of the plough over both roots and boulders, which were 
 speedily removed by an enormous subsoiler attached to, and 
 behind, the plough. This instrument has been designated the 
 " Duke's Toothpick," being an invention of his own, and shaped 
 like an enormous flat fish-hook. 
 
 The roots and boulders were no sooner passed over by the 
 plough, than they were seized upon and held by the great fangs 
 of this hook — the whole machinery generally behaving as if 
 nothing could impede it. At times, however, it was not so, and 
 if the " toothpick " actually failed, a huge chain was quickly and 
 thoroughly wound round root or stone, — signal again given, 
 when snort ! snort ! goes the powerful engine, and the labourers 
 make tracks to safe distances. The engine again snorts quicker 
 and quicker, — something must give way ! Volumes of smoke 
 rise, the engine shakes with its own fury, and at length the 
 reluctant root comes up with a tearing crash ; the workmen 
 again fall in, and on goes the work ! 
 
 Meanwhile other engines are at work dragging large self- 
 tilting iron sledges, which, when filled by the labourers, are 
 
116 PRESENT STATE 0¥ THE AGEICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 dragged to the line of an intended fence, or road, or site for 
 buildings, and there made to discharge their loads of stone, to be 
 used as required. 
 
 Under drains -were put in where .wanted, and when the land 
 was peaty, and the bottom at all soft, they were laid with tiles 
 placed on slabs of wood, so as to secure proper jointing. "When 
 the bottom was hard and suitable, and stone plentiful, they were 
 laid with stone, — ^the depth varying from 3 to 4 feet, and distance 
 apart from 18 to 24 feet. 
 
 The surface of the land being in this way cleared, then follows 
 'disintegration, effected by grubbers of immense size, and furnished 
 with revolving discs, worked at a different angle from the line 
 of draught. These sharp-edged discs no sooner got hold, or as it 
 were take a bite, of the great unbroken furrows, than they are 
 pulled from their own revolving direction into the line of draught, 
 and the bite or mouthful is at once thrown aside, leaving them 
 again ready for like action, and so on. Thus a tilth was soon 
 formed, lime and other manures applied, followed by seeds of 
 grain or other crops. Limestone of excellent quality was found 
 near at hand. Kilns were erected, and the necessary lime shells 
 were thus most conveniently procured. 
 
 Heavy crops of grain— even wheat — have already been raised, 
 ^nd splendid root crops, for which both soil and climate are 
 highly suitable. There is thus every promise that the object 
 ■the Duke had in view will be attained, viz., provision, so far as 
 possible, for winter keep, for the large number of sheep which 
 hitherto have had to be sent out of the county at great expense. 
 
 Now, not only has field been added to field, as above 
 described, but handsome farm-steadings have been erected, to 
 which has been allotted the necessary extent of land to make 
 the whole convenient and really useful. 
 
 No sooner had the noble Duke completed his vast improve- 
 ments at Shinnes, than he commenced operations on another part 
 of his great domains — at Kildonan, about 30 miles from Shinnes. 
 
 Hiere about 600 acres are already ploughed, and the work 
 goes on with every promise of success. 
 
 Much of the land thus reclaimed is peat, of Very considerable 
 depth, and the advantage of ^breaking it up by steam power, in 
 the manned practised by the Duke of Sutherland, was most 
 
FAKMING OF THE CENTRAL AND NOKTH-WESTEBN DISTRICTS. 117 
 
 manifest, as it would not have carried draught animals of the 
 strength and weight required for the several operations. 
 
 Of course it is out of the question to suppose any ordinary- 
 improver could adopt a siinilar practice to that we have de- 
 scribed, however successful it may have been ; but it is quite a, 
 question for public companies, and much may be learned from 
 what has been so boldly and so successfully done by the Duke 
 of Sutherland. 
 
 The sheep stock of the county is wholly Cheviots of high 
 class, invariably commanding the highest prices at the great 
 Inverness markets. 
 
 The farms are generally held by the best class of tenants, at 
 reasonable, if not moderate rents. 
 
 There is in this county a great want of meadow land, suitable 
 for hay cutting, and severe winters tell heavily on many stocks. 
 Additional fences are much needed, as they are throughout the 
 whole grazing districts of the Highlands. 
 
 The cottar population, in Sutherland does not djffe? much, if 
 any, in their habits or comforts from the same class in. other 
 parts of the Highlands already noticed. 
 
 Poor-rates, and education and other local Eates, are very high 
 on tenants in some paiishes, as high as 3s; per £>, which is all 
 but oppressive. 
 
 The rocks, of Sutherland are of great variety, but oliiefly 
 granite of various colours, gneiss, limestone, sandstone, oolite, 
 conglomerate, marble, and qu^artz. Coal is worked in tha Qolite, 
 near Helmsdale, on a limited scale. 
 
 The climate is very variable. Oa the south and east it is 
 mild and really salubrious ; in the centre and west heayy, and 
 continued rains prevail, and often high gales of wind. 
 
 The gross rental of the county is given at under £§0,000. Of 
 the 1,200,000 acres^ the Duke of Sutherland owns 1,176,454, 
 with, a rental of. about £60,000, 
 
 Caithness lies east, of Suthedaindshire, by which it is bounded 
 for about 50 miles ; it is otherwise surrounded by the sea. 
 
 ISo other county in, Scotland has undergone the same amount 
 of improvement during the last forty years-. From, a dreary, 
 undrained, bleak, inhospitable-looking waste it has been trans- 
 
118 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGRICULTURE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 formed, by the united action of landlords and tenants fuU. of 
 enterprise and spirit, into one of the best cultivated districts in 
 Scotland. 
 
 Most extensive and thorough drainage operations have been 
 carried out, — ^largely by loans from the Lands Improvement 
 Commissioners, — most substantial farm buildings have been 
 erected, vast tracts of land reclaimed, and now large and well 
 laid ofi' farms abound. 
 
 A superior class of shorthorn-cross cattle is generally bred, 
 and these cattle are in great demand throughout the central 
 districts of Scotland for feeding. 
 
 Some very good sheep farms are to be met with in the north- 
 west end of the county ; these are stocked with superior Cheviot 
 sheep, and throughout the county large numbers of " half-bred " 
 sheep are kept in great perfection, producing wool of greater 
 length and fineness than is produced from this cross in any other 
 part of the kingdom. 
 
 The soil and climate are best suited for raising crops of 
 turnips, grass, and oats, all of which are thoroughly well cul- 
 tivated; the best and most improved implements are used. 
 Both cattle and sheep are generally sold to be finished else- 
 where. Ffteen months old cattle sell at £15 to £18 a-head; 
 half-T)red sheep of same age at 45s. to 50s. a-liead, clipped. 
 
 Immense flagstone quarries are worked in the Old Eed 
 Sandstone beds, largely by steam power, with great success. 
 Flagstones for paving purposes are sent from them to all parts 
 of the kingdom, and to many other parts of the globe. 
 
 The public roads throughout the county arc magnificent, and 
 now that railway communication has been supplied, Caithness, 
 in the hands of men of enterprise and ability, as at present, will 
 still further advance. 
 
 The county is flat, and in many respects most uninviting. 
 The climate is more moist than desirable, but mild and uniform 
 — too little sunshine for the production of heavy and fine- 
 coloured grain, though very heavy crops of straw are pro- 
 duced. 
 
 The total area of Caithness is about 472,000 acres, with a 
 gross rental of about £137,000. 
 
FARMING OF THE CENTRAL AND NORTH-WESTERN DISTRICTS. 119 
 
 Of the Orkney Islands much the same may be said as of 
 Caithness. Great improvement in the whole system of farming 
 has taken place within the last twenty-five years. An improved 
 stock of cattle and sheep is now kept. 
 
 The soil is generally good, and really well farmed. Good 
 crops of turnips are grown — as high as 30 to 35 tons per acre ; 
 and excellent crops of oats and hay. 
 
 The climate is mild ; the severity of winter, notwithstanding 
 its northern position, is never complained of. 
 
 The area of the Orkney Islands is 220,000 acres. The rental 
 about £63,000. 
 
 There are no real timber trees in the Orkney Isles, nor in 
 Caithness. Neither are there extensive plantations of aged 
 timber in Sutherlandshire, though there has been extensive 
 planting of forest trees during the last ten years. There is 
 more timber in Eoss-shire, some of which is of great age and 
 good quality. 
 
 In Inverness-shire there is much valuable timber. On the 
 Seafield estates, in Strathspey, it has long been famous both for 
 its size and quality, and many thousands of acres have been 
 planted by the present proprietor. Many of the large proprie- 
 tors of Inverness-shire have also planted extensively during the 
 last twenty years. 
 
 Perthshire is not famous for the extent of its plantations, 
 though some of the finest and heaviest larches in the kingdom 
 are to be found on the Athole estates. 
 
 There are only about 40,000 acres under wood in Argyllshire, 
 and it is neither noted for its size nor quality. 
 
 A few lines may be devoted to the enumeration of the more 
 prominent weeds which are injurious to farm crops in Scot- 
 land. 
 
 Our climate, which influences and limits the range of our 
 cultivation, has happily also a controlling power over the indi- 
 genous plants, which, although more limited in their species than 
 in the south, are met with far too commonly, and are too largely 
 represented even in our well-farmed districts. 
 
 Many of these will be recognised as old acquaintances by most 
 agriculturists, abroad as well as at home ; and those who know 
 
120 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUBE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 them best will testify to the extreme desirableness, and at the 
 same time the extreme difficulty, of getting entirely rid of them* 
 
 Arctium minus, 
 
 Caxduus lanceolatus, 
 *Carcluus arvensia, 
 
 Carduus palustriSj 
 
 Carduus acaulis, 
 
 Papaver dubium, 
 ■"Papaver rlisBaa, 
 *Siiiapis aivensis, 
 *Kaplianus raphanistrum. 
 
 Stellaria media, 
 Bromus arvensis, 
 Brom.us mollis, 
 Anthemis cotula, 
 Pyrethrum parthenicum, 
 Chrysanthemum, segetum, 
 Senecio Jacobcea, 
 Centaurea cyanus, 
 Veronica hedersefolia. 
 
 Burdock. 
 
 Scotch Thistle. 
 
 Field Thistle. 
 
 Marsh or Plume Thistle. 
 
 Flat Thistle. 
 
 Poppy. 
 
 Common red Poppy. 
 
 Charloch or Wild Mustard. 
 
 Ranches or pointed Chqiloch, Wilcl 
 Badish. 
 
 Chickweed. 
 
 Downy Brome Grass. 
 
 Smooth Brome Grass. 
 
 Stinking , Camomile. 
 
 Horse Gowan. 
 
 Com Marigold. 
 
 Common Bagweed. 
 
 Corn Blue Bottle. 
 
 Mother of Wheat, Ivy-leaved Speed- 
 well. 
 
 Dock. 
 
 Dock. 
 
 Common Sorrel. 
 
 Sheep's SorreL 
 
 Wild Oat, 
 
 Couch Grass. 
 
 Eumex obtusifoUuB, 
 
 Btunex crispus,. 
 
 Eumex acetosa, 
 
 Biimex acetosella,. 
 *Avena fatua, 
 *Triticuni repens, 
 *Arrhenatherum avenaceum bulbosum, Knot Grass. 
 *Juncus conglomeratus, Rush. 
 
 *Juncus eflfusus. Common soft Rush. 
 
 TussUago farfiara, Coltsfoot. 
 
 Chenopodium dlbumi White Goose Foot. 
 
 Galeopsis tetrahit, Commcm Hemp Nettle. 
 
 Galeopsis versicolor, Large flowered Hemp Nettle. 
 
 Urtiea dioica, Nettle. 
 
 Lychnis githagO) Com Cocikle. 
 
 We think it may be affirmed that weeds ^ are to a considerables' 
 extent troublesome and destructive in an inverse ratio to- their 
 size. Large and deep-rooted plants, though they individually" 
 occupy more space and draw more pabtduim from the soil, are^ 
 eradicated with much greater ease than annual weeds^. wMch, 
 though in many cases iadividually insignificant, become terribly 
 
 * The plants marked thus ' are those which, from their numbers and per- 
 sistency, are generally]looked upon as the most annoying to the farmer. 
 
PARMING OF THE CENTRAL AND NORTH-WESTERN DISTRICTS. 121 
 
 destructive from the vitality of their seeds, the rapidity of their 
 growth, and the vastness of their numbers. Injurious weeds may 
 be said to bear some affinity to such animal life as is hostile to- 
 agriculture. The larger carnivora were easily destroyed, whilst 
 the minute but multitudinous forms of insect life baffle the 
 skill of the agriculturist. 
 
 Some troublesome weeds are common to almost every culti- 
 vated part of Scotland, whilst others are only found in particular 
 localities, though soils, in every respect similar to those of the 
 habitat they have selected, may be found in other parts of the 
 country. 
 
 A few of the weeds once common in our grain crops are now 
 rarely met with. Among these may be mentioned the darnel 
 grass {Lolium temulentum), formerly frequent, but now so scarce 
 that a specimen can rarely be obtained ; whilst corn cockle 
 {Agrostemma Githago), the seeds of which used to be a torment 
 to the farmer, is now much seldomer met with than formerly. 
 
 Weeds form a pretty certain guide as to the nature and 
 quality of the land on which they grow ; some indicating by 
 their presence that drainage is wanted, while others, by their 
 meagre and stunted appearance, give evidence of the sterility 
 of the soil. On the other hand, a fully, developed, vigorous, 
 weed, proves that it springs from ground well able to enrich and 
 grow more profitable plants. 
 
 To contend successfully with weeds, the farmer must carry on 
 a war with them, which knows no truce, for that agricultural 
 proverb is a true one which says that " one year's seeding is. 
 seven years' weeding." In fulfilment of the early curse pro- 
 nounced upon the ground, " Thorns and thistles will for ever 
 spring from it, causing the face of man to sweat," but it is 
 equally certain, that the weight of that condemnation is lessened 
 if man meets his task with patient continuous labour. 
 
 The extirpation of weeds has of later, years been facilitated 
 by the assistance of those improved implements and machinery- 
 which modem agriculture places at our disposal. 
 
VI. 
 
 LAND OWNERSHIP AND TENURE. 
 
 Land Ownership. 
 
 Acres. 
 The land area of Scotland (not including water) is , 18,946,694 
 Its annual value is £18,698,804, an average of nearly 
 £1 sterling per acre, but this includes houses 
 and other buildings in town and country. The 
 land rental proper is £7,493,000, an average of 
 about 8s. per acre. The bulk of this property 
 is held by a very small number of owners: 
 
 Acres. 
 24 Persons own among them . . . 4,931,884 
 44 Persons more own .... 3,025,616 
 
 68 Persons thus own .... 7,957,500 
 
 Not much less than the half of all 
 
 Scotland. 
 
 103 Persons more -own .... 3,071,728 
 
 159 Persons more own . . . 2,150,111 
 
 250 Persons more own .... 1,726,869 
 
 580 Persons thus own among them . . 14,906,208 
 
 Considerably more than three-fourths of 
 
 all Scotland. The least that any of 
 
 these holds is 5000 acres. 
 
 587 Persons more own .... 1,843,378 
 
 591 Persons more own .... 835,242 
 
 1,758 Persons thus own among them . . 17,584,828 
 An average of 10,000 acres to each 
 
 person. 
 The great bulk of these immense terri- 
 tories, and a portion also of the 
 smaller estates (next mentioned) are 
 held under strict entails, the nature 
 of which will be afterwards de- 
 scribed. 
 
 1,758 {Garry forward) 17,584,828 
 
LAND OWNERSHIP AND TENURE. 12S 
 
 1,758 {Brought forward) 17,584,828 
 
 7,875 Persons more hold .... 1,303,215 
 An average of 165 acres. 
 
 9,471 Persons hold 29,327 
 
 An average of rather more than 3 acres 
 each. 
 22, The returns are incomplete for 22 persons, 
 
 and for 1147 acres .... 1,147 
 And the rest of Scotland is divided 
 1 13,005 among 1 13,005 persons, house owners 
 
 in towns, villages, &c., each owning 
 under an acre, and on an average 
 rather less than a quarter of an acre, 28,177 
 
 132,131 Persons; (In all) acres, 18,946,694 
 
 The rest of the population, 3,227,887, have no share in the 
 ownership of the soil, while (as above shown) 68 persons own 
 nearly half, and 580 persons own more than three-fourths of all 
 the land. This is not a wholesome condition of the body politic, 
 and is chiefly due to a peculiar and highly artificial law. 
 
 In England (including Wales), above 20 per cent, of the land 
 is held by owners having between 100 and 500 acres. In 
 Scotland that class holds les.s than 3 per cent. — In England 
 above 10 per cent, is held by owners having between 500 and 
 1000 acres. In Scotland that class holds only a fraction more 
 than 3 per cent. 
 
 The owners of 1 acre and under 10, in the two countries, 
 compare thus : — 
 
 Scotland, 9,471 
 
 England and Wales, . . . 121,983 
 The owners of 10 acres and under 50 are : — 
 
 Scotland, 3,469 
 
 England and Wa,les, . . . 72,640 
 The owners of 50 acres and under 100 are : — 
 
 Scotland, 1,213 
 
 England and Wales, . . . 25,839 
 Yet the ratio of population between the two countries is only 
 as 6^ in England to 1 in Scotland. 
 
 On the other hand, 58 per cent, of the land in Scotland is held 
 by owners having each 20,000 acres and upwards, while in 
 England and Wales the proportion of that class is only 7 per 
 cent. 
 
124 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEIOULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Strict Entails. — The law of primogeniture prevails alike 
 in England and Scotland, and therefore does not explain these 
 remarkable differences, nor the enormous extent to which, in 
 Scotland, land has accumulated in the hands of a few. That is 
 due to the law of " strict entaU," which has been, in operation in 
 Scotland for nearly two hundred years. 
 
 That law originated iu a device which was contrived by 
 lawyers to gratify the ambition of some great landowners. Its 
 object was to secure their estates, for ever, to their own families, 
 and its method was to create a perpetual succession of life 
 interests. This device was contrary to the spirit of the law, and 
 its success, for its object, was doubtful, till the Parliament, of Scot- 
 land was iaduced to give it legal force in the reactionary time which 
 followed the Commonwealth, and preceded the great Eevolution. 
 
 The statute which was so passed in 1685, enabled any private 
 person, by siniply executing and recording a deed, to settle his 
 lands inalienably for- ever on his own family, or on any succes- 
 sion of heirs which he might choose to designate, and to attach 
 permanent conditions to the lands that no heir who should ever 
 come into possession should have power to sell or burden the 
 lands, " or contract debt, or do any other deed " by whioh the 
 lands could be attached or evicted, or the prescribed order of 
 succession changed or frustrated, for all time. Under this law 
 almost every addition to a considerable estate was speedily 
 placed under the fetters of entail, and became thenceforth 
 inalienable. There was thus created over aU Scotland, and 
 affecting the mass of its land, an interminable succession of 
 usufructuaries, without the interest or the means to perform the 
 duties of full owners. Their position became intolerable even 
 to themselves. They had strong motive to refrain from im- 
 proving the condition of their estates, and they could not provide, 
 out of the estates which were nominally theirs, for younger 
 children. Under this system there never could exist, over all 
 the vast tracts which it affected, a person having the motives or 
 the powers of a permanent owner. They were pensioners for 
 life on the estate. It may be conceived to what an extent 
 industry was curbed,, and. the natural energies pf the people 
 cramped, by such, an unnatural state of things., 
 
 It became necessary for the Imperial Parliament to interpose. 
 
LAND OWNEESHIP AND TENURE. 125 
 
 It did so vigorously in 1770, but on mistaken lines. It seems 
 to have comprehended the true nature of the evU, for the Act 
 sets forth that "the cultivation of land in that part of this 
 Idngdom is greatly obstructed, and much mischief arises to the 
 public, and which must daily increase, so long as the law allow- 
 ing such entails subsists, if some remedy be not provided." 
 But instead of enabling the heir in possession to get rid of the 
 entail, as had been the established remedy in England for 
 centuries, it adopted the plan of encouraging him to execute 
 certain improvements by making him a creditor of the heirs 
 who should succeed him, for three-fourths of the cost, to the 
 extent of six years' rent. And ia 1825 it farther empowered 
 the heir in possession to provide for his wife, by way of annuity 
 out of the entailed estate, to the extent of one-third of the free 
 •rental, and to grant bonds of provision blading his succeeding 
 heirs to pay out of the rents to his children a maximum of 
 tliree years' free. rental. 
 
 The future heirs might thus be burdened with one-third of 
 the rental to the widow of a predecessor, and a debt of nine 
 years' free rental to his younger children or to others. These 
 enactments gave great relief to the heirs in possession, and en- 
 abled, many desirable improvements to be executed, but tied a 
 millstone about the necks of the future heirs. 
 
 A young man entering the world, the next heir to an entailed 
 estate, had an indefeasible interest, upon which the Jews and other 
 money-lenders could speculate freely in advancing him money. 
 They had to insure his life for their own safety, and to accumu- 
 late their interest and premiums till the succession should open 
 to him. Such arrangements inferred a heavy debt, growing out 
 of comparatively small advances. And when the succession to 
 the entailed estate opened to him, with such an iniflated 
 personal debt, in addition to the enormous load of statutory 
 debt to which he might be subjected by his predecessor, it is 
 not difficult to understand that he often remained in the hands 
 of the money-lenders ;for the rest of his life. His position then 
 became "miserable," as Xord President Stair predicted when the 
 system began, and the condition of the estate could not be 
 expedted to improve, nor the farm tenants or cottars upon it to 
 be in 'a comfortable or prosperous condition. 
 
126 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 In 1848 Parliament passed an Act setting forth that the " law 
 of Entail in Scotland has been found to be attended with serious 
 evils both to heirs of entail and to the community at large," 
 and it enacted, in regard to future entails (dated on or after 1st 
 August 1848), that the estate may be disentailed by any heir in 
 possession born after the date of the entail, and being twenty- 
 one years of age. It thus put a check on the farther growth of 
 the system. But in regard to the great mass of entails which 
 then existed, while it made provisions by which their number 
 will be eventually reduced, the conditions on which it permitted 
 their disentail were such as could not take general effect for a 
 very long time. A small number of estates have been dis- 
 entailed under the authority of that Act. But the remedy is 
 too slow for such a gigantic evil. Other palliatives have been 
 applied, but unless there be farther legislation to set the land 
 free from the fetters of the strict entail, Scotland must long 
 suffer from the consequences of its ill-advised divergence in 
 1685 from the sounder principles which have always prevailed 
 in England.* 
 
 Most of the entailed lands in Scotland are in a state of 
 chronic indebtedness, a curious result of a system which set out 
 with the idea that the owner under entail was to be disabled 
 to contract debt. 
 
 An immediate remedy could be found by enabling the heir in 
 possession to sell all or any part of the entailed estate, clearing 
 off debt, and paying out of the price to the next heir the value 
 of his expectancy; unfair sales being excluded by suitable 
 supervision. 
 
 One deplorable fact, largely due to the disabilities of strict 
 entails, is, that a thii-d of the whole people of Scotland have to 
 live in houses of one room. This, though it enters so deep into 
 the daily life of the people, is very slow of cure, since they have 
 themselves for the most part no power over it. 
 
 The Lease System, — its Advantages. — Along with entails, 
 but in some respects a palliative of them, has grown up a practice 
 of giving leases fbr years to the tenants of land. The courts of 
 
 * A Bill is now before Parliament, entitled " The Entail Amendment (Scotland) 
 Bill," the chief object of which is to amend the present law in cases where the 
 owners of entailed estates had died before the execution of improvements, which, 
 as they had bargained, were to be carried out with their own money. 
 
LAND OWNERSHIP AND TENURE. 127 
 
 law held that the prohibitions against " alienation" did not debar 
 an heir of entail in possession from granting leases, at fair rents, 
 for nineteen or even twenty-one years. 
 
 It was soon discovered by heirs of en:tail, and by full owners 
 also, that tenants can afford, and are willing, to give higher 
 rents when they have a term of assured possession, than when 
 liable to be dispossessed at the end of any year. Under a lease 
 a tenant can farm with confidence, and on a system, and is 
 tolerably safe to expend his capital on the land till the lease 
 approaches its close, because he has a reasonable prospect of 
 reaping -the fruits. Partly on account of the higher rents thus 
 obtained, and, perhaps, also because this power of leasing was 
 almost the only point on which an heir of entail found himself 
 free to exercise fuUy the rights of ownership, the nineteen 
 years' lease came into general favour, and is the prevalent 
 holding of the tenants of farms. It gave the farmer a hold on 
 the land which was often practically more enduring than that 
 of the life-owner from whom he derived it. This is the founda- 
 tion of that higher farming which exists in Scotland, as com- 
 pared with most parts of England. It affords, on the whole, 
 better wages to the labourer, higher rents to the landowner, 
 and more satisfaction to the farmer. 
 
 Tenancy from year to year is thus chiefly confined to crofters 
 and tenants of small holdings. They are removable at the 
 end of any year, on forty days' notice. Their possessions, being 
 so precarious, are for the most parb in a wretched state. But 
 there cannot be said to exist in Scotland any class of tenants 
 (such as are numerous in England), holding absolutely at the 
 will of the landowner, and yet continuing in the same posses- 
 sions from generation to generation. 
 
 On all the best class of farms, it is now pretty generally 
 recognised as the landowner's duty to equip the farm with 
 suitable buildings, and to undertake the chief cost of drainage 
 and permanent improvements. The ameliorating powers which 
 have been given to heirs under entail, of borrowing on the 
 security of the entailed estate for such purposes, enable them 
 to discharge that duty. And improvements of that class are 
 usually the subject of specific agreements between the land- 
 owner and the farmer at the beginning of every lease. The 
 
128 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGHICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 tenant almost invariably undertakes to maintain the buildings, 
 drains, &c., in good order during the lease. 
 
 The Lease System (continued) — its Defects. — The enormous 
 extent to which foreign and artificial manures are now employed 
 in Scotland h^s greatly changed the system and conditions of 
 farming. The cost for lime and manures on green crop is 
 often as high as £8 or £10 an acre in a single year. But 
 that expenditure produces marked results on the productive- 
 ness of the farm for four or five years, and very traceable results 
 for longer periods. So that when a tenant approaches the 
 end of his lease he is in this dilemma, that if he lowers his 
 expenditure on manures, &c., he lowers also the productiveness 
 of his farm, to his own injury and the injury of his landlord. 
 And yet, if he continues that expenditure, he helps others at his 
 cost to bid against him for a new lease, and to offer a higher 
 Tent than the tenant, by whose expenditure its increased produc- 
 tiveness has been obtained, can fairly afford. The landlord or 
 new tenant takes the farm, at the end of the lease, with all the 
 outgoing tenant's manures in it, and is not bound to make, and 
 as the law now stands, very seldom does make, any allowance 
 to the outgoing tenant for the unexhausted value of his manures. 
 Eor the outgoing tenant to expend money which he could not 
 recover from the land before his lease expires, would thus be a 
 bonus to help competitors to raise the rent beyond the natural 
 value of the land. He is very often, therefore, obliged in self- 
 defence to stint his manures in his last rotation of crops, or to 
 make use of stimulating and quick-acting manures which will 
 exhaust themselves, and to some extent the land also, before the 
 lease expires. The result is, that the last rotation of an old 
 lease, and the first rotation of the new, are too often periods of 
 diminished productiveness, to the injury ahke of the landlord, 
 and of both the outgoing and incoming tenants.* The law 
 ought to recognise the tenant's property in his manures, and to 
 award him their fair value so long as they are unexhausted in 
 the soil. Till this is done, there will be on most farms a 
 perpetual alternation of high and low productiveness, hurtful 
 to all the parties and to the general community. 
 
 * The Agricnltoral Holdings Act, which was passed for EngTand in I&75, does 
 not apply to Scotland. 
 
LAND OWNERSHIP AND TENUEE. 129 
 
 Leases Inalienable hy Law. — ^A common grievance of Scotch 
 farmers is that a nineteen years' lease is by law (irrespective of 
 contract) incapable of being alienated without the landlord's 
 consent, even though the original tenant should be willing to 
 continue bound along with the new; nay, the tenant cannot 
 give it to his widow, or select a member of his family and 
 leave it to him by will. The landlord is entitled absolutely 
 to reject any assignee except the tenant's eldest son or heir. 
 The heir may have neither inclination, means, nor capacity 
 to farm, or may have emigrated, and so the lease may 'be sud- 
 denly cut short. The tenant's death or bankruptcy thus has 
 the effect of replacing the landlord in possession long before 
 the expiry of the lease, without giving to the tenant's family or 
 creditors any allowance whatever for his improvements. The 
 appropriation of tenants' improvements and unexhausted man- 
 ures in such circumstances, as well as at the expiry of a lease, 
 causes much heart-burning, and is a great discouragement to 
 enterprise. 
 
 Landlords' Hypothec, &c. — The law of "hypothec" subjects 
 a tenant to have his crop, cattle, and whole farm stock seized for 
 rent without notice, even before the rent is due. When this 
 step is taken by a landlord, the tenant's property is placed in 
 charge of a sheriff's officer, and the tenant is debarred from 
 selling anything from the farm, even to pay the rent. The pro- 
 ceeding strikes a deadly blow at his credit. All his creditors 
 are down upon him, knowing the extensive rights of landlords, 
 and coiisequently apprehensive of loss ; and unless he has con- 
 siderable separate means he can scarcely escape ruin. 
 
 A sense of natural justice generally prevents proceedings 
 under this inequitable law from being resorted to, without some 
 rent at least being due. But it is commonly superadded in all 
 proceedings for any rent that is past due, however small the 
 amount ; and it adds greatly to a tenant's difficulties to have his 
 crop and stock seized for rents that have not become payablie, in 
 addition to the rent that is really due. The embarrassment 
 thus occasioned, the prohibition which it effects against sales by 
 the tenant, and the cost of legal proceedings, almost necessarily 
 lead him into farther arrears. And as soon as a year's rent has Ije- 
 
 I 
 
130 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKB OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 come due, the landlord has an additional right by law to demand 
 security, not for the arrears only, but for the next five years' 
 rents also. If the' tenant cannot find Mends who will undertake 
 that serious responsibility, present and prospective, he is liable 
 to be immediately turned out of the farm, sacrificing all the 
 expenditure which he has invested in it for improvements and 
 manures, though these may be much more than the whole 
 arrears, and even though the arrears may iu the end be fully 
 recovered by the landlord under forced sales of the tenant's 
 prop and stock. 
 
 These features of the law distinguish hypothec from the law 
 of distress which exists in England.* And yet, through iU- 
 informed prejudice, this unjust law is stiU rivetted on Scotland 
 by the votes in Parliament of English members outnumbering 
 and over-ruhng the representatives of Scotland. Three only of 
 the whole Scottish members could be found to support the 
 Government in maiutaining this law in the last Parliamentary 
 division on the subject. Thirty-eight Scottish members voted 
 for its abolition. 
 
 Hypothec also operates, very unjustly, to the prejudice of the 
 tenant's other creditors, who under it are denied any payment 
 tiU the rent has first been fully paid. The landlord can seize 
 the crop for the rent to the exclusion even of the seed-merchant 
 and manure-merchant, who supplied the means of growing the 
 crop. And on the tenant being ejected, the unexhausted value 
 of the nnpaid manures go to the landlord, without any allowance 
 to eithet the. tenant or the creditor who furnished them. 
 
 But there is one thing in common to the Scotch law of 
 hypothec and the English law of distress. They ahke enable 
 landlords to encourage, at the risk of others, the competition for 
 farms of persons who would not be accepted as tenants without 
 the fictitious security so created by law, and who are conse- 
 quently reckless about conditions in order to obtaia a temporary 
 living at the cost of their creditors. Those who pursue the 
 legitimate business of farming are thus placed at an unfair dis- 
 advantage. Healthy conipetition would not be deprecaiied by 
 
 * The English law of distress camlot be put in actioSi for rent of which the 
 term of payment is not past. 
 
LAND OWNEESHIP AND TENUKE. 131 
 
 the farmers in Scotland, — it is the soul of healthy htisiness. 
 But healthy coinpetition has a natural and just limit, in the risk 
 "which attaches, ia every business, to dealings with men of in- 
 adequate means. And in so far as these laws of hypothec and 
 distress take away that natural Ihnit, they operate unfairly 
 against those who legitimately pursue the business of farming, 
 and unduly weaken their position in making their contracts. 
 These laws are thus irreconcilable with true freedom of contract, 
 and are at the root of most of the grievances under which 
 farmers suffer. 
 
 In Scotland the rent and letting terms of farms have hitherto 
 been, much more commonly than in England, determined by 
 advertising for competitive offers, and hence the pressure of 
 a law which encourages fictitious competition is much more felt 
 and complained of in the one country than in the other. . 
 
 The law which presumes and determines (contrary to inten- 
 tion and fact) that a tenant's manures and improvements accresce 
 gratuitously to the landlord, and the law which excludes a 
 farmer from transferring his lease to another against whom no 
 reasonable objection can be stated, would be much more 
 commonly redressed by special conditions in the contract, 
 if the scales were not unequally loaded against the farmer in 
 making his bargain, by the undue competition which hypothec 
 promotes. 
 
 Commons and, Mori/main. — There are very few commons in 
 Scotland, and very little of the land is held in mortmain. 
 
 Tenants' Capiial.-^-The amount of tenants' capital employed 
 in f Earning varies greatly according to the character and situation 
 of the farm, the kind of stock and management, the means and 
 enterprise of the tenant, and many other circumstances. Some 
 farmers near towns sell their entire green crops, and feed no 
 cattle, buying in town manure ; others at greater distance allpw 
 their turnips to be eaten on the farm by sheep or cattle be- 
 longing to other persons, getting a moderate price for the crop, 
 and taking their chief profit in the enrichment of their land. Both 
 of these classes of farmers obviously employ leas capital, by the 
 acre, than those who fill their courts and feeding or dairy houses 
 with their own cattle. Men too who get their manures, feeding 
 stuffs, and seeds on credit, paying for them after the crops pro- 
 
132 PKESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKE OF SCOTLANK. 
 
 duced by them have been realized (a costly system to the tenant, 
 who has to pay for the risks imposed on the trader by the land- 
 lord's preferential claim for rent), have less acreable capital 
 «mbarked than those who pay ready money. In some districts 
 a tenant pays no rent till he has had time to reap and realise 
 his first crop. In others he has to pay the rent of a year, or 
 «ven a year and a half, before he gets his first corn into market. 
 Hence the estimates of tenants' capital, made by men of equal 
 experience in different parts of the country, differ exceedingly. 
 Some put it on arable farms as low as £6 per acre, others as 
 high as £14. or £15, and even more. The writer has obtained 
 the estimates of thirteen agriculturists of great experience in 
 various parts of the country (literally from Maidenldrk to John 
 o' Groats), and by comparing their views he has endeavoured to 
 arrive at an approximate estimate of the capital per acre 
 employed by tenants, on a general average, viz. : — 
 
 1. On Arable Farms, . . . £9 to £10 per acre. 
 
 2. On Pasture Farms (lowland), - £6 to £7 do. 
 
 3. On Mountain Farms, . . 10s. to 30s. do. 
 
 In regard to mixed farms, that is farms consisting in part of 
 tillage land and in part of permanent pasture, the proportion of 
 the kinds of land are so accidental and variable that it has not 
 been found possible to arrive at any general estimate with 
 eatisf action. 
 
