COUNTIES OF ELGIN AND NAIRN. 17 



rises gradually, the soil becomes less porous. A clay loam 



predominates in the parishes of Cromdale and Kriockando, 



which have altogether a different exposure from the lowland 



districts. They slope gently to the south, and are hemmed in 



by hills. In the latter district there is a large extent of moss 



worked into a condition for tillage, while there is also some in the 



parish of Cromdale. Oats are the most suitable cereal for this 



])art of the county, but barley is also grown pretty extensively. 



In descending to the Rothes district, we find that the soil chanws 



into a medium fertile loam, varied by patches of gravel and of 



deep black loam deposited by the river Spey. Near the village 



of liothes there is a considerable stretch of " haucjh " land of a 



most kindly nature. On the east side of the Spey the soil is 



partly of a sharp porous nature, and is most suitable for the 



cultivation of oats. Over the eastern half of the county of 



Moray light sandy soil prevails with trifling exceptions. The 



parishes comprising this division are Speymouth, St Andrews, 



Lhanbryde, Elgin, Birnie, Dallas, all of which are well adapted 



for the cultivation of wheat, barley, oats, turnip, and potatoes. 



The prevailing stratum throughout these districts is Old Red 



Sandstone, which is of a very solid description. There is also a 



large extent of adhesive clay in this portion of the county. The 



Speymouth and Urquhart districts, like those of Duffus, Drainie, 



&c., are close to the seaside, where considerable quantities of fish 



offals are applied along with other manures, which prove to be 



most efficacious in fertilising the soil, and which go far to secure 



superior crops. 



There are still some small areas of waste land throughout 

 these counties, which may probably be brought into cultivation 

 before the close of the present century. During the past 

 twenty-five or thirty years, the land in both Moray and Nairn 

 has been very much fertilised by the judicious application of 

 manures. 



The soil in Nairnshire generally is equally sandy, and in 

 some districts even lighter and more spongy than in Morayshire. 

 In the higher districts, in which the prevailing rocks are mica 

 slate, flagstone, and limestone, the soil is open and gravelly. 

 Here oats and barley are the staple cereals. In the lower 

 districts, a free loamy soil, with patches of sand stretching 

 through it, prevails. A stiffish clay, and sometimes a sharp 

 gravelly soil, abound in the western portion, while in the parish 

 of Nairn the soil is very variable. The rental per acre ranges 

 from 18s. to oos., according to the nature of the land. There is 

 a heavy mould in the south and a light in the north. In 

 Auldearn parish, the soil is light and fertih;, and in the parisli of 

 (.'awdor the land i3 rich, and favourable for the cultivatiou of 

 oats. 



B 



