RETORT ON THE AGRICULTURE OF PERTHSHIRE. 1S9 



is not done, or that it is the exception, but if one case among 

 twenty farms occurs where the lease is not renewed on fair terms 

 to a good tenant, every man thinks the case may be his own, and 

 he must protect himself against such a result. 



When referring to England in contrast with Scotland on this 

 matter, it may be observed that in England it would seem that 

 the question " rent " enters too little into consideration, while in 

 Scotland it is made of undue importance. Were it more so in 

 England, it might act as a healthy stimulus to exertion on the 

 part of the tenants; while if good farming and good tenants were 

 more practically appreciated in Scotland, the advancement of 

 agriculture, and the relation between landlord and tenant, would 

 both be improved, and there would be no desire on the part of 

 the tenantry to agitate for a serious alteration on the Law of 

 Hypothec. 



Notice should be taken of the steam cultivation introduced by 

 Lord Kinnaird. His lordship had half a dozen farms at least 

 thrown on his own hands by the failure of tenants, and the im- 

 possibility of getting others at the rent which they formerly paid, 

 and which his lordship believed the farms to be worth if properly 

 managed. Being well aware of the drawback to clay land, in 

 the difficulty and expense of working it wholly with horses, he 

 has had a steam-plough at work during the winters 1863-64 

 and 1864-65, and the results have been very satisfactory, as the 

 crops have been above the average, while the expense of getting 

 them has been reduced. The steam-plough cuts up the clay 

 into enormous cubes, which the smart frosts of these winters 

 have reduced into a friable state, but after an open winter they 

 might not be so easily managed. It may suit very well for the 

 large concern in which Lord Kinnaird finds himself for the 

 present involved, or for a few of the largest farms in the district ; 

 lout if the steam-plough is to be more generally adopted, it 

 must be by a party working it for ordinary farmers by the acre, 

 and in the meantime the farmers are watching Lord Kinnaird's 

 proceedings with interest. 



These remarks on the past and present state of agriculture in 

 Perthshire may therefore be summed up in few words. The 

 hill and pasture lands are in a highly nourishing condition. The 

 lighter arable lands have made great progress, and are yearly im- 

 proving in the system of management and condition ; but the 

 carse lands have not shared in that advance as yet, and stand 

 much in need of a change of system to one more suitable for the 

 present times. It is more than doubtful whether any change on 

 the law of hypothec would conduce to that. From what has 

 been stated, the Perthshire system has grown under the law of 

 hypothec, and few parts of Scotland would feel a serious change 

 on the law more. No doubt skill and experience in farming are 



