1196 



STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. 



Tart IV 



n\, and S.M1M' put* of lbs Long Mind, wpocUllj Banajj i» 

 oenoiu win* pay attention to >u Unpoittni ■ department of 



; i. ei onomj ■ 

 sht< i>. Only wfetiy attended i". Thenars now thn 



i a Lin in aJmotl -ii 1 lb< ■ i ind . »lx* 



I. Tlir native ■borlgUul braudj common i" the whole Hebrides 



i,.r\\ \. .n ind itil) ra ire nunaarooi than the other two 



1 taken together ; £■ The linton, or black-ihced iheep of 



iii of Scotland: andj 3. TT» well known, 8ne-wooued, 



: breed* The niatorlan Laing h*u i large flock of Me- 



rinoa In the Orkneys* 



Hones- The Hihridean breed of horses resctnM.-, that whii li 



in almost all countries of the same description -t cJJ 



mate and nnrface* it i-> small, active, and remark * i ■ I > durable 



and hare)?* It posssssss the prominent marka of perfection In 



tins tort of animal i I. <■■ it li itrong and ntmblei o i I tbi m 



and proper -./<■ for it* work, healthy, patient, uood-temnered, 



and very easily kepi In good condition* It [a found In the 



id bland id, in Wales, Norway, Sweden, Swilzer- 



. nil. Tyrol, Hungary, and Transylvania, and with Little ra- 



r] ition In ban and rise, In all the hilly districts of Europe* 



The '■■ I of what are deemed ilzeable horses is 



from twi en hands] but that of the tower tenants' 



horses In Mull, Jura, and the northern isles, rarely exceeds 



or twelve h tnds. They are handsomely shaped, have 



small legs, Large manes, little neat heads, and. manifest every 



symptom of activitj and strength. The common colours are 



grey, bay, md bl tck ; the last-mentioned colour is the favourite. 



ting in [slay, and in a few gentlemen's farms, not ex- 



ceedlne two doi >i in number in all the Hebrides, very little 



me for bringing this breed to perfection, or 



ting it From degenerating. 



The bre lingol horses for sale is not carried on to a consi- 



\r nt in the Hebrides, nor does any of them export at 



an average of ten years more than it imports, excepting Islay, 



.md perhaps Aran and Eigg* 



// jff*. i lonslder ible numbers of hogs are now reared in the 



-., where the ancient prejudice against pork has ijradu- 



allj ranished. since their more intimate connection with the 



1 of Scot! md and England. 



Goiits still maintain their ground on several islands, and in 



certain circumstances constitute a valu hie stock. liut wher- 



ever wood is to be reared, and enclosure guarded and preserved 



with attention* they must be banished; for, being more a 



browsing than grazing animal, the goat will strain every nerve 



to amp twigs and plants of even description* and Is a mortal 

 rin my to ever] rovi Ing woods* 



pantrSyor uun\ i Excepting the ass, and per- 



haps the mule, it is not clear that this eat naive region would 

 mm by Introducing any new sorts of domesticated mimals; 

 Endearf] the great want felt by the Hebrides is not thttofam- 

 maUi but or food In winter and spring tor those which they 

 po easa I lie native breeds of cows and horses are, perhaps, 

 tin- very beat possible for the country to support, and may, bv 

 due attention to feeding, and to ■electing the strongest ami 



oast pairs ai breeders, be Improved to an indefinite 

 pit< h of excellence. Tb£ breeds of sheep already recommended 



and described may be improved, and reared to live times thl ir 

 present numbers* without seriously injuring the agriculture or 

 other Interests of the country ; and a vast accession of wealth 

 and food might accrue from breeding a comp tent number of 

 bog . for which these Ules, abounding in potatoes* are ex- 

 tri ni<]\ well adapted, liut all these Improvements must go 

 on progressively and slowly, and they must advance in the 

 train of other agricultural and economical Improvements* 



9. Political Economy. 



Roads much wanted, and, excepting In Bute, Islay, ami 5kye, 

 in a very wretched state. *\o iron railways or canals. No 



equal portion of European population, not even excepting the 



Ku-si.ins, and most unci viUsed Poles and Croatians, possesses 



so few manufactures as the people of the \\ estern Islands of 

 Scotland. This is, among other causes* a principal source of 

 poverty and depression or the people* it makes the little mo- 

 ney acquired by the fisheries* and drawn in exchange for black 

 cattle, kelps, and the other productions of the district, couti- 

 nually ilow out of it, and prevents that gradual advancement 

 In wealth* comfort, and agricultural and economical improve* 

 ments* which are conspicuous in all oth<r parts of Scotland ; 

