Forfar, the county town, has been a royal burgh since the time of David I. It is situated in the fertile valley of Strath-more, not far from the centre of the county, and has a population of 11,031. Duncan Canmore had a castle here, in which he held his first parliament, but no part of it can now be seen. It is said to have been destroyed by King Robert Bruce in 1307. Linen and jute are the staple manufactures. The County Buildings, and the Reid Hall, presented to the town by Mr Peter Reid of "Forfar Rock" fame, are elegant and substantial edifices.

Of smaller towns and villages there is a large number. The more important of these are Broughty Ferry, Coupar-Angus, and Kirriemuir. Broughty Ferry, or Burgh Tay Ferry, lies on the coast, 4 miles east of Dundee, and includes West Ferry in the parish of Dundee. It is a favourite bathing resort, and has a population of 5817. About a hundred years ago Broughty Ferry consisted of only a few fishermen's huts. Its castle, built in the fifteenth century, was held by the English from 1547 to 1550, and was retaken along with the fort on the hill by the Scottish allied army. Coupar-Angus, a tidy thriving town, stands in the valley of Strathmore, partly in Forfarshire and partly in Perthshire. Its inhabitants, according to the census of 1871, number 2149, and of these 303 reside in the Forfarshire portion. It has linen factories, a tannery, farina works, and saw-mills, and important markets for the sale of farm stock and produce are held at it. The ruins of an abbey, built in 1164 by Malcolm IV., remain in the neighbourhood on the site of a Roman camp. Kirriemuir and Southmuir, with a population of 4000, stand on a slope above the Gairie burn, about 16 miles north of Dundee. They form a burgh of barony, and their linen works employ a large number of people. There is a public school in the town, built in 1835 with £8000 bequeathed for the purpose by John Webster, writer and banker.

Stonehaven is the county town of Kincardine. A burgh of barony and a seaport, with a population of over 3396, it stands on a rocky bay at the mouth of the Carron, and at the extreme northern end of the great valley known as Strathmore. Its principal industries are tanneries, and wool, flour, and meal mills, while herring and white fishing give employment to a large number of its population. Only small vessels can enter the harbour. About 1½ mile along the coast to the south-west of Stonehaven stands the famous Dunnottar Castle. The ruins of this castle occupy about four acres on the summit of a rock that rises almost perpendicularly out of the sea, and is almost separated from the mainland by a narrow and deep chasm. In earlier days, considered impregnable, it was stormed in 1297 by Wallace, who is said to have driven the English garrison over the cliffs. It was a place of considerable importance clown to the seventeenth century, when it was used for several months as a prison for 167 Covenanters, male and female. The Earls of Marischall, the founders of Marischall College, Aberdeen, resided here. In 1650 Charles II. visited Dunnottar, bringing the Scottish regalia with him for safety. It is stated that Mrs Grainger of Kinneff secretly removed the regalia to the parish church of Kinneff, and thus prevented their falling into the hands of the English, when, in 1652, the garrison of Dunnottar, under Ogilvy of Barras, surrendered to Cromwell's forces. The ruins are in a wonderfully good state of preservation.

Bervie is the only royal burgh in the county. Situated about 10 miles south-west of Stonehaven, at the mouth of the Bervie Water, it has a population of 1013. The first linen yarn mill in Scotland was erected here in 1790. Flax spinning and weaving are its staple manufactures. Hallgreen Castle, an important stronghold of the sixteenth century, stands on an eminence within the burgh. In the year 1800 some vessels were chased to the shore by a French sloop-of-war, which, however, is said to have "taken fright and sailed away on seeing the muster of the volunteers"! Gourdon, a thriving fishing village with a population of 714, is the port of Bervie.

Laurencekirk, the chief town of the Howe, with a population of 1521, lies 10 miles north of Montrose. It may be said to owe its very existence to a gentleman of the eighteenth century —Francis Garden, a Judge of the Court of Session, under the title of Lord Gardenstone, who raised it from a clay-built hamlet with 54 inhabitants to a substantially built burgh of barony. He erected a town hall, an inn, an Episcopal chapel, a library and museum ; while he also set up a spinning mill with a bleachfield on the Luther, a tributary of the North Esk, and introduced linen manufactures. Johnshaven, with a population of 1077, is an irregularly built fishing village about 9 miles north-east of Montrose. Its harbour is small, capable of admitting only boats and small coasting vessels. One of the most charmingly situated villages in the north of Scotland is Banchory, on the north bank of the river Dee, about 18 miles west of Aberdeen. In 1871 it had a population of 865; but being a favourite summer resort, it has increased considerably since then. In the parish of Nigg, and directly opposite Aberdeen, is the important fishing village of Torry. It has a population of 686, chiefly engaged in fishing. About 5 miles along the coast lies the village of cove, with a population of 450. It is a coastguard station, and has a small natural harbour. The other more important villages are St Cyrus, Auchinblae, and Fettercairn, the older part of the last being a burgh of barony. The Queen and Prince Consort spent a night in Fettercairn, in September 1861,. and an elegant Gothic arch near the hotel where they slept commemorates the royal visit.

The configuration of Forfarshire presents great variety. It combines the wildest of mountain scenery with the softest and most charming of valley landscape. The county forms four natural divisions, the Maritime, Sidlaw, Strathmore, and Grampian sections. The first extends along the coast from Invergowrie to the North Esk, and stretches from 3 to 8 miles-backwards. Between Broughty Ferry and Montrose there is a considerable extent of links, unfit for cultivation, and of little value for pasture, but admirably adapted to the royal game of golf and other sports. It contains several tracts of remarkably rich land ; is in some parts beautifully wooded and undulating; in others rather flat and tame; while, as it rises towards the Sidlaws, the soil is here and there stiff and cold, or thin and poor, with little shelter. The Sidlaws, a range of trappean hills, almost in line with the Ochils, run through the county from south-west to north-east, terminating a little south of Montrose. The range is very clearly defined, and rises to a height of 1399 feet at Auchterhouse Hill, near the middle of the chain. The other higher peaks are the Gallow Hill, in Glamis, 1242; the Gask 1141, and Kinpurnie 1134 feet. At the pass between Dundee and Newtyle, the ridge sinks to about 1000 feet. The Sidlaw division is true to the general characteristics of trap districts. The higher peaks are partially covered with heather and other coarse herbage, and the slopes green and very uneven-Cultivation has been pushed to a great altitude on both sides, the arable land being continued through the pass between Newtyle and Dundee. The third natural division, Strathmore, or the Great Valley, is, from a purely agricultural point of view the most important of the four. In reality, Strathmore consists of a belt of Old Red Sandstone that extends from the west end of the Ochils, where it is about 16 miles in width, to Stonehaven,, where the width is less than 1 mile. This beautiful plain is about 90 miles in length, and it has been truly said that nowhere else in Scotland is there so extensive a reach of perfectly level fertile soil. The Forfarshire portion of this fine strath is hemmed in by the Sidlaw and Grampian ranges, and displays scenery of great beauty. The valley is well wooded ; its farms well laid off and skillfully cultivated, and the soft lowland aspect of its landscape forms a striking contrast to the rugged sterile contour of the heights on the north-west. The Grampian division is by far the most extensive, but the greater part is so mountainous as to be of little value in an agricultural sense. This chain of hills is a continuation of the Grampian range, and includes, in Forfarshire, about 100 peaks over 1000 feet in altitude. The slopes running down to Strathmore are known as the Braes of Angus, the ancient name of the county of Forfar. These slopes are extensive, very irregular in surface, on the whole moderately fertile, in some parts especially so, and are cultivated high up the hill side. The mountain range is intersected by several large glens, the chief ones being Glenesk, Glenisla, Glen Clova, and Glen Prosen. The scenery in these hilly regions is exceedingly beautiful, particularly in Clova, where the hills are steep and picturesque, and where a large number of rare plants are to be found. The higher peaks are Glasmhaol, which reaches an altitude of 3500 feet, and on which the counties of Forfar, Perth, and Aberdeen meet; Cairnglasha, a little to the north, 3490 feet; Cairnbannoch, and Broadcairn, in Clova, each 3300; Tolmount, also in Clova, 3100; Mount Keen, north of Lochlee, 3077. There are 55 peaks between 2000 and 3000 feet, and 12 over 3000.

The Grampian range and the valley of Strathmore both run into Kincardineshire. The former, indeed, make up about one-third of the entire county. The highest peak here is Mount Battock, on which Forfar, Aberdeen, and Kincardine meet, the altitude being 2555 feet. From this point the range gradually descends, until it terminates at Doonie's Hill, on the coast of Nigg, and 214 feet above sea level. In the Glen of Dye, and along the course of the Feugh, there is a good deal of cultivated land; while the slopes running down to the Dee are not only fertile but beautifully wooded and picturesque. The southern and south-eastern division of the county comprises the Howe of the Mearns (the name given to the part of the valley of Strathmore extending into Kincardineshire), the Hill of Garvock, and the coast from the mouth of the North Esk to about Muchalls. The Garvock Hill, like the Sidlaws in Forfarshire, separates the coast from the central plain, which, though rather less fertile, and not so well wooded as the corresponding portion of the Great Valley in Forfarshire, is nevertheless a moderately rich and very well cultivated stretch of land. Around Fettercairn the scenery partakes a good deal of the soft beauty that characterises the most charming parts of the valley farther south. The land sloping towards the sea is, generally speaking, bare and uneven. The coast is extremely steep and rocky, and dangerous to shipping.

There are a good many lochs in Forfarshire, but they are small. The largest is Lochlee, fed by the streams of Lee and Unich. It is only about 1¼ mile in length, and barely half a mile in breadth. It lies in the extreme north of the county. A little to the south-west (in Clova) are the small lochs of Wharral and Brandy, while still further south lies Lintrathen Loch, enlarged by the Melgarn being diverted into it for the purpose of forming a larger reservoir for the Dundee Water Works. It now extends to about 1¼ square mile. The loch of Forfar, which was partially drained for its marl, and for the improvement of the surrounding land, lies on the west of the town, and extends to about 1 mile by ¼ mile. The Fithie, Rescobie, and Balgavies Lochs are in this neighbourhood, while in Lundi there are four lochlets, the largest being Longloch, ½ mile by ¼ mile. Several small lochs, including those of Kinnordy and Logie in Kirriemuir, and Restenet in Forfar, were drained for their skell marl, which was used for agricultural purposes. In Kincardineshire, the lochs are both few and small. The loch of Drum once covered about 300 acres, but has been reduced to less than one-third. The loch of Leys, at one time more than 2 miles in circuit, has been drained. Loirston Loch, 27 acres in extent, lies in the parish of Nigg; and at Fasque there is a beautiful artificial loch, covering about 20 acres.

The chief rivers in Forfarshire are the Isla, the South Esk, and the North Esk. The Isla, rising in the extreme north-west, drains the western districts of the county, and passing into Perthshire near Ruthven, and, after a course of 42 miles, empties itself into the Tay at Cargill. The South Esk has its source in Clova, and flows south-east for the first half of its course, which is about 50 miles in length, and due east the latter. It drains the main portion of the centre of the county, and falls into the sea at Montrose, its mouth forming a large and beautiful basin. Its chief tributaries are the Prosen, the Carity, the Noran, and the Lemno. The Prosen has a course of about 16 miles, and after receiving the burns of Glenlogie, Glenoig, and Lednathy, joins the South Esk below Cortachy Castle. The North Esk or East Water has a course of about 40 miles. It drains the north-eastern division of the county, forms for a long distance the boundary line between Forfar and Kincardine, and falls into the sea about 3½ miles north of Montrose. On the right, it receives the waters of the Effock, the Keeny, and the Mooran, from which, at a cost of £15,000, a daily supply of 500,000 gallons of water was diverted for the town of Brechin. The Tarf, the Turret, the Meallie, and Auch-mull and other streams join the North Esk from the left. The water of Lunan, issuing from Lunan Well, Restenet, and Balgavies, flows in a north-easterly direction for about 17 miles, and empties itself into the beautiful bay of Lunan. The Dighty has a course almost as long, and drains a portion of the eastern slope of the Sidlaws, and falls into the Firth of Tay at Milton. The North and South Esk are excellent salmon streams, while in the smaller waters there is a good supply of trout. In most of the lochs, too, lovers of the piscatorial art find capital sport. The northern and western slopes of Kincardineshire are drained respectively by the Dee and the North Esk and their tributaries, the interior being drained by the waters of Bervie, Carron, Cowie, Finella, and other smaller streams. The Bervie rises in the parish of Fordoun, and after a course of about 14 miles, falls into the sea a little north of Inverbervie. The Finella, with a course of 7 miles, rises at Garvock, and falls into the sea near Johnshaven. The Carron and the Cowie, each about 9 or 10 miles long, rise respectively in Glenbervie and Wodder Hill, and fall into the German Ocean at Stonehaven. The Luther, rising at the head of the Glen of Drumtochty, is the chief tributary of the North Esk in Kincardineshire; that of the Dee being the Feugh. The latter stream, with a course of 15 miles, rises near Mount Battock, and falls into the Dee at Banchory. The scenery at the junction of the Feugh and the Dee is very beautiful, the Falls of Feugh being greatly admired. The Water of Dye rises at the top of Glendye, and after a course of 10 miles, joins the Feugh a little above the village of Strachan. The Sheeoch water rises on the east of Kerloch, and after a run of about 8 miles, joins the Dee near the Church of Durris.

Geology—Soil.

The main features of the geological formation of these counties may be indicated in a few sentences. The Grampian range is composed mainly of primary rocks. The tops are formed almost wholly of granite, but, descending the southern and eastern slopes, we find the primary rocks associated with small quantities of those belonging to the transition formation, layers of gneiss, mica schist, and quartz being interspersed with small deposits of limestone and clay-slate. A slate vein runs along the hill sides, from a little north of Stonehaven to Easdale, Argyle, and is nearly all the way accompanied by a dyke of trap, or whinstone, which gives value to the soil and beauty and variety to the scenery. The slate comes to the surface at several points, and in some parts, notably in Fearn and Lethnot, it has been quarried. The valley of Strathmore is one long bed of Old Red Sandstone. The Sidlaws, in Forfarshire, and the Garvock Hill, and the other lower hills further north in Kincardineshire, are composed mainly of trappean rocks, with several important deposits of greyish blue sandstone slate, which is of excellent quality for pavement, and which at Carmyllie and elsewhere is quarried extensively for local use and also for exportation. At various points throughout both counties there are deposits of limestone. In Forfarshire it exists in Clova; Glenesk; in some of the Sidlaw valleys; at Hedder-wick, near Montrose; and at Bodden in Craig. In Kincardineshire, it is found at Clattering Brig; at Drumtochty and Glen-farquhar in Fordoun; at Whistleberry, Kinneff; at Mathers, St Cyrus; at Kirtonhiil, Marykirk; and at Tilwhilly and elsewhere on Deeside. At several of these places the limestone has been extensively worked for many years. At Bodden it was worked as early as 1696. In both counties there are some deposits of conglomerate, or pudding stone, that on the hill on the farm of West Drums, near Brechin, being considered one of the most perfect in the country. At Dunthill, Marykirk, there is a bed of New Red Sandstone, but there is not enough to give any hopes of there being coal underneath it. At Cowie and elsewhere in Kincardine, and at several points in Forfar, pipeclay is found. At Montrose, Arbroath, Durris, Fetteresso, and at other places, there are chalybeate or iron ore springs with medicinal properties. Fossil remains of plants and fishes occur in the sandstone; but, as might have been expected, all borings for coal have been unsuccessful, for that valuable substance does not exist under Old Red Sandstone. Throughout the sandstone districts there is a good deal of iron, to which the Red Sandstone owes its colour. About 1710 an iron mine was worked for a short time in Edzell.

