The capital of the county is the royal burgh of Stirling. The landward part of the parish does not cover more than 200 acres; but within the parliamentary boundaries are included parts of Logie and St Ninians; and the small village called the Abbey, which occupies the place where once stood the abbey of Cambuskenneth, belongs to the burgh, though it is situated in a northern link of the Forth, in the county of Clackmannan. The population within the parliamentary boundaries was 16,010 in 1881. Stirling unites with Culross, Dunfermline, Queensferry, and Inverkeithing in electing a member of Parliament, and the present representative is Mr H. Campbell Bannerman. The town is of considerable antiquity. Buchanan mentions it frequently as existing in the ninth century, but gives no description of the place. The earliest known burgh record is a charter dated the 18th of August 1120, given at Kincardine by King Alexander I., but that only confers some additional privileges on the burghers and freemen, and is not a charter of erection, as the burgh had existed long before. With Edinburgh, Berwick, and Roxburgh it formed " the court of the four burghs," an institution found in existence at the dawn of our national history, and from which is supposed to have emanated a collection of the laws of the burghs in the time of David I. In 1368, when Berwick and Roxburgh had come into possession of the English, Lanark and Linlithgow were substituted for them. This burgher parliament made laws and regulations for trade, and for the management of burghal affairs. In 1454 it was fixed by royal charter that Edinburgh be the place of meeting. The four burghs summoned others to their council, and thus arose the Convention of Royal Burghs, which, though now somewhat antiquated, was a most useful institution in its day.

About the middle of the twelfth century, Stirling had become a royal residence, and in it David I. kept his court, probably to be near Cambuskenneth, where he had founded an abbey in 1147. No doubt the district shared the benefits which flowed from the superior style of agriculture introduced by David, and sedulously carried out by the monks in the various monasteries founded by him. The condition of the district at a more recent, but still remote period, may be illustrated by the statement that in 1263 the sheriff of Stirling was employed in repairing the ancient park, and in constructing a new park for King Alexander III., for which he was allowed £80; and twenty years later there was an allowance for two park-keepers, and one hunter of wolves at Stirling; and for the expenses of four hundred perches of palisade round the new park, and for mowing and carrying hay and litter for the use of the fallow deer in winter.

In the arrangement of "metts, measures, and weights " for the kingdom, Stirling had the custody of the standard pint, which was to weigh of the water of Tay 41 oz. or 2 lbs. 9 oz. In the reign of James II. it was ordained that "a general measure be observed, according to the pint and quart formerly given to the burgh of Stirling, for one universal standard, whereof each firlot to contain 18 pints, and of this pint, quart, and firlot three standards to be made, and given to Aberdeen, Perth, and Edinburgh." It was likewise ordained that " the wheat firlot shall contain 21 pints and a mutchkin of the Stirling jug, and that the firlot of bear, malt, and oats shall contain 31 pints of the same." The jug is now in the Smith Institute. It is made of brass or yeltine, and weighs 14 lbs. 10 oz., and on it is the lion rampant. It was lost in 1745, but was recovered by the Rev. Alexander Bryce of Kirknewton, in the garret of a tinsmith in the town. In 1826 it was, by authority of the town council, sent on loan for an exhibition of ancient scientific articles at South Kensington.

Stirling is remarkable for the number of its hospitals. One was founded by Robert Spittal, tailor to King James V., who left an endowment for the support and relief of decayed burgesses. Another was founded in the year 1633 by Robert Cowane, merchant in Stirling, for the support of twelve Guild brethren; and this property has greatly increased in value, a good deal of the land having been feued. A third was founded in 1725 by John Allan, writer in Stirling, who "mortified" 30,000 merks for the maintenance and education of the children of poor tradesmen.

Toward the close of the sixteenth century, Stirling had become a manufacturing town, and a kind of worsted stuff called shalloons was made, quantities of which were exported to the low countries. Early in the eighteenth century the manufacture of tartan was begun, and it flourished till about 1760, after which it declined; but later in the century the manufacture of carpets became prominent, and there were thirty or forty looms constantly employed in this work. Near the close of the century cotton manufacturing was added; and about the year 1793 there were 260 looms employed in weaving coarse muslin. At the same date wool-spinning was added, and one firm had 100 persons engaged in teasing, combing, and scouring wool, making it ready for spinning. The manufacturing industry has been still further developed in various departments. There are four woollen mills, all of considerable importance, in which there is spinning of yarns for the manufacture of tweeds, shawls, and fancy stuffs, at Forthvale Mill; and at Parkvale and Hayford Mills, dyeing, spinning, and weaving. The town has a good reputation also for coachbuilding. In Stirling there is a weekly grain market, where a large business is transacted. The sales of grain in the three years beginning with 1880, as supplied by the market clerk, were—

A good business is also done in malt, coals, wool, timber, bricks, tiles, lime, and agricultural produce.

Falkirk was in 1600 created a burgh of barony, and in 1647 was made a burgh of regality by King Charles I. It is likewise a parliamentary burgh, and unites with Linlithgow, Lanark, Airdrie, and Hamilton to elect a member of Parliament. The present representative is Mr John Ramsay of Kildalton, island of Islay. Falkirk is a flourishing town, with some good public buildings and rich surroundings, both as regards agriculture and ironworks. In 1871 the number of inhabited houses in the parliamentary burgh was 1238, and the population 9547 ; in 1881 there were 2721 inhabited houses and 13,170 of a population. For agricultural stock there is an auction mart, where a good business is transacted in store and fat cattle. Partly in Falkirk and partly in Bothkennar parishes is Grangemouth, which has during the past thirty years risen to the position of a high-class port, with accommodation for large vessels. In 1871 there were 132 inhabited houses belonging to Grangemouth in Bothkennar parish, and 651 inhabitants; in 1881 there were 267 inhabited houses, and 1412 inhabitants. In Falkirk parish there were belonging to Grangemouth 121 inhabited houses in 1871, and 1659 inhabitants; in 1881 there were 572 inhabited houses, and 2918 inhabitants. Kilsyth is a burgh of barony; and other towns, with a population of 2000 or upwards, are Lennoxtown, Alva, Bannockburn, Bridge of Allan, and Denny. There are about a hundred villages and hamlets.

Rivers.

The principal river connected with Stirlingshire is the Forth. Its source is a spring on the northern side and near the top of Ben Lomond. The stream is, for the first eight or ten miles of its course, called the Water of Duchray; then it enters Perthshire, passing under the name of Avondhu, or the black river; after which, returning to Stirlingshire, it assumes the more familiar name of the Forth. It is a dark and sluggish stream, very unlike any ordinary Scottish river, and in its noiseless meanderings resembling the Northumbrian river Till. "Winding round the base of Craigforth, near Stirling, it receives from the north side the clear waters of the Teith, and is joined by the Allan just opposite the town. Below Stirling the river, increased in dimensions by the tide, is curiously zigzag in its movements, forming what are called "the links of the Forth." From Alloa eastward it becomes an estuary, and is known as the Firth of Forth. The Carron rises in the interior of the county, and, flowing eastward, joins the Forth at Grangemouth. The Endrick, a fine trouting stream, rises about the centre of the county, and flows westward through a finely-wooded valley, with a good deal of arable land, into Loch Lomond. The other streams are the Avon, the Kelvin, the Blane, the Devon, and the Bannock.

Geology.

Geologically, the county of Stirling is in the centre of the great midland valley, which is bounded on the north by the Lower Silurian rocks, rising into the rugged schists and gneisses of the Highland mountains, and on the south by the same rocks, as developed in the contorted greywackes and shales of the southern uplands. The substratum of the valley is the Lower Old Bed Sandstone, which is exposed in the east of Scotland from Stonehaven to the Firth of Tay, and thence extends south-westward across the island to the Firth of Clyde. It contains abundance of igneous rocks, among which the Ochil Hills are conspicuous. Along the southern flank of the Ochils the Upper Old Bed Sandstone prevails, till it is overlapped by carboniferous strata. The volcanic material which is developed at the top of the Old Bed Sandstone, or base of the carboniferous series, is exhibited in the long chain of heights stretching from the Campsie Fells to the south of Arran. To the lower half of the carboniferous system belong the rocks on which the town and castle of Stirling are built. Near Stirling are the Touch Hills, which are continued westward by the Gargunnock and Fintry Hills, and across the Endrick by the Killearn and Campsie Fells. None of these attain a height of more than 1500 feet, and most of them are covered with grass, once browsed with Highland cattle, now generally pastured with blackfaced sheep. In the •west of the county, including the large parish of Buchanan, the hills belong to the primary formation, and consist chiefly of micaceous schist. The highest is Ben Lomond—3191 feet above the sea-level. The base of the Killearn district is the Old Bed Sandstone, and in the higher grounds are trap, freestone, limestone, and clay. In Fintry parish there is coal in small quantities, and there are fragments of granite, besides whinstone, freestone, redstone, jasper, and fine specimens of zeolite. The north-western boundary of the great coal-field which extends from St Andrews Bay to Kintyre runs along the base of the Lennox Hills, and coal is worked in many parts of the east and south, but nowhere in the west and north of the county, Ironstone is found in almost inexhaustible quantities, a fact which influenced Dr Roebuck, after having examined the whole of Scotland, to fix on the neighbourhood of Falkirk as the site for the Carron Ironworks. The richest variety is found at Kilsyth. Limestone in many instances accompanies the coal in two strata, one above, the other below the coal, the former being always the best quality. Sandstone abounds in the south and east districts, and is extensively quarried. Trap rocks, especially basalt, are found north-west of the coal, and rise up in nodulated hills through various parts of the coal-fields. Precipitous columnar cliffs and extensive ranges of basaltic colonnade exist in solitary protrusions, as in the broad mass of the Lennox Hills. A peculiarity of all the hills in the county on or near the carse is that the rocks on the west and south-west sides are bare and precipitous, while the eastern and northern sides have a gentle slope, and are covered with herbage. The reason assigned is that ages ago the waters of the Atlantic rolled through the low country into the German Ocean, and, washing the soil from the •exposed ribs of those rocks, left it deposited on the protected sides.

Soils.

