ON THE AGRICULTURE OF THE COUNTY OF SUTHERLAND. 31 



into a detailed scheme for carrying out the improvements, deal- 

 ing first with drainage, which, thougli absolutely necessary, did 

 not a])peaT- t(j liini as likely to be either difficult or expensive. 

 He jflaced the cost of drainage at £5 per arable acre, and £1 

 per acre of outrun. Speaking of the " measures necessary for 

 breaking up the surface," he gave it as his opinion that probably 

 four-fifths of the whole area could be quite well plouglied by 

 horses or oxen. He would not say that thereby as perfect 

 work would be made as by the more expensive process of 

 trenching, — except in the swamps and meadows where, after 

 drainage and some labour on the surface, a commun plough 

 woidd do the work quite well, liut then, in regard to thci cost, 

 he estimated that, wliile ploughing by horses or oxen would not 

 cost more than £2, 15s. per acre on an average, including 5s. per 

 acre for accommodation for men and stock employed, trenchmg 

 w^ould cost at least £10 per acre. Eef erring to the question of 

 em])loying steam, he said — "But if it is possible to do the 

 work by steam-ploughing (of which I am not able to judge), 

 the cost may be decreased ; for I am certain very good work 

 can be done at the price I have named by means of horses and 

 oxen. The difficulty of employing steam is the risk caused by 

 stones ; and though there are very large areas where no stones 

 will occur, these areas, on the other hand, should be ploughed 

 for less than £2, 10s. per acre (say, from £1 to £1, 10s.), because 

 a less depth would be necessary." Detailed instruction was 

 also given as to clearing the broken surface of stones, which 

 w^as calculated to cost £2 per acre ; building dwelling-houses 

 and farm offices, the cost of which for the three farms was 

 estimated at £5 per acre, and for the fifteen smaller holdings, 

 at £G per acre ; and fencing, the cost of which w^as placed at £2 

 per acre. In regard to fencing, he says — "There can be no 

 doubt at all that, as regards the intermediate fences, stone 

 dykes are the best, but their cost would be very great, especi- 

 ally as I have no expectation of obtaining anything like tlie 

 quantity of stones necessary without quarrying. It will, there- 

 fore be necessary to place stone fences only in the most exposed 

 situations on each farm. I think that turf fences with wires 

 on the top should be largely used, and, with ordinary attention, 

 they may last for all time. These turf dykes should be made 

 before tlie land is broken up, and they should be built like 

 stone fences, but starting from the surface with a broader base 

 and having more slope" They should also be erected only in 

 autumn and winter, never later than February." As to road- 

 making, he said there would be no difficulty or any great 

 expense — less than £600. He had reason to believe that stones 

 for all the buildings would be got in the river Tirry, and adds : 

 " There is a rare advantage in possessing lime, both for building 



