COUNTIES OF EOSSAND CKOMARTY. 149 



cleaned and well cultivated, it is now in excellent condition, and 

 produces very fine crops of all kinds. Almost the whole of the 

 land is old, and lies on sandy subsoil, the soil generally being 

 heavy alluvial loam, ranging from 3 to 4 feet in depth. There 

 are a few patches of stiff clay throughout the farm, which is 

 worked on a five-course rotation. The heaviest of the alluvial 

 land is allowed to lie one year only under grass, a second crop 

 of oats being taken instead of a second year's grass. Wheat 

 follows one of the oat crops, and the land is dunged on the 

 stubble with from 20 to 25 loads of farm-yard manure per acre. 

 Wheat usually yields about 4 quarters and 6 bushels per acre, 

 and seldom exceeds 60 lbs. in weight — which is accounted for 

 partly by insufficient drying in the stook, caused by the numer- 

 ous clumps of trees throughout the farm. Mr Douglas used to 

 top-dress his wheat with about 1 cwt. of nitrate of soda and 

 1 cwt. of bone dust per acre, but believing that this tended to 

 lessen the weight of the grain, he has abandoned the practice. 

 He grew no barley for some years previous to 1874, but last- 

 year a splendid crop of about 7 quarters per acre, weighing 

 oo lbs. per bushel, was raised on one field; while this year he 

 reaped an equally rich harvest of barley from a small field after 

 turnips which had been eaten off by sheep. Oats weigh from 

 43 to 44 lbs. per bushel, and yield very w^ell. The average 

 yield of wheat on Calrossie when Mr Douglas became its tenant 

 was only about 2 J quarters per acre, and that of other varieties 

 of grain was correspondingly low. Mr Douglas pays special 

 attention to the cultivation of the land intended for turnips. 

 Early in autumn he ploughs it, in spring he grubs it and rolls it, 

 and grubs it and rolls it again, if necessary, and harrows it 

 thoroughly with rank iron harrows. Thorough cultivation is 

 found to be a great advantage, not only to the turnips, but also 

 to the grain crop which follows, especially when that crop is 

 barley. From 7 to 8 cwt. of artificial manure — bone manure 

 chiefly — and about 25 loads of farm -yard manure are allowed to 

 each acre, and very fine crops both of swedes and yellows are 

 grown.. A good deal of the turnips is eaten off by sheep, the 

 *' stripping " system {i.e., pulling the one drill and leaving the 

 other) being adoj)ted occasionally. Mr Douglas buys in from 

 400 to 500 three-part bred lambs in August, and gives them 

 foggage and grass till the middle of October, when they are put 

 on white and yellow turnips till the New- Year. Thsy are then 

 fed on cut swedes, hay, and a I lb. of linseed-cake per day, which 

 is by and by increased to 1 lb., and at the 1st of April this is 

 supplemented by an equal weight of grain. As soon as they 

 are clipped — about the middle of i\Iay — they are sent to the 

 market, and usually average about 70 lbs. in weight. A large 

 uumber of cattle is also fed at Calrossie, but of this more anon. 