In the county there are great diversities of soil, and the •different kinds have been classified as carse, dryfield, hill, moor, and moss. Agriculturally, the carse occupies the foremost place, and includes some of the richest land in Scotland. It extends from the junction of the county with Linlithgow to the neighbourhood of Buchlyvie, a distance of 28 miles, with an average width of 2 miles, making in all about 56 square miles, or 36,000 imperial acres. In general the carse land is flat, but sometimes it presents a gentle slope, rising gradually toward the south from the valley of the Forth. It is sometimes 30 feet deep, is seldom more than 25 to 40 feet above the level of the sea at high water, and contains beds of shells, moss, and marl. A good deal in the parishes of St Ninians, Airth, Bothkennar, Falkirk, and Polmont has been actually reclaimed from the sea at a comparatively recent date. Lord Dundas began a process of reclamation in 1788, and in twenty or thirty years had made 174 acres of land. The Earl of Dunmore, about the same time, reclaimed 170 acres; and other proprietors secured smaller tracts of valuable land. The component parts of carse soil, when analysed, are as follows:—

The carse was greatly improved by the thorough draining which followed the adoption of the system devised by Mr Smith of Deanston. Crops were increased in bulk one-sixth to one-fourth in good seasons on the best land, besides an improvement in weight and quality; in cold, wet seasons the improvement was still more obvious. A good deal of the land would now require to be drained afresh. Rents of carse lands in the eastern district rise to 60s. an acre, and in exceptional cases higher; in the central district the best land is from 50s. to 60s., medium land 30s. to 35s., and inferior about 15s. an acre. The lands belonging to the hospitals in Stirling are let by auction, and go higher than ordinary farms.

Dryfield soil in the county varies in quality. In the eastern district, from Linlithgow to Stirling, it is good in quality, equal to carse or nearly so in value, and very favourable for mixed husbandry. In other districts it is light and of poor quality, but intermixed with patches of rich loam. Dryfield soil, prevails in the parishes of St Ninians, Polmont, Larbert, Denny, Kilsyth, Baldernock, and parts of Campsie, Strathblane, Sla-mannau, and Muiravonside. It comprehends the lower or arable-declivities of the hills, and the greater part of the vales in the central and western districts. Along the sides of the hills in. the parishes of Balfron, Killearn, Kippen, and Gargunuock, there is a tract of land, about 20 miles in extent, which slopes down to the Forth and the Endrick, increasing in fertility as it approaches the rivers. In the vales of the Endrick, the Blane, and the Kelty, the soil is either a fine light loam, clayey till, or a sharp sandy mould. The subsoil consists of an impervious till, or a still more impenetrable rock of reddish freestone. For dryfield land in the eastern district, the highest rents are 35s. to 50s. an imperial acre, for medium land 24s., and for poor land 12s. 6d. an acre. Grazings are let on the Ochils for 8s. to 10s. a sheep; other hill grazings are 2s. 6d, to 6s. a sheep, counting average of stock for year according to quality. Hoggs are chiefly sent out of the county to be wintered. On the Campsie Fells is some of the best pasture in Scotland for black-faced sheep.

Westward from Stirling, and occupying a large space in the centre of the county, are the hills of Touch, Gargunnock, Fintry, Killearn, and Campsie; and in the parish of Buchanan the hills attain a high elevation; and, north from Buchanan Castle, they are covered with short heath mixed with grass. About one-thirtieth part of the county, in various places, is covered with moss, some of which is incumbent on fine clay, as in the parish of Airth, where there are about 300 acres, with an average depth of 12 feet, covering land of excellent quality. Much has been done to remove this encumbrance by the last two Earls of Dunmore, but, at the present rate of wages, it will not pay, as it requires £30 to clear an acre, while the rent of the land would probably not exceed £2. In former days a good deal of moss land was handed over in small patches to cottars, who were allowed to retain the produce on condition of removing the moss and cultivating the land. For nineteen years they had the land free, for other nineteen at a very moderate rent, and afterwards at a higher rent. They were called "moss lairds," but many of them were poor, and now they are nearly extinct. In the western district of Slamannan parish is a black expanse of poor land which yields very indifferent crops, and several hundred acres of moss from 3 to 12 feet deep, and resting on sand. This would be of no value even were the moss removed,

Climate.

The climate of the eastern district is milder than that of the west, partly because of the less elevation, partly on account of the superior shelter afforded by trees and hedges, but partly also because of the higher summer temperature in the east of Scotland than in the west. In spring the east suffers heavily from fogs and easterly winds; but, on the other hand, the west has more cloud, and a greater rainfall. Crops in the eastern district are about a fortnight later than the early parts of Mid-Lothian. The rainfall is much modified by the direction from east to west, and by the proximity to or distance from hills.

At Balloch Castle, Loch Lomond, near the borders of the county, the annual depth of rain is 54.45 inches; at Firkin, also near Loch Lomond, it is 91.20; at Strathblane, Stirlingshire, it is 47.80; but at Polmaise, near Stirling, it is 37; and at Kerse, near Falkirk, it is only 32.70 inches, or little more than in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. Often the] weather is fine in the flat carse district, when rain is falling only a few miles distant. In winter the higher grounds are covered with snow, or sealed up with frost many times, when ploughing is in progress near the banks of the Forth. In the west the excess of moisture operates against successful cultivation of grain crops; but, on the other hand, the dropping climate is suitable for grass and green crops, and makes the district well adapted for dairy farming. In ordinary seasons, and where the soil is suitable, potatoes are successfully grown, and the facilities for carriage by land and water are so good that a ready market is found for all that can be produced.

History and Topography.

In the county of Stirling there are not many large estates, but there are some of medium size, and a large number of small proprietors holding of a subject superior. Only the Duke of Montrose and Mr Forbes of Callendar have more than 10,000 acres, and not more than seven other proprietors have 5000 acres or upwards. Other two have 4000 to 5000 acres, other six have 3000 to 4000, six more have 2000 to 3000, and eighteen others have 1000 to 2000, making forty-one altogether who have 1000 acres or upwards. A very large number of proprietors have less than 100 acres, and many small feuars hold of a subject superior. Apart from feus granted at a recent date, many originated in the beginning of the eighteenth century or earlier, when the country was unsettled, property was of little value, and landowners had such difficulty in obtaining tenants that they were willing to let the land on almost any terms. It was not unusual, then, for large proprietors to parcel out tracts of land among their retainers and their heirs for ever, at a rent equivalent to little more than a moderate feu-duty. Much land was thus alienated on the estates of the Duke of Montrose, and the Earls of Mar, Menteith, and Glencairn. The Earl of Wigtown, who was opposed to the Union with England in 1705, believing it would be ruinous to the country, disponed his extensive estates in the parishes of Denny and neighbouring districts to his own tenants, on condition that they would continue to pay the rents of that time. Hence the great number of small proprietors in the parishes of St Ninians, Denny, Campsie, Slamannan, and even in the carse.

In this, as in most other Scottish counties, the earliest improvers of land were among the landed proprietors. In the middle and latter half of last century gentlemen possessed of land worth £200 to £1000 a year lived almost invariably on their estates. Their education had been liberal, their views were enlightened, and, as expenses tended to increase with the development of civilised life, an increased income was needful to cover the gradually growing expenditure. They knew how to adopt the means of improvement suggested by the progress of science, and they had the good taste necessary for adding proper embellishments to their estates. Farmers at that time had not the skill, the capital, or the enterprise which they subsequently acquired, and which transformed them into active and successful improvers of land. At present the tenants are intelligent, industrious, and thoroughly acquainted with the most improved modes of agriculture, which are carried out under strict personal supervision. At the same time, the proprietors continue to interest themselves in the agriculture of the county and the management of their estates; and to the cordial co-operation of landlord and tenant the success of Stirlingshire agriculture is in large measure due.

Entering the county from the east, one of the first conspicuous estates is Callendar,—the second in the county in area and rental. It extends about fifteen miles from Slamannan on the south and east to Denny on the west, and it comes down to the Carron at Camelon and Larbert. It lies in four parishes, and includes carse, dryfield, and moorland soil. The estate was purchased by Mr Forbes in 1783 for £85,000 ; its present rental is over £13,000 a year. Beginning to improve the estate, Mr Forbes took 4000 of the 7000 acres of which it consisted into his own immediate occupation. He first subdivided the land, throwing that near Falkirk into fields of six or seven acres, which were enclosed with hedge and ditch. The old-fashioned ridges were levelled with five or six ploughings, and the whole was limed at the rate of 100 bushels an acre. The proprietor took one crop of oats, and, along with the oats, sowed clover and rye-grass, after which the lands were let on lease.. The remainder of the estate was let to tenants, who were bound to improve it after the example of the proprietor. The total income, including minerals, is now estimated at £19,811 a year. Of this amount £9868 is in the parish of Falkirk, derived from sixty separate subjects, including the mansion-house, garden, and offices, valued at £550 ; the woods, copse, and underwood, £400 a year, and the colliery of Pilrighill and Standalane, rented at £1463, 13s. 4cl. Of the small farms laid out toward the close of last century many have been united, but still the greater number are of moderate size. The highest rent is £523, paid by Mr Adam Smith ; the next highest is £500, paid for Car-muirs by Mr James Fleming, and others are from £450 to £180, but many are less. In the parish of Denny the same estate has a rental of £5078, a good proportion of which is for minerals. In Dunipace there is £1948, in Muiravonside £1984, and £146 in Larbert. The estate is carefully managed. The farm buildings generally are good, and the fences are good on the best land, but not so good on clay soils. Farmers are not restricted in cropping, provided they keep the land clean and in good condition. The leases are generally for nineteen years.

The Earl of Zetland has an estate which is entered in the parliamentary return as extending to 4656 acres, at a rental of £9552, besides what is derived from minerals. It includes a rich tract of land in the parishes of Falkirk, Bothkennar, and Polmont. In Falkirk parish the rental approximates to £6000, but this includes £568, 3s. for a dry dock and ship-building yard at Grangemouth, many rents for houses and business premises, and a considerable number of feu-duties. In the parish of Bothkennar Lord Zetland has two collieries,—one let for £1156, 15s., the other for £233, 5s. 1d., both to the Grangemouth Coal Company. On this estate are many good specimens of carse farms. Kerse House is in the centre of the carse, and the well-wooded park is let for grazing at £370 a year. The highest rent paid for one farm is £380, by Mr John Thomson for Carronflats, Painshead, and part of Inch. Mr Robert Buchan has Dalgrain, rented at £190, and Kerse Mains at £204; Mr Alexander Simpson has West Mains and East Thorn, 100 Scotch acres, at £290; and Mr Marshall has Fouldubs at £262, 10s., and Mary-flatts at £85. In the county valuation roll there are in Falkirk parish above 140 subjects, of which Lord Zetland is entered as proprietor; but the great majority of them are comparatively small holdings at Grangemouth, and hardly more than twenty of them are farms, three or four of which have corn mills attached. Most of the farms on the estate are let for about or under £200 a year.

