AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap.fr. 



SECT. If. TYTHES. 



TYTHES, so loudly and so justly complained 

 of as an intolerable evil, wherever they prevail, 

 are unknown in this county. In one or two 

 places, indeed, tythes still continue to be exact- 

 ed. But these are such inconsiderable spots, 

 that the grievance is little felt, and deserves not 

 to be mentioned. Exemption from this oppres- 

 sive burden is not peculiar to Fife ; it is very 

 generally enjoyed through the whole of Scot- 

 land ; and must be considered as a circumstance 

 highly favourable to the progress of agriculture, 

 and to the peace and prosperity of the country 

 at large. The proprietor, in letting his lands, 

 feels no obstruction from this quarter to the na- 

 tural and reasonable increase of his rental. The 

 activity of the tenant, in the cultivation of his 

 farm, is not discouraged or checked by the ap- 

 prehension that another will carry off a large 

 share of the profits of his industry. And a 

 fruitful and lasting source of misunderstanding, 

 and often of ill blood, between the parochial 

 clergy and the tenantry, so fatal to the respecta- 

 bility and usefulness of the clerical office, is re- 

 moved. 



SECT. V. POOR S RATES. 



POOR'S rates have, as yet, obtained no esta- 

 blishment in Fife. Extraordinary contributions, 

 in seasons of extraordinary scarcity, have been 



