It will thus be seen that while it is not absolutely correct to say that the Duke of Sutherland owns the whole of the county whose name he bears, His Grace's dominions in the far north have wide limits. He in fact not only owns by several times the largest landed property in the United Kingdom, but possesses more than nine-tenths of the fifth largest county in Scotland.

The Valuation Roll for 1878-79 shows that the gross annual value of the county, exclusive of railways and the royal burgh of Dornoch, was £87,795, 3s. 2d.; that the annual value of railways amounts to £7144; and that the annual value of the burgh of Dornoch is £874, 10s.; making in all, £95,813, 13s. 2d. The Board of Trade Returns for the present year (1879) state the area under all kinds of crops, bare fallow and grass, at 29,441 acres;—wheat, 27; barley or here, 2268; oats, 7809; rye, 87; peas, 44;—total under cereals, 10,235 acres. The acreage under green crops was—potatoes, 1929 acres; turnips, 3232; mangold, 1; rape, 19; vetches or other green crops, 46;— total of green crops, 5227 acres. The area under grasses in rotation is 7617 acres, and of permanent pasture, exclusive of heath or mountain land, 6102. Of bare fallow there were 260 acres.

The Norse Teutons who, prior to the twelfth century, had settled in Caithness, and frequently plundered farther south, gave the name of Sutherland to this county, from the fact that it formed the southern limit of their possessions. Indeed, it is barely a century ago since it was separated from the sheriffdom of Caithness and formed into a sheriffdom by itself. It contains thirteen parishes, and, in addition, part of the parish of Reay extends across the Caithness boundary into this county. It sends one representative to Parliament, the sitting member being the Marquis of Stafford; while the royal burgh of Dornoch joins with Dingwall, Tain, Cromarty, Wick, and Kirkwall in electing another. Mr John Pender at present occupies this latter seat.

Ben-More-Assynt reaches a height of 3235 feet; Ben-Clibrig, 3157 feet; and Ben-Hope, 3040 feet; while Ben-Laoghal (Loyal), Ben-Horn, Ben-Bhraggie, and others follow, at lower elevations. Ben-Loyal, viewed from the west or the north-west, is considered one of the most beautiful mountains in the British Isles, and has engaged the brush of not a few noted artists.

There are "literally hundreds" of lochs in the county, and in all they are estimated to cover close on 34,000 acres. The -larger are—Loch Shin, 16 miles long and about 1 mile broad; Loch Assynt, 8 miles long and 1 mile broad; Loch Naver, Loch Hope, Loch Loyal, and Loch More. Naturally, from the narrow limits of the northern peninsula, of which this county forms the southern portion, the river courses are short, but some of them —those that flow through lakes—discharge more water than many rivers that run over twice as great a distance. The four larger rivers—viz., the Oikel, Fleet, Brora, and Helmsdale rivers —flow eastward into the Dornoch and Moray Firth sections of the German Ocean. The Oikel, flowing out of Loch Ailsh, and receiving its tributary, the Shin, at Invershin, is an excellent salmon and trout river, and forms the boundary line between Boss and Sutherland for close on 30 miles. The Fleet is formed by some small streams in the parish of Rogart, and after a short run expands into Loch Fleet, which joins the firth at Little Ferry, a few miles south of Golspie. Brora has its source in the parish of Lairg, and, including the loch, it is about 24 miles in length, or about 4 miles more than the course of the Helmsdale river. The principal rivers on the west coast are the Halladale, which rises in the heights of Kildonan, and, after threading through a beautiful strath close on 20 miles in length, empties itself into the North Sea at Melvich; the Naver, which has its source in Loch Naver, which is about 24 miles in length, draining the most beautiful and valuable strath in the county; the Dionard, Kirkaig, and Inver. The smaller streams are innumerable.

So high an authority as Mr J. Watson-Lyall asserts that Sutherland is, "without exception, the best angling county in Scotland—especially for trout......Many of the lochs of Sutherland are splendid sheets of water, and many are nameless mountain tarns; but even those least inviting in appearance hold lots of trout. No one who wants really good trout-fishing should hesitate to penetrate into Sutherland." The greater number of the lochs and streams can be fished for trout by strangers who are guests at the hotels on the Duke of Sutherland's property. On many of the lochs and rivers there is also good salmon-fishing, but in most cases it is let to shooting or other tenants. The Duke of Sutherland has for several years carried on at Brora, under the management of Mr Dunbar of Brawl Castle, extensive experiments on the breeding of salmon; and, by introducing into the streams of Sutherland the salmon of such rivers as the Tweed, the Tay, and the Thurso, he has very greatly increased the value of the salmon fishing on his property. To those who prefer the gun to the rod there is also strong attraction in Sutherland. It contains many excellent grouse moors and a few good deer forests. The largest of the latter is Reay Forest, rented by the Duke of Westminster at £1290.

Sutherland stands twenty-third in Scotland in regard to the area under wood. In 1853 that area was estimated at 10,812¾ acres, but according to a Board of Trade Return in 1872 it was then only 7296 acres. The natural clumps of shrubbery along the straths in the interior have been gradually disappearing, and it may be that a greater area of these was included in the estimate of 1853 than in that of 1872. About the beginning of the present century, the extent under plantations of fir and hard wood was estimated at about 936 acres, and under natural wood or shrubbery, in the straths of the several rivers and rivulets, at 1350—making in all, 2286 acres. Between 1836 and 1842, new plantations, extending to 2091 acres, were formed under the direction of Mr James Loch, commissioner to the Duke of Sutherland, at a total cost of £2344; and an interesting report on the improvement will be found in vol. i. 3d series, of the "Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society," p. 36. Since 1872 the area under wood has been considerably increased by new plantations formed in connection with the land reclamations. These plantations will be referred to hereafter.

When it is mentioned that, according to a liberal estimate, barely one-twenty-fifth part of the county is capable of being-cultivated, it will easily be understood that Sutherland does not occupy a prominent position from a strictly agricultural point of view. In regard to the total area under crops, bare fallow, and grass, it stands twenty-ninth among the Scotch counties— Nairn, Bute, Selkirk, and Clackmannan ranking below it. Nairn has a slightly greater area under regular cultivation, but, on the other hand, Shetland has a less area under rotation, so that, likewise from that point of view, Sutherland is still left twenty-ninth in order. In reference to the proportion or percentage of the total area of the county occupied by "crops, bare fallow, and grass," it is lowest on the list. Another illustration of the mountainous and sterile character of the main portion of Sutherland is supplied by the fact that the total valuation of the county, as returned in the Valuation Boll for 1878-79 (including railways and the royal burgh of Dornoch), is equal to only about 1s. 7d. per acre—the lowest by far of any of the Scotch counties. Limited, however, as is its arable area, Sutherland has, in regard to the system of management pursued on most of its farms, pushed itself, with commendable spirit, fully abreast of the times. Indeed, on the larger and better arable farms of Sutherland, the modern and improved systems of farming are carried out with as much success and perfection as in the Lothians, or in any of the other better favoured regions of Scotland. The wealth and reputation, however, of Sutherland lies chiefly in its sheep farming, for which its long-winding straths and wide mountain ranges are admirably adapted; and which is carried on, not only on a very extensive scale, but also in a most advanced, systematic, and successful manner.

As shall be afterwards shown, Sutherland was the last county in Scotland to be opened up, as it were, to free intercourse with the outer world. Indeed, up to the commencement of the present century, it may be said to have been locked up by water and mountain. But now, both internally and with the world beyond, it enjoys ample means of communication. By the liberality and enterprise of the Duke of Sutherland, the Highland Railway was extended to Golspie in 1868, and to Helmsdale three years later; while in 1874 the same line was continued to Wick and Thurso. The active laudable interest His Grace has taken in the conferring of the inestimable boon of a railway system on the Highlands of Scotland is well testified by his contributions towards that object, which are stated at £301,000. The line from Bonar Bridge to Golspie cost him £116,000, and from Golspie to Helmsdale, £60,000, while he contributed other £60,000 towards the extension of the system to Caithness. It is worthy of mention, that in the formation of the line from Golspie to Helmsdale, the Duke acted as his own contractor, the work having been carried out under his own personal supervision.

Population.