Farther west, and lying along the south side of the Forth, in the parishes of Airth and St Ninians, is the estate of the Earl of Dunmore, entered at 4620 acres, at a rental of fully £8000 a year. In the centre of the carse, but situated on a gentle eminence which commands an extensive prospect, is the mansion-house; and the extensive, beautifully-wooded park is let for grazing at a rent of £1356 a year. In the park there is a considerable expanse of moss, but the cost of labour is so great that there is little chance of having it removed. Formerly Lord Dunmore had a herd of shorthorns; and the home farm, on which was built a steading at a cost of £12,000, is between the park and the river. The herd has been dispersed, and the farm is now let to Mr William T. Malcolm for £900, being £2, 7s. 6d. an imperial acre. The farm, which many consider the best in the county, includes 100 acres reclaimed from the Forth less than a century since, and is not only rich soil, but also more workable than most of the carse farms. It is in two divisions, one of 200 acres, arranged in six subdivisions so as to suit the six-course rotation, but without a fence in it; the other 180 acres are similarly subdivided. There are twelve acres of permanent grass close to the Forth, on which cows are pastured. Among other farms on the estate of Lord Dunmore are Linkfield, let to Mr John Drummond for £327, 10s.; Plean, a dryfield farm of 333 acres, rented by Mr J. T. S. Paterson at £540; Gallamuir, also a dryfield farm of 340 acres, rented by Mr John Edmond for £550; Carbrook Mains, by Mr Thomas Hope, for £505; Sauchenford, by Mr James Hendrie, for £238, 4s.; Plean Mill, by Mr William Ritchie, at £410; and Rosehill, by Mrs Walter Weir, for £576, 10s.

Still further west, and including the carse lands near Stirling, is the estate of Colonel Murray of Polmaise and Touchadam, with a rental of £10,556, 7s., of which £1018 is for grass parks. The mansion-house is beautifully situated on the wooded slopes of Touchadam; and the lands lie down toward the Forth, about one half of the estate consisting of carse. There are above seventy tenants, a good many of whom occupy farms at a rental of £200 a-year or upwards, but some are of smaller size. Mr James Christie pays £520 for Bandeath, Mr William Edmond £463 for Westerton of Cowie, and others are let from £100 to £400 a-year.

In the parish of St Ninians, a principal proprietor is Sir James Ramsay Gibson Maitland, Bart., who has a rental of £616.3, 16s., including £1107, 10s. for grass parks. The farms are wholly dryfield, generally in good condition, and well farmed. The farm of Muirpark is let to Mr James Adam for £321, 5s., and Townfoot and Todholes to the same for £92. Little Sauchie is occupied by Mr James M'Laren at a rent of £430 a-year, and Foot of Green by Mr Nimmo at £341, 5s. This is a well-managed farm, with an excellent steading roofed with slates. The estate is about three miles in extent from north to south, and it contains some remarkably good dryfield soil. It is noted, also, for fine timber and luxuriant grass. The mansion-house is near the centre of the estate; and east from it, in a wooded glen, is Howietoun Fishery, a kind of industry not strictly agricultural, but destined probably to have an important bearing on the production of human food. There are houses and ponds for breeding fish, with complete arrangements for sending ova, fry, and yearling and two-year-old fish to all parts of the country.

The capital invested is large, and the expenses are not small, but the supply is sufficient to stock lochs and streams all over the country. The development of this fishery will be watched with much interest. In the valuation roll the estimated rent is £377 a year.

In the parish of St Ninians, the valuation of which in 1880-81 was £53,243, there are in all 1279 occupancies on the roll, a large proportion of which are owned by small proprietors. Besides many farms of moderate size, there are some smaller tenancies held by men who, with their families, do the whole work, and from these landlords often get a higher rent than is paid by farmers higher in the social scale. They are industrious, hard-working people, who do their work well, pay their rents honourably, and give very little trouble to landlords or factors. There is much good growthy land in the parish, and along the road sides may be seen great abundance of such wild fruits as rasps, brambles, blackberries, and sloes. On the north side of the river, over against the parish, are fully 9000 acres of valuable land belonging to the county from Stirling to Alva. The lands of Airthrey Castle and Westerton are particularly fertile.

In Alva parish the lands are arable and pasture. Near the base of the Ochils the soil is a rich hazel mould, intermixed with gravel and small stones; then there is a bed of moss resting on clay which is 50 to 100 yards wide, and is, in some places, 7 feet deep. Next there is a belt of strong clay, which extends towards the Devon, and meets the haugh lands which is overflowed by the river two or three times a year. The soil near the river is in some places more than 20 feet deep. The size of the farms has recently been increased, and the tendency is still in the same direction.

In the parish of Larbert, further to the south, is the estate of Sir William Bruce of Stenhouse, Bart., the mansion-house of which is one of the oldest in the county. It is a quaint, old-gabled place on a commanding situation, and approached by an avenue of trees of great size. On the estate is a common of eighty acres where the great autumnal Falkirk Trysts are held for the disposal of store cattle and sheep. The village of Stenhouse Muir is also feued off the estate. On the edge of the Torwood Mr Bolton, M.P., has the estate of Carbrook, to which additions have been made lately.

Westward from Stirling, along the valley of the Forth, there is carse of greater or less width, but of decreasing value to the neighbourhood of Buchlyvie. A portion of the land has the look of formerly being covered with peat, and, in the parish of Kippen, begins the great expanse known as the Flanders Moss. The peat begins abruptly, suggesting the idea that improvers in former ages have proceeded with its removal till, for some reason or another, a sudden halt was made, and the work has never been resumed. Thus it happens that the cultivator runs suddenly against a wall of peat, and for many miles the black encumbrance lies heavy and solid on earth which might otherwise produce good crops. The land near the moss has a diminished value, owing to the moisture which cools the atmosphere for at least half a mile all round. Doubtless the proprietors have looked at the matter on all sides, but it may be suggested that in these days of enterprise and joint-stock companies, some way might be found to utilise the peat either for ordinary fuel or for distillation purposes. If any such company were formed, the proprietors might give great encouragement, considering how largely they would reap the ultimate benefit. From Port of Menteith westward the dairy system largely prevails, and the milk is sent regularly to Glasgow by railway. Complaints are made that the dairy farmers of the district are at a disadvantage because the morning train is not in time for the first delivery of milk in the city, and on this account they cannot get the highest prices. In Campsie parish there is dairy farming and mixed husbandry. The green crop consists chiefly of potatoes, and to a smaller extent of turnips. The oats sown are of the earlier sorts, which are most suitable for the climate. Lime can be had at various places in the parish, and, the soil being generally ferruginous, it acts with great effect. The dairy system is found to be suitable and profitable, and the cows are chiefly Ayrshires. In Kilsyth district, oats, barley, and green crops prevail, but wheat is not profitable. The dairy system is the great industry of the locality, to which all else is subordinate. Potatoes are grown extensively.

In the parish of Killeam there are 15,000 acres, of which 5370 are under cultivation, 8860 are moor, and 1140 woodland, The chief proprietors are the representatives of the late Mr Peter Blackburn of Killearn, Archibald Orr Ewing, Esq. of Ballikinrain, M.P., Vice-Admiral Sir William Edmonstone, Bart., of Duntreath, C.B., and Mr Wilson of Carbeth. Mr Orr Ewing and Mr Wilson occupy their own lands, and both have made great improvements. It is a picturesque district, with a good proportion of arable land in the valley of the Endrick, but much of it not very valuable ; on the south are the Killearn and Campsie Fells; on the north, across the valley, is the dark wall of the Highland hills. Higher up the valley is the parish of Fintry, the ownership of which belongs chiefly to the Duke of Montrose and Sir George Home Speirs, Bart., though there are some small proprietors. Eleven tenants pay more than £100 in rent, of whom five are on the Duke's estate, and five are on that of Sir George Home Speirs. The valuation roll shows 112 occupiers in the parish. The highest rent is £772 for Meikle Binns, on the Duke's estate. This farm, occupied by Mr Tod, is elevated in position, and is wholly pastoral, except an expanse of meadow which is cut for hay. Other farms in the upper part of the Endrick valley, such as Lurg, Spittalhill, and Tod-holes, are wholly pastoral, with the exception of some small fields near the steadings. In Balfron there are 257 occupiers, of whom only twenty-one pay more than £100, and eighty-one are valued at less than £5 a year. In the town of Balfron there is some cotton manufacturing. In the parish of Drymen there is a proportion of cultivation, but the greater part of it is pastoral. Buchanan Castle, the residence of the Duke of Montrose, is situated in a splendid park, finely wooded, and looking down to the broad, level, and grassy haughs through which the Endrick here winds toward Loch Lomond. The grounds are well kept, and the fences connected with the policy and home farm are carefully kept. The county is bounded for about fifteen miles by Loch Lomond ; and the principal islands in the loch also belong to it. Inch Caillach, or the Nun's Island, is chiefly covered with oak trees. Inchfad and Inchcruin are arable, and there are many islets of small size. The shores of the loch are skirted with valuable coppice wood, consisting of oak, mixed with ash, birch, and alder. It is all the property of the Duke, and is cut for the bark every twenty-one years or thereby. Patches of arable land, of a sandy soil, occur; but the greater-part of the district is fit only for pasture. The parish of Buchanan is estimated to contain 41,598 acres, of which only 2800 are arable, 34,548 hill pasture, and 4250 woodland. It belongs wholly to the Duke, but the Glasgow Commissioners have a foothold in connection with the Loch Katrine waterworks. The largest rent in the parish is £1100, paid by A. Orr Ewing, Esq., M.P., for the lands of Ben Lomond and Blairvockie, which are pastured with blackfaced sheep. The rents of other tenants are nearly all under £500 a year; not more than half a dozen exceed £300; and thirty-nine tenants are under £100 of yearly rent.

