116 ON THE AGEICULTURE OF 



clayey loam, a considerable extent good medium loam, and a 

 pretty large area light loam. The subsoil is a mixture of clay 

 and gravel in some parts, and hard gravel in others. Lord 

 Arbuthnott owns some excellent land in this parish ; his larger 

 farms being Cairnton, leased by Mr Falconer, and East and 

 West Cairnbeg, held respectively by Mr Brown and Mr John- 

 ston. Cairnton extends to 525 acres, all arable ; and was 

 obtained bv Mr Falconer at Martinmas 1878. The soil on the 

 lower fields is good friable black loam, a little stiff in some 

 parts, while towards the hill it becomes light. The land is not 

 well suited for wheat, and therefore it is grown only to a limited 

 extent. The better land is worked on a seven-shift rotation, — 

 two years grass, oats, potatoes, wheat, turnips, and barley with 

 grass seeds. A portion of a new steading, consisting of stables, 

 cart sheds, and cattle courts, w^holly covered, has just been 

 erected by the proprietor, the tenant performing the carriages ; 

 while in draining, about £700 have been spent by the proprietor 

 since Mr Falconer entered. On that sum the tenant pays 

 interest at the rate of 4 per cent. Barley yields about 5 qrs. per 

 acre, and weighs 54 lbs. per bushel; wheat, 3 J to 4 qrs., weighing 

 from 63 to 64 lbs. ; and oats, from 5 to 6 qrs., weighing from 40 

 to 43 lbs. In an ordinary year harvest usually commences 

 between the middle or the end of August, in the earlier parts 

 of the parish. Mr Falconer feeds a large number of cattle, 

 bought in mostly when eighteen months or two and a half 

 years old, and fed off during winter. Latterly, he has been 

 giving the Canadian cattle a trial. He buys them at Glasgow 

 in the autumn, paying from £13 to £18 a head for them. They 

 are mostly strong lean cattle, three or four years old, and larger 

 than could be purchased from Ireland at the same money. 

 They usually w^eigh from 6 to 8 cwt. when " ripe," and as yet 

 they have paid w^elL Mr Falconer also holds the farm of Candy 

 on the Drumlithie estate. On that farm about 70 or 80 acres of 

 mossy land were reclaimed about seventeen years ago. At that 

 time the rent was only about £200; now, it is exactly double. In 

 Fordoun rent runs from £1 to £2, while towards Laurencekirk 

 some of the best land is rented at close on £3 per acre. Among 

 the other large farms in Fordoun may be mentioned that of 

 Pitarrow, on Mr Crombie's estate of Pitarrow, and occupied and 

 very carefully managed by Mr Hugh Bisset. This farm extends 

 to 400 acres, and is rented at £602. The soil is mostly a heavy 

 loam, mixed wdth cla}", part, of it being in some seasons rather 

 difficult to '•' make " properly. The five-shift rotation is stipu- 

 lated in the lease, and it is the system most generally followed 

 in the district. There are many exceptions to it, however, and 

 proprietors do not hesitate to give some freedom to a good 

 farmer. Barley and oats yield about 5 qrs. per acre, the former 



