12 THE AGRICULTURE OF THE 



shire there were 4975 males and 5479 females. In the former 

 there were 8618 inhabited houses, or one for every five of the 

 population in 1881, and in Nairnshire there were 2077 inhabited 

 liouses, or one for every five of the population. According to a 

 register drawn up by the assessor for 1881-82, there are 1617 

 voters in the county of Moray, 943 in the royal burgh of Elgin, 

 426 in the royal burgh of Forres ; and in 1858 there were 116 

 voters in the royal burgh of Nairn, and in 1881, 387. The total 

 number of voters in the county of Nairn in 1858 was 149, and 

 in 1881 it was 293. 



Climate. 



In Moray and Nairn shires the climate is variable, but, as a 

 rule, it is dry and warm. The lower half of both counties is 

 nearly as dry as any part of Scotland. The average rainfall 

 during the year is from 25 to 28 inches, and the mean tempera- 

 ture about 48°. The prevailing winds, which blow for about 

 260 days during the year, come from the west, and from this 

 direction we are accustomed to have the heaviest rainfall. The 

 lowering clouds in their course northwards are arrested by the 

 range of mountains on the south and south-west of the counties, 

 and thus their watery contents seldom reach the seaboard 

 districts of Moray and Nairn. The rainfall in the neighbouring 

 counties of Banff and Inverness is much heavier. In the upper 

 and hilly districts the temperature varies greatly. It is usually 

 much colder than in the maritime divisions. It is an old 

 saying that the people in Morayshire enjoy forty days more 

 summer than any other county in the north of Scotland. It 

 frequently occurs, however, that the farmers in Morayshire have 

 too much sunshine in the absence of moisture. During the 

 months of June, July, and August they would often welcome 

 more rain than it is their lot to have. The long fertile plain, 

 stretching from the Spey to Inverness-shire, has a tendency to 

 drought, and in a dry summer, with scorching sunshine, much 

 damage is done to vegetation. The upper parts are more 

 retentive of moisture than the lower parts, and the loss 

 sustained from drought, except in very dry seasons, is trivial. 

 The climate of these districts is very suitable for the cultivation 

 of oats, while in the lower parts it is more in favour of the 

 cultivation of wheat and barley, which are extensively grown. 

 In Nairnshire the soil is of a somewhat light and sandy 

 character for the growth of wheat, but barley and oats are found 

 to be most profitable. The rigours of winter along the seaboard 

 districts, being greatly softened and modified by the influences 

 of the sea breeze, are scarcely ever felt with intensity. Frosts, 

 in the absence of snow, however, frequently prove damaging to 

 the root crop, when it is not lifted before Christmas. The 



