Sutherland Reclamation. 
455 
1875 ; since then it has yielded excellent crops of turnips, oats, 
and grass. The crop of hay from the old land in 1878 was 35 
cwt. per acre. The general appearance of this farm shows that 
it is admirably adapted for the growth of grass of good quality. 
The average rainfall of the district is under 40 inches. 
Field Xo. 3 is partly old land and partly hand-trenched : on 
the former about 6 qrs. and on the latter 4 qrs. of oats were 
grown in 1878. No. 4 was steam-ploughed in 1876, and 
yielded a fair crop of oats in 1877 ; in 1878 it showed 5 acres 
of good yellow turnips, 5 acres of very good swedes, and 4 acres 
of potatoes — a good crop, but touched with blight upon the 
haulm. 
Xo. 5 is old land. X^o. 6 was steam-ploughed in 1876 and 
1877, partly limed, and then sown with turnips. The crop 
failed where there was no lime. 
No. 7. After ploughing by steam, a poor crop of oats was 
obtained in 1877 ; and a very good crop of turnips in 1878 by 
apply ing 12 tons of horse-manure and 6 cwt. of artificials. 
Xos. 8, 9, and 10 were ploughed, partially limed, and sown 
with oats, yielding a poor crop. 
No. 11 is a field on the side of a steep slope ; where the land 
was too steep for steam it was trenched by hand, it then got 
4 cwt. of artificial manures ; and 7 lbs. of rape-seed per acre 
were sown broadcast ; the crop was uneven, but the result better 
than that from the oats sown in the similar fields adjoining. 
The farm buildings are very substantially built of granite ; 
adjoining them are 3 houses for married men, clipping-sheds, 
dipping-shed, and well-arranged sorting-yards for sheep. The 
cost of these reclamations has been 40Z. per acre ; a high 
amount, partly due to the fact that the engines were not 
powerful enough for their work : there was a great loss of time 
and increase of expense from frequent breakages, involving a 
long delay each time in getting new fittings sent up from 
Leeds. 
During his occupation Mr. Mitchell has seen great changes 
in the circumstances of the farm. The green-land along the 
shore of Loch Loyal has gone back in condition since it was 
first taken from the small tenants, braxy is no longer a source 
of loss ; it was caused by rich herbage, now there is none. 
The sheep are now leaner in spring than they used to be when 
the same number were kept. The " black " parts of the farm 
have been much improved by sheep-draining and burning. 
The loss on sheep, counting hoggs and all, is now greater than it 
used to be, and may average, one year with another, about 10 or 
12 per cent. Five-and-twenty years ago men's wages were 
Is. 6f/. and women's, 6rf. a day, now they are doubled. The 
