ON THE AGRICULTURE OF THE COUNTY OF .SUTHERLAND. 15 



of lias and oolite found in no other part of Scotland, except a 

 small patch on the west of the town of Campbeltown in Kintyre 

 and a few jtatches in thoWestein Isles. On the north-west the 

 rocky headlands consist of tlie Laurentian gneiss, while above it 

 "lie is(jlated mountains of Cambrian sandstone." There are also 

 strata oi' the Lower Sihniau system, the limestones of whicli are 

 wrought for estate improvements, by the Duke of Sutherland, 

 at Eiiboll, on the west coast, and at Shiness, on Loch Sliin, in 

 the interior. 



As already stated, the arable land in the county is confined 

 mainly to a narrow fringe along the south-east coast. Here 

 the most general soil is a light sandy loam that yields hbe- 

 rally under generous treatment. Between Bonar Bridge and 

 Dornoch the soil is light gravelly loam. In the parish of 

 Dornoch it is clayey inland and sandy near the sea, witli an 

 irregular belt of l)lack loam intervening. The soil on the arable 

 land in the Golspie district varies from very light sand to 

 medium clay, the most general and best being loam with a 

 slight admixture of clay. Sir H. Davy says that the soils of 

 the coast-side lands between Little Ferry, a few miles south of 

 Golspie, and Helmsdale, seem to be formed principally from the 

 decomposition of sandstone rock, which in some parts approaches 

 in its nature to shale. The soils in Strathfleet appeared to him 

 to have been produced by the decomposition of Transition sand- 

 stone and breccias. Around Brora the soil is light and gravelly, 

 but in Loth there is some excellent heavy land ; one hollow on 

 the farm of Crakaig, in particular, being covered with deep 

 bluish clay. " Prior to the sixteenth century," says Captain 

 Henderson, " the river of Loth, as it emerged from the mountains, 

 turned due north, running parallel to the sea, at the distance 

 of about a quarter of a mile from it, through what is now called 

 the Vale of Loth, and there formed a swamp or marsh, divided 

 from the sea by sandy banks, until an enterprising Countess of 

 Sutherland caused a course to be cut for the river to the sea, 

 through a rocky eminence." By this means about 100 acres of 

 excellent carse land were reclaimed, and being well drained, 

 it yields good crops of wheat, barley, oats, turnips, and grass. 

 Around Helmsdale the soil is light but fertile, while along the 

 Helmsdale or Kildonan Strath there are several small liau<dis of 

 similar soil, with rather less sand, that yield good crops of oats 

 and turnips. The soil on the higher banks along this strath 

 consists of reddish gritty sand and peat-earth, in which are 

 embedded numerous detached pieces of granite rock or pudding 

 stone. In Strathbrora and Strathfleet there are also several 

 good small pieces of haugh land, some being of medium loam ; 

 while in the parishes of Eogart and Lairg there is a considerable 

 extent of light gravelly loam, mixed with moss, and lying on a 