 Of this capital it is believed that from 75 to 80 per cent, on 
 the average belongs to the tenant himself, and from 20 to 25 
 per cent, has to be obtained by him on loan or otherwise. The 
 sources from which this borrowed money is derived are various. 
 The ordinary Banks and Insurance Companies offer considerable 
 iacHities for obtaining loans on personal security and on life 
 policies ; and in many cases, where, for instance, the tenant dies 
 and is succeeded by his son, ,the money belonging to other 
 members of the family is left on the farm, and the elder brother, 
 the tenant, pays them interest for it. 
 
 Much advantage has accrued to proprietors of entailed estates 
 from the facilities given at one time by the Government, and now 
 by Land Improvement Companies, in lending money for estate 
 
LAND OWNERSHIP AND TENURE. 133 
 
 improvements under the Land Enclosure Acts, at a certain per- 
 centage, which pays off principal and interest in a fixed number 
 of years (generally from twenty-five to fifty), and which per- 
 centage is a first charge on the estate, notwithstanding any 
 change that may take place, by death or otherwise, in the 
 proprietorship. 
 
VII. 
 FARM LABOUR AND LABOURERS. 
 
 Agricultural labourers differ materially in their social habits 
 and mode of life from their fellow-workmen who inhabit towns. 
 Tradesmen, mechanics, carpenters, masons, their assistant 
 labourers, and the masses who work in manufactories, are for 
 the most part bound together by associations, and the work 
 and wages of each class are nearly identical. In removing 
 from one town to another, they find nothing changed except the 
 locality. There is no material difference between the artizan 
 of Manchester and of Glasgow, of Newcastle and of Aber- 
 deen. 
 
 On the contrary, the domestic arrangements, and the forms 
 in which the wages of the Scottish peasantry are paid, not only 
 differ materially from those of their brethren in England, but, to 
 a very considerable extent, diverse usages prevail within the 
 limits of Scotland itself. 
 
 Scottish agricultural labourers may be divided into five dis- 
 tinct classes, though in many parts of the country these may be 
 said to be more or less dovetailed into each other ; and we may 
 add that they are very uneq^ual in numbers and importance. 
 These classes we propose to consider separately, and to arrange 
 in the following order, viz. : — 
 
 Class I. — Crofters and small farmers who personally cultivate 
 the lands they occupy, assisted chiefly by members of their own 
 families, male and female. 
 
 Glass II.— The " bothy " system. 
 
 Class III. — Unmarried men who receive their food in the 
 farmers' kitchens, and sleep in outhouses iu connection with the 
 farm steadings. 
 
 Class IV. — Labourers, male and female, who inhabit towns 
 and the larger villages, and who go in bands, or " gangs," to 
 work on the various farms in the neighbourhood. 
 
 Class V. — Labourers who, with their wives and families. 
 
1?4EM LABOUR AM> LA:^0UEEES. 135 
 
 inhabit cottages built for their use pi; the farms which they 
 cultivate. 
 
 "We propose, ia the first place, to describe these five pjasses, 
 and to point out the distinctive f ^a-tures q£ each. 
 
 Cl(^s I. — Crofters and small fanners were originally the only 
 cultivjators pf the soil. Many of them were the working part- 
 ners, qf the proprietors of the farms. These latter suppUed most 
 of the movables, including the live stock, whilst the farmer 
 supplied the labour, the profits being annually shared between 
 the two parties. This system has long since passed away, but 
 traces of it still remain in the laws called, "steel-bow" and 
 " hypothec." " Crofts" and small farms now occupy a very small 
 portion only of the surface of the country, having been gradually 
 superseded by the system of large farms, extending, we may say, 
 from 200 to 1000 acres, and which require a considerable 
 amount of capital for their management. " Crofts " are, however, 
 stiU to be found in many parts of the country, particxilarly in 
 the Western Highlands, and in the islands to the north and west 
 of Scotland. As it is in those islands that the system chiefly 
 prevails, we shall choose these localities for their consideration. 
 These groups of islands,— -Orkney and Shetland on the north, and 
 the Hebrides on the west coast, — in many respects resemble each 
 other, whilst at the same time they differ widely in their 
 economic circumstances, and in the amount of the material 
 comforts enjoyed by the inhabitants of each. The two archi- 
 pelagoes are alike in their insular position, and in the very rude 
 and comfortless nature of their ill-lighted, and, we regret to say, 
 dirty cabins. The crops they grow are almost identical, and the 
 men who cultivate them resemble each other, in combining, to 
 a considerable extent, the occupations of the husbandman, the 
 shepherd, and the fisherman. In Shetland and the Hebrides 
 the islanders are equally poor (or at least are apparently so), 
 in so far as the possession of money is concerned, but the 
 northern islanders possess many advantages over those of the 
 west. Orkney, indeed, where therfi are many large and well- 
 managed farms, can boast of an agriculture so advanced that it 
 may be removed from the present comparison to tak^ its place 
 with the northern counties of the mainland. But even in Shet- 
 land, where the soil is naturally poor, and the climate is damp 
 
136 PKESENT STATE OF THE AGRICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 and ungenial, the peasantry are warmly clad, and are, as we can 
 vouch from personal observation, as weU, if not better fed than 
 any peasantry in Europe. The tillage of the Shetland crofter 
 is of a very primitive description, and his crops are, for the 
 most part, scanty and of inferior quality ; yet they produce in 
 average years a fair supply of potatoes, and oats which he turns 
 into meal, whilst the sea is affluent of fish. Besides his croft, 
 immemorial custom permits the Shetlander to graze one, or it 
 may be two cows, and also a few sheep, upon the commons, or 
 " skatholds," as they are locally called. The cows furnish the 
 crofter's family with an abundant supply of milk, whilst the 
 wool of the sheep, which is of a peculiarly fine quality, is 
 manufactured by the women into articles of clothing. Thus 
 the Shetland peasant procures an abundant supply of oatmeal, 
 milk, and fish, and generally potatoes. 
 
 Shetlanders too, though loving their rocky islands, leave them 
 freely for their own benefit. Men from Shetland are found 
 in British ships all over the world, and they form no incon- 
 siderable part of the hardy crews who man the vessels which 
 annually visit the far north for the purpose of whale-fishing. 
 The women are specially industrious ; it is they who, in the 
 absence of the males of their families at the whale-fishing, 
 carry on the cultivation of the crofts. They collect sea- weed 
 for manure, and bring home the fuel dug in the peat moors, 
 carrying it in baskets slung on their backs, whilst at the same 
 time, as they walk, they deftly ply their knitting needles. 
 Many of the younger women annually emigrate to the 
 south, where they readily find employment as domestic ser- 
 vants. Tea is the chief luxury of the Shetlanders, as it has 
 become that of most of the Scottish peasantry, who frequently 
 spend more money on this article of diet than they can pru- 
 dently afford. 
 
 Turning to the Hebrides, we find a population, the disadvan- 
 tages of whose situation, though great, are certainly no greater 
 than those of the Shetlanders, yet they are unable to procure the 
 same amount of economic comforts which the more northern 
 islanders enjoy. Here only in Scotland is the food obtained by 
 the peasant occasionally so scanty as to be below the standard 
 necessary to maintain a labouring man in vigorous health. The 
 
FARM LABOUR AND LABOURERS. 137 
 
 articles which form his daily food are identical witli those con- 
 sumed by the Shetlander, but there are occasional periods of 
 scarcity when he is unable to obtain them in sufficient 
 quantity. 
 
 The possession of a cow is beyond the reach of an ordinary 
 cottar in the Hebrides, and thus he too frequently fails to secure 
 mUk for his family, and this want is in itself almost irreparable. 
 Then, too, he does not possess a pig. This arises partly from 
 the larger farmers being mistrustful of the cottar's honesty, and 
 partly from his own want of knowledge of the use of bacon in 
 his household. 
 
 The larger crofters and the shepherds employed by substantial 
 farmers all' keep cows, and most of them pigs, and these persons 
 never suffer from any actual deiiciency of food. Oatmeal, in 
 the form of cakes and porridge, is the staple article of the 
 labourers' food in the Hebrides, and, excepting during rough 
 weather, he generally secures abundance of fish, but there are 
 too often periods of scarcity, when the struggle for existence is 
 severe. Shell-fish, gathered on the sea-shore by the women and 
 children, is largely used, especially during these periods of 
 comparative want. Though perhaps foreign to the chief 
 purpose of this paper, it may not be irrelevant to inquire what 
 it is that causes so great a difference between the material 
 prosperity of the two races, Celtic and Norse, which inhabit 
 these western and northern islands, and we think the explana- 
 tion may be given in one word — language. The Norse inhabi- 
 tants of Shetland have long since adopted the English tongue, 
 whilst the population of the Hebrides, as well as that of 
 the north-west of Scotland, cling to their ancient Gaelic with 
 consequences most disastrous to themselves. This forms an 
 almost insuperable bar to their sharing equally with their fellow- 
 subjects in the general advance of their ■ country. It handicaps 
 them, so to speak, in the race of Hfe. It is a hindrance to the 
 young women obtaining domestic service in our cities, and it also 
 acts as a check to the emigration of both sexes to those world- 
 wide regions where all who speak the English tongue find 
 themselves at home. 
 
 There are two obvious remedies for this state of affairs. The- 
 first is to promote the introduction of the English language by 
 
1.38 PRESENT STATE Off THE AGBIOULTUEB OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 every possiMe means, and the second is to facilitate emigration 
 to districts where, labourers are scare© and where wages are 
 high. The wages given to lalpourers in districts wher^ ,OTofts 
 prevail are invariably small, the work badly done, and the crops 
 scanty. In the Hebrides men and women receive little niore 
 than one-rtMrd the amount of payment for field labour that is 
 paid by farmers to their labourers in the chief agricultural dis- 
 tricts. As regards emigration. Sir John M'Jfeil (himself a 
 native of the Hebrides) remarks, in his able Eeport to the Board 
 of Supervision, that " the population of these islands, as also of 
 the Highlands, had outgrown their means of subsistence, and 
 that some fearful calamity will probably occur unless a portion 
 of the inhabitants remove to where they can find means of 
 subsistence in greater abundance and with greater certainty 
 than they can find them where they now are." 
 
 As regards Gaelic, on the other hand, the Eegistrar- General 
 in his latest Eeport, attached to the last decennial census, 
 observes as follows : — " The Gaelic language," he writes, " may 
 be what it likes, both as to antiquity and beauty, but it 
 decidedly stands in the way of the civilisation of the natives 
 me^king use of it, and shuts them out from the paths open to 
 their fellow-countrymen who speak the English tongue. It 
 ought, therefore, to cease to be taught in all our national 
 schools. We are one people, and we ought to have but one 
 language." 
 
 Class II. — The " Bothy Systein."^ — Over a considerable portion 
 of Scotland agricultural labour is carried on under this system. 
 The important. and central county of Perth, together with Porfar 
 and Kincardine shires, may be taken as its head-quarters : bothies 
 are to be found more or less dispersed over all the north of 
 Scotland. The " bothy " is an expedient to supply the place of 
 cottages in tillage districts. It may be called an agricultural 
 barrack, in which are lodged as many men as are necessary to 
 cultivate the farm. It is rudely furnished with the most 
 necessary articles of daily life, and an elderly woman is 
 generally employed to take charge of it. The men are paid 
 partly in money and partly in food, which, consists exclusively 
 • of oatmeal and milk, a ie^ potatoes being sometimes added. 
 As is the case with all other agricultural labourers, wages have 
 
FARM LABOUE AND LABOUEEBS. 
 
 139 
 
 largely increased during recent years. We give for comparison 
 the wages paid in Perthshire ten years ago, and those received 
 by the bothymen of the present day. 
 
 Wages in Pertlishire in 1868. 
 
 Use of "bothy "and furniture free. 
 17J lbs. oatmeal per week. 
 16 gills of fresh inilk daily. 
 A small quantity of potatoes. 
 
 Some additional food in harvest. 
 Money wages, ^£16 to £20 cash. 
 
 Wages in Pertlisliire in 1878. 
 
 2. > The same. 
 3.) 
 
 4. No potatoes. 
 
 5. Coats supplied free. 
 
 6. The same. 
 
 7. .£24 to iS30 in cash. 
 
 The wages, so far as meal and milk are concerned, are uniform 
 wherever the " bothy " system prevails, but there are a few 
 minor differences in other matters. The wage, however, has 
 risen about £10 in all cases during the last ten years. The 
 whole of the milk is in all cases consumed, but we have found 
 that frequently about l^ lbs. of the weekly allowance of meal is 
 sold by the men. The labourers breakfast and sup on porridge* 
 and milk, and dine at mid-day on " brose,"f with oat cake or a 
 little whaaten bread. The men are robust, healthy, and fully 
 nourished. Their most common ailments are rheumatism and 
 affections of the chest, induced by very frequently getting wet, and 
 then carelessly sitting in damp clothes when their work is over. ' 
 There are always more female than male labourers on a 
 tillage farm in Scotland. These are very seldom married 
 women, but are either the daughters of the cottagers in the 
 neighbourhood or immigrants from Ireland or the Highlands and 
 "Western Islands. These latter live, like the men, in " bothies," 
 and their wages, which have risen even more in proportion than 
 those of the men, are paid almost entirely in money. Thirty 
 years ago young women received only 9d. a day, the Celtic 
 irfimigrants getting the use of very inferior houses with bedding, 
 and as a gratuity a little milk. It is now with difficulty that 
 farmers can secure a sufficient supply of female labourers on the 
 following terms : — 
 
 * Porridge, which has from time immemorial constituted the principal food of 
 the Scottish peasant, is made by boiling oatmeal in water (salt being added). It 
 is eaten in the form of a pudding with mUk. It was called by our national poet. 
 Bums, the " haiUome parrikh, chief o' Scotia's food." 
 
 t Brose is oatmeal simply scalded with boiling water. It is eaten in the form 
 of a soup — butter, when obtainable, being added. 
 
140 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGRICULTUEB OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 1. Use of bothy with furniture and hedding. 
 
 2. Coals supplied free. 
 
 3. Money wages, Is. 4d. per day. 
 
 4. During potato gathering, 2s. per day. 
 
 5. During harvest, 2s. per day with harvest food. 
 
 6. In many instances they also receive a' limited amount of 
 
 potatoes. 
 These bothies for women are not confined to the so-called 
 bothy districts, but have become a necessity wherever tillage 
 is largely carried on, and no considerable farm can now manage 
 without one of them. Where the women can purchase milk, and 
 this is generally the case, porridge forms at least one of their 
 daily meals. When milk cannot be obtained they substitute 
 tea in its place, and this beverage, with bread, forms too often 
 the staple of their daily food. They frequently also purchase 
 herrings, sometimes fresh, but more generally salted. They are 
 as a body healthy and vigorous, though chest complaints are 
 not uncommon a,mong them. 
 
 In the event of any of these immigrants falling ill they are 
 removed to their native districts, where they become chargeable 
 upon the Poor's Board, unless they have been resident for five 
 years in the same parish in the county in which they have been 
 working. They are coarsely but warmly clothed during the 
 week, and are only too gaily dressed upon the Sundays and 
 holidays. 
 
 Class III. — Single men who receive their food in the farmers' 
 kitchens, and who sleep in out-houses in the farm steadings. — 
 Ploughmen who are thus fed and lodged differ very little from 
 " bothymen " in their mode of life. It is in the counties of the 
 south-west and north-east (two opposite angles of Scotland), 
 that the "kitchen system" chiefly prevails. Originally the 
 plan was a good one. The master and his servants being nearly 
 in the same rank of life, they had their meals together, and to 
 a great extent formed a family circle. Since large farms sup- 
 planted small ones, this is no longer the case, the master and 
 mistress living entirely apart, the labourers spending their 
 leisure hours in the kitchen with the female house servants. 
 Wages in " kitchen " districts have risen equally with those 
 paid in other counties. 
 
FAKM LABOUR .VND LABOUEEES. 141 
 
 Fifteen or twenty years ago the money wages ranged from 
 £18 to £22 a year. They have now advanced fully £10, and 
 may be quoted at from £28 to £32 per annum. The food 
 supplied remains the same as formerly, being as follows :-^Break- 
 fast at 6 A.M., porridge and milk; dinner at 12 noon, bread 
 and milk, broth with meat and potatoes; supper from 6.30 to 
 7.30 P.M., porridge and milk. 
 
 During harvest, bread and cheese are given in addition. These 
 " kitchen " farm servants are the only agricultural labourers in 
 Scotland who regularly obtain butcher's meat once a day. On 
 the other hand, we are not aware of any others to whom no beer 
 is given during harvest. 
 
 Glass IV. — Male and female labourers who inhabit towns and 
 the larger villages, and who go in bands, or " gangs," to work on 
 the neighbouring farms. — This is called the " gang " system. It 
 has been called into existence by the increased demand for 
 agricultural labour, with the diminished supply caused by the 
 drain of emigration from the rural districts. The persons who 
 compose these "gangs" are chiefly women and girls, though 
 men as well as lads are included in their numbers, — the men, 
 however, are never thoroughly able-bodied labourers, and receive 
 the same wages as the women. All over the central and 
 southern districts of Scotland, where these " gangs " are for the 
 mostpartto be found, the individuals who compose them are chiefly 
 Irish immigrants. They are under the management of contractors, 
 who agree with the farmers to do work either by the day or by 
 the "piece," the latter being the more common of the two. 
 These " gangs " are in greatest request at such seasons as turnip 
 hoeing, potato gathering, and harvest. They supply themselves 
 with food, breakfasting and supping at home, and bringing their 
 mid-day meal with them. They are always looked upon by farmers 
 as necessary evils. The wages of the persons so employed are high, 
 but they vary very much according to the urgency of the 
 demand for labour. They receive a minimum of Is. 8d. for a 
 day's work, which is reckoned at nine hours, and they are paid 
 as much as 3s. 6d. per day upon many occasions. We have said 
 that thoroughly able-bodied male labourers form no part of these 
 " gangs." The men of this class who live in towns and villages 
 to labour on the farms, do the hardest description of work, and. 
 
142 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGRICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 receive the highest wages. A large proportion of these persons 
 are Irishmen. They sometimes work hy the day, and when they 
 do so are at preseHt paid at the rate of from 3s. 4d. to 3s. 6d. 
 a day. In general, however, they work hy the piece. They 
 never drive horses, but it is they who quarry stones, make new 
 roads, or cut drains, and do the hardest work. They spend 
 much of the high wages they obtaiu on food and luxuries, and 
 on Sundays are said to use the best portions of the beef and 
 mutton sold by the butchers. 
 
 Class V. — The famMy system. — Labourers who, with their 
 wives and families, inhabit cottages built for their use on the 
 farms which they cultivate. — This "household and family 
 system "is in every point of view by far, the best and most 
 desirable mode under which Scottish agriculture is carried on, 
 and fortunately it is also the most widely distributed. 
 
 Household ploughmen, or " hinds " as they are still frequently 
 called, are to be found in larger or smaller numbers all over 
 Scotland, but it is in the south, and especially in the south- 
 eastern counties, where the family system exclusively prevails. 
 That famous agricultural district, comprising Eoxburghshire, 
 Berwickshire, and the three Lothians, is entirely cultivated by 
 householders resident upon the various farms. 
 
 The houses are built contiguous to each other, sometimes in 
 rows, frequently in pairs, which is cheaper than erecting single 
 cottages. They are also in close proximity to the farm steading, 
 where the stables for the horses are always placed. They are 
 almost exclusively houses of one storey only, and comprise a 
 kitchen (which is also a sleeping-room), a bed-room, and a 
 couple of closets, one of which serves for a nulkhouse where a 
 cow is kept, and there is also attached a coal-house and pig-sty. 
 
 At no distant date the whole, or nearly the whole, of the 
 ploughmen's wages were paid in " kind." This thrifty system 
 has gradually given place to a large proportion of money wages, 
 chiefly at the ploughman's own desire, though the change is cer- 
 tainly not advantageous to himself. 
 
 This is especially the case as regards the permission to keep a 
 cow, which is now unfortunately much less common than it 
 formerly was. 
 
 The ploughman has, in too many instances, agreed to give 
 
FARM LABOUR ASTD LABOURERS. 143 
 
 Ip this great advantage for a money payment which is far from 
 a sufficient compensation to himself, whilst the change gives no 
 corresponding advantage to the master. We have heard it 
 remarked by an eminent agriculturist, who was at the same time 
 a close observer, that the children in households where a cow 
 was kept could be distinguished from those who had not that 
 advantage by their more healthy look and rosy appearance. 
 Under whatever conditions agricultural labour is carried on in 
 Scotland, the ploughmen and other farm servants have, during 
 recent years, obtained an equal rise in the price of their labour, 
 excepting in those Celtic districts already described. 
 
 Comparing the wages paid in 1868 with those of 1878, we 
 find the following increase in the payments received by a. 
 ploughman under the " family system " :-<- 
 
 isfs. 
 
 Yearly Wages. 
 
 1868. 
 Yearly "Wages. 
 
 1. A cottage on the farm rent free. 
 
 2. A small garden with manure. 
 
 3. Coals carted, or at pit month price. 
 
 4. Leave to keep a pig. 
 
 5. A cow's grass (straw in winter or 
 £b). 
 
 6. 800 yards of cnltivated potato 
 
 drill with manure (ploughman 
 supplies seed). 
 
 7. 800 lbs. of oatmeal. 
 
 8. Four bushels of beans. 
 
 9. Twelve bushels of barley. 
 
 10. Food during 4 weeks in harvest.* 
 
 11. Money wages, ^14. 
 
 The same. 
 
 Money alternative increased to 
 £7, and three cart loads of 
 turnips suppUed in winter. 
 , 6. 200 yards of drill added, making 
 1000 yards. Rest as formerly. 
 
 ^•) 
 
 8. } The same. 
 
 9.) 
 
 10. Five weeks' food in harvest. 
 
 11. Money wagbs, jE19. 
 
 Thus, besides several increases as to the payments in kind, the 
 " hipd " now receives in money wages, if he keeps no cow, £26, in 
 place of £19 which were paid him in 1868. It will be seen that " 
 the total value of his wages varies to some extent, according as 
 grain is cheap and dear, and if his house is a modern one it is of 
 much more value than an old cottage was. Certain men receive 
 additions to their wages if engaged to perform special duties on 
 the farm, such as the building of corn stacks in harvest ; but all 
 
 * As food during harvest is here frequently mentioned, we may eiplain that 
 it consists of porridge and milk for breakfast and supper, whilst for dinner tha 
 labourer receives one lb. of bread and one bottle of light beer, value IJd. 
 This is the only instance where the Scottish labourer recsivea beer as part of his 
 food, being in marked contrast to the large quantities of heet, Or cider, given in- 
 some districts in England as part of the labourer's wages. 
 
144 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGKICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 the ordinary ploughmen receive exactly the same wages in the 
 " family " districts, whilst in other parts of the country payments 
 vary to some extent according to the ability of the men. 
 
 Under the "family system" the ploughman lives a more com- 
 fortable and domestic life than under the " bothy" or " kitchen" 
 modes of housing labourers, and the vital statistics of the country 
 prove that he lives a more moral one, as the proportion of illegiti- 
 macy is less, whilst the men lead quiet, sober, and orderly lives. 
 Their food, though not more nutritious, is more varied than in 
 bothy districts. The garden supplies them with vegetables. They 
 have, iu good years, potatoes to sell as well as to use ; and their 
 pigs (two of which they probably kill in a year) furnish them with 
 animal food. Above all, their cows, when they have not foolishly 
 exchanged their right, to keep them for a money payment, 
 supply their families with milk. These cows, we may mention, 
 are the ploughman's own property, and their lives are insured to 
 about two-thirds of their value in local insurance, associations 
 entirely managed by committees of their own number. 
 
 If a comparison were drawn between the wages paid to 
 agricultural labourers (the regular staff of the farm) with those 
 obtained by artisans and mechanics, there are other circum- 
 stances to be considered than the mere amount. The agricultural 
 labourer has no " lost time " from bad weather, bad times, or any 
 cause whatever, and in the ease of illness he is entitled to be off 
 work for six weeks before any stoppage of wages can take place. , 
 Comparing the Scottish with the English agricultural labourer, 
 the former has this advantage, that in all cases he resides on the 
 farm on which he works, whilst the Englishman has generally to 
 walk considerable distances to and from the village where his 
 home is situated. 
 
 We have shown that in Scotland farm labourers live 
 under various conditions, and that their wages are paid in 
 different ways ; but as regards their food the chief articles 
 which compose it are in every case the same, being oatmeal 
 and milk. This food, in so far at least as oatmeal is concerned, 
 may be looked on as coarse, but that it is healthful and nutri- 
 tious is proved by long experience, whilst scientific research 
 shows it to rank very high as a flesh-forming article of diet. 
 The high dietetic value given to oatmeal places the Scottish 
 
PAEM liABOTTR AND LABOUEEKS. 145 
 
 peasant much above any other agricultural labourer in so far as 
 the nutritive quality of his food is concerned. 
 
 Children under the age of thirteen are not to any extent 
 engaged in field work in Scotland, except perhaps at harvest 
 time. School Boards have wisely refrained from pushing their 
 power in this respect to the extremity, provided a satisfactory 
 examination can be passed at an eaiUer age than thirteen. The 
 edvAidtion of the agricuLHral labourer is now happily viewed 
 very differently from what it was formerly. It used to be 
 supposed that a very little intellect and very scanty knowledge 
 would suffice for the work he had to do. The experience of 
 later years has shown us the fallacy of this belief. The general 
 introduction of machinery on our farms, the improvement and 
 use of labour-saving implements'; the varied applications of 
 science in our fields and our feeding sheds, demand now a 
 higher class and a more intelligent labour for which a higher rate 
 of payment is readily obtained, so that the agricultural labourer 
 of the present day requires to fit him for his new duties an 
 education fully as advanced as that of the artizan in any branch 
 of manufacturing industry. Experience has shown that the 
 labourer who has not received some education, and has not had 
 his intellecfrual powers developed in his youth, is rarely able to 
 exercise iu manhood that amount of thought and reasoning 
 power necessary to comprehend and work advantageously the 
 processes and machinery of advanced farming. The want of 
 this " power " on the part of the labourer has been and is still one 
 of the greatest obstacles in the way of the introduction of im- 
 provements ia our rural economy. In each parish throughout 
 the length and breadth of Scotland there are happily excellent 
 schools where the labouring population can secure a good educa- 
 tion for their children at a very small expense. 
 
 In conclusion, we hefve to notice the subject of emigration 
 from the rural districts. Ever since the decennial census was 
 first taken in 1801, its tables show a large, steady, and continuous 
 decrease of population in every exclusively rural or agricultural 
 district. This decrease is shared in by both sexes, but the 
 diminution is more marked in the males than the females. 
 The latest census taken was in 1871, and it presented exactly 
 the same features as those which preceded it, viz., a large 
 
 K 
 
146 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGKICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 increase of population in cities and towns, and a corresponding 
 decrease in the rural districts. This continuous decrease is ia 
 no way caused by the introduction of improved machinery or 
 any other recent change in the practice of agriculture. Indeed, 
 the more thorough and scientific farming of the present day 
 demands more labourers than the less perfect tiQage of former 
 times, and it may therefore be asked how, in the face of a de- 
 creasiag population, is the demand for labour supplied? It 
 may be replied, in the first instance, that the population who 
 remain ia the rural districts are now more exclusively agri- 
 cultural labourers than they formerly were. Many of the 
 persons who have left were not employed in field labour. 
 Tradesmen, artizans, and small shopkeepers in the country dis- 
 tricts found, as the means of locomotion increased, that trade 
 went to the towns, and they prudently followed it ; whilst, on 
 the other hand, we have seen that there has been a small immi- 
 gration to the agricultural districts of Highlanders and Irish, 
 who are exclusively devoted to agricultural labour. 
 
 There is also the " gang " system already described, by which 
 labourers by the day have been drawn from the town to the 
 country. Finally, it is always found that a change from low to 
 high wages increases the amount of work done by the recipients. 
 The activity of manufacturing industry, the demand ih the 
 towns for domestic servants, and the high wages hitherto 
 obtained in the United States and ouj own Colonies, have been 
 the chief causes of this emigration from the country districts. 
 It may be, however, that a check may, at least for a time, be 
 given to the movement. The long continued and still existing 
 depression of trade both at home and in .America has caused the 
 demand for labour in the towns to be less abundant than 
 formerly, whilst the constant demand, together with increased 
 wages, may make agriculture more attractive to labourers than 
 it has recently been. It is not impossible that the next census, 
 to be taken in 1881, may show that at length the drain from 
 the country has been lessened. If this be so, an increase in the 
 rural population may be expected — ^the more quickly that, as our 
 vital statistics prove, that the Scottish peasant women are more 
 fruitful than either their sisters who dwell ia cities, or those 
 who inhabit the agricultural districts of England. 
 
VIII. 
 
 FARM MACHINEEY. 
 
 The progress of agriculture during the present century is well 
 illustrated by the numerous inventions and improvements in the 
 mechanical appliances for field culture. The implements for- 
 merly used by farmers throughout Scotland were in general simple 
 and inexpensive, being made by country wrights and smiths ; 
 but of late the elaborate machines, such as the thrashing and 
 reaping machines, are for the most part constructed by large 
 engineering firms. Though Scotland claims the invention of 
 some of the most important of the machines which are essential, 
 to modern agriculture, it has to be admitted that these have^ 
 been much improved and perfected by English and American^ 
 engineers. Of these, the thrashing machine, invented by Andrew- 
 Meikle, a country wright in Haddingtonshire, in 1787, and thei- 
 reaping machine, arranged by the Eev. Patrick Bell of Forfar- 
 shire in 1827, are notable examples. Steam-power also, in the 
 form of the condensing engine inveiited by James Watt, was 
 first applied about the beginning of the present century to- 
 driving thrashing machines in Scotland, and has since, in its 
 other forms, created many changes in farming operations. 
 
 Prior to the union of Scotland with England, the country- 
 suffered from a succession of wars, arising out of foreign invasion, . 
 internal strife, or religious persecutions, and any advances- 
 made during the short periods of repose were lost in succeeding 
 turmoil. The implements of the farm were then of a rude and'' 
 primitive character, and there were no agricultural machines- 
 worthy of the name. It was not until after the rebellion of 
 1715, when Scotsmen returning from other countries saw thei 
 backward state of their agriculture, that a spirit of improvement 
 began slowly to develop itself. 
 
 It would be superfluous in this paper to enumerate all the 
 minor implements which are well known to be in use by Scottish 
 agriculturists. We shall therefore confine our attention to some 
 
148 PBESEKT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND 
 
 of the leading implements and machinery of the present time, as 
 compared with those of a bygone period. 
 
 The plough at present in use all over Scotland and the north 
 of England' is the swing plough .(without wheels), made upon 
 the model of the Eotheram .plough, and improved and introduced 
 by Small in 1760. It has since been slightly altered in its work- 
 ing parts, according to the requirements of various kinds of soiL 
 Though wheel^ploughs are favourites in England, and although 
 they have been introduced into ^Scotland, it cannot be said that 
 they are either popular or much used in this country. 
 
 The BonMe-FnTrmjo Plmigh. — Shortly after Small's plough had 
 began to grow in general estimation, an attempt, was made to 
 construct a double-furrow plough by fixing on a bent beam two 
 of the bodies -of Small's invention, a wheel having been provided 
 to support the frontof the beam. This implement was favourably 
 received in some quarters, but little progress was made iii this 
 d'EPection untQ Mr Pirie of Kinmundy, m 1866, constructed a 
 double-furrow plough set on a frame with three wheels. This 
 plough, with various imitations and improvements since made, 
 lias had considerable success. The saving effected by this ar- 
 rangement in the dratiglit of the plough is considerable, one man 
 and three horses being able to do the work 'Of two men and four 
 horses with the ordinary ploughs. It is, however, more oompli- 
 catedin its working jaacts, which require adjustment and attention. 
 
 The Subsoil Plough — ^An important addition to our farm imple- 
 ments was made by James Smith of Deanston, about 1835, in 
 the shape <of a subsoil plough. Following up the principles 
 upein which his neweystem of "thorough draimage" was based, he 
 saw "the dmpoutanoe of thoroughly stirring the soil as deep below 
 the surface as could be dome, in order to give a feeer passage to 
 the water passing from the surface to the drains, and thus to 
 aerate the whole body of the drained land. Ear this purpose he 
 devised a form >of plough consisting of a powerful beam, with a 
 frame deep enough to work 1 to 2 feet below the bed of the 
 furrow made by an ordinary plough. A ;strong icMsel-headed 
 share fixed to the frame cut through tiie subsoil at the required 
 depth, which was regulated by a wheel travelling in the furrow, 
 and instead of the mould-board of the ©rdimary plough, a short 
 and strong bar, attached to the body in an imilined position im- 
 
EAJBM MACHmEKY., 149 
 
 mediately behind the share, lifted, and hroke up the soil, which 
 fell back again into its original position as the plough passed 
 along^ The object was to break up the subsoil without bringing 
 any to the, surface. Of later years improved forms of subsoil 
 ploughs have been introduced, in which both weight and fiaction, 
 and consequently the draught and cost of working; have^ been 
 successfully reduced. 
 
 Brill or double monld-loard ploughs and horse hoes came ihto 
 use when the system of growing green crops ia parallel rows 
 became common. These were originally constructed of wood, 
 with iron mould-boards and teeth. They are now mad© embirely 
 of iron, and are of various forms in different districts. The 
 cutting pointS' with which these- implements are fitted are of 
 steel. 
 