It is not the writer's intention to discuss what are known as the "Sutherland clearances." Fitly termed a " vexed question," it is outside the legitimate scope of this report, inasmuch as the operations so named occurred about sixty years ago. It may just be explained, in a word, what these clearances really were. Previous to 1811, the various straths that intersect the county were peopled more or less densely by a class of small tenants, who were dependent for their sustenance mainly on potatoes and inferior and ill-fed cattle and sheep. Through severe winters, which sadly thinned the ranks of their cattle and sheep, these tenants and their families were frequently reduced to absolute dependence on their landlords and other superiors for food sufficient to sustain life. It was thought desirable that some change should be made in the condition of the people, both for their own interests and with the view of properly developing the resources of the county. The subject was remitted by Lord Stafford, the first Duke of Sutherland, to eminent agriculturists, who reported in effect "that the mountainous parts of the estate, and indeed of the county of Sutherland, were as much calculated for the maintenance of stock as they were unfit for the habitation of man;" and that it seemed "as if it had been pointed out by nature that the system for this remote district, in order that it might bear its suitable importance in contributing its share to the general stock of the country, was to convert the mountainous districts into sheep-walks, and to remove the inhabitants to the coast, or to the valleys near the sea." The movements thus indicated were carried into effect about the time already mentioned,—between 1810 and 1820,—the great bulk of the small tenants and their families having been settled near the coast, where a limited piece of land was allotted to each at a merely nominal rent. It is stated also that a few, who preferred that step, were conveyed to Canada at Lord Stafford's expense; but it is denied that the population of the county was reduced to any appreciable extent by emigration due to these "clearances." As to what extent the removing of these small tenants from the interior to the coast has affected the population of Sutherland, I shall not hazard an opinion; but it may be observed, in treating of this portion of the subject, that the manner in which the county is mainly occupied, as sheep-walks and deer forests—chiefly the former—naturally implies a "maximum of territory, with a minimum of industry and population." Captain John Henderson, in his admirable work on the "Agriculture of Sutherland," published in 1812, calls the county "a nursery of brave, hardy Highlanders," but they have now become scarce; and in bringing about the change there have no doubt been more agencies at work than emigration and the introduction and extension of sheep-farming,—such, for instance, as the abolition of private or "family" regiments, and the high rate of wages in the south.

The inhabited houses in 1871 numbered 4814, so that there is rather more than an average of five persons to each house. Of the population in 1871 there were 11,408 males and 12,909 females. The present population is equal to about one person for every 50 acres, the proportion of land to each person in Boss and Cromarty being exactly one-half of that extent. What may be termed the natives of Sutherland, the descendants of the "ancient inhabitants," like those of Boss and Cromarty, belong to one or other of the branches of the Celtic race, and have pursued similar habits in social life. Sutherland, too, has had a full share with its neighbours in regard to invasion and plunder, the fierce Norsemen and the Danes having made frequent raids on the county, leaving behind them indisputable traces of their presence, as well as of the character of their mission. In the parish of Golspie there are the ruins of three "Pictish Towers," built and used, it is supposed, by the Danes. One of the three is situated near Dunrobin Castle, and is in a wonderfully good state of preservation. The north and west coast abounds with these ruins. One in Strathmore, in the parish of Durness—"Donnadillee"—is the most perfect in the county, the walls still standing to a height of 20 or 30 feet above ground. Interesting, however, as they are, space cannot be devoted to these points. Gaelic is still the "every-day" language of the older or bona fide natives of Sutherland, not a few of whom understand very little English, and can speak still less, or even none at all. But, under the bracing current of national education, and the ever-increasing intercourse between the inhabitants of the Highlands and other parts of the country, the Celtic language is fast dying out, and perhaps, except from a philological point of view, is doomed to extinction at no distant date. Since the commencement of the present century, more particularly during the past twenty-five years, a large number of farmers and others from the south and north-east of Scotland have settled in Sutherland, and these fresh infusions have materially modified the habits of the people, as well as tended to hasten the demise of Gaelic. The dwelling-houses of the smaller tenants have been greatly improved during the past quarter of the century, chiefly by the proprietors; and there are now comparatively few of those low, black, uncomfortable "feal" houses that were to be seen everywhere throughout the county, even in villages and the royal burgh of Dornoch, at the commencement of the present century. These small tenants hold their lots of land at low rents, are as a rule sober and of good moral character, and are more industrious, better educated, better fed, and better clothed, as well as better housed, than when they were scattered along the straths in the interior. Sutherland was long ill-provided with educational machinery. About the commencement of the present century it is stated that it had a Gaelic teacher in each parish, paid at the rate of from £15 to £27 a-year, and that the number of scholars was about 1012, or in the proportion of about 1 to every 21 of the population. The Education (Scotland) Act, 1872, however, has supplied all wants in this direction; and, though the school rates are high at present, great advantages must flow from the superior education now being diffused throughout the county. With parishes of so large an area and so thinly spread a population, it has been found to be no easy matter to carry out the Education Act properly in Sutherland, but the School Boards of the county have displayed much care and ability, and have, as a rule, done their work well. One difficulty was to know how to extend the benefits of the Act to the families of shepherds who reside away among the mountain ranges, perhaps 12 or 20 miles from the nearest school. This is now being satisfactorily accomplished by female teachers, who "go the round" of these outlying houses teaching a week or a fortnight in one family, and a like period in another.

Climate.

The climate varies considerably in different districts of the county. On the east coast, that is to say, on the narrow irregular stretch of country that lies between the mountain range and the German Ocean, the climate is dry and mild. Captain Henderson says, "Though the east coast of Sutherland is 3° farther north than East Lothian, there is much less difference between the two in regard to climate than could well be imagined. The spring may be two weeks later, and the winter may commence two weeks earlier, but the summers are equally warm, if not warmer, and the winters not colder." Snow seldom lies long on the ground in this part of the country, and the rainfall cannot be said to be heavy, about 31 inches, or little over the average for Easter Boss. The prevailing winds blow from the west and north-west, but the moisture they absorb in their long course over the Atlantic Ocean is mostly deposited among the broad range of hills and dales which are passed before the east coast is reached. These winds, indeed, bring only occasional showers over upon the east coast. The easterly winds, next in frequency, as a rule bring rain and cloudy weather, sometimes very heavy falls of rain; but these gales and rainfalls are usually succeeded by a period of mild dry weather. The southerly winds, which are not frequent, are seldom accompanied by rain. The land in some parts of the east coast, in a good season, is ready for the seed by about the middle of March, when several farmers commence sowing; and on the earlier farms harvest commences about the middle of August, being general all along the east coast by the middle of September. Among the hills in the interior of the county the climate, as would be expected, is cold, boisterous, and wet, the winters being long and severe, and the springs late and cold. Though a good deal of snow falls during winter, it does not, as a rule, lie long to a great depth on the ground. Last winter snow lay in the greater portion of the county to a depth of nearly 2 feet for about four months, but it was one of the most severe winters that have ever been experienced in the Highlands of Scotland, and, excepting along the west coast, showed little partiality in its visitation. In the straths which intersect the county the climate is wonderfully mild. The valley of Kildonan, inland and mountainous though that district is, is almost as mild and genial as along the east coast; and, on the few irregular fields by the river side, oats are usually ready for the sickle at least two weeks earlier than on an average farm in the counties of Aberdeen and Banff. Frosts, however, visit the straths early in the autumn, while, especially in those towards the west coast, a great deal of rain falls. In the Assynt district the climate is moist, the annual rainfall being about 60 inches. Owing to the sea breeze and the influence of the Gulf Stream, snow does not lie long excepting on the more elevated parts. Towards Durness the temperature becomes colder, more particularly northwards from Cape "Wrath, where the influence of the Gulf Stream is less felt than south of that bold promontory. Around Tongue the climate is surprisingly dry and mild, the rainfall being only about 36 inches, and the mean temperature 45°. Snow seldom lies long near the coast, and the winter, as a rule, is comparatively mild and open, spring being generally more severe than winter owing to the prevalence of cold northerly, north-easterly, and easterly winds, which often seriously retard vegetation. In favourable seasons the grain is usually harvested by the middle of September. On the higher lands near the west coast a great deal of rain falls; but a heavy covering of snow seldom continues long.

The climate of Sutherland is generally regarded as very healthy for both animal and vegetable life; indeed, Captain Henderson states that "it is so healthy that one medical man is all that can earn a livelihood from his profession in the county;" while it has been said that, even as late as about 1840, apothecaries' drugs were almost never called for. But now Sutherland has a larger share of both than in these more primitive times. As already stated, the annual rainfall at Scourie, in the Assynt district, on the west coast, is about 60 inches, and at Tongue, on the northern coast, about 36 inches. The following table shows the amount of the rainfall at the Dunrobin Castle Gardens in each of the past ten years:—

Geology.—Soils.

