1194 



STATISTICS OF AGUICULTURE 



Part IV 



inii.i be. fttfiaed of the raoai dm ibli rnatasi da, wad 

 ovarian erathrp, t.i ratal the hnrpetnotity "i tit*.- rotvanlai No- 

 thing will m-i tins In ■ottrikfofl 1 1» mi of \ b u , 

 u)h>ii the projected road to Am rut, i ii itaiioe of facty-H ix miles, 



I three an I • Laring of 



one an 1 1 of forti fa t pin, five of twentj Gael ipan, three of 



ii, i\ .t ■ IghUa n» two of twelve, others 



.,: Internal dimensions, would be required. On the Stafford 



Jl.il 



NORTHERN OCEAN 



AITHXrsSm 



estate excellent inns, often comliining farmeries, have been 

 built in a number of places at an enormous expense. As an 

 example, are may refer to one ifii:- 1 132.) containing an outer 

 kitchen and servants' stair (a), with a pantry (ii), two best par- 

 lours, with movable partition for gre.at occasions (c), principal 

 entrance \d) 9 a small parlour (c), small room (/', kitchen fig), 

 bark kitchen and servants* stair (A). Over are rive bedrooms, 

 and nine garrets for beds. 



'I bus, ni the course of twelve years, has the county 

 of Sutherland been in terse* ted, in some of its most im- 

 portant districts, with road;, In ]>oint of execution 

 superior to most roads in England* And owing to the 

 equallj praiseworthy exertions of the counties of Rosa 

 and Inverness, on the one hand, and of Caithness on the 

 other, the same perfect means of communication now 

 exists, from the burgh of Inverness to the town of 

 Thurso uj»on the North Sea. 



Pine d&McU a/ Scotland possess so small a proportion 

 rfhmdJUjbr cultivation, compared with its extent, as 

 Sutherland ; and previously to the year 1811 hut even a 

 small portion of that was brought into cultivation. 

 bore is fringed (if the exp res si on maybe used) 

 with a narrow border of arable land, which, on the 

 south-east coast, extends from a few hundred yards to 

 about one mile in breadth : th Interior consists entirely 



of mountains. 



The land* were !et to tacksmen, as in Ireland, till in 

 latter times, whin a certain district was let to the 

 whole body lent In I LCh " town or town- 



ship," who itouml themselves, conjointly and severally, 

 for the payment of the whole rent i hda land waa 

 held, as psjpreaaad m Scotland, **' run rig," or like coin- 

 d land In England* 



thil irrancment was to scatter thickly a hardy, 

 hut not an industrious race of people Up the glens, ,wid over 

 las of the various mountains; who, taking adi . 



even spot which i >>uld be Cultivated, aid which could with 

 any chance of tg a precarious crop of 



inferior oats of which they baked their cakes, and of bere, 

 from which the* distilled their wl takey, added hut little to the 



industry, and contributed nothing to the we dth, of the empire. 

 Impatient of regular and constant work, all the he nrj 1 to ur 

 wis Mi.mdnned to the women, who were cmpIo>»-d. occasion- 

 all/, even tn 'ira^ing the harrow to cover in the aeed. 



To build their hut, or get in their peats for fuel, or to per- 

 form any otlwr iwasionaJ labour of the kind, the men were 

 ever ready to assist ; but she great proportion of their time, 

 when not in the pursuit of game, or of illegal distillation, was 

 spent in indolence and sloth. Their huts were of the most 

 miserable description. They were budt of turf, dug from the 

 moat valuable portions "f the mountain side- Their roof con- 

 utti.il of the same material, which was supported upon a rude 



wooden frame, constructed of crooked timber, taken from the 

 natural woods belonging to the proprietor, and of moss-fir dug 

 from the peat bogs. The situation they elected wasuniformhj 

 on the edge of the cultivated land, and of the mountain pas- 

 tures. They were placed lengthways, and sloping w ith the 

 declination of the hill. This position was chosen, in order that 

 all the tilth might tlow from the habitation without further 



1132 



exertion upon the pari of the owner. Under the same roof, 

 and entering ;it the same door, were kept all the domestic 

 animals !<dongingtn the establishment. The upper portion 

 of the hut was appropriated to the use of the rurally. In the 

 centre of this upper division was placed the tire, tie smoke 

 from which was made to circulate throughout tin whole hut, 

 tor the purpose of conveying beat into its farthest extremities. 

 The effect im^ to cover every thing with a black glossy soot, 

 and lo produ e the most evident injury to the appearance and 

 t those most exposed to its influence. The I 

 nth, except near the fire-place* where it was rudely 

 ith rough stones. It was never levelled with much 

 .• . and it soon wore into every* sort of in-aualitv, ai cording 

 to the hardness of the respective soils of which it was composed. 

 Even hollow formed a receptacle for whatever fluid Inppened 

 to f.dl near it, v. here it remained until absorbed by the earth- 

 It was impossible ihat it should ever l-e swept ; mid when the 

 acc-nnul'tion of filth rendered the place uninhabitable, an- 

 other hut was erected in the vicinity "f the old one. The old 



