126 SOIL. 



mean temperature given for the neighboring city of 

 Glasgow 8 for the year is 47, and this may be as- 

 sumed for the temperature of Ayrshire. 



The soil is mostly clay in the arable portions. 

 Sturrock estimates more than half of the arable lands 

 to be clays and heavy loams. The clays on the 

 higher ridges are thinner and nearer the till, of a 

 brownish-red color generally, and totally unworkable 

 for green crops under their climate. That kind of 

 clay soil hardens into a brick-like substance during 

 the occasional summer droughts. As for level w carse 

 clay land," there is none in Ayrshire. The light 

 land is comprised mostly in a strip extending along 

 the coast, in an almost unbroken line from the north- 

 ern boundary to the Girvan River, from one to three 

 miles wide, and perhaps fifty miles long, close to 

 the coast, uncultivated for the most part, but im- 

 proving in quality as it extends inland. Consider- 

 able extent of deep, light loam occurs through Kyle 

 and Cunningham, on the banks of rivers, and more, 

 even of a finer quality, in some of the minor vales of 

 Carrick. Large areas of peat and moor land exist ; 

 and although at times some effort has been made for 

 its improvement, but little has been done for the 

 past thirty years. 9 



The principal crops of the county are grass, oats, 

 and wheat. Of these, grass occupied about 57 per 

 cent of the rotation in 1857. About 24 per cent of 

 the average was in oats, and about 6 per cent in 



8 Blodgctt's Climatology, p. 54. 



9 Sturrock, op. cit. pp. 25 and 26. 