The relations between underlying strata and surface soils are generally so intimate that, rule, a report on the agriculture of a county or district would be incomplete without some sketch of the geological formation; but, in this case, there are circumstances which make it undesirable to occupy space with such an account. In the first place, the subject has already been ably dealt with in the "Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society" by Mr E. J. Hay Cunningham, M.W.S., whose admirable "Geognostical Account of the County of Sutherland" appears in vol. vii., 2d series, p. 73. Again, the exceptionally small portion of the soil of the county that is worked for agricultural purposes makes a lengthy sketch of its geology less desirable than it otherwise would be. A few sentences will therefore suffice. Generally speaking, it may be said that the underlying strata of the county belong to the Primitive and Transition systems, the Primary rocks consisting chiefly of coarse granite, gneiss, syenitic gneiss, and mica-schist. Sir Humphrey Davy examined the east coast of the county, and from his manuscript report, which is treasured in Dunrobin Castle, lengthy extracts are given in the "New Statistical Account of Scotland." He states that the Primary hills in the neighbourhood of Dunrobin are composed of felspar, quartz, mica, and horneblende; that the only veins he had seen in the rocks were quartz, in which there were no indications of metallic foundations; and that the highest Secondary hills in that district, extending in a line from Loch Brora to Strathfleet, are composed of hard silicious sandstone and pudding stone, containing large fragments of the Primary rocks. The Transition rocks of Sutherland, he says, are not numerous nor wide-spread; but some of the hills in the immediate neighbourhood of Dunrobin and Strathfleet, Ben Bhraggie, Ben Horn, and the Silver Hill, for instance, are composed of red transition and breccia, the sandstone being in some parts white, in some grey, and in others iron-brown. The Secondary rocks, which he says are more interesting, occupy but a small space, and are probably incumbent on the red sandstone and breccia referred to. "The true Secondary strata of the east coast of the county occupy an extent of 6 or 7 miles, filling up a sort of basin between the Transition hills in the neighbourhood of Dunrobin and those in the parish of Loth. The upper stratum is a sandstone of different degrees of hardness and composed of silicious sand cemented by silicious matter. Below this occurs an aluminous shale containing pyritous matter, carbonaceous matter, the remains of marine animals, and of land vegetables. Beneath this shale, or rather alternating with it, a stratum occurs, containing in some of its parts calcareous matter and passing into limestone, but in general consisting of a silicious sand agglutinated by calcareous cement. The coal-measures occupy the lowest part of this Secondary district which has yet been exposed. The hard sandstone is principally composed of pure silicious earth. It is not acted upon by acids, and is not liable to be decomposed by the action of air and water. The shale contains no calcareous matter near its junction with the coal. The limestones found in the Secondary strata contain no magnesian earth, and are adulterated only with aluminous and silicious earths and oxide of iron. They differ very much in purity in different parts." Another writer says that gneiss composes at least four-fifths of the whole surface of the county, and that the Old Bed Sandstone occurs in patches both on the northwest towards Cape Wrath, and on the south-east along the Dornoch Birth. In the last portion he says it is succeeded by one of the most remarkable geological formations in Scotland, the Brora coalfield, in connection with which there are strata of lias and oolite found in no other part of Scotland, except a small patch on the west of the town of Campbeltown in Kintyre and a few patches in the Western Isles. On the north-west the rocky headlands consist of the Laurentian gneiss, while above it "lie isolated mountains of Cambrian sandstone." There are also strata of the Lower Silurian system, the limestones of which are wrought for estate improvements, by the Duke of Sutherland, at Eriboll, on the west coast, and at Shiness, on Loch Shin, in the interior.

As already stated, the arable land in the county is confined mainly to a narrow fringe along the south-east coast. Here the most general soil is a light sandy loam that yields liberally under generous treatment. Between Bonar Bridge and Dornoch the soil is light gravelly loam. In the parish of Dornoch it is clayey inland and sandy near the sea, with an irregular belt of black loam intervening. The soil on the arable land in the Golspie district varies from very light sand to medium clay, the most general and best being loam with a slight admixture of clay. Sir H. Davy says that the soils of the coast-side lands between Little Ferry, a few miles south of Golspie, and Helmsdale, seem to be formed principally from the decomposition of sandstone rock, which in some parts approaches in its nature to shale. The soils in Strathfleet appeared to him to have been produced by the decomposition of Transition sandstone and breccias. Around Brora the soil is light and gravelly, but in Loth there is some excellent heavy land; one hollow on the farm of Crakaig, in particular, being covered with deep bluish clay. "Prior to the sixteenth century," says Captain Henderson, "the river of Loth, as it emerged from the mountains, turned due north, running parallel to the sea, at the distance of about a quarter of a mile from it, through what is now called the Yale of Loth, and there formed a swamp or marsh, divided from the sea by sandy banks, until an enterprising Countess of Sutherland caused a course to be cut for the river to the sea, through a rocky eminence." By this means about 100 acres of excellent carse land were reclaimed, and being well drained, it yields good crops of wheat, barley, oats, turnips, and grass. Around Helmsdale the soil is light but fertile, while along the Helmsdale or Kildonan Strath there are several small haughs of similar soil, with rather less sand, that yield good crops of oats and turnips. The soil on the higher banks along this strath consists of reddish gritty sand and peat-earth, in which are embedded numerous detached pieces of granite rock or pudding stone. In Strathbrora and Strathfleet there are also several good small pieces of haugh land, some being of medium loam; while in the parishes of Rogart and Lairg there is a considerable extent of light gravelly loam, mixed with moss, and lying on a clayey subsoil. Perhaps nine-tenths of the interior, however, is covered with peat-earth, and there are many broad swamps of deep moss. The surface of the Assynt district is so rough and rocky that, with the exception of a few spots consisting chiefly of moss, it contains no land suitable for cultivation. The same may almost be said of the parishes of Eddrachillis and Durness, although there are several good patches of mixed gravel and moss, and a few small pieces of fair loam. In Durness there are three farms—Balnakiel, Eriboll, Keoldale—with arable land attached—150 acres to each of the two former, and 100 acres to the latter. It is also a good grazing parish, the limestone which underlies its surface-soil proving a valuable stimulant to its pasture. The arable land in the parishes of Tongue, Parr, and Reay lies mostly along the coast, and the soil on a few spots is good black loam, on other parts sandy loam, but on the greater portion a varying mixture of moss, gravel, and clay, which yields good crops under liberal treatment. Along Strathnaver, the finest strath perhaps in the county, there is a considerable extent of good haugh land, a mixture of sand, gravel, and moss, which was for many years previous to 1820 cultivated by over 300 families. On the banks of the river Strathy there are some patches of thin fertile sandy land. In Strathhalladale there were at the beginning of the present century about 300 acres of light soil, similar to that in Strathnaver, cultivated in small holdings.