 and although it does not absolutely keep these isles in a quies- 

 cent st.itc, it greatly retards their progress. 



Kitji is a well known Hchridean manufacture, and is in an 

 advancing state. Macdonald, of Statla, is distinguished for 

 his attentions to this branch of Hebndean economy; and has 

 accordingly preserved for his kelp a character, which enables 

 him to dispose of it at a higher price than the average of the 

 Hebrides obtains. This results principally from ifc» being begun 

 early in summer, its being duly attended to in the carriage .md 

 drying of the sea-weeds, and especially its being kept clean and 

 unmixedwithclay, sand, .stones, and all other impurities, w hich 

 greatly diminish the value of kelp on many Hebridean estates. 



7860. The ORKNEY ISLANDS are thirty in number, and contain about 384,000 acres. 



Many of them are uninhabited, and only afford pasture for 

 sheep. The soil is generally peat moss or bog, but sand, clay, 

 and gravel are found In some of the valleys. The soil is seldom 

 more than one or two feet in depth, lying on a bed of rock. 

 Husbandry is in a very backward state. The plough used is 

 gen. Tally the single-stilted one ; the manure is chiefly sea-weed, 

 and on the quantity procured the farmer relies for his crop. 

 The plan of husbandry is to till very shallow, and to harrow 

 sparingly. Fallows are rarely used, and a proper rotation of 

 crops never followed. Black oats are sown about April, and 

 barley early in .May ; the crop is generally gathered in August ; 

 and if it remain till after the beginning of September, it is 

 frequently lost from the violent gales and storms which follow 

 the autumnal equinox. Except some stunted birch and hazel 

 trees, and a few juniper bushes, scarcely a tree or shrub is to 

 be seen; the climate is variable, and not healthy; violent 

 storms of wind and rain, mingled with snow, visit the islands 

 even in the month of June, and check the progress of vege- 

 tation. From the shortness of the days in winter, the sun in 

 1 • ember and January not being more than four hours above 

 the horizon,very little agricultural work is done in that season. 

 The summer days are proportionally long, and it is light 



_ii to si^ to nad at midnight. The principal animals are 



M, 11 horses, black cattle, sheep, pigs, and rabbits. Thesheep 



numerous, and it is calculated that there are above 



50,00(1 in the islands ; their flesh is, however, coarse and dry, 



and, from their proneness to feed upon sea-weed, it has a dis- 



agreeable flavour. Till within the present century, the Ork- 

 ney sheep were suffered to run wild about tie hills, without any 

 care being taken of them ; when in this state, the weight of 

 the entire carcass rarely exceeds twenty-five or thirty pounds, 

 and ttie wool seldom one pound and a half, when carefully 

 treated, however, thej grow much larger* and the flesh becomes 

 very good. 



One of the greatest curiosities in these islands is the circum- 

 stance of large seeds being frequently washed on shore by the 

 Atlantic. They are called Molucca or Orkney beans* ;-nd are 

 supposed to bt of American and West Indian orurm* l'ods of 

 the Mimosa scrindens are the most common. Strange fishes, 

 marine shells, and even exotic fowls, are also sometimes cast on 

 shore in violent weather. There are many varieties of wild 

 fowl in the < Irkneys, and eagles are not only common, but so 

 large as to make great havoc among the lambs. The islanders 

 have a law, by which every man who kills an eagle is entitled 

 to &. hen from even house in the parish where it was killed. 

