310 THE CEREAL AND OTHER CROPS OF SCOTLAND FOR 1887, 



sorts averaged about 8 to 10 tons, later kinds slightly more ; no disease. The 

 turnip crop brairded well with the first sowing generally,? and very little 

 second sowing was required ; weight about 20 tons, though in some cases 

 25 to 30 tons were grown. There was little damage by insects. The crops 

 were generally free of weeds, and no damage done. Pasture grass was bare 

 in the first part of the season, in consequence of the dry weather, but 

 ultimately improved considerably. Stock did uncommonly well on pastures, 

 considering the scarcity of grass. Cattle and sheep were free from disease 

 on. the whole, and no case of pi euro occurred in the district. The wool clip 

 was about an average, and quality fairly good, with a slight improvement 

 in price. 



Perthshire (Highland District). — No wheat. Barley, 24 bushels ; j,'rain 

 good ; straw short ; from 52 to 55 lbs. ; seed, 4 bushels. Oats (lea), 28 to 30 

 bushels ; straw short, but good ; from 40 to 42 lbs. ; red land much the same ; 

 straw better ; grain sown, 5 bushels. Harvest — a month earlier than usual. 

 Clover hay burnt up, and deficient — 15 cwt. ; both ryegrass and clover were 

 burnt up ; meadow hay was also burnt up — 16 cwt. ; the grass on the 

 "hill" was excellent. Potatoes good crop,' and free from disease ; 6 tons ; 

 no new varieties sown. Average weight for turnips, 23 to 25 tons ; crop 

 good ; thin land burnt up, but deep land very good ; some second sowing 

 where burnt up. No damage by insects ; land very easily kept clean. 

 Pasture at first good was later altogether burnt up, and cattle had to be 

 moved to the " hill." The stock were healthy, and considering the season 

 did wonderfully well. Cattle and sheei^ i'ree from disease. Wool clip was 

 tip to the average, quality good. 



Perthshire (Dunkeld and Stormont District). — Very little wheat sown, 

 what is sown is chieily red Awny ; crop very good ; 28 bushels ; dry season in 

 favour of wheat ; average 62 bushels ; straw average ; seed from 3 to 4 

 bushels, according to soil. Barley, a deficient crop in general, some e.xcep- 

 tions on deep loam ; 25 bushels ; weight 54 lbs. ; straw short, owing to the very 

 dry season ; seed, 4 bushels. Oats a miserable crop, the most deficient I have 

 ever seen, owing to the extreme drought ; very little rain during the summer ; 

 22 bushels ; weight 40 lbs. ; straw very short, but good ; seed, 5 bushels. The 

 harvest l)egan four weeks before the usual time, namely, the second week in 

 August. The hay crop was deficient for want of rain, both ryegrass and 

 clover ; weight, 1 ton 5 cwt, very well secured. Very little meadow 

 hay, but good crop, and well secured. Potatoes turned out an excellent 

 crop ; average 6 tons ; no disease ; some of them too large and coarse ; no 

 new varieties— Regents, Magnums, and Champions. Turnip crop good ; 

 weight 16 tons ; the crop did not braird well on stift' land, for want of mois- 

 ture, and were therefore a failure ; resowing was of no use, as no rain fell. 

 Turnips were injured to a small extent by green-fly, but more so in other 

 districts. Barley was considerably damaged by Hessian-tly for the first time 

 that I have seen. Corn was also covered at harvest by a small brown fly 

 clustered on the grain, and considered to reduce the weight. Weeds were 

 not injurious to any extent ; the damage was less than usual. The pastures 

 were very short, and much of them burnt up ; the growth was not an average 

 quality, where there was growth it was good. The stock throve remarkably 

 well, considering the shortness of grass ; but many were taken off the pastures 

 very lean for want of grass, and some had to be fed on the grass for want ; 

 and were free from disease, except one or two cases of pleuro and some cases 

 of sheep scab. The quality of the clip of wool was good, about an average. 



Forfarshire. — Wheat, 36 bushels ; seed sown about 3|- bushels ; straw 

 about an average. Barley, about 5 quarters ; straw, very deficient in 

 c[uantity but good in quality along by the railway side, but on getting towards 