Condition of the County Seventy Years ago. Sutherland was the last county in Scotland to throw off what may be called the thraldom of the dark ages. After the other counties in the Highlands had enjoyed improved communication with the world beyond, Sutherland still lay in a manner locked up by sea and mountain; while devoid as it was of what could be called roads, and consisting as it does almost entirely of "one uninterrupted succession of wild mountain or deep morass," the intercourse between the different districts within the county itself was "confined exclusively, or nearly so, to the exertions of those who could travel on foot, and even this mode of communication, except to the natives who were brought up to such toil and exertion, was almost impracticable," not to say dangerous, "in passing precipices or struggling through swamps." The proprietors and other leading inhabitants of Sutherland, however, early availed themselves of the Act passed by Parliament in 1803, giving aid in the construction of roads and bridges in the Highlands of Scotland;—they even took the lead of their brethren in Ross, Cromarty, and Inverness in the matter—and with commendable spirit set to work to open up the county. The two main obstructions were the Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet but at last both were successfully overcome. Across the former at Bonar, a very handsome bridge was constructed by Mr Telford at a cost of £13,971. It consists of two stone arches of 50 and 60 feet span respectively, and one iron arch of 150 feet span; while on the Ross-shire side an extensive embankment had to be made. The work was begun in July 1811 and completed in November 1812. Mr James Loch, commissioner on the Sutherland estates, in his interesting account of the Stafford improvements, published in 1820, states that the iron portion of this handsome bridge "was cast in Denbighshire, where it was first put together, and then taken to pieces and re-erected in the furthest extremity of the Highlands of Scotland, and exhibits in that remote district a striking monument of national enterprise and liberality, and of the public spirit of the county of Sutherland." The other arm of the sea referred to,— Loch Fleet, or the Little Ferry,—lies between Dornoch and Golspie. A mound, 999 yards long, 60 yards wide at the base, 18 feet in perpendicular height, and sloping to about 20 feet wide at the top, was formed at a narrow part of the channel, and at the north end was constructed a substantially built bridge, 34 yards long, consisting of four arches of 12 feet span each, and fitted with strong valve gates. The total cost of this important undertaking amounted to about £9000, of which £1000 was subscribed by Lord Stafford, and which Mr Loch estimates as the probable amount by which the estate of Sutherland might be benefited by excluding the flowing of the tide over some good land, and by obtaining about 400 acres of beach, which may in time push out a rough herbage, and thus gradually fit itself for culture." "While these gigantic works were going on, the foundation of roads throughout the county was pushed forward with much energy, so that "in the space of twelve years," says Mr Loch, "the county of Sutherland was intersected in some of the most important districts with roads, in point of execution, superior to most roads in England." Previous to 1819 the mails were conveyed on horseback from Inverness to Tain, and from thence across the firths by foot-runners; but in July of that year a daily mail diligence commenced to run between Inverness and Thurso. The counties of Ross and Caithness, and the Marquis of Stafford on behalf of the county of Sutherland, contributed each £200 for two years in aid of this establishment; and, commenting upon the movement, Mr Loch says, that "in the history of the country there is no parallel of so rapid a change as has thus been effected in this distant corner of the island. Passing at once from a state of almost absolute exclusion from the rest of the kingdom to the enjoyment of the incalculable advantages of the mail coach system, at a distance of 802 miles from the capital of the kingdom, and 1082 miles from Falmouth—the farthest extremity in the other direction to which this establishment extends; joining as it were by one common bond of intercourse the two most distant parts of the island,—the one situated at the extremity of the English Channel, the other on the coast of the frozen ocean."

The county having thus been opened up, it may be interesting to glance back at the condition in which, in an agricultural and social sense, the explorer would then have found it. Captain Henderson estimates the area of the arable land in the county in 1808, that is to say, land under wheat, bere, oats, pease, potatoes, turnips, and sown grasses, at 14,500 acres. It appears that by far the greater portion lay on the south-east coast, in the parts that form the main centre of the arable farming at the present day, while along the straths intersecting the county, and now under sheep, there were several thousands of acres under cultivation. The total annual produce of these 14,500 acres was estimated at £62,781, 2s. 8d., or a little over £4, 6s. 7d. per Scotch acre. The yield per Scotch acre of wheat is stated at 7 bolls, worth 30s. per boll or £10, 10s. per acre; bere, 5 bolls, worth 20s. per boll or £5 per acre; oats, 5 bolls, worth 15s. per boll or £3, 15s. per acre; pease, at 4 bolls, worth 20s. per boll or £4 per acre; potatoes, 12 bolls, worth 8s. per boll or £4, 15s. per acre; turnips, worth £6 per acre; sown grasses, 200 stones, worth 8d., or £6,13s. 4d. per acre. A thousand acres of natural meadows, haughs, &c, are estimated to be worth £1, 6s. 8d. per acre, while pasture for 4291 horses is estimated at 10s. each or £2145, 10s.; ditto for 17,333 cattle at 10s. each or £8666, 10s.; ditto for 94,570 sheep at 2s. each or £9457; ditto for 1123 goats at 1s. each or £56, 3s.; and ditto for 270 swine at 3s. each or £40, 10s.;—in all for pasturage (exclusive of £150 charged for 500 red deer in Reay Forest), £20,365, 13s., which brings the total value of what is called the agricultural produce of 1808 up to £84,630, 11s. 8d.

The same authority states that the farmers of Sutherland at the period referred to were as diversified as the size of their farms. None of them were bred to farming in a regular manner from their youth,—the more opulent class were gentlemen who had been in the army, navy, or some respectable line abroad, who farmed partly for pleasure and convenience, and derived their profits from what they subset to the lower class of cottars or small tenants; by far the most numerous class were those whose fathers and grandfathers for many generations had followed the plough, or the black cattle and the goats in the mountains, men who never thought of changing or improving their condition, and whose means and professional knowledge were too limited to admit of change or amendment. The soil, climate, and short leases discouraged them, and, until the sheep-farming circumscribed the extent of their hill pasture, they were chiefly dependent for a bare subsistence on the rearing of black cattle. As a rule they were "frugal and temperate in their habits in spring and harvest they laboured hard, and the summer and winter were passed in ease, poverty, and contentment." In these times land was let not by the acre, but by the quantity of bere it required to sow it. A boll of bere usually sowed an acre; and arable land was thus let by the boll sowing, while the rent of pasture was calculated by the number of cattle it would maintain in the summer months. The arable land is reckoned in penny land, farthing, and octos. The penny land is generally allowed to contain 8 acres; an octo, of course, is 1 acre or a boll sowing, but this varies in proportion to the quality of the land— when of a superior quality the quantity is less, and vice versa.

The wadsetters prevailed on the south-east coast, while in the straths in the interior and on the western and northern coasts the arable land was mostly let in small lots of from 1 to 30 acres or boll sowings, each occupier having a proportion of intown pasture, while "the mountains and moory hills were pastured in common by the cattle of the nearest tenants." The wadsetters took an extent of ground equal to about £200 Scots of valued rent, and occupied themselves from 30 to 50 bolls' sowing, letting the remainder to sub-tenants in farms of from £3 to £5 rent, besides services which Captain Henderson says were in some cases, unlimited. Mr Loch states that these wadsetters "exacted from their sub-tenants services which were of the most oppressive nature, and to such an extent that if they managed well they might hold what they retained in their own possession rent-free. This saved them from a life of labour and exertion. The whole economy of their farming—securing their fuel, gathering their harvest, and grinding their corn—was performed by their immediate dependents." In illustration of this statement, Mr Loch gives in his volume an interesting account of the rent payable by the sub-tenants of the farm of Kintradwell for the year 1811, from which the two following specimens may be given:—"Leadoch,—Angus Sutherland—6 hens, 6 dozen eggs, £4 in money, and 1 cover kiln-drying, clearing hay lands, shearing 48 stooks, threshing 12 stooks, 30 horses for a day leading ware, 4 days' work in harvest in cornyard, 1 spade and 3 spreaders of peats, and 2 days repairing peat road. Cottertown.—John Bruce—3 hens, 3 dozen eggs, £5, 1s. 3d. in money, and shearing 24 stooks, threshing 12 stooks, 2 days' work in cornyard, 1 spade and 1 spreader of peats, 1 day at peat road, thatching houses, clearing hay lands, 12 horses for 1 day leading ware, and half a cover kiln-drying. The total amount paid as rent by sub-tenants on this farm was,—in money, £145, 19s. 7d.; victual, £21, 11s. 3d.; hens, £3, 18s.; eggs, £1, 7s. 6d.; servitude, £56, 10s.;—making, in all, £229, 6s. 4d." Mr Loch explains that Kintradwell "had been granted in wadset or mortgage for the sum of £800. In 1811 the wadsetter granted the residue of the term then unexpired, being eight years, to the late sub-tenant, Mr MacPherson, for a fine or grassum of £800, and the annual rent of £150. The value of the land in Mr Macpherson's own occupation amounted to £200 per annum, thus making the whole income derived by him from the farm £429 per annum. In this case there were three gradations between the landlord and the occupier of the land; in some instances, four." This obnoxious system became less popular as the present century advanced, the chiefs or landed proprietors found that they had more complete control over their people if they were made their own immediate tenants, and in many cases the proprietors remanded the wadsets or mortgages, leaving with the farmers what they had retained in their own possessions, and letting the remainder directly to the small tenants who were formerly the sub-tenants. Captain Henderson states, that about the year 1808, the rent of the arable land on the south-east coast was from 15s. to 21s. per boll sowing or acre, while, in some cases, 30s. or 35s. was charged for pasture attached to the arable land. In the straths, and on the western and northern coasts, rent was paid in accordance with the number of black cattle that could be reared on the farm, and its amount per acre could not, therefore, be ascertained. Wadset leases at one time frequently extended over two nineteens, but after the commencement of the present century, few of these were given. The duration of leases between the proprietors and principal tacksmen was generally nineteen or twenty-one years; and between tacksmen and sub-tenants (but leases between these were rare) three, five, or seven years. The implements in general use at the commencement of the present century were of the most primitive description. The better-to-do farmers and proprietors had begun to use the modern Scotch plough, which cost from £3 to £4, 10s., but the small tenants still employ the old Scotch plough, made of birch or alder, with a thin plate of hammered iron on the bottom and land side of the head. "This plough," says Captain Henderson, "exclusive of the ploughshare, and sock, and plates, costs from 5s. to 15s., and is often made by the tenant who uses it. In the parishes of Assynt, Eddrachilles, Durness, and Tongue, and in other parts, the caschrom, a sort of spade, was in general use, while the clumsy old-fashioned home-made wooden harrows were worked by the smaller tenants all over the county, only those farmers who had improved ploughs having had harrows with iron teeth. On the larger farms there were a few of the modern horse-carts, which cost then from £12 to £16, but among the smaller tenants, the well-known old basket cart was still in general use. Its cost was from 20s. to 25s. Fuel, manure and other commodities were also sometimes conveyed in baskets attached to a clubber or saddle, on horseback. Only one threshing mill is spoken of as being in the county (at Mid-garty) in 1808, and very few even of the larger farmers could boast of a winnowing machine.

