18 THE AGEICULTURE OF THE 



State of Agriculture prior to 1858. 



Although the subject proper of this treatise is limited to a 

 period of twenty-five years, it may be interesting to glance 

 briefly at the state of the agriculture of these counties a century 

 ago. This will bring the rapid progress of recent years more 

 forcibly under the reader's view. A hundred years ago, farming 

 in Moray and Nairn was of little moment compared with that 

 of the Lothians and south of Scotland generally. The counties 

 were far behind in everything pertaining to agriculture, and 

 had been so from the era of the Eeformation. In the end of 

 the eighteenth century the same kind of cereal and root crops 

 were cultivated as those of the present day, but in much 

 smaller quantities. Except among the poorer tenants, whose 

 cropping was unavoidably restricted to oats, large quantities of 

 flax were raised annually. Oats and barley were reckoned the 

 staple produce. Over the upper districts of each farm about 

 two-tenths were usually in oats, one-tenth in barley, two-tenths 

 in peas, turnip, and potatoes, and three-tenths in grass. In the 

 lower districts about three-tenths of each farm were sown in 

 oats, one-tenth in wheat, one-tenth in barley, two-tenths in 

 turnip, peas, beans, and potatoes, and three-tenths in grass. 

 The following will give an idea of the general course of manage- 

 ment on the larger farms : — Oats were sown after barley, grass, 

 or wheat, from the 1st of March to the end of April, at the rate 

 of four-fifths of an English quarter to the acre. The yield was 

 on an average about four quarters of grain to the acre, and from 

 each quarter about 9 stones of meal avoirdupois weight were 

 obtained. In the higher districts, where the climate was severe, 

 and the soil stiff and wet, varieties of small black hairy oats were 

 cultivated, but were of comparatively little value, and were 

 given up soon after the beginning of the present century. When 

 intended for the growth of barley, the land received three 

 successive ploughings, and manure if this crop had not been 

 preceded by a green crop to which manure had been applied the 

 previous year. Manure was invariably applied to wheat, which 

 was, as a rule, sown on clean or fallow land. Three bushels 

 seeded an acre, and from 5 to 6 quarters were the quantities 

 returned. The seed was generally steeped before being sown. 

 For the cultivation of turnips the ground was well pulverised 

 by three or four ploughings and harrowings. A liberal supply 

 of dung was given, and the seed was sown in drills as now. 

 The turnips were mostly consumed by cows and young cattle, 

 there being no systematic plan of cattle feeding. Potatoes, 

 which had been introduced to this country about 1728, were 

 not cultivated in these counties till about the middle of last 

 century. They did not even then become a general farm crop. 