 The corny (Crfrvus Comix) is also a dangerous enemy to the 

 newly dropped lambs. The inhabitants on the coast live by 

 fishing and making kelp. The staple article of trade in the 

 other parts of the islands, is wool, which used formerly to be 

 torn from the sheep by the fingers; thesheep arc now shorn* 

 and as they are never smeared (except when actually ill of the 

 scab), the wool is remarkable for its softness. { Ediu. Gas* 'S 27. 

 Blakie on Sheep Husbandry in Orkney, in Tram,. Hight. Soc, 

 vol. iv. p. 5911. 



7861. The SHETLAND ISLES are about eighty-six in number, of which forty arc inhabited; the 

 whole contain about 48,000 acres, nearly equally divided between pasture land and arable. 



The climate is very humid, and cold northern and easterly 

 w bids ire extremely prevalent. Winter may be said to occupy 

 full -i\ months In every year, and if the harvest Is not over in 

 September, the crops arc generally spoiled from tempests. 

 Phere I a great diver i ( >. of-...!; often deep moss on a bottom 

 of land, though sometimes the moss or peat is only a loot thick 

 on ■ bed of clay* There are scarcely any trees or shrubs, ex- 



Cepting juniper, and occasionally a few mountain ash ; the 

 roots of laru-r trees are* however, often discovered on digging 



to tn ground. Turf and peat are used for fuel. The 

 Bhetlnnd horses are well known; they are very small, rarely 

 Receding nil hands In height, and are celebrated for their 

 ipirit, ind their power of enduring fatigue. The cattle are also 

 v.r. imall, though they feed well* and weigh astonishingly 



In proportion to the slxe of their bones ; they give gene- 

 U li ;" n . .if milk a day, though in rich 

 pastures ihe> sometimes produce double that quantity* The 

 number of sheep kepi In UM Shetland Isles is calculated to be 

 between 70*000 a d 80,000. ["ha wool is very short, and though 

 gauenllj line, is toraetlmei nearly is coarse and baby as mat 

 of a goat, i lie i lands are well supplied with fish, and have 



multitudes of aquatic birds ; the inhabitants are much annoyed 

 by eagles and other birds of prey ; there arc no rivers, but abun- 

 dance of lakes and rivulets, which a I lord an ample supply of 

 fresh water- The chief employment of the inhabitants is in the 

 manufacture of woollen stocking-, and gloves of extraordinary 

 and in their fisheries, from the produce of which they 

 annually export about 10U0 tons of cod, tusk, and ling; they 

 also export annually about 500 tons of kelp. Agriculture is at 

 a very low ebb ; the farming implements are of the worst pos- 

 sible description, and of the rudest construction; the farm- 

 houses are wretched hovels, and the roads mere foot-paths. 

 The small portion of land, however, which is tolerably well 

 cultivated, rs very fertile. Granite, freestone, and limestone 

 are abundant, as is the beautiful and comparatively rare stone, 

 called dlallage rock. Bog iron ore abounds: a copper mine 

 was formerly worked, but has been abandoned ; very recently 

 chi ornate of iron has been found at I'nst. Various other mi- 

 nerals are found upon the is'ands ; and occasionally porcelain 

 earth; hut no potteries have as yet been established. (Eitiiu 

 Gaz. 1829.) 



Sect. IV. Agricultural Survey of Ireland. 



7862. IRELAND, the largest island in Europe next to Britain, contains above 20,000,000 of acres, 

 much less varied ill surface, Boil, and climate than the latter island. There are several mountainous or 

 hilly districts, chiefly in Ulster in the north, and Minister in the south, and very extensive flat bogs in 

 the middle districts, and upland hops or moors wherever there are hills or mountains All these bogs, 

 whether low <>r high, are OH good 60il, which, indeed, may be considered in connection with the motft 

 warm climate as their chief cause. Nine tenths of the soil is a loam on a limestone bottom, fertile, or 

 capable of being rendered so at little expense ; the remainder is chiefly thin clay or limestone. The hogs 

 arc here considered as mere coverings to soils ; their surface exceeds 1,000,000 of acres. The climate is 



