106 BRITISH RURAL LIFE AND LABOUR. 



crofters who cultivate the slopes of the hills, and also some 

 small owners who cultivate their own land. About half 

 the earnings in this group of counties consists of allowances 

 in kind. A number of men keep cows, and it is a common 

 practice to keep pigs and poultry. In Sutherland, Ross 

 and Cromarty, and Inverness, which come next in order 

 in this group, the average weekly earnings are 155. iod., 

 1 6s. iod., and 173. 8d. respectively. In some districts 

 in these counties there are a number of large sheep farms, 

 and the crofter class is numerous in certain parts. The 

 weekly earnings in Argyll and Bute, which abut on several 

 counties where earnings are high, were i8s. 8d. In Argyll 

 there are numerous large sheep farms, but in certain 

 districts, for instance in the south-west and also in Bute, 

 there are a number of small farms, both dairy and arable, 

 mainly cultivated by the farmers and their families. 

 Taking Ayrshire next, the average weekly earnings of horse- 

 men come to 2os. iod. There are coal mines in the north- 

 eastern part of the county, and Ayrshire joins Lanarkshire, 

 the largest coal-mining centre in Scotland. In Ayrshire 

 dairying is largely carried on, and sheep-farming on the 

 hills. In certain districts on the western side of the county, 

 a great many early potatoes and vegetables are grown, 

 crops which give much employment. In Wigtown, 

 Kirkcudbright, and Dumfries, the average weekly earnings, 

 are 175. 8d., i8s. 6d., and i8s. iod. respectively. These 

 counties are purely agricultural, though there is some 

 quarrying in Dumfries. Dairying is carried on in all three 

 to a considerable extent ; also cattle-breeding and feeding, 

 and sheep-farming on the hills. Turning to the rest of 

 the counties in the grazing section, i.e. the group in the 

 centre near Glasgow and Edinburgh, containing the coal 

 mines and also other industries, the highest average earnings 

 are to be found here in the counties of Renfrew, Lanark, 

 Stirling, and Dumbarton. The average weekly earnings 

 in Renfrew and Lanark are 225. 6d., and in Stirling and 

 Dumbarton, 223. In Renfrew there are textile industries 

 (cotton, wool, hemp, and flax). Lanarkshire is not only 

 the largest coal-mining centre in Scotland, employing about 

 52,000 miners, but contains about 13,000 cotton operatives. 

 In Dumbarton, engineering and shipbuilding are carried 

 on, while in both Dumbarton and Stirling there is also 

 some coal mining. Taking the arable section, from north 

 to south, i.e. Nairn, Elgin, Banff, and Aberdeen, the earn- 

 ings of the horsemen are 173. id.,, 173. iod., i8s. 2d., and 

 193. 5d. These counties may be described as purely 

 agricultural, but there are a few quarries in Aberdeenshire, 

 employing about 2000 men, and also some textile industries, 

 employing about 4000 operatives. In parts of these 

 counties there are a number of small farms worked by 

 the farmers and their families. In some districts there are 

 a good many crofters whose sons and daughters work 



