Book I. 



AGRICULTURE OF LANARKSHIRE. 



1185 



draught ; and from the little value attached, in time> of tranquil- 

 lity, 10 horses well calculated for predatory excursions. As the 

 soil and climate of Galloway are peculiarly adapted for rearing 

 horses, there cannot be a doubt that under proper management, 

 thev would in general become excellent, and add much to the 

 value of its produce. Hitherto few more have been bred than 

 what were necessary to supply the d< minds of the district. 



i<ti itie inc. easing since the introduction of potatoes ; and the 

 prejudice against eating the flesh common to this and most 

 districts of Scotland gradually declining. Kinging not prac- 

 tised ; bui the two stronp tendons of the snout cut by a sight 



• incision, about an inch and a half above the nose, when th« 

 j animal is about two months old. 



Bees of this district produce honey equal, if not superior, tc 

 any in the world ; its excellence supposed to depend on the 

 profusion of wild flowers, especially white clover and heaih. 



Game abundant ; a few ptarmigans in the highest moun- 

 tains. 



8. Political Economy. 



Roads greatly improved of late ; and some cotton, woollen, 

 pap^r, and other manufactures introduced. 



7841 AYRSHIRE. 664,960 acres of irregular but not mountainous surface, and clayey or mossy soil, 

 under a moist climate ; half the county bog, hilly pasture, or waste, and the rest chiefly under alternate 

 grass and corn. The agriculture followed is in great part the dairy system; Dunlop cheese, already 

 described u063.), being chiefly produced in this county. ^Alton's General I tew, 1811.) 



1. Minerals 



Coal and limestone are to be found in most parts of the 

 county, and there are several kinds of building stone, but no 

 metallic ores worth working, excepting iron. Coal is t:ie sta- 

 ple mineral, and is exported in large quantities to Glasgow and 

 other towns, along the west coast, northward and southward. 



2. Buildings. 

 Some good castles and mansions, as Culzean, Loudon, Eg- 



linton, &c. Farm buildirgs are imp-oving, though but 

 slowly. Some neat elevations, and comfortable interiors on 

 Lord'Eglinton's estates; single {Jig. 1126. a), and double t& ; . 



Each of such cottages is surrounded by a neat garden, con- 

 taining a pigsty, pump, and bee-house; and the house con- 

 tairing a porch (1), kitchen, oven, and stair to bed-rooms (2), 

 pajiour (3), store closet (4), bed closet (5), pantry (6 cc I 

 clrset (7), back entrance (SJ, tool house (9), and water closet (10), 

 w th two garret bed-rooms over. 



3. Occupation. 



Farms small from 50 to 150 acres, and their culture imper- 

 fect and irregular, though rents are high from the population 

 jf the manufacturing towns. 



4. Live Stock. 



Horses are bred and sold under the general name of Lanark- 

 shire or Clydesda'e, and are in great demand ; as are the Ayr- 

 shire cows'for the Edinburgh and Glasgow dairymen. Indeed 

 these cows, as we have seen (6789.), are preferred to all others 

 in niost parts of the low country of Scotland. The native 

 horses began to be improved by crosses ; bout 1740. In that 

 year Robert Woodburn, in Mains of Loudoun, sold what was 

 then considered the best stallion in the count * , at the price 

 of rive guineas. The common price of draught horses did 



not then average more than 3/. each. Till about 1780, the 

 work usually done by farm-horses was not more than one half 

 of what they now perform. Four horses were then yoked to 

 every plough, -while as much is now turned over by two 

 hordes- {Alton's Dairy Husbandry, p. ISO.) 



5 Woods and Plantations. 



Most of the proprietors are extensive planters. On the 

 Culzean estate are extensive woods, raised in the face of the 

 west winds ; most of the trees lean to the east, excepting the 

 common maple, which is generally erect, or nearly so, and is 

 one of the best trees for an exposed sea-coast. There are a few 

 native coppice- woods, and some fine old birch, ash, and oak 

 trees round Eglinton Castle. 



6. Improvements. 

 Captain Smith, the proprietor of a small place abounding 



with peat bogs, about 1790, began to drain and dig, and lime 

 th*» surface] and succeeded in reducing the peat to a black 

 mould, and rearing tolerable crops of oats, potatoes, and clover. 

 After rive or six years, he was able to venture horses and cattle 

 " = *\ on these bogs ; but at first every operation was manual. 



7. Political Economy. 

 Carpet and other woollen manufactures at Kiimarnock , 



thread at Beith, cotton at Catharine, iron at Muirkirk, salt 

 and kelp on the shores, and earthenware and the usual minor 

 manufactures, as leather, hats, &c., at various places. 



The harbour and other works carried on at Ardrossan, 

 under the auspices of the Earl of Eglinton, and the harbour of 

 Troon, and the railway from thence to Kilmarnock, formed 

 almo.it entirely at the expense of the Duke of Portland, are 

 worth v monuments, no less of the enlightened judgment and 

 energy, than of the wealth of these two patriotic noblemen. 