With such distinct geological formations, it is only natural to expect that these counties should present considerable variety of soil. The rule that the surface soil corresponds to the rocks beneath holds exceptionally true in Forfar and Kincardine. The extent of alluvial soil—or, in other words, of soil deposited where it now lies by water—is very small indeed, and hence it follows that the great portion of the soil consists of decomposed particles of the underlying rocks, enriched by the decay of vegetable matter, and by a long-sustained system of liberal manuring. It is therefore possible, from the foregoing hurried sketch of the geology of the counties, to form a general idea of the character of the soil in the various districts. In the south-eastern districts of Forfar, those lying between the Sidlaw range and the sea, the soil is, generally speaking, of a light friable nature, well suited for potatoes and turnips. Nearly midway between Dundee and Arbroath there are small portions well adapted to the cultivation of beans; while in the Invergowrie district there is a good deal of very fine grain land, some parts of which, however, are slightly subject to drought. Close by the sea at Monifieth there is a portion of as rich dark brown loam as one could wish to see; while in Panbride, Arbroath, and elsewhere along the coast there is a pretty large extent of similar soil. On some parts of the southern slopes of the Sidlaws, and along as far as the parishes of Monikie and Carmyllie, the sub-soil is hard and retentive; but, as a rule, along the coast it is free and easy, with a small admixture of gravel. On the more inland parts of Carmyllie and in that neighbourhood there is a good deal of thin moorish soil; while along the higher arable parts, on both sides of the Sidlaw range, the soil varies from a very thin "hungry" loam to pretty fertile loam of moderate depth. As we descend the north-western slopes we find the soil increasing in depth and quality until, on the banks lying partly on the trap rocks and partly on the Red Sandstone, it becomes very sound heavy reddish loam, well adapted to the cultivation of wheat and potatoes, and rented at from 35s. to 50s. per acre. With the exception of a small stretch of mossy land near the west end of the valley, the soil of Strathmore is, on the whole, true to the character of the formation to which it belongs. On unbroken belts of Old Bed Sandstone, the soil is generally a reddish loam of medium texture, very fertile and not difficult to work, with a sub-soil of sand, gravel, or friable clay. This is as near as might be the general character of the soil along the valley of Strathmore; but while the composition does not differ greatly, there are many degrees of depth and value. It is evident that large portions of the lower-lying parts of Strathmore have been scoured by water, for in several of these parts the soil is very thin and gravelly; in a few spots, indeed, so much so that it is scarcely worthy of being cultivated. On the Mains of Glamis and some other farms in the bottom of the valley, the soil is both deep and sound, but, as a rule, the heavier and richer soil lies on the banks and lower parts of the slopes. In the Guthrie and Farnell districts there is great variety of soil. Indeed, there are few farms on which there is not both very rich and very poor land. The most of the land here lies on a clayey subsoil, some of it rather stiff, and resting on the sandstone. Towards Montrose, the soil becomes easier and lighter, but on many farms it is heavy and fertile, being mixed with decomposed trap rocks. In the Howe of Kinnaird there is some very stiff clay, which, in these untoward times, is proving a rather stubborn subject to work. Part of the Howe lies so low that it has been found almost impossible to drain it sufficiently well to admit of its undoubtedly high productive powers being taken full advantage of. It is understood that the redraining of part of the Howe is being contemplated, and much improvement would certainly result were that carried out. On the rising ground in this neighbourhood the soil is generally a fertile friable loam on a clayey, sandy, or gravelly subsoil. Along the Braes of Angus, which include a large range of country, the soil varies from a thin poor loam, resting on a close red "pan" coming very near to the surface, to good, deep, sound, black loam lying on limestone, trap, sandstone, primary rocks, or a mixture of two or more of these. A friable black loam of medium depth and fertility predominates, the most general subsoil being gravel mixed with clay. Dr Page's graphic description of the configuration of districts adjoining beds of the Old Red Sandstone, applies so truly to the Braes of Angus that we produce it here. He says:—"The hills of Old Red districts, partly composed of traps and partly of soft sandstones and hard conglomerates, present great diversity of scenery, here rising in rounded heights, there sinking in easy undulations, now swelling in sunny slopes, and, anon, retiring in winding glens or rounded valley-basins of great beauty and fertility." A more correct description of this part of Forfarshire it would be impossible to give.

Along the Kincardineshire coast, from the mouth of the North Esk to Stonehaven, the soil varies from deep rich loam to thin poor black earth or stiff cold clay. A medium loam predominates. In the parishes of Benholm and St Cyrus, there is a good deal of moderately heavy fertile loam, which produces excellent crops. In Bervie, there is also some very good loam, but on almost every farm there is considerable variety, part being free black loam, resting on an open subsoil, part red or brown stiff clay, and part thin and moorish. Similar remarks apply to Kinneff and Dunnottar. On the Garvock Hill the soil is cold, stiff, and sour, heavy to cultivate, and even when well cultivated only moderately fertile. The greater part of the Howe of the Mearns is similar to the main portion of the valley of Strathmore in Forfarshire, the soil being, as a rule, a reddish loam, resting on sand, gravel, or clay. Gravel predominates on the north-western slopes, and clay on the southeastern. Generally speaking, the soil of the Howe is not quite equal to the Forfarshire part of the Great Valley, but still near Fettercairn, in some parts of Fordoun, and elsewhere, there is some very rich land. Around the village of Fettercairn the soil is deep, strong, rich loam; but in other parts of this parish, and in Edzell, Laurencekirk, and Fordoun, not a little of the land consists of moderate black loam or stiffish clay. Taken as a whole, Fordoun is an excellent agricultural parish, there being in it a large breadth of really good substantial clayey loam. The soil on the best farms in Fordoun and Laurencekirk is a heavy loam, with an admixture of clay. In some seasons it is not very easily reduced to a satisfactory tilth, but when well worked and liberally manured, it yields abundantly, and is rented at from 35s. to 45s. per acre. Along the slopes on the hill sides the soil is thin friable loam. In the parish of Glenbervie there is some good clay loam, but there is also a good deal of thin reddish land that produces only moderate crops. There are some deposits of moss in this parish. In the parish of Fetteresso, near Stonehaven, the soil is mostly sharp friable loam, but in the more inland and higher parts it is an inferior clayey or moorish loam. Throughout the northern half of Kincardine, the soil consists mainly of decomposed granite, with an admixture of moss and other vegetable substances. In the parishes of Banchory-Devenick, Nigg, and Maryculter, the surface is remarkably stoney, large blocks of granite being very numerous on all uncultivated patches. It would seem that the greater part of the coast-side district between Stonehaven and Aberdeen had at one time been covered with moss. There is a good deal still in the uncultivated parts, though the inhabitants have been carting it away for fuel perhaps for centuries. The soil, too, in the arable parts is impregnated with it, and in this respect the land here differs slightly from that in the Deeside districts of the county, where there is less moss. There the soil is chiefly light, friable, fertile, sandy loam, with subsoil of clay and gravel, or gravel alone. Under liberal farming for a long-period, it has become considerably richer than it was originally, and in a year when moisture is plentiful it yields excellent crops of barley, oats, turnips, and potatoes. In the parish of Durris, back from the river side, there is a good deal of stiff loam lying on a damp clayey subsoil. Exceptionally close drainage has been required here to make the land useful, and although it has, on the whole, been well handled in this respect, it is still of a somewhat damp cold nature. The arable land in Strachan lies along the courses of the Feugh and its tributary the Dye; and in these parts the soil is mostly of a medium loam, friable and fertile in a favourable season, and lying on clayey gravel or on the primary rocks. Away far up on the Feugh side there are some wonderfully rich pieces of land, admirably suited for the raising of barley, oats, and turnips.

The Progress of the past Twenty-five Years.

Before tracing the progress of the past twenty-five years (the period over which this report is required to extend), it would have been interesting to have given an account of the ancient systems of farming, and of the social condition of the two counties a century ago. Such an account, however, would take up more space than could well be devoted to a subject not properly within the range of the report. A few sentences must therefore suffice. As might be expected, from its better climate and more southern situation, the lower part of Forfarshire was earlier brought under a system of improved husbandry than Kincardineshire, and thus the contrast between the farming in Forfarshire now and eighty years ago is less striking than between the agriculture of Kincardineshire at the present day and at the commencement of the century. From the Rev. Mr Rodger's Report on Forfarshire, drawn up in 1794, it appears that wheat was then cultivated in every parish in the lower parts of the county; that Angus oats, still famous, had then a wide reputation; that sown grasses were used on almost every farm; that turnips were freely grown; and that potatoes were cultivated with great success, the yield in some instances being as high as from 50 to 60 bolls of 16 stones per acre. The number of cattle was estimated at 36,499; a small breed, ranging in weight from 16 to 20 stones avoirdupois, occupying the higher grounds, and a larger breed, weighing from 40 to 70 stones, the lower parts. Sheep numbered 53,970, and were mostly of the blackfaced, a few being of the ancient dun or whitefaced kind, and others of mixed breeding. On some of the better managed farms, and around proprietors' residences, there was a good deal of enclosed land mostly under pasture. Farm implements were still primitive, but improvements were fast being introduced. The clumsy old Scotch plough, modernised by metal boards, was still in use, but improved ploughs, chiefly of Small's make, were speedily superseding it. It was not uncommon to see four horses attached to a plough, and oxen were employed on many farms. Ploughmen's wages, without board, averaged about 1s. 3d. per day. There was then a large extent of wood in the county, and early in the present century the area was greatly increased by Lord Airlie, Sir Jamas Carnegie, the Strathmore family, and others. The Rev. Mr Headrick states the number and rental of the farms in 1813 as follows, viz.:—Under £20 of annual rental. 1574; between £20 and £50, 565; between £50 and £100, 682; between £100 and £300, 315; and above £300, 86; making in all 3222 farms.

Agricultural improvement in Kincardineshire would seem to date from about 1760. About that time some important steps of advancement were made by a few enterprising proprietors and farmers, but it was not before the advent of the present century that the spirit of improvement spread throughout the main body of the tenantry. The area of cultivated land about the commencement of the century is stated at 74,377 acres, and that under actual tillage at 45,736, it being estimated that other 28,000 acres were capable of being cultivated. In the better parts of the county, in the Howe of the Mearns, and in the parishes of St Cyrus and Benholm, wheat had been grown as far back as tradition and record stretched; while by 1807, barley, oats, peas, beans, potatoes and turnips, and sown grasses were cultivated with success all over the county. The practice of leaving land in fallow is said to have been introduced into the county by Mr Barclay of Urie in 1761. It spread gradually over the county, and in 1807 the fallow break was estimated at 2619 acres. A pretty regular and well-understood system of rotation was pursued about the commencement of the century. In the wheat districts the older rotation was—1st, fallow and turnips; 2d, part wheat and part barley, usually two-thirds of the former; 3d, beans; 4th, barley; 5th, clover; 6th, pasture ; and 7th, oats. Following this came a six-course rotation, of fallow, wheat, beans and turnips in equal proportions, barley, clover, and oats, in order. On thin outlying soils the rotation was fallow, barley, pasture for two years, and then oats. Mr Barclay for some time pursued with success a rotation of four crops, viz.—1st, wheat, manured after clover; 2d, turnips; 3d, barley; and 4th, clover. In the more hilly parts of the interior the following somewhat peculiar rotation was followed, viz.,—1st, oats; 2d, oats, or oats and bere; 3d, turnips, potatoes, and peas; 4th, part oats and part bere; 5th, green crop as before; 6th, part oats and part bere; 7th, clover and rye grass cut for hay; 8th and 9th, pasture. It is stated that potatoes were first planted in Kincardineshire in 1727 by an old soldier who had brought some tubers with him. from Ireland to the village of Marykirk, where he resided for only one year. He raised a good crop, and it is recorded that, while the villagers were ready enough to steal the strange plant, "none of them had the ingenuity to cultivate it after he was gone." They looked in vain to the stems for the seed. Potatoes were again introduced into the Mearns in 1760; while in 1754 turnips were introduced by Mr E. Scott of Dunninald, and grown by him on the farm of Milton of Mathers, St Cyrus. In 1764, Mr William Lyall, farmer in Wattieston, Fordoun, raised about an acre of turnips, and it is stated that the crop was considered so rare that it was sold in small quantities, at one penny per stone, for kitchen vegetables. This crop was cultivated on only a very few farms till 1775, but by the beginning of the present century it was grown all over the county. Sown grasses were not in general use till about 1770; but it is stated that as early as 1730, Sir William Nicolson of Glenbervie, "a spirited cultivator at an early period," raised hay from sown seeds, "not, however, from the seeds of any of the species of clover now in use, but from such seeds as were found among the natural meadow hay." The number of cattle in 1807 was 24,825, and it is stated that a four-year-old Mearns ox weighed about 45 stones. The best cattle are described as black or brown, or brindled, with spreading horns. There were also some very good polled cattle, similar to, and no doubt of the same breed as, the Buchan "Humlies," the progenitors along with the Angus "Doddies" of the improved polled Aberdeen and Angus breed. The sheep stock numbered 24,957, and consisted mainly of blackfaced sheep and the ancient dun faces. Along the coast there were a few Bakewell Leicesters, and also some South Downs. At the commencement of the century the farm implements were somewhat primitive. The ancient Scotch plough was fast giving way to Small's improved ploughs, which cost about £4 each, and which by 1807 was almost the only sort of plough used in the county. Harrows, with five wooden bills and five iron teeth in each, were coming into use, as also were single carts. During the first ten years of the century about a score of threshing mills were erected in the county at a cost of from £140 to £180 each. Among the noted early improvers, Mr Barclay is mentioned as having been the most prominent. Between 1760 and 1790 he reclaimed over 900 acres, and planted 1000 acres, raising the rental of his estate of Urie from £200 to £1800 in less than fifty years. Early in the century great improvement was effected in houses, roads, and fences.

Coming to speak of more recent times, we are happy to be able to state that the spirit of improvement aroused in the last century has never been allowed to lie dormant. True, during the last twenty-five years, a smaller extent of land has been reclaimed than during either the last twenty-five years of the eighteenth century or the first twenty-five of the present, but that has not been due to any flagging in the spirit of improvement, but simply to the fact that only a limited area of suitable land remained for the proprietors and tenants of the past twenty-five years to bring under cultivation. There has been less done lately, simply because there has been less to do. No reliable data exist upon which to estimate the extent of land reclaimed in the two counties during the first half of the present century. The Rev. Mr Headrick estimated the arable land in Forfarshire in 1813 at 340,643 acres, but it is clear that that far exceeded the actual extent, for the area at present under all kinds of crops, bere, fallow, and grass, falls short of it by nearly 90,000 acres. The statistics relating to Kincardineshire seem to be rather more accurate. The area under cultivation in 1807 was estimated at 74,377 acres, and from this it would appear that during the first half of the present century about 27,000 acres had been added to the arable extent.

Confining ourselves to the last twenty-five years, we find that in both counties there has been a very substantial increase in the extent of arable land. The agricultural returns, taken up at the outset by the Highland Society and ultimately by the Board of Trade, did not at the commencement include holdings rented at less than £10 a year. It is therefore impossible to ascertain the exact extent of the increase. The following table, however, affords a pretty correct indication:—

The percentage of the arable area of Forfar under cultivation in 1870 was 41.8 ; now it is 44.5. In Kincardine, the percentage in 1870 was 47.1; it is now 48.5.