 The- Steam Plough, (fie— Although much may be expected from 
 steam power, as applied to the culture of the soil, Scotch 
 farmers do not generally appear toi be much enamoured of it. 
 They have still to be convinced that much saviing can thereby be 
 efifected, as compared with horse power. The one^furrow swing 
 plough,, drawn by two horses, stiU. turns over the great bulk of 
 the; lajnd in Scotland, while, two-horse- giBubbers and harrows 
 cultivate it,. Probably not more than fifty sets of steam ploughing; 
 tackle are to be found iu Scotland. 
 
 The progress of steam cultivation in Scotlajid is, however, a 
 most interesting branch of our present, subject. The success 
 which had attended the application of steam power to thrashing 
 and other operations of the farm, early suggested the desirable- 
 ness of experiments to test its utility in the cultivation of the 
 sod. To this important inquiry the late Marquis of Tweeddale 
 was the first to direct the attention of the Highland and Agri- 
 cultural Society of Scotland, as early as the year 1834. Three 
 years afterwards the Highland and Agricultural Society resolved 
 to ofier a premium of £500 for the successful application of 
 steam power to the cultivation of the soil. The applitsability of 
 the invention to perform the several operations of ploughing, 
 harrowing, or preparing the soil was to be judgedi of in relation 
 to the cost of animal power and the situation of farms. The 
 ofifer of this premium was continued up to the year 1843!, when 
 it was withdrawn, no one having competed.. 
 
150 PKESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 The first steam plough introduced into Scotland was that 
 brought out by Mr Heathcote, M.P., which a committee of the 
 Highland Society had seen at work a short time previous near 
 Bolton in Lancashire. It was tried on Lochar Moss near Dumfries 
 in 1837, at the show of the Highland Society held there. This 
 machine proved fairly successful on moss land, but turned out to 
 be unfit for general use. 
 
 The late Marquis of Tweeddale, with the assistance of Mr James 
 Slight, engineer to the Highland Society, then commenced a 
 series of experiments with steam power at Yester, and these 
 promised to result successfully, the land being well ploughed by 
 steam, but the Marquis having been appointed soon afterwards 
 to the Governorship of Madras, these important and interesting 
 trials, though incomplete, had to be abandoned. 
 
 In 1851 and 1852 the Highland Society again ofiered a pre- 
 mium of £200 for the practical application of steam power to 
 land cultivation, In the year 1852 Mr James Usher, Edinburgh, 
 came forward with a, locomotive engine, carried on a wide cylinder 
 or roller wheel on which it moved over the land, and having 
 another cylinder attached behind. On this latter a series of 
 ploughs were fixed in a spiral arrangement and were brought 
 into contact with the soil, which was thus turned over as the 
 engine advanced. Though the invention was not considered as 
 pieeting all the requirements, a sum of money was awarded to 
 Mr Usher, and in the same year a premium was awarded to Mr 
 risken, Gellyburn, Perthshire, a country schoolmaster, for an 
 arrangement by which the power given out by a water wheel 
 was conveyed by means of a running rope and friction pulleys to 
 a convenient distance, and there gave motion to any machine or 
 implement attached to it. 
 
 In 1857 a premium of £200 was awarded by the Highlaiid 
 Society to John Fowler of Leeds for the successful trial of his 
 steam tillage apparatus. 
 
 In a few years afterwards several sets of steam ploughs by 
 different makers were introduced into Scotland, and did good 
 work on the farms of their respective owners. 
 
 A great obstacle to the universal extension of steam power to 
 the cultivation of the soil, is the number of " boulders " in many 
 districts. Large blocks of this kind are to be found in many 
 
FAEM MACHINERY. 15 1 
 
 localities, embedded in the-subsoU with their tops slightly covered 
 with soil. The cost of removing these would be considerable, 
 and the task is one that would involve an amount of time and 
 trouble which tenant farmers are not generally willing to 
 undertake, 
 
 TJurashing Machinery. — The desire to expedite the labour of 
 separating the corn from the straw, and to lighten the labour of 
 the men who performed the work by the flail, was early present 
 to the improvers, as they were then termed. In 1740 an advocate 
 named Menzies constructed a machine for this purpose driven by 
 a water wheel. The machine when first brought out at Eoseburn, 
 near Edinburgh, attracted considerable notice. It was at the 
 time described as " a wonderful machine, doing the work of 40 
 men, and thrashing the straw cleaner than it could be done 
 by hand." It was so constructed as to set in motion a number 
 of flails under which the com was passed, but the frequent break- 
 ing of the flails soon demonstrated the inefficiency of the, inven- 
 tion. In 1758 Mr Stirling brought out at Dunblane another 
 machine, provided with riddles for cleaning and fanners for 
 chaffing, but this also proved unsatisfactory. In 1773 Mr 
 Ilderton and Mr Oxley in Northumberland were scarcely more 
 fortunate. A machine invented by Mr Ilderton, and erected by 
 Sir Francis Kinloch of Gihnerton for one of his tenants, wais no 
 sooner set in motion than it was speedily torn to pieces. 
 
 It was under these untoward circumstances that a Scotch 
 mechanic, Andrew Meikle of Houston Mill, East Lothian, on 
 being called upon to examine the dilapidated machine, set 
 to work on the construction of a new one on a small scale at 
 Knows Mill in 1778, which, though it worked to the satisfac- 
 tion of several tenant farmers who witnessed its operations, 
 did not in its original form continue to give satisfaction. It led, 
 however, to a new and improved mechanism which won a larger 
 share of popularity. It is significant of the spirit of progress and 
 foresight abroad among the tenantry in those days, to read in a 
 letter written by Mr Thomson, tenant of the Keith Mill, 
 Haddingtonshire, in 1777, "that his fanners can dress for seed 
 40 bushels of oats per hour,'' that he had invented "an improved 
 knife for cutting straw to mix with bruised grain and green 
 clover for his horses," and that he had just finished the construe- 
 
152 PRESENT STATE QT THE AGEICUUUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 tion of a thrashing macliitte, wMeh not only thrashes hut shakes 
 the straw and riddles the grain, and the same water wheel drives 
 the fanner's straw cutter, breaker of beans, and a pair of cylinders 
 for bruising oats, barley, or malt." Though the thrashing machine 
 here spoken of did not answer the purposes for which it was 
 intended, Mr Andrew Meikle not long after discovered the true 
 method of separating the grain from the straw, and contrived a 
 machine which, with various modifications, has had a universal 
 acceptance wherever corn is; raised. 
 
 Meikle had at first followed the ideas of the inventors who 
 preceded him, and his first machine, erected at the Knows Mill 
 in 1778, consisted of flails fixed to a strong beam. This plaa 
 having failed in practice, it then oceorred to him that the best 
 method of beating out the corn from the ear would be by 
 means of a strong drum or cylinder upon which fixed woodea 
 beaters shod with iron were placed. This machine of Meikle 
 was the form from which all subsequent machines have been 
 made, and therefore with common consent the honour and 
 credit of the introduction of the modern thrashing machine has 
 been assigned to him. 
 
 The new machine was further improved by the addition of 
 solid fluted feeding rollers, an arrangemaafc for shaking the 
 straw, fanners for winnowing the corn, and other improvements. 
 
 The first of the new machines erected by Meikle. was one for 
 Mr Stein, Kilbeggie, in Pife, in 1787. Others followed in Nor- 
 thumberland and elsewhere., The machines came rapidly into 
 use in Scotland, and in Berwickshire alone upwards of thirty- 
 were erected, driven by wind,, water, or horse-power previous to 
 1810. With the acquisition of steam-power before 1810, they 
 continued to make way in Scotland and the north of England:. 
 In 1810 the Highland Society awarded Meikle a premium 
 of £31, 10s. for his inventionv 
 
 Meikle's thrashing machine has proved to be one of the 
 greatest, boons ever conferred on the husbandman, and effected 
 an immense saving of labour as weR as of corn. In the course 
 of twenty years from the date of the patent, about 350 thrashing 
 mills were erected in East Lothian alone, at an estimated outlay 
 of nearly £40,000. Shortly afterwards it became generally 
 adopted in England and elsewhere. 
 
lABM MACHINERY. 153 
 
 Many changes have of later years taken place in the details of 
 Meikle's invention. The drums have been made to revolve 
 with greater speed, and the corn has latterly been more rubbed 
 than beaten out. Fixed steam engines have come to be the sole 
 motive power in many parts of the country, and the enumera- 
 tion by Mr Thomson of the various machines to be attached 
 to the motive power of a thrashing machine has long since been 
 realised. After the success that attended railway locomotives, 
 engines of light, power, set on wheels to be drawn by horses from 
 place to place, were speedily used in England for working thrash^ 
 ing machines. These and traction engines are in certain favour- 
 able seasons for field thrashing now employed as a substitute for 
 fixed mills ; but the engine mostly used in Scotland is the fixed 
 high pressure engine. These engines are generally from six to 
 twelve horse power, and do most of the work of the farm stead- 
 ing, as above stated,, in addition to- performing the operation of 
 thrashing. On large Scotch farms, the machines are generally 
 fixed at the steading, and are driven by steam or water power ; 
 but. in most districts may be found an English portable thrash- 
 ing machine and traction engine for hire,, and generally meeting 
 with ample employment. 
 
 Meaping and Moiving Machines. — The abridgment of harvest 
 labour in reaping the crops was a matter that early enlisted the 
 attention of agriculturists, and from this have sprung numerous 
 inventions of reaping and mowing machines. The earliest pro- 
 posal for a mechanical reaping machine was that mentioned by 
 Arthur Young in his " Annals of Agricultuie," published in 
 1785* This was in the form of a communication from Mr Capel 
 Lofft of Bury, in Suffolk,, whose attention had been drawn to the 
 subject by a premium having been offered by the Society of Arts 
 of London in 178Q, for " amachine to answer the purpose of reap- 
 ing various grain, crops." Curiously enough, Mr Lofft devised a 
 machine: similar in its foa?m. and arrangement to that described 
 by the old Eoman authors,, Pliny (a.d. 23) and Palladius (a.d. 
 391), as having been used in Eoman. agriculture, especially in 
 the ilowlands of Gaul,, during that period. This [was followed 
 in the next few years by other machines, none of which met 
 with any success. In 1803, the. Highland Society offered a pre- 
 mium as follows I " To the person who shall invent the best and 
 
154 PKE-SENT STATE OF THE AGRICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 most approved "macliiiie for reaping, whicli, upon trial, shall be 
 found, to the satisfaction of the Society, useful in saving lahour 
 and expense, simplicity of construction being deemed an essential 
 part of its merits — a gold medal or piece of plate of ten guineas 
 value, or that sum in money." 
 
 The Society awarded a premium to Mr Gladstone, millwright. 
 Castle Douglas, in 1805, on his producing a machine of this 
 kind in operation. Gladstone's machine was a great improve- 
 ment on the others that had preceded it, as it not only cut the 
 grain, but gathered it and delivered it in small sheaves. The 
 same machine was revived with some alterations many years 
 afterwards, and again submitted to the Society, but met with no 
 great success. At the close of 1818 over £200 had been given 
 away at different times in premiums in respect of new models 
 and machines. Among these were two new machines arranged on 
 the same principle, with large circular rotating cutting-frames, 
 the one introduced by Alexander Kerr, Edinburgh, the other 
 by James Smith of Deanston, in 1811. They were both reported 
 upon favourably by the Dalkeith Farmers' Club, and both 
 received premiums from the Highland Society. Of Kerr's 
 machine nothing more was heard, but from that date up to 1835 
 the working of Smith's machine was tested from time to time 
 in the harvest field, and different improvements introduced. In 
 that year (1835) the Highland Society held its annual meeting 
 at Ayr, when the reaper was again brought forward for trial. 
 Its work was shown on a field of wheat, and is thus described 
 by the Society's engineer: "The operation began, not on the 
 outside, but in the middle of the field, through which the machine 
 left behind an open lane, when nothing was observable but a 
 closely-shorn stubble, the cut corn being all laid down on one side 
 against the standing corn. Never, perhaps, did an experiment 
 come off with better effect or with greater success. The general 
 impression was that the problem had at last been solved — that 
 Smith's machine was complete." Not such, however, was the 
 fact, for notwithstanding the success of that day's trial, the 
 machine- was left'unnoticed by the public, to work out its exis- 
 tence on its owner's farm. 
 
 In 1828, a £50 premium was awarded to Mr Bell, Auchter- 
 house, Forfarshire (then a student in divinity, and afterwards 
 
FAEM MACHINERY, 155 
 
 the Eev. Patrick Bell of Carmyllie, Porfarshire), for a new- 
 form of reaping machine, which was destined to play an im- 
 portant part in the history of these machines, and their general 
 application to the purposes of the farm. The reaping machine 
 introduced hy Mr Bell was worked every harvest by his brother, 
 a farmer at Inchmichael, with success, and gradually found its 
 way to other districts in the counties of Forfar, Perth, and Pife, 
 where it was so well received that an opinion was publicly 
 expressed that it would soon become in as general use on farms 
 as the thrashing machine, of which it was the mechanical com- 
 plement. 
 
 While Smith's reaper was before the public, other machines 
 on the rotatory principle were introduced, one by Scott of 
 Ormiston, but without success. 
 
 Notwithstanding the large amount of success which attended 
 these early introductions, they made little practical progress" on the 
 farm, and were either laid aside or lapsed into the insignificance 
 of local use. Bell's machine alone plodded its way from harvest 
 to harvest, biding its time until some circumstance should arrive 
 which should give it its proper position among the auxiliary 
 forces of the farm. This circumstance was long in coming, for 
 it was not until the Great International Exhibition of 1851 that 
 the general public were made aware that such a machine had 
 ever been thought of even in this country. Two exhibitors in 
 the United States Department — M'Cormick and Hussey — dis- 
 played their respective reaping machines, which were tried pub- 
 licly in the harvest field, and did such good and satisfactoiy work 
 that the problem was solved there and then — the exhibitors were 
 awarded the highest honours, and the reaping machine was from 
 that day placed in the front rank of the mechanical forces of the 
 farm. 
 
 The great and obvious advantages of such machines would 
 lead one to ask how it was that, though known, and to some 
 extent worked, in Scotland for so many years, they were so long 
 in achieving that position of success which their exhibition in 
 1851 at once conferred upon them. The reason was probably 
 due to two causes — first, the imperfect construction and me- 
 chanical arrangement of the earlier machines ; and secondly, that 
 when the machines were more perfect in their mechanical 
 
156 PRESENT STATE QI THE A.GEia7LTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 appliaaees, the condition of agricuilture generally was not suffi- 
 ciently advanced to render their continued application successful, 
 or their advantages readily appreciated, ^ch. maeMnes: can omly 
 follow good farming.. It is evident that they had appeared before 
 their time. In 1851, when, thanks to the American exhibitors, 
 they were again produced, their time had: arrived. The enlarging 
 of fields, clearing away hedgerow's, and thorough drainage and 
 levelling ridges,* had aE tended to remove the ohstacles to tieir 
 successful application. Free trade; had been introduced; the 
 false policy of protection had been gLven up ; and the farmer was 
 called upon to rely on his own resources, and to meet the produce 
 of other countries more favoured by nature than^ his own in an 
 open and free market. His^ energy and intelligence were: taxed 
 to support him in his changed conditioa,, and. the great advances 
 that followed testified that they were not exerted in vain. The 
 demand for improved implements of all sorts has since thea 
 enormously increased j- the application of machinery to new 
 purposes has become well-nigh general ; and in no department 
 of the farm is this, more noticed tiian in the reception, which has 
 been, everywhere given to the reaping machine; 
 
 The mowing mmhines are pretty much on the same principle 
 as the reaping machines. They are now in general use amcng 
 Scotch farmers, and have been attended by such a large measure 
 of success that they are now looked, upon as being indispensable 
 — in short, manual labour could not now very easily be got to 
 do the work, performed by them. 
 
 The system of parcdM or " thorough" draiimge for our tiUJage 
 land, first advocated and practically introduced about 1830j by 
 James Smith of Deanston, in whick stones, were fitrst used for 
 securing a conduit for the discharge of the water from the drained 
 soil, gave rise soon to the construction of machines for makiaag 
 tiles and:, pipes of clay, by which this object could be more satis- 
 factorily secured.. 
 
 The first drain tile making machine, devised by the Marq[uis 
 of Tweeddale and Mr Ainshe, was broughtcut at the Perth Show 
 of the Highland Society in 1836. This was followed by several 
 others, and was the means of giving a great stimulus to thorough 
 
 * Palladius remarks tliat these maoMnes are only available in those ooimtries 
 where the fields are large and their surface leveU 
 
3:akm tseachikeey. 157 
 
 dxaaning in Scotland, Considerable improvements have been 
 effected in these machines since they were first exhibited, and 
 they are now 'extensively used. 
 
 Most of the various jnachines and implements •which are 
 manufactured .and offered to modern agriculture by the nume- 
 rous skilled engineers and mechanics who devote themselves 
 to this service, are to be found in use on our farms. Many 
 of them are made in the different establishments located in 
 our own cities or large centres of demand^ others are obtained 
 from those extensive manufactories in England whose machinery 
 and implements are known far and wide over the world, in every 
 country where anything approaching ^systematic cultivation exists. 
 Of these it is not necessary to give a detailed .description here; 
 their form of construction, mode of :application, and resulting 
 advantages are now generally known and universally acknow- 
 ledged. 
 
 The cheapness of carriage at the present day admits of the 
 more complicated machinery being supplied from the agricul- 
 tural engineering and machine manufacturing establishments in 
 different centres of demand, and gradually the whole of the im- 
 plement and machine trade has been leaving country districts, 
 which are now left with little beyond the supply of the simplest 
 and least costly of the wants of the farm. StiU further help is 
 lequired from machinery in order to meet the great increase in 
 the cost of labour ; though it must be acknowledged that the 
 progress made in the implement department during the last 
 half century has been most remarkable. This may be gathered 
 from the fact that in 1827 only 11 implements were exhibited 
 at the Highland Society's Show of that year, whereas no less 
 than 2292 were sent to their Great Meeting in 1877. 
 
 The introduction of improved machinery and implements, and 
 the manifest advantages that have resulted from their applica- 
 tion, have palpably affected all classes of the agricultural com- 
 munity. It has induced in the farmer a willingness to receive 
 advice. and assistance from others outside of his own particular 
 profession, and a desire to make himself better acquainted with 
 this branch, at aU events, of physical science, than he was before, 
 — leaving his mind more open and better prepared for the recep- 
 tion of other knowledge bearing, perhaps more directly and im- 
 
158 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 portantly, oa his interests. To the lahourer it has been the 
 means of relief from the heavier drudgery of field work, — that in 
 which the wear and tear of life is at the maximum, while the rate 
 of remuneration, in the shape of wages, is at the minimum, — ^that 
 in which the physical alone is needed, without the controlling 
 and elevating influence of the mental powers. By calling these 
 into play in its management and application, improved farm ma- 
 chinery has forced on the improvement of his education and of 
 his social status, and, as a consequence, entitled him to higher 
 remuneration. To the proprietor it has afforded the satisfaction 
 of improved cultivation and improved condition of his estate, and 
 the more material satisfaction of an improved rental ; and to 
 the general community it has afforded the means of increasing the 
 supply, while it has materially decreased the cost, of production 
 of their daily food. 
 
IX. 
 
 SPECIAL BREEDS.— THE CLYDESDALE HOKSE. 
 
 It is unfortunate that little authentic information is obtainable 
 as to the origin of this most important breed of draught horses ; 
 and those seeking to elucidate its early history have to glean 
 what particulars they may deem reliable from old traditions and 
 the recollections of aged horse-farmers. 
 
 All seem to agree, however, that the first step towards im- 
 provement was the introduction of foreign sires for crossing with 
 the mares of the country. No doubt, from time to time muph 
 has been done in this way, even in later years, but traditions 
 concur in ascribing the nucleus of the existing breed to stock 
 produced from country mares put to Flemish horses, imported, 
 probably, about the begijaning of the eighteenth century. An 
 ancestor of the present Duke of Hamilton is generally under- 
 stood to have been the principal importer of these stallions. 
 
 The haughs and grass lands in the valley of the Clyde 
 were most naturally the situation best adapted in those early 
 days for horse breeding. The pasture and climate have since 
 proved so admirably suited for this purpose that we may readily 
 imagine that, even earlier than the period indicated, the native 
 horses found here would be better developed and more valuable 
 than in other parts of Scotland. Agriculture had at that time 
 made but little progress. Comparatively little had been done in 
 the way of reclamation ; and barren moors or bleak hillsides, 
 with steadings consisting merely of a solitary hut, of which the 
 tenant and his family occupied one end and his cow the other, 
 afforded few facilities for improving or even rearing horses. 
 
 When agriculture developed, and horses came to be more in 
 demand for cultivation, buyers naturally turned to where they 
 could obtain the best specimens to supply their wants, This 
 gave an incentive to breeders in that locality to increase and 
 improve their stock to meet the demand, and probably all good 
 animals, from any part of the country, were forwarded to Lanark- 
 shire for sale, as the district where the demand was greatest and 
 the prices most remunerative. 
 
160 PBESENT STATE OF THE AGKICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 The principal market for horses at that time was Lanark Pair, 
 held at the town of that name about the beginning of February- 
 each year. 
 
 The horses there puichased and taken to a distance were 
 naturally described as horses from Clydesdale, or Clydesdale 
 horses, and it was thus no doubt that the name of this famous 
 breed originated. 
 
 The first stallion show held in Scotland, so far as is now 
 known, was held in Edinburgh in 1757. It is recorded that one 
 took place in the Grassmarket, Ediuburgh, in the year 1783 j 
 and from that period the syBtematic breeding of " Clydesdale" 
 horses may be said to take its date. 
 
 In the earlier periods of the breed the colours were invariably 
 grey and black — of later years, bays and browns are the favour- 
 ite and more common colours. Blacks are rarer, and not so 
 much valued ; and greys are very rarely kept as stallions, or for 
 breeding purposes, notwithstanding the good qualities they may 
 possess in other points. Chesnuts are undoubtedly the most 
 unpopular of alL A white face or white markings are not 
 objected to, but too much white about the legs is generally con- 
 sidered as detracting from their good appearance. 
 
 The points of the Clydesdale of the present day are of course 
 pretty much the same as in other breeds of draught horses, with 
 some special peculiarities. The head is more symmetrical than ia 
 either the Suffolk or English cart horse, without being small, 
 a bold head and large ear teing considered indications of growth 
 and strength. The face should be neither full (or roman nosed) 
 nor hollow (what is known as dish-faced), but the profile should 
 be straight from the ears to the nose ; the forehead between the 
 eyes wide ; the muzzle square ; and the under jaws cleanly cut. 
 In this last particular especially the difference between the 
 Clydesdale and the ordinary English draught horse is very 
 apparent. 
 
 The hair of the leg is a special feature, and many expedients 
 are resorted to to bring it to perfection in candidates for hon- 
 ours. It should be abundant, long, and silky, with a slight 
 wave or ripple, but not actually curly; coarse curly hair, or 
 straight thick hair, with any tendency to\a furry or woolly 
 character, is very objectionable — the latter especially. 
 
THE CLYDESDALK HOUSE. 161 
 
 The popularity of this breed is due in a great measure to 
 action and general disposition. In trotting, the action is quick 
 and straight, knees and hocks well bent, and reaehing forward 
 with much life and elasticity, getting well over the ground. In 
 walking, the superiority over the ordinary dray-horse is very 
 apparent, as the stride is long and swinging, and the whole gait 
 expressive of activity and power. This enables the Clydesdale 
 horse to get quickly over long distances with very heavy loads ; 
 indeed, the strength and willingness of these animals is apparent 
 to any one who has seen them moving rapidly along crowded 
 streets with enormous loads, and noted the fact that two-horse 
 carts are quite unknown in Scotland. 
 
 While full of spirit and vigour, the temperament of these 
 horses is, as a rule, mild and docile. This makes them doubly 
 valuably for farm work, where over-keenness or hot temper 
 would be a great drawback. It also makes the breaking-in a very 
 simple operation, and enables them to perform all descriptions 
 of work with the least possible expenditure of physical force. 
 
 In general ' appearance, Clydesdale horses should be short- 
 legged, firm, and compact, without the great height and pon- 
 derous body of the London dray-horse, and having legs more in 
 proportion to the weight he carries than the chestnut-coloured 
 horses of Suffolk. Their height varies from sixteen to fully 
 seventeen hands, the smaller specimens being chiefly retained 
 for farm purposes and as brood mares ; the larger ones finding 
 their way, at four or five years old, into large towns, where they 
 are employed for street traffic. Glasgow being the centre of its 
 native district, is naturally the place where this breed is seen 
 to the greatest advantage, and nowhere in the world can finer 
 draught horses be found in larger numbers than in the lorries and 
 carts of that city. 
 
 One of the most remarkable properties of the Clydesdale is 
 the great advantage with which he can be used for crossing with 
 other inferior breeds, invariably stamping upon the produce thus 
 obtained much of his own character and quality. This fact 
 being fully recognised, has created a great demand for stallions 
 for exportation. Not only are many sent annually to England and 
 Continental Europe ; but the United States of America, Canada, 
 Australia, and New Zealand take off a still larger number, and 
 
 L 
 
162 PRESENT STATE OP THE AGKICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 the result has been a most extraordinary advance 'in the price of 
 well-bred stock within the last ten or fifteen years.. Our own 
 colonies in the southern hemisphere are, as a rule, the buyers of 
 the highest priced horses ; and as they have, in addition to 
 stallions, imported many of our best-bred mares, they have now 
 several breeding studs of pure Clydesdales, little, if any, inferior 
 to those of the old country. The testimony of the colonists as 
 to the superiority of this breed over all others, whether for work 
 or crossiog; is everywhere unanimous and conclusive. 
 
 The districts where Clydesdale horses are chiefly bred are, 
 firstly, of course, the valley of the Clyde, comprising the 
 counties of Lanark, Dumbarton, and Eenfrew ; and secondly, the 
 south-west or Galloway district, including Wigtown, Kirkcud- 
 bright, and Dumfries shires. Ayrshire was not formerly so 
 celebrated for this breed ; being in the head-quarters of Scotch 
 dairy farming, the agriculturists of this county devoted more 
 attention to their celebrated local breed of cattle than to horse 
 rearing. During recent years, however, a great advance has been 
 made, and many animals of high merit are now bred in Ayr- 
 shire. Eintyre, the peninsula forming the southern extremity of 
 ArgyUshiie, is also the nursery of many valuable animals. Pully 
 fifty years ago the farmers of that district commenced importing 
 Clydesdale stallions to breed with their Highland mares, and 
 this system having been continued ever since, we now find 
 many of the most celebrated prize-winners of the present day 
 directly or in previous generations springing from this dis- 
 trict. In Aberdeenshire, also, of' late much has been done 
 to improve the local breed by iinporting stallions, and the 
 result is very apparent in the improved character of the local 
 exhibitions. The price of ordinary cart geldings advanced so 
 rapidly a few years ago that horse breeding has been a most pro- 
 fitable pursuit, and consequently stallions are now hired annually 
 to travel in every part of Scotland, but the districts indicated 
 above are the principal centres of pure-bred -stouk. 
 
 Thfe" leading shows of Scotland at which Clydesdale horses 
 can be seen in greatest nrumbers and: finest quality, aie the 
 annual shows of the Highland and Agrfcxdtural Society, and the 
 stallion shows of the Glasgow Agricultural Society; The former 
 exhibitions take'- plaicfe" in the last week of July, and the; chief 
 
THE CLYDESDALE HOESE, 163 
 
 towns of Scotland are visited in annual rotation. To show tKe 
 advance that has been made since the origin of these shows, it 
 may he mentioned that at the first exhibition of this Society at 
 which prizes were given for horses (held at Glasgow in 1826), 
 only 49 competed, and £35 was the sum expended in prize 
 money; while at the most recent show, held at Edinburgh in 
 1877, premiums to the extent of fully £500 were offered for 
 draught horses alone, and the entries amounted to 237. In 
 1875, when the Highland Society's show was last in Glasgow, 
 the number of Clydesdales exhibited was 273. This year, at the 
 show of the Glasgow Agricultural Society held in February, 209. 
 Clydesdale stallions, of three years old and, upwards,, were ex- 
 hibited, and premiums for next season's services were offered, 
 amounting to fuUy £.4000.. 
 
 These premiums are given by Agricultural Societies or landed 
 proprietors to induce stallion owners to send their horses to 
 travel in certain districts, and are exclusive of the fee paid by the 
 farmer for the use of the horse. Twenty-five of the premiums 
 at this show were of £100 each ; three of thfem were above that, 
 sum. As the service fees, in addition,, are generally from £3 to 
 £5 for each foal,, it wiU easily be seen how large the season's, 
 earnings of one stallion may be,; hence the. enormous prices that 
 these horses now fetch. 
 
 In addition to the. horses hired at this annual show, many are 
 sold, buyers from all parts of the world being present, as is also 
 the case at Highland Society shows. These latter exhibitions 
 taking place at the end of the season, afford an opportunity foB 
 selecting horses at lower prices than in the month of February, 
 as the remunerative portion of the year, for home employment 
 is over, and owners are glad to avoid the expense and risk, off 
 nine months' profitless^^ keeping. At this latter show alsoall 
 classes of stock are seen — aged mares and stallions, fillies and. 
 colts of one, two, and three years oldr— while at the February 
 show in Glasgow, stallions ^alone are exhibited,. 
 
SPECIAL BREEDS OF CATTLE. 
 The Ayeshiee. 
 
 The home of this breed of cattle, so noted for its milking powers, 
 is in the south-west of Scotland, and it derives its name from 
 the county of Ayr, situated in that district. The climate of this 
 locality is mild and moist, which appears to suit this breed, as it 
 has been found that they do not keep up their milking qualities 
 in a very dry district. 
 
 Various theories have from time to time been promulgated as 
 to the origin and early history of the Ayrshire breed of cattle. 
 That it was in the outset, in common with other breeds, de- 
 scended from the wild cattle which in by-gone daj'^s were to be 
 found roaming at largo throughout Britain, admits not of a doubt, 
 for it is well known that the various circumstances of climate, 
 soil, and so on, have a wonderful tendency to change the form 
 
 and appearance of any species, whether of cattle, sheep, horses, 
 «r other animals. 
 
 It seems probable that a few descendants of the ancient 
 British breed were introduced originally into the western part of 
 Scotland, where in time their progeny acquired properties quite 
 in accordance with the climate and soU. Many of the pecu- 
 liarities they then possessed undoubtedly betokened good 
 milking capacities, in the same way that several points of the 
 unimproved Shorthorn indicated a tendency to early maturity, 
 
 • or that the form and general appearance of the West Highlander 
 denoted extreme hardihood. 
 
 In the manner just described it is believed that nature laid the 
 foundation of one of the most noted milking breeds of the present 
 day. The Scotch farmer would probably soon find out the exist- 
 
 . ence of this important quality, and perhaps strive to improve it 
 
 iBO far as his knowledge extended or his means permitted ; but 
 
SPECIAL BREEDS OF CATTLE. ,165 
 
 in absence of authentic records bearing on the point, it is im- 
 possible to show by what progressive steps the Ayrshire cow was 
 moulded into the form it possessed at the middle of last century. 
 Yet it is reasonable to imagine that very little had been done m ■ 
 the way of selection or crossing with superior animals of the 
 same type up to that time ; for Aiton, who wrote in 1825, de- 
 scribes the cattle, from his own recollection, as having been a 
 , puny and unshapely breed. The cows then gave only 6 to 8 
 quarts of milk per day, and seldom exceeded 20 stones when 
 made fat, even in the height of the season. 
 
 The first mention of the Ayrshire breed of cattle is supposeee 
 to be made by Ortelius, who wrote in 1573, when he says thajt- 
 "in Carrick are oxen of large size, whose flesh is tender, and 
 sweet, • and juicy." Compared with other native breeds, as the 
 West Highlander, the Ayrshire might then, as indeed it is now,, 
 be comparatively large. For about two hundred years after 
 Ortelius wrote, little mention is made'of the Ayrshire, from which, 
 it may be inferred that the breed was not held in any wonderful 
 degree of esteem; in fact, CuUey, who wrote his treatise on live 
 stock towards the close of the eighteenth century, does not even, 
 mention the Ayrshire as one of the recognised breeds of the- 
 country ; and Fullarton, in describing the county in which it was- 
 found, speaks of it in a manner so general as to show that it was. 
 not regarded as anything remarkable. 
 
 So recently as 1811, in a report upon Ayrshire, the cattle were' 
 described as being almost wholly black. That there was a 
 certain uniformity of colour may be gathered from the fact that 
 prbvincial terms were invented having reference to the location 
 of certain colours. 
 
 The improvement in the Ayrshire breed of cattle dates from 
 the year 1750, when it is stated, on competent authority, that, 
 the Earl of Marchmont had brought from his estate in Berwick- 
 shire a bull and several cows, which he had some time previously 
 procured from the Bishop of Durham, of the Teeswater breed. 
 These cattle were of a light brown colour, spotted with white. 
 
 Although the improvement in Ayrshire cattle dates from the 
 year 1750, it cannot be said to have become anything like 
 universal until about the year 1780, when a much better sys- 
 tem of farming was adopted, more attention wa.s devoted +«> 
 
1G6 PRESENT STATE or THE. AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 the breeding and rearing of stock, and a much more generous 
 (fare 'was 'substituted for that which was barely necessary to 
 sustain life. Higher rents were demanded, and fhese served as 
 a stimulus to industry; for, as the clay soil was :in excess, arid 
 liElble to be poached if worked under the almost continual 
 ■dripping of the clouds, more attention was devoted to dairy 
 (farming than to the growth of wheat and other cereals. 
 
 Thus the race of Ayrshires was ameliorated step by step, 
 ■ luntn it has attained its present state of perfecfiom. A . con- 
 siderable time has elapsed since the improved breed was 
 established in every district of Ayrshire proper, as well as 
 -since its 'adoption in many other counties. 
 
 The prices of young stock vary according to age and equality, 
 and milch cows range from £12 or £14 to £18 or £20, For 
 good bulls high figures are occasionally given. 
 
 ■ The modem Ayrshire Cow has well-defined eharacteristies, 
 which are unmistakeable by the observer when onceTinderstood. 
 The horns are small, •wide apart at the base, have an upward 
 inclination, and graceful curve inwards. The head is small, the 
 meek 'long and fine where it joins the head, but gradually thick- 
 ening to where it is set upon the shoulders. "The forequarters in 
 general: are thin, the body developing gradually towards the hinder 
 parts. The colour is brown, mixed more or less with red, the 
 markings being clearly defined ; while the skin is soft, pliant, 
 and pleasingly elastic to the touch. The thighs are deep and 
 broad, and the legs short. The udder is large without being 
 flaccid, well developed without being cumbersome. . Indeed, the 
 general contour of the Ayrshire betoken milking capacities of 
 no mean order. There is very little coarseness about the true 
 breed, most of the points being whd,t comioisseuis call "good." 
 
