6 ON THE AGKICULTUKE OF THE COUNTY OF SUTHERLAND. 



girt by beautiful fringes of natural wood, which have a wonderful 

 softenmg effect on the general sterility around. 



Ben-More-Assynt reaches a height of 3235 feet ; Ben-Clibrig, 

 3157 feet ; and Ben-Hope, 3040 feet ; while Ben-Laoghal (Loyal), 

 Ben-Horn, Ben-Bhraggie, and others follow, at lower elevations. 

 Ben-Loyal, viewed from the west or the north-west, is considered 

 one of the most beautiful mountams in the British Isles, and has 

 engaged the brush of not a few noted artists. 



There are " literally hundreds " of lochs in the county, and m 

 all they are estimated to cover close on 34,000 acres. The 

 larger are — Loch Shm, 16 miles long and about 1 mile broad; 

 Loch Assynt, 8 miles long and 1 mile broad ; Loch Naver, Loch 

 Hope, Loch Loyal, and Loch More. Naturally, from the narrow 

 limits of the northern peninsula, of which this county forms the 

 southern portion, the river courses are short, but some of them 

 — those that flow through lakes — discharge more water than 

 many rivers that run over twice as great a distance. The four 

 larger rivers — viz., the Oikel, Fleet, Brora, and Helmsdale rivers 

 — flow eastward into the Dornoch and Moray Firth sections of 

 the German Ocean. The Oikel, flowing out of Loch Ailsh, and 

 receiving its tributary, the Shin, at Invershin, is an excellent 

 salmon and trout river, and forms the boundary Ime between 

 Eoss and Sutherland for close on 30 miles. The Fleet is formed 

 by some small streams in the parish of Eogart, and after a short 

 run expands into Loch Fleet, wliich joms the firth at Little 

 Ferry, a few miles south of Golspie. Brora has its source in 

 the parish of Lairg, and, includmg the loch, it is about 24 miles 

 in length, or about 4 miles more than the course of the Helms- 

 dale river. The principal rivers on the west coast are the 

 Halladale, which rises in the heights of Kildonan, and, after 

 threadmg through a beautifvil strath close on 20 miles in length, 

 empties itself into the North Sea at Melvich ; the Naver, which 

 has its source in Loch Naver, which is about 24 miles in length, 

 draining the most beautiful and valuable strath in the county ; 

 the Dionard, Kirkaig, and Inver. The smaller streams are in- 

 numerable. 



So high an authority as Mr J. Watson-Lyall asserts that 

 Sutherland is, " without excejDtion, the best angling county in 



Scotland — especially for trout Many of the lochs of 



Sutherland are splendid sheets of water, and many are nameless 

 mountain tarns ; but even those least invitmg m appearance 

 hold lots of trout. No one who wants really good trout-fishmg 

 should hesitate to penetrate into Sutherland." The greater 

 number of the lochs and streams can be fished for trout by 

 strangers who are guasts at the hotels on the Duke of Suther- 

 land's property. On many of the lochs and rivers tliere is also 

 good salmon-fishing, but in most cases it is let to shootmg or 



