INTRODUCTION 



pursuit of salmon. The bay is separated from the main water 

 of the Firth by that most extraordinary and peculiar range of 

 country called the Sandhills of Moray/ a long, low range of 

 hills formed of the purest sand, with scarcely any herbage, 

 excepting here and there patches of bent or broom, which are 

 inhabited by hares, rabbits, and foxes. At the extreme point 

 of this range is a farm of forty or fifty acres of arable land, 

 where the tenant endeavours to grow a scanty crop of grain 

 and turnips, in spite of the rabbits and the drifting sands. 

 From the inland side of the bay stretch the fertile plains of 

 Moray, extending from the Findhorn to near Elgin in a con- 

 tinuous flat of the richest soil, and comprising districts of the 

 very best partridge -shooting that can be found in Scotland, 

 while the streams and swamps that intersect it afford a cori- 

 stant supply of wild -fowl. As we advance inland we are 

 sheltered by the wide -extending woods of Altyre, abounding 

 with roe and game, and beyond these woods again is a very 

 extensive range of a most excellent grouse -shooting country, 

 reaching for many miles over a succession of moderately sized 

 hills which reach as far as the Spey. 



On the west of the Findhorn is a country beautifully dotted 

 with woods, principally of oak and bii-ch, and intersected by a 

 dark, winding burn, full of fine trout, and the constant haunt of 

 the otter. Between this part of the country and the sea-coast 

 is a continuation of the Sandhills, interspersed with lakes, 

 swamps, and tracts of fir-wood and heather. On the whole I 

 do not know so varied or interesting a district in Great Britain, 

 or one so well adapted to the amusement and instruction of a 

 naturalist or sportsman. In the space of a morning's walk you 

 may be either in the most fertile or in the most barren spot of 

 the country. In my own garden every kind of wall-fruit ripens 

 to perfection, and yet at the distance of only two hours' walk 

 you may either be in the midst of heather and grouse, or in 

 the sandy deserts beyond the bay, where one wonders how 

 even the rabbits can find their living. 



' One district alone, Culbin, which belonged to the Kinnairds, and consisted of more 

 than 3600 acres of the finest land, was entirely destroyed in the autumn of 1694 or spring 

 of 1695. A great drifting of the sands then took place, which nearly overwhelmed the 

 whole estate in a very sudden manner (see Chapter XX.). Some say that Culbin consisted 

 of 9000 acres. These hillocks, like the French " duneS," are blown into different sized 

 masses and alter in height from time to time. 



