44 THE AGRICULTURE OF THE 



from the " Laigh of Moray." It is 6828'267 acres in extent, 

 had a total rental of £1964, 2s. in 1866-67, aud is now 

 £2913, OS. The real rent of the parish in 1791 was £375 

 sterling, and in 1835 £1200. A considerable breadth of the 

 extent of the parish consists of hill and moorland, but there are 

 also extensive tracts of highly cultivated soil. The principal 

 object of interest in this parisli is the church, which lies near 

 the centre of it, and which is extremelv old. No data can be 

 found to indicate when it was built, but it is said to be the 

 original seat of the Bishopric of Moray. The strata or underly- 

 ing rocks in the parish of Birnie consist of gneiss and Old Red 

 Sandstone. The soil varies from light gravel, through the 

 richest alhivium to retentive clay, and moss in the upper 

 districts. There is such a depth of sandy matter intervening 

 between the strata and the soil, that the rocks do not influence 

 it to any great extent. The principal farm we have yet reached 

 is that of Shankhouse, tenanted bv Mr Alexander Grant, and 

 which extends to about 130 acres arable, and 50 acres natural 

 pasture. Mr Grant manages another important holding. The 

 rental per acre in this parish averages from 7s. 6d. to 35s. per 

 acre. The five-course shift is pursued, and crops yield fairly 

 well in good seasons. The land is cleaned in the spring for 

 turnips, and manured in the drills with 20 loads of clung and 

 from 4 to 6 cwt. of artificial manure. For potatoes the land 

 is dunged and ploughed down early in winter, and from 3 to 5 

 cwt. of potato manure is also added with the seed. Mr Grant 

 drained a considerable extent, subsoiled and fenced a great deal, 

 and the proprietor built all the necessary buildings, and charged 

 5 per cent, interest, exclusive of the cartage of building material. 

 The steading and farm houses are now in excellent repair. 

 Few cattle are reared. From 25 to 30 cattle are fed in byres 

 and courts. They are tied up in September, when feeding begins 

 with soft varieties of turnips, accompanied by a little bruised 

 oats, then yellow turnips, followed by swedes. Mr Grant allows 

 from 70 to 90 lbs. of turnips to each animal per day, with 1 lb. 

 cake and corn. As they fatten, their supply of turnips is 

 curtailed to 50 lbs. or thereby per day, and artificial stuffs 

 increased to a corresponding extent. In years such as last year, 

 when potatoes are cheap, cattle are fed partly on them. Mr 

 Grant buys in from 70 to 100 cast ewes in the end of the year, 

 to eat up the remainder of the grass, and he feeds them off with 

 turnips and corn. The farm horses are generally good and active. 

 They as well as cattle have greatly improved within the last twenty- 

 five years. Servants' wages had advanced between 1855 and 1878 

 by about 70 per cent., but have since then decreased about 15 or 

 20 per cent. Rents rose from 25 to 40 per cent, up to 1878, on 

 an average. They are too high on the majority of farms. 



