ON THE AGRICULTURE OF THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 25 



tenant being Mr Thomas Cunningliam. The greater portion of 

 the farm of Dallachy consists of strong fertile soil, while on Bal- 

 ram the land is chiefly thin loam. The heavy land is worked 

 in seven shifts, with two years' grass, while the light land is 

 worked in five shifts, one green crop, two grain crops, and two 

 years grass. Dallachy produces excellent crops, barley some- 

 times yielding as much as eight quarters per acre, the average 

 being about seven. Barley generally weighs from 53 lb to 56 It) 

 per bushel, wheat about 64 lb, and oats from 42 lb to 44 lb. It 

 is very seldom that much grain is lost here by bad harvests, but 

 in 1872 Mr Cunningham sustained a loss of more than a year's 

 rent by wet weather. Turnips grow well, and have never been 

 finer than this season. The farm-steading is good, while the 

 dwelling-house is excellent. Mr Cunningham recently com- 

 menced to rear calves from Galloway cows and shorthorn bulls, 

 and as yet the experiment has been satisfactory. JMoving a little 

 further on we come to the highly cultivated farm of JSTewbigging. 

 It extends to 280 acres, and is leased by Mr Prentice, who holds 

 besides it the farm of Balbairdie, extending to 350 acres, and 

 situate in the parish of Kiughorn ; of Bankhead, also measuring 

 350 acres, and situate in the same parish ; and Balgreggie, ex- 

 tending to 130 acres, and situate in Auchterderran. Newbigging 

 is all arable, and grows very fine crops. This year there are 25 

 acres under wheat, 82 under barley, 26 under oats, 25 under 

 potatoes, 20 under turnips, and 25 under hay. The remainder 

 is so hilly that it is left lying in grass, and cultivated only when 

 the pasture gives way. Most of this farm is on limestone rock, 

 part of it being heavy clay and part fine friable turnip and barley 

 land. Newbigging is situated close to the Grange distillery, 

 from which Mr Prentice obtains large quantities of draff, which 

 enables him to keep about 100 cattle and 300 sheep every winter. 

 This gives him such a command of manure that he can grow 

 almost any sort of crop without strictly abiding by any fixed 

 system of rotation. Ball^airdie is mostly heavy land, and here 

 Mr Prentice has a breeding stock of half-bred ewes, and keeps 

 the outside land in grass as long as possible. Four pairs of horses 

 are employed in cultivating this farm, the system of rotation 

 being — 1st, oats or barley; 2d, turnips; 3d, barley or wheat; and 

 4th and 5th, hay and pasture. Bankhead is all fine haugh land, 

 lying on trap rock. With the exception of a hilly field, which 

 is kept a year or two longer in pasture than the rest, the whole 

 of this farm is worked in seven shifts — 1st, oats; 2d, potatoes; 

 3d, wheat; 4th, turnips; 5th, barley; 6th, hay; and 7th, pasture. 

 Barley and oats yield from 5 to 8 quarters per acre,, while wheat 

 gives about 5 quarters. The return of potatoes ranges from 7 to 

 8 tons per acre. The lea is ploughed 8 inches deep, and broken 

 up as soon as possible in March, and sown by a drill machine 