 'The Ayrshire dairy farmers are very particular in the breed- 
 ing of iheir cattle. In order to secure the milking properties as 
 -fares possible, they select a bull possessing so much of the 
 . feminine aspect as. pertains to the neck, 'head, and forequarters, 
 having also sufficient breadth between the hooks and fulness in 
 the flanks. They prefer that the scrotum be white; indeed, so 
 imich attention is paid to this point, that many breeders would 
 reject an animal if the part in question were of any other 
 . colour, When a bull is selected from a herd other than that 
 
■jSPEGIAL.BEEaDS ;QF.0^Ttl4E. 167 
 
 ■ -iu irchich he is, required to serve, great care is taken that he 
 
 '.be descended. &OJB. a stock noted ,for its .milking qualities, inde- 
 pendent of the points which he himself possesses. ' The pur- 
 
 ■ chaser.-satisfies himself that the mother of .the bull was a. strong 
 profitable cow, for he iknows that the ;maternal parent, of the 
 sire has a most :unmi9fcakeable influence ;over'the progeny for 
 many generations. Indeed, the aun of thei. dairyman is to culti- 
 vate; a race of cattle noted alilce for ' their -rharmony of colour, 
 beauty of contour, and large milking proclivities. 
 
 Whatever is due to the introduction of ' and . crossing with 
 other animals, and also to the superior food which the ; cattle of 
 the present-day receive compared with the meagre if are of last 
 
 , century, there can be no doubt that the world-wide 'reputetwhich 
 the Ayrshire has at length gained as a milker is mostly owing 
 
 -to the selection X)f animals for breeding purposes. Jn the female 
 
 ) the better milker is always retained, while the poorer is rejected, 
 the dairyman having great faith in the adage that "like pro- 
 duces like." Those exterior outlines, which, as experience shows, 
 exist in the bettercows, are sought for in the younger cattle, 
 and 9,imed at in the coupling. 'Thus the modem Ayrshire has, 
 as it were, by degrees been built up, until she is a milker .of 
 
 mnsurpassed excellence, her form according with that which 
 
 .indicates this fajsulty. Her udder has become developed in, size, 
 perfected in shape, and extended to a wonderful, degree of capa- 
 
 .dty; her soft woolly coat protects her body from the rough 
 storms which now and then sweep across the Atlantic; while her 
 body is light before and heavy behind, for the breeder knows 
 that such chaTacteristics ;are ; a sure guarantee of .milking capa- 
 bilities. .The advance has been gradual for almost a century, 
 each step having ibeen fixed as it was gained. :Her type is the 
 type. sought for ,by dairy farmers, not only in Ayrshire, but in 
 the adjoining counties of western Scotland as weill — ^from the 
 
 , Grampian :mountains to the Solway Firth. and the Cheviot Hills. 
 Neither is the smaU, neat,: milk-giving Ayrshire confined to its 
 natiwe country. It is sought after to crop the verdant pastures 
 
 'M different parts of England;, it graces many dairy farms in 
 
 .iHolland; it has crossed the wide Atlantic, and feeds along the 
 northern as well as the southern shores of .the river St Lawrence, 
 
 i.or j:ests beiueath the shadows of.the Eocky Mountains. 
 
168 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 The management of Ayrshires varies slightly in detail, owing 
 to circumstances ; but, as a rule, the dairy cattle calve in March 
 and the beginning of April. 
 
 Comparatively few pure-bred A3Tshire steers are reared for 
 grazing, the male calves being usually sent to the butchers 
 when young. The heifer calves are supplied with milk for a 
 period varying from six to nine weeks, when they have skimmed 
 milk or gruel for another month. They are allowed to run 
 upon an old pasture till the month of August, being then re- 
 moved to the hay " foggage," to get them up in condition. They 
 thus retain their " calf flesh," and remain in good condition during 
 winter, if liberally fed. 
 
 They are again sent to the moors the second summer, and 
 brought home to good grass in autumn. They are then six- 
 quarters old. When taken up, the young cattle are allowed a 
 portion of hay or mash with their straw and turnips. About 
 February the calving heifers are supplied with a little meal, to 
 make good the drain of nourishment caused by the growth of 
 the calf. It is considered dangerous, however, to feed very 
 heavily, until a little while after calving, then a more liberal 
 diet is given, and the young cow brought into full milk. 
 
 In some districts dairy cattle are let out to men called 
 " bowers " for the season. These bowers either pay a fixed rent 
 for each cow in money, or deliver so much cheese at the end of 
 the year, as may be agreed upon. The farmer supplies pasture 
 for the summer months, and a regulated quantity of feeding 
 stuffs for the winter, the usual allowance being five or six tons 
 of swedes and common turnips for cows, with two and a-half 
 cwt. of bean meal and hay and straw. The " bower," with his 
 family, performs all the necessary labour in attending to and 
 feeding the cattle, as well as the making of cheese. The pay- 
 ment which he is called upon to make depends much upon 
 the quality of the pastures, the value of the produce, &c. ; 
 but the usual rates are £11 to £14 when paid in money, and 
 three to four cwt. of cheese when paid in kind for each cow. 
 
 It is a well-established fact that no breed of cattle in the 
 British Islands will produce an equal quantity of milk, butter, 
 and cheese from a given amount of food as the pure-bred Ayr- 
 shire. Of the precise yield of milk which a cow gives, it is 
 
SPECIAL BREEDS OF CATTLE. 169 
 
 difficult to speak with any degree of certainty, so much depend- 
 ing upon the size, breeding, and age of the animal, the quantity 
 and quality of the food given, the attention to milking and 
 regulation of the byre work, together with many other circum- 
 stances having a certain amount of influence in determining the 
 quantities of milk given by individual cattle. Alton, in his 
 " Survey," says that some cows produce five to six gallons per 
 day for a time. Long after committing this statement to paper, 
 he was led to believe that he had underrated the quantity, as he 
 was informed that many cattle yield six to seven gallons per 
 day for six or eight weeks ; but these, he remarks, are extra- 
 ordinary returns. Several, when in their best plight and well 
 fed, wiU yield four gallons per day for three months, and pro- 
 duce a total of 800 to 900 gallons per cow. ' As an average, 600 
 gallons per cow for the year has been mentioned, -but on the 
 poorer farms the average yield falls far short of this, and cannot 
 be more than 480 or 500 gallons. 
 
 Where the milk can be disposed of daily, the returns are 
 largest; but such farms are said to be privileged, and rents are 
 consequently higher. 
 
 Por the sake of comparing the three methods of disposal, an 
 example may be adduced. In the suppositious conversion of 
 milk into butter and cheese, the usual recognised standard is 
 observed, namely, 2^ gallons of milk to 1 lb. of butter, and 1 
 gallon to 1 lb. of cheese, although some dairymen now calculate 
 30 gallons of milk to 24 lbs. of cheese. Say an average dairy 
 cow, with moderately liberal diet, yields 600 gallons of milk per 
 annum, the following results are obtained : — 
 
 (1.) 600 gallons of milk, at lOd. per gallon, . £25 
 
 (2.) 240 lbs. butter, at Is. 4d. per lb., . 
 Estimated value of buttermilk. 
 
 Total, 
 
 (3.) 5 J cwt. of cheese, at 70s. per cwt., . 
 Estimated value of whey. 
 
 Total, 
 
 £16 
 
 3 10. 
 
 £19 10 
 
 £18 7 6 
 
 2 
 
 £20 7 6 
 
170 PEESENT STATE OF .THE AQKLCULXUBEjOJ' SCOTLAND. 
 
 It appears that of the three systems, the, sale of the produce 
 ia the shape of :milk is the most profifcahle; that cheese-Hmking 
 stands second, and butter last. Of course, the prices current for 
 the different articles would render the. return variable, but. it, is 
 usually understood that milk selling, is the most advantageous 
 where there is sufficieilt;deman.d for the produce. 
 
 The following 'figmres show the result of a milking competi- 
 tion held at' Ayr on the 26th and 2'7th.days di April 1861:— 
 
 Name of Owner. 
 
 Greatest 
 MilMng. 
 
 Average of 
 .Fojir Makings. 
 
 Weight of 
 Butter. 
 
 
 lbs. oz. 
 
 lbs. oz. 
 
 lbs. oz. 
 
 A. Wilson 
 
 28 12 
 
 24 3i 
 
 2 2 
 
 J. Hendrie 
 
 26 
 
 24 5 
 
 2 14^ 
 
 W. Eeid . 
 
 25 7 
 
 20 Si^ 
 
 2 9 
 
 W. Eeid . 
 
 30 15 
 
 27 5[ 
 
 
 3 6 
 
 E. WaUace 
 
 28 14 
 
 28 8 
 
 
 1 9| 
 
 E. WaUace 
 
 25 5 
 
 23 ,83 
 
 
 1 15 
 
 In the above competition, the greatest yield at a single niilk- 
 ing was rather over three gallons, which produced at the rate of 
 
 .15 lbs. of butter per week. But being a competition, and the 
 cows highly fed, the returns afford no fair criterion of the ordi- 
 
 , nary mOking capacities of an Ayrshire cow. 
 
 The T n ilk of the breed in question is exceexiinglyrich in quality. 
 Its predominant feature consists in the large butter globules 
 which it contains, and its adaptability for either batter or cheese 
 making. Still two distinct classes of cattle might be selected- — 
 butter and cheese makers. The latter furnish a large secretion 
 of milk, containing a smaller globule, and more numerous gra- 
 nules than does the milk from the butter family. 'Many cattle 
 possess both the butter and cheese making faculties in a remark- 
 able degree. 
 
 Although the Ayrshire cow is bred chiefly'for milking pur- 
 poses, she also fattens very quickly when put dry, for the same 
 functions which .ordinarily fill the udder, also cover the frame 
 with fat. Cows are fed off at various ages. If any decline in 
 milking qualities is noticed, some are fed off at s-even years, 
 others are kept until nine, while extraordinary pail cattle are 
 
 ieometimes kept till their mouths fail. 
 
SPECIAL BKEEDS OF CATTLE. lYl 
 
 Polled Angus >oe Aberdeen. 
 
 In order to trace the origin of the polled Angus or Aberdeen 
 cattle,' it will be necessary first of allto ascertain what descrip- 
 tions of stock prevailed in the countries whose names they bear 
 previous to the era of improvemeht. From the earliest recollec- 
 tion of the greatest living authority, three-fourths of the cattle 
 in Aberdeenshire were black and polled, and this was the original 
 breed of the county. Three-fourths of a century ago, bullocks 
 two and a half years old were bought for £30 a head in spring, 
 and sold at Christmas at feom £40 to £50. These statements at 
 once guarantee that the Aberdeen stock was even then of no 
 inferior order, for at that time figures as high, as those quoted 
 were rarely heard of in- connection with the best bovine tribes. 
 A practical breeder says of them : — " The polled Aberdeenshire 
 are the best of all the best- cattle yet produced, and had they got 
 the same feeding which is now given to the Shorthorns, wouM 
 have surpassed anything I have seen in that class ; and, more- 
 over, I think the county would have sustained no loss although 
 . the Shorthorn had never crossed the Dee;" This may be speaking 
 -somewhat with the partiality of affection; nevertheless, this 
 living testimony, fallijQg as it does from the lips of a thoroughly 
 practical man, is of the utmost value in determining' the position 
 of this breed as a commercial stock in Aberdeen at the begin- 
 ning of the present century. The views are also in part con- 
 firmed by an account of the "breed given in the history of the 
 county published in 1811, which states that Aberdeen is a 
 breeding county, and raises a larger number and value Of black 
 cattle than perhaps any other in Scotland. We also have it on 
 undoubted authority that the "polled" breed were the almost 
 exclusive inhabitants of the lower grounds, the "horned" types 
 being chiefly confined to the -high or hill districts. At Aikey 
 Fair, early in the century, thousands of poUed cattle' were 
 sho-wn, and not a homed beast was to be seen, and so with many 
 other important fairs. 
 
 The cattle of the county e-ven at !tlus date are described as 
 iaving been much 'improved of late by crossing the, most beauti- 
 ful and best formed females withthe purest males of the breed 
 •to which they belong. Moreover, we are informed from the 
 
172 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTCRE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 same source that the breeders of cattle endeavoured to improve 
 the size of the native stock by good keeping. These points are 
 very important, and will serve to check an erroneous impression 
 which at present prevails — namely, that the improved Aberdeen 
 cattle were formerly horned. There was a homed breed in 
 Aberdeenshire at one time, and we are also quite aware that 
 the injudicious mixing of them with the polled breeds gave rise 
 to every conceivable shape and colour of crosses. Therefore, 
 horned cattle possessing in other respects all the characteristics 
 of polls, were quite common, and have doubtless led many into 
 the error of supposing that the whole of the Aberdeen polled 
 cattle were formerly homed. The original polled cows were 
 generally fair mjlkers, and the dairy produce towards the end of 
 last century was something considerable. 
 
 The history of Angus, published in 1813, gives some interest- 
 ing particulars relative to the native cattle of that county. The 
 permanent stock, we learn, constituted various breeds, which 
 differed very much from each other both in shape and quality. 
 The report goes on to say that little attention is paid to the 
 selection either of the .males or females by whom the breed is 
 propagated, and no pains have been taken to elicit a breed dis- 
 tinguished by any peculiar properties, either as a good milking 
 or as a good fattening breed. The calves were not always care- 
 - fully reared. Some farmers, with the view of economy, reared 
 them on hay-tea, skim milk, and the juice of boiled turnips, 
 which rendered them feeble and paralytic. But the report must 
 be taken generally and not exclusively. Many herds of black 
 cattle were carefully reared, even during the last quarter of the 
 eighteenth century, and cases were not unf requent of oxen whose 
 four quarters exceeded 100 stones. 
 
 The polled Angus or Aberdeen tribe is rapidly extending the 
 breadth of its territory. It is now no longer limited to the 
 shires of Forfar and Aberdeen, where it had its origin, but the 
 breed exists largely in Kincardine, Banff, Moray, and perhaps 
 Nairn. A few soKtary herds are also to be found dotted over 
 various parts of Scotland, but not to the extent we should like 
 to see them, for we feel confident they would answer better in 
 many high-lying districts than the bovine race which presently 
 inhabit them. The six counties lying in the north-east of Scot- 
 
SPECIAL BREEDS OF CATTLE. 173 
 
 land, which we have already named, form the district in which 
 the polled cattle are chiefly reared. A liae from Fort George on 
 the Moray Firth, to Dundee on the Firth of Tay, constitutes the 
 south-western geographical limit ; on the north aud east the 
 ocean is the boundary line. The district thus defined forms a 
 large isosceles triangle having for its base the north coast, and 
 Dundee for its apex, the entire area embraced by the triangle 
 being 2,857,968 acres. Of this, 1,226,558 acres are regularly 
 under cultivation, two-fifths being under corn crops, principally 
 oats, with a moderate amount of barley, and very little wheat ; 
 one-fifth under green crops, chiefly turnips ; the remaining two- 
 fifths being occupied by grasses under rotation. The uncul- 
 tivated portion consists of high mountain chains, large stretches 
 of moor and morass, and extensive plantations. Some of the 
 mountain peaks rise to a considerable altitude. Thus it will be 
 seen that the land to which the breed is indigenous, or that to 
 which it has in recent years extended, is exceedingly diversified, 
 varying in character from well-sheltered valleys to bleak and 
 barren moors, or from comparatively low grounds to high 
 mountain peaks. 
 
 Polled Angus or Aberdeen cattle, both male and female, 
 are pleasing objects to the eye, inasmuch as they are finely 
 and symmetrically made, are graceful in movement, have good 
 constitutions, and are yielding to the touch. The modem stock 
 is much improved in appearance over its ancestors of the begin- 
 ning of the present century. This has been attained by the care 
 exercised by breeders in the selection of useful sires, aM catering 
 for those points which breeders call "good," and which now 
 stamp the genuine type. Altogether there are few if any breeds 
 which for general usefulness could -compete successfully with 
 this breed in their native districts, being weU adapted to the 
 climatal and physical character of the country and the mixed 
 system of farming practised therein. Belonging partially to the, 
 high lands and partially to the level plains, the race is eminently 
 calculated to thrive in a country diversified by mountain-chains 
 and well-<!ultivated fields. Possessed of hardihood sufficient to 
 enable it to withstand the asperities of a varied climate, the 
 polled breed is admirably adapted for northerly and exposed situa- 
 tions, as it has a disposition to thrive and fatten upon the pro- 
 
174 PKESENT STATE OF THE AGKICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 duce of the fields witli little or no artificial food. The chief 
 points or characteristics of a well-bred poUed. Angus or Aher- 
 deen bull are — a nicely-formed head well put on ; eyes bright 
 and prominent, and a good breadth, between them; a clean 
 throat and sweet muzzle,, with not too great a distance from 
 eye to nose; a high poU, and ears moderately sized. The neck 
 shoiild be long, clean, and .somewhat full on the top; shoulders 
 broad, but joining without abruptness to both neck and chin ; 
 the chest deep and expansive; the legs somewhat short, clean- 
 boned, and supporting the body firmly.. The, back level and 
 straight; ribs nicely sprung, barrel deep and full behind the 
 shoulders, ensuring a large girth ;. well ribbed home towards the 
 hooks, which shouldbe level and moderatelywide apart, but not 
 too broad for the other proportions ;• and, evenly fleshed to the 
 tail. The twist full and long ; well fleshed, but not protrmJing 
 behind ; the tail of medium thickness, and hanging straight down. 
 
 The head of the cow ought to have, a more elongated shape 
 and feminine aspect than that of the hull; the ears, of good size ; 
 the neck clean, straight, and well put on, with neither abrupt 
 hoUow where it joins the shoulders, nor prominence at the top'; 
 and the shoulders thinner and sharper on the summit than in 
 the male. In short,, the -head is fine, as becomes' both sexes, the 
 carcase round and low, the ilegs short, and the shoulder in keep- 
 ing with the other parts. 
 
 The skin should be soft, and pUantto the. touch, .and covered 
 with a luxuriant crop of silky hair. When in motion, well-bred 
 animals have an easy, springy, stylish action. The colour is mostly 
 black, though occasionally animals of great purity are met with 
 of a brindled cast, a -few. brown along, the spine, and round the 
 muzzle. Others again of equally pura descent, have patches of 
 white on them. Black, ia the colour most breeders cultivate, 
 although we often 'find that the brindled and those with brown 
 spines are capital milkers. It is therefore to be inferred that 
 large indications of. milk have their corresponding colours. Not- 
 withstanding this, m i1 k ing:famih'es may be; cultivated with care, 
 and the jet black o£ fashion strictly adhered to. 
 
 With slight variations, in. matters of detail, the feeding and 
 management of calves -and .young, stock are. much tiie same in 
 aU the best herds. 
 
SPECIAL BKEEDS OF CATTLE. 175 
 
 Cows should be kept as low as possible in the winter. Calves 
 are usually dropped. during the spring, and should have access 
 to their dams until the end of October, getting, in addition to 
 the nult, from 1 to 2 lbs.. of oilcake.. When the weaning has 
 been accomplished,, they have straw and sliced turnips, with. 
 1| to 2 lbs. of . oilcake dailyi. The. after treatment of the females, 
 is somewhat difficult, avoiding, an excess: of if at on the one. 
 hand, and ensuring progressive development on the other. Tha 
 heifers are ' rarely put to. breeding, until two years' old, as they 
 are apt to become stunted if used before. 
 
 During the march of improvement which has been going on 
 steadily for many years, and particularly ia the last decade, we 
 believe that we are right in' stating that milking properties have 
 not as a rule been sought after in the breed of polled cattle. 
 Harly mMwring and lim/oy 'beef-mahing characteristics have 
 mainly been valued by the improvers, uiasmuch as these 
 seem to be the points in which the type excels, and can therefore 
 be brought up to the highest standard of perfection.. . A few 
 breeders, however, while not loosing, sight of the main. properties 
 possessed by the polls, have paid a little attention to the milking 
 capacities as well; we therefore find some herds which are very, 
 profitable dairy cattle. 
 
 The race, viewed as a whole, may be set down as fair milkers, 
 of course not- nearly equal to the Ayrshire, or cattle of the. 
 Chaimel Islands, but far superior to many other breeds.; The 
 quantity given is larger than that of the West . Highlander, but 
 the quality falls short, although it is superior to that, of: 
 the shorthorn, which is sometimes given in large quantities and 
 very thin. As in .other breeds, there are good, bad, and indifferent 
 milking families,, according to the pains or otherwise which have 
 been bestowed upon the cultivation of this important: faculty. 
 Those who are anxious to secure females, of. this kind for the 
 dairy should be careful not to: bfe led. away by the too heavily 
 fleshed animals.. Where milk alone is a desideratum, we could 
 not recommend the' polled breed-.as being the most suitable ; but, 
 as we have said, if, judicious .selection -be made, a. race of cattle 
 may be founded.which wdl .milk fairly "weU and.make,good.car^ 
 cases of beef at the finish- 
 In order to show thegreat importance of cattle feeding' in the 
 
17.6 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 district where the polled breed forms no iaconsiderable propor- 
 tion of the live stock, we may state that it is computed that 
 about 42,000 cattle are annually fed in the country lying round 
 Aberdeen. These represent a total annual value of a little over 
 one million pounds sterHng. About 34,500 are exported, either 
 ahve or as dead meat, to London and other large towns. Suc- 
 eessful feeding may therefore be looked upon as a sine qua non in 
 the farming of the part alluded to. The forward bullocks are 
 tied up early and finished off in October with turnips, cake, and 
 straw. The larger and better sorts are usually destined for the 
 Islington, Liverpool, and Edinburgh Christmas markets, where 
 they realize large prices. Very little cake is given, and then 
 only an allowance of 3 to 4 lbs. daily for a short time towards 
 the finish. Indeed the thriving qualities are so marked that the 
 Christmas cattle are not unfrequently thought too ripe by buyers. 
 As the fat cattle go off, the stalls are filled by beasts bought in 
 the neighbourhood and either finished in spring or kept over year 
 upon the pastures. The cattle eat the best of the straw, and the 
 refuse goes for litter. The racks are carefully cleaned out twice 
 a day, and the forestalls once. Turnips are given thrice a day, 
 at six in the morning, then at twelve, and again at four, a bar- 
 rowful being allowed between two cattle. Now and then the 
 cattle are inspected, and the backward ones allowed 3 or 4 lbs. 
 of cake with a little quantity of ground corn, so as to keep them 
 up to a level with the tops. The beds are well shaken up two 
 or three times a day in order to ensure comfort when the animals 
 lie down. 
 
 Most farmers who prepare polled cattle for the, butcher feed, 
 with trifling modifications, as described above. The very fact 
 that little extraneous food is required, speaks volumes for the 
 improved breed. 
 
 In the body of this report examples have been furnished of 
 the improvement which' has gradually been taking place in the 
 poUed type of cattle for more than half a century. . This has been 
 particularly noticeable in the past twenty or twenty-five years, 
 during which time some of the herds have been brought up to a 
 high standard of perfection, and others are in a fair way for 
 shortly achieving a very creditable position. 
 
 In the matter of breeding, we are of opinion that many fanners, 
 
SPECIAL BBEEDS OF CATTLE. 17V 
 
 who are still content to raise cattle from ordinary stock, might 
 very materially improve their herds by following in the footsteps 
 of the great pioneers who have long ago paved the way and made 
 the path smooth and even. By the pnrchase of two or three 
 good females, they would be ahle, at a com,paratively small cost, 
 to lay the foundation of a superior stock, which by crossing with 
 good bulls, and the exercise of care in the management, would 
 yield a progeny calculated to fatten on a smaller amount of food, 
 and be of more value when finished. 
 
 With respect to the rearing of calves,;some breeders, we observe, 
 allow either too little milk or give it .for too short a period — 
 sometimes bath. This is poor, nay, false economy, for the calves 
 become poor and stunted, and never afterwards attain to a large 
 size. " Keep the calf flesh on," is a maxim which should be 
 deeply engraven on every breeder's heart. As to the matter of 
 allowing the calves to suck their dams, or that of hand-feeding, 
 opinion is divided ; we, however, decidedly lean to the former 
 system, as being the most natural, and the best. There is no fear 
 of the calves becoming so fat that their iutuie usefulness will be 
 impaired by this Kberal practice. 
 
 In after life there is danger , of overfeeding females, which 
 should be zealously guarded against. 
 
 The Galloway. 
 
 The province of Galloway, from which this valuable breed 
 of beef-producing cattle has taken its name, is now much more 
 limited in area than it was in ancient times. Many centu- 
 ries ago -the term Galloway was applied to the western half 
 of that part of North Britain which lies to the south of the 
 Pirth of Eorth; thus Dumfriesshire, Lanarkshire, Eenfrewshire, 
 and Ayrshire were included in the province, as well as the two 
 counties which now bear the name. Ancient Galloway may.be 
 described, generally as having comprised that extensive tract of 
 country lying :to the west of the main hne of the Caledonian 
 Eailway from Carlisle to Glasgow. But for several centuries the 
 term has been confined to the counties of Kirkcudbright and 
 Wigtown. 
 
 M 
 
178 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Until the second half of last century, the GaUoway was the 
 only breed of cattle kept in the wider of these two districts, com- 
 prisLaghalf a dozen counties" which collectively bore the name. 
 Indeed, even after the title had come to be restricted to Kirkcud- 
 bright and Wigtown, the southern of the three divisions of Ayr- 
 shire was more celebrated for the superior quality of its black 
 cattle than these two counties. 
 
 While Galloway has from time immemorial been the home 
 of the cattle of that name, yet they were not very numerous in 
 any part of it until about the close of the &st quarter of the 
 eighteenth century. Previous to the Union of the two kingdoms 
 there were comparatively few cattle kept even in the arable 
 districts, the low lands as well as the hill country being at that 
 time stocked principally with sheep. And the explanation of 
 this is not far to seek. The towns in Scotland were not 
 populous, and consequently the demand for beef from them was 
 very limited ; and, moreover, in consequence of the distance of 
 the greater portion of the wide district where Galloways were 
 kept from the' principal centres of population, the breed did not 
 participate to any considerable extent in the limited demand 
 which did exist. Sheep were more profitable than cattle 
 and they were valuable mainly for their wool, for which there 
 was a good demaiid at fair ,prices. Consequently those por- 
 tions of the arable farms which were not employed for 
 cropping purposes, as well as the high lands, were principally 
 stocked with sheep. But the Union of the two kingdoms 
 opened up a demand for lean cattle from Norfolk and the 
 other south-eastern counties of England, which early last century 
 caused a speedy extension of cattle-breeding, and this was f o\ind 
 to be much more remunerative than any system which had yet 
 been tried. The proprietors were led to perceive the profit of 
 having good grass on their estates, seeing that the chief revenue 
 of those who rented their lands must be derived from cattle. 
 With the view of reducing the extent under tillage, and corre- 
 spondingly 'increasing the area under grass, they immediately set 
 to work to enclose the lands with stone fences of a kind which 
 have since been known as GaJloway dykfes. In doing so, they in 
 many instances threw several farms into one, and thereby ejected 
 a large number of tenants with their families so summarily, that 
 
SPECIAL BREEDS OF CATTLE. 179 
 
 not a few of them, having no other means of sahsistence, soon 
 found themselves in destitute circumstances. The process of 
 -enclosing was for a time interrupted by the popular rising of a 
 body of men known as " The Levellers," whose lawless proceed- 
 ings are matter of history. But the rising was soon quelled, 
 and the work of enclosing and of stocking the fields with cattle 
 went on apace. Sheep were almost entirely banished from the 
 low grounds, the only stock grazed in the dales being a few 
 pets, and these were kept for the sake of the blankets and home- 
 niade cloth, which were made from their wool by the farmers' wives. 
 The trade of sending lean Galloway cattle to the south gradually 
 increased in dimensions during last century, until at the close of 
 it, and in the early portion of the present century, as many as 
 from 20,000 to 30,000 three and four year old Galloway cattle 
 were annually sent from the pastures in Dumfriesshire and 
 Galloway to England, and principally to the counties of Norfolk 
 and Suffolk. The adoption and gradual extension of turnip 
 husbandry, and the application about the same time of steam 
 power, not only did away with the trade, and led the farmers to 
 prepare a large proportion of their cattle for the fat market, but 
 they brought back the sheep to the arable lands, and thereby 
 lessened the number of cattle kept, at least in proportion to the 
 increased produce from the soil. 
 
 Galloway cattle have been entirely supplanted by the Ayr- 
 shires in the native county of the latter, in Eenf rewshire, and in 
 Lanarkshire; the Ayrshires have also driven them almost entirely 
 from Wigtownshire ; and in the Stewartry of Kircudbright and 
 Dumfriesshire this valuable and fashionable race 'of milkers has 
 in a large measure taken the place .of the beef-producing Gallo- 
 ways. So lately as 1810, Galloways were the prevailing breed in 
 Carrick (Alton's "View," p. 413), and in Wigtownshire the number 
 of Ayrshires at that time was not great. Shortly thereafter, the 
 ancient cattle were rapidly displaced in Ayrshire by the dairy 
 cows ; but it was not until after 1840 that any serious inroad was 
 made fupon their numbers in Dumfriesshire and Galloway. 
 However, during the decade which followed that year the ex- 
 tension of the dairy system was very rapid, and the number of 
 the native breed was correspondingly diminished. The depression 
 under which the cheese trade suffered caused a slight reaction in 
 
180 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUBE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 thejr favour, and the number of Galloway herds has increased 
 rather than diminished during the last few years, 
 
 Galloway cattle have been the native breed in Cumberland as 
 far back as can be traced. This may be explained in two ways. 
 One is the fact that in very remote times that border county 
 was under the same rule as the part of Scotland lying immediately 
 to the north of it. When in course of time the two districts of 
 Cumberland and Dumfriesshire formed part of two different 
 Kingdoms, the inhabitants on one side of the border cherished 
 feelings of bitter hostility towards liiosp on the other side, and 
 cattle "lifting" was common to both sides of .the borders. 
 
 The early improve'm&Kb of the breed was not effected by the 
 crossing of the native cows of the province with bulls of other 
 breeds, although it may be added that isolated .experiments of 
 this kind were tried by several persons. There is no reason to 
 doubt that the breed was brought to its present improved state 
 by the unremitting attention of the inhabitants in breeding from 
 the best and handsomest of both sexes, and by feeding, and man- 
 agement. 
 
 The improvement which has been made upon them during the 
 last fifty years has been very great,. and as .this is an era within the 
 memory of living men, the history of the improvement wrought 
 upon them during that periodjcan be written with greater minute- 
 ness and certainty. During the second quarter of the present cen- 
 tury, the district around vKirkeudbright and the eastern part of 
 Wigtownshire possessed the best and finest specimens of the breed. 
 A band of skilful and enterprising men in these districts vied 
 with each other in their endeavours to improve the quality of 
 their favourite blackskins,^and ,they were highly successful. 
 
 At no previous period of their history has so wide an improye- 
 ment been made on the quality of the Galloways in the kingdom 
 as during the third quarter of the present century, that is, from 
 1850 till the present time. ' Trom twenty-five.to thirty years ago, 
 the purity of the breed ^generally over the country was being 
 rapidly corrupted by careless and injudicious crossing with other 
 varieties. The rapid extension of the dairy system at that time, 
 to which we have already referred, Jiot only displaced the Gallo- 
 ways to a large extent, Jsnt it also afforded an opportunity and 
 even a temptation to an admixture of breeds. 
 
SPECIAL BREEDS OF CATTLE. 181 
 
 The Galloway Agricultural Society establisHed in 1875 a show 
 and sale of heifers at Castle Douglas; it has been held annually, 
 and been moderately successful. It has afforded persons desirous 
 of founding new herds or of recruiting old ones a favourable 
 opportunity for procuring- well-bred pedigree animals, and the 
 prices obtained have been fairly remunerative to the breeders. 
 
 It is chiefly as a beef-producing race of cattle that the Gal- 
 loways are valuable ; for their milking properties are generally 
 not of a high order. The milk given by them is rich in quality, 
 but as a rule the quantity is not large, at all events in proportion 
 to the size of the animal and to the food which it consumes. 
 However, the milking faculty runs in some strains, and individuals 
 of them are excellent dairy cows — ^from 10 to 13 lbs. of butter 
 per week being occasionally got at the height of the grass when 
 they are grazed on old pasture. However, such a yield is quite 
 exceptional; and it must be admitted, even by the most 
 ardent admirer of the breed, that where the main object of aherd 
 i'3 dairy produce — either in butter or cheese, but especially the 
 latter — ^the Ayrshires are preferable to the Galloways, 
 
 The feeders who have made it their aim to bring GaUoways 
 early to maturity have accomplished results which for profit will 
 compare not unfavourably with those attained with any other, 
 breed. 
 
 The hardiness of their constitutions, and their plentiful covering 
 of black hair which in well bred, ones is of the right sort, and 
 which, forms an excellent protection to them in their native cli- 
 mate, which is very moist and occasionally very cold, make, them 
 peculiarly well adapted for high lying and exposed situations. 
 
 Eor crossing purposes the Galloways are deservedly held in 
 high estimation. An excellent cross^ — which is a special favourite 
 with the butchers* — is produced from the Galloway cow and, the 
 shorthorn buU. The colours of- animals of this cross vary a goad 
 deal, but they are generally of a bluish grey,, The infusion of 
 the shorthorn blood into them tends to make them come early 
 to maturity, and. thereby counteracts the objection which some- 
 times has been stated against the pure-bred Galloways, that they 
 are slow to finish. Moreover, their beef is of the same ex- 
 cellent? quality as that of the breed to which, their dams 
 l>elong; and much, superior to that of the breed of their sires,; 
 
182 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 for there is considerable truth in the criticism which we 
 have heard expressed regarding shorthorns, that they are 
 all show outside. Not a few exceUeut authorities use the 
 Cralloway huU for crossing with the shorthorn cow, alleging 
 that this cross is preferable to the other. Galloway sires are also 
 pretty extensively used for crossing with Ayrshire cows, the pro- 
 duce being superior beasts, which grow to a good size and weight, 
 and come early to maturity. This cross is cultivated principally 
 by dairy farmers who combine dairying with the rearing, and in 
 some instances also with the feeding, of such cross-bred cattle, 
 
 The "West Highland. 
 