Farm Buildings, Machinery, and Implements.

In the eastern district of the county many of the farm houses are good, and some of those recently built are very superior. There is, however, great diversity in farm houses in different districts, and even on different farms in the same district. Cottages in the east of the county are generally fair, but the number is scarcely sufficient. Labourers can, however, be obtained from the villages when required. In other parts of the county there is need for improvement as regards dwelling-houses and steadings, but especially cottages. Good houses exist in many places, but in other instances they are deficient in accommodation and stability. Dwelling-houses are generally slated; steadings partly tiled and partly slated; cottages slated, tiled, or thatched. All new buildings of any kind are slated. Steadings vary with different districts according to the style of farming, but generally they are fairly adapted to their purpose. Undoubtedly the best steading in the county is on Dunmore home farm, but it was erected at great cost for a special purpose, and cannot be considered a fair specimen. This steading is exceedingly commodious, and contains all appliances for the health and comfort of animals. The frontage toward the south-east is about 100 yards; and the measurement from south-east to northwest is 70 yards. For feeding cattle there are 16 boxes, measuring each 12 feet by 11, and three others, making 19 altogether. A wide passage, with rails for a waggon, between the rows of boxes, gives facilities for the easy and expeditious distribution of food to the feeding troughs, which are alongside of the open passage on either hand. Beside each feeding trough is a separate trough always full to the brim with clear water, which comes by gravitation, and is continuously flowing, so as to be always pure. For wintering cattle there are four courts, each 20 yards square, and each sufficient to accommodate 15 cattle. Over all is a lofty open roof covered with tiles, which are considered better than slates, leaving space for ventilation. There are nine boxes for calves, very commodious and airy. The stables are proportionately excellent, with abundant room, lofty roofs, and sufficient means for ventilation. In a detached building on the north side are sheds for young horses, opening into a paddock that extends down to the river. The thrashing machine, driven by steam, is centrally placed, perfect in construction, and with ready access to the stack-yard, the cattle boxes, and the stable. In the southwest corner of the steading is a smithy, where a blacksmith attends when wanted in the evenings. The stack-yard is on the north-west side; and at a little distance on the south-east is the farm house. Of an ordinary steading on a dryfield farm, a fair specimen is at Gallamuir, also on the estate of Lord Dun-more, and tenanted by Mr John Edmond. It is a quadrangle, of which the stable for work horses, containing ten stalls, forms part of the east side, and the line is continued with feeding-stalls for cattle round the east and north angle. Outside the stalls in front of the cattle is a shed for turnips, with openings through which turnips are deposited in the troughs where the cattle are tied up in stalls. There are 54 stalls for feeding cattle, and, including sheds, there is accommodation for about a hundred feeding and wintering cattle. The courts are partly roofed with tiles. The thrashing machine is driven by steam, and with it nearly all the crop is thrashed. On the south side of the quadrangle is the cart-shed, over which there is a good granary; and there are suitable arrangements for accommodating young horses, as well as for the storage of manures, and for other necessary purposes. The stack-yard is on the west side of the steading, and is in two divisions, separated by a wide road—a measure of precaution by which a portion of the crop might be saved in case of fire. The farm-house, built five or six years ago, is very commodious, with tastefully arranged garden and lawn. In the west of the county less accommodation is required, and the chief interest is centred in a good and well-kept byre; but the steadings generally are compact and well kept. At Blairoer, in Dry-men parish, Mr M'Adam occupies his own estate of 167 imperial acres, all arable except 6 acres of braes. The house is substantial, with every appearance of quiet comfort, with graceful and spreading lime trees and a well-sheltered garden, a pattern of neatness. The steading, close at hand, is compact; and the byre, with accommodation for 29 cows, is commodious, well ventilated, well lighted, and a pattern of cleanliness. In the uplands of Fintry parish, on the estate of the Duke of Montrose, where the farms are wholly pastoral, the steadings at Lurg, Spittalhill, and others are remarkably clean and neat, as well as substantially built, and the farm-houses, though of moderate dimensions, are thoroughly comfortable.

In farm economy thrashing and winnowing machines have long been regarded as essential; but more than two-thirds of the crop, especially wheat and barley, are now prepared for the market by travelling machines. Still, most farm steadings have a thrashing mill, driven by water where that is possible—in other cases by steam or horse power. Mr Simpson, Westmains, Grangemouth, has a thrashing machine with a high-speed drum, driven with six horses, and with this the whole crop has been thrashed during the past twelve years. He finds it useful for giving the horses needful exercise at times when work on the land is impracticable. At Gallamuir Mr Edmond has a machine driven by steam, with which nearly all his crop is thrashed ; and steam appears now to be the favourite motive power.

Land is turned over with the common plough, and on some light land there is double furrow ploughing. A good deal of work is done with Tennent's two-horse grubbers, and zigzag iron harrows are used in the carse to break the clods. Twenty-five years ago Stirlingshire took the lead in beginning steam ploughing, but after a trial of five or six years it was found not to pay the company. Some farmers have a feeling against it, and maintain that by going too deep it brought up worthless soil and injured the land. Once or twice since then a set of tackle has been tried in the county, but it has always failed to pay the projectors. Double-moulded ploughs are used for drilling land and earthing up green crops; and a small one-horse grubber is used for weeding. Dickson's patent harrow is used for turnips before thinning. Hay is cut with mowers, especially those made by Wood, Wallace, and Kemp; and it is collected into windrows with horse rakes. For cutting grain the reapers made by Kemp, Harrison & M'Gregor, and Wallace are used. Hay and corn are conveyed in the common Scotch cart, with wooden harvest frame; and some harvest carts are used, of light make, weighing about 7 cwt. These are very convenient for taking the crop off the land. Implements are used for. lifting potatoes; and there are a few turnip-lifters in the county, but they are not in general use.

On the carse near Falkirk the Scotch plough is chiefly used, and in some cases the single furrow wheel plough is used in the autumn and winter, being a very suitable implement for a learner to use. The double-furrow ploughs are discarded, and grubbers are not much used; but the land is ploughed and then broken up with heavy break harrows drawn by three and sometimes four horses. The usual stone and metal rollers are used, and on some farms the Norwegian harrows. Machines are not generally used for sowing grain except beans, which are, in some cases, drilled with a bean harrow every second furrow, or a drill every 20 inches. This allows the horse hoe to pass between the drills, and is considered by some to give the beans more air for podding. Others are of opinion that the preferable way is to sow beans broadcast with the hand. Turnips are thinned with the hand hoe. Hay is generally cut with the combined reaper and mower, but some have a mower for the hay alone. No tedding machines are used, as it is considered best to keep the hay as whole as possible. Grain crops are all cut with reaping machines, except in the case of isolated patches which have got so twisted as to be unmanageable for the machine. In the case of wheat such portions are cut with the sickle, but if barley or oats it is cut with the scythe. No binding machines are used. Beans are cut with the side self-delivering machine, which is thought to be a saving, as the sheaves need not be touched till they are ready for binding: others have them cut with manual-delivery machines, and have the sheaves lifted to one side.

Roads—Fences—Tillage Operations—Succession of Crops— Manures.

Facilities for communication by road, rail, or canal are abundant in all parts of the county. There are about 116 miles of what were turnpike roads, besides others, which are better kept since the Road Act was adopted. Fences vary in different districts. In the carse there are few fences, except sometimes hedges along the roadsides, and marches between farms, which often consist of a deep ditch. No fences are required, as there is no pasture. Such fences as exist on the arable land in the north and north-west are hedges only; in the east, south, and south-west, hedges, stone dykes, and wood, and wire. Hill grazings are fenced to a considerable extent, and most of the fences recently erected are of wood and wire, but in some cases stone with two wires on the top. The best kept fences in the county are believed to be on the estate of Mr Blackburn, Killearn. Mr Orr Ewing has done a great deal of fencing at Ballikinrain. On the roadsides the fences are stone walls, substantially built, with a coping of hewn stone embedded in lime. On the estates of the Duke of Montrose there are hedges, the gaps being made up with paling. The tenants are bound to maintain the fences on their farms, but they are allowed wood with which to repair them, Fences near Buchanan Castle and on the home farm are good and well kept.

Tillage operations are difficult to manage on the carse. The soil gets very easily wetted, when operations must cease, and if it dries too rapidly it is difficult to get a braird. The drains put in many years ago are beginning to lose their efficacy, and a great deal would require to be re-drained. This partly accounts for the poor production in recent seasons. After a wet spring it is not easy to get the crops sown in time; and much labour is required in breaking clods, which is done with zigzag iron harrows, and rollers of various makes. The usual rotation in the carse is the six-shift, in about equal divisions, consisting of (1) green crop or fallow, (2) wheat, (3) beans, (4) barley, with which grass seeds are sown, (5) hay, and (6) oats. In some cases there is a seventh, called maslin, consisting of oats and beans mixed, and this is highly approved by some good farmers. This crop is seen occasionally on the dryfield soil, but much more frequently on the carse. A modification of this plan is sometimes adopted. Mr Alexander Simpson, who farms West-mains, contiguous to the grounds of Kerse House, at a rent of £2, 10s. per Scotch acre, has for green crop turnips, potatoes sufficient for the requirements of the farm, and tares to be cut green for summer use, but on the remainder he has beans instead of fallow. Abundance of manure is obtainable from Falkirk, Grangemouth, and even from Glasgow by the canal. The best stable dung from Glasgow is delivered at 7s. a ton. With a quantity of this dung applied in the autumn, Mr Simpson finds that a good crop of beans can be reaped from land which would otherwise be unprofitable, and the manure is sufficient to insure that a good crop of wheat will follow. It is considered important that the manure be applied in autumn. About half the quantity will suffice, and it permits that the beans be sown in drills, giving facilities for weeding, and generally yielding a better crop. In the absence of fallow, it is necessary to have the land in good heart, so that the crop may start freely and keep down the weeds. On Dunmore home farm the rotation is the six-course, without mashlum. About 45 acres can be worked with a pair of horses, which is more than can be done on most carse farms. The whole work on the farm of 380 acres is done by seven pair of horses, except in spring, when there is an additional pair. A good deal of spring work is saved by having the manure spread on the soil and ploughed down in autumn. On the dryfield farm of Gallamuir Mr Edmond has adopted the plan of having the dung spread and ploughed down in autumn, leaving only the artificial manures to be dealt with in spring. This requires some additional capital, as there is always a year's accumulation of dung on hand, but it seems to answer well. The same course is followed by others in the county. The farm of Plean has been occupied by Mr Paterson for about sixteen years. Naturally a good farm, it has been particularly well managed during the present lease, and is now one of the best farms in the county. The farm house is above the average as regards accommodation and general appearance; the steading is well arranged, beautifully kept, and very commodious. The fences are in good order, the land is in rich bearing condition and remarkably clean, and the crops generally are among the earliest and best in the neighbourhood, the turnip crop especially taking the premium not unfrequently at the show of the Stirling Agricultural Society. The live stock of the farm includes a small but superior herd of shorthorns, which occupy a conspicuous place at local shows. It is wholly a dryfield farm, adjoins the farm of Gallamuir, also entirely dryfield, and the two are managed much in the same way, and are good specimens of dryfield farming in the district. On dryfield land the five and six course rotations are the most common, with two or three years of grass, and in some instances an additional year. In the eastern district many tenants crop as they see fit, provided the land is kept in good order, but leases generally bind them to the six-course for carse land, and five, six, or seven for dryfield.

