AND METEOROLOGY OF THE YEAR RELATIVE THERETO. 341 



the braird was very defective, owing to cold weatlier and fly. No damage 

 from insects to speak of. Slow to start on account of the cold wet season. 

 Turnips were the only crop affected by insects, as stated above. Crops not 

 particularly injured by weeds, nor any particular kind. Damage not greater 

 than any usual wet season. Pastures — in the district there would be more 

 grass, but quality not bo nutritious, owing to continuous rain and want of 

 sun. Stock did fairly well. Cattle and sheep in this district particularly 

 free from disease, with the exception of sheep-scab, which is reported aa 

 rather prevalent in some districts of the county. Clip of wool — Quality fair, 

 but barely up to the average. 



Stirlingshire (Western District). — Xo wheat grown. The oat crop of 

 1881 was quite as bulky as that of 1880, but the yield of grain deficient and 

 the quality inferior ; the average yield would l>e about 40 bushels per acre, 

 and 40 cwts. straw ; the quantity of seed sown about 5 bushels. Harvest 

 about fourteen days later than usual. Hay rather more bulk than in 1880, 

 but in general not so well got ; the average yield would be about 1 ton 15 

 cwts. Meadow hay about an average crop of fair quality. Potato crop fully 

 3 tons less than last year ; the yield would be about 6 tons, about one-half 

 diseased, which began about the 1st September. Turnips very inferior 

 crop, about a third of 1880, say 7 tons, large extent required to be sown 

 more than once from the braird being eaten by fly. Crops injured by fly 

 to greater extent than usual. The weather being cold and wet, and weeds of 

 all kinds very abundant, the damage on that account was greater than usual. 

 Pastures of average growth but inferior quality. From the long continued 

 wet the pasture was inferior, and cattle did not thrive well. Both cattle 

 and sheep have been very free from disease during the past season, sheep 

 being very lean from the effects of a severe and long-continued winter. 

 The clip was considerably under the average. 



Stirlingshire (Eastern District). — The severe winter damaged the wheat 

 crop of 1881 badly. Portions of the fields were drifted bare of snow, and 

 the long-continued frost afterwards threw out the wheat entirelv on these 

 bare portions, some farmers replacing it with barley or oats, while others 

 ploughed up the fields entirely ; and where it escaped damage by winter 

 aeverity, it suffered from want of summer sunshine, so that, speaking gene- 

 rally, wheat may be said to have been a failure, although on some excep- 

 tionally good farms there was a fair crop. The district average is estimated 

 at 24 bushels ; seed, 2^ to 3 bushels. Barley was a fair crop in 1881, 

 though it can hardly be said to be up to an average, and the quality turned 

 out only middling, mainly owing to too much wet and too little sunshine. 

 Average is estimated at 30 to 35 bushels ; seed, 3 bushel.-^. Oats were 

 also a fair crop in 1881, though not quite e(iual to that of 18H0. Average 

 is estimated at 40 bushels or thereby, and quality fair; seed about 4 bushels. 

 Tlie harvest bi-gan about the usual time, Init it was not a good harvest, and 

 it was long and tedious, owing to broken weather. Wheat suffered to a 

 certain extent. The hay crop was again deficient, nor was the (piality quite 

 equal to last year. Crop about 20 cwts. on the average ; second crop also 

 .short. Little or none of meadow hay. Potato crop good, probably about 

 10 tons; but di.sease attacked it about lifting time, and cau.sed much loss 

 then and after, in some eases a third or even a half gone. On the Curse the 

 turnip croj) was good, only one sowing was recpiired, while on dry field farms 

 it wfts not so good, several sowings having been necessary, owing to the inter- 

 ference of Hy. Average estimated at 15 tons. No insects worth talking 

 about exce])t the turnij)-fly in the dry field land already alluded to. Except 

 eome troul)le in keeping down duckweed, &c., in the turnip fields, weeds 

 were not more than usual. The pastures tlid fairly well during the season, 

 although in some cases there occurred partial failures in the early part of 



