ON THE AGKICULTUKE OF THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 



9 



beasts, into a rich agricultural county. Occasionally several of 

 the valleys are still visited by floating mists and "hoar" frosts, 

 and in the month of July grain and potatoes are heavily damaged 

 thereby, while in winter turnips in low ground often fall victims 

 to these hoar frosts. But the loss sustained in this way is trifling 

 compared with what was experienced some fifty or sixty years 

 ago. Westerly winds prevail, but sometimes in spring and 

 autumn biting east winds sweep along the east coast, especially in 

 spring, doing slight damage to the young crops. The numerous 

 belts and clumps of wood, however, that stud the fields break 

 and soften the current of the wind, and lessen immensely the 

 damaging effect on the crops. The climate varies a little in 

 some parts of the county, being a little more rigorous in the 

 higher lying parts than in the valleys and on the coast. Severe 

 passing storms of wind and rain sometimes sweep along the coast 

 from the German Ocean, but it is seldom that snow lies to any 

 great depth or for any length of time on the lands near the sea. 

 The higher lands and hills in tlie interior are often clothed in a 

 snowy mantle in November, and coated to the depth of several 

 inches now and again during the winter. On the whole, the 

 winters are comparatively open, and agricultural operations are 

 rarely suspended in consequence of the weather. Kough weather 

 seldom prevails in spring, while the harvests, or rather autumns, 

 are invariably favourable. Vegetation commences early and con- 

 tinues far through the season. The flora of the county is pecu- 

 liarly rich, and interesting to the botanist. The Thalami-floral 

 orders, the Crowfoot {Bamtnculacccc) family especially, are ex- 

 tremely well represented, at least one species of the genus Tlta- 

 lidrum being found in Fife and in no other county in Scotland. 

 The rainfall during the year generally averages about 21^ inches, 

 or 486,265 gallons to the acre. The following table shows the 

 rainfall during each of the twelve months of 1873 and 1874 at 

 the Fife and Kinross District Lunatic Asylum, near Cupar : — 



January, 



February, 



March, 



April, 



May, 



June, 



July, 



1873. 



2-350 

 0-690 

 1-280 

 0-170 

 2-180 

 0-650 

 2-910 



1874, 



2-550 

 0-980 

 2-160 

 0-750 

 1-530 

 0-590 

 2-180 



August, 



September, 



October, 



November, 



December, 



Total, 



1873. 



1-420 

 2-570 

 3-021 

 2-600 

 1-650 



1874. 



3-610 

 2-300 

 0-220 



3-040 

 1-840 



21-191 21-750 



Geology — Soils. 



That well-defined valuable group, the Carboniferous system, 

 lying in the geological table of the earth's crust, between the 

 Old and New Eed Sandstone, is the formation that abounds in 

 Fifeshire as in extensive portions of the Lothians and tlie south- 