The chief fertiliser is farm-yard manure, a supply of which can be obtained from the towns and villages, as well as from Glasgow. Stable and cow dung is bought in the towns and villages at 6s. 6d. a ton; and the best Glasgow stable manure is delivered at railway stations east of Stirling at 7s. a ton. Mr Paterson, Plean, will use 400 to 500 tons a year of stable manure, and Mr Edmond, on the adjoining farm of Gallamuir, 200 to 300 tons. In the west of the county the cost of carriage from Glasgow is much higher, though the distance is shorter.

Mr Dykes, Blairnavid, near Drymen, has a farm of 257 acres nearly all arable, on which are grown yearly 10 to 15 acres of potatoes, for which Glasgow manure is used. The cost at Drymen station is 8s. 4d. a ton, which is 1s. 4d. more than at Grangemouth, and as much as at Glamis. beyond Perth. Little artificial manure is laid on carse land. Lime and bones are applied to a limited extent. Mr Simpson, Westmains, has lost faith in artificial manures except nitrate of soda, which is applied as a top-dressing to oats and grass with good results. On dry-field farms there are applied to turnips Peruvian guano and dissolved bones, in addition to farm-yard manure. Special manures are used occasionally for potatoes, wheat, and barley, and nitrate of soda is used for top-dressing oats and hay. These fertilisers are sometimes used at a cost equal to one-third or three-fourths of the rent. Feeding stuffs are used on dryfield farms to the value of one-half or three-fourths of the rent, but on small and grazing farms the quantity is less.

A good many farms are worked on the dairy system, especially near towns, and in the south and south-west of the county, and also along the lines of railway, by which the produce can be sent to the neighbouring towns and to Glasgow. In the towns throughout the county, milk is supplied direct to the consumer at 1s. 4d. a gallon, in some cases a little less ; to middlemen it is sold at 6d. to 1s. a gallon. In Stirling, milk is sold for 10d. to 1s. 4d. a gallon, butter 1s. 3d. a pound; in the west of the county less is obtained. In the eastern division of the county most of the farms on the high grounds are dairy farms, and there are dairymen also in the small towns. The milk and butter are chiefly consumed in the district, the milk being sold half direct to the consumer and half to middlemen, at an average price of 10d. a gallon. In the mining districts there is a good demand for dairy produce. West from Port of Menteith dairy farming is almost universal, and the milk is carried to Glasgow by railway for three farthings a gallon. Cheese-making in the Ayrshire fashion is conducted by Mr Fleming at Lower Ballaird, near Buchlyvie, and Mr Archibald at Gartfieran, near Loch Lomond. Mr Fleming has a farm of 304 acres situated well down toward the bottom of the valley. It is mostly cultivated in the seven-shift rotation—oats, green crop, oats, hay, and three years in pasture. The grass is cut the first year, made into hay and sold. At first Mr Fleming had it pastured with sheep the first year, but found this unprofitable and not beneficial to the pasture. No restriction is placed on the selling of hay in the district, and on some farms a good part of the rent is made up in this way. Some farmers top-dress the hay with nitrate of soda, but Mr Fleming objects to this, as the hay is not so good in quality, and the pasture is not improved. Mr Fleming has an excellent stock of Ayrshires, and a well-managed farm, which he has greatly improved, and one of the most airy, comfortable byres in the district. He has four pairs of horses in spring, besides one for the milk-van, and he breeds some good Clydesdales. Cheese-making is prosecuted only in the height of summer. In the early part of the season calves are reared, and milk is sent to Glasgow, but the arrangement with the milk merchant is that the delivery of milk may cease on a short notice given by either party. No butter is made on the farm except from the light cream that collects on the whey, and the cream taken from milk used in the house and on the farm, where the working men have an allowance of skimmed milk. In winter the cows giving milk get cooked turnips, with steamed chaff and meal three times a day; the others get turnips and straw. Pigs are a suitable accompaniment where there is cheese-making, and Mr Fleming has the whey conveyed in a pipe from the cheese room to the piggery. Mr Archibald, Gartfieran, has 37 pure Ayrshire cows. Every season he rears about 20 calves, which pay very well. The calves get warm milk till about the 24th of May, when they are turned out to the grass, after which they get cake mixed with water once a day, and also salt and water, which they like, and which is very beneficial. They come in as young cows at three years old, but, if kept well, a year earlier. Prom the 24th of May cheese-making progresses till autumn, when the milk is sent to Glasgow. The whole dairy work of the farm is managed by Mr Archibald's own family, which is found to be a necessity, as efficient servants can hardly be got. He has diminished the cropping of the farm, as grazing pays so much better. Wages in the district are high. First men have £17 in the half year, second and third hands less, with meal, milk, and a free house and garden. Outworkers have 1s. 6d. a day, extra hands in times of pressure get 2s. and even 2s. 6d. At hay-making they get 2s. 6d,, and in harvest 3s. 4d. to 3s. 6d. Mr Dykes, Blairnavid, Drymen, has a farm of 257 acres, wholly arable, rented at £1, 8s. an acre. He has twenty-one good Ayrshire cows, and sends milk to Glasgow, and has about a dozen medals, gained at different times, for Ayrshires in the parish of Old Monkland. He has a comfortable house and a neat, well-kept steading. He has four horses and a pony, and grows potatoes and turnips, for which he uses farm-yard manure and dissolved bones, but less artificial manure than formerly for potatoes, as the crop has become uncertain. Turnip lifting is let by contract, at the rate of 7s. the imperial acre. Potatoes are lifted in the same way, at the rate of 45s. to 50s. an acre. The potato crop is regarded as a great difficulty by the farmers. It has been the means of raising rents, and now is very precarious and not so profitable as it once was.

Mr M'Adam, Blairoer, Drymen parish, occupies his own land, 167 acres in extent, and nearly all arable. The rotation is oats, green crop, oats with grass seed, and three years in pasture. The land is well drained, but in a few years the tiles get choked with a kind of ferruginous ore, so that a good deal of renewing is required every time the land is broken up. In a park near the house are some good Leicester sheep, originally from the flocks of Oldhamstocks and Mr Smith, Castlehill. The pasture is excellent, the shelter good, and the sheep have a thriving look. At a little distance is a flock of Cheviots, which also do well. The principal feature, however, is the fine herd of Ayrshires, bred by Mr M'Adam and his father, who took prizes at the earliest Drymen shows. Mr M'Adam himself has often acted as a judge of Clydesdale horses and Ayrshire cows at local shows, and at meetings of the Highland and Agricultural Society, The number of cows is twenty-nine, including some finely-bred animals. The milk is sent to Glasgow, and the prices are, from May to July inclusive, 6d. a gallon; August, 7d.; September, 8d.; October, 9d.; November, 9d.; December, 10d.; January, 11d.; February, 10d.; March, 9d.; and April, 8d. The carriage costs, as at all stations west from Port of Menteith, three farthings a gallon. Mr M'Adam is in the habit of using Glasgow manure, at the rate of about 200 tons a year, and the cost at Drymen station is 8s. 2d. a ton.

Grain Crops—Root Crops—Pastures—Meadows.

On carse land the principal crops are wheat and beans. In 1882 there were 2786 acres of wheat, and in the ordinary rotation it follows the green crop and fallow. On the fallow break it is sown early in autumn, and on other land as soon as it can be ploughed after the potatoes and turnips have been removed. In a good season the yield will be 10 bolls per Scotch acre; in an average season, 7 to 8 bolls; the weight 60 to 63, and occasionally 65 lbs. a bushel.

Beans were grown in 1882 to the extent of 3389 acres. The crop is a profitable one in a good season, and the yield is about equal to that of wheat; but in some recent bad seasons the produce would scarcely be more than the seed. The beans are sown either broadcast or in drills. The latter mode effects a saving of seed, and affords facilities for weeding with hand or horse hoe.

Barley and here in 1882 covered 4846 acres. The chevalier variety is sown upon light soils; but on stronger soils or more ungenial districts the common varieties are sown, and frequently yield a better return. The average yield of barley is 36 to 42 bushels an acre, but sometimes more in a good season. The weight varies from 52 to 57 lbs. a bushel, and the quality in the eastern districts is generally good.

Oats cover a larger area than all other kinds of grain together; and in 1882 there were 20,345 acres, which is nearly twice the extent of all the others. On good early land the potato oat is grown; in later or more uncertain districts the sandy, the Barbauchlaw, the Providence, and other varieties are grown. Blainslie oats are grown on the carse; on dryfield land potato or sandy oats. The yield on dryfield soil will be 30 to 40 bushels per imperial acre, weight about 40 lbs. Eye and peas are not grown to any great extent.

