THE RED DEEPS LIFE 35 



have become more decidedly pronounced there than 

 elsewhere. I fancy that the deer of the Long Island 

 have always suffered from an inadequate supply of 

 natural phosphates. The barren nature of the soil 

 can hardly fail to strike anyone who crosses the 

 interior of any of the Outer Hebrides. To my mind, 

 it is grossly unfair that the rocky isles of Western 

 Scotland, where mineral wealth is absent, and the 

 excessive cost of carriage renders industrial efforts 

 useless, should be forced to contribute to local rates 

 and national taxation in the same proportion as the 

 rich commercial districts of Southern Scotland. No 

 Edinburgh lawyer would like to have to contribute a 

 third of his income to the State before he could 

 claim a penny for his own use ; and yet that is the 

 treatment meted out to many of us Highland lairds. 

 The practical result is to set a positive premium on 

 absenteeism, and to prohibit most capitalists from 

 investing in Highland property. 



The deer of the Long Island are reported to have 

 finer heads than formerly, having generally more 

 points than mainland deer. Martin tells us, in his 

 ' Description of the Western Islands of Scotland,' 

 that the Lews deer of his day were forced to feed on 

 sea-ware during severe weather. Such an event, 

 however, was probably then as now of rare occurrence. 



D 2 



