COUNTIES OF EOSS AND CKO^LVETY. 87 



masons. Women took part in all the farm work, except plough- 

 ing, thrashing, and carrying bags. ISTeither clover nor turnips 

 were grown, but there would be about sixteen bolls of potatoes. 

 The work in summer, after sowins^ the barlev, about the 20th 

 of May, was first to cut peats, and then to make 'middens' for 

 next year's barley. These ' middens ' were made of soil cut from 

 the outlyino- land, mixed with the manure of horses and cattle. 

 Horses or cattle got very little corn ; but when any of the cattle 

 were weak about end of spring or beginning of summer, they got 

 -sheaves of oats in the morning. At that time there were very 

 few large farms. On the farm of Millcraig [Mr Wallace himself 

 occupied Millcraig and ISTonekiln for many years up till 1851] 

 about 1760 there were eight tenants and ten ploughs, ^vdth 

 sixty animals ; now three ploughs are sufficient. On the farm 

 of Xonekiln I saw" seven tenants and nine ploughs ; three 

 ploughs are now sufficient. On Eosebank I saw three tenants 

 and four ploughs ; two ploughs are now sufficient. In my 

 young days the large farm of j^ewmore was occupied by Mr 

 Alexander Eoss or MTindlay and his two sons, the rent being 

 L.80 and 80 bolls of grain. He and his sons were altogether 

 of the old school. He had eight horses carrying home his peats, 

 the carts used beini^ the ' vwu^ carts ' with the ' tum'lers.' There 

 was not so much as a pin of iron about the harness of the eight 

 horses. Eor shoulder-chains and * hems, ' birch wands were used 

 instead of iron. I remember well to have seen a pair of horses 

 ■passing ISTonekiln with furniture from Strathcarron to Inverness, 

 and to have observed that there was not a single link or pin of 

 iron about the horses or the cart. The traces (the draught chains) 

 were made of deerskin, and were very tough and strong. The 

 <jollars used on horses at that time were made of ropes of straw 

 twined threefold. These would last about a year ; but when 

 made of loch rushes, four feet in length, they would last two 

 years. Tlie farmers made the harness themselves. In short, 

 they made everything. There was no need for saddlers, but 

 , weavers were numerous, and they got plenty of work to do. 

 There was only one merchant in the parish of Rosskeen, and it 

 was from liim my father bought his first spade. I wondered 

 mucli at it, as it was tlie first spade I had ever seen." 



Servants Wages. 



** Married men for the twelve montlis "ot L.4, six bulls of 

 meal, two days to cut peats, straw for a stirk, land for potatoes 

 fur their own manure, land lor sowing two pints of linseed, and a 

 small garden. Women in the half-year got ten shillings, a pair 

 of shoes, and land for linseed. Shearers got eighteen pecks of 

 oatmeal by measure." 