Captain Henderson states, that "along the coast side of Sutherland the more opulent farmers plough their land with a pair of horses without a driver, and in some cases with four oxen abreast, with a driver. The smaller tenants, both along the coast and in the interior of the county, use four small garrons (horses) abreast in their plough, or perhaps two small ponies and two cows, all abreast, with a driver; and in cases where their lots are small, two of them join and furnish two ponies each, and plough their land jointly, the one ' holding' and the other 'driving.' These people have their land all in crooked ridges, broad in the middle and narrow at each end, in the shape of an S , and a green bank or cairn of stones between every two or three ridges. The course of cropping pursued on the southeast coast was, as a rule, first, pease or potatoes; second, here or big, manured with ware or seaweed or farm yard dung; third, oats, and then pease, &c, again." Bere and oats were grown alternately in the interior and western districts, the former being as a rule sown in lazy beds with abundance of manure, which secured from 10 to 14 returns. Oats and rye were sometimes sown together, generally on land in poor condition, and the mixed grain was manufactured into a sort of coarse meal. A little wheat had been grown on the better farms on the southeast coast, chiefly at Dunrobin and Skibo, and it is said to have yielded from 8 to 10 bolls per acre; but Captain Henderson states, that "owing to distance from markets, the variable climate, and want of manure, the culture of it was given up." Bere gave from 4 to 7 bolls per acre, oats about 5 bolls, and pease from 5 to 6 bolls. During the first ten years of the present century, turnips were on their probation in Sutherland. Only a few small patches were grown by some gentlemen farmers, but they stood their trial well, and soon increased in popularity: the white and red top varieties were first sown. Potatoes played a very important part in the economy of Sutherland in these olden times. More than 1500 Scotch acres were planted with them every year, and they formed a very large part of the food of the inhabitants. The yield varied from 6 to 20 bolls per acre; and, in a favourable year, the quality was excellent. Only on a few farms on the south-east coast were artificial grasses sown, and these were clover and rye grass. The Argyle or West Highland breed of cattle had been adopted at Dunrobin before the advent of the present century; and so well did they thrive there, that in 1807 eight milch cows were valued at £18 each, and the stots and heifers, from two to five years old, at an average of £15 each. The general breed of cattle, however, was the small black cattle of Skye and Assynt, "well shaped, short legged, and hardy; the colour in general black, with some exceptions." When mated with West Highland bulls these native cows produced excellent stock, and Youatt says that, though smaller than the cattle of Caithness, these black cattle of Sutherland were "far more valuable, requiring only to be crossed by those from Argyle or Skye to be equal to any that the northern Highlands can produce." Captain Henderson states that the four year old stots at Dunrobin farm weighted from 5 to 6 cwts. in the carcass, and the cattle of the country tenants from 240 to 400 lbs. avoirdupois.

Up to the winter of 1806-7, when they nearly all died of rot and scab, the old Kerry breed of sheep was almost the only variety of the fleecy tribe in the county. A few blackfaced sheep had been introduced before then, but, until the disastrous winter referred to, the ancient breed maintained its sway. The Kerry sheep were " small with good wool, some horned, others polled, some black, but the greater number white, and some of grey colour." They weighed from 28 to 36 lbs. in the carcass, and "the wool of from nine to twelve of them made a stone of 24 lbs." The introduction of Cheviot sheep, which began in 1806, will be referred to afterwards. Goats were kept in great numbers then, but, like the Kerry sheep, they were almost annihilated with scab and rot in the spring of 1807. The most general breed of horses was the native garrons—a thick low-set hardy breed, at one time reared all over the northern counties. They cost from four to ten guineas, were from 44 to 52 inches high, and were black, brown, or grey in colour.

The social habits of the inhabitants were, in these days, very primitive. Their food and mode of living are thus described by Captain Henderson—"The inhabitants near the coast side live principally upon fish, potatoes, milk, and oat or barley cakes. Those in the interior or more highland part feed upon mutton, butter, cheese, milk, cream, with oat or barley cakes during the summer months. They live well and are indolent; of course are robust and healthy. In winter the more opulent subsist upon potatoes, beef, mutton, and milk; but the poorer class live upon potatoes and milk, and at times a little oat or barley cakes. In times of scarcity,—in summer they bleed their cattle, and after dividing it into square cakes they boil it, and eat it with milk or whey instead of bread."

The real condition of those small tenants, who up to 1820 cultivated the glens or straths of Sutherland, is a matter of much interest in connection with the agricultural history of the county and therefore an extract on the subject from Mr Loch's work may not be out of place. He states—that "when that hardy but not industrious race of people spread over the county they took the advantage of every spot which could be cultivated, and which could with any chance of success be applied to raising a precarious crop of inferior oats, of which they baked their cakes, and of bere, from which they distilled their whisky; added but little to the industry, and contributed nothing to the wealth of the empire. Impatient of regular and constant work, all heavy labour was abandoned to the women, who were employed occasionally even in dragging the harrow to cover in the seed. To build their hut or get in their peats for fuel, or to perform any other occasional labour of the kind, the men were ever ready to assist, but the great proportion of their time, when not in the pursuit of game or of illegal distillation, was spent in indolence and sloth. Their huts were of the most miserable description; they were built of turf dug from the most valuable portions of the mountain side. Their roof consisted of the same material, which was supported upon a wooden frame, constructed of crooked timber taken from the natural woods belonging to the proprietor, and of moss-fir dug from the peat bogs. The situation they selected was uniformly on the edge of the cultivated land and of the mountain pastures. They were placed lengthways and sloping with the declination of the hill. This position was chosen in order that all the filth might flow from the habitation without further exertion upon the part of the owner. Under the same roof, and entering at. the same door, were kept all the domestic animals belonging to the establishment. The upper portion of the hut was appropriated to the use of the family. In the centre of this upper division was placed the fire, the smoke from which was made to circulate throughout the whole hut for the purpose of conveying heat into its furthest extremities,—the effect being to cover everything with a black glossy soot, and to produce the most evident injury to the appearance and eyesight of those most exposed to it's influence. The floor was the bare earth, except near the fire-place, where it was rudely paved with rough stones. It was never levelled with much care, and it soon wore into every sort of inequality according to the hardness of the respective soils of which it was composed. Every hollow formed a receptacle for whatever fluid happened to fall near it, where it remained until absorbed by the earth. It was impossible that it should ever be swept, and when the accumulation of filth rendered the place uninhabitable another hut was erected in the vicinity of the old one. The old rafters were used in the construction of the new cottage, and that which was abandoned formed a valuable collection of manure for the next crop. The introduction of the potato in the first instance proved no blessing to Sutherland, but only increased the state of wretchedness, inasmuch as its cultivation required less labour, and it was the means of supporting a denser population. The cultivation of this root was eagerly adopted; but being planted in places where man never would have fixed his habitation but for the adventitious circumstances already mentioned, this delicate vegetable was of course exposed to the inclemency of a climate for which it was not suited, and fell a more ready and frequent victim to the mildews and the early frosts of the mountains, which frequently occur in August, than did the oats and bere. This was particularly the case along the course of the rivers, near which it was generally planted on account of the superior depth of soil. The failure of such a crop brought accumulated evils upon the poor people in a year of scarcity, and also made such calamities more frequent; for, in the same proportion as it gave sustenance to a larger number of inhabitants when the crop was good, so did it dash into misery in years when it failed a larger number of helpless and suffering objects. As often as this melancholy state of matters arose, and upon an average it occurred every third or fourth year to a greater or less degree, the starving population of the estate became necessarily dependent for their support on the bounty of the landlord.....The cattle which they reared on the mountains, and from the sale of which they depended for the payment of their rents, were of the poorest description. During summer they procured a scanty sustenance with much toil and labour by roaming over the mountains; while in winter they died in numbers for the want of support, notwithstanding a practice which was universally adopted of killing every second calf on account of the want of winter keep. To such an extent did this calamity at times amount, that in the spring of 1807 there died in the parish of Kildonan alone 200 cows, 500 head of cattle, and more than 200 small horses."

