1193 



STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. 



Part IV. 



eay, and some parts of the Long Island, especially Barray, by 

 persons who pay attention to so important a department of 

 agrestic economy. 



aheep. Only lately attended to. There are now three differ- 

 ent tireeds to be met with in almost all the larger islands, yjz. 

 1. The native alxjrieinal breed, common to the whole Hebrides 

 forty years ago, and still more numerous than the other two 

 breeds taken together ; 2. The Linton, or black-faced sheep of 

 the south of Scotland ; and, 3. The well known, fine-wooiled, 

 Cheviot breed. The historian Laing has a large flock of Me- 

 rinos in the Orkneys. 



Horses. The Hebridean breed of horses resembles that which 

 Ve find in almost all countries of the same description of ch- 

 elate and surface. It is small, active, and remarkably durable 

 and hardy. It possesses the prominent marks of pertection in 

 this sort of animal, t. e. it is strong and nimble, of a good form 

 and proper size for its work, healthy, patient, good-tempered, 

 and very easily kept in good condition. It is found in the 

 Highlands of Scotland, in Wales, Norway, Sweden, Switzer- 

 land, Tyrol, Hungary, and Transylvania, and with little va- 

 riation in shape and size, in all the hilly districts of Europe. 

 The average height of what are deemed sizeable horses is 

 from twelve to thirteen hands ; but that of the lower tenants' 

 horses in Mull, Jura, and the northern isles, rarely exceetls 

 eleven or twelve hands. They are handsomely shaped, have 

 small legs, large manes, little neat heads, and manifest every 

 symptom of activity and strength. The common colours are 



f-ey, bay, and black ; the last -mentioned colour is the favourite, 

 xceptihg in Islay, and in a few gentlemen's farms, not ex- 

 ceeding two dozen in number in all the Hebrides, very little 

 has hitherto been done for bringing this breed to perfection, or 

 preventing it from degenerating. 



The breeding of horses for sale is not carried on to a consi- 

 derable extent in the Hebrides, nor does any of them export at 

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

 and perhaps Arran and Eigg. 



Ho^s. Considerable numbers of hogs are now reared in the 

 Hebrides, where the ancient prejudice against pork has gradu- 

 ally vanished, since their more intimate connection with the 

 lowlands of Scotland and England. 



Goats still maintain their ground on several islands, and in 

 certain circumstances constitute a valuable stock. But wher- 

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

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

 browsing than grazing animal, the goat will strain every nerve 



to crop twigs and plants of every description, and Is a mortal 

 enemy to every species of growing woods. 



New species, or varieties of stock. Excepting the ass, and per- 

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

 gam by introducing any new sorts of domesticated animals ; 

 indeed, the great want felt by the Hebrides is not that of ani- 

 mals, but of food in winter and spring for those which they 

 possess. The native breeds of cows and horses are, perhaps, 

 the very best possible for the country to support, and mav, by 

 due attention to feeding, and to selecting the strongest and 

 handsomest pairs as breeders, be improved to an indefinite 

 pitch of excellence. The breeds of sheep already recommended 

 and described may be improved, and reared to five times their 

 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 competent number of 

 hogs, for which these isles, abounding in potatoes, are ex- 

 trtmely well adapted. But 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, and Skve, 

 in a very wretched state. No iron railways or canals. No 

 equal portion of European population, not even excepting the 

 Russians, and most uncivilised Poles and Croatians, possesses 

 so few manufactures as the people of the Western Islands of 

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

 poverty and depression of 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, conti- 

 nually flow out of it, and prevents that gradual advancement 

 in wealth, comfort, and agricultural and economical improve- 

 ments, which are conspicuous in all other parts of Scotland ; 

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

 cent state, it greatly retards their progress. 



Kelp is a well known Hebridean manufacture, and is in an 

 advancing state. Macdonald, of Staffa, is distmguished for 

 his attentions to this branch of Hebridean economy ; and ha? 

 accordingly preserved for his kelp a character, whfch enables 

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

 Hebrides obtains. This results principally from its being begun 

 early in summer, its being duly attended to in the carriage and 

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

 unmixedwith clay, sand, stones, and all other impurities, which 

 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 

 gener.dly the single-stilted one ; the manure is chiefly sea-weed, 

 and on the quantity procure<l the farmer relies for his crop. 

 The plan of husbandry is to till very >hallow, and to harrow 

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

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

 barley early In May ; the cron is generally gathered in August ; 

 and if it remain "till after tJie fetinning 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 

 December and January not being more than four hours above 

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

 The summer days are proportionaWy long, and it is light 

 enough to see to read at midnight. The principal animals are 

 small horses, black cattle, sheep, pigs, and rabbits. The sheep 

 are very numerous, and it is calculated that there are above 

 50,000 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 the 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 the wool seldom one pound and a ha:f ; when carefully 

 treated, however, they 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 tlie 

 Atlantic. They are called Molucca or Orkney beans, and are 

 supposed to be of American and West Indian origin. Pods of 

 the Mim6sa sc^ndens 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 Orkneys, 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 a hen from every house in the parish where it was killed. 

 The corby (Cdrvus Ccirnix) 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; the sheep are now shorn, 

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

 scab), the wool is remarkable for its softness. {Edin. Gas. 1827 

 Blakie on .Sheep Husbandry in Orkney, in Trans. Highl, Hoc. 

 vol. iv. p. 599.1 



786!. The SHETL.\NT) ISLES are about eighty-six in number, of which forty are inhabited; the 

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



The climate is very humid, and cold northern and easterly 

 winds are extremely prevalent. Winter may be said to occupy 

 full six months in every year, and if the harvest is not over in 

 September, tire crops are generally spoiled from tempests. 

 There is a great diversity of soil ; often deep moss on a bottom 

 of sand, though sometimes the moss or peat is only a foot thick 

 on a bed of clay. There are scarcely any trees or shrubs, ex- 

 cepting juniper, and occasionally a few mountain eish ; the 

 roots of large trees are, however, often discovered on digging 

 deep into the ground. Turf and peat are used for fuel. The 

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

 exceeding ten hands in height, and are celebrated for their 

 spirit, and their power of enduring fatigue. The cattle are also 

 very small, though they feed well, and weigh astonishingly 

 heavy, in proportion to the size of their bones ; they give gene- 

 rally about three English quarts of milk a day, though in rich 

 pastures they sometimes produce double that quantity. The 

 number of sheep kept in the Shetland Isles is calculated to be 

 between 70,000 and 80,000. The wool is very short, and though 

 generally fine, is sometimes nearly as coarse and hairy as that 

 of a goat. The islands are well supplied with fish, and have 



multitudes of aauatic birds ; the inhabitants are much annoyed 

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

 dance of lakes and rivulets, which afford an ample supply of 

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

 manufacture of woollen stockings and gloves of extraordinary 

 fineness, and in their fisheries, from the produce of which they 

 annually export about 1000 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, is very fertile. Granite, freestone, and limestone 

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

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

 was formerly worked, but has been abandoned ; very recently 

 chromate of iron has been found at Unst. Various other mi- 

 nerals are found upon the islands ; and occasionally porcelain 

 earth ; but no potteries have as yet been established. {Edin. 

 Gax. 1829.) 



Sect. IV. Agricullural Survey of Ireland. 



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

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

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

 the middle districts, and upland bogs or moors vherever there are hills or mountains. All these bogs, 

 whether low or high, are on good soil, which, indeed, may be considered in connection with the moist 

 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 bo^s 

 arojifire considered as mere coverings to soils ; their surface exceeds 1,000,000 of acres. The climate i 



