162 ON THE AGKICULTURE OF 



persecl receiitly. The late Mr Walker, Portlethen, who 'w^as an 

 excellent judge of all kinds of stock, always kept a very fine lot 

 of horses on his farms, the majority of them being either jet 

 black or grey in colour. 



SJieep Farming. 



Sheep farming is carried on extensively in both counties. The 

 hills are, on the whole, fairly well adapted for it. The winter is 

 somewhat severe on the higher reaches, and there is rather too 

 much black ground for the extent of green land. With very 

 few exceptions the sheep-runs are safe and sound. The Grampian 

 range in Forfarshire is intersected by several extensive and 

 beautiful glens, drained by numerous waters and streamlets, 

 alongside which, and on all the lower stretches, there is a good 

 deal of excellent green pasture. Half way up the heights there 

 is, as a rule, hardly any vegetation excepting heather ; while a 

 little higher in many cases w^e find little or nothing covering the 

 rocky surface. The scenery displayed in some of these glens is 

 very grand, and in the summer they are popular resorts for 

 tourists and other pleasure seekers. The extreme west of the 

 hilly division of the county is bound in by Glenisla, the parish 

 of which extends -to 41,375 acres. In this large glen there are 

 some good arable farms, several very good graziugs, and' a large 

 extent of excellent shooting ground. The smaller glen of Lin- 

 trathen lies on the south-east, wdiile on the north-east of it, arain. 

 Glen Prosen and Glen Clova stretch away back past the top of 

 Lintrathen, and join Glenisla on the watershed near the bound- 

 ary of Perthshire. Of these glens, Glen Clova is rather the best. 

 Its flora is remarkably rich, containing as it does many rare 

 plants. The haughs by the w^atersides are cultivated and held 

 mostly in small farms, on w^hich a good many cattle are bred and 

 sold as yearlings, or when eighteen months old, to farmers in 

 the lower parts of the county. Most of these small tenants also 

 keep a number of blackfaced sheep, and rear greyfaced lambs, 

 which they sell to the larger sheep farmers. There is a large 

 extent of green land in Clova, the hillsides in some parts being 

 partially green up to a high elevation, while almost to the tops 

 the heather is mixed wdth " month " or " moss " grasses. In 

 Glen Prosen, the lower portion in particular, there is also a good 

 deal of green laud. Glen Moy and Glen Ogle are offshoots 

 from Glen Clova, and they too contain some good land, and also 

 carry some very fine flocks. The greater part of the north- 

 western portion of the hilly range is occupied by Glenesk and 

 Lethnot, the former being the largest glen in the county. Gene- 

 rally speaking, these glens also contain less green laud than 

 Clova, the greatei' portion being covered with heather, mixed 



