44 REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURE OF AYRSHIRE. 



improvements at Corwar. We give here an instance of what can 

 be done by a tenant-farmer, unaided, in reclaiming and improv- 

 ing of waste moor, and bettering his own condition and that of 

 his family at same time. Mr. David Hutcheson took the farm of 

 Ducharneil (Hamilton of Pinmore), near to 40 years ago. It 

 lies on the water of Muick, in the north of Colmonell parish, and 

 at that time was just a very middling sheep walk, all covered 

 with heather and with hollow places of '' spretty" ground, ex- 

 cepting some 10 acres of holm land. Extent, 400 acres, all light 

 land, near the till, with a greyish (mossy) top. Draining ought 

 to have preceded by a year or two, as is done by Mr. Wason on 

 his lands further south ; but draining was not thought of then, 

 and Mr. H. just began and ploughed one field after another till 

 the whole was gone over that the horses could go upon. The 

 heather was ploughed down in spring with as thin a furrow as 

 possible, and about 10 inches broad, the land spread with warm 

 lime at the rate of 8 to 9 tons per acre immediately after, and 

 again ploughed before winter, running the same furrow about as 

 deep again as at first — say 6 inches. Two crops of oats were 

 taken, and the land sown down to grass, the third ploughing 

 with a still deeper furrow — say 8 to 10 inches. About 15 years ago 

 Mr. Hutcheson had a good part of the farm drained with Govern- 

 ment money, and green-cropped it afterwards, but finds now that 

 that part will not keep nearly the stock which it did under the 

 first simple improvement. He does not blame the draining, of 

 course, but the green cropping ; being of opinion that green crop- 

 ping in Ayrshire hilly districts with greyish-topped soil is harm- 

 ful to the subsequent pasturage. This is a very common complaint 

 with Ayrshire farmers generally. But we suspect that the main 

 cause of the disappointment, with Mr. Hutchison and others, is the 

 practice of sowing down the land nearly wholly with rye-grass 

 seeds, and preserving the seeds frcm the first year's grass. Green- 

 cropping does of course kill the roots of the natural grasses and 

 plants of the soil, and unless the seeds of plants peculiar to the 

 soil of the district to be sown down, or of others equally well 

 or better fitted, be supplied, the land afterwards will be barer of 

 plants than before. We quite concur, however, with Mr. 

 Hutchison, that green-cropping in most inland districts of Ayr- 

 shire can only be profitably carried on to a slight extent ; and 

 his system of breaking up only once in ten years with two oat- 

 crops, and again laying down to grass, is probably as good as 

 could be adopted. Sow down, however, with proper seeds, and 

 take no seed-crop. Thirty milch cows are kept on Ducharneil, 

 and their produce turned into cheese, excepting what of it goes 

 to 20 of their progeny reared and grazed till 1\ years old. About 

 4 score of blackfaced ewes are also kept on the farm, and served 



