PHYSICAL FEATURES. 



25 



Bird life is abundant all along this coast-line. Terns, Eing 

 Dotterels, Oyster-catchers, and Shell-drakes breed on the shingle, 

 or in the sand-hills, and where there are convenient cliffs the Jack- 

 daws have taken possession. 



Seals are not infrequent along the coast, the Great Grey Seal 

 haunting the few rocks there are ; and the firths of the Little Ferry 

 and Dornoch are rarely if ever without their less bulky relations, 

 P. vitulina. 



Between Brora and the Mound the hills facing the sea are 

 wholly covered with plantations consisting principally of Scots 

 fir; and on a lower level, close to the sea and the village of 

 Golspie, the white towers and building of Dunrobin Castle are 

 seen rising through the surrounding woods. Some of the trees 

 close to the castle are of goodly size, but the east wind and 

 the sea spray have a dwarfing effect on much of the immediate 

 woods. 



At one time one of the finest farms in the country, that of 

 Crackaig, between Brora and Helmsdale, was nothing more than a 

 marsh, formed by the Lothbeg river, which spread itself out on this 

 flat, and entered the sea about a mile and a half to the north of its 

 present mouth. One of the former Dukes of Sutherland cut through 

 the soft rock, and made the present exit over which the railway 

 arch now is, thus reclaiming a large extent of most excellent land. 

 A small canal is kept open at the bottom of the hollow to let off 

 any surplus water, and this represents the old course of the 

 river. 



The sandy nature of the beach extends round the Dornoch 

 point almost to the Meikle Ferry, the area being greater here than 

 any other part of the coast. West of this again, parts of the 

 shore are rocky, with stones, mud, and sea-weed, and in many of 

 the muddy bays and inlets wild-fowl abound in winter. The 

 cultivated area is not so large around Spinningdale, planta- 

 tions there occupying more space. These are composed mostly of 

 fir, though at Spinningdale and Creich there is a considerable 



crops of grain (barley and oats), turnips and grass, are produced. The live- 

 course rotation was, till the last few years, invariably followed, but of late the 

 six-shift has become common. 