The removal of these small tenants has already been briefly referred to, and it will now suffice under this head to say that the improved system of sheep-farming, which dates in Sutherland from 1806, had by 1825 spread over the whole county, including the straths formerly occupied by the small tenants; that by the latter date an improved system of husbandry had been introduced on the arable farms, and that a spirit of advancement had sprung up among all classes of the inhabitants, which has raised the county into its present highly creditable position in regard to both arable and pastoral farming.

The Progress of the Past Seventy Years.

Having perused the foregoing somewhat disconnected notes regarding the social and agricultural condition of the county about the advent of the present century, the reader will be the better prepared for a brief account of the progress that has been made since the spirit of improvement first took practical form in the county. This important event may be credited to 1806, in which year the modern system of sheep-farming, which has gained so wide a reputation for the county, was founded in Sutherland by Messrs. Atkinson and N. Marshall, from Northumberland, who, in that year, took an extensive sheep-walk from the Marquis of Stafford near Lairg, and stocked it with Cheviot sheep. The development of the sheep-farming will be more fully dealt with afterwards. Here it will suffice to indicate very briefly the rapidity of its growth and the enormous dimensions it has now reached. The county was found admirably adapted to the Cheviot sheep, and they fast drove out the Kerry and Blackfaced breeds. In 1811 they numbered about 15,000, while during the next nine years they increased to no fewer than 118,400. The next decade added about 38,000, and between 1831 and 1857 the number rose to about 200,000; while, since the latter year, they have exceeded that by from 16,000 to 40,000. It will thus be seen that during the first thirty years of the present century the occupation of the straths and mountains of Sutherland was completely revolutionized, and that the industry which has in later days so highly distinguished that remote part of the United Kingdom had, in little more than the short period mentioned, attained, so to speak, almost to its full manhood.

While the first thirty years of the present century wrought a great change in the interior of the county, that period also brought about considerable improvement in the districts in which arable farming prevailed. Captain Henderson states that, during the years between 1807 and 1811, "a general reform had begun in the management of land on the eastern coast of the county and that several farms were getting under the most approved rotation, in so far as the occupiers (intelligent farmers from Morayshire) believed the soil and local situation would admit of it; and perhaps better farm offices are not to be found in Scotland " than on some Sutherland farms. The reform thus spoken of spread gradually through all the arable districts of the county, wiping out all relics of the darker ages, such as wooden ploughs, basket-carts, primitive systems of rotation, and feal houses, and introducing in their stead an order of things entirely new. Better attention was bestowed on the rearing of cattle, and the stock of cattle, as well as that of horses and sheep, was very greatly improved. Fields were squared, fences erected, new houses built, service or local roads made, and other improvements effected, so that by 1830 the face of the country had become wonderfully changed. The late Mr Patrick Sellar, who visited Sutherland along with other Morayshire men in 1809, and found it entirely devoid of roads, harbours, farm steadings (excepting one or two), or any other signs of modern agriculture, wrote as follows, in 1820, to Mr James Loch, commissioner on the Sutherland property:—"At this time (1809) nothing could have led me to believe that in the short space of ten years I should see, in such a country, roads made in every direction; the mail coach daily driving through it, new harbours built, in one of which upwards of twenty vessels have been repeatedly seen at one time taking in cargoes for exportation, coal and salt and lime and brick-works established, farm steadings everywhere built, fields laid off and substantially enclosed, capital horses employed, with south country implements of husbandry, made in Sutherland, tilling the ground, secundum artem, for turnips, wheat, and artificial grasses; an export of fish, wool, and mutton to the extent of £70,000 a year; the women dressed out from Manchester, Glasgow, and Paisley; the English language made the language of the county; and a baker, a carpenter, a blacksmith, mason, shoemaker, &c, to be had as readily and nearly as cheap, too, as in other counties." About 1809 Mr Sellar entered on a lease of the farm of Culmaily, in the valley of Golspie, and about a mile from that town, at a rent of 25s. per acre, with an advance at 6½ per cent. of £1500 to assist in improvements, the extent of the farm being 300 Scotch acres. This enterprising gentleman at once set to work, and in a few years had the whole of the farm reclaimed, a considerable portion of it from moor and moss and rough pasture,—had erected upon it an excellent dwelling-house, farm steading, and thrashing mill,—and had it brought to a high state of cultivation. He also took on lease the adjoining farm of Morvich, and between the two he had reclaimed over 250 acres before 1820. On the neighbouring farms of Kirkton, Drumroy, and Dunrobin Mains, and at Crakaig and Skelbo, similar improvements were executed about the same time; while at different parts along the south-eastern coast smaller reclamations and improvements were carried out, partly by the tenants and partly by the proprietors.

The want of reliable statistics makes it impossible to give even an approximate idea of the number of acres of land reclaimed in the county during any given period of the first half of the present century. It has already been stated that in 1808 the arable area was estimated at 14,500 Scotch acres, or about 18,125 imperial acres, but, through the removal of the small tenants from the straths in the interior during the second decade of the present century, and the turning of their crofts into sheep pasture, that area must have been reduced by a few thousand acres—the exact extent cannot be ascertained. The first properly organised inquiry into the agricultural statistics of Sutherland was made in July 1853 by the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland at the desire of the Board of Trade. According to that inquiry the arable area in 1853 was 22,022½ acres, or only 3,897½ acres more than in 1808—not a very large increase for a period of forty-five years. It must be remembered, however, that the statistics of 1808 were more roughly gathered than those of 1853, and that, as already stated, the removal of small tenants and the introduction of sheep-farming threw a large extent of arable land out of cultivation. The following table shows the addition that has been made to the arable area of the county during the past twenty-six years: —

As shall be afterwards shown, a large portion of this increase has been effected by the Duke of Sutherland, within the last few years, at Lairg and at Kinbrace; while the main part of the remainder has been made up by the reclamation of pieces of land, varying in extent from 50 to 200 acres, on sheep farms throughout the county for the purpose of producing winter food for the sheep. As a rule these latter reclamations have been executed by His Grace, the tenants paying interest on the outlay.

The progress of the present century is better indicated in the valuation of the county than in its arable area. The valued rent of the county in 1802, as entered in the Records of the Exchequer at Edinburgh, was £26,193, 9s. 7d. Scots, or about £2,182, 15s. 9d. sterling; while in 1808 Captain Henderson estimated the real rent of the county at £16,216, 12s. 6d., including about £1750 for fishings and kelp, and about £200 for houses in the burgh of Dornoch. The following table shows the valuation at various times since the commencement of the present century:—

These figures bear indelible testimony to the. great skill and enterprise that have been displayed during the present century by the proprietors and tenants of Sutherland. There is but a small portion of the county suitable for arable farming, and therefore the increase in its arable area has been less during the past fifty years than in the other Highland counties, but its natural resources, such as they are, have been developed in a manner, and to a degree not surpassed in the history of any other county in the kingdom.

The Duke's Land Reclamations.

The Duke of Sutherland's land reclamations have perhaps earned a wider reputation than any other agricultural operation ever undertaken in any part of the world. Though commenced only nine years ago, more matter has already been written and published on the subject in newspapers and magazines than is required to form an ordinary modern three-volume novel; and thus the agricultural public must already be pretty familiar with the details of the work. In such a report as this, however, it is desirable that so prominent a feature in the agricultural history of the county should receive due attention.

The Reasons that led to the Reclamations.—The reasons that led the Duke of Sutherland to contemplate these reclamations may first be noticed. As may be inferred from the great disproportion between its arable and grazing areas, the county of Sutherland, the bulk of which, as has been shown, belongs to His Grace, is, in the matter of food, far from self-supporting. The consumption of oatmeal exceeds the home production; and, as the mountains and straths of the county carry a greater number of sheep in summer than these, aided by the available production of the arable districts, can sustain in the winter season, a large portion of its sheep stock has to seek winter food beyond its bounds. Nine years ago it was stated by the late Mr Kenneth Murray of Geanies, that for oatmeal and turnips at least £25,000 went off the Duke of Sutherland's estate every year. It was therefore natural that His Grace should have long cherished a desire to alter this state of matters, and, if possible, increase his arable area so as to raise a sufficiency of oatmeal for the inhabitants, and of winter food for the fleecy animals that fare so sumptuously on the Sutherland hills in summer.

