Sutherland Reclamation. 
417 
years ending in the spring of 1876, when it was let, together 
with the No. II. farm, Achnanerain, to the INIaster of Blantjre, 
a nephew of the Duke of Sutherland, to be worked in con- 
nection with the large sheep-farm which he held previously at 
Sciberscross. The chief part of the land is rented at IZ. per 
acre for nineteen years ; but three fields on each farm were 
found to be imperfectly reclaimed, and these are taken for five 
years at a grazing rent of Is. Qd. per acre, viz. : Nos. lb, 3, and 
6 on Colabol, and Nos. 4, 5, and 7 on Achnanerain. 
The treatment of the land has been much influenced by con- 
siderations for the welfare of the sheep. During the hard winter 
of 1876-7 the sheep were kept on the young seeds, and no field 
was allowed a sufficient rest to give the hay-crop a fair chance. 
The vigour and vitality of the grass and clover, in spite of this, 
are very striking, indicating that the soil and climate are well 
suited to their growth. No hay was made on either farm in 
1879 from the young seeds ; it was thought best to let the 
clover-seed fall and fill up the ground. The second year's 
grass was not cut for hay, because in 1878 the home-grown hay 
was found to be very inferior to hay purchased in Ross-shire.- 
Achnanerain. — On farm No. II. the steam-plough commenced 
work in the autumn of 1873. The old name of this spot — 
Achnanerain, or the field of corn — was no doubt given to it 
from the small patches that had been once under cultivation, 
and that still bore a greensward of turf. In spite, however, of 
its inviting name, it proved to be a very difficult and ex- 
pensive subject for reclamation, having just below its surface 
a far greater number of boulder -stones and rocks than was 
anticipated. It was in the breaking-up of this land that the 
Sutherland plough was most severely taxed ; and as some of 
its most important improvements were here tried and adopted, 
it will be convenient to give a description of this invention 
before further details of its work are given. 
The first step in adapting the steam-plough to work in a 
peat bog was the substitution of a single monster turn-furrow 
for the four or five usually carried. To prevent the implement 
burying itself in soft ground, the frame was next supported on 
very broad wheels or rollers. It was then found to work fairly 
where there were no obstructions, but whenever the share struck 
against a landfast rock or root it was liable to receive some 
serious injury. To meet this, the revolving coulter was invented 
by Mr. Wright, the Duke's secretary. It consists of a vertical 
disc of steel placed in front of the sock, and cutting the soil, as 
it revolves, to a depth of about two inches below the point of the 
sock. When this revolving coulter meets with a landfast stone, 
or with a root too large for it to cut through, it revolves over it, 