This increase, equal to 1246 acres a year in Forfar and 1117 acres in Kincardine, must be regarded as highly creditable,, especially when it is considered that, as previously stated, agricultural improvement in these counties had been carried to a great length long before the period to which the above table refers, so far, indeed, as to leave comparatively little to be done. In Forfar, the main portion of the new land lies in the Braes of Angus along the foot of the Grampians, but there is also a fair proportion on the Sidlaw range. Throughout all the higher lying parts of Kincardine there has been less or more reclamation since 1854. On the slopes of the Garvock Hill there has been a good deal, and also on the hard heights and mossy hollows of Glenbervie and Fetteresso. Along the foot of the Grampians, in Edzell, Fettercairn, Laurencekirk, and Fordoun, there has been a narrow fringe reclaimed within thirty or forty years; a small portion within twenty years; while in each of the parishes in the northern division of the county there has been a certain extent reclaimed. Strachan and Durris claim the larger portion.

The reclamation of land, however, has not constituted the whole of the agricultural improvement in these counties during the last twenty-five years. Indeed, it is doubtful if it has not in outlay been far exceeded by the improvements in farm buildings,, draining, fencing, road making, and other accessories which tend to develop the resources of the soil. In both counties there has-been a great deal done in the improvement of farm buildings, and these are now on the whole fully abreast of the times. In several parts of Forfar, and also in some parts in Kincardine, re-draining might be carried out with advantage; but still, since 1854, a great improvement has been effected in the condition of" the land in this respect. In the wheat and potato districts there is yet a large stretch of open land, but in the parts where the pasturing of live stock holds a prominent place in the economy of the farm, a great extent of fencing, mostly wire and stone dykes, has been erected within the last twenty-five or thirty years. In service or farm roads, too, as well as in the county roads, there has been considerable improvement; while not a little has been done in the way of straightening watercourses, squaring fields, draining small pieces of lake or swamp, clearing the land of stones, and in other small but useful works.

The progress in the cattle department sustained a most serious check by rinderpest in 1865-66. It was several years after that dreadful scourge before the rearing and feeding of cattle were pursued with the same energy as formerly, but within the past ten years a good deal of the lost ground has been made up. The number of cattle in Forfar has decreased since 1854 by 1699 head, and in Kincardine by 202 head. In the character of the stock kept, however, there has been a considerable improvement since 1854. There is no doubt a greater number of cattle fed than prior to 1854, and it is equally certain that the average weight of beef per head is greater now than twenty-five years ago. Sheep farming has increased greatly in Forfar since 1854, there being a very small decrease in Kincardine. Here also there has been a slight increase in the comparative production of meat, if not likewise of wool.

The valuation roll is perhaps the truest mirror of the development of a county, and in it these counties appear in a most favourable light. The following tables show the valuation of the two counties at various periods since 1674:—

The following tables show the valuation of the different parishes in the two counties now and twenty-five years ago, and also the increase in each, thus indicating the parts in which most improvements have been effected within that period.

Details of Improvements and of Different Systems of Farming.

Before proceeding to indicate in order the general farming customs, we shall give, in as condensed a form as possible, some notes which we collected regarding improvements and systems of management on different estates and farms throughout both counties. And in giving these, we have to acknowledge our indebtedness to many proprietors, factors, and tenants, for much valuable information. Perhaps the best plan would be to make an imaginary tour through the various districts, bring the reader along, and transcribe our notes as we proceed.

Forfar.

Starting, then, where Forfar joins Perth, a few miles west of Dundee, we find ourselves in the parish of Liff and Benvie, which has an area of about 8049 acres, and a rental of £13,824, being an increase of £2310 since 1856-57. The rental in 1683 was £4618 Scots money. Around Invergowrie there is some very fine land rented at from £4 to £5 an acre, this great value being due to the proximity of the land to Dundee. One of the largest farmers in this district is Mr William Smith of Benholm, who manages his land with much liberality and success. He, along with most of his neighbours, drives a large quantity of city manure from Dundee, and in addition uses a good deal of artificial stimulants. A six-shift rotation is the one most generally pursued, that is—oats, potatoes, wheat, turnips, barley, and one year's grass; all the produce, except what is required to maintain the working staff of the farm, being sold. The cow-feeders of Dundee take all the turnips, hay, and grass they can obtain in their neighbourhood. For some time back they have been paying such high prices for both, more especially turnips, that they have been losing heavily by the transaction, and they are now beginning to deal in these commodities with more moderation. Even yet, however, farmers have no difficulty in obtaining from £16 to £22 per acre for a good crop of turnips, according to the situation of the farm. Coming nearer to Dundee we find still higher-rented land, the best land all around it being rented at from £5 to £6 per acre. The rotation pursued here is also mostly the six courses, with one year's grass and two green crops; but some work without any fixed rotation, cropping to suit the markets and the condition of their land. On the farms close to Dundee few more stock are kept than are required for working the land and supplying the residents with milk, it being found far more profitable to dispose of the turnips and grass to the cowfeeders in the town than to consume these on the farm. This, of course, necessitates very liberal manuring, but from the cowfeeders in Dundee an abundant supply of dung is always to be had. The suburban farmers use city manure very freely. The soil around Dundee is mostly an easy rich loam, in many cases worked into a very high state of fertility. In some parts there is stiff clay, and on some of the higher parts thin loam; but, on the whole, it is more than ordinarily fertile, and is fully taken advantage of. The produce per acre on the suburban farms varies greatly. Generally speaking, it is above the average of the county. One of the best managed farms in the neighbourhood of Dundee is Mid Craigie, occupied by Mr Thomas Drummond. Situated almost in the suburbs of Dundee, it is well laid off, has been highly farmed for a very long period, and is in very rich condition. The soil is heavy loam, well suited for wheat, potatoes, and turnips. An eight-shift rotation is pursued—grass, oats, potatoes, wheat, turnips, oats, potatoes, and wheat with grass seeds. There is thus each year one-fourth of the farm in wheat, one-fourth in oats, one-fourth in potatoes, one-eighth in turnips, and one-eighth in grass. Few stock are kept, all the surplus turnips, hay, grass, and straw going to Dundee. The rent per acre is about £6, payable partly in grain; and the increase since 1850 about 12s. 6d. per acre. The valuation of the landward part of the parish of Dundee increased from £8261 in 1858-59 to £12,079 in 1876-77. Proceeding northwards from Dundee we enter the parish of Mains and Strathmartine, which had a rental of £13,982 in 1856, now increased to no less than £25,996. The valuation in 1683 was £3113 Scots money. The chief estates in this parish are—Baldovan, owned by Sir John Ogilvy, Bart.; Balmuir, belonging to Mr James Webster; and Douglas, the property of the Countess of Home. On each of these there are several large well-managed farms. The principal holding on the latter is the Barns of Claverhouse, which has just passed to the third generation of the Bell family, a family that has for over half-a-century occupied a leading position among Forfarshire farmers. Mr George Bell removed lately to the adjoining farm of Mains of Fintray, leaving in the Barns his only son William, who continues to manage it with all the energy and skill which his father and grandfather so successfully applied to it. Mr George Bell and his father effected great improvement on the farm by draining, road-making, fencing, building, and in other respects, the former having expended no less than £2000 on these improvements during his tenancy. Part of a new steading was erected in 1854, while the remaining portion was renewed in 1874-75, making it one of the most commodious and convenient in the district. The greater part of the farm lies low, by the side of the Dighty Water, and there the soil is a clayey loam of a stiffish tendency. On the rising ground on the north the soil is thin sharp loam. On the Mains of Fintray the soil is stiffer, but under the careful and liberal treatment it receives it yields well. It is rented at about £4, 10s. per acre, gives an average of about 4 quarters of wheat per acre, weighing 62 lbs., and about 5½ quarters of barley and oats, the former weighing 54 lbs. and the latter 40 to 44 lbs. per bushel. On the north-east of Mains and Strathmartine lies the parish of Murroes, which contains some very fine and also some very poor land. Overlooking the valley of the Dighty Water, and commanding a magnificent view of the German Ocean, the coast of Fife, the Firth of Tay, and the suburbs of Dundee, stands the old Castle of Powrie. This hoary ruin adjoins the beautifully situated dwelling-house and steading of the farm of Powrie, occupied by Mr Thomas Smith, whose choice herd of polled cattle and equally well-bred flock of English Leicester sheep, give his farm an interest and importance rivalled by only a few in the county. Of the herd and flock more anon. The steading on Powrie was erected in 1806, when the late Mr Smith, father of the present tenant and a man in many ways in advance of his times, entered the farm. It is in the form of a square, commodious and substantial. Part of this farm also lies down on the Dighty valley, and there the soil is pretty strong loam. The greater part, however, is on high ground, and, though sharp and sure, is rather wanting in body. Not far away, in the same parish, is the farm of East and West Murroes, leased by Mr David Smith at a rent of £873, 12s. Situated on the Gagie estate, this farm is maintained in very high condition, and produces good crops of potatoes, wheat, barley, oats, and turnips.. In drains, stone dykes, and other improvements, Mr Smith has expended over £1600 on the farm, and every year uses a large quantity of city dung and artificial manure. He follows a seven-course rotation, which is by far the most general course in all the wheat and potato districts excepting in the neighbourhood of Dundee, viz.:—oats, potatoes, wheat, turnips, barley, and two years' grass. Mr Smith also holds the fine farm of Grange of Monifieth, which lies nearer the sea, and consists of very rich friable loam. Here he produces beautiful crops of wheat and turnips, and also, as at the Murroes, grazes and feeds a large; number of cattle. Mr Smith's father, the late tenant of Leshade in Murroes, was one of the most enterprising farmers in this part of the county. He transformed the farm of Leshade from swamp and moss into one of the best laid out, and most efficiently fenced holdings in the county. The system of drainage which he carried out on the farm is most extensive and unique, and has worked admirably. A great stretch of substantial dykes were also erected at a heavy outlay.

Passing into the parish of Tealing we find ourselves on a higher elevation and in a colder climate. This parish, leading up to the Sidlaws, extends to 7231 acres, and gives a rental of £7832, or £2007 more than in 1856. The rental in 1683' was £1886 Scots. In the lower lying portion of the parish there is a good deal of strong rich land, that yields well when skilfully managed and when the seasons suit. It is a clayey loam with a subsoil of clay and gravel, in some parts rather retentive. In part of the hollows there is also very poor soil, thin, hard, and unproductive, with very stiff subsoil. There are several instances in this parish where the land on the one-side of the road is worth 25s. or 30s. an acre, and not worth more than 15s. or 20s. on the other. On the higher lying parts; there is also a good deal of variety of soil, but in general it is a moderately fertile loam, resting on a clayey or gravelly subsoil which in some parts is not so open as could be wished. Mr Alexander Bell, Kirkton of Tealing, better known as the late tenant of Balnuth,has been one of the leading farmers in Forfarshire for many years. For a long time he has been extensively employed in the valuation of land and farm crops, and has thus acquired a most extensive and accurate acquaintance with the agriculture of the county. Entering Balnuth when a young man, he at once commenced improvements, and in the course of his first lease spent a large sum in reclamation, draining, fencing, building, and other works, bringing the farm into high order and convenient form. A good deal of the land is stiff strong clayey loam, not very well suited to potatoes, but of wheat, barley, oats, and turnips he raised excellent crops. A few years ago he transferred Balnuth to his nephew, Mr William Bell, and now resides on the adjoining farm of Kirkton, which he also maintains in high condition. At Kirkton the elevation is over 500 feet, and from a little beyond that the ground rises fast, so that we soon pass beyond the wheat land, and come into the elevation where oats and turnips predominate. In these higher parts the ordinary five or six-shift rotation is pursued, that is turnips, with a small patch of potatoes, barley or oats or part of both, grass for two or three years, and lastly oats. Immediately to the west of Tealing lie the parishes of Auchter-house and Lundie, in which, as in the higher parts of Tealing, a good deal of land has been reclaimed from moorland within the past thirty years. The soil is for the most part light, sharp loam; and being as a rule well farmed, produces good crops of oats, barley, and turnips. The five and six-shift rotations are also pursued here, and the latter gains ground every year, owing perhaps partly to the greatly increased cost of labour, and partly to the fact that turnips are less subject to "finger and toe" on land worked in six shifts. In these three parishes last referred to, rent ranges from 20s. to 50s. per acre, the main portion being under 28s. A few tenants pay as little as 15s. per acre for the very poorest and coldest of the land. The Earl of Airlie owns the larger portion of the parish of Auchterhouse, one of his lordship's largest farms in this district being East Mains of Bonnyton held by Mr Alexander M'Kay at a rent of £680. In Lundie the Earl of Camperdown is the principal proprietor. On his lands in this parish extensive improvements have been effected since 1850 in the way of reclaiming, draining, fencing, and building, part being done by the proprietor and part by the tenants.

