546 



REPORT — 1887. 



think of it. Owing mainly to a financial catastrophe of no ordinary mag- 

 nitude, I have had within the last few months to bring to sale land in 

 Scotland to an extent of about 39,455 acres, almost wholly arable. The 

 first public sale was on August 24, 1886, and certainly if I had been then 

 told that within a year 33,297 acres would be sold, I should have scouted 

 the prophet. It will not be uninteresting to note the results of these sales 

 in some of their social as well as their economic aspects. 



The total acreage we have brought to sale was, as I have said, about 

 39,455. Of that we are for various reasons reserving 620 acres, and the 

 sale of one property in Fifeshire, extending to 5,479 acres, has also for 

 special reasons been delayed. There remain, therefore, 33,356 acres really 

 to be dealt with here. 



The total acreage actually sold has been 33,297 ; the actual free rental 

 is 27,659Z. ; the valued nett rental was 26,G40Z. ; the price realised is 

 798,940?. 



Leaving out of view mansion-houses and shootings, and restricting 

 ourselves exclusively to agricultural land and fens, we have sold the land 

 at the average rate of twenty-eight years' purchase of the nett rental: the 

 highest of this class of land was sold at forty years' purchase, the lowest 

 at twenty-two years', but the range has been generally very close on the 

 average. 



Then we have sold this large value of land to the following classes of 

 purchasers : — 



