104 THE AGRICULTURE OF THE 



produce excellent stock. The number of horses in these counties 

 at various periods since 1857 is given in the following table : — 



The total increase between 1857 and 1881 is 100 in Moray- 

 shire, but it may be mentioned that in 1880 there were 62 

 more horses than in 1881. This decrease of 62 in one year 

 may be accounted for by the fact that there were fewer foals in 

 Morayshire last year, owing, doubtless, as much to the agricul- 

 tural depression as to the great stagnation in the horse market. 

 In recent years the demand for agricultural horses has been too 

 slow, and prices too small to compensate the breeder. The very 

 material falling-off in the number of horses in Nairnshire since 

 1857 is partially traceable to the already mentioned fact that 

 sheep farming is gradually gaining ground in the upper districts, 

 Not a few Clydesdale mares have been imported to this county 

 for breeding purposes, yet horse breeding has been carried on 

 to a very limited extent. The number of acres allotted to each 

 pair of horses varies in accordance with the soil. In the lower 

 half of both counties a pair of strong active horses work from 

 65 to 80 acres ; wdiile in the higher districts, where the soil is 

 stiffer, from 50 to 60 acres is the general allotment. It must be 

 admitted that though Moray and Nairn are on an equal footing 

 with most other Scotch counties as regards the character of their 

 horses, there is still room for improvement in this class of farm 

 stock. In respect of the number of horses, Morayshire stands- 

 eighteenth in Scotland, while Nairnshire ranks twenty-eighth. 



Pure Bred Herds of Polled and Shorthorn Cattle, 



Numerically, the pure bred herds of cattle in the counties of 

 Moray and Nairn are of secondary importance to those of many 

 other counties in Scotland, but they occupy a high position in 

 respect of merit. Both polled and shorthorn herds are here and 

 there to be met with, and happily there are prospects of both 

 breeds becoming more popular in the future. The existing 

 herds are of a very rich and meritorious character, possessing, it 

 may be said, all the characteristics — contour, quality, and sym- 

 metry — that adorn the respective breeds. The shorthorn blood 

 is undoubtedly most thickly disseminated in Morayshire ; but> 

 taking all in all, the black polled breed is perhaps the best in 

 point of quality. These are the direct descendants of the 



