THE COUNTIES OF FORFAR AND KINCARDINE. 117 



weighing 54 and the latter 43 lbs. per bushel. Hay yields 

 200 stones and potatoes about 6 tons per acre. For turnips Mr 

 Bisset gives about 15 tons of farmyard manure per acre with 

 about 3 cwt. of bones and guano. About one half the cattle 

 stock is bred on the farm, the other half being bought in in 

 summer or autumn. The feeding cattle usually go to the 

 butcher when from two and a half to three years old. Last 

 year (1879) Mr Bisset fattened a lot of Canadian bullocks that 

 paid remarkably welL Very extensive improvements have been 

 effected on this farm during the past twelve years. The pro- 

 prietor erected, at a cost of £3500, a very large and commodious 

 steading, one of the best indeed in the county. The tenant 

 performed all carriages free, but pays no interest on the pro- 

 prietor's outlay. He has, however, expended a large sum on 

 draining and liming a large portion of the farm. The farm is 

 well watered, but not so Well fenced. What fences there are 

 consist of wire erected by the tenant. Nine pairs of horses are 

 employed in working the farm, which is maintained in high 

 condition. 



Passing northwards into the parish of Glenbervie we find in 

 it great variety of soil and surface. The land is very uneven, 

 but excepting around Glenbervie House, which has a snug and 

 beautiful situation, it is not well wooded. The largest estates 

 in this parish are those of Glenbervie, owned by Mr J. Baden ach 

 Nicolson, and Drumlithie, belonging to Mr John ]\Iiller, Edin- 

 burgh. On the latter a large sum has been expended on 

 reclamation, draining, and building within the last twenty years; 

 while on the former, a great deal has been done in the way of 

 draining, building, and general estate improvements. The Glen- 

 bervie estate extends to 8481 acres, and yields a rental from 

 land of £3683, being an increase of about £500 during the last 

 twenty-five years. A survey, taken about thirty years ago, 

 shows the arable area at that time to have been 2985 acres, the 

 natural pasture 3850 acres, and the woods 116 acres. Since 

 that time, however, a pretty large extent has been added to the 

 arable area, while between 200 and 300 acres have been planted. 

 Within the last twenty-five years more than £10,000 has been 

 expended by the proprietor on general agricultural improvements 

 on the estate ; and, in addition, the tenants have, by draining 

 small pieces, reclaiming little corners, and other works, done a 

 good deal to ameliorate the condition of the property, which is 

 now far superior to what it was thirty years ago. The late Mrs 

 Nicolson, mother of the ])resent i)roi)rietor, took advantage at an 

 early period of the Drainage Loan Act, having, prior Id 1855, 

 obtained under that Act about £4500, whicli was spent in 

 formin<^ about 90 miles of subsoil drains on the Glenbervie 

 estate. That sum has now been wholly cleared olf by interest 