Retracing our steps and proceeding eastwards we pass through the parish of Monikie, in which the Earl of Dalhousie owns a large extent of valuable well-farmed land, and in which a very large sum has been expended on various agricultural improvements during the past twenty-five years. Monikie extends to 9027 acres, and yields a rental of £18,916, or more than £2 per acre. The increase since 1856 amounts to no less than £10,505. The rental in 1683 was £4608 Scots. On the east of Monikie lie the highly cultivated coast-side parishes of Barry, Panbride, and Arbirlot, extending to 6155, 5506, and 6889 acres respectively, and yielding respective rentals of £15,088, £11,419, and £10,895, Barry has increased £7057 since 1856, or more than £1 per acre. A very large part of this increase, however, is due to the rapid growth of the village of Carnoustie, which has sprung up almost entirely within the last fourteen years. The increase in the other two parishes amounts to over 10s. per acre, the greater part of which is certainly due to the development of the land. The principal property in this neighbourhood is that of Panmure, owned by the Earl of Dalhousie, who is by far the largest proprietor in the county. He owns several estates, situated chiefly in this neighbourhood, around Brechin, and away up through the Grampian range. According to the Return of Owners of Lands and Heritages in 1872-73, the total area of his property measures 136,602 acres, the gross annual value being £55,601, 16s. The Panmure estate is one of the most important. It extends into the parishes of Monifieth, Barry, Monikie, Arbirlot, Carmyllie, St Vigeans, Inverkeillor, and Kinnell, all lying along the east coast. Panmure House, a large palatial mansion, is situated in the upper part of the parish of Panbride, about four miles north-west from Carnoustie. The grounds are both extensive and beautiful, while the gardens, which have a very fine situation, are kept in excellent condition. The policies extend in all to 550 acres. The Home Farm or Mains of Panmure, under the charge of Mr George Cowe, Balhousie, consists of about 200 acres of arable land, worked on the seven-course rotation, with two years grass. A large flock of half-bred ewes and a smaller flock of Border Leicesters are kept on the farm, while a good many cattle are also grazed and fed. A few cows are kept for the supply of milk. Each autumn a lot of two-year-old cattle of the best class that can be obtained are bought in and fed on turnips, straw, and cake. They are generally sold off in spring, and for six weeks before leaving, the allowance of cake is very liberal. The soil on the Panmure estate varies from the richest to the poorest of loam, part lying on a red sandstone subsoil, part on a hard irony pan, part on a moderately open mixture of clay and gravel, and part on porous sand. The poorest land lies in Carmyllie, and the richest a mile or two or more from the sea side. On the greater part of the estate it is very good. On the better soil the seven-shift rotation with wheat, potatoes, and two years grass prevails. A few also work on the six courses. In the higher lying districts and poorer soils the ordinary five or six-shift rotation is pursued, no wheat and few potatoes being grown. Latterly, a good many who formerly worked on the five-shift rotation have turned to the six. The Panmure estate is very judiciously apportioned. It contains a good many large farms, rented at from £500 to close on a £1000; a great many medium sized farms rented from £100 to £300; and a very large number of crofts or pendicles and small farms rented at from £4 to £60. In the parish of Carmyllie alone there are over fifty pendicles. Twenty of these are rented below £10 each, the lowest being £4 and the average about £6 or £7. Nine pay between £20 and £40, and the others, on an average, from £14 to £15. Generally speaking these small tenants occupy the poorest land, that on the Carmyllie pendicles being thin "hungry" loam lying close to a hard irony or rocky subsoil. The greater part of it has been reclaimed, mostly within the last thirty years, by the crofters themselves, who have no doubt made the district more productive than larger tenants would have done. They cultivate their land well and raise wonderful crops. They grow oats and turnips for the most part, raising just as many potatoes as are required by the family. The smaller tenants keep one cow each, and the larger ones two or more, the young stock being sold when six, twelve, or eighteen months old. The class of stock raised on. these pendicles is far superior to what it was some fifteen or twenty years ago, and now they meet a ready sale among the neighbouring larger farmers at good prices. The more industrious of these crofters seem contented and comfortable. They maintain their little places in the best of order, educate their families well, and in not a few cases store up as much money as in course of time enables them to step into larger and better holdings. One great advantage in having these small tenancies on an estate is that they provide an excellent supply of labour, an advantage which those having the management of the Panmure property have evidently not failed to recognise. Pendicles have been well named nurseries for farm servants. The rent per acre on the Panmure estate varies greatly, according to the soil and situation. The better land on the coast side is rented at from £2 to £3 per acre, while in the poorer inland parts the rent falls to £1, and in some cases even to 10s. There is also great variety in the yield of the different crops. Wheat gives from 4 to 6½ qrs., weighing from 60 to 64 lbs. per bushel; barley from 5 to 6 qrs., weighing from 54 to 56 lbs.; oats from 4½ to 8 or even 9 qrs., weighing from 40 to 45 lbs.; potatoes from 5 to 12 tons; and turnips from 14 to 25 tons. Since 1850 the increase in the rental of the Panmure property has been great. At that time several of the best farms were held at little more than nominal rents by life-renters; all of whom, with one exception, had died prior to 1870. When brought into the market these farms were readily let at greatly increased rents, one bringing more that four times the sum paid by the life-renter. Other influences, however, have helped the increase. Aided by the proprietor, the small tenants in the higher parts have, within the last thirty years, reclaimed over 500 acres from moor and moss. A large sum of money has also been expended on drainage and building throughout the property since about 1860, and, under wise direction, this expenditure has resulted in substantial improvement. A good deal has likewise been done in road making near Panmure House, while since about 1870 close on 700 acres of wood have been planted. Of these 200 acres were planted about ten years ago; and form an addition to the Mansion House policies, the greater part of which has recently been thoroughly drained. These 200 acres were fenced with a high stone wall.

Balhousie, tenanted by Mr George Cowe, is one of the best managed farms on the Panmure estate. A large part of it has been drained by himself; while it is cultivated and manured to the very highest degree, producing abundant crops of all kinds. A choice small flock of Border Leicesters is kept on the farm, while a number of two-year-old cross cattle are bought in in autumn and fed during winter. One of the largest and one of the best farms along the east coast of the county is Pitskelly, leased by Mr F. Dickson at a rent of £1100. The soil is mostly strong sound loam, not so stiff as some land on other farms in the neighbourhood. Panlathie Mill, in the parish of Arbirlot, is also very carefully and skilfully managed by its enterprising tenant; Mr James Duncan. The soil, mostly black friable loam, is worked in the six shift rotation. Wheat yields from 4 to 5 qrs., and weighs from 59 to 64 lbs.; barley 5 to 6 qrs., weighing from 49 to 55 lbs.; oats 6 to 7 qrs., weighing from 40 to 47 lbs.; potatoes 6 to 7 tons; turnips 14 to 18 tons; and hay from 1½ to 2½ tons per acre. Potatoes receive nearly all the manure that can be made in covered courts, the litter grown on the farm being supplemented by flax dust; and in addition to this 2 or 3 cwt. of artificial manure is allowed to the acre. Turnips are generally manured with artificial stuffs. Mr Duncan has long devoted special attention to the raising of potatoes, in which he has been eminently successful. Latterly, he has been conducting experiments in the producing of new varieties which cannot fail to be of service to the country. Wheat is sown as soon as the potatoes are got out of the ground, generally in November, and sometimes in December. Harvesting of grain extends from the end of August to the middle of October. Turnips are not as a rule stored in large quantities, only as many being kept in store as would supply the stock for a month or six weeks. A number of store cattle, generally Irish stock, are bought in every year, and fed off at various times, on turnips, straw, hay, cake, and meal. A few are fed in the courts in summer on cut grass, cake, &c. With some assistance from the proprietor, for which he pays from 5 to 6½ per cent. interest, Mr Duncan has redrained nearly all his farm, and erected a new dwelling-house, and the greater part of the farm steading. The farm of Inverpeffer, occupied by Mr James Swan, and rented at £645, 10s., lies in a detached portion of the parish of St Vigeans, adjoining Panbride, and is also on the Panmure estate. This farm extends to about 420 acres, 300 of which are arable, the remainder being rough pasture on sea-braes. The soil varies a good deal. About 100 acres are good fertile clayey loam, a like extent easier black loam, somewhat liable to damage by drought in dry seasons ; and the other 100 acres drifting sand and moorish soil. For fifteen years Mr Swan worked the best land in the seven course rotation, and the poorest in six shifts, three years in grass with only one green crop. The thinner land was for a time tried with two green crops after three years grass, and also after two years in grass; and now the whole farm is worked in seven shifts. In one division of the farm, potatoes are grown after two years old grass, and are followed by wheat, oats, turnips, and barley or oats in succession. This course has been adopted with the view of keeping the land free from weeds, and of preventing the oat crop from lodging, which it invariably did, after two years feeding with cake on the pastures. Wheat yields from 4 to 7 qrs. per acre, weighing from 56 to 63 lbs. per bushel; barley from 4 to 9 qrs., weighing from 47 to 57 lbs.; oats from 6 to 12 qrs., weighing from 40 to 44 lbs.; potatoes from 2 to 10 tons; and turnips from 10 to 30 tons. In a very exceptional season, as many as 40 tons of turnips per acre have been grown on this farm. Mr Swan keeps an excellent stock of cross cows, and from these and well bred shorthorn bulls rears a class of beef cattle not surpassed by any and equalled by few in the county. He also has a few pure bred shorthorn cows. He feeds his crosses from birth onwards, taking care to maintain them in a healthy condition, and constantly adding both to their size and cover of flesh. The cattle are sold to the butcher when two or two and a half years old, and on an average for ten years have realised from £24 to £36 a head. Cotton cake is the chief auxiliary during the greater part of the feeding period, linseed or beans or both being given for a month or six weeks before the cattle are sold. About 180 or 200 blackfaced ewes, obtained from the same glen for fifteen years, are purchased in October, and from these and the best of Clark and Stark tups, a very fine stock of half-bred lambs are raised. The lambs are fed on undecorticated cotton cake till from eleven to thirteen months old, and then disposed of. The average price for ten years has been 58s. a head. Mr Swan has effected great improvement on his farm since his entry in 1860. In buildings, draining, fencing, and road making he has expended in all £3500. For improvements in 1868 he obtained £600 at 7 per cent. interest, and £400 in 1877—78 at 5 per cent. The farm is now well appointed in almost every respect. Each field is supplied with water, while there is a sufficiency of cottage accommodation for the servants.

Along the coast here there are many other farms well worthy of special notice, it would be but repetition, however, to detail the system pursued on many more.

Proceeding northwards along the coast towards the thriving town of Arbroath, we pass a number of large well-managed farms, on which the seven-shift rotation is for the most part pursued. One of the best managed and most widely known farms in the neighbourhood of Arbroath is Mains of Kelly, tenanted by Mr Alexander Bowie, the eminent breeder of polled cattle. Mr Bowie is a distinguished general farmer as well as a cattle breeder. He. has conducted many experiments on the growing of grain from thick and thin sowing, and under other circumstances. He uses remarkably little seed (about 2 bushels per imperial acre), and grows beautiful crops of all kinds of grain.

Continuing our northern route, we pass through the parishes of St Vigeans, Inverkeillor, Lunan, Maryton, and Craig, and halt at Montrose. These parishes extend respectively to 13,143, 10,516, 1981, and 3686 acres; and in each there has been a substantial increase in the rental since 1856, though not so much as in some other parishes in the county. The increase in St Vigeans, Inverkeillor, and Craig is equal to about 6s. per acre of the total extent, and in the other two about 1s. less. A leading farmer in Craig states that the soil in his district is mostly black loam on trap, or "scurdy" rock. The cropping is pursued in six and seven shifts. Wheat yields about 4½ or 5 qrs., weighing 62 lbs. per bushel; barley 5½ qrs., weighing 54 lbs.; oats 6 to 6½ qrs., weighing 42 lbs.; potatoes about

6 tons; and turnips from 15 to 24 tons per acre. Potatoes are usually manured with court-made dung, while turnips get dung and from 3 to 5 cwt. of artificial manure per acre. Spring sowing commences about the 18th of March, turnip sowing about the 10th of May, and harvesting about the 1st of September. There is very little difference in the system of farming pursued now and twenty-five years ago. In the system of cropping, the only difference is that no fallow wheat is now grown. Twenty-five years ago most of the farmers in this district bred their own cattle. Now they depend chiefly on Irish stock, which they buy in young, from a year to eighteen months old, at from £7 to £17 a head, and which they feed on turnips and cake or meal. The majority go to the London and Glasgow markets when two or three years old. The greater portion of the land has been redrained since 1850, mainly by money advanced on interest by the proprietors. Farm houses are, as a rule, good, and the supply of water sufficient, but fencing is scarce. Rent ranges on an average from 50s. to 60s. per acre. On the large farms of Gilchorn and Cauldcots, on the Anniston

estate, in the parish of Inverkeillor, and occupied respectively by Mr James Bell and Mr John B. Bell, and on the extensive holdings of East Newton and Rosehill, on the Northesk estate, in the adjoining parish of St Vigeans, and held respectively by Mr E. J. Donaldson and George Miln, steam cultivation has been pursued jointly for several years with success.

Reversing our course, we proceed westwards along the valley of Strathmore, first passing through the parishes of Farnell and Kinnell. These parishes have hardly forty farms between them, and yet the former has a rental of £7379, and the latter of £7862. Since 1856, the one has increased by £1687, and the other £2182. The whole of Farnell belongs to the Earl of Southesk, whose estate is one of the most compact and desirable in the county, extending, as it does, to 22,525 acres, and bringing an annual rental of £21,811. Of the fourteen farms in Farnell, four exceed £700 in rental, while two exceed £1000— East and West Carcary, leased by Mr Robert Lyall at £1078, and Fithie, rented by Mr David Mitchell at £1008. Lord Southesk is also the largest proprietor in Kinnell, in which the Earl of Dalhousie, as already mentioned, also owns a large extent of good land. The soil in this district is mostly a clayey loam, in parts rather stiff and in others of a moorish texture. The subsoil is chiefly clay, mixed with gravel, and resting on the Old Red Sandstone. On the higher parts whinstone shoots up here and there to within a few inches of the surface. On the richer land the seven-course rotation is pursued, but on the thinner soils, and where it is not convenient to grow potatoes, the five-shift rotation prevails. By not a few farmers the six-shift is now preferred. Only a small extent of land has been reclaimed in this district since 1850, but draining and building have been carried on largely; while since wire-fencing was introduced a good deal has been done in enclosing land. In the latter respect, however, there is still much to do. The draining has been done chiefly by government money, for which the tenants are usually charged a percentage sufficient to cover the interest on the loan and repay the principal. In some cases proprietors have given money for draining for interest only. There have been few changes of much importance in the system of farming in this district during the last twenty-five years. For some time the practice of letting turnips to be consumed on the land by sheep has been prevalent. It is the opinion of experienced farmers that more profit is derived from the crop in this way than if cattle were brought in and fed upon it. The average rent of the land in this district affords no real criterion of the agricultural value of the different classes of soil, for on almost every farm there is a portion of poor land worth little per acre. The average rental per acre is thus reduced far below the value of the really good land. Bolshan, occupied by Mr Goodlet, is one of the largest and one of the best managed farms in the county. Situated in the parish of Kinnell, on a slope facing south-west, it extends to 690 acres, of which 670 are under cultivation, the remainder consisting mostly of wood pasture. Mr Goodlet took the farm by public competition, paying a large increase on the former rent, while on the renewal of the lease in 1866 he paid a further advance, making the total increase on the rent since 1847 70 per cent. The soil consists of a clayey loam of a moorish texture on the west, where it adjoins the moorside, and runs into stiffish clay on the south-east. The whole farm lies on a clay bottom, overlying the sandstone formation, with protruding pieces of whinstone on the heights. On 280 acres the seven-course rotation is pursued, and on 330 acres the five-shift, with one green crop and two grasses, while the remaining 60 acres are allowed to lie in pasture, being broken up at intervals and sown down again. Wheat yields on an average 4 qrs., weighing 58 to 62 lbs.; barley 5 qrs.; oats close on 6 qrs.; turnips from 18 to 25 tons; potatoes from 4 to 9 tons; and hay from 200 to 300 stones per acre. Only as much hay is grown as is sufficient to supply the farm horses and sheep, the rest of the young grass being pastured mostly by sheep. The root crops get from twelve to fifteen cart loads of farm-yard manure, and 4 or 5 cwt. of guano and other light manures per acre. Guano has been used latterly on account of Mr Goodlet's having found that his cold-bottomed land was not much benefited by the superphosphates and other artificial compounds which he had tried. For a number of years he has obtained large quantities of Aberdeen city manure for mixing with his farm-yard manure, and from this he has found more benefit than from any quantity of light manures he has ever used. The grass lands in particular, which were formerly poor, have improved very much under this treatment. From 120 to 130 cattle are kept during winter. The majority are bought in, but a few are bred on the farm from cross cows and a well-bred shorthorn bull. The two and three-year-old cattle, which make up three-fourths or more of the lot, are fed on turnips, cakes, and crushed grain, and sold as they become "ripe." The three-year-olds weigh on an average, when sold, from 48 to 54 stones (Dutch), and the two-year-olds from 40 to 44 stones. About 50 young cattle and cows are grazed during summer. In addition to the cattle stock, a large and very good flock of Border Leicester sheep are kept. To these we shall refer again. Since his entry Mr Goodlet has effected great improvement on the farm, not only in the land, but also in the houses and other respects. When he obtained possession the land was run out and full of weeds, and for a number of years he had to farm the whole in the five-shift rotation. He afterwards for a time pursued the seven-shift system alone, but finding potatoes a risky crop, he adopted the present system in order to reduce the area under potatoes and increase the extent under grass. Since his entry in 1847 he has tile-drained upwards of 200 acres to a depth of from 2½ to 4 feet. The landlord built a range of covered cattle-courts, repaired and made alterations on the farm-steading, and erected two new cottages to replace old ones. He also put an addition to the dwelling-house, and built other two cottages, for the outlay on which Mr Goodlet paid interest at the rate of 3 per cent., performing all the carriages over and above. Eight married ploughmen reside in cottages, and five unmarried men in a "bothy," in which there is a separate bed-closet for each, and a sitting room, and scullery or pantry for general use. The "bothy" is cleaned out daily, and the beds made by a woman paid for the purpose. The farm is conveniently laid out in finely shaped fields, well fenced with dykes and hedges, with rows of trees here and there, and is altogether one of the most beautifully situated holdings in the county.

