4 Mr. Smith's Visit to the Island of Lev 



this in tho most kindly manner. They havo done all they can to cul- 

 tivate their little possessions in tho best manner. Their cultivated 

 portions are those from which the peat has been cut away ; they then 

 come to tho gravel, and gather soil from one part to add to another. 

 Two thirds are taken from one part and added to another third, and 

 thus a soil is formed ; but in winter a complete pool is formed between 

 these ridges of soil. Thoy havo done nothing in the way of draining, 

 they have never attempted to penetrate the hard subsoil, which is often 

 steeped in water. They have no system of winter ploughing, but just 

 move the land immediately before planting the pOtatoo crop, or sow- 

 ing the seed, and the only preparation they made was that of some- 

 times pulling the weeds in the summer season. 



He would now describe to them some of the implements in use 

 amongst this primitive people. The Cascrome (fig. 1), is an instru- 

 ment with a sole about fifteen or eighteen inches in length, thick 

 behind, and sharp in front; the latter, being the part which first 

 penetrates the soil, is shod with iron. It is pushed forward by means 

 of a long handle fixed into it, and also by a pin attached to the heel 

 of the sole or sock, for the foot of the labourer. A more unlikely 

 implement to have the name of a plough, it is scarcely possible to 

 conceive. The people lay the land over in furrows, by successive 

 movements of hand and foot, but of course the line is not drawn in a 

 continuous form. When two of the neighbours have a pony each, they 

 occasionally use another kind of plough, with only one stilt, and the 

 beam of which rests on the ground,^. 4. The great difficulty in provid- 

 ing their implements was the scarcity of timber, of which none grew in 

 the island, and they had consequently to send to the mainland for it. 

 As a proof of its value, he might mention that the shaft or handle of 

 the Cascrome (which is a piece of wood about the size of a broom- 

 stick) would cost 3s. 6d. 



From the scantiness of the soil, they did not, of course, produce 

 heavy crops ; but here he would instance the ingenuity of the people 

 in making the best of their position. He had seen as good produce 

 of potatoes, barley — or rather bear or bigg — for tho new kinds of 

 barley were unknown to them — and oats, as in any part of the country, 

 and they managed to produce these results by the skill with which 

 they prepared the manure. It was efficacious, in the first instance, in 

 the raising of potatoes, and afterwards it produced a fine barley crop. 

 When the barley was ripe, they did not cut it as was the case else- 

 where, but pulled it up by the roots, and tied the whole up in sheafs. 

 When it was " won" and ready for the stack, the straw was then cut 

 from the sheafs below the band, which had this advantage, that it 

 enabled them to stow away the grain in small bulk — a matter of no 

 small moment in a country exposed to so much wind and rain. After 

 the grain itself had been thus preserved, they took the straw which 

 had been cut from it, and placed it on the roofs of their houses. They 



