124 ON THE AGKICULTUEE OF THE 



arranged that a sirailar breadth is to be planted during the coming 

 two years. The rental in 1868 was L.2£22, now it is L.2834. 

 The greater part of the parish of Dingwall is taken up by the 

 valuable estate of Tulloch, belonging to Mr Duncan Davidson. 

 The extent is about 2000 acres arable, and 30,000 acres pas- 

 toral. During the present proprietor's possession, a great deal 

 has been added to the arable area, while the system of hus- 

 bandry pursued generally on the estate has been improved 

 immensely. About sixty years ago, the valley of Strathpeffer, 

 formerly a wet swampy marsh, was thoroughly drained and 

 reclaimed, and now it is one of the richest agricultural spots in 

 the county. It has almost all been redrained, and is now quite 

 dry. A considerable portion of the farm of Pitglassie, close to 

 Dingwall, was reclaimed from the sea. The waters of the 

 firth were dyked off by large embankments, and the soil then 

 thoroughly drained. The buildings have been very much im- 

 proved within the past twenty-five or thirty years. Formerly 

 they were almost all thatched, and anything but commodious ; 

 now they are all slated, and have ample accommodation. Very 

 recently a good many additions have been made to farm stead- 

 ings built some ten or fifteen years ago, chiefly in the way of 

 covered courts. The implements in general use on the estate 

 are of the most modern kind, and every improvement is quickly 

 taken advantage of. Within the past ten or fifteen years a large 

 addition has been made to the cottage accommodation, and now 

 the larger farms are well supplied. The majority of servants are 

 married, and live in these cottages ; and there are now very few 

 bothies on the estate. A great deal has lately been done in the 

 way of fencing, and the arable farms are now nearly all enclosed. 

 The policies around Tulloch Castle have been much improved 

 by Mr Davidson, by planting. The scenery in the neighbour- 

 hood is picturesque, and close to the castle there is a number 

 of fine old trees. The soil on the higher lying land on 

 the estate is light gravelly loam, while a little lower down it is 

 dark loam, slightly heavier ; and on the low land it is chiefly a 

 stiff adhesive clay. The rotation pursued on the best land is the 

 four-course shift — one year's grass, then oats or wheat, then 

 turnips or potatoes, and then w^heat or barley sown out with 

 grass seeds. On the very heaviest of the land a few acres of 

 beans are introduced into the turnip break, and invariably they 

 turn out very fairly. The ordinary five-course shift is followed 

 on the lighter land. The yield of wheat averages about 3 J quar- 

 ters per acre, and w^eighs about 62 lbs. ; .barley yields 4 quarters, 

 and weighs 55 lbs. ; oats yield 4 J to 5 J quarters, and weigh 42 

 to 43 lbs. Potato oats often reach 45 lbs. per bushel. The land 

 is specially adapted for turnips, and very heavy crops are usually 

 grown. The turnips are exceptionally rich in feeding properties. 



