j;^0 Retrospective view of Husbandry — Caithness. 



S C O T L A N D. 



CaiiJjness. 



Th£. ineasures wluih west in contemplation, for promoting the jro.- 

 sperity of this .icniii^Le Jistrict, have been considerably checked by the 

 renewal ot hortilirles with France, w hich so unexpectedly took place 

 '3.1 the cenimf nccinent of this year. A state of war must in gene- 

 ral be unfavourable to ali sorts of improvement. The difficulty iu 

 •obtaining capital to carry them on with spirit j the scarcity of hands, 

 43vving to the demands of the army and navy, and, in remote situa- 

 -ticLns, the trouble attending the procuring seeds and other articles 

 by sea, from distant pfirts of the country, and skilful labourers, 

 where they arc necessary for the intrcduction of any new system, are 

 all hostile to active and great exertions. But if that was the case on 

 iormer occ&sions, it is still aiiore so at presentj when Ave are threaten- 

 vened with all the horrors of conquest, by the mos*-. powerful state that 

 %has arisen in modern times ; and when people in general seem more 

 ..inclined to consider what are the best means of preserving Avhat they 

 have got, than of acquiring more. It were much to be regretted, 

 however, if such a spirit were to become general. If that should be 

 the case, this country vrouid soon become unable to persevere in so 

 arduous a contest. The best foundation of its strength is t)ie cultiva- 

 tion and produce of its own soil, and if, in addition to the other cala- 

 mities of war, we were to be under the necessity of depending on fo 

 reign nations for any large proportion of our subsistence at a. time whv.n 

 -commerce must necessarily be considersljiy diriT;h^.i3hcd, our ^vcalth 

 would quickly disr.ppear, and our distresses .would accumulate to a 

 height which .-might produce the most disastrous consequences. This 

 is a subject which, it is to be hoped, will soon attract the attention of 

 :parliament, and that some system Aviil be adopted for the purpose of 

 furnishing the landed and the farming interests, with the means of 

 -carrylrg on the cultivation and improvement of the country, if possi- 

 ble Avith greater energy than ever, as the best mode of enabling us to 

 prosecute the present war, with additional spirit and success. 



In addition to the calamities of v.ar, the last season also, Avas, on the 

 whole, highly unfavourable to agricultural improvements. The spring 

 and the beginning of summci- were cold and ungenial ; ai)d though the 

 months of July and August were dry, and consequently well calcu- 

 lated for the operation of burning, yet from the want of rahi at that 

 critical period of the season, the crop of this year lias but little straw, 

 and though the quality of the grain is Avholesomc, yet it is hardly equal 

 in fjuantity to the average produce of Caithness. This is the more to 

 be lamented, as the preceding crop turned out a worse one than any 

 xemembered in that county for some years. 



Iti*aerncss 



