ON THE AGRICULTURE 01' THE COUNTY OF SUTHERLAND. 11 



well as butLer housed, than when they were seatteied alunj^^ the 

 straths in the interior. Sutherland was lon^- ill-provided with 

 educational machinery. About the commencement of the pre- 

 sent century it is stated that it had a Gaelic teacher in each 

 parisli, i)ai(l at the rate of from £15 to £27 a-year, and that 

 the number of scholars was aljout 1012, or in tlie prop(jrtion 

 of about 1 to every 21 of the population. The Education (Scot- 

 land) Act, 1872, however, has supplied all wants in this direc- 

 tion- and, thoui^h the school rates are high at present, great 

 advantages must How from the superior education now being 

 diH'ased" throughout the county. With parishes of so large an 

 area and so thinly spread a population, it has been found to 

 be no easy matter to carry out the Education Act properly in 

 Sutherland, but the School Boards of the county have displayed 

 much care and ability, and have, as a rule, done their work 

 well. One difficulty was to know how to extend the benefits 

 of the Act to the families of shepherds who reside away among 

 the mountain ranges, perhaps 12 or 20 miles from the nearest 

 school. This is now being satisfactorily accomplished by female 

 teachers, who " go the round " of these outlying houses teaching 

 a week or a fortnight in one family, and a like period in another. 



Climate. 



The climate varies considerably in different districts of the 

 county. On the east coast, that is to say, on the narrow irregular 

 stretch of country that lies between the mountain range and the 

 German Ocean, the climate is dry and mild. Captain Henderson 

 says, " Though the east coast of Sutherland is 3° farther north 

 than East Lothian, there is much less difference between the two in 

 regard to climate than could well be imagined. The spring may 

 be two weeks later, and the winter may commence two weeks 

 earlier, but the summers are equally warm, if not warmer, and 

 the winters not colder." Snow seldom lies long on the ground in 

 this part of the country, and the rauifall cannot be said to be 

 heav}', about 31 inches, or little over the average for Easter 

 Eoss. The prevailmg winds blow from the west and north-west, 

 but the moisture they absorb in their long course over the 

 Atlantic Ocean is mostly deposited among the broad range of 

 hnis and dales which are passed before the east coast is reached. 

 These winds, indeed, bring only occasional showers over upon 

 the east coast. The easterly winds, next in frequency, as a rule 

 bring rain and cloudy weather, sometimes very heavy falls of 

 rain ; but these gales and ramfalls are usually succeeded by a 

 period of mild dry weather. The southerly winds, which are not 

 frequent, are seldom accompanied by rain. The land in some 

 parts of the east coast, in a good season, is ready for the seed 



