120 ON THE AGRICULTURE OF 



respects considerably improved. About tweaty years ago the 

 CDmmonty of Co^sde in Fetteresso, extending to about 2000 acres 

 was divided among the proprietors interested, the superior, the 

 proprietor of Dunnottar, getting about one-half. AY hen divided 

 most of the land' was let in small lots to tenants on improv- 

 ing leases at a rent of os: per acre the first ten years, and after- 

 wards about 10s. These tenants reclaimed the land partly by 

 ploughing and partly by trenching ; have drained it well and 

 made it into moderately fertile land. The soil consists mostly 

 of moorish loam and moss. 



In the parishes of Banchory -Devenick, Xigg, and Maryculter, 

 which form the north-eastern corner of the county, there is great 

 variety of soil and an irregular stony surface. Along the coast 

 there is a narrow fringe of good sharp loam, thin as a rule, and 

 nowhere heavy, but generally sure and fertile. Within 7 or 8 

 miles of Aberdeen almost all the farms and a good many crofts 

 are devoted to producing milk, butter, and eggs for Aberdeen ; 

 and ill this way larger rents are paid than could possibly be 

 taken out of the land by ordinary farming. In the Portlethen 

 district, for instance, a rent of 30s. or £2 per acre is paid for land 

 that in the centre of the county would not be worth more than 

 £1 or £1, 5s. per acre. These parishes extend respectively to 

 7819, 4606, and 7923 acres. In Banchorv-Devenick the increase 

 in the rental since 1855 is not far short of 10s. per acre of the 

 total extent. Xigg has increased by more than £1 per acre, but 

 of that a large portion is due to feuing and building in the 

 neighbourhood of Aberdeen. The increase in Maryculter ex- 

 ceeds 5s. per acre. In all these parishes there is a very large 

 proportion of uncultivated land, so that these figures do not 

 represent anything like the actual increase per acre of the arable 

 land. Since 1850 there has been a large extent of land reclaimed, 

 and a great amount of money expended on other improvements, 

 such as draining buildino-, and fencino-. One of the most exten- 

 sive and systematic improvers in the county was the late Mr 

 Dyce Xicol of Badentoy and Ballogie, M.P. Commencing in 

 1850 he spent a large sum every year for ten years, in reclaiming 

 draining, fencing, building, and road making ; and thereafter till 

 Lis death in 1872 he set aside one-fifth of the rental of the 

 estate for permanent improvements. Since then his son, under 

 the advice o£ his experienced factor, Mr George James Walker, 

 Hillside House, Portlethen, has been maintaining the property 

 in excellent condition, spending small sums on improvements 

 now and again. The otlier larger properties in these parishes 

 are Ardoe, on which ]\Ir Ogston has expended a large sum on 

 building, draining, and other improvements, and to which he 

 has recently added the estate of Heathcot ; Banchory, a very 

 desirable property that has been greatly improved within the 