Turnips are grown more or less extensively on all arable farms; and in 1882 there were in the county 4589 acres of turnips and swedes. On carse lands turnips form the principal green crop, as few potatoes are grown. The favourite varieties are improved swedes, green top and Aberdeen yellows, and purple top yellows, with a few whites for early use. Swedes are found to be the most profitable when the land is good and well manured. Some of the best farmers apply farm-yard manure in autumn, and add to their own manure a good quantity purchased from the towns. The additional manures applied when sowing are at the rate of 6 to 9 cwt. an acre on dryfield land, and comprise generally a mixture of dissolved bones, superphosphate, potash, also bone meal, guano, and sometimes nitrate of soda. The yield varies from 16 to 24 tons an imperial acre, but in some cases heavier weights are reached. In 1880 Mr Edmond, Gallamuir, got the first premium at the Stirlingshire Agricultural show, with a weight of 30 tons an acre; and in 1881 Mr Paterson, Plean, got the prize, with 26 tons. On the carse turnips require a showery season to get started in time. They do not often yield a bulky crop on the carse, but they are solid and of good nourishing quality.

Potatoes and turnips are grown in about equal quantities on the break devoted to green crop on dryfield land from Stirling to Falkirk; and the yield of potatoes will be 4 to 8 tons per imperial acre. In the district of Slamannan the proportion will be about one-third of potatoes and two-thirds of turnips. In the districts of Kilsyth and Campsie potatoes are in the ascendant. In all the western districts potatoes are grown to a considerable extent, and a ready market is found in Glasgow. In 1882 there were 4066 acres under this crop.

In the carse of Falkirk the mode of operation is somewhat as follows:—Wheat is sown generally in October and November, but on fallow it is sown sometimes in the end of September. The kind of wheat chiefly sown is woolly-eared. When wheat is sown after beans, the land gets a dusting of lime on the stubble to kill the slugs, then a thin furrow, after which it is ploughed somewhat deeply, and then sown. This practice is adopted on some farms where dung can be readily obtained, and it is considered a safe plan, as not much reliance can be placed on the turnip crop where the land is heavy and stiff. From two to two and a half bushels of wheat are sown with the hands on a Scotch acre of fallow; as the season advances the quantity of seed is increased up to four bushels an acre. The seed wheat is dressed with bluestone at the rate of one pound to four bushels, which prevents ball, and hardens the seed. After the wheat crop has been removed, the stubble is dunged for beans at the rate of twenty to twenty-five tons to the acre. Turnips are generally dunged in the drill; ninety square yards of police dung is allowed to the acre when no artificial manure is added. Hay is top-dressed with from ¾ to 1½ cwt. of nitrate of soda to the acre, sown at two times, allowing an interval of two weeks. Oats are similarly treated., Friesland oats are grown on many farms, a very prolific sort, weighing 38 to 41 lbs. a bushel, and yielding a good proportion of meal. Where land is very rough, bare fallow becomes necessary; but in many instances wheat is superior after a green crop, being stiffer in the straw, and not so liable to get lodged. Wheat after fallow sometimes gets thrown out with frost in spring, in which case it does not ripen regularly, and affords a poor and thin sample of grain.

Cattle—Horses—Sheep.

Since the Earl of Dunmore's herd was dispersed there has been no first-class breed of shorthorned cattle in the county; but there are still some very fair specimens, among which may be noted those of Colonel Murray of Polmaise; Mr Paterson, Plean; Mr Buchanan, Whitehouse; Mr Mackenzie, Northfield; Mr Malcolm, Dunmore home farm; Mr Sim, Mains of Pow-fowlis; and Mr Christie, Bankend. But although breeders of cattle are few, there are some successful exhibitors, who have successfully studied the physiology of nutrition, and know how to manage cattle. They have had materials analysed with a view to ascertain their adaptation to the feeding and fattening of cattle; and, besides the natural products of the soil, such as grass, turnips, and straw, auxiliaries such as cake, corn, and potatoes, have been added to facilitate the production of good beef. In the carse, cattle are bought in autumn, and wintered on bean chaff with a little cake, after which they are sold for grazing if not fit for the butcher. Of the cattle thus purchased and fed some are shorthorns, but generally they are of cross breeds. On dryfield farms the custom is to obtain at the autumn markets a supply of cattle, those for feeding at the earlier, and those for wintering at the later markets. The feeding cattle get turnips uncut, with oilcake, and sometimes bruised grain; at first generally 4 to 5 lbs. a day, but for the last two months 6 to 9 lbs. The feeding cattle are sold from Christmas till April, and are generally cleared out by the 1st of May. The cattle that have been wintered are put on to grass and fed during summer. Those fed on rich pastures like the Dunmore policies are fattened on grass alone; those pastured on ordinary grass have 4 to 6 lbs. of oilcake daily.

The county excels in Ayrshire cows. In 1882 there were 10,081 cows and heifers in milk or in calf, most of which were pure Ayrshires. The dairy system prevails on all the higher grounds, and in the valley of the Forth it continues to increase toward the west, till beyond Buchlyvie there is nothing but dairy stock. At agricultural shows from Denny and Dunipace westward, Ayrshire cows take the lead, and at Drymen show there is no other breed exhibited. At most of the dairy farms a proportion of calves are reared; and in 1882 there were 9804 cattle under two years of age. Mr William Weir, Inches, Larbert; Mr John M'Kean, Strathblane, and others, have taken premiums at shows of the Highland and Agricultural Society. Mr Dykes, Blairnavid, has about a dozen medals taken at different times for Ayrshires. Mr M'Adam of Blairoer has an old established and most excellent herd. Mr Archibald, Gartfieran, and Mr Hugh Fleming, Lower Ballaird, are from Ayrshire, and know well how to breed animals with the finest qualities. Mr Duncan Keir, Buchlyvie, is likewise a successful breeder.

Horses are bred in all parts of the county, chiefly Clydesdales, generally of excellent quality, and a few roadsters. The number of unbroken horses, and mares kept solely for breeding purposes in 1882, was 1561,—about one-third the number of horses in the county kept solely for agricultural work. Breeding is prosecuted chiefly in the west, but is not confined to that locality. Mr Simpson, West Mains, Grangemouth, is a successful breeder of horses. He has three to four pairs of superior Clydesdales ; and in 1883 his mares produced four foals. Two of the dams were young brown mares, a "Darnley" and a "Gold Dust;" and their foals, by Corsewall, are very promising. In the same season Mr Simpson took the first prize at the Falkirk show with a foal from an aged mare bred on the farm, which has always been a good breeder, and all her progeny have been first prize-takers. The mares on the farm are descended from some of the best sires of the day, including "Topsman," "Black Prince," "Prince George," "Gold Dust," "Corsewall," and "Darnley." Two of them had foals in 1883, which are very promising. "Kate," a "Topsman" mare, took the prize given by the Highland and Agricultural Society at Falkirk in 1880. Mr Simpson has gained six cups at Linlithgow for the best pair bred by exhibitor, and not under three years old.

On Inveravon farm Mr John Best has two brood mares, with stock by "Rosebery." On Mumrills farm, tenanted by Mr Robert Calder, are some fine animals descended from "Old Times," "Time o' Day," and "Darnley." The amount of attention given to breeding horses in the district maintains a healthful rivalry at local shows, where the competition is often very spirited.

There are a few flocks of Leicester sheep in the county, among which may be mentioned those of Mr Fleming, Carmuirs; Mr Learmonth, Parkhall; Mrs Reid, Waulkmilton; and, in the western district, Mr M'Adam of Blairoer; but the great bulk of the sheep are blackfaced. Stirlingshire is not conspicuous as a sheep county, the total number of sheep of all ages in 1882 being only 111,658, which is less than the average of Scottish counties, and about 50,000 less than the small county of Selkirk, but there are many flocks of good blackfaced sheep. Among the principal breeders are Mr Buchanan, Killearn; Mr Foyer, Knowehead, Campsie; Mr Coubrough, Blair-tummoch; and Mr Orr Ewing of Ballikinrain On the lower ranges of hills Leicester rams are used with blackfaced ewes, in which case the lambs are fed for the butcher; but on the higher ranges the stock is purely blackfaced. Mr Orr Ewing, M.P., has a flock of blackfaced sheep at Ballikinrain, and another on Ben Lomond, the grazings of which are rented from the Duke of Montrose. They are principally breeding ewes. Leicester rams are used with old ewes in the parks at Ballikinrain, and a crop of cross lambs taken, which are fed and sold to the butcher. On the hills the flocks are pure blackfaced sheep, the tups also being blackfaced. These are put among the ewes at Martinmas and separated about the New Year, after which the tups are fed in the parks on turnips and hay. The lambing season begins about the second week of April in the parks, about a week later on the Killearn and Campsie hills, and about a fortnight afterwards on Ben Lomond. Ewes are clipped about the first week of July, and there are about five to six fleeces to the stone of wool. Some of the lambs reared in the parks are fit for the butcher about the middle of July, and they are sent away gradually as they come forward. The bulk of the lambs are separated from the ewes about the middle of August. The sheep get no feeding in winter except in cases when food is unusually scarce, and the death-rate is not high. In general the death-rate has diminished in the county, with the extension of draining. Among the Fintry Hills Mr Cowan, Lurg, has about 1000 blackfaced sheep. Leicester tups are used; and the lambs are sold for grazing or to the butcher. They are sent away in the first week of August onward till the end of the month, and all are cleared off by the 1st of September. On the neighbouring farm of Spittalhill, occupied by a brother of Mr Cowan, there is a pure and rather famous blackfaced flock. On this farm Mr Cowan and his father before him have been successful in getting good prices for tups, which are purchased regularly by old customers. The spare ewe lambs are also sold for good prices. Mr Alexander Norris, Todholes, adjoining Spittalhill, also on the estate of the Duke of Montrose, conducts operations on the same principle, selling his young-tups and his second ewe lambs. Mr Tod, Binns, is one of the most extensive farmers on the Duke's estate, and has a large flock of pure blackfaced sheep. He has extensive meadows, with the hay of which he winters 100 head of cattle, besides about 40 cattle wintered outside. Mr James Cowan, Gartcarron, has Leicester tups and blackfaced ewes. All these hill farmers have Ayrshire cows, though not in large numbers, and winter a few Highland cattle, which graze outside all winter.

