2 2 TRANSACTION'S OF ROVAL SCOTTISH ARBORICUI/lURAr, SOCIETY. 



BetrotJu-d, is an excellent description of this twelfth century 

 type of half trader, half feudal baron. Freskin died in 1171, 

 leaving the whole of Sutherland to his son Hugh, who is the 

 first authentic ancestor of the Earls of Sutherland. His second 

 son, William, acquired the estates of Duffus, in Morayshire. 

 From him the Dukes of Athole are descended. Another family, 

 the De Moravias, this being the territorial name which they 

 assumed, were settled at Culbin at the same time that William 

 was settled at Duftus. Records point to their being cousins or 

 near relatives of the sons of Freskin. In 1400, Thomas Kinnaird 

 married the heiress of the De Moravias. The estate was settled 

 on their second son, whose descendants retained possession until 

 their heritage was ruined by a sudden incursion of sand from the 

 west. 



"The lands of Culbin were known as the granary and garden 

 of Moray. Stretching away in the distance in every direction 

 were to be seen the highly cultivated fields with heavy corn, the 

 rich meadows dotted here and there with thriving herds, and the 

 extensive pastures with numerous flocks. One can judge of 

 the value of the property when it is stated that, if it had come 

 down unimpaired to our day, its rental would be at least ;;^6ooo 

 a year.' The estate extended to 3600 acres. The rent-roll still 

 exists. The Findhorn River, which rushes through so many 

 romantic gorges in its upper course, flowed past the north side 

 of the lands in a slow, steady stream. Along its banks were 

 rows of fishermen's huts with their boats and fishing gear in 

 front, all these dwellings teeming with life and activity. The 

 late frost or the protracted drought might destroy the crops in 

 other parts of the district, but so deep and rich was the alluvial 

 soil of Culbin that their crops never failed. The sand which 

 overwhelmed the estate came from the west in the autumn of 

 1694. It came suddenly, with short warning — a man ploughing 

 had to desert his plough in the middle of the furrow. The 

 reapers in a field of barley had to leave without finishing their 

 work. In a few hours the plough and barley were buried 

 beneath the sand. In terrible gusts the wind carried the sand 

 amongst the dwelling-houses of the people, sparing neither the 

 mansion-house of the laird nor the hut of the cottar. The 



' The actual rental of Culbin about the middle of the seventeenth century, 

 according to the County cess books, was as follows: — money rent ;^2720 Scots, 

 640 bolls of wheat, 640 bolls of bear, 640 bolls of oats, and 640 bolls of 

 oatmeal. — G rigor. 



