454 
Sutherland Reclamation. 
loss was 15 per cent., and not half lambs. The death-rate 
appears to be increasing. Sheep are being softer bred, are 
being fed more artificially, and, owing to increased rents and 
expenses of all kinds, more sheep are being kept, and that on 
pastures getting yearly worse." 
A few of the tenants have already shown themselves superior 
to class prejudices, and have welcomed the addition of some 
arable land to their holdings. The smaller reclamations that 
I have already mentioned as preceding the Shinness reclama- 
tions are all cultivated by the tenants, viz., 90 acres at Balone, 
by jMr. Crawford ; 120 acres at Embo by Mr. Gordon ; and 
100 acres at Dalchork, by jNIr. McDonald. There are a few 
other reclamations recently effected in the north-west, and 
one in the south-western part of the estate that it will be well 
to glance at briefly before I pass on to describe the larger 
operations now being carried on under Mr. George Greig at 
Kildonan. 
RiBiaiLL AKD RhIFAIL RECLAMATIONS. 
The Ribigill farm, of 45,000 acres, on the west of Loch 
Loyal, is reckoned to carry 5000 sheep, at a rental of 1400/. 
It is rented by Mr. William Mitchell, a gentleman who adds to 
the intelligence and courtesj which prevail among these northern 
magnates a great amount of energy and enterprise. A few years 
ago there were only 30 acres of arable land upon the farm, 
but an arrangement was made by which 175 acres have been 
broken up and added to the arable land ; and at the same time a 
compact set of farm-buildings has been put up. A pair of 
8-horse engines were sent up from Leeds to do the work, the 
arrangement being that for the first 10 years Mr. Mitchell will 
pay 2i per cent., and after that time 5 per cent, on the cost of the 
work, in addition to his former rent. The work was begun in 
the autumn of 1877, but was mostly done in the spring of 1878 ; 
the Sutherland plough was used with a simple stirrer attached. 
The land proved to be very full of big roots and stones ; if this 
could have been foreseen, it would have been better to have 
emploved engines of greater power. The farm is divided into 
II fields. 
In field No. 1 there is much deep peat, and it would have 
been costly to form a solid headland for the engine to travel over 
this. One engine accordingly remained stationary upon a dry 
knoll near the centre of the west side, while the other engine 
worked round until half the field was ploughed. In field No." 2 
there are 7 acres that have been hand-trenched, and 14 acres of 
old arable land is now in grass. The trenched land was full ol 
stones, and cost 11. per acre for trenching 12 to 15 inches deep in 
