50 THE AGRICULTUKE OF THE 



iu wei^rht before he sells them. He has excellent steadinp^s oa 

 both farms, being commodious and very substantial. His stock 

 of horses will compare favourably with those of almost any 

 other farm in the county. They are strong, young, and active, 

 Nearly all of them are prize winners, and during the past six 

 years they have gained many valuable cups and medals. He 

 keeps from 300 to 400 sheep during the winter, and fattens them 

 and sells them off before April. Twentv-five vears ag;o, Mr 

 Mackessack paid seven guineas to his grieve in the half year, and 

 now he pays about twice that sum. First and second horsemen, 

 had from £4 to £5, and women from £2 to £3 per lialf-year. 

 Wages have increased a half since 1857. Rents since then have- 

 advanced 20 per cent., and are now too high. Swedes are grown 

 on two-thirds of the shift, yellow turnips on one-third ; one shift 

 partly in oats and wheat, and one shift barley. 



The estate of the Earl of Moray extends to about 22,000 

 acres in Morayshire and 300 acres in Xairnshire. Of these, 

 there are from 6000 to 7000 acres under wood and about 6000 

 acres under pasture. The rental in 1866-67 was about £8868, 

 and is now £10,000. Few proprietors are more generous and 

 enterprising in giving facilities to their tenantry for the promo- 

 tion of agricultural industry, or for getting the full benefit of the 

 resources of the soil. He has given all possible encouragement 

 for the advancement and improvement of agriculture in all its- 

 branches. Mr Brown, factor on the estate, designed the new 

 cottages and farm steadings, not forgetting to mention that 

 it was he who planned the magnificent farm steading of Wester 

 Manbeen, which covers, as already stated, about an acre of land, 

 and which is unexampled alike for its suitability for the farm 

 and its great convenience, in these two counties. The varieties 

 of soil throughout the estate are light, friable, upon gravelly 

 subsoil, clay, loam, some moss, and sandy and gravelly soils. 

 The holdinfjs over the estate are irregular in size, ranging from. 

 70 to nearly 600 acres. The farm houses are, as a rule, in- 

 excellent repair. During the past twenty-five years, a large 

 number of excellent cottages, farm steadings, and dwelling 

 houses have been erected, and many repaired. Nearly all 

 the wire fencing is performed by the tenants. A considerable 

 mileage of dykes have been built by the proprietor, which are 

 usually about 4 feet 9 inches in height. The principal fences 

 consist of wire. Both public and private roads within the 

 estate are in good order. There has been a considerable 

 extent of land reclaimed since 1857, and the greater part of 

 the improvements in this way have been effected by the tenants ; 

 chiefly small patches in squaring up fields and completing shifts. 

 These reclamations have generally been profitable to both 

 landlord and tenant. The soil over the property being generally 



