1836.J 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



365 



principles of arithmetic, what all this may amount 

 to, at compound interest, forborne 70 _vears, which 

 we mav, from what is already seen, set down as 

 the period of perfection in the wood — it will come 

 to.£ 17,S.56. I3ut this sum, considerable as it may 

 in this view appear, is little indeed, compared with 

 the value of 100,000 trees, that may then be rea- 

 sonably expected to have attained to such a state 

 of maturity as to be worth more than twenty shil- 

 iinffs each, at an average. 



Besides this plantation on the banks of the 

 Cowie, there are others of hard wood in various 

 clumps, belts and hedgerows, around several, of 

 the enclosures. There is likewise a beautiful den 

 planted partly with hard wood, by a small rivulet 

 which flows irora the north towards the house of 

 IJry. Altogether, in this den, and in the diffijrent 

 clumps, belts and hedgerows, there may be about 

 sixty acres of plantation; and of this there may 

 be about one-third part of hard wood, with two- 

 ihirds of different kinds of fir intermixed. The 

 whole is in a very prosperous condition; and, besides 

 being hijhl}' ornamental, and aflbrding much shel- 

 ter, must ultimately be of great value. 



The most extensive, however, of the woods of 

 Ury are entirely of fir, upon the hill sides and hill 

 tops of what ma}^ be called the back ground of 

 the improved part of the estate. There, Mr. Bar- 

 clay has planted upwards of 800 acres. These 

 hills, thus clothed with wood, being of considera- 

 ble altitude and seen from far, have a very happy 

 effect in enlivening the general aspect of the coun- 

 try. The wood itself, however, is not all thriving. 

 In the lower parts of the hills, where the soil is 

 tolerably good, and where the exposure is not too 

 severe, the firs are doing well, and have every ap- 

 pearance of being valuable; but, fiarther up the 

 hill, they get worse and worse; till, at the utmost 

 summit, they have nearly failed altogether. This 

 is owing, in a great measure, to the extreme ste- 

 rility of the soil on these high and bleak situa- 

 tions; but in part also, to Mr. Barclay himself 

 having made an improper selection ol' the kind of 

 wood. He had an ill-judged partiality for. the 

 Scotch fir, esteeming it the most hardy of the pine 

 race, and the most adapted to the climate of the 

 country. This induced him to plant these more 

 exposed places, almost exclusively, with this kind. 

 Time, however, has shown, that the Scotch fir is 

 not all a hardy plant, but among the most delicate 

 and fi^eble of the fir species ; and will thrive no 

 where, unless it be in some favorite situation, such 

 as in the deep glens in the interior of the high- 

 lands, where, there can be no question, it grows 

 to a large size, and is a most valuable timber. In 

 all plantations, however, along the eastern coast, 

 the larix seems a much more hardy tree, and bet- 

 ter adapted for an alpine exposure. Of this there 

 is a striking example to be met with at Ury itself; 

 where a small plot, planted with larix on the top 

 of one of the hills, continues still vigorous and 

 thriving; while all around, the feeble Scotch firs, 

 after thriving a few years against the sterility of 

 the soil, and the coldness of" the exposure, have 

 dwindled down to the size of juniper bushes. 



It may be observed, with regard to the planta- 

 tions on the hilly parts of Ur}', that although they 

 cannot be compared with those raised on the low- 

 er grounds, yet there is still such a considerable 

 proportion that continue in a thriving condition, as 

 must make them, on the whole, a very profitable 



concern. The original expense of planting would 

 probably not exceed 15s. the acre ; while the val- 

 ue of the [lasture on such a wretched soil, can 

 hardly be estimated at any thing at all. So that 

 the whole expense, even calculatinir it on com- 

 pound interest to the present day would not ex- 

 ceed £2500; a sum far less than the present 

 value of the thriving part of the plantation, were 

 it appreciated at only sixpence a tree. 



When Mr. Barclay commenced his operations, 

 in the year 1760, he employed only the people of 

 the countrj', that were bred on his own lands, or 

 in the vicinity. At this time the scene of his im- 

 provements was very limited in extent, and the 

 number of liis work-people not great. But in 

 proportion as he acquired the occupation of more 

 of his own lands, his improvements expanded 

 more widely; and more people, fi'om the neigh- 

 borhood, to carry them on, were required. These, 

 however, were of a cast not altogether to his 

 mind ; fbr he did not meet with that alert service 

 from them that corresponded with his own ideas 

 of activity. This set him upon getting servants 

 fi'om a more enlightened part of the countrj'; and 

 accordinixly he engaged some from the county 

 of Norfolk in England. With the assistance of 

 these English servants, he set himself to the train- 

 ing of his own people to a more dexterous habit 

 of working, and to a more thorough knowledge 

 of his operations; some of which, such as drain- 

 ing, hoeing, planting, enclosing, &c. were entirely 

 new ; and all of them being on an improved prin- 

 ciple, were of course so far an alteration of the 

 common practice. His discipline was severe, but 

 it was very correct. He would admit of no slo- 

 venly practice— no slighting of the work. Nor 

 did he require any thing of" his people but what 

 he could do himself; for while he delivered out 

 his directions in the most clear and distinct man- 

 ner, he could, with his own hand, show them the 

 true mode of performance. He could even en- 

 i'orce his authority with something more effective 

 than verbal injunctions ; for it is said that the 

 clownish obstinacy of his people was not unfre- 

 quently corrected by manual discipline. I have 

 indeed met with difl'erent people that confess (and 

 even in some measure glory in it,) that they had 

 the knowledge of their work beat into them by 

 Mr. Barclay. This strict government had the 

 happiest consequences ; for not a little of the gen- 

 eral dexterity (to be afterwards noticed) in the 

 Kincardineshire laborers, is still to be traced to 

 the original system of their education, established 

 by Mr. Barclay of Ury. His establishments was 

 indeed very extensive. At Ury alone, he had, in 

 general, from 40 to 60 people constantly employ- 

 ed, either in the common operations of husbandry, 

 or in the extraordinary work of improvement. 

 He employed also fr-om 24 to 32 work horses. He 

 never employed oxen. He could endure no slug- 

 gish motion ; and his operations were all conduct- 

 ed in a style of too much celerity to admit of the 

 slow pace of the ox. 



Along with his Englishmen from Norfolk, he 

 imported several of the Norfolk implements of 

 husbandry; more especially the wheeled plough, 

 and the large eight horse wagon. The first of 

 these, as being unquestionably the most correct 

 implement of tillage, at the time, met with a fa- 

 vorable reception in the country, and soon spread 

 to a considerable distance. The more simple and 



