154 ON THE AGRICULTURE OF THE 



rent of L.162. The soil generally is thin, but fairly productive. 

 The fields are nearly square, and well fenced with dry stone 

 dykes. The five-shift rotation is pursued, oats being the pre- 

 dominating variety of grain. From 10 to 12 acres are usually 

 put under barley, and the yield averages close on 4 quarters per 

 acre. Oats range from 4 to 5 quarters, and weigh about 43 lbs. 

 per bushel. The exposure is northern, and harvest is seldom 

 commenced before the first week of September, The land was 

 limed with about 20 bolls per acre when reclaimed, and the 

 effect of the lime is still appreciable on the grass, though the 

 most of the farm would be better of another dose of this valuable 

 fertiliser. Only a few cattle are fed, and consequently Mr An- 

 derson seldom manages to spread his farm-yard manure over 

 more than about half of the turnip land, the other half being 

 laid down with from 2 to 3 cwt. of bones and superphosphate. 

 The turnips grown by artificial manure are eaten off by sheep^ 

 and thus the land is partly compensated for the want of the 

 more substantial manure from the court-yard. Ten cross cows 

 are kept, and the progeny of these are usually fed off as two- 

 year olds. A small outrun is attached to the farm, and on it 

 about 200 blackfaced sheep are grazed. 



Wester Boss. 



This division contains by far the greatest number of acres, but 

 consisting, as it does, almost entirely of high hills and sheep graz- 

 ings, it is of little importance in a purely agricultural point of 

 view. The arable area in the whole division is very small, and 

 indeed there is no great encouragement, either to landlords or 

 tenants, to add much to it. For sheep farming, however, Wester 

 Koss is quite as favourably known as Easter Ross is for arable 

 farming ; and it is the conbination of these two branches of 

 rural industry in such perfection that places the counties of Eoss 

 and Cromarty so well into the front among the other counties in 

 Scotland. 



Mr Matheson's extensive improvements on the west coast 

 have already been noticed, and now we shall refer briefly to the 

 operations of another enterprising proprietor of hill lands in 

 Ross-shire, Mr John Fowler of Braemore. The estate of Brae- 

 more was purchased by Mr Fowler, who is well known in engi- 

 neering circles in London, in 1865, and the adjoining property of 

 Inverbroom in 1867. The total acreage of both is about 40,353, 

 and the annual valuation about L.2500. They lie in the parish 

 of Lochbroom, and are very romantic and mountainous. Imme- 

 diately on obtaining possession, Mr Fowler began improvements 

 in real earnest, planting having been commenced in the autumn of 

 1865. By the end of the season of 1867 about 1000 acres had 

 been planted and fenced; and since then other 200 acres have 



