138 ON THE AGRICULTURE OF THE 



of a rocky precipice, rising more than 100 feet sheer up from the 

 sea. It is intended to form a home farm at Achindarroch, abou 

 a mile south of Duncraig, and there some 200 acres of land have 

 been reclaimed. Operations were begun here about eight years 

 ago, and have proceeded quietly and steadily since then. Eoads 

 had first to be formed, and then draining, trenching, &c., and 

 stone clearing followed. The land in its natural state w^as dread- 

 fully rough and quite full of stones, and before it was ready for 

 the first crop it necessitated an outlay of from L.25 to L.30 

 per acre. Eape, top-dressed with from 4 to 8 cwt. of bone 

 meal, was grown as a first crop, and this having been eaten off 

 by sheep, the land was ploughed and sown with oats. Turnips 

 and potatoes followed next year, and then the land was sown 

 out with oats and grass seeds, and allowed to lie under grass for 

 a few years. The crop in every case was excellent, and there 

 is every prospect of the new land becoming very rich and pro- 

 ductive. The orioinal value of the land reclaimed from moor 

 and moss was very little over Is. or Is. 6d. per acre, and now it 

 is worth from 30s. to L.2 i)er acre. A few small patches of these 

 200 acres have been in cultivation for many years, but when it 

 is mentioned that the whole, along with a very large outrun, was 

 leased, previous to 1868, by two tenants at a gross rent of L.40, 

 it will be imagined that it was not in a very fertile condition. 

 A barn, about 30 long by 10 feet wide, afforded ample storage 

 room for the whole year's crop ! Ten dairy cows, twelve High- 

 land cows, and the carriage and riding horses, are kept at Achin- 

 darroch, while Mr Matheson's Cheviot hoggs are wintered here. 

 His stock of sheep numbers about 1700 Cheviot ewes. A great 

 many crofters are situated along the coast in this neighbourhood, 

 and, by encouragement from Mr Matheson, almost all of them 

 have considerably improved their holdings. 



At Balmacara 50 acres have been reclaimed, within the past 

 five years, from hill, moor, and moss. The land here has a 

 southern exposure, looking right into the Isle of Skye, and the 

 soil is sharp and fertile. The subject here was not nearly so 

 rough as at Achindarroch, and the cost of reclamation was consi- 

 derably less. The land was first drained, then ploughed with a 

 heavy plough draw^n by three horses, and cleared of stones and 

 prepared for cropping in the usual way. Oats generally yield 

 from 3 1 to 5 quarters per acre, and weigh about 42 lbs., while 

 turnips and potatoes grow well. Barley has been tried, but for 

 this variety of grain there is too much rain and too little sun- 

 shine all along the west coast. A great many new houses have 

 been built on the west coast properties within the past twenty- 

 one years ; and for some years back the whole rental of these 

 estates, and sometimes a good deal more, has been expended upon 

 them in improvements of various kinds. 



At Inverinate, on the shores of Loch Duich, Mr Matheson 