 This hardy breed of cattle may be stated to occupy as its home 
 the whole of the west and middle Highlands of Scotland and the 
 Western Islands, though a herd of Ayrshires for dairy purposes ; 
 and shorthorn crosses for feeding purposes may be found, here 
 and there, in these districts. 
 
 Beyond the records of history, the Highlands of Scotland have 
 been occupied by vast herds of cattle, which have at length 
 acquired a character suited to a country of high moimtains and 
 rough-grown heaths. In the northern parts of the country the 
 cattle had the name of North Highlanders bestowed upon them, 
 while for ages those inhabiting the western seaboard and the- 
 adjoining islands were ' known as "West Highlanders. Owing to 
 the mountainous character and close proximity of this part of 
 Scotland to the sea, the rainfall is considerable, yet the climate, 
 though subjected to violent storms, is not so cold as might natur- 
 ally be supposed from its northern position, the waters of the Gulf 
 Stream having a wonderful effect in preventing extremes of heafc 
 and cold. This comparative mildness and extreme humidity of 
 climate, together with the peculiar nature of the soil, tend to 
 produce a luxuriant growth of coarse grass and herbaceous plants, 
 interspersed with patches of heath, thus affording sustenance to 
 a hardy race of animals, such as the West Highlanders have 
 proved themselves to be. The extension of sheep farming of 
 late years has doubtless been the means of displacing a large 
 number of this breed, but it is questionable whether any class of 
 
SPECIAL BEEEDS OF CATTLE. 183 
 
 animals can he found better adapte'd to the peculiarities of soil, 
 climate, and geographical position than the shaggy West High- 
 lander. 
 
 Notwithstanding that the numbers have been lessened, it may- 
 be remarked that the breed has been preserved in a remarkable 
 degree of purity, — ^unlike the North Highlanders, which have been 
 so much changed in appearance by the continued ingrafting of 
 shorthorn blood, that it is now diflicult to find an animal of the 
 original type. A pure North Highlander, if such can be found, 
 may justly be regarded as a lonely straggler of a vanishing race. 
 
 Perhaps no cattle are possessed of more distinctive and strongly 
 marked features than the "West Highlanders. The following marks 
 or characteristics stamp the genuine breed : — Their limbs are 
 short, but muscular; their chests wide and deep ; their ribs well 
 developed and finely arched, and their backs as straight as in the 
 purely bred shorthorn; their neck and dewlap are somewhat 
 coarse in the bull, but this is indicative of its mountain state ; 
 their horns of a good length, without approaching to the coarse- 
 ness of the longhorns of the lower country, spreading and tipped 
 with black ; and all the other points are what breeders call good. 
 There is, indeed, much in the West Highlanders to arouse the 
 attention and win the admiration of those who love to see ani- 
 mals in an undomesticated state. , The beautiful and imposing 
 colour of brindle, dun, cream, red, or black ; the finely arched 
 ribs and level back ; the deep and well-formed chest ; the splen- 
 did horn ; the lively, quick, and fearless eye ; the broad muscle 
 and the shaggy coat — impart to them charms which are not to 
 be found in any other British breed. Their action, too, is of the .. 
 most graceful kind. Whether seen ascending their native. rugged 
 slopes, moving about at markets, or besporting themselves in a 
 nobleman's park, there is a peculiar freedom of motion which is 
 quite foreign to all pampered breeds. Lovers of the picturesque 
 rarely meet with a more gratifying sight than a mixed herd of 
 Highlanders on a Scottish landscape. It is a scene well worthy 
 of the imitative pencil of the artist. The farmers of the West 
 Highlands wish to cultivate the black colour as much as possible, 
 as they think it indicative of hardiness ; hence the vast numbers 
 of that colour. Altogether, it may safely be said that there are 
 few breeds of cattle which are so graceful in form and colour, 
 
] 84 PEESEOT STATE OP THE AGEICULT0EE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 and so majestic in gait and movement, as a thorouglily well-Bred 
 Highland bull or ox, cow or heifer. 
 
 It has already been stated that there is a difference between 
 the ITorth and West Highland cattle, although both breeds are 
 frequently spoken of in general terms as "black cattle." The 
 Iforth Highlander has almost lost its distinctiye character by 
 repeated crossings, while the pure Highlander is now chiefly 
 confiiled to the counties of Argyll, Inverness, Perth, Eoss, and 
 Dumbarton, although there are, of course, solitary herds to be 
 found elsewhere. 
 
 The cattle produced on the mainland of Scotland are generally 
 much superior- in bone, frame, and general substance to those 
 reared upon the islands ; but the latter produce hair and horn 
 such as those on the inland pastures can never compete with. 
 Indeed, it is a fact worthy of consideration that the nearer an 
 approach is made to domestication, the heavier is the weight of 
 flesh, although it must be admitted that the quality is to some 
 extent sacrificed. It may fairly be asked how is this ? Simply 
 because nature has supplied herbs in the greatest profusion and 
 variety wheire the least artificial influences have been brought to 
 bear on the soil. It is well known that the sweetest mutton is 
 produced, on the unbroken sheep pastures, and the mountain 
 deer of Scotland have a much more " gamey " flavour than the 
 venison produced in the deer-parks of En^and. The best mUk 
 and butter are also obtained from cattle grazing on old pastures, 
 so that from these examples- a truism is apparent — namely; that 
 domestication and high feeding gain weight at the expense of 
 quality. 
 
 It is generally conceded that there is a marked improvement 
 in the cattle fbund upon the islands during the past twenty to 
 thirty years, the infusion of fresh blood from the stronger ani- 
 mals of the mainland having given stamina to the weaker of the 
 islands. With the exception of a few noted herds in Perth, 
 Argyll, and Inverness, it is, however, a generally received opinion 
 that the cattle of the mainland are generally falling off; but this, 
 perhaps, refers more to a decrease in point of mimbers than, tb 
 any deterioration in the cattle themselves; 
 
 Up to about forty or sixty years ago, very little attention was paid 
 to the management of stock. As the bulls atid cows were never 
 
SPECIAL BEEEDS OF CATTLE. 185 
 
 separated, the latter calved at all seasons of tiie year, and thus 
 it often happened that great losses were sustained through the 
 winter and spring months. These losses deeimated the herds in 
 a serious degree ; but as there was not a very good " offgate " for 
 young stoek, little attention was paid to the circumstance. Occa- 
 sionally, in very stormy weather, a farmer might have been seen 
 wending his way through two feet of snow, with a bit of coarse 
 hay for his famishing stock ; but the rule was ta let the animals' 
 cater for themselves. Of course the aged cattle withstood the 
 rigours of a severe winter better than the young ones, their coats 
 being thicker ; and as their systems were thdroughly developed, 
 tfhey were able to stand greater privations in scarcity of food. 
 In summer it was, as it indeed still is, quite common to see the 
 cattle ascend the high hills in fine weather; cropping the meagre 
 herbage(as they proceeded, but in the case of a storm they instinc- 
 tively made for the valleys and lower grounds. In winter, sheer 
 necessity forced them into straths and ravines, where they dragged 
 out a miserable existence upon the rough grass which they found 
 upon the meadows, or in the wooded declivities that were so com- 
 mon at that day. Sometimes a kind of disease was brought on 
 by exposure to cold and lack of proper nourishment, which now 
 and then carried off a few animals ; while not unfrequently scores 
 of even the strongest cattle succumbed to actual hunger, when 
 the winters proved excessively severe. However, as prices, com- 
 pared with present rates, were merely nominal, and rents easy to 
 make up, very little was thought of the loss of a few animals dur- 
 ing winter. In the spring of the year the-surviving remnants which 
 had braved the elements were as lean as wolves and as hungry 
 as hackneys, their hair standing on end, like " quills upon the 
 fretful, porcupine," their sides almost clapped together, the only 
 visible improvement being iii the length of the horn. Yet in 
 April and May, when the lowland grass-es begscn to spring, their 
 progress was remarkable ; and in about three months some of the 
 better class varieties were quite plump and fleshy ; and owing 
 to the beef being newly laid on, it was remarkable for its tender- 
 ness, juiciness, and general fine flavour. In course of time farmers 
 began to see the necessity of providing shelter for the cattle 
 during the storms of winter. When a hurricane was seen to be 
 approaching — and it may here be noticed em passant that a High- 
 
186, PRESENT STATE OF THE AGHICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 land fanner is generally well skilled in weather prognostics — 
 the cattle were driven into an enclosure, under the shelter of a 
 hill or wood, and there a scanty pittance of hay or straw meted 
 out to them, wherewith they might sustain life until the storm 
 was over, when the animals were again allowed their liberty. 
 
 The present system of mMnagement varies very much in dif- 
 ferent districts, and with the size of the herds ; indeed, in the 
 same district, and under the same climatic and local influences 
 the modes of managing the cattle in winter are somewhat dif- 
 ferent. Some of the small herds in Argyll and Perth are divided 
 into two sections, — the breeding cows being placed in one field and 
 the young cattle in another. The latter are supplied with straw 
 and a little meadow hay, and a few turnips when the crop is 
 plentiful. The breeding cattle are somewhat more liberally 
 treated, receiving a larger proportion of hay of superior quality 
 and more turnips. Other occupiers, chiefly on the more exten- 
 sive holdings, prefer to allow the yearlings and two-year-olds to 
 roam at large in the fields, where they have a few turnips thrown 
 out upon a piece of clean lea-ground, with a rack of hay or straw 
 in an opeui shed at night. With this fare, and the rough grass 
 which they pick up in the woods, it is surprising how well they 
 keep up their condition — a fact which at once stamps the hardy 
 character of the race. At three years of age the heifers are 
 selected for breeding purposes, as it has been found that they, 
 are not mature enough at a younger period of their existence. 
 In the winter and spring months — that is to say, in January, 
 February, March, or April — the calves are dropped. Here may 
 be noticed another diversity of opinion which exists. Some 
 farmers keep the calves separated from the dams until the 
 periodical turning out to grass, allowing them to be together 
 for a short period three times a-day ; others keep them in a fold 
 together. And although the latter system has many advantages, 
 yet both the dam and the young become very wild, and almost 
 unapproachable when allowed full liberty. In the beginning of 
 October the calves are weaned, and as the temperature at thafv 
 season is generally low, the cows seldom suffer from sore udder, 
 the milk having become almost dried up on account of the fail- 
 ing pastures. It may here be remarked that some farmers of the, 
 present day give cake to the growing calves as well as to the 
 
SPECIA.L BREEDS OF CATTLE, 187 
 
 cattle intended for the shambles. This ensures bone and rapid 
 growth in the one case, and early maturity and a highly-finished 
 state in the other ; but the plan can scarcely be called a judicious 
 one in the case of calves which have afterwards to be turned 
 upon the bleak moors, and there to subsist upon the scanty fare 
 which nature has provided for them. 
 
 Several extensive graziers do not breed their own cattle, but 
 purchase them when three or four years old, removing them to 
 finer pastures in different parts of the country for the purpose of 
 feeding. 
 
 Great diversity of opinion exists as to the milking properties 
 of the West Highlanders. Some farmers aver that, as a rule, 
 they do not yield a large amount of dairy produce, while others 
 are quite sanguine in their belief that they excel as pail cattle. 
 Of course, the circumstances under which the test is applied may 
 have considerable influence either one way or the other. Not- 
 withstanding their extreme hardihood, the roughness of their 
 coat, and the length of horn which are characteristics quite op- 
 posed to those possessed by the pure bred shorthorn, they have 
 so many points in common with the breed alluded to, in the 
 short legs, the level back, the symmetrical trunk, the broad 
 chine, the expansive chest, the well-arched rib, and breadth of 
 loin, that they can scarcely fail to produce a good supply of 
 milk when properly treated. An eminent breeder says. In 
 breeding for the dairy, the Highlanders have now the preference 
 to every other breed. This superiority they have no doubt 
 attained by judicious selection and breeding exclusively from such 
 animals as secreted the most milk, as well as by persevering ex- 
 perimental observations. Good judges can now pretty accurately 
 point out a profitable dairy cow from the development of cer- 
 tain points in her conformation. The Highlander is justly noted 
 as a breed inclined to carry inside fat, and it is an established fact 
 that the better the milking qualities of any breed, the more fat 
 the animals are calculated to carry inside, and vice versa. 
 
 The crossing of Highland heifers with Shorthorns is a subject 
 which is often discussed, but has probably never been thoroughly 
 attended to ; yet there is no doubt that by careful and judicious 
 crossing a useful race might be propagated, combining the early 
 maturing, the fat forming, and the milking properties of the 
 
188 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 shorthorn, with the' hardihood, the fine quality of flesh, and the 
 noble appearance of the West Highlander, Where crossing has 
 been tried, it has often been done injudiciously with animals far 
 too young, thus the offspring would be quite diminutive. But. 
 were fine- three-year-olds crossed' with first-class buHs, there is 
 no doubt that a grand race of cattle would be produced fit for 
 breeding, feeding, or dairy, and calculated to withstand the 
 vicissitudes of almost any climate. Occasionally an English 
 breeder buys a pure bred Highland heifer, which is crossed with 
 a shorthorn buU, the offspring being again- crossed with a short- 
 horn, and the progeny are not only splendid milkersi but very 
 quick growers, and are everywhere favourites with the butchers 
 when fat. Crossing the Highlauder with "other breeds than the 
 shorthorn has been tried with a certain amount of success in 
 some instances, but it has been generally found that no cross 
 produces such satisfactory results as that with the shorthorn, as 
 the two breeds have so many points in common and others so 
 widely different, that mixing the blood seems to inculcate qua- 
 lities in the offspring wanting in both of the breeds from which 
 they are descended. 
 
 Much has been done in late years with the view of improving 
 the West Highlander. This improvement is particularly notice- 
 able in the Western Islands, where strength of bone has been 
 combined with hair and horn, while in some of the mainland 
 herds there has been a marked improvement. Much more, 
 however, might stiU be done, both in the improvement and con- 
 servation of this valuable breed. A few years ago sheep farming 
 encroached so much upon the districts in which the cattle are 
 reared, that it was feared the shaggy-coated Highlanders would 
 become almost extinct ; and had prices not become very much 
 higher, there would have been good reason to be alarmed, but 
 from the very fact of the comparative scarcity, and the great 
 competition throughout both Great Britain and Ireland for cattle 
 for feeding purposes, in order to supply the increasing demands of 
 the meat-eating population, their value was enhanced so rapidly 
 that breeders were encouraged to pay more attention to raising 
 bovine stock for the market. 
 
 It is a matter of some difficulty ta lay down rules' for the im- 
 provement of the West' Highlander; inasmuch as it is the creature 
 
SPECIAL EEEEDS OF CATTLE. 189 
 
 of a -certain localiby which is bleak, wild, and .barren, and in 
 which most other breeds, if Exposed to the j)rivations the "West 
 Highlander 'has to endure, would succumb. Therefore, any 
 treatment tending to painper the breed would to a certain extent 
 destroy its usefulness.- 
 
 When winter snows i occur, hay or even straw should be 
 liberally supplied, for it is at such times that the animals need 
 the support their own " niggard plains deny." It is a wellilqiown 
 fact that animals need more food in extremely cold than in 
 moderately cold weather, as the quantity of feeding substances 
 necessary to keep an animal in a healthy progressive state is 
 usually proportionate to the degree of cold which has to be en- 
 dured. The breeder of stock should therefore make himself 
 thoroughly acquainted with the descriptions of food best calcu- 
 lated to attain the objects in view, and these should be meted 
 out at the exact time when they are needed. 
 
 In-and-in-breeding should be at all times avoided, for it is the 
 opinion of most experienced breeders that it is detrimental to 
 the stock, as deterioration soon sets in, and the progeny of blood- 
 related parents becomes stimted and dwarfish. The infusion of 
 fresh blood from herds of repute has quite an opposite tendency, 
 and where this is judiciously effected the results are marvellous. 
 
 Where improvement guides the actions of the breeder, it is 
 quite evident that conservation will naturally follow ; for the 
 interest which he has in his stock will cause him to keep up the 
 numbers. Moreover, although sheep breeding has for years been 
 encroaching upon the native heaths, of the West Highlander, 
 there is a limit even to this, and it is the general opinion that 
 the level has at length been attained. There is a brisk demand 
 for cattle for grazing purposes, and West Highlanders must ever 
 be held in the foremost rank. Their flesh is of the sweetest, and 
 there is a freedom from disease in the whole race, which causes 
 the beef they produce to be sought after by epicures, and by those 
 who understand the influence which high feeding has upon the 
 flesh of fattening animals. In furtherance of the improvement 
 and conservation of this hardy and picturesque race, it may 
 , be noted that there are certain external signs which may serve 
 to guide the breeder in selecting animals calculated to produce 
 healthy offspring capable of early maturity. The touch is known 
 
190 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 by the thick loose skin, which yields to the least pressure like a 
 piece of thick chamois leather. This indicates hardiness of con- 
 stitution, and capability of carrying plenty of 'flesh, as well as 
 a sufficiency of fat, and also of withstanding the rigours of a cold 
 climate. The ears should be tolerably fine, thick ears being a 
 sign of coarseness. The horns also ought to be fine, without, 
 hoWever, sacrificing either length or strength, coarse and thick 
 horns indicating ill-bred animals. The eye should be bright and 
 lively, and the muzzle well defined. 
 
XI. 
 SPECIAL BREEDS OE SHEEP. 
 
 The Cheviot. 
 
 Cheviots are doubtless the most important breed of sheep 
 special to Scotland, and are generally supposed to be of native 
 origin. Their early history is intimately associated with a range 
 of hills on the borders of England and Scotland, which gave them 
 " a local habitation and a name." They are generally described 
 as small sheep, very light in bone and wool, with brownish heads 
 and legs, and hardy constitution ; their scraggy frames bearing 
 very little resemblance to the well-proportioned Cheviots of the 
 present day, but suited to the climate and the poverty of the 
 treatment bestowed on them. Nearly a century ago, Mr Eobson 
 of Belford, very much in the style of Bake'v^ell with the Leicesters, 
 came to the rescue, and in a few years made quite a revolution in 
 their history by crossing them with an English breed. The 
 general opinion is that the said breed was Bakewell's Leicesters, 
 which he put to select Cheviot ewes, and that the offspring 
 of ' this cross were sent to the hills to cover his extensive 
 flocks. In a paper written some years ago we repudiated this 
 opinion, on the ground that the tenderness of the Leicesters 
 made it improbable that such a cross could stand the rigour of 
 such a climate, but having since had a communication from an 
 old man whose father was shepherd with Mr Eobson at the time, 
 we have come to the conclusion that the sheep used were really 
 Bakewell's, but then in a state of transition, and before coming 
 to the perfection of the type, which they subsequently attained. 
 In this we are confnmed by the fact, that about twenty years 
 afterwards Mr Eobson made another trial of sheep from the 
 same flock, which he then found too tender for the climate. 
 
 This early cross gave a correctness of form and symmetry 
 that has never yet been surpassed, and thus Mr Eobson's flock 
 proved the nucleus from which Cheviot breeders drew their 
 
192 PRESENT STATE OE THE AGKIOtTLTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 supply of rams for many years. The impetus given to their 
 breeding was immense ; they rapidly found their way into other 
 districts of Scotland and the North of England, supplanting the 
 blackf aced breed, which, like the aborigines in India and America, 
 may be said to retire before the advancing wave of civilisation. 
 Early in the present century they were largely introduced into 
 the northern counties of Scotland, chiefly by farmers of large 
 capital on the Borders. Numbers of small crofters were turned 
 out of their holdings, whicb were changed into extensive sheep 
 walks. There can be no doubt that the movement, though 
 unpopular at the time, was .the means of increasing production, 
 and proved in every case of judicious management a profitable 
 investment. 
 
 In later times the condition of Cheviot .flocks has been greatly 
 ameliorated by draining, shelter, providing a jilentiful supply of 
 food for use in stormy weather, and xjther modem improvements. 
 Mr Aitchison of Linhope may be said to .have ibeen the pioneer, 
 both in the advocacy and practice, of the .system of cutting a 
 considerable quantity of ha,y, not onlj on the open grounds, 
 wbere the deepness of the soil afforded an extra covering, but by 
 having several enclosures on jeach farm, where hay could be pro- 
 duced sufficient for its requirements, tbus making them self-sus- 
 taining. These enclosures are also usefiilias a run for the weaker 
 ewes and lambs, and afford an early bite, .so essential to ewes in 
 the lambing season. To use Mr Aitchison's own forcible lan- 
 guage, " Hay is the sheet anchor nf the. stock iarmer." 
 
 The general management of a Cheviot flock is, on the whole, 
 exceedingly simple. Generally speaking, they.go at large over 
 the farm during the whole season, individiual sheep never 
 taking a very wide range. The ewes .have their frst lambs in 
 April at two years old, and are sold, at five or six, being replaced 
 by the best of the ewe lambs. They are invariably sold .for 
 producing a crop of lambs by Leicester tups. These, with the 
 wether lambs, the smiall ewe lamb^, and wool, usually form the 
 whole produce of the farm. This applies to Cheviots in the 
 southern counties of Scotland ; in the .north the wether lambs 
 are not sold, but kept on till.sold as wethers at. three years old, 
 
 Cheviot pheep are seldom shorn before July, the weight and 
 fineness of the fleece depending on the nature of the pasturage. 
 
SPECIAL BREEDS OF SHEEP. .li;3 
 
 ,the texture being finer on dry and sweet herbage than on coarse 
 grass, and bringing a higher price. Tlie wool has a steadier 
 demand than almost any other, being extensively employed in the 
 manufacture of " tweeds," now so commonly used in clothing all 
 classes, from the prince to the peasant. 
 
 Cheviot mutton may fairly be put down as one of the luxuries 
 of the table. It has always been a nice point of opinion whethter 
 it or the blackfaced is the finer. They are both sought after in 
 the market, where they always fetch the highest prices.: . ', > ■ , 
 
 There is, perhaps, no finer animal of the sheep species ithan 
 the Cheviot tup. Possessing the general conformation of 'the 
 Border Leicester he is altogether a more stylish sheep, carry- 
 ing his head higher, with greater fire in his eye and grace in 
 his movement. Compared with the Leicester, he. is, as a cavalier 
 to an alderman. 
 
 Besides reproducing their own kind,, the^ Cheviots are valuable 
 for crossing with Border Leicesteis, the former giving hardness, 
 the latter greater tendency to fatten. By infusing the, two breMs 
 in different proportions, other breeding stocks are "raised, suited, to 
 medium soils and temperatures. Thus, talking the Leic'esters as the 
 centre of agricultural improvement, the others may be saidi to 
 radiate. First we finjl. three-parts-bred in the intermediate^ sext 
 half-bred in higher altitudes, then we come to Cheviots entire-, on 
 their native mountainSj and above and beybnd them the blaekT 
 faced,, with their picturesque heads and beautifully arched 
 hocHS, among; their fastnesses, of- rock and- purple heather. In 
 taking leave oi tlie, subject it may be- stated, without f6a;r of eon^ 
 tradiction, that, no animal has conduced so much to the pros- 
 perity of the Scottish farmer as the Cheviot sheep. 
 
 The Blackfacjd. 
 
 Oi'ih.0 early h4$iary_ot this breed.iqf sheep very little'is known; 
 J'toti time imwEioriftl they have been. Settled, in the mountaijjr 
 eus , districts of Scotland, and are Supposed, to be the descendf^nts, 
 of the original Scotch breed, their present improvement haiwing 
 beeu brougiit -afbout by_ a long-continued and judicious procesg of 
 s,ele(ltion. - Until near the close of last century- they. were tha 
 
19-i PEESKNT STATE OF THE AGKICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 ■only kind of sheep kept on the mountain ranges of N'orth Britain, 
 and although in many districts they have since that time been 
 largely supplanted by other breeds, stiU of late years' they con- 
 tinue to hold their own, and the disastrous and severe winters of 
 about twenty years ago have caused a reaction to set in in their 
 favour, and in a good many instances they are now being re- 
 stored to their original districts. 
 
 Scarcely any breed of sheep possesses more strongly-defined 
 and distinctive characters than the hardy blackf aced. The general 
 form is robust; muscular limbs, with wide chest; short body, 
 and well barrelled ; colour of the face and legs black and white 
 mixed, or entirely black. The eye is full of life and fire, and 
 darts a fearless glance around on the slightest alarm. Both 
 sexes have horns, very large and spirally twisted in the male, 
 but small and flattish, and standing more out from the head, in 
 the female. The wool is of a medium length, shaggy, and coarse. 
 Wild, restless, and independent in their habits, with an attitude 
 full of defiance, and a dignified mien altogether different from 
 any of the lowland breeds, their nature is to climb the highest 
 hills, provided there id the smallest blade of grass or heather to 
 support life, and they are often to be found not far below the 
 line of almost perpetual snow. Possessed of a remarkable hardi- 
 ness of constitution, they endure hunger and cold to a wonderful 
 degree, boldly wintering it out where other breeds would succumb, 
 and working with indomitable perseverance and industry among 
 the deep snow to earn a bare subsistence. They have a strong 
 maternal instinct and special fondness for some favourite haunt, 
 especially the ewes, who have been known, when on the eve of 
 lambing, to travel a long distance to it. Their mutton is so 
 delicate and finely flavoured, that it is preferred to every other. 
 
 According to the Government Agricultural Eetums for 1877, 
 the number of sheep in Scotland is 6,968,000. The number of 
 each breed is not stated, but as the country is equally divided 
 between the blackfaced and Cheviot, the number of blackfaced 
 may be estimated at about 3,000,000. The approximate area 
 of the pasture over which this breed may be said to roam is 
 computed to be 9,000,000 of acres. 
 
 An important property of this breed is its adaptation to heath 
 lands, and it is this property that has rendered it so suitable to 
 
SPECIAL BREEDS OF SHEEP. 195 
 
 the extensive tracts of heath-covered hills in Scotland where it 
 is acclimatised and finds suhsistence beyond the ordinary range 
 of other sheep. The counties of Perth, Inverness, and Argyll 
 are the representatives of the blackfaced in the north of Scot- 
 land. By far the greater part of the area of these counties is 
 moor and mountain, and there is probably nothing in the king- 
 dom to compare in extent with several of the sheep runs in this 
 district, twenty to thirty thousand acres being quite common, 
 with flocks of from five to ten thousand in number. Large tracts 
 of the counties of Aberdeen and Eoss, as well as several of the 
 Western Islands, are also in the possession of this breed ; and the 
 fact that they can make a living where other breeds could not, 
 will always draw the line in their favour, unless some great 
 change takes place in the climate of the high-lying districts of 
 Scotland. In the south of Scotland the localities most noted 
 for this breed are Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, and Mid-Lothian. The 
 former may be said to be the nursery of the blackfaces, thousands 
 of lambs being transported annually from this county to be 
 leared upon the extensive pastures of the north, which are un- 
 favourable for breeding on account of their elevated situation 
 and exposure to the storms. The Lammermoor and Pentland 
 ranges of hills in the Lothians are famous for good flocks of 
 this breed. 
 
 Many of the Highland farms seem to have been laid out by 
 nature for sheep-walks, being so situated that one part is good 
 for keeping a ewe stock, another portion is suitable for hoggets, 
 while the remainder, from its elevation, is only fit for the rearing 
 of wethers. In the southern counties the stock of the farm con- 
 sists of either mixed ewe and wether stock, or entirely ewe stock, 
 and it is here that the breed is to be found in greatest perfec- 
 tion, more attention having been given to its improvement. In 
 the central district mixed ewe and wether flocks are the general 
 rule, while in the more northern district extensive tracts abound 
 unconnected with any breeding farm, and upon which the stock 
 is maintained by annually buying in lambs from the breeders. 
 
 The Management of the blackfaced is, generally speaking, pretty 
 easy and simple, varying little, if any, from the north to the 
 south of Scotland, The flocks are allowed to roam at free wOl 
 over the whole of the farm for the most of the year. The ewes 
 
196 PKESENT STATE OF THE AGSICULTTJEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 hare their first lambs at two years oM ; the rams are put to the 
 ewes- between the 20th and 30th of November, and the lambs 
 are 'dropped towardfei the end of April. During winter these 
 sheep lire on rather scanty fao-e, and are only suppKed with 
 auxiliary food When the ground is covered to such a depth with 
 Snow that they cannot get at the heather. Farmers in high 
 eatposed districts gen^affly- contrive to have a stock of haiy. in 
 reserve against; a protracted storm, and a little judicious feeding at 
 such a crisis is now consideared indispeimsable to good manage- 
 ment. The male lambs are castrated when about eight or ten 
 weeks oM, a few of the best being left entire for sires> The 
 fleece is removed in the months of June and July, the male stock 
 being in a condition to be shorn earliet than the ewes. It is 
 customary for neighbours to assist each other at. clipping time, 
 so that the shearing of the whole flock [may not occupy more 
 than one day. The fleeces are rolled up and carefully packed so 
 as to be ready for maifet. The fleece is loose and shaggy, and 
 weighs on an average about 4 lbs. The wool of this breed is 
 inferior to that of anyof the other Scotch breeds, and is chiefly used 
 in the manufacture of carpets, rugs, and other coarse fabricsi The 
 weaning of the lambs, takes place in August. The ewe lambs 
 are retained for breeding, that is, as many as may be required to 
 keep up the stock of the farm and supply the place of the old 
 ewes which are disposed of armuaUy. The wether lambs are 
 sorted and marked and disposed of according to the nature of 
 the farm. "Where no wethers are kept,, the lambs are driven off 
 to market and pass into the hands of graziers from the elevated 
 r^ona whose farms, are adapted for that description of stock. 
 The hoggets in these high districts are generally sent for winter- 
 ing ta the lower grounds near the sea, the more enterprising 
 ^azieis renting Lowland farms fox this purpose. On some farms, 
 however, there is suitable accommodation for keeping the wether 
 lambs until two or three years old, when they are exposed at the 
 large markets and auctions, whence they find theii way in great 
 numbers to England to be fed on turnips and crop the supeifluous 
 herbage in noblemen's parks. The wethers fatten very readily 
 when put on turnips, and weigh from 15 to 20 lbs. per quarter 
 when kiUed at about four years old. Their mutton is of. the 
 very finest quality, and is always ia great demand at the highest 
 
SPECIAL BKEEDS OF SHEEP. 197: 
 
 market prices. The old ewes, that is all over five years, are* 
 drafted in September and in October, and are principally bought 
 for arable farms, where they -are kept, for ancJther year to produce 
 i^ross lambs, and then fed and sold. 
 
 There is a process which these mountain sheep undergo in 
 autumn, called "smearing" and , dipping, which consists in^ .the 
 application of certain ingredients ■ to the skin. The purpose 
 served by this process is the destruction of parasites and the 
 removal of cutaneous diseases, enhancing the quality of the wool 
 and promoting ■ the general health and comfort of the animal. 
 The annual produce of a farm where a mixed ewe and wether 
 stock is kept, consists of the two or three year old wethers, draft 
 ewes, wool, and the smallest, or what are called the "shotts," of 
 the lambs. 
 
 . The principal markets for the sale of the blackfaced are the 
 famous Falkirk Trysts, held in the months of September and 
 October, where about 50,000 wether and draft ewes annually 
 change hands. There is a large gathering of graziers, lowland 
 farmers, sheep and wool dealers, held at Inverness .in the month 
 of July, where all the transactions are done % cheiracter, no stoolc 
 being exMbUed, 
 
 The greater part of the wool ui the northern counties is here 
 sold to dealers from the chief centres of manufacture, or con- 
 signed to brokers in large towns who dispose of it by auction. 
 Large markets aire held at Lanark in August for the sale of 
 lambs, and in May for hoggets. Other and comparatively, 
 lecent institutions for tl^e sale of this class -of sheep aire what 
 are termed Auction llK^arts. At some of these very large 
 numbers change owners every season — ias many as 45,000 black- 
 faced wethers and ewes were sold in two days, in October last by 
 one establishment. The tups of this breed are generally sold by 
 auction, the greatest market for them being at Edinburgh in the 
 jBonth of Septeiaaber.. 
 
 I Various erosses have been tried with the blackfaced, soine of 
 which have been pretty successful, not in the. way of effecting 
 an. improvement on the original breed, but as /an increased source 
 «f profit to breeders of young stock. That from blackfajce^ 
 ewes and Leicester 'or Southdown tups has been specially so. 
 The lambs, the result of this erosaiBg,:ajre excellent, rising rapidly 
 
198 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGKICULTUKE OE SCOTLAND. 
 
 to a much greater weight than the pure blackfaced, and having 
 mutton not much inferior. The greatly extended cultivation of 
 turnips, and the opening up of rsdlways in every direction, afford- 
 ing facilities for fattening and quickly forwarding stock to the 
 large consuming markets, is now causing this system of crossing 
 to be extensively pursued on many low country farms. AVhen 
 markets for breeding stock are low a better price can always be 
 obtained by fattening the lambs for the butcher. Some of these 
 cross lambs are fed on until about twenty months old, averaging 
 about 20 lbs. per quarter, and their mutton is in great favour 
 with the consumer. 
 
 , None of the other breeds of sheep were so long in being 
 improved, and when the era of improvement had been entered 
 on this breed had reached a low stage of degeneracy. This con- 
 dition may probably be accounted for by the fact that for ages 
 the blackfaced were allowed to pick up a precarious living the 
 best way they could, at the same time suffering a great deal from 
 the evils of overstocking. As soon, however, as it became appa- 
 rent to breeders that there was a large tract of country occupied 
 by this breed for which the other varieties of sheep were not 
 adapted, the process of improvement was commenced, and has been 
 carried on to a successful degree. The method adopted was a due 
 selection of the breeding parents and then rearing their produce 
 under circumstances favourable to the full development of their 
 forms. But as the blackfaced flocks occupied wide tracts of 
 country where there was no fencing, this process of improvement 
 by selection had often to be departed from and the tups put to 
 the ewes indiscriminately — ^the consequence being that the im- 
 provement proceeded much slower and took a much longer time 
 to leave its marks than in breeds placed in more favourable cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 Breeders have their own peculiar tastes, but it is generally 
 allowed that the following points are what are called good, 
 namely — Abroad muzzle with strong aquiline nose, wide forehead 
 Mid full between the eyes, colour of the face to be either entirely 
 black or black and white distinctly defined without running into 
 grey, and both face and legs to be clean and free from all dunness 
 and tuftiness, horns hard — free from all trace of blood-red, rather 
 inclined to be wide set, and never to rise high on the cantle, as it 
 
SPECIAL BKEEBS OF SHEEP. 199 
 
 ias a destructive effect on the ewes in lambing ; broad shoulder 
 ■with wide chest, straight back not drooping behind ; straight on 
 hind legs, which ought not to be close. The flow of the wool 
 should reach within a few inches of the ground and be free from 
 dead hairs. Animals of this type possess a great deal of style 
 and quality. 
 
