ON THE AClilCULTURE (W TIIK CDrXTV OF SUTHERLANIJ. .')J 



about 54 lbs. per bushel ; oats, about .'!^, (ps. per acre, and \vei,u;lis 

 from 41i lbs. to 42 lbs. per bushel. In a favourable year sowin«; 

 commences soon after the middle of Mai'ch, and tlie liarvestint; 

 commences about tlie second week of September. About 80 acres 

 are worked )jy each pair of liorses. There is no accommodation 

 on the farm for feeding cattle, and part of tlie turnip crop is 

 always eaten off by sheep. Part of it is sometimes let for that 

 ]»uri)()se, and usually brinj^s from £7, 1 Os. to £8 per acre. Turnijis 

 and potatoes grow well, being liberally manured, about '2i'> loacls 

 of farmyard manure with 4 cwts. of dissolved Ijones per acre 

 being allowed. The farm has recently been thoroughly re-drained 

 :in(l limed by the tenant, while new fences have also been erected. 

 ]\Ir F(U'l.)es also rents grazing land, which carries from 1100 to 

 1200 sheep, one " hirsel" bemg Cheviots and the other Black- 

 faced sheep. The Duke of Sutherland has a rental of £1893 in 

 Creich ; and the other larger proprietors and their rentals are — 

 Sir Charles W. A. I'oss, Bart, of Balnauown, £1854; Mr Dugald 

 Gilchrist of Ospisdale, £823 ; Mr II. Tennant of Ifosehall, £583 ; 

 Mr Sidney Hadwen of Balblair, £514; representatives of Mi- 

 Charles Stewart of Dalcrombie, £425 ; Mr Charles E. Flower of 

 (llencasley, £310 ; Professor Geddes and ]\Irs Geddes (Aberdeen) 

 of Invernauld, £272; and Mr John II. Tennant, younger of 

 Posejiall, £227. The Duke of Sutherland's rental in the parisli 

 of Creich has fallen by £7 since 1874-75, while that of Sir 

 Charles Ross has advanced by £318. The gross increase in the 

 parish during the past four years is £1431. 



The Duke of Sutherland draws nearly three-fourths of the 

 rental of the parish of Dornoch, which now amounts to £6928, 

 and w^hich has increased by £750 since 1874. There are somci 

 very good arable farms (n\ His Grace's property in this parish. 

 The farm of Embo Mains, occupied by Mr William Ciordon. 

 extends to 457 acres, and is rented at £456. Worked on the 

 tive-shift rotation, its soil inland is clayey, sandy near the coast, 

 and black loam in the centre. The crops grown are barh^v. 

 oats, turnips, potatoes, rye, tares, and hay. Barley yields about 

 4 quarters per acre, and weighs from 53| lbs. to 54 lbs. pei" 

 bushel ; oats and rye give a similar return, and weigh respec- 

 tively about 42 lbs. and 58 lbs. per ])ushel. Sowing commences 

 usually about the middle of ^larch, and harvesting about the 

 middle of September. Each pair of horses on this farm works 

 about 90 acres. Mr Gordon keeps a good stock of cross and 

 Highland cattle, selling off a numl)er of fat cattle in the spring, 

 when they weigh from G to 8 cw^t. dead weight. Crreen crops 

 grow welL and cret from 5 to 6 cwt. of dissolved liones and 

 guano per acre, along with a liberal supply of farmyard manure, 

 -Vbout 140 acres were recently reclaimed on this farm, and arc 

 yielding good crops. ]\Ir Gordon also holds the arable fanu of 