Tenure of Land—Capital Required.

Leases generally are for nineteen years, sometimes with breaks at five and seven years; but in some cases a lease of nine years has recently been adopted. In the south and west of the county the term of entry is at Whitsunday; in the north and east at Martinmas. Small holdings are in some cases occupied from year to year. Turnips and straw are not usually allowed to be sold, except in the case of the last crop, when they are offered at valuation to the incoming tenant, and, if not taken by him, can be sold otherwise. All necessary improvements are usually done in the county by the proprietors; and in some cases it is said that proprietors pay one-third of the lime put on carse land during the seventeenth year, and one-half what is put on in the eighteenth year of the lease. On some estates there is a disposition to make leases less restrictive than formerly, and in some instances farmers are allowed to take their own way, provided the land is kept in good order. The capital required for entering an arable farm is £10 to £12 an imperial acre. In the central district the rent of the best carse land is from 50s. to 60s., and in some cases more, an imperial acre; of medium land 30s. to 35s., and of inferior land about 15s. an acre. In the upper districts the rent of the best land is from 30s. to 40s. an imperial acre; of medium 24s., and of inferior 12s. 6d. In the eastern district of the county the rent of best carse land is from 60s. to 80s.; of dryfield, 40s.; of high and inferior land, 10s. to 24s.; and of waste or moor pasture land, about 4s. an acre. Farm rents are in some cases paid in grain according to the fiars prices, but this is chiefly in old leases. Rents of grass parks are very fluctuating. Grazings on the Ochils are let at 8s. to 10s. a sheep, other hill grazings at 2s. 6d. to 5s. During the past twenty-five years rents have risen 15 to 20 per cent. and upwards, but the rise has been chiefly in grazing and mixed husbandry farms, not so much on the carse. Rents are thought to be too high, but there is no lack of competition for any good farm that becomes vacant. During the recent adverse seasons a good many proprietors have returned 10 to 15 per cent. of the rental.

Peasantry.

There is a good supply of all kinds of labour, and the people are fairly comfortable. The bothy system prevails to a limited extent, but generally the unmarried servants get their food in the kitchen and sleep in a bothy, which is carefully kept clean. There is a good proportion of married ploughmen. Foremen ploughmen get £32 to £38 of money, 6½ bolls of oatmeal, half a gallon of skimmed milk each morning, a free house, coals driven, and two or three bags of potatoes. Ordinary ploughmen have the same perquisites, with £26 to £32 a year in money, with occasionally a small plot of garden ground. As a rule, no hens or pigs are allowed. The engagements are yearly, beginning usually at Martinmas. Single men are engaged by the half year, and have their food in the kitchen, with £9 to £12 in money. Women can be got in abundance from the villages. They get 1s. 6d. a clay in summer, and 3s. to 3s. 4d. in harvest. For potato lifting they get 2s. 6d., pulling turnips 2s., and thinning turnips 1s. 6d. a day in summer, but more if the work be pressing. Wages rose in fifteen years from 30 to 40 per cent., but they have fallen about 10 per cent. from the highest point of late years.

In the parish of Airth, the bothy system exists to a very limited extent; and the cottages, which are generally good, are about sufficient to supply labour for the district. The Dunmore estate is well supplied with comfortable cottages. Farm servants are not allowed to keep a cow, but, in addition to gardens, they have 400 yards of potatoes planted. On some farms there is only one cottage, and the rest of the work-people live in the village of Airth, where a good many married labourers live, paying 20s. to 30s. a year for an old cottage and a small garden. In the parishes of Denny and Dunipace farms are generally small, having only one or two pairs of horses. The men servants are generally single, and live in the farm house, but where the farms are larger, the bothy system is adopted. The men prepare their own food and make their beds, but the bothy is cleaned for them. For manual labour, specially in turnip time and harvest, the wives and families of miners are obtained from the villages. In Gargunnock, there are few cottages connected with farms, but accommodation for workers is found in the villages. In this parish the population has diminished, as hand-loom weaving, on which the village depended, has come to an end; but the people who remain have good gardens, for which they pay £2, and more than a dozen of the villagers keep cows. They conjointly rent a park, and get the summer grass for 70s. to 75s. For winter keep they purchase standing oats, which they cut, dressing the oats for their own use, and giving the straw to their cows. The cottages contain two apartments, have generally thatched roofs, with walls in bad repair, floors clamp, ceilings low, and the interiors smoky and badly lighted. In Larbert parish many of the people are employed at the Carron iron works, and at collieries. The condition of cottages for farm labourers is fair, with good gardens attached. In St Ninians parish the number of cottages has increased, but the bothy system still prevails to some extent. On some farms the servants get their food in the kitchen, and sleep either in the house or in the bothy. In time of turnip thinning and harvest work, people are got from the neighbouring villages; and some Irish people come from Stirling in harvest, who sleep in barns and other outhouses. In some cases the singling of turnips is done by Irish females and lads, who go down on their knees and thin the turnips with their hands without using a hoe. They are very expert, and can make 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. in ten hours, at the rate of 1d. or 1½d. per 100 yards. By working long hours some have been known to earn 5s. and upwards in a clay. In Kippen parish the farms are generally small, and a good deal of work is done by the families of the farmers, and young men who board with them. The extra work is done by gangs of Irish, who go out from Stirling and Raploch, take their bedding with them, and sleep in an outhouse. The farmer's family and the servants have their food at the same time, though there is a slight distinction in the viands, especially in the morning and evening. In Kilsyth parish, the cottages are fair both as regards number and accommodation, and have gardens attached. In the town of Kilsyth are feus called "allotments" and "pendicles," which originated in the division of a common by Act of Parliament about eighty years ago. The ownership includes a title to "grass, moss, meadow, and arable land," but the holders are generally poor. The usual hours of work for farm servants in summer are from seven in the morning till six in the evening, with an hour for dinner. In winter the hours are from daylight till dusk, with the like interval of an hour.

Progress in the past Twenty-Five Years.

During the past quarter of a century the county has made great progress in many respects. The population has largely increased. In 1861 it was 91,926, and looking back still further, to 1831, it was only 72,621. In 1871 it had risen to 98,218, and in 1881 it was 112,443. Of this population 64,673 consist of dwellers in towns, 22,141 inhabit villages, and 25,629 reside in rural districts. In Falkirk and its suburbs the increase has been 3887; in Stirling, 1733; in Grangemouth, 1991; in Alva, 865; in Milngavie, 792; and in Kilsyth, 510. There has been a decrease in Denny, Lennoxtown, and to a very small extent in Bannockburn. In the county there are now 251 persons to the square mile. Taking the whole population and area of Scotland, there are 125 persons to the square mile, or 51 acre to every person. Twenty-four counties have a more sparse, and eight a more dense population than the county of Stirling. The rental of the county has also very greatly increased. For the year ending with Whitsunday 1856, when the new system of valuation had just come into force, the rental of the county was £370,549, of which £51,534 was in towns and burghs, the remainder in the landward portion of the county; in 1882-83 it was £415,479, exclusive of railways, canals, and tramways, which amounted to £103,870 additional.

There have been improvements in the way of reclaiming waste land, draining, liming, fencing, as well as in the numbers and quality of stock. The most notable instance is at Ballikinrain, in the parish of Killearn. In the year 1862 Mr A. Orr Ewing purchased for £55,000 an estate of 5000 or 6000 acres lying along the hills of Killearn, and sloping down towards the river Endrick. Less than 2000 acres were arable, and the estate was occupied by a number of comparatively small tenants. Mr Orr Ewing took the whole under his own management, and began a process of systematic improvement. The land formerly under tillage was drained to a depth of 3 feet 6 inches, the drains 18 feet apart, and in the smaller drains 2½-inch tiles. The cost of draining was 3s. 9d. to 4s. a rood, making about £8 an acre. The same process was extended to land higher up the hill sides, which had previously been worthless, and covered only with stunted heath. The total extent thus treated was upwards of 2000 acres. The land, having been drained, was all ploughed and subsoiled, chiefly with subsoil grubbers made by Gray of Uddingston. A crop of oats was then taken, and then a second crop, consisting of swedes, purple top, and Aberdeen yellow turnips, sown in drills. Besides farm-yard manure 3 cwt. of dissolved bones were given to each acre. The yield was, in some instances, 35 tons an acre; the average about 25 tons. The turnips were all carted off. Next year a crop of oats were taken, and the land was sown down with two bushels of ryegrass and 3 lbs. of red, white, and alsyke clover to the acre. Lime, at the rate of 6 tons, and 3 cwt. of crushed bones, were applied and harrowed in with the grain. The oats were Providence, Barbauchlaw, and sandy; and the average yield was 7 bolls an acre. The land was then pastured with sheep, and soil previously worthless would keep four sheep to the acre for the first year.

For fourteen years the land lay in grass, pastured with cattle and sheep. Young cattle get no extra feeding, but those preparing for the butcher get oilcake and Indian corn. About 80 cattle can be pastured on 100 acres for a few years after being well laid down; and 2½ to 3 sheep can be kept on each acre. Sheep in the parks have no extra food, except a little in February and March. About 160 cattle are fed every season. They are grazed in summer, but put into byres in winter, fed with oilcake, Indian corn, and bruised oats, and sold to Glasgow or to local butchers. At present there are 12 pairs of horses, but while the principal improvements were in progress there were 22 pairs. There are twelve steadings of various sizes on the estate. After fourteen years the land is again broken up, and the same process as at first is followed. The yield is equally good after the second process as after the first. The drains are working as well as they did when put in, but in boggy parts or near plantations they have required cleaning.

The sheep are blackfaced, and Leicester rams are used with those in the parks, which are chiefly old ewes, from which a crop of cross-bred lambs are taken, fed off, and sent to the butcher. On the hills the stock consists of pure blackfaced sheep. Earns are put among the ewes at Martinmas, and removed at the New Year, after which they are fed in the parks with turnips and hay. Lambing begins in the parks on the second week of April, on the hills about the 14th of the month, and a fortnight later on Ben Lomond, the grazing of which Mr Orr Ewing rents from the Duke of Montrose for £1100 a year. From this mountain pasture the cast ewes are brought to Ballikinrain parks, thus obviating the necessity to purchase stock.