 Various breeders have distinguished themselves and are well 
 known in their respective districts by the attention which they 
 have given to the improvement of the blackfaced breed, and 
 have been amply rewarded by the superior character of their 
 stock and the very high prices realised by their rams when 
 exposed for sale. 
 
 The BoEDEg Leicestek. 
 
 Leicester sheep were first introduced into the Border Counties 
 of England and Scotland fully one hundred years ago. They 
 consisted of drafts from the famous breed of Eobert Bakewell of 
 Dishley, in Leicestershire, who by a physiological system of 
 crossing the old Leicesters — said to have been " large coarse 
 animals with an abundance of fleece and a fair disposition to 
 fatten " — with other long-woolled breeds of smaller frames and 
 more symmetrical proportions, in the course of years worked them 
 into a new and improved breed, the demand for which at the time 
 amounted to a perfect mania. 
 
 It is a curious fact that the original breed of Yorkshire 
 Leicesters, as they are commonly called, and the Scotch or Bor- 
 der Leicesters, so named from their being first imported into the 
 Border counties, although sprung from the same source have 
 diverged considerably.' It may be the effect of soil and climate ; 
 of careful selection ; or a combination of both ; but whatever the 
 cause may be, the Border Leicesters are larger and more stylish 
 looking sheep than their Yorkshire cousins, with cleaner and 
 whiter fleeces and legs. Animals showing the pure type possess 
 the following conformation : — the head of fair size, with profile 
 slightly aquiline tapering to the muzzle, but with strength of 
 jaw and wide nostril ; the eyes full and bright, showing both 
 docility and courage ; the ears of fair size and well set ; the neck 
 thick at the base, with good neck vein, and tapering gracefully to 
 
200 PKESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULT0EE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 whesre ib joins the head, which should stand well up ; the chest 
 broad, deep, and well forward, descending from the neck in a 
 perpendicular line; the shoulders broad and open, but showing 
 no coarse points ; !from where the neck and shoulders join, to the 
 rump, should describe a straight line, the latter being fully deve- 
 loped ; in both arms and thighs, the flesh well let down to the 
 knees and hocks ; the ribs well sprung from the backbone in a 
 fine circular arch, and more distinguished by width than depth, 
 showing a tendency to carry the mutton high, and with belly 
 straight, significant of small offal; the legs straight, with a fair 
 amount of bone, clean and ■fine, free from all tuftimess of wool, 
 and of a uniform whiteness with the face and ears. They ought 
 to be well clad all over, the belly not excepted, with wool of a 
 medium texture, with an oppn jpirZ, as it is called, towards me 
 end. In handling, the bones should, be all covered, and parti- 
 cularly along the back and c[uarters (which should be lengthy)- 
 there should be a uniform covering of flesh, not p^ilpy, but firm 
 and muscular, the wool, particularly on the ribs, should fill the 
 hand well. When the above conformation is attained, the 
 animal generally moves with a graceful and elastic step, which 
 in Leicester sheep, as well as in the hum9,n species, constitutes 
 "the poetry of motion," and without which no animals, even 
 of high class in any breed, can make their mark, either in open 
 market, auction-mart, or prize-ring. 
 
 The distinguishing feature of Border Leicesters is their capa- 
 bility of producing, compared with other breeds, the greatest 
 quantity of meat with' the smallest consumption of food, in the 
 shortest time. They require good land and good shelter, and 
 having these, need nothing more than other breeds in their 
 geiieral feeding and management. In shmt, they appear to 
 thrive on the very smell of good land. As wool producers they 
 yield to no breed of long-woolled sheep — Lincolns excepted. In 
 well-managed flocks eight lbs. per fleece aU round is not consi- 
 dered an extraordiuary average, while in tups receiving a large 
 amount of extra feeding, more than double that weight ■ iS 
 sometimes attained. Their mutton does not stand high in mar- 
 ket value, being coarse in the grain and tallowy in the fat, and. 
 can only find a market among the poorer classes of consumers. 
 
 Xheir intrinsic worth does not, however, depend ;on theif 
 
r 
 
 SPECIAL BEEEDS OF SHEEP. 201 
 
 value as mutton, but in their crossing ^profitably wiili all other 
 ireeds. In every case, an infusion of Leicester blood produces 
 increased weight and more rapid development. So far as weight 
 is concerned, perhaps the first cross is the best, but earlier 
 maturity is invariably commensurate with repeated crossing. 
 Quick returns are now the order of the day, and thus sheep of 
 one year old or little over, form the bulk of the mutton that now 
 feeds our teeming population, while Cheviot or Blackfaced 
 wethers of four or five years did, which were common half a 
 century ago, are now rarely found, unless m ■noblemen's and 
 gentlemen's parks, where they are kept, regardless of profit, to 
 tickle the palates of the richer classes. 
 
 ISTo better , proof can exist of the popularity that Border 
 Leicester sheep have attained than the great number of auction- 
 marts that have sprung up aU. over Scotland for the sale of rams, 
 which attract customers from all parts of the United Kingdom, 
 and occasionally from foreign countries. The most important 
 of these are Ediuburgh and Kelso, the latter being considered 
 the great centre of production, still bears the palm. There, 
 each September brings together upwards of' 2000^ and four or 
 five auctioneers simultaneously sell single sheep at the rate of one 
 in a minute. Several crack lots always meet there, and of these 
 Lord Polwarth's are invariably the greatest in number, besides 
 making the highest average. Formed about the beginning of the 
 present century, and managed with consummate skill and judg- 
 mbnt, his flock are believed to preserve the Bakewell blood in 
 greater purity than any other. In fact Polwarth blood is in 
 Border Leicesters what Bates' blood is in shorthorns. It is 
 looked upon as an antidote to anything spurious which may 
 have been introduced into a floek ; and is generally found largely 
 ii the pedigree, wherever high honours have - been attained in 
 the showyard or a high average in the auction-ring. The grand 
 secret of their excellence appears to be the accumulation of one 
 blood, and that the purest, which enables them to make their 
 mark wherever they are used. 
 
XIL 
 
 THE FOEESTRY OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 No authentic or reliable statistical information seems to exist re- 
 garding the extent or condition of the Scottish woods or forests 
 prior to about the beginning of the eighteenth century. But 
 although the materials at hand are scanty to enable us to form a 
 precise idea of the state of this branch of the rural economy of 
 Scotland at a date so comparatively recent, we may, notwith- 
 standing, form a very good estimate of the state into which 
 arboriculture in Scotland had fallen, from a consideration of the 
 social, political, and intellectual condition of the country generally 
 at that period. 
 
 That a very wide area of Scottish soil, both in the Highlands 
 and Lowlands, was densely clothed with forest at an early period, 
 there can be no doubt, — the quantities of old and large tree-roots 
 and stumps which are year by year stumbled upon in excavatiiig 
 peat moss, or in reclaiming boggy and waste lands in various 
 parts of the country, where now hardly a tree is to be seen, 
 proves the truth of this assertion, if such were necessary ; and 
 whether — as tradition in some of the northern and western 
 localities relates — ^these woods and primeval forests were burnt 
 by the Northmen and other early invaders of our shores for the 
 purpose of depriving the aborigines of fuel and shelter; or 
 whether, during the internal dissensions, and internecine strife, 
 pillage, and destruction of the feudal ages, they were devastated 
 by rival bands of marauders, or were from time to time swept 
 and upturned by the blasts and storms of the inhospitable 
 climate, it is now impossible to teU ; but it is quite evident that, 
 along with the poverty of the country generally, and the hstless- 
 ness ever consequent on such a condition, the state of the exist, 
 ing forest lands and plantations about the date referred to must 
 have been anything but satisfactory or calculated to promote 
 the material wealth and agricultural prosperity and progress of 
 the country. 
 
THE FOEESTEY OF SCOTLAKD, 203 
 
 Scotland had not yet taken that surprising hound forward in 
 material advancement, which, ahout the middle and onwards 
 towards the close of the 18th century, so signalizes the annals of 
 her economic history. That system of practical and systematic 
 farming, of which the country may justly he proud, had not yet 
 sprung iuto existence ; and the amount of land hrought into cul- 
 tivation (such as it was), even allowing for the many insuperahle 
 difficulties in the way of reclamation which exist in Scotland 
 on account of its geological conformation in many places, was less 
 in proportion to the waste than England showed a century earlier. 
 
 At an early period, however, after the Union (1707) several of 
 the more puhlic-spirited noblemen and landed proprietors of 
 Scotland, viewing with fear for the future of their districts the 
 paucity and miserable condition of the woodlands of the country, 
 were earnest in arousing public attention to the necessity of en- 
 closing and planting on a large scale. Following the example 
 set by these and other pioneers, many smaller land-owners were 
 gradually induced to plant woods upon an extensive scale for 
 profit towards the end of the century. Meanwhile, in 1723, 
 there was formed in Edinburgh " The Society of Improvers in 
 the Knowledge of Agriculture in Scotland," and for twenty 
 years this society continued, by publishing transactions, and 
 recording experiments, and proposing suggestions of a prac- 
 tical nature, to effect considerable reform in the wretched 
 state of forestry and rural economy in Scotland. Their objects, 
 however, appear to have been rather circumscribed and local; 
 and it was not till 1754 that any step of a truly national 
 character was taken to improve the internal industries and in- 
 crease the native products of the forests of the country. In the 
 summer of that year (1754), "The Select Society of Edinburgh" 
 was formed, having for its objects the improvement of the 
 country generally. In 1755, "The Edinburgh Society for the 
 .encouragement of Arts, Science, Manufactures, and Agriculture " 
 W£is formed, under the auspices of the Select Society, and 
 an immense stimulus was given to Arboriculture by its efforts. 
 Its principal promoters holding the opinion — now become 
 a proverb — that " for agriculture to succeed, arboriculture must 
 precede," offered substantial premiums to those who evinced 
 enterprise and skill in extensive tree-planting. Premiums were 
 
204 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 also offered for the manufactured useful products of the woods. 
 This society, after achieving much useful work in Scotland, 
 expired in 1765. 
 
 The institution of the Highland and Agricultural Society of 
 Scotland in 1784, and that of the Board of Agriculture in 1793, 
 largely contributed to the further development of that activity 
 which had seized upon the public mind, and promoted in a very 
 marked and rapid degree the internal rural improvement of the 
 country. A wider survey of the national sitaiation and condition 
 was taken than a merely local inquiry could gratify, and hence 
 the information obtained from answers given to the Board of 
 Agriculture from foreign countries, in reply to queries sent them; 
 for reports regarding the state of rural economy, and its advance-, 
 ment abroad, was of material service, through the medium of the 
 published Transactions of the Board, in extending a wider know- 
 ledge of novel improvements and appliances in agriculture. The 
 various modes of treatment and cultivation of trees generally, 
 thus made known to our countrymen, were followed by many good 
 practical resists, and evinced their fruits in these pioneer years 
 of the resuscitation of forestry and agriculture in Scotland. 
 Meantime, the inducements held out by the Highland and 
 Agricultural Society of Scotland, year by year, from that time 
 down to the present day, have been of incalculable service 
 and benefit in clothing many a steep, rugged, rocky height and 
 naked mountain, side in Scotland, where otherwise nothing else 
 would grow, with large and valuable plantations; which, in- 
 dependently of their own intrinsic value, have largely con- 
 tributed to the amelioration of the Scottish climate, by protecting 
 the valleys, and lending shelter to wide straths of adjoining 
 Oountry from the violence of the storm, regulating the rainfall, 
 and what is not to be trndervalued, have added to the sublimity 
 and grandeur of the iinrivalled scenery of this-r^ 
 
 " Land of brown heath and shaggy wood, . 
 
 Land of the mountain and the flood." 
 
 About this time, also, the Duke of Atholl planted 15,000 
 acres with larch and spine (chiefly the former) in his beautiful 
 districts near Dunkeld, where they now, in astonishing vigour, 
 cover, as with a darkbtit hospitable mantle, the mountains- nortl; 
 of the Tay, while the revenue ithey have yielded to their- owner 
 
THE rOEESTRY OF SCOTLAND. :20,5 
 
 ■lias far more than recompensed any return which could have 
 been obtained from the same land under any other process of 
 treatment or cultivation.. 
 
 During the present century, sfciinulated by the impetus given 
 to forestry by the Highland and Agricultural Society's encomrage- 
 ments,by means of premiums offered for thefonnation of extensive 
 plantations, the introduction and disseminationof new varieties of 
 useful timber trees adapted to Scotland and improvements in the 
 cultivation and selection of the native Scots fir, a very general 
 improvement in the value and condition of the woods in Scot- 
 land has been gradually progressing, and is still, advancing at 
 the present day ; although, perhaps, it should at the same time 
 be stated that during more recent years the increased demand 
 for home-grown timber for railway purposes, and for mining 
 and manufacturing requirements, ngit to mention that severe 
 drain on the larch supply of Scotland, the telegraph lines, has led 
 to severe and heavy cutting down, and consequently to a diminu- 
 tion in the available area under heavy wood in this country at 
 the present time compared with what there was in it about 
 twenty-five or thirty years ago. This increased demand has also 
 naturally had the effect of enhancing the prices of all home- 
 grown woods, and this again has had the effect of tempting many 
 to adopt a more rapid felling of their plantations than they 
 would otherwise probably have undertaken. 
 
 The accompanying table, showing the total area of each 
 county in Scotland, and its extent of acreage under wood in 
 1812, and again in 1872, prepared from statistical information 
 coUeeted in 1814, and from the Board of Trade tables in 1877, 
 will show the increase and decrease in the acreage under wood 
 at these respective' dates. It is unfortunate, for the sake of a 
 closer comparison, that in the more recent statistics obtained by 
 the Board of Trade, there are no data to show the respective areas 
 in each county at the present time under natural (or self-sown) 
 wood, and waAes planted, (or aitificial) woods, as we have given in 
 the earlier column of returns ; but still the comparison of the totals 
 is interesting and useful, even in the form we are confined to, 
 and shows that, liipon the whole, while we have been advancing in 
 the planting and laying out of new plantations, we have not 
 been keeping pace with the felling of the older timber which has 
 
20l) PRESENT STATE OF THE AGKICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 been going on, chiefly in the North and North Eastern districts 
 of Scotland. By this tahle we find .that between 1812 and 1872, 
 — a period of sixty years, — there is a falling off in the total 
 quantity of land in Scotland under wood of no less than 
 179,205 acres. As we have already stated, the chief items of 
 deficiency are found to arise in the north-eastern counties ; thus, 
 for example, we find in Eoss and Cromarty the falling off to 
 be 58,948 acres ; in Aberdeenshire, 55,461 acres ; while in the 
 central and best wood-producing county of Scotland, Perth- 
 shire, the deficiency in sixty years appears to be no less than 
 120,355 acres. This may mark, no doubt, an immense stride in 
 the advancement of the agricultural value of the land, and 
 reclamation of waste in the coimty ; but at the same time, it 
 records a change, probably permanent, upon the previously ac- 
 cepted capabilities of the country, and of this district in parti- 
 cular, which may not be without its reflex influence upon other 
 counties, where the capabilities of transition are not so favour- 
 able, but in which any such similarly rapid change may be 
 more injuriously felt, and may prove seriously detrimental both 
 in a chmatal and agricultural point of view to the material pros- 
 perity and progress of the county. The diminutions in forest 
 area of the other districts referred to, arise, no doubt, from the 
 excessive cuttings in the indigenous forests of Inverness, 
 Moray, and Aberdeen. It is easily seen that the forests of 
 Eothiemurchus, Duthill, and Abernethy, and those on Deeside, 
 are, at the present day, mere phantoms of what they originaUy 
 have been, and although part of these tracts felled have been 
 replanted, there remains yet much to be done in the way of 
 restoring the balance of woodland to open country in these dis- 
 tricts ; and the more so, as these districts are admirably suited 
 for the profitable growth of Scots fir timber. 
 
 Analysing still the same table, we find that the greatest in- 
 crease during the sixty years recorded occurs in Inverness-shire, 
 where there are now 52,110 imperial acres more under cultiva- 
 tion as wood than was the case in 1812. In Lanarkshire, 
 (notably a mining county), . where there is a constant demand 
 for pit-prop wood, the increase within the period has been 
 12,966 acres ; and in the district generally known by the name of 
 Galloway, comprising Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbright, there 
 
THE FORESTRY OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 207 
 
 Table showing the Total AcrecLge of each County in Scotland, 
 and the extent of Woods and Forests in each, including 
 Coppice, in the Years 1812 and 1872. 
 
 Count}W 
 
 Total 
 Acreage. 
 
 1812. 
 
 1872. 
 
 County 
 contains 
 
 Imperial Acres. 
 
 Total 
 
 Total 
 
 
 Imperial 
 
 
 under 
 
 under 
 
 
 
 
 Acres. 
 
 Planted. 
 
 Natural. 
 
 Wood 
 
 Wood. 
 
 Aberdeenshire, , 
 
 1,260,625 
 
 60,000 
 
 88,800 
 
 148,800 
 
 93,339 
 
 Argyllshii-e, . . 
 
 2,083,126 
 
 4,800 
 
 36,000 
 
 40,800 
 
 45,641 
 
 Ayrshire, 
 
 735,262 
 
 31,200 
 
 7,200 
 
 38,400 
 
 22,145 
 
 Banffshire, 
 
 439,219 
 
 14,400 
 
 7,200 
 
 21,600 
 
 26,190 
 
 Berwickshire, . 
 
 297,161 
 
 6,600 
 
 600 
 
 7,200 
 
 12,919 
 
 Bute, 
 
 143,997 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 
 
 3,004 
 
 Caithness, 
 
 455,708 
 
 300 
 
 720- 
 
 1,020 
 
 440 
 
 Clackmannan, . 
 
 31,876 
 
 2,400 
 
 1,080 
 
 3,480 
 
 2,044 
 
 Dumbarton, . 
 
 172,677 
 
 4,800 
 
 8,400 
 
 13,200 
 
 8,388 
 
 Dumfries, 
 
 705,946 
 
 33,600 
 
 3,600 
 
 37,200 
 
 27,472 
 
 Edinburgh, 
 
 234,926 
 
 16,790 
 
 3,610 
 
 20,400 
 
 10,320 
 
 Elgin or Moray, 
 
 340,000 
 
 16,800* 
 
 34,800* 
 
 51,600* 
 
 45,368 
 
 Fife, 
 
 382,427 
 
 21,600 
 
 ... 
 
 21,600 
 
 22,003 
 
 Forfar, . 
 
 569,840 
 
 40,349 
 
 6,724 
 
 47,073 
 
 31,857 
 
 Haddington, 
 
 179,142 
 
 5,400 
 
 480 
 
 5,880 
 
 9,439 
 
 Inverness, 
 
 2,723,501 
 
 12,000 
 
 54,708 
 
 66,708 
 
 118,818 
 
 Kincardine, 
 
 248,284 
 
 20,400 
 
 731 
 
 21,131 
 
 23,153 
 
 Kinross, . 
 
 49,812 
 
 2,391 
 
 
 2,391 
 
 3,551 
 
 Kirkcudbright, 
 
 610,343 
 
 5,280t 
 
 4,560t 
 
 9,840t 
 
 17,346 
 
 Lanark, . 
 
 568,868 
 
 5,316 
 
 2,580 
 
 7,896 
 
 20,862 
 
 Linlithgow, 
 
 81,114 
 
 6,000 
 
 240 
 
 6,240 
 
 4,719 
 
 Nairn, 
 
 137,500 
 
 * 
 
 * 
 
 * 
 
 14,349 
 
 Orkney, . 
 
 390,147 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 
 
 Shetland, 
 
 208,579 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 
 
 
 ... 
 
 Peebles, . 
 
 227,869 
 
 2,400 
 
 600 
 
 ■ 3,6oo 
 
 9,041 
 
 Perth, . 
 
 1,664,690 
 
 61,164 
 
 142,716 
 
 203,880 
 
 83,525 
 
 Renfrew, . 
 
 162,428 
 
 4,800 
 
 600 
 
 5,400 
 
 5,461 
 
 Eoss and Cromarty, . 
 
 2,016,375 
 
 6,000 
 
 86,400 
 
 92,400 
 
 33,452 
 
 Bozburgh, 
 
 428,494 
 
 5,618 
 
 729 
 
 6,348 
 
 13,387 
 
 Selkirk, . 
 
 166,524 
 
 2,400 
 
 ... 
 
 2,400 
 
 2,973 
 
 Stirling, . 
 Sutherland, 
 
 298,579 
 
 12,000 
 
 4,800 
 
 16,800 
 
 11,156 
 
 1,207,188 
 
 1,408 
 
 3,600 
 
 5,008 
 
 7,294 
 
 Wigtown, 
 
 327,906 
 
 t 
 
 t 
 
 t 
 
 4,832 
 
 Total Area, 
 Western Hebrides, . 
 
 19,496,132 
 
 406,226 
 6,000 
 
 '501,469 
 
 907,695 
 6,000 
 
 734,490 
 
 
 
 Tntal nndpT 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Wood, 
 
 412,226 
 
 501,469 
 
 913,695 
 
 734,490 
 
 Includedtogether in 1812. t Included together in 1812. 
 
208 PEESENT STATE OE THE AGEICT31jTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 is to be noticed an increase of 12,338 acres now under wood,. 
 The general result of the whole is that out of 28 counties 
 of the 33 reported upon generally, twelve show a decrease in 
 their area under wood in 1872, aS compared with 1812, while 
 16 show an increase in their acreage of plantations, — ^the total 
 deficiency of area in Scotland under wood in 1872, as ascer- 
 tained, by the Board of Trade returns published in 1877, 
 being 179,205 imperial acres, as compared with tjie -returns for 
 1812, collected and published in 1814 by the Statistical Eeports 
 prepaired by the Board of Agriculture. Eeference to the table 
 is further mada for many interesting details, which will, 
 in regard to the vaaious counties' of Scotland, approiximately 
 show the progress in area, of the reclamation of waste lands to 
 that of agricultural value, as evidenced by the diminution of 
 forest land; while such counties, as have experienced the re- 
 quirements of shelter and possessed woodland capabilities will 
 be generally found to have proportionatel;^ increased in the ex- 
 tent of their wooded areas. 
 
 The age of the plantations is from over 100 years to those of 
 this season's planting; and alihomgh. Scots fir is the principal 
 crop planted,, especially in the northern counties and in high and 
 exposed situations, the greater portion of the woods have a 
 sprinMing of larch introduced. In one or two instances, indeed, 
 the larch predominates, but as a rule a preference is .given to 
 plants of the native variety of Scots- fir, for twice in one district 
 trees of foreign-grown seed of Scots, fir. were tried on the hills, 
 and resulted on both occasions in a total failure, — an occurrence 
 which is not uncommon in other: localities in the country, both 
 in regard to larch and Scots fir. This arises from the importa- 
 tion, for many years past, of large suppHes of foreign seed, grown 
 in mild and warm districts on the continent of Europe, which 
 produce plants so tender in constitution that, in the variable 
 plimate of Scotland, they form a very precarious crop. Much 
 greater care, however, is now being taken in Scotland generally 
 to guard against this evil, for the prevalence of failures amongst 
 many young plantations, when recently formed, has been ^o 
 serious and appariently so inexplicaible at first, that the opinions; 
 of some experienced practical foresters inchned to the belief tha,ii 
 the character and habits of these common and usefui tBPes were 
 
ON THE FOEESTEY OS SCOTLAND. 209 
 
 undergoing a change, which made them less hardy and ill 
 adapted to the climate of Scotland, while the timber produced 
 by the survivors was found to be cif inferior quality to that of 
 the old trees of self-sown growth, or of those planted from native- 
 ripened seeds. 
 
 "When the object is, as in the present case, to give a broad and 
 comprehensive view of the extent and general condition of the 
 forests and woodlands of Scotland, it is not desirable to describe 
 in detail the extent and management of separate ownerships. 
 It would be rather invidious also to specify individuals, where 
 so many proprietors, great and small,, nobles and commoners, 
 axe entitled to honourable record for the attention they have 
 paid and the encouragement they have given to arboriculture 
 in the development of their respective estates. 
 
 This has, in most cases, carried with it substantial reward, 
 irrespective of and in addition to the benefits in a physical point 
 of view conferred on large owners of country. 
 
 Without attempting anything like a £nancial summary of 
 forest results, a few recent returns that have come within the 
 knowledge of the writer, may be given. 
 
 In 1843, on the Moy estate near Forres, in Morayshire, 298 
 acres were planted on the sand-drift lulls, with about two-thirds 
 native highland Scots fir and one-third larch, at a cost of nine 
 shillings per acre. This plantation is now 35 years old, the 
 value of the thinnings cannot be ascertained, but they have been 
 considerable, and unfortunately were the best trees. In 1865 
 the wood was valued at £22 per acre, and the result of a recent 
 inspection by a competent practical man reports it as now con- 
 sidered worth £31 per acre, as it stands, or a total of £8940. 
 The value of the ground for any other purpose would have been 
 almost nil. On the east side of this plantation there were 
 planted, a few years before that already referred to, 70 acres, 
 solely with the view of sheltering and screening the proprietor's 
 mansion house from sand drift. It has been periodically thinned 
 very carefully and the best timber preserved, which is now con- 
 sidered on an average worth £45 per acre, or a total of £3150. 
 On the adjoining moorland, on the estate of Dalvey, about four 
 miles from Forres, there stands a plantation of native Highland 
 Scots fir, now 45 years old, and which has been carefully thinned ; 
 
 
 
MO PiUESENT SIAEE Of THE AGEIUlHanEl OF SCOTLAlfD. 
 
 ;tlie value of the thinning s cannot- be asc^aiBBd, biot tba-. trees, 
 as they stand, are valaed at, £B0 per acria,/tbua ^ving ayay 
 fek uetTiEQ. for thaland, as for any oliier p1u3poae.it eonld. have 
 fetched. nolMag like £1 pesr acre per anmmu 
 
 Kfteen acres of Monzievaird fir -wood, Perthshire, were sold in 
 January 1874 for. J1820 sterling,, being more than. JE121. per acre. 
 This; lot/ consisted almost wholly of Soots fir, abeuife 8Q years aid. 
 
 In the. county of Perfih, when the estate id Lymedoch was 
 sold some few years ago, the woodlands* which occupied an. area 
 of 160Q acafes, were vakied, at i;52,0QQ, or at the rate- o£ J30. per 
 acre. 
 
 True it is, that in Scotland, whesre the abundance of her coal 
 fields renders the ex&tence and f Dsfceadng care of her woodlajids 
 of less primary importance than in Continental countries less 
 favourably situated in this respect, there is. no Govemiaent 
 supervision or schools of foreatry, such as we fi»d in almofit 
 every European country^ and in our own Indian Empire and 
 Colonies. The want of such a aehool has been long felt in 
 .Scotland, whence many of the young men drafted to Indian 
 appointments in the Forestry Department are isecruited, and it 
 is to be hc^ed that from the urgent, manner in which the ques- 
 tion has been lecemtLy brought forward, that the &dtish Govem- 
 mesnt, taking an «3ample from the wisely economic arrange- 
 ments in this department of both France and Germany, will, at 
 no distant day, inaugurate a aahool of foriestry for technical, 
 scientific, andipractical instruction in arboriculture, in a country 
 possessing so many advantages and opportunities for its success- 
 ful estabU^iment as Scotland. 
 
 The foresteis of Scotland themselves have Icmg felt the 
 want of. proper training and instruction in the various depart- 
 ments of natural science related to their profession, and have 
 of themselves, since 1854, established gnd supported, the 
 " Scottish Arboricultural Society," for the purpose of advancing 
 the objects, of the. craft. This. society, of which Her Majesty 
 the Queen is patron,, has now a large and influential mem- 
 bership of about 800., chieflj practical foresteia and their 
 assistanta^ and. meeis amuually in Edinburgh iu November, for 
 the discussion of questions relating; to forestry;, reading eommaini- 
 ^^QDs on subj,ects dL new interest, and. it also awards gdd and 
 
THE FORESTRY OF SCOTLAND. 211 
 
 silver medals, besides money prizes, for the best and most approved 
 essays on subjects in forestry annually prescribed. The trans- 
 actions of the Society are published annually, and the eight 
 volumes already published, together with the prize essays of the 
 Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland in the depart- 
 ment of woods and forests, form probably the most accurate sur- 
 vey that could be obtained of thfe condition of forestry in Scot- 
 land at the present day, and of the various most approved modes 
 of management of woodlands in every minute particular, in 
 different districts,, and under every variety of circumstances, 
 whether of locality, soil, altitude, or exposure^ or of any 
 peculiarity in the habits or requirements of the various species 
 of trees in the country. 
 
XIII. 
 
 THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCE TO AGRICULTTJKE IN 
 SCOTLAND. 
 
 The first book in the English language upon the chemistry of 
 agriculture was written by Lord Dundonald, a Scotch nobleman, 
 who in 1795 published a work entitled " A Treatise showing the 
 Intimate Connection that subsists between Agriculture and 
 Chemistry." Not long afterwards the researches of De Saussure 
 and others became known and excited a good deal of interest. 
 Not a few of the most intelligent farmers began to make experi- 
 ments of various kinds to test the efficacy of artificial manures, 
 and throw some scientific light on the practice of agriculture. 
 About the year 1820 a series of experiments were made by 
 farmers to determine the effect of the application of common 
 salt as a manure, and the relative value of bones, nitre, rape 
 dust, soot, &c., in augmenting the growth of crops and improving 
 the condition of the land. Some twenty years later, in 1840, 
 guano was first brought to the country from Peru and Chili, and 
 was made the subject of many field experiments, which assured 
 the farmer of its high manurial value. 
 
 The results obtained by many farmers in experimenting inde- 
 pendently on their own farms with various forms of artificial 
 manure were so striking, and excited so much interest, that in 
 1843 it was resolved by eight farmers, possessing farms in widely 
 different parts of the country, to test their accuracy by a set of 
 comparative experiments, in which similar artificial manures 
 were applied to the more important crops. The crops under 
 experiment were in each case barley, oats, wheat, hay, beans, 
 vetches, turnips, and potatoes, and the manures applied com- 
 prised aU those of any importance then known, viz., guano, bone 
 dust, dissolved bones, bone ash, nitrate of potash, nitrate of soda, 
 muriate of potash, sulphate of ammonia, ammonia liquor, gyp- 
 isum, sulphate of magnesia, sulphate of soda, common salt, and 
 soot. A careful digest of this first large series of experiments 
 in Scotland is to be found in the " Transactions of the Highland 
 
APPLICATION OF SCIENCE TO AGEICULTUEE. 213 
 
 and Agricultural Society."* The result was to establish, for the 
 information of farmers, the great value of nitrogenous and phos- 
 phatic manures. 
 
 A great impetus was about this time given to the pursuit of 
 scientific agriculture by the publication of Leibig's treatise on 
 " Chemistry in its Application to Agriculture and Physiology ; " 
 and the fanners of Scotland, like those of other countries, were 
 roused to a sense of the importance of a knowledge of the 
 scientific priaciples upon which the art of agriculture is 
 founded. 
 
 In the year 1842 a few Mid-Lothian farmers formed themselves 
 into a society called the " Agricultural Chemistry Association of 
 Scotland," having for its object "the improvement of agriculture by 
 the application of chemistry, vegetable physiology, and geology." 
 The immediate success of this society showed how great was 
 the interest taken in agricultural science, for it soon enrolled 
 about 1000 members, including a large proportion of the leading 
 landowners and farmers of Scotland. Professor Johnston of 
 Durham was appointed chemist to the association, and a che- 
 mical laboratory in Edinburgh was erected under his direction, 
 where a large number of analyses of manures, soils, feeding 
 stuffs, and agricultural products were made by him and his 
 assistants. Investigations were also carried on in the domain of 
 vegetable physiology, &c., and reports of these were published 
 annually in the " Journal of Agriculture,"-f and in the prize essays 
 of the Highland and Agricultural Society.' 
 
 An important part of the duties of the chemist was the delivering 
 of lectures in the various large towns and agricultural districts 
 of Scotland. Invitations were sent to him from all parts of the 
 country to come and instruct the farmers on certain subjects in 
 which they were specially interested. The result of these lec- 
 tures was that the farmers of Scotland became deeply impressed 
 with the value of a knowledge of the science of their profession, 
 and a large number of local societies were formed to discuss 
 questions of importance to agriculturists. Many farmers also 
 
 •■"Transactions of Highland and Agricultural Society,'' Series iii., vol. iii. 
 p. 408. 
 
 t "Journal of Agricidture," New Series, vols. xir. xv. (1845-47); Prize Essays 
 of Highland and Agricultural Society, Series iii., vols. i,-iii., 1845-49. Black- 
 wood & Sons, Edinburgh. 
 
214 PRESENT STATE 01' THE ASKICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND, 
 
 began to make experiments on their fields under the direction of 
 the chemist, and much practical information was acquired by 
 that means. 
 
 This was perhaps the first association for the advancement of 
 sEientifie agriculture that was ever formed, certainly it was the 
 first in this country. 
 
 The work done by the association was so important, that after 
 it had gone on for five years it was taken up by the " Highland 
 and Agricultural Society of Scotland," and is stiU being carried 
 on under the " Chemical Department " of that society. 
 
 In 1849 Dr Thomas Anderson, afterwards professor of chem- 
 mistry in the University of Glasgow, was appointed chemist to 
 the society, and continued to act as their chemist till 1874. 
 The work done by him during these twenty-five years is fuUy 
 reported in the "Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural 
 Society," and may be classified under three heads — 
 
 1st. The analysis of manures and feeding stuffs of all kinds. 
 2d. Original investigations on subjects of scientific interest 
 
 and practical utiKty to agriculturists. 
 3d. The conducting of field experiments to determine the 
 kinds pf manure best suited for the productions of 
 various crops. 
 
 The first of these formed a very important part of the work 
 of the chemist, for, owing to the annually increasing use of arti- 
 ficial manures and feeding stuffs by the Scottish farmers, and their 
 want of experience in such matters, dishonest traders made their 
 appearance in the market and palmed off their worthless wares 
 at an immense profit. The persistent use of chemical analyses 
 in the buying and selling of manures and feeding stuffs has 
 had the effect of protecting the farmer so thoroughly that cases 
 of fraudulence and adulteration are now of comparatively rare 
 occurrence. 
 
 The original investigations carried on by Dr Anderson were 
 mostly of a very practical kind, such as — 
 
 The manurial value of various waste materials. 
 
 The comparative feeding value of crops grown under various 
 conditions, manurial and otherwise. 
 
