Sutherland Reclamation. 
423 
time, grubbed instead of ploughed by oxen : 24 acres of the 
turnip-land were sown with 6 bushels per acre of Swiss oats, the 
rest of the field was sown with 6 bushels of Sandy oats. Where 
the rape had been, the oats were top-dressed with 2 cwt. super- 
phosphate, 1 cwt. bone-meal, and 1 cwt. phospho-guano per acre. 
There was a good crop of oats over the greater part of the field, 
although it was much laid after the turnips. Where the rape had 
been grown the oats suffered much from defects in the drains. 
It was on account of these delects that the field was let at 
Is. Qd. per acre. This field has already been referred to as more 
like a quarry than an ordinary field for ploughing. Although 
when land is full of big stones the expense of breaking it up is 
very great, it is generally on such land that the best crops are 
obtained. Many of the boulders are of granite and other rocks 
containing felspar. These, as they slowly crumble down, yield a 
soil that contains far more of the elements of fertility than those 
that are derived solely from the decomposition of the native 
gneiss, without any admixture of transported boulders. This is 
very clearly seen on this No. II. farm. Boulders abound in 
fields Xos. 1, 2, 3, and 6 ; while fields Nos. 4, 5, and 7, are 
mostly free from them. By far the best results of reclamation 
are to be seen in fields Nos. 2, 3, and 6. No. 3, the most stony 
field on the farm, has proved to be the most valuable. The 
young seeds were grazed in the winter of 1875, and throughout 
the whole of 1876 and the first nine months of 1877 by a heavy 
stock of sheep and cattle. In 1877 ]Mr. Watt, the grieve, declared 
that the field had been the sheet-anchor of the farm throughout 
the previous hard winter. They had had 40 Highland cattle 
upon it, and frequently from 4 to 8 sheep per acre in addition ; 
yet, in spite of this cruel treatment, the surface was covered in 
July with a thick mat of clover, still being fed by the sheep. 
No. 4 (44 a. 3r. 5 p.), in 1876, oats. The south-east end of 
this field is deep peat, with large roots of fir in it, occurring, as 
they often do, in two or three layers, one below the other. 
After the field was partly drained, the roots were got out in the 
winter, and in this way many of the drains were displaced, and 
treacherous pools were formed. The drains have since been 
dug afresh, but it is very difficult to make good work under 
such circumstances. The draining has been satisfactory wher- 
ever the pipes were laid in the solid bottom at first. In 1877 
turnips and swedes were sown — a very poor crop, partly eaten 
and partly drawn ; 1878, rape and grass-seeds were sown on 1st 
of May. Sheep were put into the field as soon as the rape was 
6 inches high. It might have been better to have sown rape 
only, and have left it longer before feeding it. In the spring 
of 1879 a great part of the land was found to be too soft to 