Continuing westwards we pass through the parishes of Guthrie, Kirkden, and Rescobie, and rest in Forfar. These parishes extend respectively to 3824, 5018, 6724, and 8379 acres; and since 1856 the rental of the first two and the last one has increased by about 10s. per acre of the total extent, and that of Rescobie by about 6s. per acre. In each there are several large well-cultivated farms, and a pretty large extent of good soil. The largest holding is the combined farms of East and West Carsebank, held, along with another adjoining farm, by Mr Patrick Fair-weather, and rented at £1285. Situated in the parish of Res-eobie, this fine farm extends to 650 acres arable and 22 acres under pasture. The soil is dark brown loam, with good " body." During the first twelve years of the lease he had liberty to farm in any rotation wished, provided always that he worked the land in accordance with the rules of good husbandry. During the remainder of the lease he was bound to have the land in the seven-shift rotation. Wheat gave on an average 4 qrs. or a little more per acre, weighing 61 lbs. per bushel; barley 5½ qrs., weighing 54 lbs.; oats 6 qrs. or a little more, weighing 42 lbs.; Regent and other early varieties of potatoes 6 tons, Champions and other late kinds 8 tons; turnips from 20 to 25 tons; and hay about 2 tons per acre. One half of the turnip break gets twelve loads of dung and a mixture of artificial manure, generally guano, superphosphate, and dissolved bones, to the value of 40s. per acre. The other half receives a mixture of artificial manure to the value of from £3, 5s. to £3, 10s. per acre. Potatoes get twenty loads of dung per acre, and a small quantity of artificial manure above the dung to start the plants, the value of the doze of light manure being about 25s. or 30s. per acre. Of late years potatoes have sometimes been grown after lea, and in that case no dung is given, a mixture of light manure being left to do the work itself. This mixture usually consists of woollen manure, dissolved bones, superphosphates, guano, and potash, and when given to the value of about £4 per acre invariably produces an excellent crop, generally less damaged by disease than when dung is applied in the ordinary way. Autumn wheat is sown as soon as the potatoes are lifted, commencing about the end of October, and continuing till the first of January when the weather is suitable. Harvest usually commences about the end of August or first of September. A mixed stock of cattle and sheep are kept in this district, a large number being fed off every year. Most of the cattle are bought in at the auction marts at Dundee, Perth, or Forfar. Very few are bred in the district. A good many farmers within the last few years have returned to the old-fashioned mode of cropping, which leaves a greater area under grass, and also lessens the manure bills. There being much variety of land in this district, it is difficult to arrive at a correct estimate of the average rental. It cannot be far wrong, however, to put it at 30s. per acre. Mr Fair-weather took his holding ten years ago at a rent of 50s. per acre. It has now been let to a new tenant at 37s. 6d. per acre, the proprietor undertaking to rebuild all the fence-dykes and erect new steadings free of interest, the tenant performing all the carriages. One of the best holdings in the Guthrie district is that of the combined farms of Newton of Guthrie and Drumhead, held by Mr John Ramsay at a rent of £615. They extend to 378 acres, all arable. The soil is free black loam, with clayey subsoil on three-fourths and gravel on the remainder. The better land is worked in the seven-shift rotation, and the poorer fields in the "easy sixes," that is, three years grass, two grain crops, and one green crop. Barley in this district yields from 4½ to 5 qrs. per acre, weighing 54 lbs. per bushel; oats about 6 qrs., weighing 42 lbs.; potatoes from 5 to 7 tons; turnips 20 to-30 tons; and hay about 200 stones of 22 lbs. As a rule potatoes get all or nearly all the farm-yard manure, turnips getting town manure and artificial mixtures, usually guano, superphosphates, and bone meal, to the value of about £3, 10s. per acre. Harvest generally commences in this district about the 20th of August. Mr Ramsay keeps a stock of 70 or 80 cattle. He rears about 20 calves every year, and buys in the remainder at the principal county markets. They are kept mostly on turnips and straw. When potatoes are cheap a few are given to the cattle, while to finish off from 4 to 6 lbs. of linseed cake are allowed per day. Mr Ramsay has not for a long time made any alteration in the system of cropping. As is the case in the district generally, the cattle he feeds are larger and finer than twenty-five years ago, while they are also fed off more quickly. He now buys in two-year-olds instead of yearlings as formerly. Since he entered,, twenty-eight years ago, he has effected considerable improvement both in the drainage and manurial condition of the land. The rent of land in this district ranges on the average from 25s. to 40s. per acre.

On the west of Forfar lie the Earl of Strathmore's Glamis estates, which form one of the choicest blocks of landed property in the country. Compactly and beautifully situated in the very heart of Strathmore, this property comprises 16,850 acres of arable land, 4000 of natural pasture, and 2000 under wood, making in all 22,850 acres. The gross rental amounts to £25,000, and the average rental of the arable land 27s. per acre. The increase during the past twenty-five years is about 10 per cent. Since about 1860 very extensive improvements have been carried out on this property, involving an outlay of over £43,000 exclusive of from £150 to £180 expended every year on planting for some time back. Between 1862 and 1870 about 200 acres of woodland, mostly near Glamis station, have been reclaimed at a cost of about £15 per acre. The land was drained and trenched by spade, and for two years cropped with potatoes, stimulated by artificial manure, costing about £3 per acre. Both crops did well, and each sold for £15 per acre, thus in two years doubling the cost of reclaiming the land, less the outlay in raising the crops. One crop of grain followed, the land being sown down with grasses, fenced and planted with Scotch fir, larch, oak,, spruce, and other varieties. The soil on the lower lying portion of the reclaimed land is thin, sandy loam, but on the slopes it is a good black loam, lying on Red Sandstone. The greater part of the 200 acres was reclaimed by the proprietor himself; about 40 or 50 acres being let free of rent for four years to a contractor who trenched the land, and drained part of it, the proprietor supplying tiles. During the four years he was allowed to crop the land in any way he pleased. Almost every year since 1860 some building, fencing, and draining has been going on on the property. As leases have expired the land has been drained and fenced where necessary, and new houses built, or the old ones repaired, according to their condition. In the course of the next three years the whole of the estate will have been gone over in this way; and, judging from the portion finished, it will by that time be in a condition equalled by few, and, perhaps, surpassed by none in the county. Covered courts are erected on every farm, and the steadings in all other respects made commodious, substantial, and convenient. The dwelling-houses of the tenants are also made large and handsome, while the supply of servants' cottages is being completed. In the building of new houses alone about £20,000 has been expended since 1860, while between £1200 and £1500 additional has been spent annually on repairs. The outlay on draining in that period has been about £11,000, on fencing £5000, and road-making £2000. It was formerly the custom to charge interest at the rate of 5 per cent. against the tenants for outlay on buildings, but in recent years all buildings have been erected by the proprietor under the conditions upon which the farms are let. The farms on the Glamis property, as a rule, range from 200 to 400 acres in extent, a few being larger and some smaller. There are also sixty-four crofts or pendicles, running from 8 to 15 acres, held from year to year, and rented at about 30s. per acre. The farms are let on lease of nineteen years. An improvement worthy of special notice is the straightening of the course of the Kerbit, which was carried out by Lord Strathmore in 1876-77. The course of this water formerly ran through the farms of Scrogalfield, Mains of Glamis, and West and Mid Ingleston, in a winding and very inconvenient manner. To obviate this a new course was cut through a sandy mound into the Dean, about 300 yards above the old junction of the two waters. The new run is about a mile in length and 40 yards wide, the greatest depth being about 40 feet. The work, which was carried out under the direction of Mr Ralston, factor on the estates, was attended with considerable difficulty, owing to the want of fall and the sandy nature of the ground. It has, however, proved thoroughly successful. It gives a better fall for the drainage of about 200 acres of valuable land, and thus improves the climate of the district. The cost was about £2000. The old run has been filled up, converted into arable land, and added to the adjoining farms, the tenants of which pay interest on the cost of filling up at the rate of 5 per cent. In this way about 10 acres of excellent land have been added to the farm of Mr Arnot, Mains of Glamis, and all the extra rent he pays is about £10 of interest.

Glamis Castle, an ancient and noble mansion, stands not far from the centre of the property in "its world-famed magnificent surroundings." The home farm adjoins and includes part of the policies. It is worked in six shifts, three years grass, oats, turnips, and barley. Lord Strathmore takes great interest in the rearing of the best class of farm stock, alike of horses, cattle, and sheep, and in this respect his home farm has few equals in the country. The stock consists of a stud of Clydesdale horses, a herd of polled cattle, and a flock of Shropshire sheep, each composed of the best available materials, and managed with great skill and success. In this department Mr Ralston is ably assisted by Mr John Stewart, farm overseer. Of the live stock more anon. The largest farm on the Glamis estate is Mains of Glamis, which lies on the north and east of the castle, and which is leased by Mr William Arnot at a rent of £1134. Mr Arnot is a skillful, enterprising, and successful farmer; and, perhaps, he holds more arable land than any other tenant in the county. He pays about £3000 of annual rent. At the Mains, which extends to about 600 acres, he keeps an excellent stock of cattle, including a number of good shorthorn cows, and every year he feeds off a large number. The beautifully-situated farm of Hatton of Eassie, on the west of the Home Farm, is occupied by Mr William Whyte, who is one of the most extensive arable and sheep farmers in the county, and is also well known as a successful breeder and an accurate judge of farm stock, more particularly of polled cattle. The Hatton is the highest rented farm on the Glamis property, the rate being about 50s. per acre. The soil, however, is very good sound loam, and the farm altogether a very desirable one. Mr Whyte is perhaps most widely known as the tenant of the farm of Spott, north from Kirriemuir, in connection with which he has a large sheep-run. On the opposite side of the line of the Caledonian Railway is situated the fine farm of Cookston, also on the Glamis property, and occupied by Mr George Ballingall. The extent is 560 acres, and the rental £894. In connection with this farm Mr Ballingall holds a sheep-run extending to 1800 acres. The soil on Cookston is mostly a sandy loam, with some moss in one part. After two or three years grass alternate grain and green crops follow, the latter consisting of potatoes and turnips, and the former mostly of barley and oats. The potatoes grown after grass get a liberal supply of artificial manures. In wet seasons the grain crops are liable to lodge, and, in consequence, the yield is sometimes deficient and the grain light. In good dry seasons, however, about 6 qrs. of oats and barley may be obtained per acre, the average being about 5 qrs. Hay yields about 220 stones per acre, turnips about 16 tons, and potatoes 8 to 9 tons. In late wet years the yields are far below these. Barley and oats are sown from the 20th of March onwards, and turnips between the 15th of May and 20th of June. Harvest commenced this year on the 20th of August, and last year (1879) on the 17th of September ; the work being completed this year on the 4th September, and last year on the 10th of October. Mr Ballingall is one of the most successful cattle feeders in the county. He buys in a good many cross yearlings and two-year-olds, mostly Irish, and feeds them off during both winter and summer, He also keeps a large stock of sheep, and feeds these on grass, hay, cake, and turnips. Both cattle and sheep get cake or other extra food during summer as well as winter. Additions were made to the farm steading not long ago, but still it is not quite satisfactory and is not conveniently situated. The tenant has erected a large extent of fencing, mostly wooden erections, which are being supplanted by wire fences as they decay, The steading and fields are supplied with water by force pump and running streams. The rent of land in this neighbourhood ranges from 30s. to 40s. per acre.

Among other very fine farms in the parish of Eassie and Nevay may be mentioned that of Castleton. occupied by Mr John Adam. Situated on Mr Baird's estate of Drum Kilbo, it extends to 450 acres, all arable, and is rented at £825. The soil is a soft sandy loam, and the seven-shift rotation is pursued. On an average, grain in this district will yield about 5½ qrs. per acre; wheat weighing 60 lbs. per bushel, barley 54 lbs., and oats 42 lbs. Potatoes yield about 6½ tons, turnips 22 tons, and hay about 200 stones of 22 lbs. Green crops get about twelve cart loads of dung and about 5 cwt. of dissolved bones and bone meal per acre. A good many cross bred cattle, mostly Irish stock, are brought in and fed in the district. A large number of cross bred and blackfaced sheep, mostly bred in the county, are also bought in and fed. More cattle and sheep are fed now than formerly, but in the system of cropping there has been little or no change for twenty-five years. Mr Adam also holds the farm of Balnakeilly in the parish of Lintrathen, from the Earl of Airlie. It extends to 250 acres arable and 350 of pasture, the rental being £190. The soil consists of black light loam on trap rock, and is worked in five shifts, with two years' grass and one green crop.

In the parish of Inverarity there are some very good farms, one of the best managed being that of Seggieden on the estate of Fotheringham, and tenanted by Mr Thomas M'Laren. It extends to about 235 acres, all arable, and is rented at £500. The soil in this district is mostly a heavy clayey loam, black and free in some parts, and rather stiff in others. A good deal of the land lies on a damp stiff subsoil, and would be much improved by draining and liming. The seven-shift rotation is the most general. Grain crops yield from 5 to 6 qrs. per acre in fairly good years ; wheat weighing about 61 lbs. per bushel, barley 53 lbs., and oats 42 lbs. Potatoes average about 4 tons, turnips about 16 tons, and hay 2 tons. Potatoes get a good supply of farm-yard dung, and turnips farm-yard and city dung, supplemented by from 4 to 6 cwt. of artificial manure. The rent of land in this district varies from £1 to £3, the average being about £2 per acre.

The principal property in the parish of Newtyle is Belmont, owned by the Earl of Wharncliffe. Extending to 8700 acres, this fine property extends into the county of Perth, but the main portion lies in Forfar. The rental amounts to £13,500, or an average of considerably over 30s. per acre. The arable area extends to 5500, and the woods to 600 acres; the remaining 1600 consisting of natural pasture. Since 1850 about 800 acres have been reclaimed, mostly by trenching, while in the same period about 300 acres have been planted. On other permanent improvements no less than £59,500 has been expended since 1850—£34,200 on buildings, £17,000 on drainage, £7000 on fencing, and £1500 on roads and miscellaneous works. No fixed regulations exist as to improvements, the works being generally carried out by the proprietor at the beginning of leases. The houses are now as a rule in excellent condition, excepting on some of the crofts and in the hamlets. The soil consists partly of clayey loam, partly of friable black loam of excellent quality, partly light free land, and partly moss on a sandy subsoil. The natural pasture is mixed—green grasses and heather, with a good sprinkling of whins—and is all sound and healthy for stock. The leases are of nineteen years duration, and for very many years no tenant who was able and willing to remain has left the estate. The greater portion of the land is worked on the seven or eight-shift rotation, with two green crops and either two or three years grass. Farms range in size from 60 to 960 acres ; and besides these, there are about twenty crofts on the property, the extent of which vary from 4 to 20 acres, and the rental from £9 to £50. These crofts are held from year to year, but changes seldom take place. Indeed, there are crofters on this property whose ancestors had been on the same land for several generations. During this year (1880) one tenant died who had paid no fewer than seventy yearly rents. The pasture land carries Cheviot, blackfaced, and crossbred sheep, while on the arable farms a large stock of cattle are fed, very large quantities of cake being used. On a few farms the breeding of cattle is being pursued pretty extensively, and this system is on the increase. The general system of farming has improved greatly since 1850, large sums of money being expended on lime and manures. In the same parish lies the desirable little estate of Couston, which belongs to Mr Andrew Whitton, factor on the Belmont property. Mr Whitton has expended large sums of money on various permanent improvements, and now his tidy little estate, which he farms himself, is in the best of trim.

