ON THE AGKICULTURE OF THE COUNTY OF SUTHERLAND. 41 



dry, containiii^H' uiil}' I'TO per cent, of water. It is very li^lit 

 and free, and would by itself, perhaps, hardly prove a very pro- 

 ductive soil, hut I am of opinion it would serve admiral)ly for 

 the jmrpose of iiiixini^' with other heavier, damper, or ])i'aty soils, 

 in order to ameliorate their condition or texture." In re_^anl to 

 the ploughing-, Mr Greig says — "It is proposed to turn the sur- 

 face to the depth of from 10 to 12 inches, and tt) subsoil wliere 

 necessary to a further depth of from 4 to 8 inclies. An ciTort 

 shall be made by a new construction of subsoiling tine to throw 

 part of the red subsoil on the surface of the turned over mossy 

 furrows." With such an extremely open subsoil he thought it 

 would be injudicious to carry out at the Ijcginning the usual 

 system of drainage, and recommended the laying down of the 

 leading drains in the usual way, and the running from these of 

 an occasional branch drain to test the effect, all these being so 

 arranged that their number could be afterwards increased, if 

 fountl necessary, without any confusion of the drainage system. 

 Mr Greig says — " I had a great number of holes dug 3 or 4 feet 

 deep, and not only found no water, but some which was run into 

 the holes disappeared. The land, lying as it does with a nice 

 undulating surface, and covered with a close covering of peat, 

 almost impervious to water, and acting like a roof to tlie subsoil, 

 has, in the past, been kept perfectly dry by this roof or covering, 

 carrying the water over the surface into the burns. This was 

 the condition in which I found it, but I am not prepared to say 

 what the change may be after we have broken the peaty surface 

 described as a roof covering. It is quite clear after this is done 

 that the whole of the water which may fall upon this land will 

 have to be discharged, not over the surface as before, but through 

 the subsoil, and it is quite possible that, not\\'ithstanding the 

 aj3en character of it, more drains than I would lie disposed to 

 put in at present may, with the altered circumstances, be found 

 necessary." After referring to the clearing away of stones, 

 fencing, and luiilding, Mr Greig adds — " The principle on which 

 the operations are to be undertaken is, that each section of the 

 work, such as draining or clearing, shall be entirely separate, and 

 managed by a person who alone will be responsible to the 

 manager. The progress made in each section will be given every 

 fortnight alongside a note of the sum expended, so that I may 

 check at once any expenditure that is made without an equiva- 

 lent in result Contract work will be introduced as far as 

 possible. It is intended to sow the whole arable land, to the 

 extent of 282 acres, with oats next spring, and to undertake the 

 improved pasture l)y liming, surface draining, and sowing out in 

 grasses, Avliins, and broom. The lands laid ofi* for permanent 

 pasture embrace all the low lying and sheltered parts of the 

 farm, and will be found admirably adapted for sheltering the 