The new fields at Ballikinrain vary in size from 20 to 100 acres. They are fenced with stone walls, very substantial and well built, and with continuous iron-fencing. The walls are about 5 feet high, with copes of hewn stone embedded in lime. The cost was 33s. to 36s. a rood. The iron-fencing has five bars, four flat and one round, in four yard length hurdles, and the cost was 2s. 10d. to 3s. a yard. The principal steading is a square, of which the south side is occupied partly by the thrashing mill, driven by a powerful steam-engine, and the east side by the stables for work horses, which are roomy and well-ventilated. The horses themselves are the best class of Clydesdales, well fed and well kept. In the centre of the square, isolated from the other buildings by a paved passage about 12 feet wide, is a large covered court for cattle. The whole steading is supplied with water by gravitation.

For the site of a new mansion Mr Orr Ewing chose a situation high up on the hill side, with a most extensive prospect. Nothing grew on the place but poor heather, the land had to be thoroughly drained, and, in laying out the policies, a great deal had to be done in the way of excavating at some points, and levelling up at others. The cost is said to have been £100,000, but the result is a magnificent mansion, with grounds and gardens in the most superb style. The old mansion still stands in a secluded, sheltered, but rather sunk situation not far from the river Endrick.

Of improvements other than agricultural within the past twenty-five years, a notable example is furnished by Grangemouth. A sum of £600,000 has been expended on docks, and there are now 12 acres of docks and 8 or 9 of basins. One chief feature in the traffic is the extent to which steamers have superseded sailing vessels. The Carron Company have steamers three times a week to and from London, carrying all kinds of goods. Next to them are the Rotterdam steamers, which take out iron and other goods, bringing back vegetables, manganese, and all kinds of produce. Messrs James Currie & Co., Leith, have lately resumed the Hamburg traffic. About 300,000 tons of pig iron are yearly brought from Cleveland, the principal importers being Messrs James Watson & Co., Glasgow. In 1858 the number of vessels entering and leaving the port was 1010. They were 125,000 tons register, and the cargoes were 202,000 tons. In 1882 there were 1616 vessels, 437,000 tons register, and carrying 860,000 tons of cargo. The amount of cargo has therefore increased more than fourfold in twenty-four years. The traffic in 1882 was the highest ever recorded at the port; but it was very closely approached in 1877, after which there was some decline. Grangemouth was made into a burgh of police in 1872, and a water supply was introduced on the 19th of September 1876.

In implements for farm work there have been great improvements within the past twenty-five years; and in this department the county is well represented by the firm of Kemp & Nicholson, agricultural engineers, Stirling. This firm began operations in 1848, and since that time there has been a great development of implement manufacture. A good share of business has been retained by the Stirlingshire makers. In 1860 they began to construct reaping machines; and these implements, with improvements suggested by practical experience, have found their way into all the Scottish counties, as well as to the Continent, Australia, and New Zealand. Prizes were awarded for these machines by some district societies in 1860, by the Highland and Agricultural Society at its Perth meeting in 1861, at the International Exhibition in London, 1862, and at the International Exhibitions of Hamburg, Dublin, Stettin, and Cologne, besides many other shows in intervening years. Twenty-five years ago grass and grain were cut laboriously with scythe and reaping-hook, but now cutting with machines worked by horsepower has become almost universal. Great progress has also been made—in which the same firm has acted a conspicuous part—in the making and adapting to special circumstances of horse rakes, harrows, grubbers, land rollers, turnip-sowing machines, drill ploughs, drill grubbers, turnip cutters, sheep fodder racks, and food-cooling barrows.

Other Industries.

In the county of Stirling there is much business activity. The Carron Ironworks maintain a position among the foremost of their kind in the country. The first furnace at Carron was blown early in January 1760, when the company consisted of Dr Roebuck, who was manager, with his brothers Thomas and Ebenezer, Samuel Garbett, William Cadell of Cockenzie, William Cadell, junior, and John Cadell. The chief articles of manufacture were cannons, mortars, and chain shot, prepared for the arsenals of Europe, including the British Government, who obtained from Carron the whole battery train used by the Duke of Wellington. The company received a charter of incorporation in 1773, with a capital fixed at £150,000. The works were visited in 1821 by Prince Nicholas, afterwards Emperor of Russia, and subsequently by Prince Leopold and Prince Maximilian of Austria. The Prince of Wales was there in 1859. No carronades or other war castings have been made since 1852 ; but a great amount of work is done in the smelting of iron and the manufacture of axles, grates, cooking ranges, stoves, boilers, kettles, pots, stewpans, sugar pans, &c. The farm connected with the works, called the Roughlands, with the lands adjacent, extending to 400 acres, is stocked with everything necessary in the way of feeding and fodder for the foundry horses.

The Falkirk Ironworks, also very extensive, were started about sixty years ago by some workmen connected with Carron, but came into the hands of the present proprietors in 1848. The buildings cover 8 acres of ground, and the work-people numbering 900 men and boys, turn out more than 300 tons of

castings a week. They have made such heavy articles as the columns for the Solway viaduct, and castings for some of the principal bridges in India, Italy, and Spain, besides tubular telegraph posts for South America; and a great business is done in making register stoves, hat and umbrella stands, garden seats, verandahs, iron stairs, &c.

Other ironworks on the banks of the canal are Burnbank, Gowanbank, Grahamston, Parkhouse, Camelon, the Union Foundry, the Port Downie, and the Forth and Clyde Ironworks. There are also the Abbots, the Gael, and the Etna Foundries, and, close to the branch of the North British Railway at Grahamston, the Callander and the Vulcan Ironworks. There is also the extensive engineering establishment of Messrs Black-adder.

There are at least thirty-four coal pits in the county, the principal of which are in the districts of Bannockburn, Auchen-bowie, Denny, Lennoxtown, Kinnaird, Falkirk, Redding, and Slamannan. The number of men employed is above 1800.

Calico printing is carried on in the west of the county, especially by Messrs R. Dalglish, Falconer, & Co., at Lennox Mill, Campsie. Every description of calico printing is there in operation, from the finest muslin to the coarsest calico worn by the pariahs of India. Lennox Mill contains seven printing cylinders and 200 tables. The water-power is equal to about 20 horses, and the steam-engine is 30 horse-power. The heating and dyeing are all done by steam, and for these purposes about 250 horse-power of steam is employed. About 30 tons of coal are consumed daily. The stock of copper rollers amounts to 1500, and weighs about 155,000 lbs. The works give employment to 545 hands, and 250,000 pieces can be produced annually. There are calico works also at Blanefield, five miles from Campsie to the west.

At Alloa, Stirling, and Bannockburn there is yarn spinning and woollen manufacture. In Alva there are nine spinning mills employed on yarns for making shawls, tartans, and tweeds. About 220 persons are employed. The weaving of shawls, handkerchiefs, plaids, and shirtings is the principal trade of the village, and gives employment to 700 journeymen and 100 apprentices in the busy season, besides 500 or 600 women employed in winding, twisting, and finishing, and a number of boys. In Stirling there are woollen mills; and at Bannockburn are two extensive mills owned by Messrs William Wilson and Sons, one of these includes spinning, dyeing, and the weaving of carpets, tweeds, and tartans, in which fourteen carding machines are employed; in the other, carpets only are manufactured. About 500,000 lbs. of wool are used yearly, and 180 hands are employed.

Manufactories of chemical products are numerous in the county. The works of the Hurlet and Campsie Company were begun in 1806, for the manufacture of alum, copperas, prussiate of potash, Prussian blue, &c, and the works usually employ over 300 hands.

At Stirling, Denny, and Falkirk there are pyroligneous acid works, in which the distillation from wood is used in making iron liquor for printfields, and also vinegar. The oldest firms employed in this work are those of Messrs William M'Laren and Sons, and Mr James M'Alley, Grahamston. The Lime Wharf Chemical Works were begun in 1845, and are still successfully conducted.

There are paper works in the district of Denny ; and at Herbertshire Mill Messrs Wm. Collins, Sons & Co. employ about 100 men and women.

Extensive quarries have been opened in the county since railway communication gave facilities for the conveyance of stone, and building stones have been extensively taken to Glasgow and Edinburgh. The most important quarries are those of Dunmore, Polmaise, and Plean near Bannockburn, where the coal measure sandstone terminates. In 1867 Mr James Gowans, Rockville, Edinburgh, sent from Plean quarry a large quantity of material to be used in building the new warehouse in Paternoster Row, London, for Messrs Nelson and Sons, publishers. About 450 men are employed in the freestone quarries of the county, and their wages are 20s. to 25s. a-week.

Lennoxtown, in the parish of Campsie, is the chief district for limestone, which is worked by Mr Mathew H. Muirhead of Ballyglass, Mr David Wilson of the Glorat Works, and Mr John Kirk of Balgrochan Works, who employ in all about 160 hands. The limestone is of the very finest quality, some of it containing 93 per cent. of carbonate of lime.

As previously mentioned, there are coach works at Stirling, belonging to Mr George Thomson and Mr William Kinross; and Messrs James Robertson & Son and Thomas Hastie have works of a like kind at Falkirk.

There are distilleries at Glenguin in the Blane Valley, Glenfoyle, Gargunnock, Cambus, Bankier, Bonnymuir, Rose-bank, and Camelon; and Messrs James Aitken & Company have a brewery at Falkirk.

Shipbuilding is the great industry at Grangemouth, where Messrs Dobson & Charles build vessels of iron and wood from 300 to 1000 tons. Boats for the canal trade are built at Port-Dundas by Mr Gilbert Wilkie, and sails and ropes are made at Grangemouth and Bainsford.

In St Ninians are two leather manufactories, and in Falkirk four, in most of which currying as well as tanning is performed. The average wages are 26s. a week; tanners earn 20s., and tanning labourers, 16s.

Candle-making is carried on by Mr John Rintoul at Falkirk. Candles are made for mines: but some ordinary candles, both dipped and moulded, are also made. With modern machinery about 8000 dipped candles can be manufactured in a day by a single workman.

On the estate of the Earl of Dunmore, near Airth Road Station, 7 miles by road from Stirling and 6 from Falkirk, is the Dunmore Pottery, which has acquired a good reputation for certain kinds of earthenware.