160 ON THE AGRICULTURE OF THE 



farm at Martinmas 1869, but after trying several experiments 

 with his stock, and getting a good deal of money laid out on the 

 farm, he handed over his lease at Whitsunday last to Mr Helm, tenant 

 of the Holm farm, in the parish of Stornoway. Mr Helm now 

 holds, in addition to Galson, the Barvas Glebe grazings, on the 

 north-west side of Lewis ; the farm of Holm and the Sandwich 

 Hill parks, &c., on the south-east side of the island, and a large 

 sheep farm in Morven, in Argyllshire. He keeps a mixed stock 

 of Cheviot, Blackfaced, and cross ewes on Galson ; and this 

 season he had four different breeds of lambs for sale off the one 

 farm — rather too many kinds for a farm that is barely able to 

 maintain a stock of 2000 sheep. Mr Helm took over this mixed 

 stock from Mr Smith, and it is more than likely he will take 

 an early opportunity of reducing the number of breeds. The 

 next largest sheep farmer in the Lewis is Mr Samuel Newell, 

 already referred to. He leases Aignish and Tolsta for L.220, 

 and has perhaps the best managed ewe stock in the Lewis. 

 Between twenty and thirty years ago the sheep stock on these 

 farms were little better than those reared by the crofters ; but 

 since that time they have been carefully bred and fed, and are 

 now as fine a flock of Cheviot sheep as any in the island. In 

 1875 Mr iSTewell got the old arable farm of Aignish to be managed 

 as a grass farm (Yorkshhe graziers know how to manage farms 

 of this kind). . Both proprietor and tenant have done much to 

 improve the farm within the last eighteen months ; and by this 

 extension of territory, Mr ISTewell and his nephew, Mr Thomas 

 Newell (who is acting manager in Lewis), have been able to 

 improve their sheep stock still further, and also extend their 

 cattle-dealing operations in the island. On the farm.s of Gress, 

 Coll, and Tong, Cheviot sheep (mostly ewes) are kept along with 

 cattle. Upon other six sheep and cattle farms in Uig, and four 

 in Lochs, the sheep stocks are Cheviot, Blackfaced, and crosses, 

 partly ewes and partly wethers, the ewes being sold off when 

 five or six years old, and the wethers when three years old. On 

 the regularly managed sheep farms, where the sheep stock is 

 mostly or wholly ewes, the annual sales are the wether lambs, 

 the shott ewe lambs, and the cast ewes. Generally speaking, 

 the Lewis farmers pay more attention to their shee23 than their 

 cattle, and do not overstock their land with the former as with the 

 latter. Tn all, the Lewis farmers sell annually from 3000 to 

 3400 old sheep, and 1600 lambs; the greater portion of the stock 

 being sent out of the I<ewis every year. 



The number of horses of all kinds in the Lewis in 1875 was 

 900, the majority being small ponies kept by the crofters. On 

 the smaller farms middle-sized ponies are kept for light carting 

 and for cultivating their land. On the larger farms the horses 

 are rather under-sized, but lively and durable workers. Sir 



