Report on some features of Scottish Agriculture. 
195 
than quote the following from the last volume of the Highland 
Society's Transactions : * — 
" Nine-tenths of the pasture lands consist of artificial grasses 
under rotation, only one- tenth being permanent pasture, and a 
large part of that is confined to proprietors' home-farms. It is 
rare for a farmer to have an acre of permanent pasture on his 
farm. Such is the custom, and by his lease he is bound to have 
all his land under rotation. Instead of having a field of his own, 
he is sometimes, for the convenience of fences and a regular 
supply of grass, under the necessity of attending a sale and 
securing a field at a price above its value. It is true that a 
large portion of the light land of the counties is better adapted 
for tillage than for permanent pasture ; but, if properly laid out, 
a part of the heavier soils would continue to grow good grass, 
and would prove extremely convenient for the farmer. At pre- 
sent he is at a disadvantage in grazing ; the pastures being all 
artificial, consist chiefly of rye-grass, which is apt to run to 
seed ; and as red clover generally fails, pastures get very bare 
and brown before the month of August. If the stock are suffi- 
ciently numerous to keep the rye-grass from running to seed in 
June, a part of them must be sold or otherwise provided for 
in August on account of want of grass. Rye-grass is in season 
for grazing only about one month in the year ; so that when the 
clover-plant fails, stockholders having nothing but rye-grass are 
at a loss how to keep their cattle improving. It not unfrequently 
happens that cattle sell for less after being grazed than they 
would have brought when put out to grass. This is due partly 
to the difficulty of maintaining a continuance of good grass on 
artificial grazing, and to the open and shelterless condition of 
most fields. Rain and cold winds have a most injurious effect 
on cattle grazing in exposed situations. This state of the 
pastures is the reason why so many of the cattle are fattened and 
sold at two years old. On many farms their improvement on 
grass after that age is so slight that it is unprofitable to graze 
them. The reporter is of opinion that a part of each farm 
should be kept in permanent pasture." 
Aberdeenshire farmers keep a very large quantity of stock 
in proportion to the size of their farms, as will be seen by the 
following sketch of the method of the stock-farming pursued 
by Mr. William Murray on his farm known as Tipperty, near 
Aberdeen, This farm is 500 acres in extent, including roads 
and fences ; it is all arable land, and is worked on the usual 
five-course system. Not less than 170 head of cattle of every 
* ' On the Agriculture of Aberdeenshire and Banffshire.' By John Milne, 
Mains of Laithers, Turriff. ' Trans. Highland and Agri. Soc.,' 4th series, No. 6, 
1871, p. 378. 
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