The beautifully-situated parish of Kettins, part of which runs into Perthshire, contains several very fine large farms. The principal estate here is that of Hallyburton or Pitcur, which, in February of this year (1880), Mr Menzies, of the Caledonian Distillery, Edinburgh, purchased from the Marquis of Huntly for the sum of £235,000. One of the best managed holdings, not only on this fine estate, but in Scotland, is South Corston and Mid Gask, leased by Mr David Buttar at a rental of £700. The late Mr Thomas Buttar, then in Baldinny—still held along with Corston— took Corston for his son, the present tenant, in 1851 at a rent of £400. The farm was then in bad condition, and during the earlier part of the lease the whole was redrained, and about 20 acres reclaimed by trenching from patches of whin bush. A large stretch of fencing was also erected, the proprietor, then the late Lord Hallyburton, supplying wood. In 1870 the lease was renewed, arrangements being made for the erection of a new farm steading, threshing mill, and servants' cottages. These buildings were forthwith erected, and cost in all about £2800. The steading is one of the most commodious and convenient in the county—the cattle courts being wholly covered, and very large and well ventilated. The threshing mill is driven by a turbine-wheel, which proves a great convenience in pulping turnips. The dwelling-house is large and handsome, and is surrounded by beautiful gardens and grounds formed by Mr Buttar. The main portion of the house is about a hundred years old, an important addition having been made in 1879 by the proprietor under arrangements entered into in 1878, when the leases of the two farms, Corston and Baldinny, were extended and renewed for nineteen years. The addition to the house cost between £700 and £800 exclusive of the carriages, which were performed by the tenant. The house was at the same time supplied with water by means of hydraulic power. On the farm of Baldinny, which adjoins Corston on the north-east, extensive improvements-have been executed, both by the landlord and tenant, within the past twenty-five years. Considerable difficulty was long experienced in getting the lower lying fields thoroughly drained, and to obviate this, Lord Hallyburton in 1878 constructed a large culvert at a cost of about £200. By this means a much better outlet has been obtained, and now the drains work admirably. The proprietor also gave £200 in 1878 to extend and improve the farm steading of Baldinny, besides wood for fencing, the wire being supplied and the fence erected by the tenant. Baldinny was twice drained by the late Mr Thomas Buttar and the present tenant,—first, with stones on wooden soles, and then with tiles. The fields have all been rearranged, old ditches filled up, old hedges uprooted, and many other improvements effected. In all, the present tenant and his father have spent over £4500 on improvements on the two farms. All this is in addition to the large sums spent upon them by the proprietor. They are now in the best of condition, and make a compact desirable holding of 560 arable acres, rented at £1050. The soil consists of varying loam resting on rotten sandstone rock. On some parts the loam is thin but sharp, in others, particularly on the haughs of Baldinny, somewhat clayey. On some fields the subsoil is of a sandy nature, while here and there on the higher knolls, the whinstone rock, so well displayed on the adjacent hills, shoots up very close to the surface. As a whole, the soil on Baldinny is heavier than on Corston, but the latter is rather more sound and sharp, and better suited for crass and potatoes. Heavier grain is generally grown on the sharp sound land of Corston than on the deeper softer land of Baldinny. Potatoes are also more liable to disease on the soft land. The rotation stipulated for in the lease is that of seven shifts, two years grass, and two green crops; but, latterly, Mr Buttar has been allowing the land to lie in grass for three years. The grass stands up very well. Mr Buttar feeds a great many cattle and sheep, but these will be referred to afterwards.

Directing our course towards the Grampians, we enter the Braes of Angus. "We here find a colder climate, greater variety of surface and thinner soil, but withal a beautiful country, occupied by an intelligent and enterprising class of farmers, whose system of management bears no unfavourable comparison to that which has won for the lower and better favoured parts of Forfarshire, the credit of being one of the most advanced agricultural districts in Scotland. The principal property in this region is that owned by the Earl of Airlie, who is well-known as an active supporter of every movement that has for its object the development of the agriculture of the country. The Airlie estates extend over a considerable part of Forfarshire, and also stretch into the county of Perth. The total area measures perhaps about 70,000 acres, the rental for the crop of 1879 being £26,500—£19,500 in Forfarshire and £7000 in Perthshire. The increase in the rental during the last twenty-five years amounts to about £10,000. The arable area is estimated at about 1800 acres, rented on an average at say 24s. 6d. per acre, making a total of £22,050, and the hill pasture at 4500 acres rented at 2s. per acre, or in all £4500. The plantations extend to about 7000 acres. Since 1850 a large extent of land has been reclaimed from moor, and is now bearing profitable crops. Within the same period over 500 acres have been planted at a cost of about £3, 10s. per acre. The proprietor has also expended a large sum of money in building, draining, and fencing. These improvements are effected under agreements entered into at the commencement of leases, all new buildings, considered necessary, being as a rule erected by the proprietor, the tenant performing the carriages. Throughout these estates the tenants have also done a good deal to improve the condition of their farms, in the way of reclaiming small patches, draining portions, and erecting fences. The soil varies greatly, but the most general is a medium friable loam, rich in some parts and thin on others. The five and six course rotations prevail, the latter being more general now than some time ago. A good many cattle are reared up on the higher lying parts from polled bulls and cross cows, but on the lower farms few cattle are bred. A large number of one and two year old cattle, mostly from Ireland, are bought in every year and fed off when two and a half or three years old. There are a number of very good sheep farms on the estates, the stock consisting mostly of blackfaced wethers. The arable farms vary in size from 30 to 400 acres, and the pastoral holdings from 150 to 3000 acres. There are few crofts on the property. The farmhouses, as a rule, are sufficient and in good order. At the home farm at Cortachy, Lord Airlie keeps a select herd of polled Aberdeen and Angus cattle, some very good Clydesdale horses, and has just introduced a small flock of well-bred Shropshire sheep. These will afterwards be noticed.

The Airlie estates may be taken as a good sample of the general character of the Braes of Angus, not only as to soil, surface, and system of farming, but also as to stock kept, the nature and extent of the improvements since 1850, and the increase in the rental. In the parish of Kirriemuir, which, including the village, has a rental of close on £32,000, there are a number of large well-managed farms, mostly on the estates of Clova, Glamis, and Kinnordy. On the farm of Sandyford, on the Glamis property, the enterprising tenant, Mr Thomas Lawson, has for a few years been conducting experiments on the growing of turnips with different kinds of manure which cannot fail to be useful and interesting to farmers. All along the foot of the Grampians the arable land has been gradually moving higher up. Within the last thirty or forty years almost every holding adjoining the hills has been enlarged by the reclamation of lesser or greater patches of moorland, carried out mostly by the tenants, but partly by the proprietors. The land thus reclaimed is of fair quality in some parts, and yields profitably; but, generally speaking, it is of secondary quality, and has been only moderately remunerative. An extensive farmer in the parish of Tannadice states that there the farms range as a rule from 100 to 300 acres in extent, and that the soil is partly black loam of good quality, and partly thin and of a moorish texture. The five-shift rotation is the most general; but a good many are now adopting a seven-shift course, three years grass, followed by two grain crops, turnips, and oats or barley, with grass seeds. Under this rotation turnips are found to be less liable to damage by "finger and toe." The average yield of grain, barley, and oats is stated at about 5 qrs. per acre, barley weighing 53 or 54 lbs per bushel, and oats about 41 lbs. Potatoes, which are not largely grown, yield about 6 tons, turnips 20 tons, and hay 120 stones per acre. Potatoes and turnips get all the farm yard manure, and a mixture of about 5 cwt. of guano and dissolved

bones per acre. The sowing of grain is commenced about the middle of March, and turnip sowing about the middle of May. Harvest generally begins about the last week of August. Only a few cattle are bred, a large number being bought in and fed every year. The farms in this district have been much improved since 1850 by draining, fencing, and building, mostly done by money advanced by the proprietors on interest at the rate of 5 per cent. On the Tannadice estate, Mr Neish has expended a very large sum on buildings and other improvements within the last seven or eight years. He has spent as much as £2000 on the farm of Easter Balgillo, which is leased by Mr William Davidson at a rent of £525, and almost as much on some others. The fields on Mr Davidson's farm are all fenced with stone dykes and wire, and also well watered. The rent of land in this district averages about 35s., some farms being as high as £2 per acre.

Almost the whole of the parish of Careston, extending to 2113 acres, belongs to Mr John Adamson, Blairgowrie. The rental of the parish amounts to £2697, and all excepting the valued rental of the parish manse and glebe, and the public school-house, goes to Mr Adamson. The increase since 1856-57 is about £180. About 100 acres had been planted on the Careston estate some twenty-five or thirty years ago, but with that exception few improvements had been effected when Mr Adamson entered into possession about 1872. On the home farm an excellent farm steading had previously been erected at a cost of over £800 by Mr Stevenson, now of Blairshinnoch, Banffshire, and during the past six or seven years the present proprietor has done a great deal in the way of building, draining, and fencing. Additions, consisting mostly of covered courts, extra byre accommodation, and in some cases of a re-arrangement of the whole buildings, have been made to the steadings on the Home Farm, Hillhead, Peathill, Cowford, Knowehead, Balfour, and Blackhill. The cost of these additions ranged from £100 to £400. A great portion of the estate has been drained at a cost of from £6 to £7, 10s. per acre. Many of the old drained fields were re-drained by forming drains with two-inch pipes across the old drains, at a distance of from 15 to 25 or 30 yards apart. This plan has been found not only cheap but also quite as effectual as if a new drain had been cut between every two of the old drains; the new drains were not cut right across the old ones, but at an angle, while they were cut a few inches deeper than the old drains. As a rule, these improvements, carried out by the proprietor, have been charged to the tenants in the form of a certain percentage of interest. In some cases, however, they have been done free of interest. The tenants themselves have also improved their holdings a good deal. Dr Guthrie, who rents the farms of Nether Careston and Gateside at £879, 11s. 10d., has made improvements on the farm buildings, and has also drained some portions at his own cost. Mr Doig, Balfour, reclaimed large portions of rough pasture land on the farm of Knowehead, and also drained the new land and part of the old. Both these gentlemen are skilful and enterprising farmers, and by good management have very much improved the land they hold. The soil on the Careston estate, which also extends into the parishes of Menmuir, Fearn, and Lethnot and Novar, is very various. On the lower portions it consists of a deep rich alluvial soil, patches of it being light and sandy or gravelly. Along the centre of the property the soil is chiefly a deep loam of good quality, capable of growing excellent crops of all kinds of grain, turnips, and potatoes. On the upper portion the soil is thinner, but generally sharp and well suited to the production of turnips, oats, and barley. In moderately damp seasons it also grows grasses well. The richer land is farmed in the seven-shift rotation, and the poorer on the five or the "easy" six. The farms as a rule range from 200 to 300 acres in extent. There are about ten crofts, varying from 4 to 25 acres in extent, held under nineteen years' lease, the rent per acre being higher than the same land would bring in larger holdings. Very few cattle are bred in the district, a large number of Irish yearlings and two-year-olds being bought in and fed every year. Some very good crosses between Highland cows and shorthorn bulls are bred in the estate. The farm of Nathro is devoted wholly to sheep, and carries a good stock of blackfaced ewes which are crossed with Leicester tups. On a few other farms in the district, a number of blackfaced and crossbred sheep are reared and fed.

We are now in the neighbourhood of the ancient and royal burgh of Brechin, which with its noble castle, unique round tower, and beautiful cathedral, used as a parish church, has much to interest and delight visitors. In this district there are many large and remarkably well-managed farms. The farm of West Drums, on the south of Brechin, has been held by the same family for four generations, the present tenant being Mr William Smith, a gentleman of intelligence and experience in agricultural matters. The holding now includes three different farms. Situated on the Aldbar estate it extends to 450 acres, all arable; and in addition Mr Smith sometimes takes fields of pasture. The soil rests on the Old Bed Sandstone, which comes very close to the surface, and of which there is an excellent quarry on the farm. On the better parts the soil is a good friable loam, and on others sharp but somewhat light. It is, on the whole, well adapted to barley and turnip husbandry; and of both these, as well as of oats, excellent crops are raised. The farm is all enclosed with stone dykes, and, with the exception of about 100 acres on the western boundary, it is well watered from springs. The fields on these 100 acres are supplied by pumping. On the better land a seven-course rotation is pursued, three years in grass, all pastured, two white crops (sometimes varied by potatoes being taken on a suitable field instead of the second grain crop), turnips, and barley, with grass seeds. The thinner land is worked in the ordinary five-shift rotation. No hay is made in this part. On another portion, where the land is pretty heavy, the six-shift rotation is followed. One year's grass, cut for hay, is succeeded by oats, beans, or potatoes, or tares, or some of each, wheat or barley, turnips, and barley, with grass seeds. Wheat yields about 30 bushels, barley 36 bushels, oats 46 bushels, turnips 18 tons, potatoes 6 tons, and hay 1¾ ton per acre. In specially good years these yields are considerably exceeded, but these figures represent the averages over a period of about seven years. Mr Smith manures liberally, and thus his farm is in high condition. Swedes and potatoes get about 18 loads, and yellow turnips about 12 loads of farmyard manure per acre, with about 4 cwt. of light manures, usually a mixture of dissolved bones and guano, with a little superphosphate and nitrate added when necessary. Latterly, he has been allowing about 4 cwt. of kanit extra per acre for potatoes, and by that he has succeeded in lessening the damage by disease. Mr Smith rears from 14 to 20 calves from cross cows and shorthorn or polled bulls. He also buys in and feeds a pretty large number of two-year-old crosses, mostly in the spring months, at the local markets, and from neighbouring farmers. These he puts on moderate fare at the outset, treating them more liberally as the season advances, and giving them when the grass begins to fail a supply of ground food, made up of beans, tares, and peas. This is given either in the house or on the grass fields, according to the weather. During winter they are carefully kept and well fed, being sent away as they become fat. The farm is fairly well supplied with houses. Both the dwelling-house and steading were erected in 1846. The former is large and very handsome; the latter is also pretty good, but would be improved by additions to the covered courts.

The farms of Broomknowe and Blackiemill, also on the Aldbar estate, the one in the parish of Aberlemno and the other in Brechin, are held by Mr Alexander Paxton at a rent of £500. They extend to 222 acres of arable land and 38 acres of permanent pasture. The soil is mostly light black loam on gravelly subsoil, somewhat liable to drought. Broomknowe is worked in the "easy" seven shifts, and Blackiemill on the five shifts. Oats average about 30 bushels per acre, weighing 43 lbs.; barley, 26 bushels, weighing 55 lbs.; and potatoes, about 7 tons. Turnips let at from £7 to £11 per acre. Hay yields about 180 stones per acre. Mr Paxton has for some years given his turnips about 20 cart loads of dung per acre, with 1 cwt. of guano and 2 cwts. of bone meal. The manure made on the farm is usually supplemented by about 500 loads of dung from Brechin. Within the last twenty-five years the proprietor has spent £1100 on farm buildings; while the tenant has himself expended £300 on houses and £200 upon draining. Only part of the land is fenced.

