44 ON THE AGRICULTUEE OF THE COUNTY OF SUTHEELAND. 



The Bannockburn land is to be " divided into four small farms 

 of 100 acres, each with a large outrun (perhaps 1000 acres), so 

 that a farmer coming there with his family might get along 

 comfortably with a small capital of £500 or £600." About 

 40 acres have already been reclaimed on each of these small 

 farms, and on the first two handsome steadings and dwelhng- 

 houses have just been erected. These liuildings are of novel 

 construction, being almost entirely formed of concrete. The 

 office houses are covered with one large span of corrugated iron, 

 su]Dported by girders of worn-out rails, which are obtained 

 cheaply at the railway station, and which suit the purpose 

 admirably. With the exception of this roof, however, and the 

 doors and windows, the whole construction is formed of con- 

 crete — walls, floors, stairs, roofs, and even the floors of the attics 

 and granaries, which have no support other than the concrete. 

 The dwelling-house forms one side of the square, with a door 

 from the kitchen to the shed and straw barn, so that the whole 

 may be said to be a huge concrete box, with convenient internal 

 divisions. The stones used were gathered off the new land 

 and run through the steam stone-breaker. The fittings, doors, 

 windows, &c., were constructed at the Duke's own works at 

 Brora, and were put into their places as the building progressed. 

 Exceptmg that which fell to the plasterer, the whole of the 

 work connected with the buildings was done by unskilled 

 labour ; and there is good reason to l:)elieve that this system of 

 erecting steadings will remove the difficulty that has liitherto 

 been experienced in building houses for small farms at a cost 

 in keeping with the limited extent of the holding. The exact 

 cost of each of these steadings has not yet been ascertained, 

 but it is believed that, including the dwelling-house,, it will not 

 exceed £450. 



The Implements used in the Reclamations. 



Most of the implements employed in these reclamations were 

 invented for the work they perform, and therefore deserve special 

 notice. The " Sutherland plough '.' may be taken first. Steam 

 ploughs for ordinary purposes not being suited for trencliing new 

 land. His Grace the Duke of Sutherland set about the invention 

 of a steam-driven instrument that would do so, and after seven 

 years' experiments, and an expenditure of money which could 

 have been made only by a nobleman such as the Duke, success 

 has been attained which must be equal to, if not beyond, the 

 most sanguine expectations. The perfection of the present 

 instrument has been reached step by step. The first step was 

 to get the plough to clear boulders, and thus avoid breakage. 



