192 Report on some fealnres of Scottish A(jriculture. 
III. Aberdeenshire. 
There are some features of the agriculture of Aberdeenshire 
which require general description, in order to invest the system 
pursued on the example farms with due significance. This 
county has a lower mean annual temperature tlian any in Scot- 
land, and an exceptionally late spring ; wheat is not grown, 
therefore, except to a very small extent in the most sheltered 
nooks. The five-course shift is generally pursued, viz. : oats, 
after two years' seeds ; then roots, followed by barley, or bere in 
the more exposed situations. But the distinguishing feature of 
Aberdeenshire farming is its cattle-feeding, and all the operations 
of husbandry are subordinate to the requirements of the byre. 
I am indebted to Mr. J. F. Beattie, of Aberdeen, for the 
statistics which enable me to give something like an accurate 
idea of the Aberdeenshire cattle-trade and the contribution of 
this one county to the meat-supply of London. It is computed 
that 42,000 head of cattle are annually fed : of these about 5000 
are required by the city of Aberdeen, 1500 by the small towns 
and villages in the county, and 1000 by the rural districts, 
leaving 34,500 head of cattle for exportation. These are all 
sent to the south, and chiefly to London ; 4463 head go by rail 
alive, and 3145 by sea, making a total of 7608 head of cattle 
which leave the county as live stock. The remainder, 26,892 
head, are killed in Aberdeen and forwarded to London or other 
large towns as dead-meat, their computed weight being 8500 
tons. In addition to this quantity, about 800 tons of meat, not 
fed in the county, pass through Aberdeen on the way south, 
chiefly cured beef, pork, &c., in barrels. 
This dead-meat trade is a most important feature in the city 
of Aberdeen, and is yearly increasing at the expense of the 
stock sent alive to London. The beasts are killed, and the car- 
cases split into sides ; they are then left hanging until a certain 
amount of firmness of flesh has been attained, generally for about 
forty-eight hours. The fore-part of each side is then cut off just 
behind the shoulder, the particular rib being a matter of choice 
Avith different butchers. Of late years, however, it has been 
preferred to cut farther back than formerly ; for, although less 
meat is left on the hind-quarter, a proportionately better price 
per pound can be obtained for it. The hind-quarters are then 
sewn up in canvas, and sent to London by the daily meat-train, 
being packed vertically in the meat-trucks. The fore-quarters 
are chiefly sold to the meat-preservers, by whom they are cooked, 
tinned, and hermetically sealed. This is the great source of the 
best qualities of bouilli, boiled beef, roast beef, spiced beef, and 
other varieties of " preserved beef," There is also a domestic 
