68 ON THE AGRICULTURE OF THE 



tlie lands of these small owners amounts to L.1966, 7s. The 14 

 owners of one acre and upwards hold among them 718,184 acres, 

 the total annual value of which is L.10,268, Is. The Valua- 

 tion Eoll for 1876-77 shows that the gross annual value of the 

 county of Eoss, exclusive of railways and royal burghs, is 

 L.252,908, 10s. 9d. ; that the annual value of burghs is, L.14,886, 

 Os. 6d. (Dingwall, L.6,922, 15s. 3d. ; Tain, L.4744, 5s. ; and 

 Fortrose, L.3219, Os. 3d.) ; and that the annual value of railways 

 is L.21,268 ; grand total, L.289,060. lis. 3d. The valuation of the 

 county of Cromarty, exclusive of the burgh, for the year ending 

 1876-77 is, L.9909, 12s. 6d. ; burgh of Cromarty, about L.1900; 

 total, L.11,809, 12s. 6d. The valuation and area of Cromarty, 

 quoted above, do not include the detached portions of the county 

 (about 20 in number), which are scattered throughout Eoss-shire. 

 These portions are estimated to extend to about 182,000 acres, 

 of which the Duchess of Sutherland owns 149,800 acres, and for 

 valuation and all practical purposes they are considered as part of 

 the county of Eoss. 



According to the Board of Trade Eeturns for the present year 

 (1876), the number of acres under all kinds of crops, bare fallow, 

 and grass, was 124,826 acres ; wheat, 6019 ; barley or here, 

 10,461; oats, 29,509; rye, 1192; beans, 86; peas, 146; total, 

 under cereals, 47,413. The acreage under green crops w^as — tur- 

 nips, 17,126 ; potatoes, 9256 ; mangold, carrots, cabbage, &c., 63 ; 

 tares, &c., 814 ; total, 27,259. Grasses under rotation extend to 

 29,987, and permanent pasture (exclusive of heath and mountain 

 land), to 19,395 ; and bare fallow, or uncropped land, to 772 

 acres. Of the 1,891,549 acres in both counties, exclusive of the 

 area under "all kinds of crops,bare fallow, and grass," about 600,000 

 are under red deer, and 1,291.549 under sheep, w^ood, or water, &c. 

 Eoss-shire is divided into 32 parishes, several of which are small, 

 several very large. The two counties are united into one sheriff- 

 dom, the sheriff principal having three substitutes. One substi- 

 tute sits at Dingwall and Fortrose, one at Tain, and another at 

 Stornoway, in Lewis. They are also politically united, and the 

 present representative is Mr Alexander Matheson of Ardross. 

 For civil purposes they are divided into five districts, viz,, The 

 Black Isle, Easter Eoss, Mid-Eoss, Wester Eoss, and Lewis. The 

 burghs of Dingwall, Tain, and Cromarty are joined with Dornoch, 

 Wick, and Kirkwall in Farliamentary representation, the present 

 representative being Mr John Pender. Fortrose is united with the 

 Inverness District of Burghs, which are represented by Mr Fraser 

 Mackintosh. 



There are four royal and parliamentary burghs in the two 

 counties — Dingwall, Tain, Cromarty, and Fortrose ; two seaport 

 towns — Invergorden and Stornoway; and close on a score of villages, 

 v-the more important of which are Alness, Portmahomack, and L^l- 



