370 NORTHERN CORN-GROWING 



latitude of Northern Labrador and Kamschatka we 

 find an almost purely arable country, growing barley 

 as one of its staple crops, and even linseed and 

 mangolds. 



In many respects the district resembles the Lothians, 

 though potatoes are not such a feature of the farming 

 and harvest is somewhat earlier ; but both areas are 

 distinguished by the same equable and prolonged late 

 summer or early autumn, so favourable to good quality 

 in the crops. The soils are also very similar to those 

 of the Lothians ; the underlying formation is the Old 

 Red Sandstone, and though drifts obscure the rock 

 they are largely derived from the Old Red and give 

 rise to light reddish soils passing into grey alluvials 

 and black moss soils, in places near the coast being 

 rendered even lighter by the admixture of sea-sand. 

 Sometimes the farmers speak of clay soils on particular 

 farms ; but they are little more than easy-working 

 loams comparable with the brick-earths and other 

 alluvials of England, and never containing more than 

 a small percentage of what the scientific man calls 

 true clay. As far as our experience goes, real clays, 

 like the London or the Weald clay, do not occur in 

 Scotland, or at any rate are not in cultivation. Pre- 

 sumably the drift origin of all the Scottish arable 

 soils, coupled with the generally greater rainfall, has 

 removed most of the finest particles, and the generally 

 crystalline nature of the rocks from which the soils 

 have been denuded contributes to their lightness. 



Taking Elgin as a centre we visited several farms 

 within reach of that town, and also crossed the low 

 watershed into Strathspey, where the farming is of a 

 very similar nature. Elgin itself is prettily situated on 

 a ridge of undulating ground by the Lossie, almost an 

 island in the flat country, and has long been known 



