134 



ox THE AGRICULTURE OF 



tember. Cutting is almost wholly performed by reapers, and 

 has been so for several years. It may be interesting to note 

 that the original inventor of this now indispensable farm imple- 

 ment — the Eev. Mr Bell — was a native of Forfarshire, and that 

 his invention was first tested publicly on the farm of Powrie 

 near Dundee. It may also interest and, perhaps surprise some 

 to know that in parts of Forfar the reaper succeeded directly to 

 the old-fashioned hand hook, the intermediate scythe never 

 having been adopted. The work of the harvest is pushed on 

 with great energy, and often finished in a very short space of 

 time, sometimes, indeed, in less than a month. On one large 

 farm in Strathmore last season 200 acres were cut in ten days 

 with two reapers. The cost of harvesting is usually reckoned 

 at from 17s. to 20s. per acre. Taking all the varieties together, 

 exclusive of beans and peas, the value of the grain crop in 

 Forfar may be estimated at about £8 per acre. In the better 

 localities it is of course considerably higher, but making full 

 allowance for the falling off in the later and poorer parts, this 

 figure pretty nearly represents the average value. 



The following table shows the average iiars' prices for the 

 different varieties of grain in both counties from 1872 to 1878, 



both inclusive : — 



Forfar. 

 s. d. 

 Wheat, 41 81 



Barley, . 



Bear, 



Potato Oats, . 



Common Oats, 



Peas and Beans, 



Oatmeal, 



Rye, 



31 2 

 29 6 

 24 llf 



24 51 

 37 6^ 

 20 Of 



25 11| 



Wlieat. 

 The area under wheat at various times since 1854 was as 



follows 



Forfar. 

 1854, .... 12,795 acres. 



1870, .... 13,705 

 1875, .... 12,573 



1880, .... 9,072 



Decrccxse in Forfar since 1854, 

 Kincardine 



J) 



jj 



» 



J) 



Kincardine. 



2327 acres. 



1130 



1063 

 491 

 3723 acres. 

 1836 „ 





These figures show a very large decrease in the production of 

 wheat, and indicate clearly that cultivation of this variety of 

 grain is not nearly so profitable as formerly. It may have been 

 that ten or twenty years ago wheat was grown on land or at an 



