ON THE AGRICULTURE OF THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 11 



draining and the heavy manuring — of the past fifteen or twenty 

 years, have immensely improved the natural properties of the 

 soil, have changed much of it into fertile land. The Howe of 

 Fife or Stratheden, comprising both sides of the Eden up as far 

 as Cupar, has rich fertile soil, parts of it being exceedingly pro- 

 ductive. South of the Eden the land rises gradually until it 

 reaches, in the parish of Cameron, an elevation of upwards of 

 600 feet. On this hi<zh land the soil is cold and stiff and of a 

 clayey character, with a mixture of lime. Around Ladybank 

 the soil is very light and shingly, and presents signs of having 

 been swept off its richest earthy coating by a current of water. 

 The land on the rising ground in the parishes of Collessie, Moni- 

 mail, Cults, and Kettle is considerably heavier and more valu- 

 able than in the valley of Ladybank. In the neighbourhood of 

 the Lomonds the soil is light, but sharp and valuable for grass, 

 while similar remarks apply to the high land of Auchtermuchty, 

 Leslie, and Kinglassie. In the parishes of Beath, Auchterderran, 

 and Ballingry, the land is principally cold and stiff; but several 

 very excellent highly-cultivated farms are to be found in these 

 parishes. A good deal of the land on the north side of Dun- 

 fermline is composed of clay of a strong retentive nature, while 

 on the south the soil is chiefly thin loam, with a strong clayey 

 subsoil. In the parishes of Saline, Torryburn, and Carnock the 

 soil is mainly a mixture of clay and loam, and is generally very 

 fertile. All along the coast the soil, though variable in compo- 

 sition, is rich and productive. The " Laich of Dunfermline " has 

 a strong clayey soil, somewhat stiff to cultivate, but on the 

 whole very fertile. The soil on the coast from Inverkeithing 

 to Leven varies from light dry to strong clayey loam, rendered 

 extremely fertile and friable by superior cultivation. About 

 Largo the soil is deep rich loam, and produces magnificent crops 

 of all kinds, while in Elie it is light but very fertile. Along the 

 east coast the soil is deep and strong and very productive, con- 

 sisting chieSy of clay and rich loam. Speaking generally, very 

 little hindrance is afforded to tillage by rolling stones or up- 

 heavals of rock, but here and there all over the district, sloping 

 down from the heights in the parish of Cameron to the Firth of 

 Forth, beds of water-worn boulders are met with. These 

 boulders, lying in beds or rows from north-west to south-east, 

 belong to the metamorphic rocks, and were brought thither 

 doubtlessly by floating icebergs during the glacial period. In 

 the neighbourhood of St Andrews the soil is by no means heavy, 

 while the section lying north-east of Leuchars viUage is sandy 

 and very light, especially on the east coast, where a large tract 

 of land known as Tent's Moor is wholly covered with sand, and 

 almost useless for agricultural purposes. In Forgan and part 

 of the parish of Ferry-Port-on-Craig, the soil, though light and 



