100 AUTUMNS ON THE SPEY, 



of 1829 has not since occurred, yet the winter 

 torrents are generally powerful enough to overflow 

 the left bank of the river, and, in spite of groins, 

 buttresses, and other contrivances both expensive 

 and laborious, large gaps and chasms are fre- 

 quently exposed after the subsidence of the 

 floods, and the work has to be commenced 

 anew. 



For six or seven miles above Fochabers bridge, 

 the alluvial and comparatively flat tract, which 

 suffered so much, is still the site of some of the 

 richest and most highly-cultivated farms in this 

 part of Scotland, forming a remarkable contrast 

 to the opposite side of the river, with its precipi- 

 tous sandstone cliffs and lofty hills, clothed with 

 pine-woods, extending into the interior in an 

 easterly direction. The lands of Dipple were re- 

 markable for their fertility, and shared a celebrity 

 with some others, as recorded in the following old 

 rhyme, 



" Dipple, Dumlurcus, Dandaleith, and Dalvey 

 Are the four fairest farms on the banks of the Spey." 



At Dipple there is also an ancient cemetery, 

 and a fish-bed was long since discovered in the 

 same locality, which has furnished to collectors 

 many fine specimens of ichthyolites, but is now 



