BUTE AND ARRAX. 31 



^and the light-legged " gip " horse is in common use where car- 

 hirincris enc^aged in. The famed breed of trottin<][-horses known 

 ^:as the " Douglas " breed has been represented in Arran at different 

 times ; and, in fact, the old " Douglas horse " himself was in the 

 island for several years, and died at Balnacoole about thirty 

 years ago. Some of the present day Arran horses show breeding 

 after these sires, but, strange to say, almost all their produce were 

 effected with " bog spavin," and other diseases of the legs. On 

 the larger farms a greatly improved breed of horses is now kept, 

 but these demand a section to themselves. 



The breed of sheep on the smaller farms has also been improved 

 since 1840 ; and indeed it is questionable whether the tenantry 

 in the Lochranza district have not increased the size of their 

 sheep too much for the bare pasture of that part of the island, 

 because small, hardy sheep will thrive best on bleak hills. 



Dr M'Naughton blamed the smaller farmers for evading the 

 rotation of crops, and for neglecting jiming and draining. Their 

 culpability in this direction still continues. On some of the 

 farms it would be difficult to say what rotation of crops is 

 followed. One field contains patches of pasture, oats, potatoes, 

 turnips, and ryegrass, and the same piece of land is broken 

 almost every year. Wherever there is a better piece than another 

 it \Vill be turned over with the plough ; but, in truth, in Whiting 

 Bay and Lochranza the great proportion of the soil will not give 

 a return in its present state for any labour expended on it. At 

 these places there is such a good demand for milk and butter 

 during summer, that the plough is merely put into the land to 

 keep up the semblance of cultivation, and to raise a few potatoes 

 and fodder, and, as it causes much less labour and is more profit- 

 able than cultivating, cows are kept, and the fields allowed to lie 

 in pasture. 



However willing the smaller tenants might be to improve their 

 farms, little or no inducement is offered for carrying on any 

 effectual operations in the direction of draining and liming, seeing 

 that the holdings are of such limited extent, and they themselves 

 are merely tenants at will. In cases where there are fairly sub- 

 stantial houses attached to the holdings, the rents paid by these 

 tenants average as high as £1 jjer acre ; but in other cases, where 

 tlie houses are none of the best and there is a stretch of moor- 

 land included in the holding, the rents will be as low as 5s. per 

 acre, and in some cases less. 



Previous to 1856 tlie hill around Whiting Bay was set apart 

 as a common fur tlie use of the tenantry, and eacli was allowed 

 to put a certain number of sheep on it. Sometimes, however 

 when the sheep were counted, it was found that those farmers 

 who had capital had more stock on it than they were entitled to 

 -have, whilst the others had their quantity, or less. It was thus 



