Agriculture of Scotland. 



63 



management, the land near tlie steading or farm-offices received 

 all the manure collected and prepared there, and thus an attempt 

 was made to keep those lands for many successive years under a 

 corn-crop, consisting of wheat, or more commonly of oats, bear 

 or barley, and pease ; and, although an occasional imperfect fal- 

 lowing was introduced at the close of each rotation of six or eight 

 years, the constant succession of corn-crops kept the soil in a con- 

 tinually impoverished condition. The out-field-land, which formed 

 the bulk of the possession, was made to grow a succession of oat- 

 crops, generally three, until, exhausted in strength and overrun 

 with weeds, it was suffered, under the dominion of this new pos- 

 sessor, — and without any attempt being made to assist the herbage 

 by the introduction of seeds, — to rest until the caprice of the oc- 

 cupier should deem it prepared to undergo the renewed attempt 

 to produce another series of scanty crops. The only manure ap- 

 plied to this division of the farm was effected by occasionally fold- 

 ing the few live stock then kept upon detached portions of it, after 

 which, in this case, it was expected to yield four or five corn-crops 

 in place of three. Very little wheat was at this time grown in 

 Scotland, and, even upon soils adapted for the successful 

 culture of this grain, the short-sighted cupidity of many landlords 

 prevented its more extensive cultivation, as being of an exhausting 

 nature to the soil. The drill system of husbandry, especially 

 during the early part of this period, was little practised in any 

 part of Scotland, and the culture of turnips in this form, which at 

 this time had its origin in this part of the island, entered only par- 

 tially into the rotation of a few of the best farms. Potatoes were 

 then only beginning to be cultivated in the fields, and the intro- 

 duction of grass-seeds had not made any extensive progress be- 

 yond the in-field of the best districts. Improvements, however, 

 made very rapid progress towards the close of the period under 

 consideration, and the system of leases having come more exten- 

 sively into use, — since the restrictions in entails affecting their ex- 

 tent was abolished by the act of 1770, — encouragement was afforded 

 to tenants to expend more liberally and to embark farther in 

 a species of speculation which now gave promise of considerable 

 success. Hence, we find rents rose very considerably about this 

 time, and many proprietors, who had expended largely in the 

 improvements lately introduced, found themselves amply remune- 

 rated by an increase of rent, in some cases to nearly treble their 

 value twenty years before."^ 



But as we approach the period of the formation of the High- 

 land Society of Scotland, it will be necessary, in accordance with 

 the required design of this essay, — in order to exhibit the stages 



* Wight's Present State of Husbandry in Scotland, vol.ii. p. 296. 



