174: ON THE AGRICULTUEE OF THE 



and six or seven men at from L.4 to L.5 ; and instead of lasting 

 five or six weeks, as formerly, harvesting operations seldom 

 extend over more than a month, while on several of the farms 

 in the earlier districts three weeks often suffice. In the later 

 parts, of course, harvest generally lasts longer than in the better 

 favoured parts, and in a wet unsteady season, such as 1876, as 

 many as seven weeks occasionally elapse between the cutting of 

 the first sheaves on some farms and the ingathering of the last 

 fragments of the crop. On all the larger farms, and on many of 

 the smaller holdings, reapers are used, while in some cases three 

 or four crofters club together, and purchase a reaper for the 

 cutting of their united crops. Eecently a few self-delivery 

 machines have been tried, but the manual deliveries are- greatly 

 in the majority. The first reaper was brought to Eoss-shire some 

 fourteen or fifteen years ago, and during the past three or four 

 years the importations might be counted by scores. Sowing 

 machines, both drill and broadcast, are employed on the large 

 majority of farms, and when carefully used there can be no 

 doubt that these implements are of great benefit to the farmer. 

 More attention is now being bestowed on the preparing of grain 

 land than some twenty or thirty years ago, and farmers are 

 becoming more and more alive to the influence thorough 

 harrowing has in the success of a grain crop, especially if that 

 cro^D happens to be barley. During the past few years the top- 

 dressing of all kinds of grain crops has come greatly into vogue, 

 especially in Easter Eoss. A few farmers in the Easter Eoss 

 district top-dress every acre of grain crop on their holdings, the 

 dose applied generally ranging from 2 to 3 cwts. of bone manure, 

 and nitrate of soda in about equal proportions. Where the 

 climate is good, and the land heavy and rich in silica, top-dressing 

 invariably pays well ; but where the climate is bad, and the land 

 light and scarce of silica, it does very little good. When a very 

 heavy crop of straw is hurriedly forced out of light soft land by 

 such a stimulant as nitrate of soda it is almost certain to lodge. 

 The larger farmers build their grain into stacks varying from 10 

 to 20 quarters, and smaller tenants into stacks ranging from 5 to 

 10 quarters. In a wet season in some of the later districts, 

 especially on the west coast, the grain is occasionally built into 

 what are called " Caithness screws," or small loosely built stacks 

 on the fields until more thoroughly dried, and then stacked in 

 the ordinary w^ay. Another prevention from the weather in 

 some of these later parts is the ancient " hooding " system — the 

 placing of two sheaves over the top of the stock in riggin-stone 

 fashion, the heads of the sheaves hanging down over both sides 

 of the stock, and the stubble ends standing right up. This 

 system is a very antiquated one. It was at one time general all 

 over the north of Scotland, but while it keeps out the rain it also 



