440 EEPOET ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF MEADOW PASTUEAGE. 



is a detached part of the parish of Thurso, running up between 

 the highlands of the parishes of Halkirk, Latheron, and Keay. 

 It is about eight miles distant from the Crown lands of Scrabster, 

 and seems to have been the summer grazings and shiellings of the 

 barony belonging to the bishopric of Caithness. By the settle- 

 ment of marches with surrounding properties, it is now curtailed 

 to a narrow strip of ground about nine miles long, and less than 

 one mile in breadth. The lower or north-east end consists of 

 Dorrery mountain and townlands. The upper end embraces the 

 Avaterfall to the river of Torran from its source to within thirty- 

 five chains of where it flows into the Loch of Shurrery, on the 

 north-west side of the mountain. The river is called the Water 

 of Forss from the outlet of Loch Shurrery to its fall into the sea, 

 five miles west from Thurso. The " Leens of Torran " are ten 

 miles from the sea, and at an elevation of 175 feet. The improve- 

 ment to be reported of is the reclamation of these leens or 

 meadows from the flooding of the river of Torran. 



The ground between the Crown property and Loch Shurrery 

 belongs to Mr Sinclair of Forss, and is called Lamsdale. The 

 reporter, that he might occupy the Crown grazings properly with- 

 out the expense of a march dyke, endeavoured to negotiate with 

 Mr Sinclair for a lease thereof. They could not agree person- 

 ally, but made a mutual remit to the local factor for the Crown, 

 who gave Mr Sinclair the rent he wanted, " on consideration 

 that the tenant of Dorrery shall have free liberty to make such 

 cuts as might be necessary for the carrying off the water of the 

 farm of Dorrery, and that without any compensation. A plan 

 of the cutting to be submitted to Mr Sinclair, and approved of by 

 him before the work was proceeded with." The reporter made 

 the necessary arrangements, and procured tools for executing the 

 work referred to, on his entry to Dorrery. But being favoured 

 by Colonel Guthrie of Scots Calder, nephew and a trustee on 

 the estate of the late tenant, Mr Dunbar, with the use of a 

 report on the subject, by James Flint, C.E., in 1831, in accord- 

 ance therewith he thought it advisable to obtain consent of the 

 proprietor of the ground below Loch Shurrery to widening the 

 loch's outlet sufficiently to give an outflow discharge equal to 

 the inflow of water, and thus prevent the loch from rising 4 feet 

 6 inches with highest floods. All that was requisite could have 

 been done without interfering with the ordinary level of the 

 loch, and for an outlay of about L.10. This would have lessened 

 the cost of the works above L.57, as a 3 feet narrower channel 

 would then have been sufficient, and embankment would have 

 been unnecessary. A correspondence on the subject was entered 

 into, which delayed procedure with the improvement till 1864, 

 when consent was not obtained, and it had to be executed with- 

 out enlargement of the loch's outlet. 