 The chemical composition of crops and of agricultural products 
 generally. 
 
APFLIOATION GiF SCIENCE TO AGEICULTUEE. 215 
 
 Th« chemical dhamges going on in plants during their grofwitah, 
 as for example his -well-known investigation upon thfi turnip in 
 its various stages.* 
 
 The analyses of soils, &c. 
 
 The field experiments followed closely on a very interesting 
 series that had heen carried on for three years by ten memhejs 
 of the East Lothian Agricidtural Club on their farms, situated 
 in various parts of the Lowlands, and differing widely in climatet 
 and situation; The object of these experiments, which were con- 
 ducted wifli great care, was to determine the effect of climate on 
 the ef&cacy of the various kinds of manures. Accordingly, 
 exactly the same manures were used by all the experimenters, 
 and in the same proportions. They were applied to the same 
 kind of crops, and these were grown from the same seed. The 
 results of these experiments were duly recorded from time to 
 time as they progressed. 
 
 The field experiments undertaken by Dr Anderson were not 
 carried out under his immediate superintendence, but were 
 undertaken by several intelligent farmers on their own farms, 
 and were conducted with as great care and precision as could be 
 obtaiued under such an arrangement. They began in 1866, and 
 lasted over a rotation of four years, and had far their object " to 
 ascertain what portion of the effects of our more common arti- 
 ficial manures are expended on the crops to which they are 
 applied, and how much remains over for subsequent crops." A 
 careful record of the experiments is to be found in the " Trans- 
 actions " of the Society.-|- 
 
 XJufortunately a series of unpropitious seasons interfered 
 TOth the success of the experiments, and the question proposed 
 remains still unsolved. Had the experimients been continued 
 over another rotation of four years, they might have aucceedied ; 
 but, owing to Dr Anderson's ill health and subsequent tdire- 
 ment, they were not continued. 
 
 Nothing further of a public kind was done in Scotland in ike 
 direction of scientific experimental agriculture till 1875, when 
 the Aberdeenshire Agricultural Association was fornred^ sand 
 
 * Prize Essays, Highland and Agricnltural Society, Series iit, vol. ix p. 
 306. 
 
 t " Transactions of the, Highland and^Agiiciillniral Society," 4th Series, vols. 
 I, ii. iii. iy. 
 
216 PBESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKE OP SCOTLAND. 
 
 began a series of open-air experiments to investigate the effects 
 of phJosphatio and nitrogenous manures upon the turnip crop. 
 These experiments are still proceeding under the superintend- 
 ance of Mr Thomas. Jamieson, chemist to the Association. 
 There are five stations, consisting of eighteen plots each, and 
 each plot the hundred-and-twelfth part of an acre in extent. 
 They are all under spade culture, and an account of the first 
 year's experiments has been published.* 
 
 The Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, in accord- 
 ance with the very generally expressed desire of the farmers of 
 the country, have again taken up the subject of experimental 
 agriculture, and have obtained a lease of two stations, — one 
 at Longniddry, on the home-farm of the Earl of Wemyss 
 and March, the other at Pumpherston, on the farm of Peter 
 M'Lagan, Esq., M.P. At each of these stations there are ten acres 
 under cultivation, and a series of experiments is about to begin, 
 mainly with the view of determining the agricultural value of the 
 various forms of the most important manures, so as to ascertain 
 under which form manures may be most advantageously and 
 economically applied to the soil. Each station is divided into 
 forty plots, so arranged as not to interfere with the ordinary 
 methods of farming, and the cropping is to be a four years' 
 rotation of turnips, barley, grass, and oats. The experiments 
 are under the direction of the Society's chemist, and are described 
 in the " Transactions " of the Society.-f 
 
 So universal is now the use of artificial manures, and so great 
 is the capital invested in them, that the intelligent and econo- 
 mical use of them is recognised by farmers to be a matter of 
 the first importance. Individual experiments in the science of 
 manuring are being performed by farmers all over the country, 
 and the results of these are being constantly communicated and 
 discussed at the meetings of the various agricultural associations, 
 and thereafter published in the agricultural journals. The 
 result of such communications and discoveries is the steadily 
 and rapidly increasing use of artificial manures ; and probably 
 no better means of estimating the growth of the scientific spirit 
 in the practice of agriculture is to be found than is supplied by 
 
 * " Proceedings of the Aberdeenshire Agricultural Association," 1875-76. 
 
 t " Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Societv," Series iv^, vol. x. 
 App. A, p. 20, 1878. " • - 
 
APPUCATION OF SCIENCE TO AGEICULTORE. 
 
 217 
 
 the statistics indicating the amount of consumption of artificial 
 manures during the last forty years or more. 
 
 In the year 1844 the first large importation of guano into 
 Scotland took place, and rather more than 6000 tons of it went 
 into consumption, the price heing between £6 and £7 per ton. 
 In 1845 large supplies (about 58,000 tons) of guano, chiefly 
 Ichaboe, were imported, and perhaps about 15,000 tons went into 
 consumption. In 1846 the consumption was about the same, 
 but in 1847 the demand seems to have increased to from 25,000 
 to 30,000 tons; part of this, however, may have gone to England. 
 
 Thus year by year the quantity increased, and in 1852 the 
 consumption of guano was not far short of 40,000 tons. Besides 
 guano, other kinds of artificial Bianure, such as bones, super- 
 phosphates, &c., were in demand, but their total amount would 
 not exceed 10,000 tons per annum. In 1862 the consumption 
 of guano had increased to 50,000 tons per annum, that of bones 
 to 15,000 tons, and of other manures from 5000 to 10,000 tons, 
 including about 1500 tons of nitrate of soda, which was then 
 beginning to be popular as a manure. 
 
 A few years after this, about 1869, the consumption of 
 Peruvian guano began to decrease, owing to its inferior quality, 
 and in 1872 it was not more than 20,000 tons ; but a correspond- 
 ing increase took place in the consumption of other manures, 
 ■wz., phosphatio guanoes, 5000 tons; bones, 30,000 tons; sulphate 
 of ammonia and potash salts, about 8000 tons ; and nitrate of 
 soda, about 7000 tons. 
 
 The following table, obtained from reliable sources, containing 
 the probable consumption of artificial manures every tenth year 
 since 1842, will make this more apparent : — 
 
 • 
 
 1842. 
 Tons. 
 
 1852. 
 Tons. 
 
 1862. 
 Tons. 
 
 1872. 
 Tons. 
 
 1877. 
 Tons. 
 
 Ammoniacal guanoes, . 
 Bones, ) 
 Bone ash, J 
 Superphosphate, . 
 Phosphatio guano and J 
 mineral phosphate, J 
 Nitiate of soda, . 
 Sulphate of ammonia, . 
 Potash manures, . 
 
 1,000 
 2,000? 
 
 35,000 
 10,000 
 
 1,000? 
 1,000? 
 
 50,000 
 
 15,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 2,000? 
 
 1,500 
 1,000 ? 
 1,000 
 
 25,000 
 
 30,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 7,000 
 3,000 
 5,000 
 
 32,000 
 
 37,000 
 
 11,000 
 
 7000 
 
 20,000 
 
 3000 
 
 10,000 
 
 Total, about 
 
 3,000 
 
 47,000 
 
 75,500 
 
 ■ 85,000 
 
 120,000 
 
218 PEE^NT STATE OF THB AGRICUILTtJEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 It will be seen from theiahov-e table liiat the iiDcrease in theitse 
 of artificial manures in Scotland has been steadily and rapidly 
 advancing ; and the explanation of that ad-vaoce is to be foond in 
 the increased amount of the crops which can be obtained by 
 their use oyer that which was possible dunng the time when 
 farm-yard manure was ailmost the only fertilisiing agent. 
 
 During the last thirty-five years the pricfis of the varionis 
 crops, while they have fluctuated from year to year within 
 certain narrow limits, as harvests were good or bad, or foreign 
 supplies more or less abundant, have made only a very slight 
 advance — in some cases no advance at all. Daring this time, 
 however, the price of labour, the rent of land, the cost of living, 
 and the expense required for maintaining farms in a proper 
 state of efficiency, have greatly increased. 
 
 That farming, notwithstanding the stationary price of produce 
 and the increased price of production, is still a profitable pur- 
 suit, is mostly due to the modern system of ferming, charac- 
 terised by the extensive use of artificial manures, which enables 
 farmers to increase the produce of their farms. This iuCTease is 
 not necessarily due to the power of obtaining, by the application 
 of artificial manures, heavier crops per acre than ha^ ever been 
 got before, but rather to the increase in the average production. 
 By the judicious and timely application of artificial manures, 
 there is greater certainty of obtaining something like an average 
 crop, and remunerative crops are able to be taiken from land 
 which could not otherwise be profitably cultivated.. Moreover, 
 a more exhaustive system of cropping is possible where such 
 manures are used. 
 
 It would be a mistake, however, to ascaribe the increase of pro- 
 duction solely to that cause, for the more thorough drainiiig of 
 the land, and the great, improvement in agricultural implements, 
 have contributed greatly to that result. 
 
 Another important direcbion in which science has come to the 
 aid of agriculture is in the utilisation of waste materials for Hhe 
 purpose of adding to the fertility of the soil. Fanners are now 
 keenly alive to the value of everything whiah contains the 
 elements of plant food, and no waste- products of such a kind, 
 derived from manufactures or any other source,, are allowed it© 
 be thrown away. 
 
ATPIICATTON O? SCTENCE TO AGEIGTJI-TUEE. 219 
 
 There is still, however, on'e enormous source of waste in the 
 uniitiliseS sewage of laige towns, The most of such sewage is 
 conveyed by drains into the sea. Attempts have been made, 
 aind are now mating on a large scale, to utilise this valuable 
 material, either by a system of frrigattoE, where such is possible, 
 or by precipitating the valuable constituents of sewage, and 
 drying them for manurial purposes ; but in both these method's 
 there is still very much tO' be learned, as the processes employed 
 are far from perfect. Perhaps the most successful effort in 
 irrigation with sewage, so far as pecuniary Tesults are alone con- 
 sidered, is that carried out on Craigentinny Meadows, near Edin- 
 burgh, where a considerable portion of the sewage has been used 
 to convert about 350 acres of saady worthless land into most fer- 
 tile grass land, having an average rent of from £25 to £30 per acre. 
 
 During the years in which artificial manures have been em- 
 ployed in ever-increasing quantity, the manufacture and use of 
 artificial feeding stuffs have increased in a like proportion. The 
 use of linseed feeding-cake in Scotland dates from about the 
 year 1830, but it did not come into very general use till a few 
 years later. The consumption in 1840 could not be much over 
 5000 tons per annum. In 1850 it had risen to about 15,000 
 tons. In 1862 upwards of 35,000 tons different descriptions of 
 feeding eake were consumed in the.' country; and in 1872 up- 
 wards of 50,000 tons. In 187*7 the consumption had attained 
 to about 70,000 tons per annum. Previous to 1840 linseed cake 
 was almost the only one used. In 1850 four-fifths was lingeed 
 and one-fifth was rape cake. Then cotton-seed cake became 
 popular, and now it constitutes nearly the half of all the cake 
 consumed in Scotland. 
 
 The great rapidity with which artificial feeding stuffs have 
 come into such general use as to revolutionise the system of 
 stock rearing, is in great measure the result of the intelligent 
 appreciation by the Scottish farmers of the knowledge which 
 has been gained in recent years regarding the chemical and 
 physiological principles concerned in nutrition. They are well 
 acquainted with the relative feeding values of the various agri- 
 cultural products, and are accustomed to select these with in- 
 telligence and precision, for the attainment of the ends which 
 they have in view is the feeding of their stock. 
 
220 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGKICULTUEE OP SCOTLAND. 
 
 Not only the feeding values, but also the manurial values of 
 the various forms of food, are now well understood, and these 
 together form the basis of a system of farming in which the 
 feeding of stock is so directed as to correlate with the cultivation 
 of crops and the maintenance of the fertility of the soil. 
 
 In the system of "high farming" which now prevails, the 
 capital expended in the purchase of artificial manures and feed- 
 ing stuffs is so great as in many cases to equal in amount the 
 rent of the farm itself. 
 
 The manufacture of these has given rise to very important 
 branches of industry. There are at present in Scotland about 
 fifty-five manufacturers of manures, and many hundreds of 
 dealers in these and feeding stuffs of all kinds. 
 
 That the farming of Scotland has arrived at a very high state 
 of perfection is due, not so much to the scientific knowledge of 
 the Scottish farmers, as to their general intelligence, which is of 
 a very high standard. 
 
 There is great need still of scientific training among our 
 farmers as a body, and the means at hand for that purpose are 
 both few and inadequate. It is, however, becoming more 
 generally the practice for young farmers to make chemistry and 
 physics, botany and zoology, a part of their education ; and the 
 many-sided knowledge and culture required by a farmer who 
 could successfully cultivate and advance his profession are 
 becoming more and more recognised. 
 
XIV. 
 
 THE NATIONAL AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES 
 OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 ■ I. The Society of Improvers, 1723-45. 
 
 Previous to the formation of the Highland Society in. 1784, 
 there existed in Edinburgh two associations for the improvememt 
 of agriculture. 
 
 The first was named " The Honourable the Society of Im- 
 provers in the Knowledge of Agriculture in Scotland." It is 
 believed tp have been the earliest in the United Kingdom, having 
 been founded in 1723. It comprised above three hundred mem- 
 bers, among whom were the most eminent Scotsmen of that time. 
 No premiums were offered; the principal business of the Society 
 consisted in giving advice to its members as to the best mode 
 of improving their lands. A volume containing the select Trans- 
 actions of the Society, prepared by Eobert Maxwell of Arkland, 
 was published in 1743. The Society existed until the rebelhon 
 of 1745 put an end to its deliberations. 
 
 II. The Edinburgh Society, 1755-65. 
 
 The second Association was called " The Edinburgh Society 
 for encouraging Arts, Sciences, Manufactures, and Agriculture 
 in Scotland." It was formed in 1755, under the auspices of 
 another institution called "The Select Society." The lists of 
 premiums offered by the Edinburgh Society occupy several 
 columns of the Edinburgh newspapers and magazines published 
 between 1755 and 1764. Premiums were offered for the improve- 
 ment of the breed of horses and cattle, as weU as for planting 
 timber trees, and a great variety of subjects connected with 
 the arts, sciences, manufactures, and agriculture. The society 
 was discontinued about the end of 1765. 
 
 III. The Highland and Agricultural Society. 
 Origin. — ^The Highland Society, the present National Agricul- 
 
222 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUKE OF SCOTLAM). 
 
 tural Society of Scotland, derives its origin from a meeting of a 
 few gentlemen connected with the Highlands, which took place at 
 Edinburgh in 1783. A small committee was formed to consider 
 the subject, and subsecLuently, at a meeting held early in 1784, 
 the Society was duly established, office-bearers were selected, 
 and a sub-committee was named to prepare a set of rates and 
 regulations for the guidance of thie Society, and for its general 
 objects and nianagement. 
 
 Names — Objeds — Boyhl Charters. — When the Society was 
 instituted as above narrated, it was called "The Highland 
 Society of Edinburgh." The formal definition of the objects 
 contemplated by the Society was sanctioned at a meeting 
 of all the members held in 1785. These objects were* — (1.) An 
 inquiry into the present state of the Highlands and Islands 
 of Scotland, and the condition of their inhabitants. (2.) An 
 inquiry into the means of their improvement, by establishing 
 towns and villages — ^by facititatiag communication through 
 different parts of the Highlands of Scotland, by roads and 
 bridges — advancing agriculture, and extending fisheries; in- 
 troducing useful trades and manufactures, and by an exertion 
 to unite the efforts of the proprietors and call the attention 
 of Government towards the encouragement and prosecution of 
 these beneficial purposes. (3.) A proper attention to the prer 
 servation of the language, poetry, and music of the Highlands. 
 
 In 1787 the Society was established as a corporation by royal 
 charter, granted by His Majesty King George III., under the 
 name and title of " The Highland Society of Scotland at Edin- 
 burgh." In this charter all the above objects are recited, except 
 those Tinder the third head. 
 
 In 1834 a second royal charter was granted to the Society 
 by His Majesty King William IV., for encouraging a continuance 
 of its attention to the improvement of agricultHre, and the 
 different branches of rural industry, and the arts therewitb con- 
 nected, all over Scotland, as well as to such of the original objects 
 of the institution as may stiU be beneficially advanced by the 
 Society's exertions. By this charter the name and style of the 
 Society was changed to "The Highland and Agricultural Society 
 of Scotland," which' title it stiU bears, though it continues, as at 
 the first, to be popularly known as " The Highland Society." 
 
HAaaaNALiAm* OTHER ASEICULTURAlSOCilEilES. 223 
 
 In 185.6 a, tMrd. royal ehaster was granted by Her Majesty 
 'Queen Victoriaj ion: the purpose oi eneouragiaag tiie proper ieduca- 
 tion of , a,^eultiiijrista, and of granting dipbmas to students in 
 agriculture. 
 
 Members of the^cietp. — The number of originalmembers of the 
 Siocaety was somewhat above 100. At the^ time of procuring the 
 fiust. charter in 1787, they had increased to 150. Since that 
 time the applications for admission, at every general, meeting, have 
 progressively increaaed. In 1797 the number of members was 
 400; in 1807, 925 ; in 1817, 1150 ; in 1827, 1658 ; in 1837, 
 1990; in 18.47, 260Q; ia 1857, 3186; in 1867, 3924; in 1877, 
 4535. The piresent mimber is above 4650, and comprehends 
 almost aU the nobltoen, membeis of parliament, and lamded pro- 
 prietors of Scotland, as weB. as the principal tenant farmers and 
 many members of the legal and medical proiessions, merchants, 
 and others. Since its institutioi% above 11,000 members have been 
 elected. 
 
 By the charter of 1834 the Society consists of two classes — 
 ordinary and honorary or corresponding members. The number 
 of honorary or corresponding members resident in the United 
 JLingdora must not, exceed twenty, but with power to the Society 
 to elect as honorary associatea persona resident abroad, not sub>- 
 jects of Her Majesty, who may have been benefactors to the 
 Society, or who are distinguished for thKir skill in art or science, 
 provided that the number of Siuch foreign afiBOisiates shall not 
 exceed twenty. 
 
 By a bye-law passed in 1873, with reference to the supple- 
 mentary charter of 1856, successful candidates for the Society's 
 agricultural diploma, are thereby eligible to be elected free life 
 members of the Society. 
 
 Candidates for ordinary membership must be proposed by a 
 member, and are elected at the half-yearly general meetings in 
 January and June. It is not necessary that the member >fho 
 proposes the candidate should attend, the meeting.' The 
 ordinary subscription is £1, 3s., 6d. annually, which may 
 be redeemed by one payment, varying, according to the number 
 of previous annual payments, from £12,, 12s. to £7, Is. Pro- 
 prietors farming the whole of their own lands, whose assessment 
 •on the valuation roll does, not exceed £500 per annum, and all 
 
224 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTDBE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 tenant-farmers, office-bearers of local agricultural associations, 
 resident agricultural factors, land stewards, foresters, agricultural 
 implement makers, and veterinary surgeons, none of them being 
 also owners of land to an extent exceeding £500 per annum, are 
 admitted on a subscription of 10s. annually, which may be 
 redeemed by one payment, varying, according to the number 
 of previous annual payments, from £5, 5s. to £3. According 
 to the charter, a member who homologates his election, by paying 
 his first subscription, cannot retire until he has paid, in annual 
 subscriptions or otherwise, an amount equivalent to a life com- 
 position. Members of the Society receive the " Transactions" on 
 application, and are entitled to apply for district premiums ; 
 to report ploughing matches for the medal ; to attend shows 
 free of charge ; and to exhibit stock at reduced rates. 
 
 Finance. — In regard to the finances of the Society, it may be 
 mentioned that Government, fully sensible of the great im- 
 portance and advantages of the Society's exertions in a national 
 point of view, has on several occasions extended its liberality 
 towards the institution. At the same time it is proper to state 
 that the Society has never received any assistance in the shape of 
 a direct annual subsidy from the Government. In 1789 an Act 
 of Parliament was passed which granted to the Society £3000 from 
 the forfeited estates in North Britain. In 1806 another Act was 
 passed, which granted to the Society an aUowanoe of £800 per 
 annum for a period of ten years from the same source. In 1836 
 a grant of £300 per annum was voted, which continued for ten 
 years ; and in 1844 Parliament gave £5000, These grants afforded 
 very great assistance to the Society, and enabled it to prosecute its 
 exertions with greater zeal and success. The Society's invested 
 capital now amounts to nearly £70,000, and the annual revenue 
 derived from it, and from annual and life subscriptions, amounts 
 to above £4500, besides the receipts at General Shows. 
 
 Business of the Society. — ^The general business of the Society 
 is conducted by a President, four Vice-Presidents, thirty ordinary 
 and ten extraordinary Directors, a Treasurer, an Honorary and an 
 acting Secretary, and other officers. The ordinary Directors are 
 subdivided into committees for the despatch of business, assisted 
 occasionally by those ordinary members most conversant with the 
 subjects to be discussed. The report of each committee is brought 
 
NATIONAL AND OTHER AGEIOULTUKAL SOCIETIES. 225 
 
 Ijefore the Directors collectively for further procedure. The 
 Directors meet on the first Wednesday of eachmonth from Novem- 
 ber to June. The proceedings of the Directors are reported to 
 general meetings of the Society held in January and in June or 
 July. The great object of the Society is the improvement of the 
 agriculture of Scotland, and in the prospcution of this object it 
 awards every year a variety of premiums. The premiums excite 
 great attention and extensive competition over every part of 
 Scotland. In the year 1877, for example, the Society awarded pre- 
 miums in 304 districts, and there were 8332 competitors in the 
 different classes. Some of the subjects which the Society particu- 
 larly encourages and promotes may be noticed. It gives premiums 
 for information in the form of essays and reports on improve- 
 ments, and fpr discoveries and experiments in agriculture, — for 
 the reclamation of land by tillage, — for the cultivation of green 
 crops, — for the improvement of pastures, — the extension of plan- 
 tations, and the introduction of new forest trees, — for the im- 
 provement of the different varieties of live Stock, and their 
 products, including a proper attention to the management of 
 wool. Eewards are also bestowed for the invention and improve- 
 ments of implements and machines for agricultural purposes; 
 and encouiagepient is held out to awaken the industry of cottagers 
 to such pursuits as may ameliorate their condition. A more 
 detailed account of the various branches of the Society's opera- 
 tions will be given, in the following pages. 
 
 Public Measuees. 
 
 The Society has ever been ready to lend its aid to the further- 
 ance of such public measures as promised to be of advantage to 
 the country. Some of these may be briefly noticed. 
 
 Thirlage. — Previous to 1796 the servitude of thirlage had long 
 been complained of in Scotland, as an obstacle to the improve- 
 ment of the country, by the restriction it imposed on certain 
 lands — of grinding the corn produced on them at certain mills 
 only, and of paying a proportion of such grain in name of mul- 
 ture ; the quantum of which payment, in name of multure, 
 increasing with the increased quantity of grain produced, the 
 servitude in question was regarded as a tax upon industry, and 
 as a bar to agricultural improvement. In 1796 the attention of 
 
 p 
 
226 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGEICtnLTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 the Society was first called to the subject, when a select com- 
 mittee was appointed. After various discussions, all of them 
 favourable to the proposed measure, a Bill (prepared by the 
 committee) was brought into Piarliament, and passed into law in 
 the session of 1796. The relief granted consisted in allowing 
 the proprietor to have the value of the thirlage, in an annual 
 payment of money, ascertained by the verdict of a jury of the 
 county in which such tenement is situated, on payment of which 
 sum annually, those subject to such servitude are relieved from 
 the burden of the thirlage. 
 
 Crinan and Caledonian Canals. — On reference to the early 
 volumes of the " Transactions," it will be found that the Society 
 was the means of iirst directing the attention to the practicability 
 of opening a navigable communication between Loch Gilp and 
 Loch Crinan. This took place in 1787. The Society also fur- 
 nished Mr Telford, the Government engineer, with a report on 
 the proposed communication from the eastern to the western 
 seas, called the Caledonial Canal. The information acquired and 
 communicated to Mr Telford was acknowledged by him in the 
 fullest manner. 
 
 Boads and Bridges. — The Society, at the request of Mr Telford, 
 reported, in 1803, on the importance of opening a communication 
 by roads and bridges in the Highlands, and in consequence of 
 the information and suggestions communicated. Government 
 voted large sums for the purpose of enabling the proprietors of 
 estates in the Highlands to carry roads through districts where, 
 without such aid, they could not possibly have been accomplished. 
 
 Emigration. — The public works just noticed had an additional 
 value at the period, as affording the means of employing a con- 
 siderable part of the population of the districts adjoining the 
 canal and roads in question, who might have otherwise emi- 
 grated. The subject of emigration had been referred to the 
 Directors by the general meeting of the Society in 1801, and by 
 them remitted to a special committee. The matter was at dif- 
 ferent meetings fully investigated, and a report given, containing 
 ample details as to the principal causes of emigration ; the hard- 
 ships to which emigrants were exposed, in their passage from this 
 country ; the arts of deceit and imposition by which interested 
 men ehcouraged this emigration ; and the pains taken to pre- 
 
NATIONAL AND OTHER AGBICULTURACi SOCIETIES. 227 
 
 vent genuine and authentic accounts of the situation of the 
 emigrants during their voyage to, and after their arrival in 
 America, from reaching their friends and acq^uaintances at 
 home. The report also noticed the size and tonnage of the 
 vessels, size of the berths or sleeping places, the provisions to 
 be furnished, and the medical care and assistance to be pro- 
 vided, and recommended legislative regulations. The report 
 having been communicated to Government, an Act was passed 
 for regulating the vessels carrying passengers to the plantations 
 and settlements abroad. 
 
 The Fisheries, which constitute an essential part of the re- 
 sources and productive industey of the Highlands, became at an 
 early period one of the principal objects and encouragement of 
 the Society, who communicated to Government such information 
 as their numerous members enabled them to obtain on that sub- 
 ject. The suggestions made by the Society resulted in the estab- 
 lishment of the Herring Fishery Board, which has long super- 
 seded them in that department. 
 
 OrdTuance. Survey. — The Society has for many years taken a 
 lead in urging on Government the completion of the Ordnance- 
 Survey of Scotland — an important measure bearing on the agri- 
 cultural interests of the country, instituted so far back as 1809' 
 — and in consequence of repeated applications, has been instru-^ 
 mental in accelerating the progr^s of the undertaking. All 
 that is now required to complete the work is the re-plotting on 
 the 25W scale of the counties of Edinburgh, Haddington, Fife,. 
 Wigtown, and Kirkcudbright, 
 " Drainaffe. — The advantage of a law for facilitating drainage 
 in Scotland, particularly in regard to outfalls, was brought under 
 the notice of the public in a letter by the Eev. William Dar- 
 ling, Cleish, Kinross-shire, dated 30th January 1812, and pub- 
 lished in the "Transactions" for 1816. The results of the intro- 
 duction and practical application of the system of "thorough 
 drainage," introduced by James Smith of Deanston, were so 
 obvious and so satisfactory that the Government recognised 
 the policy of assisting the movement by advancing loans to 
 such persons as were desirous of taking advantage of it, and 
 an Act was passed for such purpose. In 1846 the " Drainage 
 Act " came under the consideration of the Society, and the 
 
228 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGRICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 attention of proprietors and tenants was called to it through a 
 report issued by the Directors. The manner in which that re- 
 commendation was met is well known by the preponderating 
 number of applications which emanated from Scotland. The 
 Commissioners under the Act were in frequent communication 
 with the Directors, by whom various suggestions were made 
 for giving additional effect to the measure, many of which were 
 embodied in amended Acts. 
 
 Miiuralogical and Geological Inquiries. — In 1831 the Society 
 offered premiums for the best account of the principal quarries 
 in Scotland, particularly those of granite, limestone (including 
 marble), sandstone, and slate, detailing the mode and expense of 
 working, the value of the undressed material raised, and the 
 quantities by weight and measure, &c. Liberal premiums were 
 afterwards offered for geological surveys of the different counties 
 or districts in Scotland, and information regarding the principal 
 coal-fields of the country. Several important papers were pub- 
 lished in the Society's " Transactions " on all the above subjects. 
 The Society's efforts to advance mineralogical and geological 
 inquiry in Scotland attracted much attention, and were duly 
 appreciated. The geological section of the British Association 
 for the advancement of science was pleased to pass in 1834 a 
 resolution giving the thanks of the Association to the Society 
 " for their liberal and zealous endeavours to promote inquiries 
 into the geology of Scotland." The large geological collection 
 which the Society had formed was afterwards transferred to the 
 Museum in Edinburgh established by Government. 
 
 Geological or Industrial Museum. — In the course of 1852 the 
 Society memorialised Her Majesty's Government on the import- 
 ance of granting to Scotland a geological and chemical institu- 
 tion illustrative of the mineral resources of Scotland. It was 
 represented that museums of practical geology had been estab- 
 lished in London and Dublin, and that it was just and expedient 
 to extend a similar advantage to Scotland, particularly when the 
 vast amount of its mineral wealth was taken into consideriation. 
 The Society therefore urged the necessity of such an establish- 
 ment as would afford the means of classifying and recording 
 accurate information in regard to ores, coals, building, paving, 
 and ornamental stones, granites, and marbles, the localities and 
 
NATIONAL AND OTHER AGEICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 229 
 
 constituents pf different soils, qualities of clays for different pur- 
 poses, of limestones, and generally of all other mineral products. 
 The Society's memorial was supported hy similar applications 
 from other public bodies, was "favourably received by Govern- 
 ment, and resulted in the establishment in Edinburgh of the 
 Industrial Museum, now called the Museum of Science and Art. 
 Agricultural Statistics.— 'Durm^ the years 1863 to 1857 in- 
 clusive, the Society successfully carried out perhaps the most 
 important and onerous undertaking ever attempted by it, viz., 
 the inquiry into the agricultural statistics of Scotlandv • The 
 Society can take credit to itself for having been instrumental in 
 accomplishing that which for many years had been the aim of 
 different Governments, and of establishing the practicability of 
 obtaining correct information respecting the statistics of agri- 
 culture. The Society may well claim the merit not only of 
 . having devised and organised the requisite machinery for this 
 purpose, but of having successfully worked it, — first, in 1853, in 
 the three counties of Haddington, Eoxburgh, and Sutherland, 
 and during the four succeeding years over the whole of Scotland. 
 Each county was divided into a certain number of districts; in 
 each district there was a special correspondent, and a committee 
 composed of a representative from each parish in the district. 
 The number altogether on the statistical staff was about 1000, 
 all farmers, besides a number of experienced clerks. The returns 
 were so accjirate, that when the head of the Ordnance Survey, 
 wishing to try how far Ordnance maps might be made available 
 for statistical purposes, caused the area of the grain and green 
 crops in West Lothian to be ascertainedj the estimates of acreage 
 in the two returns were only found to differ by 316 acres on 
 29,599. This variation was quite accounted for by the minute 
 official allowance for roads and fences. The inquiry, so far as 
 the Society was concerned, terminated in 1857, the require- 
 ments of Government being considered inconsistent with the 
 voluntary and almost gratuitous character of. the co-operation 
 and assistance rendered by enumerators and members of com- 
 mittee, and such as to necessitate the discontinuance of their 
 service. The inquiry was revived in 1866, and has since been 
 annually carried out on an extended and more comprehensive 
 scale, embracing the whole country, by the Board of Trade. 
 
230 PEESENT STATE OJ THE AGEICULTUEE OE SCOTLAND. 
 
 Miscellaneoiis Inquiries. — Some of the other measures and 
 sources of industry of a miscellaneous character to which the 
 Society has directed its attention may he named — such as the 
 coal and salt duties — ^the distillery laws and malt duties; — ^life- 
 boats for saving persons exposed in shipwreck — ^the improve- 
 ment of the Highland ferry-hoats — the equalisation of weights 
 and measures — the publication of prize reports on the construc- 
 tion of railroads — the proceedings taken in consequence of the 
 failure in the corn crop of 1816 — inquiries into the cause of the 
 failure of the potato crops in Scotland in 1833, 1836, 1845, and 
 1846 — raising in Scotland straw for plait, and for the best speci- 
 mens of plait with the straw thus raised — ^preparing for plait the 
 greatest quantity of rye straw, and for plaiting and manufactur- 
 ing of the straw — the most profitable use and improvement of 
 peat moss — the manufacture of kelp and such other sources of 
 industry as existed in the Highlands — the efGects of hiring mar- 
 kets, and the expediency of substituting some better mode of 
 engaging farm servants — the best mode of forming savings banks 
 and friendly societies. 
 
 On these and similar measures of public importance, the 
 Society has from time to time exerted itself, and by its influence 
 proAired, when necessary, legislative enactments, and support of 
 Government, for the general interests of the country. 
 
 Eeports of the results of these inquiries wiU be found in the 
 " Transactions." 
 
 a 
 
 The importance and nature of the specific subjects of this 
 year's premiums will best be shown by a short reference to each 
 of the classes as they stand in the Society's printed list, and 
 on the other schemes to which its funds and patronage are 
 directed :— 
 
 PEEiauMS FOE Essays and Eepoets. 
 Section 1. — The Science and Practice of Agriculture. — There 
 are twenty-seven subjects of inquiry embraced under this 
 bead in the Premium List for 1878. These relate to almost 
 every subject which may be supposed to faU within the culti- 
 vation of the soil and the rearing and feeding of stock. The 
 premiums offered amount to £460. 
 
NATIONAL AND OTHEE AGEICDLTUEAL SOCIETIES. ' 231 
 
 Section 2. — Ustate Im-provements. — The reclamation of waste 
 land in Scotland has always been a favourite object of the 
 Society. In consequence of the premiums offered, and of the 
 enterprising spirit of the landlords and tenants, large portions 
 of this description of land have been reclaimed, and premiums 
 have been adjudged in almost every county. On reference to 
 the " Transactions," it will be found that about one hundred 
 reports on the subject have been published between 1799 and 
 1877. At first the premiums were confined to certain specified 
 counties, but have long been open to proprietors and tenants in 
 every part of Scotland. Under this head there are seven pre- 
 miums offered for the current year, amounting to £60. 
 
 Section 3. — Machinery. — The Society has uniformly en- 
 couraged useful inventions or improvements on implements of 
 husbandry-, and premiums to a large amount have been awarded. 
 The first head of this section for 1878 relates to such inventions 
 or improvements on any implement or machine as shall be 
 deemed by the Society of pubHc utility. The second is for the 
 best and most approved cattle truck for feeding and watering 
 the animals in transit. The premiums in this department for 
 the current year amount to £70. 
 
