COUNTIES OF ELGIN AND NAIRN. 71 



interest ; and the dwelling house and farm steading have been 

 erected during the past twenty-five years on similar conditions. 

 Cattle are chiefly cross bred, and are fed off with turnips, cake, 

 and corn, and weigh from 8 to 9 cwt. when fat. Horses have 

 improved vastly since 1857, but there is still need for improve- 

 ment. From 70 to 80 acres are allotted to a pair. Turnips 

 usually yield at the rate of from 12 to 18 tons per acre, oats 

 from 3 to 6 quarters per acre, and barley from 4 to 5 c[uarters. 

 The latter is the most remunerative. 



One of the best managed farms in the district is that of 

 Stoneytown, which is 150 acres in extent, and is held by Mr 

 M' William. The soil consists of loam, clay, and gravel, which 

 are lying on rock and clay subsoil. The six-course shift is pur- 

 sued. The average yield of oats and barley on Stoneytown is 

 about 5 quarters per acre— the former weighing 42 lbs. and the 

 latter 54. For potatoes and turnips Mr M'William ploughs 

 deep in the fall, and then harrows and ploughs again in spring. 

 It is manured in the drill with about 20 loads of dun^ and from 

 6 to 7 cwt. of dissolved bones and bone dust per acre. Since 

 Mr M'William became tenant in 1868 he has drained a good 

 deal, built some dykes, reclaimed by trenching about 7 acres of 

 land, and performed the cartage of a new steading and dwelling 

 house erected by the proprietor, for which he pays 5 per cent, 

 interest. We shall advert to Mr M'William's shorthorn herd 

 under the appropriate heading. He also rears and feeds cross 

 bred cattle. Turnips and straw constitute the staple diet, with 

 a little cake and oats to finish off. The cattle are disposed of 

 when from 5 to 7 cwt. in weight. Home bred cattle pay best. 

 About a score of Leicester ewes are kept on the farm, and the 

 male laraljs are sold about the 1st of October. Mr M'William 

 has an excellent stud of the Clydesdale breed ; they work about 

 75 acres a pair. Wages have advanced fully a third since 1855, 

 and since then rents have been doubled in many cases. Bare 

 fallow, which was so common twenty-five years ago, is scarcely 

 to be met with now, and yet the land is better cleaned and 

 manured than it was then. 



The parish of liotlies, on the western side of the river Spey, 

 covers an area of 19,234'453 acres. It contains a large breadth 

 of excellent land, while there are also portions of inferior soil. 

 Along the side of the Spey fertile loam and rich alluvium 

 abound, while towards the foot of the hills coarse clay, moss, 

 earth, and gravel are occasionally to be seen. The largest farm 

 in the ])arish is Druinbnin, occupied by IMr William Brown, 

 I.inkwood, I'^lgin, and the property of the Earl of Seafield. It is 

 1651 jicres in extent, and is rented at £435. Perhaps the most 

 pleasantly situated farm in the ])arish is that of Dandaleith, 

 tenanted by Mr John Cruickshank. It is 407 acres in extent, 



