294 REPORT ON THE AGRICULTURE OF DUMFRIESSHIRE. 



" thatching and roping " unnecessary (thereby saving labour and 

 material), but also saving the work of putting it up in the field. 

 They are generally made 18 feet wide and 12 feet high ; 

 the length being, of course, regulated by the quantity of crop 

 which it is intended they should contain. A shed 18 feet 

 wide, 12 feet high, 60 feet long, with wooden posts, and 

 slated, would cost about L.45 ; so that a shed of the width and 

 height we have specified, would cost about 15s. per lineal foot. 

 The above estimate does not include the carting of the materials, 

 which, it is presumed, will be done in all cases by the tenant. 

 .On estates where good timber is plentiful, the proprietor might 

 provide the wood and slates, while the tenant might reasonably 

 be expected to cart the materials, and pay the wages of the 

 tradesmen who erect them. Many have already been erected in 

 the county on these terms, and we hope to hear of this arrange- 

 ment being acted on in many more instances. On the estate of 

 Corrie, the proprietor erects substantial hay barns, with cast- 

 metal columns, and the tenants pay five per cent, on the outlay. 

 They are built 12 feet high to the wall-plate, and 17 feet 

 wide, and are boarded down about 5 feet from the wall-plate, 

 and cost about L.l, Is. per lineal foot ; in other words, a shed 

 100 feet long (which will hold about 6000 stones of hay) 

 will cost about L.105. Before passing from this subject, we 

 would mention a plan of a shed which is adopted at Townhead, 

 Mouswald, and which appears to us to be a very good one. 

 The shed is 18 feet high from the ground to the top of the posts. 

 Nine feet from the ground, it is partially boarded with strong 

 slabs. The lower portion, to which is attached a large court- 

 yard, is used as a shed in which 30 young store cattle are 

 kept during winter ; while the upper portion is used for storing 

 unthrashed grain. This plan is peculiarly advantageous when 

 the farm-steading, as is often the case in Dumfriesshire, is 

 situated on an incline. The court-yard can be made to extend 

 down the slope, while the upper part of the shed can be more 

 easily reached, from the rising ground behind. 



Water, steam, and horse power are each called into requisition 

 in thrashing the grain crop. Water is employed whenever 

 practicable, as being the cheapest agency that can be used ; and, 

 on account of the undulating character of a considerable portion 

 of the county, it is largely available. On many large farms 

 where water-power cannot be commanded, steam-engines have 

 been erected; so that the chimney-stalks, which are such 

 familiar objects in mining districts, are to be seen here and 

 there throughout a county where the air is pure and bracing. 

 A considerable portion of the grain — at least the oats — grown 

 is consumed on the farms on which it is produced. As we shall 

 find by-and-by, when treating of sheep and cattle feeding, oats 



