G4 ox THE AGRICULTURE OF THE COUNTY OF SUTHERLAND. 



company, and so well satisfied was that experienced gentleman 

 with the suitability of the county to the Cheviots that, in 1812, 

 he was induced to emlmrk A\"ith the larQ;e farm of Kilcolmkill, 

 on wliicli he placed a fine stock of about 10,000 head. About 

 the same time Mr Thomas Houston, Mr Patrick Sellar, Major 

 Chines, and other gentlemen, leased sheep-walks in the county, 

 and adopted the popular breed. Every year swelled the ranks 

 of the Sutherland sheep-farmers, and added thousands to the 

 thriving stock of Che\dots. So fast, indeed, was the gro^vth of 

 the new system, that by 1820 it had spread to all corners of the 

 county, sweeping away all traces of the more ancient order of 

 things that preceded it. It was estimated that the Cheviot stock 

 in Sutherland in 1820 numbered no less than 118,400. 



The pioneers of the industry, however, had man}' difficulties 

 to contend with, which the sheep-farmers in the county at the 

 present day know little of, except through history and tradition. 

 One of the most perplexing of these difficulties was the preju- 

 dice, even hostility, of the natives, who made frequent raids on 

 the flocks of the newly settled farmers. To protect their pro- 

 perty from being thus plundered, eleven of the larger sheep- 

 farmers in Sutherland and Caithness formed themselves into 

 what was called " The United Association of the Noblemen and 

 Gentlemen in Sutherland and Caithness for the Protection of 

 Property." In 1815, these eleven farmers lost, they believed, 

 through these raids, 1591 sheep, 1596 in 1816-17, while in the 

 next two years the loss was "beat down" to 853 and 794 

 respectively. As indicatmg by whom the leading sheep-farms 

 in Sutherland were occupied in the early days of the industry 

 in the coimty, the list of the members of the association in 1819 

 will be read with interest. It was as follows : — Messrs Atkin- 

 son and Marshall, Lairg, &c. ; j\Iajor Clunes, Crakaig ; Mr 

 Charles Clarke, Glendow ; Mr John Clarke, Eriboll ; Mr John 

 Dunlop, Balnakiel ; Major Donald Forbes, Melness ; Major Gil- 

 christ, Ospisdale and Shiness ; Mr James Hall, Sciberscross ;, 

 Mr Thomas Houston, Eibigill and Knockfin ; Mr WilHam Innes,, 

 Sandside ; Messrs Morton and Culley, Invercasley, &c. ; Captain 

 K. Mackay, Torboll ; Mr A. jMackenzie, Stonechruby ; Mr Mac- 

 kay, Keoldale ; Messrs Munro and Eeed, Badnabay ; Mr John 

 Paterson, Skelpick ; Mr Gabriel Eeed, Kilcohnkill ; Mr Eobson, 

 Kirktown ; Mr Pat. Sellar, Morvich, &c. ; and Captain W. 

 Scobie, Ardvare. Before leaving these bygone times, it may be 

 stated that j\Ir Patrick Sellar introduced a number of pure bred 

 Merino sheep, and tried them for a few years on the Sutherland 

 hills. It is stated that he reared up his flock of INIerinos from 

 200 to 600 head, of as fine sheep of the kind, and as thriving too, 

 as ever stepped on hill ground. But he was induced to give 

 them up. He says, that as three-fourths of tlie wastes of 