Mr Kenneth Murray's Report.—In 1870 the late Mr Kenneth Murray of Geanies, Ross-shire, a gentleman at once large-hearted, widely intelligent, and of vast experience, was consulted on the subject by His Grace. After making a careful survey of the portions of the estate that seemed most suitable for reclamation, Mr Murray drew up and submitted to his Grace an exhaustive and highly-interesting report. The substance of the more important parts of that document (with which,

for perusal, the writer has been kindly favoured) will no doubt be read with appreciation. At the outset, Mr Murray states that he is "fully satisfied that a very large area in the neighbourhood of Lairg, lying westwards along the banks of Loch Shin and northwards on the banks of the Tirry River, is capable of being made greatly more productive, either as arable land or by surface improvement, and that the measure is recommended by many considerations of public policy as well as of private interest." Fixing on this spot as the seat of the first series of improvements, he proceeds to discuss the reasons he had heard against the reclamations. "The climate," he says, " is not nearly so cold as in many other districts which are in profitable cultivation; and on the furthest west margin, to which I would at present extend improvement, I have seen excellent crops of oats and barley ripened as soon as the average of the north of Scotland generally, and much sooner than is usual in Caithness and the heights of Aberdeen and Banff. Turnips and potatoes also grow perfectly at Shiness. From 110 to 150 feet higher than the existing fields of Shiness, there are traces of corn cultivation in old times, with the rude appliances of these days. It is said that the district is especially liable to mildew —that heavy mists lie by the side of the lake, frequently causing loss both to grain and green crops. I have seen those mists on several occasions, and once went to examine them; and I have no doubt that they are injurious. But I am equally satisfied that they are removable, and that they will disappear as a consequence of the improvement of the district. There are large 'floes,' or green mosses full of stagnant water, in the locality, and great want of drainage everywhere; and from precisely similar experience in a smaller area—as well as from many recorded instances all over Scotland—I am satisfied that these mists will be gradually removed. I grant that they point to the necessity of a larger drainage operation, but to no other difficulty. It is said that the locality is so exposed that the wind does injury,—to this I attach no importance. During spring, summer, and autumn, I have no doubt the influence of wind is neither more nor less than in other unsheltered districts, and that it is more temperate than the extreme eastern coasts. In winter I have no doubt it is a wild place for drift,—but that is an argument against its pastoral character, not against reclamation. And, of course, I am to recommend planting for shelter, and good stone or turf fences for sub-divisions. There was formerly great force in the reasons urged in respect of the inland position of the district, and the cost and difficulty of communication; but these are now removed by the railway, The most distant acre proposed to be reclaimed will not be seven miles from a station." Proceeding to state the arguments in favour of the operation, Mr Murray makes reference to the ever-increasing demand for arable land as an outlet for capital and industry, and says that he could find no reason of any kind connected with the soil against the operation. "Its character is various, but it is all quite adapted for oats and green crops, except a few hard knowes and wet hollows, which are sometimes flooded." Oats and turnips, he points out, are the crops most required in Sutherland, and he adds,—"The value of turnips has risen so much that it has arrested, I am certain, the progressive value of hill pastures in the north. And more than that has happened. Before the recent extensive reclamation of land in the old districts of Ross and Inverness, the hill sheep used to have outruns of heather or other coarse pasture, to which the turnip was an adjunct merely; and they not only wintered more cheaply, but the wintering was better for them. Now, penned upon the turnip fields, occasionally getting out only on to short artificial grass, they lose a great deal of the hardiness of their nature, and the result is that a great many have to be sent back again for a second wintering, or they would die. This is a very serious matter—is becoming more so every year—and, in view of these facts, a large reclamation of land in the centre of Sutherland has additional interest.

As all land improvements must proceed gradually, and improvement invariably leads to further improvements, I would propose to deal mainly, at present, with the shores of Loch Shin and the immediate banks of the Tirry. I entertain no doubt that for every acre which may be cultivated within the first twenty-one years, half as many more will be reclaimed in the succeeding lease, and probably at a less expense than those which are made arable now. Experience teaches that overexertion in the matter of land improvement is a great mistake, and that, in fact, it often annuls for a time the real benefit of what was otherwise a true measure of improvement Still, from the character of the subject, and the necessity of improving the climate, I hold that this particular operation must be extensive to be successful." Mr Murray indicated that he would propose to make in all 1175 acres of arable land—575 acres of which he would have divided as follows:—

The remaining 600 acres would be laid off into fifteen farms of 40 acres each, with 600 acres of pasture in common, and 200 acres to be improved by the tenants. He also proposed to add to the arable areas of the farms of Shiness and Dalchork, so as to make these farms self-supporting. Mr Murray then entered into a detailed scheme for carrying out the improvements, dealing first with drainage, which, though absolutely necessary, did not appear to him as likely to be either difficult or expensive. He placed the cost of drainage at £5 per arable acre, and £1 per acre of outrun. Speaking of the " measures necessary for breaking up the surface," he gave it as his opinion that probably four-fifths of the whole area could be quite well ploughed by • horses or oxen. He would not say that thereby as perfect work would be made as by the more expensive process of trenching,—except in the swamps and meadows where, after drainage and some labour on the surface, a common plough would do the work quite well. But then, in regard to the cost, he estimated that, while ploughing by horses or oxen would not cost more than £2, 15s. per acre on an average, including 5s. per acre for accommodation for men and stock employed, trenching would cost at least £10 per acre. Referring to the question of employing steam, he said—"But if it is possible to do the work by steam-ploughing (of which I am not able to judge), the cost may be decreased; for I am certain very good work can be done at the price I have named by means of horses and oxen. The difficulty of employing steam is the risk caused by stones; and though there are very large areas where no stones will occur, these areas, on the other hand, should be ploughed for less than £2, 10s. per acre (say, from £1 to £l,10s.), because a less depth would be necessary." Detailed instruction was also given as to clearing the broken surface of stones, which was calculated to cost £2 per acre; building dwelling-houses and farm offices, the cost of which for the three farms was estimated at £5 per acre, and for the fifteen smaller holdings, at £6 per acre; and fencing, the cost of which was placed at £2 per acre. In regard to fencing, he says—"There can be no doubt at all that, as regards the intermediate fences, stone dykes are the best, but their cost would be very great, especially as I have no expectation of obtaining anything like the quantity of stones necessary without quarrying. It will, therefore be necessary to place stone fences only in the most exposed-situations on each farm. I think that turf fences with wires on the top should be largely used, and, with ordinary attention, they may last for all time. These turf dykes should be made before the land is broken up, and they should be built like stone fences, but starting from the surface with a broader base and having more slope. They should also be erected only in autumn and winter, never later than February." As to road-making, he said there would be no difficulty or any great expense—less than £600. He had reason to believe that stones for all the buildings would be got in the river Tirry, and adds: "There is a rare advantage in possessing lime, both for building and top-dressing the land at Shiness; this is indeed a most important element in the whole matter. The railway makes all carriages nothing more than the average of the country." With regard to outruns and plantations, he says: "I attach much importance to these outruns in connection with the proposed reclamation, though I trust future generations will see their areas gradually encroached upon by the plough. With drainage and lime, I expect they will be made very valuable. The drainage I estimate at £1 per acre, and we must add 10s. per acre for ring fences. Throughout these outruns—and wherever it can be properly arranged within the bounds of the area to be made arable — plantations should be at once formed, having reference to shelter chiefly. In exposed places it will be of no use, I fear, to plant less than fifty-acre spaces; but on the face towards Loch Shin, much smaller belts may be formed. The soil, however, is not favourable for planting, except in a few spots which I have marked on the plan, and profit cannot be directly regarded from this operation. It is fair, therefore, to charge the great part of the probable cost to the work of reclamation; and I propose to add £600 under this head—or say, at the rate of 10s. per acre." Mr Murray concluded his admirable report by considering the question of how the new land should be let, and added an abstract of the probable cost and probable revenue. From this abstract it appears that he estimated the total cost of improving the 1175 acres, including draining, ploughing (which was estimated at £3 per acre, to cover the trenching of a few spots), clearing away stones, farm buildings, fencing, forming roads and bridges, and plantations for shelter, at £21,737,10s., or £18, 10s. per acre. The draining and fencing of the 2200 acres of outruns were estimated at £3300, or £1, 10s. per acre; making the total probable outlay £25,037, 10s. The average rental of the three larger farms for the first thirty years was estimated at £1,3s. 4d. per acre, or £670,16s. 8d. in all; and that of the fifteen smaller possessions at 17s. 10d. per acre, or £535 in all,—giving a total average annual revenue for the first thirty years of £1205,16s. 8d. The annual value of the land before being improved was stated at £150, which left, as the probable "improved rental," £1055,16s. 8d., and which would be equal to a return of more than 4 per cent. per annum on the estimated cost of the improvement.

