12 ON THE AGRICULTURE OF THE 



sive lecls of these rocks which occur in the geological strata. The 

 hill called Arthur's Seat, near Edinburph, is thought to have 

 been the site of an old volcano, and the supposition is quite 

 borne out by the immediate surroundings. This is now, we be- 

 lieve, the theory generally accepted by experienced geologists. 

 Trom Edinburgh westvjard, the carboniferous strata prevail ex- 

 tensively, forming the beautifully undulating country as far as 

 Linlithgow on the western confines of West Lothian. Near this 

 ancient town there occurs a vast series of sandstone and shales 

 in frequent alternations. West Lothian is also rich in igneous 

 rocks, which geologists have divided into three kinds, viz., volcanic 

 ash or tufa, interspersed among the sandstone or shales ; beds 

 of greenstone ; and trap dykes. The latest geological formation 

 is known as drift, consisting of clay, sand, and gravel mixed with 

 boulders and scattered over the surface. The drift theory is 

 borne out by the grooves or markings which are found on the 

 surface of the underlying rocks. These run from north-west to 

 south-east, and were doubtless caused by the grating of boulders 

 and sand frozen in icebergs, which were drifted from the north- 

 west during the glacial periods. The fertile soils of the Lothians 

 may, therefore, have been brought, in part at least, from the 

 cold and barren shores of the Arctic Ocean, where the Green- 

 lander now yokes his faithful dog to the sledge, or the Esquimaux 

 passes the dreary winter in his rudely-built snow-hut. It will 

 thus be seen that the geological map requires to be used with 

 great care, for the character of a farm cannot be inferred from 

 the rocks upon which it lies. Notwithstanding this, it may be 

 said generally that the fertile soils of Mid and West Lothian 

 rest upon a rich geological basis, containing abundant supplies of 

 coal, limestone, and building-stone. The surface soil along the 

 coast varies much : sometimes in a limited area all classes, from 

 bad to best, may be fouud. Some of the hills are moorish and 

 mossy, others are covered with a thin clay, which, when well 

 managed, produces crops abundantly. In the valleys principally, 

 the most fertile subjects are to be found, while in the various river 

 basins are some deep patches of loam. The north and mid sections 

 of Edinburgh bear the palm in the quality of the soil, and have 

 for ages reared a race of farmers and labourers which will bear 

 favourable comparison with those of most districts in Great 

 Britain. In the south and south-east the land is to a large 

 extent pastoral, but for a long period, and especially in the past 

 twenty-five vears, the agriculturist has been encroaching on the 

 " woolly peoples' wide domain." As already stated, about one- 

 third of the entire county is now deemed as inaccessible to the 

 plough; and, indeed, persevering capitalists and enterprising 

 farmers may possibly yet reduce the proportion of unreclaimed 

 or mountain land considerably, by driving this implement over 



