Sutherland Reclamation. 
425 
and the rest of the field was worked by the steam-plough in 
1875 ; oats were sown with rye-grass and clover in 1876, but 
yielded a miserable crop of 4 bushels per acre. The seeds were 
grazed in 1877, 1878, and 1879, each year giving a poor crop ; 
it might have been better to substitute rape for clover on ground 
so ill prepared for it. The worst part of the crop was found in 
June 1877 to be on the land that had been trenched by hand. 
The turf was very dry here ; the surface was better where it had 
been pressed down in the ploughing by steam, but where roots 
had been pulled out in winter eighteen months previously, the 
big holes were still soft at Midsummer. This field requires 
redraining. 
The stock kept on this farm in 1877 and 1878 fluctuated 
considerably. From 300 to 900 sheep were grazed upon it ; 
70 Highland cattle were wintered upon it, and 30 cows were 
calved down. As soon as the hoggets were sent back to the 
hills in spring, the ewe-flock was brought in for the lambing, and 
when these left, the wether hoggets were brought back again. In 
the winter of 1878-79 the only stock kept on this farm were 
46 Highland stores, 12 cows, and the hoggets. There was less 
straw and consequently less stock than in the previous winter. 
Steam-power is employed by the Master of Blantyre for most 
of the haulage and much of the cultivation of his two farms. 
A part also of the W'ork is done by oxen. The only horses kept 
are five on each farm for ordinary work, and one for the road 
and light work. The steading at Achnanerain has a central 
threshing-barn, with granary, storehouse, and working-floor 
over it ; stabling for 9 horses, stalls for 32 cows, and two large 
covered courts for store-cattle. There are four good stone-built 
cottages under one roof, viz., two on the ground-floor and two 
on the first-floor ; so arranged that they could be easily con- 
verted into a single farm-house. There are also two sets of 
double wooden huts, thus giving accommodation to eight families 
in all. 
As it is intended to use steam-power as much as possible for 
the ordinary tillage operations, every field on these farms has a 
firm road to carry the engines on two of its opposite sides ; 
wherever it is possible, each of these roads is made to serve as 
the common headland for two adjoining fields : on an ordinary 
arable farm where fences are not required there is no difficulty 
in this arrangement, but on a farm intended for grazing sheep 
it is desirable to have each field completely fenced off from 
the rest, and if a permanent fence is put up, a permanent head- 
land must be formed on each side of it. 
To overcome this difficulty the Master of Blantyre has in- 