Beginning and end of the Lairg Improvements.—Mr Murray's report was favourably entertained by the Duke. Having failed in many efforts to induce contractors to undertake the recommended reclamations either by manual and animal labour or by steam, His Grace at last took the matter in hand himself, and in the beginning of September 1872 commenced at Lairg with an old set of Howard's steam-plough tackle which had previously been employed by His Grace in reclaiming a piece of moss land near Uppat. Preparations for the works at Lairg had been going on for some time previously. A large part of the farm of Dalchork, on the south-east side of the Tirry river, had been drained, and about 20 acres trenched by manual labour. At the very outset, as predicted by Mr Murray, the process of ploughing the Lairg land by steam was almost brought to a standstill by the numerous large stones and tree-roots that lay embedded in the soil. Breakages were constantly occurring and it seemed as if the attempt would have to be abandoned. Just in time, however, a happy idea occurred almost simultaneously, it is said, to the Duke, his private secretary, Mr Wright, and to his farm manager, Mr John Maclennan. This was the substitution on the plough of a revolving disc for the ordinary culter; and small though the alteration may seem, it has proved the key to the colossal results that have followed. Without it the ploughing by steam would to a certainty have had to be given up. The disc culter has long been in use in many parts of the world, but in this application there is the new element of fixing the disc so that it cuts about two inches lower than the share of the plough. It will thus be seen that by being so fixed, the revolving culter carries the plough over all obstacles, whether stones or roots, leaving them bare, to be taken out by men who follow in the furrow. The patent for this application of the disc culter, it may be mentioned, is held by Mr John Maclennan, who is now tenant of the farm of Mains of Resolis, in the Black Isle, Boss-shire. The Howard tackle, however, was found much too weak in every respect for such heavy work, and application was made to Messrs John Fowler & Co., Leeds, who willingly came forwarda to assist the noble Duke in the development of his views. These preliminary experiments were carried out on the farm of Dalchork, but early in the summer of 1873 steam-ploughing was commenced on the stretch of land specially reported on by Mr Murray, and lying nearly in the form of an angle between Loch Shin and the river Tirry. Here the huge plough, made specially for the reclamations by Messrs Fowler & Co., was kept almost constantly at work when weather permitted during four successive years, having in that time turned over 1829 acres, or an average of fully 457 acres each year.

The Modus Operandi.—The first process was to cut large ditches to draw off the surface water from the land to he reclaimed. From the passing high-way (leading westwards from Lairg railway station) a service road was run across the Tirry towards the proposed sites of the new homesteads. It was formed of hand-laid stones, cost 2s. 6d. per lineal yard, and, when nearly completed, carried, without being damaged, the ponderous engines used in ploughing, which weighed about 19 tons each. At the same time, suitable belts were planted with Scotch fir, with the view of providing shelter. When it was sufficiently hard and dry, the land was first ploughed, while the more mossy parts were drained and allowed to firm a little before being turned over. Most of the implements used in these important reclamations have been constructed specially for the work they perform, and therefore deserve to be noticed separately. It will thus suffice to state here that, as worked at Lairg, the plough turned over a furrow about 2 feet deep, and that the "Duke's Toothpick," or the anchor-like hook that followed the plough, loosened the subsoil without throwing it over the furrow. The large stones were taken out by men who followed the plough; and, when large tree-roots were met with, the wire-rope was detached from the plough and fixed on these roots, and thus they were torn from their mossy beds with marvellous despatch. In this operation extraordinary masses of earth were sometimes moved. In cases where it was found more convenient, dynamite was used in dislodging these roots, which were very numerous in some parts; and they were hauled by steam to the edge of the field or section on a huge platform, shaped like a sledge, about 24 feet long by 12 feet wide. When dry and cut up they made excellent fuel for the engines, and were largely used for that purpose. Another still more novel process was the removal of living trees by steam. Along the ridge of the tract of land reclaimed there were patches of dwarf mountain ash and birch, and one of the many happy ideas hit upon in connection with the works was the removing of these trees by steam. Short lengths of chains were cast round the trunks of three, four, or five or more trees, attached to each other and finally secured to the rope of an engine which stood near, and thus four or five trees were pulled up at a time with as much ease as a man would pull a turnip. One great advantage in this system is, that most of the roots are torn up along with the trees. On the more mossy parts the drains were cut to an average depth of 4 feet, and tiles, made at the Duke's own tile-works at Brora, were laid on deals of wood. In the drier and harder parts the drains ranged from 3½ to 4 feet in depth, and were formed of stones, which were conveniently obtained, as the land in these parts was ploughed before being drained. The stones remaining on the surface of the ploughed land, after the drains had been formed, were removed on sledges worked backwards and forwards between two engines on the same principle as the plough. When the loaded sledge had come to a standstill at the edge, the engine at the other side of the section was set in motion, tilting the sledge overhead, relieving it of its load, and pulling it back to where the men waited to reload it. Having thus been ploughed, drained, and cleared of stones and roots, the land, which had perhaps lain in the furrow over a winter, was thoroughly "made," and prepared for cropping by rank harrows worked by steam similarly to the plough and sledges. Fences and farm buildings were then constructed, generally in accordance with the recommendations of Mr Murray, the houses being commodious and substantial.

How the New Land has been Laid Out and Employed.—As has been seen, the extent which Mr Murray proposed to reclaim at Lairg has been exceeded by 654 acres. The scheme of division which he originally recommended has also been in some degree departed from. The 1829 acres reclaimed at Lairg, exclusive of the land taken in on the farm of Dalchork, have been divided as follows, the extent of outran or hill pasture allotted to each farm being shown alongside:—

The farms of Achadaphris, Lubvrec, and Shiness, are still held by the Duke, and are entered in the Valuation Roll for 1878-79 at £400, £300, and £500 respectively. The greater part of the outrun originally belonging to Shiness farm (the farm on which the reclamations took place) is still attached to that farm, which carries a stock of over 2000 sheep. The Master of Blantyre, the Duke's nephew, holds the other two farms, Colaboll and Ach-nanearain, at a rent of £526, 12s. The small lots are let, along with a common outrun, to seven tenants, whose arable areas range from 6 to 20 acres in extent. They have good slated houses and suitable steadings, and pay from 18s. to 26s. per acre of rent for the arable land, and from 2s. to 2s. 6d. per acre for the outrun, which is enclosed by a substantial fence. Of these small tenants one is a mason, another a carpenter, and the other five are respectable labourers, who in their spare time get employment on the larger farms.

No fixed rotation has as yet been adopted, but the land is being worked in that direction. Some of the poorer parts have been laid down in pasture with rape and grass seeds, and these have turned out well, maintaining stock in good condition, Oats and turnips are the crops generally grown. Swiss oats yield from 4 to 6 quarters per acre, and weigh on an average 38½ lbs, per bushel. Sandy oats give a similar yield, and weigh from 41 to 42 lbs. Longfellow oats grow well, but are rather late in ripening. Canadian oats have also been tried on Shiness farm, and have been found to be early, weighing about 44 lbs. per bushel. In good seasons harvesting begins about ten days later than on the south-east coast of the county, but this year (1879) there has been very little difference. The Swiss oats at Lairg, and the barley on the coast are usually ready for the reaper about the same time, and this year all the Swiss oats at Lairg, covering 160 acres, were secured in excellent condition by the 25th of September. In spring the land is in a fit condition for cropping in good time, and those who reside in the new arable district say that the winter is not more severe than in other parts of the county of similar elevation, and that they are not troubled with mildew. On dry land, turnips have always been an excellent crop, and the average yield of potatoes is about equal to that of the county generally. For oat crops from 2 to 3 cwts. of superphosphate of lime are given per acre, while for turnips, about 2 cwt. of superphosphate, 2 cwt. dissolved bones, and 1½ cwt. Peruvian guano, or some similar commodity, is allowed, along with 20 loads