As already indicated, a large part of the extensive and valuable property owned by the Earl of Dalhousie lies in this part of the county. One of the best managed farms on the Panmure estate, in the parish of Brechin, is Barrelwell, held by Mr David Hume at a rental of £727. Situated within two miles of Brechin, this fine farm extends to 400 acres, and lies on the northern slope of the valley of Strathmore. The soil consists for the most part of black loam, the better portion resting on a substratum of limestone, and the less productive on a hard irony pan, which in some parts comes so near the surface as to barely afford a full furrow. The farm, which was held under one of the last of those famous "live and let live" life-leases on the Panmure property, came into the possession of Mr Hume about seven years ago. Since that time great changes have been effected, which have added largely to the value of the farm. A handsome and commodious steading was erected six years ago at a cost of between £2000 and £3000, of which £1600 was laid out by the late Earl of Dalhousie, and the remainder by the tenant. A great stretch of fencing has also been erected, while a considerable portion of the land has been re-drained, the proprietor supplying money for these improvements on interest at the rate of 5 per cent. The eight-shift rotation is pursued—three years grass, pastured all the time, and two green crops. While producing good crops of oats, often weighing 44 lbs. per bushel, and fair crops of wheat and barley, the farm is evidently best suited for turnips and potatoes, for of these it generally gives excellent results. Turnips average from 20 to 25 tons, and potatoes from 6 to 9 tons per acre. The dressing used for turnips, all applied in the drills, consists of 20 loads of dung, and from 5 to 6 cwt. of artificial manure, mostly phosphatic. Potatoes are similarly treated, except that a portion of the break is generally dunged in the autumn. The results are very much the same after autumn and spring manuring. Mr Hume, however, devotes his attention more to stock than to crops. Through the use of a very large quantity of artificial food, for which he invariably pays over £600 a year, he is able to feed a good many more cattle than the farm would naturally carry, and thus the soil is being enriched by very liberal doses of rich farmyard manure. The stock are generally bought in when two years old, home-bred cattle being preferred, the number required being made up of the best available class of Irish cattle. Every animal of the cattle tribe on the farm gets cake all the year round, and in the course of the twelve months about 200 head of cattle are turned off to the butcher in the best condition. Mr Hume usually takes the grass and turnips on one or two adjacent farms as starting ground for the newly bought-in lots. During the last few years he has been buying in a few well-bred shorthorn cows at various sales over the country; and along with his extensive system of feeding he is gradually introducing the breeding of shorthorns. Already he has been very successful, alike in the breeding and feeding, having carried off several prizes both in the fat stock and breeding shows. About a hundred half-bred ewes, bought at the southern sales, are also kept, and from these and Leicester or Shropshire tups an excellent class of lambs is raised. The ewes and lambs are fed together on the fields, and sold as they become " ripe," the lambs being always away in June, and the ewes by the end of July. The most of the fat stock is sold to Montrose butchers, who kill largely for the London market. A flock of blackfaced wethers is likewise fed, either on Barrelwell or on some adjoining farm, every winter. As many horses are bred on the farm as maintains the required working " staff," with a pair to sell occasionally. They are of a very good kind, and have brought high prices.

Part of Lord Southesk's fine property lies in the parish of Brechin, where his lordship has some excellent farms, particularly those of Longhaugh, Windyedge, and Kincraig. The former two, along with a small farm adjoining each, are held respectively by Mr Robert Lyall Mustard and Mr William Mustard. These four farms, now leased by his sons, were entered by the late Mr Mustard, an enterprising, skilful farmer. The combined farms of Leuchland and Northtown of Leuchland extend to 430 acres, all arable, and are rented at £712. The soil consists mostly of medium loam of fair quality, some small portions being stiff and others very light. As a rule, the seven-shift rotation is pursued on Leuchland, but latterly one field has been allowed to lie three years in grass, the green crop being considerably improved by the alteration. On Northtown the five-shift system is followed. Taking the twelve years from 1858 to 1870, the average yield of undressed wheat on Leuchland would be 34 bushels, weighing 61 to 62 lbs.; barley, 40f bushels, weighing 52 to 54 lbs.; and oats, 49 bushels, weighing 41 to 42 lbs. On Northtown the yield of barley would be about 39½ bushels, and oats 43½ bushels. The returns the last few years have been much under these. Potatoes vary greatly in the yield. Regents may be noted at from 4 to 6 tons, and champions at from 6 to 8 tons per acre. Yellow turnips average from 16 to 18 tons, and Swedes from 18 to 20 tons per acre. Hay in a good season yields about 200 stones of 22 lbs. each per acre, 240 stones being considered a very good crop. For potatoes, from 17 to 20 tons of farmyard manure, and from 6 to 7 cwt. of artificial manure, consisting of 2/5 ths of bone meal, 2/5 ths of superphosphates, and 1/5 th of muriate of potash, are allowed per acre. Swedes get the same quantity of dung and light manures, the mixture of the latter being changed to 2/3 rds bone manures and 1/3 rd guano. Yellow turnips usually get about 12 tons of farmyard dung, with 6 cwt. of bone manures. No superphosphates are used for turnips. A few cows, usually six or seven, are kept; and from eight to ten calves, sometimes as many as twelve or fourteen, are raised. A large and good stock of feeding cattle is kept. The majority are bought in when fifteen or eighteen months old, and sent to the beef markets twelve or fifteen months afterwards. At times a lot of cattle two and a half years old are put in, and fed off in from four to eight months. The greater number are Irish bred animals, and when the two and a half year old cattle bought in come direct from Ireland, they generally require double the length of time to prepare for the butcher they would take when they have for some months previously been kept on this side of the channel. No sheep are kept, and only as many horses are bred as supply the farm. Mr Mustard has drained a good deal since the commencement of his present lease in 1868, and has also expended a pretty large sum in altering and covering cattle courts and in erecting wooden sheds. About twenty years ago the proprietor erected two new cottages, on the cost of which the tenant paid an easy rate of interest. A few years thereafter about 37 acres of moorland were reclaimed, the proprietor advancing on interest the cost of the tiles and the cutting of the drains, and the tenant doing all the other work. This land has since been attached to another farm for which it is more conveniently situated, at a rent of 30s. an acre. The fields are as a rule well watered, but deficient in fencing. The steading is old, and not very convenient.

Between the parish of Brechin and the Grampians, mostly in the parishes of Menmuir and Stracathro, there is a large extent of land, not a little of which has been reclaimed within the last forty or fifty years. Since 1856 the rental of Menmuir has risen from £5833 to £8487 this year; and that of Stracathro from £4335 in 1856, to £6614 this year. These are very substantial increases, and are due in a large degree to the transformation of moorland into productive fields. The soil varies greatly. It is generally a light loam, of moderate depth and fertility in some parts, and very thin and poor in others. It lies partly on red-sandstone, limestone, trap rock, slate, and primary rocks; and is rented at from 15s. to 30s. per acre. The new land reclaimed since 1850 consists for the most part of small patches taken in here and there by tenants, but in a few cases the extent exceeds a hundred acres. Perhaps the most extensive scheme of reclamation carried out in recent years is that so successfully accomplished on the estates of Lundie and Parkland, by the proprietor, Mr George Shepherd. Situated partly in Menmuir and partly in Stracathro, this property was purchased in 1860 from the Earl of Kintore by Mr Shepherd for the sum of £11,000. The total extent is 1145 acres. At the time of the purchase 342 acres were under cultivation or partially reclaimed. Since then Mr Shepherd has reclaimed about 400 acres. The work was commenced in 1863 when the leases on the property expired, and carried out gradually. Nearly the whole extent was reclaimed by ploughing, in some parts with two horses, a furrow being taken down hill only, but generally with four horses, making a furrow both ways. In a few spots spade trenching had to be resorted to. Before being ploughed the land had to be cleared of whins and broom, and many surface boulders removed; while two or three men followed the plough, digging up the larger stones and throwing them on the ploughed land. The larger stones were carted to lines fixed for stone wall fences, in which they have been turned to good account; and the smaller ones to convenient situations, to be utilised in the forming of drains and roads. The ground was next harrowed until a surface fit for receiving oats was obtained; and as soon as it was in season it was sown with oats at the rate of from 6 to 7 bushels per acre, along with 5 or 6 cwt. of artificial manures. Three crops of oats were generally taken in succession, the number of crops being regulated by the rate at which the sod decomposed. Turnips followed the oats, but before these were sown, the land received from 2 to 3 tons of lime per acre. When it could be obtained dung was given, and when it could not artificial manures alone were used, the mixture usually consisting of bone and mineral phosphates with a small proportion of ammoniacal manures either in the form of guano or nitrate of soda. With this treatment good crops of turnips were always obtained. A grain crop with grass seeds followed—barley where dung had been applied, and oats where the artificial manures were used alone. The new land was thoroughly drained, generally after the second or third oat crop, the most satisfactory system being 3 feet drains, at 24 feet apart. Stones were used for a number of years, but as the price of labour advanced, tile drains were found to be less expensive and equally efficient. These operations, together with fencing, road making, and the erection of buildings, entailed an outlay of about £30 per acre. The cost was made up thus:—ploughing, clearing the land of stones, draining, ditching, fencing, liming, and dunging, £20; roads and buildings, £10. There still remains about 100 acres suitable for reclamation. The soil is mostly a friable loam with a subsoil of good red clay, intersected by bars of "pan" which decompose after drainage. Where these bars do not decompose, they are raised by the subsoil plough and lifted off the field along with the stones. Part of the estate, lying into the valley of Lethnot, rests on gravel, and is retained in grass on account of its suitability for sheep. The new land is cropped in the six-shift rotation—three years grass, one green crop, and two grain crops, partly oats and partly barley. Oats yield about 4 to 5½ qrs. per acre, and barley 4 qrs. The climate is wonderfully good, the land being comparatively free from hoar frosts which do damage in the valleys. The crops generally ripen as soon as any in the district, unless in the parts near the sea, The elevation of the arable land ranges from 300 to 700 feet, the greater part being about 400 feet. The new land yields very satisfactorily when treated (as a large proportion has now been) in the manner indicated. The old land has required similar treatment as to draining, stone clearing, manuring, and in other respects, and as a rule yields equally as well as the new land. In addition to the reclamation of these 400 acres, about 4000 yards of roads have been made, at a cost of 2s. per yard. A dwelling-house, cottar houses, and farm steading have also been erected. When the estate was bought there were no houses upon it. It was held as a sheep-run. by adjoining farmers. The threshing-mill is driven by water, obtained from a bog about half a mile distant. About 60 acres have been planted, while hedgerows with trees at intervals divide some of the fields. The soil is admirably adapted to the growth of wood. Larch and Scotch fir are thriving beautifully on the highest portion, about 800 feet above sea level. A good quarry has been opened on the estate. Here a very fine quality of red sandstone is easily obtained. It is light in colour, easily wrought, very durable, and is almost entirely free of the hard pebbles that abound in much of the sandstone in the neighbouring districts. The stock kept consists of cattle and sheep. Irish cattle are bought in lean, and fattened on the holding. Blackfaced ewes are bought in the higher reaches of the North Esk and Westwater, and from these and Leicester tups a good class of lambs is reared, which when sold in the autumn bring from 25s. to 29s. a head.

Most of the land in this neighbourhood suitable for reclamation has already been brought under the plough. Almost all the recent reclamations have been carried out by tenants, and have as a rule turned out well. Much of the old land would be greatly improved by more thorough drainage and by deeper cultivation. On the farms of Longhaugh and Kilgarie, on the estate of Balna-moon, and in the parish of Menmuir, Mr David Fairweather, the enterprising tenant, has, within the last twenty years, reclaimed over 300 acres by ploughing and trenching, at a cost of from £12 to £15 per acre. The land before being reclaimed consisted of bog or moor. The soil is now mostly light loam, resting partly on a hard pan and partly on clay. In consideration of these reclamations, Mr Fairweather obtained the farm at a small rent, on a lease of twenty-five years' duration. On the cost of draining and building, which was advanced by the proprietor, the tenant pays interest at the rate of 5 per cent. The land is worked on the seven-shift rotation, with three years grass. The yield has been fair and the grain up to the standard weight. Grass has done well since the land was limed. The new land paid well as long as the turf lasted. A stock of young cattle is kept, being obtained and disposed of at local markets.

Retracing our steps, we again pass Brechin and take a run through the Howe of Kinnaird, and the parishes of Logiepert and Montrose, leaving the county at its extreme north-eastern corner. The Howe of Kinnaird is one of the most beautiful parts in the county. It is well wooded and well farmed, and is adorned by Kinnaird Castle and grounds, one of the most charming country seats in the kingdom. The soil is mostly alluvial, in some parts, stiff tenacious clay, and in these untoward times and bad seasons it has proved a somewhat stubborn subject to deal with. A large portion lies so low that it is liable to be flooded. A good many hundred acres indeed lie below high-water mark at spring tides. The thorough draining of the Howe has therefore been an exceedingly difficult matter. There is no doubt that, if thoroughly drained and well limed, the land would be about the richest in the county; and in these respects it will in all probability before long be greatly improved. In the parish of Logiepert, which is bound in on the north by the North Esk, there are several large skilfully managed farms. Brae of Pert, on the estate of Stracathro, and rented by Mr Andrew Couper at £1200, is about the largest. It extends to 670 acres, all arable. The soil in this district varies from light gravelly loam to strong hard clay, a pretty large extent being good sharp medium loam on a moderately open subsoil. The better land is worked in the seven-shift rotation, with two green crops, and the thinner soil in five or six shifts. In a good season wheat yields about 4 qrs. per acre, weighing 60 to 64 lbs. per bushel; barley, 5 qrs., weighing 53 to 56 lbs.; and oats, 6 qrs., weighing 42 to 44 lbs. Turnips usually get about 12 loads of farmyard manure, and about 6 cwt. of bones and other light manures per acre. Potatoes get 14 loads of dung and 3 cwt. of potash and bones. Harvest commences between the middle of August or 1st of September. A large stock of Irish and home-bred cattle, the former forming the large majority, are fed in this district. A good many sheep are also fattened or wintered. For both cattle and sheep, cake and bruised grain are extensively used, much more so now than formerly. On the farm of Brae of Pert and others a great deal has been done within recent years, both by the proprietor and tenant, in the way of draining, building, and fencing. Kent varies from 25s. to 40s. per acre. The farm of West Ballochy, also on the Stracathro estate, is held along with West Mains of Keithock by Mr Charles Martin. West Ballochy extends to 260 acres, and is rented at £476. The soil is black loam with clayey subsoil on two-thirds of the farm, and gravel and sand on the remainder. The seven-course rotation is pursued. Wheat yields about 3¾ qrs., barley 3½ qrs., oats 5 qrs., potatoes 6½ tons, turnips 14 tons, and hay 150 stones of 22 lbs. each. Potatoes get from 15 to 20 loads of farmyard manure per acre; and turnips about the same, with the addition of 3 or 4 cwt. of guano and dissolved bones. Mr Martin rears about twenty calves, and also keeps about forty one-year-old and thirty two-year-old cattle, besides ten cows. When potatoes are cheap they are given along with or instead of turnips, cake and bean meal being also largely used in the feeding of cattle. Mr Martin has reclaimed a portion of land from natural pasture, while the proprietor has drained almost the whole of the holding, and built a dwelling-house and farm steading, the tenant paying interest on the outlay at the rate of 5 per cent., and performing all carriages free. The land has been fenced, partly by the proprietor and partly by the tenant.