 Section 4. — Forestry. — "With the view of inducing pro- 
 ;prietors in the north and west coasts of Scotland to make 
 proper experiments in planting, the Society, in 1811, offered 
 honorary premiums for extensive planting. These premiums 
 were afterwards extended, ,and are still open to any proprietor 
 in Scotland. Since 1815 about fifty -reports on the subject have 
 "been published in the " Transactions." For the current year there 
 are sixteen subjects of inquiry contained under this head. 
 'They include honorary premiums to proprietors for extensive 
 planting ; for reports on planting, founded on experiment ; on 
 variety of trees "best adapted for shelter ; on old and remarkable 
 trees; on the woods, forests, and forestry in certain counties ; and 
 on insects most injurious to forest trees. Under this department 
 the premiums offered for the current year amount to £125. 
 
 General Shows, 1822-77. 
 
 The Society, in 1812, had under, eonsidetation the propriety of 
 .tolding annual shows in Edinburgh, but the suggestion was not 
 
232 PKESENT STATE OF THE AGRICULTURE OF sfcoTLAND. 
 
 then proceeded in. In 1821 the subject was revived, and the 
 first general show took place at Edinburgh in 1822. The fol- 
 lowing table shows the place, date, the number of stock and 
 implements, and the premiums offered at all the Society's 
 general shows : — 
 
 LocaJlty. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Cattle. 
 
 Horses. 
 
 Sheep. 
 
 Swine. 
 
 Poultry 
 
 Total. 
 
 Dairy 
 Pro- 
 
 Imple- 
 ments. 
 
 Pre- 
 miums 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 dace. 
 
 offered. 
 
 1. Edinburgh, 
 
 1822 
 
 69 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 
 ... 
 
 £78 
 
 2. Edinburgh, 
 
 1823 
 
 44 
 
 ... 
 
 77 
 
 12 
 
 ... 
 
 133 
 
 ... 
 
 • >> 
 
 110 
 
 3. ■Rdinhurgh, 
 
 1824 
 
 62 
 
 ... 
 
 89 
 
 5 
 
 ... 
 
 156 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 
 
 105 
 
 4. Edinburgh, 
 
 1825 
 
 42 
 
 ... 
 
 43 
 
 7 
 
 ... 
 
 92 
 
 ... 
 
 
 110 
 
 5. Glasgow, . 
 
 6. Edinhurgh, 
 
 1826 
 
 226 
 
 49 
 
 148 
 
 24 
 
 ... 
 
 447 
 
 
 • •• 
 
 186 
 
 1827 
 
 44 
 
 
 138 
 
 6 
 
 ... 
 
 188 
 
 !!! 
 
 11 
 
 224 
 
 7. Glasgow, , 
 
 8. Perth, . . 
 
 1828 
 
 302 
 
 "42 
 
 112 
 
 69 
 
 '.'.! 
 
 525 
 
 ". _ 
 
 30 
 
 277 
 
 1829 
 
 192 
 
 52 
 
 199 
 
 13 
 
 ... 
 
 456 
 
 
 13 
 
 357 
 
 9. Dumfries, . 
 
 1830 
 
 180 
 
 60 
 
 247 
 
 19 
 
 
 606 
 
 '.'.'. 
 
 18 
 
 353 
 
 10. Inverness,. 
 
 1831 
 
 198 
 
 90 
 
 129 
 
 11 
 
 ... 
 
 428 
 
 ... 
 
 4 
 
 318 
 
 11. Kelso, . . 
 
 1832 
 
 88 
 
 18 
 
 243 
 
 16 
 
 !!! 
 
 366 
 
 '.'.'. 
 
 11 
 
 630 
 
 12. Stirling, . 
 
 1833 
 
 288 
 
 74 
 
 160 
 
 54 
 
 ... 
 
 676 
 
 ... 
 
 22 
 
 553 
 
 13. Aberdeen, . 
 
 1834 
 
 188 
 
 77 
 
 192 
 
 58 
 
 ... 
 
 515 
 
 28 
 
 9 
 
 627 
 
 14. Ayr, . . 
 
 1835 
 
 309 
 
 70 
 
 324 
 
 46 
 
 ... 
 
 749 
 
 43 
 
 29 
 
 576 
 
 15. Perth. . . 
 
 1836 
 
 265 
 
 46 
 
 416 
 
 18 
 
 
 745 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 479 
 
 16. Dumfries, . 
 
 1837 
 
 181 
 
 77 
 
 512 
 
 14 
 
 ..'. 
 
 784 
 
 31 
 
 36 
 
 650 
 
 17. Glasgow, ■ . 
 
 1838 
 
 461 
 
 121 
 
 274 
 
 47 
 
 ... 
 
 903 
 
 39 
 
 62 
 
 731 
 
 18. Inverness, , 
 
 1839 
 
 302 
 
 93 
 
 445 
 
 43 
 
 ... 
 
 883 
 
 
 24 
 
 744 
 
 19. Aberdeen, . 
 
 1840 
 
 269 
 
 80 
 
 126 
 
 69 
 
 ... 
 
 544 
 
 46 
 
 30 
 
 781 
 
 20. Berwick, . 
 
 1841 
 
 175 
 
 96 
 
 658 
 
 33 
 
 
 962 
 
 
 60 
 
 1056 
 
 21. Edinburgh, 
 
 1842 
 
 295 
 
 179 
 
 487 
 
 53 
 
 ... 
 
 1014 
 
 "38 
 
 200 
 
 1200 
 
 22. Dimdee, . 
 
 1843 
 
 317 
 
 73 
 
 324 
 
 30 
 
 34 
 
 778 
 
 81 
 
 101 
 
 990 
 
 23. Glasgow, . 
 
 1844 
 
 558 
 
 210 
 
 568 
 
 64 
 
 50 
 
 1450 
 
 277 
 
 357 
 
 1600 
 
 24. Dumfries, . 
 
 1845 
 
 297 
 
 75 
 
 537 
 
 62 
 
 101 
 
 1072 
 
 88 
 
 143 
 
 900 
 
 25. Inverness, , 
 
 1846 
 
 428 
 
 112 
 
 357 
 
 33 
 
 76 
 
 1006 
 
 23 
 
 59 
 
 1050 
 
 26. Aberdeen, 
 
 1847 . 
 
 361 
 
 105 
 
 230 
 
 24 
 
 102 
 
 822 
 
 42 
 
 49 
 
 920 
 
 27. Edinburgh, 
 
 1848 
 
 351 
 
 142 
 
 760 
 
 58 
 
 128 
 
 1439 
 
 165 
 
 310 
 
 1153 
 
 28. Glasgow, . 
 
 1850 
 
 484 
 
 164 
 
 639 
 
 85 
 
 172 
 
 1544 
 
 316 
 
 577 
 
 1359 
 
 29. Perth, . . 
 
 1852 
 
 313 
 
 135 
 
 662 
 
 50 
 
 186 
 
 1346 
 
 123 
 
 339 
 
 900 
 
 30. Berwick, . 
 
 1854 
 
 179 
 
 141 
 
 771 
 
 86 
 
 264 
 
 1441 
 
 ... 
 
 357 
 
 1600 
 
 81. Inverness, . 
 
 1856 
 
 248 
 
 131 
 
 469 
 
 43 
 
 156 
 
 1047 
 
 
 231 
 
 1000 
 
 32. Glasgow, . 
 
 1857 
 
 415 
 
 240 
 
 669 
 
 112 
 
 429 
 
 1865 
 
 JS4 
 
 610 
 
 1508 
 
 33. Aberdeen, 
 
 1858 
 
 450 
 
 189 
 
 590 
 
 79 
 
 366 
 
 1674 
 
 ■ ■■ 
 
 802 
 
 1600 
 
 34. Edinburgh, 
 
 1859 
 
 332 
 
 188 
 
 583 
 
 80 
 
 327 
 
 1510 
 
 54 
 
 980 
 
 1600 
 
 35. Dumfries, . 
 
 1860 
 
 298 
 
 166 
 
 558 
 
 54 
 
 216 
 
 1292 
 
 195 
 
 911 
 
 1500 
 
 36. Perth, . . 
 
 1861 
 
 335 
 
 155 
 
 616 
 
 77 
 
 360 
 
 1543 
 
 91 
 
 850 
 
 1500 
 
 37. Kelso, . . 
 
 1863 
 
 245 
 
 127 
 
 S32 
 
 49 
 
 261 
 
 1214 
 
 *■■ 
 
 1101 
 
 1300 
 
 38. Stirling, . 
 
 1864 
 
 397 
 
 181 
 
 614 
 
 76 
 
 252 
 
 1520 
 
 ... 
 
 973 
 
 1350 
 
 39. Inverness,. 
 
 1865 
 
 361 
 
 132 
 
 812 
 
 43 
 
 294 
 
 1642 
 
 ... 
 
 707 
 
 1300 
 
 40. Glasgow, . 
 
 1867 
 
 286 
 
 212 
 
 505 
 
 80 
 
 450 
 
 1633 
 
 143 
 
 1344 
 
 1600 
 
 41. Aberdeen, . 
 
 1868 
 
 373 
 
 139 
 
 632 
 
 57 
 
 480 
 
 1681 
 
 ■ •■ 
 
 1158 
 
 1600 
 
 42, Edinburgh, 
 
 1869 
 
 310 
 
 212 
 
 704 
 
 42 
 
 717 
 
 1985 
 
 
 1900 
 
 1600 
 
 43. Dumfries,. 
 
 1870 
 
 374 
 
 171 
 
 730 
 
 76 
 
 402 
 
 1753 
 
 iso 
 
 1873 
 
 1600 
 
 44. Perth, . . 
 
 1871 
 
 376 
 
 177 
 
 624 
 
 71 
 
 801 
 
 1549 
 
 88 
 
 1948 
 
 1600 
 
 45. Kelso, . . 
 
 1872 
 
 274 
 
 214 
 
 565 
 
 66 
 
 291 
 
 1400 
 
 • •• 
 
 1777 
 
 1888 
 
 46. Stirling, . 
 
 1873 
 
 406 
 
 297 
 
 582 
 
 96 
 
 534 
 
 1915 
 
 >.. 
 
 1400 
 
 1860 
 
 47. Inverness,. 
 
 1874 
 
 391 
 
 175 
 
 422 
 
 48 
 
 461 
 
 1487 
 
 , , 
 
 1161 
 
 2030 
 
 48. Glasgow, . 
 
 1875 
 
 .411 
 
 405 
 
 568 
 
 68 
 
 665 
 
 2107 
 
 152 
 
 2220 
 
 2665 
 
 49. Aberdeen, 
 
 1876 
 
 424 
 
 227 
 
 448 
 
 84 
 
 520 
 
 1703 
 
 
 1812 
 
 2440 
 
 50. Edinburgh, 
 
 1877 
 
 339 
 
 342 
 
 541 
 
 38 
 
 302 
 
 1662 
 
 ... 
 
 2292 
 
 2714 
 
 Prom the preceding table, it will be observed that no shows, 
 
NATIONAL AND OTHER AGKICULTUKAL SOCIETIES. 233 
 
 were held in 1849, 1851, 1853, 1855, 1862, and 1866. Owing 
 to general depression and other causes, it was resolved in 1849 
 to hold the shows triennially, or more frequently if sought for 
 and supported by the agricultural public ; but the triennial 
 system never came into operation. For a few years the meetings 
 were held biennially, but since 1855 they have been annual. In 
 1862 the Society joined the Eoyal Agricultural Society of Eng- 
 land, and held the general show at Battersea. In 1866, cattle 
 plague was spreading itself all over the country, and shows of all 
 kinds were entirely suspended. When the itinerating system 
 was introduced, meetings were held in places which are no 
 longer visited. The shows are now on a scale requiring a greater 
 amount of pecuniary support than a single county can afford, 
 and railway communication enables stock to be sent to a dis- 
 tance with greater ease and at less expense than formerly. 
 The following are now recognised as the fixed districts : — 
 
 1. Edinburgh, for the counties of Edinburgh, Haddington, and 
 I;inlithgow. 
 
 2. Glasgow, for the counties of Lanark, Ayr, Eenfrew, Argyll, 
 and Bute. 
 
 3. Perth, for the eastern division of Perthshire, the counties of 
 Fife and Kinross, and western division of Porfar. 
 
 4. Stirling, for the counties of Stirling, Dumbarton, and Clack- 
 mannan, and the western division of Perthshire. 
 
 5. Aberdeen, for the counties of Aberdeen, Banff, and Kin- 
 cardine, and eastern district of Porfar. 
 
 6. Inverness, for the counties of Inverness, Elgin, Nairn, Eoss 
 and Cromarty, Caithness, Sutherland, and Orkney, including 
 Shetland. 
 
 7. Dumfries, for the counties of Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, and 
 Wigtown. 
 
 8. Kelso, for the counties of Berwick, Eoxburgh, Selkirk, and 
 Peebles. 
 
 The above may be regarded as the leading Idealities of Scot- 
 land, and the Society, as a national body, may fairly be expected 
 to visit each, and to furnish the rural population with occasional 
 opportunities of seeing within their own districts breeds of stock 
 not common t& them, and of inspecting a full collection of the 
 most improved implements of agriculture. The cost of a show is 
 
234 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 defrayed by the collection for admission to the showyard, by a 
 charge for stall rent, and by a subscription in the district. If 
 there be a deficiency, it is borne by the Society, which, on the 
 other hand, enjoys the advantage of any surplus that may arise. 
 The plan of raising the district subscription, which has been in 
 operation for many years, is for the Goinmissioners of Supply of 
 the counties forming the district of a show to recommend a 
 voluntary subscription according to a uniform rate upon rental, 
 and to request the county collector to prepare an allocation, and 
 to apply for payment along with the county rates. The rate 
 hitherto has run from 20s. to 30s. on the £1000 of rental, and the 
 proprietors have been found willing to submit to such an impost 
 once in eight or nine years, in aid of a meeting within their 
 own district. At first the whole operations of a show were con- 
 fined to one day, but they now extend over the greater part of a 
 week. 
 
 At one time the list of premiums for stock was of a fluctuating 
 character, varying according to the district in which the show 
 was held. This was afterwards amended, and premiums are now 
 confined to the five recognised pure breeds of cattle — Shorthorn, 
 Polled Angus or Aberdeen, Galloway, Ayrshire, and Highland ; 
 to horses for agricultural purposes ; and in sheep, to the Cheviot, 
 Blaekfaced, Border Leicester, and other breeds. The standing 
 premiums are generally coirflned to breeding stock of these races, 
 though extra prizes are awarded for stock reared for consumption. 
 
 Cheistmas Shows, 1853 and 1854. 
 
 In compliance with a desire generally expressed, the Society 
 at its general meeting in January 1853, resolved to institute 
 winter shows of fat stock, poultry, dairy produce, and roots and 
 seeds, to be held alternately in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The 
 experience, however, of a few years showed tihat they excited 
 little or no interest on the part of the general public, and 
 but little even among the farmers themselves, while at the same 
 time they trenched heavily on th.e funds of the Society. The sbows 
 were therefore discontinued in 1855. Winter shows are now 
 held by a society called " The Edinburgh Christmas Club," to 
 whose funds the Highland Society gives an annual vote of JE50. 
 
NATIONAL AND OTHER AGKICULTUBAL SOCIETIES. 235 
 
 DisTEiCT Competitions. 
 
 The liberal support whicli the Society received not only from 
 Government, hut by a regular and numerous accession of members, 
 soon enabled it to extend the sphere of its usefulness by institu- 
 ting various classes of premiums for competition in certain 
 specified districts, and during the ninety years vrhich these 
 premiums have been in operation, there is perhaps no part of 
 the country to which they have not been extended. From the 
 first, the several competitions have been superintended by the 
 imembers of the Society resident in or connected with the respec- 
 tive districts. The intimate and friendly connection which has 
 so long subsisted between the central body and its local offshoots 
 (the number of which is about 350, including ploughing associa- 
 tions), the supervision which it is permitted to exercise, and the 
 pecuniary assistance which it is enabled to afford, form a leading 
 feature in the Society's administration, distinguishing it,j bene- 
 ficially it is believed, from that of the Eoyal Agricultural Societies 
 of England and Ireland. It is by means of these local competi- 
 tions that a spirit of improvement is first generated; they are 
 instrumental in maintaining a communication between the Society 
 and the district associations which tends to increase the influence 
 of the one, and to give a proper direction'^to the other; and they 
 keep alive that spirit ' of emulation which feeds the general 
 shows. By means of the premiums and medals not only is im- 
 provement promoted in the breeding of cattle, horses, and sheep, 
 the quality of the grain, the management of root crops, the 
 ploughing of land, and in almost every other section of agricul- 
 tural operations, but the finances of the smaller societies are 
 supplemented, and the efforts of all are directed into proper 
 channels, while the regulations and practice of the Society are 
 brought to bear upon their proceedings, thus gradually extending 
 over the country, to a certain extent, a uniformity of object and 
 of action. ^ 
 
 Cattle. — To the important subject of improving the breed of 
 cattle, the attention of the Society hag been directed since 1789. 
 The district prizes now consist of four money premiums amount- 
 ing in aU to £20, one large silver and three medium silver medals, 
 and are given in each district (six in number) for three alternate 
 
236 PEESENT STATE OF THE AGEICULTUEE OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 years for the best bulls and heifers, on condition that the district 
 in [the two intermediate years continues the competition by 
 offering for the same description of stock a sum not less than 
 one-half of that given by the Society. 
 
 Horses. — ^With the view of encouraging the breeding of horses 
 for agricultural purposes, the Society instituted premiums in 
 1816. As now arranged, the stallion premiums, amounting to 
 £25, are granted to each district (seven in number) for two years, 
 and are followed by premiums to the amount of £7 for other 
 two years for brood mares, and again for a similar period by 
 premixmis amounting to £19 for entire colts and fillies. The 
 grants during the six years they are in operation amount in 
 each district to £102, besides a certain number of silver medals. 
 
 Sheep and Wool. — Soon after its institution, the Society directed 
 its attention to the improvement of sheep and wool, and the intro- 
 duction of woollen manufactories ; but the late Sir John Sinclair 
 having, with the approval of the Society, founded the British 
 Woollen Society, the Highland Society for some time relinquished 
 these branches. On the Woollen Society being dissolved, the 
 Highland Society was induced [to resume its attelition to the 
 improvement of the breed of sheep and the management of wool. 
 Premiums for sheep have accordingly been in operation since 
 1819. They are given for tups and ewes for the same period, 
 and under the same conditions as those for cattle, and consist of 
 £18 in money, besides five silver medals to each district (six in 
 number). In 1806 premiums were offered and awarded for re- 
 ports on wool stapling ; in 1818 the sum of one hundred guineas 
 was offered to the wool stapler who should first establish himself 
 in Scotland. In 1841, 1842, and 1843 liberal premiums in a 
 systematic form were awarded for the improvement of the 
 quality of wool at general competitions open to the whole of 
 Scotland. 
 
 Sutine. — This class of stock was added to the list in 1827, and 
 still continues to receive the attention of the Society. The 
 premiums (seven in number) are for best boar and best brood 
 sow, and are given in each district for three consecutive years. 
 
 Dairy Produce. — Since 1797 a great variety of premiums has 
 been awarded for improving the quality of cheese. The subject 
 of butter has, in like manner, particularly in what relates to 
 
NATIONAL AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 237 
 
 curing and preserving it, received no small share of the Society's 
 attention. For the current year the premiums are eight in 
 number, and are given to each district for, three consecutive 
 years. The Society also gives a special grant of £20 annually to 
 the Ayrshire Association for competition at the dairy produce 
 show at Kilmarnock. 
 
 Seeds. — In 1832 and subsequent years, the Society offered with 
 the best results premiums for saving the largest quantities of 
 the seeds of natural and other grasses. In 1842, with the view of 
 aiding local associations and individuals in the improvement of 
 the different varieties of grain best adapted for their respective 
 localities, premiums were awarded to the growers of the best 
 seeds for corn and other crops raised in the districts in which the 
 competitions were held. These competitions were long in active 
 operation in most of the counties of Scotland. The returns were 
 published in the " Transactions," and showed the produce per 
 imperial acre, also the altitude, exposure, and nature of the soil 
 on which the crops were raised, together with the dates of 
 sowing and reaping, and the weight per bushel. 
 
 Ploughing. — The Society, at a very early period, gave money 
 premiums to a considerable amount for the improvement of 
 ploughing in certaia specified districts, to be competed for at 
 such places and times as the members of the Society resident 
 there should find most convenient. The premiums diffused a 
 spirit of emulation among the farmers and their servants to 
 excel in this branch of husbandry, and local associations were 
 formed, some of which gave such considerable sums in premiums 
 as to induce the Society to restrict its premiums to the offer of 
 , a silver medal to the person found to be the best ploughman at 
 each competition. The Society has for many years had upon 
 its register the names of above two himdred ploughing associa- 
 tions, representing every-' county in Scotland. The possession 
 of the Society's medal is a distinction much prized by plough- 
 men, as, excepting the cottage premiums, the plough medal is 
 the only prize for which they have an opportunity of com- 
 peting. The number of ploughs at these competitions is some- 
 times above one hundred, thus showing above one hundred 
 ploughmen and two hundred horses engaged in a single match. 
 The question, also, of the comparative merits of different ploughs 
 
238 PKESENT STATE OF THE AGBICULTUKE OF SOOTLAMD. 
 
 has not been overlooked, and information on the subject obtaiued 
 through, the medium of experiments performed by the agricultu- 
 rists of the country have from time to time been published in 
 the Society's " Transactions." Prize reports of experiments have 
 also been published (1) on subsoil and trench-ploughing; (2) 
 on through draining and subsoil ploughing ; (3) on deep plough- 
 ing; (4) on ploughing lea; (5) on the draught and work of 
 different ploughs. 
 
 Miscellaneous. — ^Encouragement is also held forth to local 
 societies not on the list of the district competitions by the award 
 of silver medals ia the following departments: — Poultry — 
 roots and seeds — ^farm management— management of green and 
 hay crops — sheep-shearing — best managed dairy — fences — 
 hedge-cutting — draining-r— long and faithful service. Various 
 special grants axe also given in certain parts of Orkney and 
 Shetland, 
 
 Cottages and Gardens. — Since 1824 the Society has devoted 
 its attention to the improvement of the condition of the rural 
 labouring classes, by offering encouragement to cottagers for 
 keeping their cottages and gardens clean and neat. Premiums 
 have also been offered from time to time for (1) encouraging 
 attention to the cultivation and management of bees ; (2) pro- 
 moting dexterity in the use of the spade; (3) improving the 
 cultivation of small possessions by the introduction of green 
 crops ; (4) the most effective and economical mode of heating 
 cottages. According to the system which is at present in opera- 
 tion, the premiums for the cleanest and neatest kept cottages 
 and gardens are given to the amount of £3, and four silver 
 medals in each parish, and continued for five consecutive years. 
 Silver medals are also given to local associations or individuals, 
 who, at their own expense, establish premiums for cottages or 
 gardens. The premiums continue to be productive of great 
 improvement in the habits and comfort of the peasantry in the 
 districts where they are in operation. Gold medals are hkewise 
 offered to proprietors for erecting new and for improving existing 
 cottages. 
 
 Education Department. 
 Agricultural. — Before the establishment of the Chair of 
 
NATIONAL AND OTHER AGEICXTLT0EAL SOCIETIES. 239 
 
 Agriculture in the Edinburgh UniTersity iu 1790, lectures on 
 agriculture were delivered for one or two sessions by Mr Eobert 
 Maxwell of Arkland, who prepared and published the " Select 
 Transactions of the Society of ImproTers " in 1743, He also 
 prepared and published iu 1757 a work entitled " The Practical 
 Husbandman." The next lecturer on agriculture was the Eev. 
 Dr John Walker, Professor of l>ratural History in the University 
 of Edinburgh. His lectures were delivered under the coun- 
 tenance and encouragement of the Highland Society, and the 
 general meeting of that Society, held on 12th January 1790, 
 recommended the members to attend the Professor's lectures. 
 In the same year the Chair of Agriculture in the Edinburgh 
 University was instituted, and was endowed by the gift of the 
 late Sir William Pulteney with £50 a year ; since which period 
 a class of agriculture has been regularly and systematically 
 taught, — ^the first professor being the late I>r Andrew Coventry ; 
 the second, the late Professor David Low ; and the third. Pro- 
 fessor John Wilson, the present incumbent. In 1868 the Chair 
 was further endowed with £300 per annum, one-half being voted 
 by Government, the other by the Highland Society. 
 
 The Society possesses no educational establishment itself, but 
 facilities for obtaining a practical acquaintance with agriculture 
 are afforded by many eminent farmers who receive pupils, an 
 advantage of which not only Scotchmen but Englishmen and 
 foreigners have for long availed themselves. As regards the 
 means of acquiring a knowledge of the various sciences con- 
 nected with agriculture — such as botany, chemistry, natural 
 history, veterinary science — students have ample opportunities 
 of obtaining such training at the Scotch Universities and Veteri- 
 nary Colleges, while the science of agriculture itself, and of the 
 manner in which other sciences are connected with and applied 
 to it, are fully taught in the class of agriculture in the Univer- 
 sity of Edinburgh, where also professorships of chemistry, 
 botany, geology, natural history, physics, and engineering, as 
 applied to agriculture, exist. 
 
 With the view of inducing agricultural students to avail them- 
 selves of the means which have been noticed of acqxdring in 
 the field a practical acquaintance with agriculture, and in the 
 class a knowledge of the various sciences allied to it, the Society 
 
240 PRESENT STATE OF THE AGBICULTUKE OF SCOTLAND, 
 
 obtained a royal charter constituting a Council on Education, and 
 empowering tliis council to grant to students in agricultiire 
 diplomas certifying their proficiency in the arts and sciences 
 connected with agriculture. The Council, in terms of the Charter, 
 framed a curriculum of study with relative instructions fdr the 
 guidance of students, and appointed a hoard of examiners on the 
 science and practice of agriculture, botany, , chemistry, natural 
 history, veterinary science, field engineering, and book-keeping. 
 Since 1858, thirty-four candidates have obtaiued the diploma,four- 
 teen have obtained first-clftss, and five second-class certificates. 
 Each successful candidate for the diploma is eligible to be elected 
 a free life member of the Society. The Society also holds out 
 encouragement to young agriculturists in. the shape of ten 
 bursaries of £20 each, for the purpose of enabling the holders to 
 take the classes necessary to qualify for the Society's certificates 
 or diploma, and five of £10 each, to enable the holders to receive 
 another year's preparation at the schools. These bursaries or 
 exhibitions are all tenable for one year. The examinations are 
 open to candidates of any age. 
 
 Veterinary. — As intimately connected with the interests of 
 agriculture and its live stock, the Society in 1823 instituted 
 lectures in veterinary science and medicine to be delivered in 
 Edinburgh. This establishment was the first for the advance- 
 ment of veterinary science in Scotland, and in the absence of a 
 regularly chartered college of veterinary surgeons, having autho- 
 rity to appoint examiners and to grant diplomas in veterinary 
 science in Scotland, the Society in 1824 commenced a system of 
 examination, and granted certificates to those students who 
 attended the curriculum prescribed by the Society. The examin- 
 ations were opened in 1872 to the students of any veterinary 
 college established under Her Majesty's sign-manual. The 
 number of holders of these certificates, up to the present time, is 
 1125. The examinations are conducted by the most distin- 
 guished members of the faculty of medicine in Edinburgh, and 
 by the most eminent veterinary practitioners, and whose names 
 afford an ample guarantee of the sufficiency of the test applied, 
 and for the qualification of the gentlemen who have received the 
 certificate. The subjects of examination embrace botany, che- 
 mistry, and anatomy; practice and clinique; physiology and 
 
NATIONAL AND OTHER AGEICULTUKAL SOCIETIES. 241 
 
 histology; materia medica; diseases of horses, cattle, sheep, 
 swine, and dogs. There are now three veterinary colleges in 
 Scotland — two being in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow. 
 
 Forestry. — In , 1870 it was resolved to establish a separate 
 board for the examination of foresters, under the auspices of 
 the Society, and to grant first and second class certificates. 
 Candidates must possess a thorough acquaintance with the details 
 of practical forestry, and a general knowledge of the following 
 branches of s,tudy, so far as these apply to forestry : — The out- 
 lines of botany ; the nature and properties of soils ; drainage and 
 effects of climate; land and timber measuring and surveying; 
 mechanics and construction, as applied to fencing, draining, 
 hedging, and road-making ; implements of forestry ; book-keep- 
 ing and accounts. The examinations are open to candidates of 
 any age ; but since 1870 only five candidates have qualified and 
 received first-class certificates. 
 
 Chemicai. Depaetment. 
 
 Before the establishment of the Society's chemical depart- 
 ment, there existed in Edinburgh a society called " The Agri- 
 cultural Chemistry Association." It originated in 1843 with 
 some farmers in Mid-Lothian (the first mover in it being the 
 late Mr John Einnie, Swanston), and received the sanction and 
 assistance of the Society. In July 1843 the late Professor 
 Johnston, of Durham University, was elected chemist. The 
 meetings of the Association took place in the Society's museum. 
 In return for an annual vote of £50, the Society was entitled to 
 elect a certain number of directors of the Chemistry Association 
 and to publish their principal proceedings in the Society's 
 " Transactions." The term of the duration of the Association 
 was limited to five years, and its proceedings were brought to a 
 termination in 1848. As that period advanced, it became neces- 
 sary for the Directors of the Highland Society to determine 
 whether the Society should continue to give its pecuniary sup- 
 port and patronage to a separate body, or establish within itself 
 a chemical department. After careful consideration, it was 
 conceived that the advancement of agriculture could be pro- 
 moted with greater efficiency by one than by two associations. 
 These views were submitted to successive general meetings in 
 
242 PBESENT STATE OF THE AGKRICULTUEE OE SCOTLAND. 
 
 April and July 1848, and it was ultimately agreed to orgainise; a 
 chemical departihent. The object of the chenoacal departanent, 
 as now established, is to arrange experimerits to be conducted at 
 the Society's agricultural stations at Longniddry, in East. Lothian, 
 and at Pumpherston, in West Lothiaa.* 
 
 Monthly JVIeetings. 
 
 With the view of affording to all its members who could cou- 
 veniently attend, faciEties for obtaining information on the 
 Society's business, and to enable them to aid in promoting its 
 objects, the Society resolved in 1841 that there should be stated 
 ■ monthly meetings at the museum, when parpers would be read 
 and subjects discussed having relation to agricidtuie and the 
 other objects of the Society. The first of these meetings was 
 held on the evening of Wednesday, 1st December 1841, at eight 
 o'clock. To suit the accommodation of farmers attending the 
 markets, and owing to the introduction of railways, the hour 
 was in 1843 changed to three o'clock afternoon. The proceed- 
 ings, Which embraced reports on aU subjects connected with the 
 cultivation of the soil, were published in. the newspapers, so that 
 the advantages were not confined to members in and near Edin- 
 burgh, but shared by the country at large. The principal local 
 associations followed the example, and to this day discussions 
 of a similar character are carried on in their respective localities. 
 The interest which was at first excited in the Society's discus- 
 sions gradually wore away, and in place of attending, many pre- 
 ferred to read the reports ■ in the newspapers. These meetings 
 were finally discontinued in 1871. 
 
 Museum. 
 
 Towards the close of last century, the Society began the 
 establishment of a museum by f ormiag a collection of models and 
 other articles. It was afterwards resolved to place in it a col- 
 lection of all improved agricultural machines, including a series of 
 the most approved implements in use on the farm, as well as 
 the implements and machines for which the Society awarded 
 premiums. The collection became so extensive and valuable 
 that in 1838 it was resolved to obtain a building of much larger 
 dimensions, and on a scale worthy of the importance of the 
 
NJmOXM- AiND OTHEE AGKIGCIiTTOAl. SOCIETIES. gi3 
 
 subject and of tlie Society. A site was selected, and the 
 building erected during the years 1838-40, at a cost of above 
 £3000; it was opened to the public in 1841, and contained a 
 good assortment, in model, of the most approved agricultural 
 implements ', but it was soon found that these required constant 
 additions, illustrative of all new inventions and improvements, 
 to an extent which the funds of the Society did not warrant the 
 Directors in supplying. Accordingly, m 1851, when the museum 
 was injured and its contents partially destroyed by fire, the 
 collec'tion of models had in some measure become antiquated, and 
 it was resolved to apply the sum received under policies of in- 
 surance in the acquisition of articles of more recent date. Before 
 much progress had been made in restoring the collection, the 
 Museum of Science and Art (since instituted by G-overnment) 
 was projected. The Society took the lead among public bodies in 
 urging its establishment, and offered to transfer to Government 
 its collection of agricultural models and of geological specimens, 
 on condition that the institution should be founded in Edinburgh. 
 After some negotiations this was accomplished, and accordingly 
 these articles were transferred to the Museum of Science and Art 
 in 1855. To replace the articles thus removed, the Directors 
 arranged for a complete collection illustrative of the vegetable 
 products of Scotland in all their branches, the different plants 
 being illustrated by dried specimens, models in wax, or drawings. 
 This portion of the museum also was afterwards made over to 
 and accepted by Government. 
 
 Pkize Essays and Teajstsactions. 
 
 The first series of the Prize Essays and Transactions was 
 commenced in 1799. It was published at intervals, and six 
 volumes were brought out between that date and 1824. The 
 second series, begun in 1828, was published quarterly, and, com- 
 prised eight volumes. The third series commenced in 1843, and 
 -was also a quarterly publication; it was continued tiU 1865, 
 when its eleventh volume was completed. The fourth series 
 was begun in 1866. For the first six years two annual numbers 
 formed a volume. In 1872 the publication was changed to and 
 is still brought out as an annual volume. Since 1866, the " Trans- 
 actions " have been issued free to members on application. 
 
344 present state of the ageicultuke of scotland. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 The Highland Society has now entered on its ninety-fifth 
 year; and since the period of its foundation Scotland has made 
 more rapid progress in general improvement than perhaps any 
 other country similarly situated. The advantages resulting from 
 such an organisation, and the good work done by this Society, have 
 been universally acknowledged at home, as well as in distant 
 coijintries, and have led to the formation of similar societies, 
 established on national bases, in England in 1838, and in Ire- 
 land in 1841, and on more limited scales in the various colonies 
 and dependencies of Great Britain. With these bodies the High- 
 land Society maintains the most cordial correspondence and 
 co-operation. 
 
245 
 
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