 The harbour lately completed is one of the safest, most 

 capacious, and most accessible on the west coast of Britain ; 

 possessing many advantages over the harbour in the Frith of 

 Clvde, situate in a narrow channel, which can be navigated 

 only when the wind blows from particular points, and which, 

 for "upwards of twenty miles below Glasgow, is both shallow 

 and dangerous. A circular pier of 900 yards was finished in 

 1S11, and ever, thing was then ready to begin the wet-dock, 

 which, according to Telford's plan, was to contain from 70 to 

 100 vessels, in water sixteen feet deep. The other works have 

 rather languished of late, and are not likely to be completed 

 soon without public aid. It was part of the Earl of Eglinton's 

 plan to raise a neat regular-built town at Ardrossan, in which 

 some progress has been made ; and he has constructed excel- 

 lent baths, which draw to it a number of visitors at the proper 

 season. 



The harbour at Ardrossan was only a part of the general 

 plan, and that from which, viewed by itself, the smallest ad- 

 vantages perhaps were to be expected. The leading idea was 

 to open a direct communication between Glasgow, Paisley, 

 and other large towns in the vicinity and the west coast, in- 

 stead of the present circuitous passage by the Frith of Clyde. 

 A canal was therefore to be cut from Glasgow to Ardrossan, 

 about t him one miles and half, at the estimated expense ol 

 125,000/. "Of this a third part was executed, that is, from 

 Glasgow to Johnstone, and this part, it is said, cost about 

 90,000/. 



The harbour at Troon, connected, as 2t now is, with Kilmar- 

 nock, bv means of an excellent railway, seems to possess almost 

 all the "advantages of that of Ardrossan, and promises to be- 

 come, in a much shorter period, of vast utility to the populous 

 country around it. 



7842. LANARKSHIRE or CLYDESDALE. 556,800 acres, in great part mountain, moor, and peat- 

 bog, with a portion of friable loam, and some retentive clays. The climate is cold, moist, and u.ifavour. 

 able, excepting in the low vales, where vegetal. le is chiefly injured by spring and autumn frosts. Aver- 

 age of the rain which falls at Glasgow, ..(r8 inches. The minerals are lead, ironstone, coal, limestone, 

 freestone, and whinstone, all worked to a considerable extent. The lead mines at Leadhills have been 

 already noticed under Dumfriesshire, The hu>bandrv of the county is chiefly distinguished for its breed 

 of horses, and for orchards, the latter a rare production in Scotland. John Naismith, the author oi a 

 work on Industry, another on the Elements of Agriculture, and also of the Report, seems to have been a 

 native of this county. {Xaismith's General J'iew, 1S03.) 



3. Gat dens and Orchards. 



Glasgow is abundantly supplied with the common culinary 

 vegetables from market gardens. Orchards are chiefly found 

 in two districts in Scotland, in Clydesdale, and the (_ . rse of 

 Gowrie. "The CKdesdale orchards lie mostly between the 

 bottom of the lowest fall of the river, and the mouth 

 south Calder. They are chieflv of apples, with a mixture of 

 pear trees, and some plums. Cherries are more rarely culti- 

 vated, being much subject to the depredations of birds. Few 

 of the orchards are large, but many small ones are planted up 

 and down the country- The whole may cover 

 upwards, and are on the increase. The produce is very pre- 

 carious, the fruit King frequently destroyed ... the > opsoro, by 

 spring frosts and caterpillars. The value of the fruit is not 

 ahvafs in proportion to the number and size of the trees. 

 Those -oho cultivate the ground around the tre s, taking care 

 net to inhire the roots, and giving manure fri m t n e to time, 

 have finer fruit, and a much greater quantity in proportion, 

 I ose who do not. Much also depends on adapting 

 the tie- s lothe soil and exposure. These orchards are mostlj 

 planted on way steep hanging banks, and on wen they ha\e 



1. Property. 



Three fourths of the surface the property of great land- 

 holders ; the rest much divided. Farm-houses and offices were 

 formerly very indifferent; but in this as in other adjoining 

 counties, where the leases of farms fall in, the landlord gene- 

 rally enlarges or renews the buildings, as a necessary step to 

 getting the full rental value for the land. A good deal of 

 grcund feued out to operaUve mechanics, weavers, &c. for 

 building cottages. 



2. Occupation. 

 Much the same as in Galloway. Breeding farms are large, 



and corn farms moderate. The mountainous district is occu- 

 pied mostly with flocks of sheep : upon the ridges on the E. and 

 \\\ sides, where the ground is marshy, and less proper for 

 sheep, and the exposure too bleak to encourage the cultivation 

 of corn, cattle are mostly pastured, and those generally mi ch 

 cows and their young, n .try of which are reared; a sn:all 

 quantity of corn "only beirg cultivated, principally for the -;*.ke 

 of winter provender. The less rugged and less exposed parts 

 are more occupied in the culture of corn ; and the banks of 

 the Clyde, between Hamilton 2nd Lanark, with orchards. 



4 G 



