THE COUNTIES OF FORFAR AND KINCARDINE. 137 



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•cultivation. From each quarter of barley there would be about 

 20 stones of straw, w^orth perhaps lis. The average price of 

 barley for the ten years up to 1878 was 30s. 9d. per quarter. 

 Supposing 36 bushels were the average yield, the total value 

 realised from an acre of barley would be about £9. Barley is 

 grown on most farms after turnips, and is sown between the 

 middle of March and end of the first week in May. From 2 to 

 4 bushels of seed is allowed to the acre. A very large propor- 

 tion of common barley is grown, but most farmers sow a portion 

 of Chevalier, Cheyne, or some similar variety. 



Oats. — The following table shows the acreage under oats at 

 different times since 1854: — 



Forfar. Kincardine. 



1854, .... 50,995 acres. 29,451 acres. 



1870, .... 50,623 „ 32,187 „ 



1875, .... 51,077 „ 31,273 „ 



1880, .... 53,161 „ 31,630 „ 



Increase in Forfar since 1854, . . . 2166 acres. 



,, Kincardine „ . . . 2179 „ 



In Forfar there has been less alteration in the area under oats 

 than any other crop during the last twenty-five years. Indeed, 

 until within the last five years, it had scarcely increased any. 

 In Kincardine there has been a pretty gradual and rather more 

 rapid increase. The greater area under oats is due more to the 

 reclamation of new land than to its substitution for any other 

 •crop. Forfar stands fourth and Kincardine fourt-eenth in regard 

 to the extent under oats, Aberdeen coming first and Banff 

 second. The yield of oats varies greatly, ranging from as low as 

 3 to as high as 9 qrs. per acre. The average would probably be 

 from 36 to 46 bushels per acre. The weight per bushel averages 

 from 40 to 43 lbs. On the better land much higher weights are 

 often obtained. From 8 bushels of oats the yield of straw would be 

 about 24 stones, worth from 12s. to 15s. The average price of 

 oats for the ten years ending 1878, was £1, 4s. 8d. per qr. Tlie 

 total value thus obtained from an acre of oats, that yields 46 

 bushels, would be about £10, 9s. lOd. Oats are grown mostly 

 after lea, but also largely after turnips, and in some cases after 

 potatoes. The quantity of seed varies from 3 to 6 bushels per 

 acre. They are sown between the middle of March and the end 

 of April. The varieties most largely grown are Early Angus, 

 English Birley, Sandy, Potato, ]>lack, Pedigree, and other newer 

 varieties. 



lii/e, Bcrnis, (ivd J\(ts. — The area under rye since 1854 has been 

 exactly tripled in Forfar, the extents being 111 and 333 acres. 

 It has increased in Kincardine from 62 to 82 acres. Beans are 



