^•^6 Agricultural I'.! etligcnce — Sjot/j/iJ. Aug, 



dinar}', o\v:ng to the llaguation vi tlie iale of barley. Oats, though 

 ftroDg and fcrward *«n dry foil?, are backward on coid-bottorned landt., 

 and do not on the whole promii'e more than an ordinary crop. There 

 has been fo,r.e deaiard of late tor wheat and oats for the Liverpool 

 maiket. Wheat per WinchcTrcr bulhrl fells at 6?. ; Potato Cats at 

 :;s. ; Common Oats at 2^. 6d. ; bed qualities. Thefe are confidcred as 

 low prices ; and thoug;h I'ome years a^o this might not he the cafe, they 

 are now certainly much Uf'dcr vvliat grain can be afFijrded at by the 

 farmer who pays additional rent, and double v/ages to fcrvants, labour- 

 ers, and tr-idclmen. The increafe of the expenx:e of the implements tit 

 farming would of itfclf require a conildcrable addition to the price of 

 prcduc*. 



Turnips were peneraTty late of fowing, but are come up well and 

 healthy. Thofe fown early, however, have on fome farms been affedl- 

 ed by the fmall black caterpillar, which dcllroys the l-.af entirely •, and 

 one farmer, it is faid, has already ploughed down a i\i:\d of ten acres 

 from thiscaufe. This, worm, fo far as I have obferved, has appeared 

 once only in my time ,of farming, . about twenty years ago. It then 

 dcflroved many tiehls, and prevailed generally over the kingdom. 

 It eats the leaves wholly, except the fibres. It is extremely tender. 

 It feems likely that a light roller would defiroy them, without iiijurin^ 

 the crop otherwife when fo young. 



The demand for iheep and cattle has been flow ; fo much fo, that the 

 Englilli farmers and dealers have not come for them as ufual ; and when 

 carried up by the Scotch dealers, a fall of prices muft enfue. Rough 

 Hieep, of the fiiort or moorland kind, have kept better up to their former 

 price than the long or Cheviot kind, which is the more unufual, the 

 price of wool having been on the rife. Hogs have given from 10 to 

 13s. the (hort kind; Dinmouts frooi 15 to 20s.; Long fheep not 

 more. Year-old (lots in June about 5I. Ycld cows, Annandale or 

 Galloway fize, from 7 to lol. Thefe are 20 per cent, under laft ycar'.^ 

 prices ; but are, in my opinion, not to be reckoned too low. — yuly zctL 



Lf iter from Invcrnpfjlolre^ jf^b ^3* 



^ In the neighbourhood of Invernefs, the crops in general prefent b, 

 good appearance, efpecially upon the hill and moor lauds, which are, 

 on the whole, more weighty than thofe on the fea-co^ilh A few of the 

 early turnips futfered from the fly ; but it was fo far lucky that we had 

 an unequal braird, as the laft come up ones fupplied the deficiency cc- 

 cafioned by the ravages of that infc(?t. Potatoes make a good appear- 

 ance, though curled ones are to be fecn in many fields. Impiovements 

 in agriculture are fad: advancing in this county ; and a perfon who has 

 been abfent for a few years, will hardly be able to recognize the fields 

 be was formerly acquairjted with, fo great has been the change. 



« The Caledonian Canal is carrying on with fpirit, though none of it 

 ia yet dug out to its full depth. A great number of hands are employ- 

 ed, llie moft of them at piece-work, or at fo much per folid yard ; 

 when employed by the day, not more than cighteenpence of wages is 

 given at prefent, though I am convinced that iillijiiately this great un- 

 dertaking 