Kincardine. We commence with Kincardine, as we did with Forfar, at its extreme south-eastern corner—at the mouth of the North Esk. And, as in Forfar, we find the first farm, that of Stone O' Morphie, held by Mr William Smith, a gentleman of extensive and accurate knowledge of farming, and a noted breeder and judge of polled Aberdeen and Angus cattle. This fine farm is situated on the estate of Morphie, in the parish of St Cyrus, lies close to the North Esk, and is rented at £913, 8s. The soil is variable; very rich loam on some parts, thin sharp loam on others. The better fields are rented as high as about £3 per acre. In good seasons beautiful crops of wheat, barley, oats', potatoes, and turnips are grown, the land being maintained in very high condition. A large number of cattle, bought in as yearlings or two-year-olds, mostly at the latter age, are fed on the farm, partly on the grass fields and partly in the courts. Both inside and on the fields a large quantity of feeding stuffs is used. Mr Smith's lease is almost exhausted. During it he has expended about £300 on the repairing of the farm steading, and about £200 in the purchasing of moveable fences, while the proprietor has erected servants' cottages. The adjoining farm of Morphie, rented by Mr James Adamson at £1000, is also managed with skill and success. It contains a good deal of rich loam and some rather thin soil, mostly sharp and sound however.

The parish of St Cyrus is about the best favoured in the county in regard to soil and climate combined. It extends to 8718 acres, and brings a rental of £18.028, or more than an average of £2 per acre. The increase since 1855 amounts to no less than £5219, or close on 12s. per acre. The soil is mostly good sound loam, pretty strong in some parts and light in others, but as a rule very fertile. The subsoil is partly decomposed red sandstone, partly of a clayey nature and partly gravelly. The better class of land is worked mostly on the six-shift rotation with two green crops. Some work in four shifts with one green crop, partly potatoes. A considerable extent is put under beans and potatoes on the richer lands. The principal estate is Lauriston, owned by Mr D. S. Porteous. As on the other properties, a good deal has been done here within the last twenty-five years, in the way of draining, fencing, and building. On the smaller parish of Benholm which adjoins on the north, there is also a considerable proportion of excellent soil—good deep fertile loam, well suited to all the ordinary crops. It is farmed in a way similar to the better lands in St Cyrus, and yields fully as well. Here also, however, there is some light loam, chiefly on the higher parts, and likewise some portions of close hard land that can scarcely be made even fairly fertile. This parish extends to 5216 acres. The rental is £8167, the increase since 1855 being £1532. The largest property in this parish belongs to Mr Hercules Scott of Brotherton, one of the most enterprising and liberal-minded landlords in the county. He takes a lively interest in everything that tends to promote the interests not only of his own tenantry but also of the county generally. In the shape of draining, fencing, reclaiming, building, and other works, he has carried out extensive improvements on his well-managed and highly cultivated property. The lands of Benholm, formerly owned by the Baroness De Virte, were purchased in July 1879 by Mr William Smith, Stone O' Morphie, for the sum of £25,600. The property extends to 740 acres, yields a rental of about £1000, and is altogether one of the most desirable little estates in the county. In 1877 the property was carefully gone over by Mr George James Walker, Hillside House, Portlethen, a gentleman experienced in the valuation of land, and by him it was estimated as worth £31,100,—a sum which in all probability would readily have been obtained some five or six years ago. The soil is mostly strong fertile loam, only a very small portion being light. Benholm Castle, which is being extended and renovated by Mr Smith, is beautifully situated in the midst of extensive and well laid out policies. The home farm, extending to 167 acres and rented at £373, was taken over by Mr Smith at the expiry of the lease at Martinmas 1879, and is to be farmed by himself. 

We next enter the parish of Bervie, which extends to 2447 acres, and yields a rental of £3368. The increase since 1855 is £1332. Here also there is some good loam, but the soil generally is lighter than in Benholm and St Cyrus. The largest property here is that of Hallgreen, in which there are a few good large farms, rented at from £160 to £635. The much larger parish of Arbuthnott lies on the north, stretching from near the sea side far inland. Extending to 9623 acres, it yields a rental of £9916, the increase since 1855 being £2400, or about 5s. per acre of the total extent. Lord Arbuthnott is the chief proprietor in this parish. His fine estate, situated in a well-favoured part of the county and extending into several parishes, is stated in the Parliamentary Return of Owners of Lands and Heritages, 1872, to comprise 13,560 acres, and to yield a rental of £13,036, or very close on £1 per acre all over. The improvements effected on this desirable property within the past twenty-five years have been very extensive and costly. The arable area has been slightly increased in several parts; but the principal works have been the erection of new farm houses, and the draining or redraining of land. In the erection of houses in particular, a very great deal has been done, a large number of very handsome and commodious farm steadings having been erected all over the property. In every case the tenant performs the carriages free, and generally also pays a certain percentage on the outlay by the proprietor, the works being invariably executed under a private arrangement between the proprietor and each individual tenant. A large extent of land has been drained since 1850, while some fencing has also been erected. In this latter respect, however, there is still a great deal to be done. There are a large number of extensive and well managed farms on this property. An intelligent and extensive farmer on the Arbuthnott section of the property states, that the soil varies a good deal, but is mostly a medium loam or pretty strong clay, parts being thin and moorish. The ordinary five-shift rotation is the most general, but a few are now taking to a seven course—two crops of oats in succession, one of turnips with a small portion of potatoes, one of barley, and three years of grass. Some farmers are also working on six shifts, with only one crop of grain between grass and turnips. Under both these latter systems turnips are found to be less liable to damage by "finger and toe" than under the five shifts. There is great variety in the yield of grain. Last season (1879), on some farms oats and barley did not exceed 1½ qr. per acre. In an average season, however, the yield would be about 5 qrs. per acre, barley weighing about 54 lbs., and oats 42 lbs. per bushel. Potatoes yield about 6 tons, turnips about 15 tons, and hay about 1¼ ton per acre. In many cases these figures would be greatly exceeded, but as an average they are not far wrong. On some of the best managed farms, turnips receive about 25 tons per acre of farmyard and Aberdeen city dung mixed; and potatoes about 20 tons of farmyard manure, very little artificial manure being used. On other farms, also skilfully and successfully managed, a lesser quantity of dung is given, the dose being supplemented by from 4 to 6 cwt. of artificial manure per acre, mostly bones in different forms, guano, and superphosphates. Sowing of grain is commenced between the middle of March and first week of April; and of turnips about the 15th of May. Harvest, as a rule, begins between the 1st and 10th of September. On every farm a few cows are kept, but only a very small number of the cattle fed upon it are bred on the estate, or even in the county. A large number of Irish and other cattle are bought in every year, and fed off when two or three years old. A large quantity of cake, potatoes, grain, and maize is used in feeding, along with turnips, straw, and hay. A good many sheep are wintered on the property. The farm of Gyratsmyre is held, along with another farm, by Mr John Taylor. The extent of the two is 368 acres arable, and 120 acres of hill pasture. The soil varies. Some fields are of black loam, some clayey, and others moorish. Most of the land is worked in five shifts. The average yield of barley would be about 4½ qrs. per acre, weighing 53 lbs. per bushel; oats 5 qrs., weighing 40 lbs.; potatoes, 6 tons; turnips, 16 tons; and hay about 1½ ton per acre. A breeding stock of cattle—mostly crosses with a few shorthorns—is kept on the holding. The crosses are fed oft when two years old, and the shorthorn bulls sold either when newly weaned or when one year old. The feeding stock get linseed cake for several weeks before being sent to the butcher. At one time a lot of breeding ewes were kept on this farm, but cattle now form the whole stock. Cattle are now fed off a year younger than they were some years ago. Most of the farm has been fenced by the tenant, the proprietor having done a good deal in the way of building and draining. Rent in this district runs from 20s. to 30s. per acre. One of the largest holdings in the county is that of Pitcarry and Clashendrum, on the estate of Pitcarry, in the parish of Arbuthnott, and leased by Mr J. Blythe Myles. It extends to 540 acres arable and 70 in rough pasture. Five pairs of horses are kept at Pitcarry and one at Clashendrum, the one farm adjoining the other. About 54 acres consist of stiff red clay, 40 acres free to moorish land, 100 acres friable black loam, and the remainder good strong land, well adapted for grain. The stiff land is worked in the six-shift rotation, three grain crops, and two green crops, and one year in grass. The ordinary five-shift rotation is pursued on the other portion. In a pretty good year barley yields about 5 qrs. per acre, weighing about 54 lbs. per bushel; oats from 5 to 8 qrs., weighing from 40 to 42 lbs.; potatoes from 5 to 8 tons; turnips, 14 to 20 tons; and hay from 100 to 150 stones per acre. Turnips get 12 loads of farmyard manure per acre, with two cwt. of bones, and 2 cwt. of superphosphate; while potatoes get about the same quantity of farmyard manure, with 2 cwt. of a potato manure and 1 cwt. of sulphate of potash. A good deal of beans are grown on the farm, and these are sown early in March. Potatoes are planted between the middle of March and the second or third week in May. Mr Myles prefers to plant them early. During summer, about 100 head of cattle are kept, the stock in winter being increased to 130 or 140. Few are bred on the farm, the large majority being purchased in the south. Cake and grain are liberally used in the winter feeding. The farm steading has lately been improved by the proprietor, the tenant performing the carriages. The tenant has also carted on to the farm a good deal of lime and manure, since he entered, two years ago. The fields are all well watered, but badly fenced, almost all the fences being of wood. There is a pretty fair supply of servants' cottages on the farm.

Turning southwards, we enter the somewhat cold hilly parish of Garvock. On the slopes of the Garvock hill, which, almost in a direct line between the villages of Laurencekirk and St Cyrus, rises to a height of 915 feet, the soil is mostly either thin or medium loam, resting on a hard subsoil, or stiff clayey loam lying on a cold sour bottom. Extending to 7982 acres, this parish has a rental of £7134, the increase since 1855 amounting to no less than £2919, or about 7s. 6d. per acre of the total extent. Considering that a large portion of this parish consists of uncultivated hilly ground, this increase must be regarded as very large. As already indicated, a large extent of land has been reclaimed on the slopes of the Garvock hill during the last twenty-five years, and this in a great measure accounts for the long stride in the rent-roll in that period. A very large sum of money has also been spent since 1855 in improving the old lauds and farms by draining, building, and fencing; and this, of course, had likewise done much to increase the annual value of the parish.

On the west of the southern end of Garvock, lies the fine agricultural parish of Marykirk, comparatively level and low-lying, the greater portion being under 200 feet above sea level. Marykirk extends to 9912 acres. The rental is £11,653, or about 23s. 6d. per acre. The increase since 1855 is equal to nearly 6s. per acre of the whole area. The principal estates in this parish are Inglismaldie, Kirktonhill, Thornton, Luthermuir, Balmakewan, and Balmain. A large portion of the land consists of good sound fertile loam, lying on decomposed red sandstone, and well adapted to all the ordinary crops. On the richer land the six and seven shift rotation is pursued; and on the thin soil the five-shift rotation, with one green crop. The beautiful and extensive parish of Fettercairn lies on the west. Extending to 13,803 acres, it yields a rental of £12,056, the increase since 1855 being £2644. The principal estates in this parish are Fasque, Fettercairn, The Burn, and Balmain. On Colonel M'Inroy's desirable little property of The Burn, a good deal of improvement has been effected during the past twenty-five years; while on Sir A. E. Ramsay's estates of Balmain, a very large sum of money has been laid out during that period on reclaiming, planting, draining, building, and fencing. On Balmain about 30 acres of old woodland were trenched and drained and made arable by the proprietor, while about 100 acres were planted. Most of the farm steadings have either been renewed or added to and improved by the proprietor since 1855, the tenants generally paying interest on the outlay. All these improvements, however, are made the matter of private arrangement between the landlord and tenant. The farms on the Balmain estates range from 30 to 300 acres in extent, there being in addition about twenty crofts, ranging from 5 to 15 acres. All the farms and most of the crofts are held on leases of nineteen years' duration. Several crofters hold their land from year to year, but even among these very few changes take place. The soil is mostly sharp medium black loam, deep in some parts and thin in others. The subsoil is partly adhesive clay and partly a mixture of gravel and clay. On the richer, blacker land, a seven course of cropping is pursued,—three years grass, oats, potatoes along with smaller portions of beans, vetches, and cabbages, or a small division of oats a second time, then a full shift of turnips, followed by barley with grass seeds. On the thinner land the ordinary five-shift rotation is followed. On good land oats average about 6 qrs. per acre, weighing about 42 lbs. per bushel; barley, 4½ to 5 qrs., weighing 54 lbs.; potatoes, 5 to 6 tons; and turnips, 20 tons. Potatoes get 16 to 20 loads of farmyard manure per acre with 2 cwt. of dissolved bones; and turnips about the same quantity of dung, with 3 or 4 cwt. of dissolved bones and other light manures. Only a small number of the cattle fed in the district are bred in it. Mr Smith, Balmain, keeps a few shorthorn cows, and also breeds a few cross; but the general custom is to buy in Irish cattle at one and a half year old, and feed them off within a year or fifteen months. Excluding the higher and poorer lands, the average rent in this district is about 30s. per acre. Around the village of Fettercairn there is some very fine heavy loam, rented at about £2 per acre, or even more. The Fettercairn property contains some very rich land, mostly of the nature of clayey loam, with a good open subsoil.

The Fasque estates, now by far the most extensive in the county, have been acquired at different times since about 1825 or 1830. About that period the late Sir (then Mr) John Gladstone purchased the adjacent properties of Fasque and Balfour, and some time afterwards that of Phesdo in the same neighbourhood. Then followed Balnakettle and Little and Meikle Strath Balbegno, and last, but not least, the immense property of Glen-dye. The last, by far the largest, was purchased about twenty-five years ago by Sir Thomas Gladstone, the present owner, from the Earl of Southesk, the price having been fixed by the late Mr Walker, Portlethen. It adjoins the other estates excepting Phesdo, which is detached but not far distant, and thus the Fasque property now extends from the village of Fettercairn to within less than 10 miles from Banchory on Deeside, a distance of over 16 miles. The total area is not far short of 49,000 acres. By far the greater portion lies on the Grampian range, and consists of black heath-clad hills intersected by numerous valleys or small straths in which there is a good deal of green pasture. On the Glendye property there are several small farms on the lower parts towards Banchory, while on the other estates there is a large extent of excellent arable land, mostly good rich loam, strong and deep in some parts and thin in others, but all over sound and fertile. The property contains a great deal of valuable wood, not a little of which has been planted by Sir Thomas and his father. At the time Fasque was purchased by Sir John its wood was valued at £10,000, and since then its plantations have been increased by several hundred acres. The plantations on Phesdo extend to about 103 acres, and those of Balfour to 215 acres; while on the Glendye property, Sir Thomas has planted about 2500 acres. Around the mansion-house of Fasque there are many trees of great dimensions and rare grandeur. The mansion-house, a large palatial-looking edifice, was built by the Ramsays of Balmain in 1808-9, and is said to have cost about £30,000. The policies are extensive and beautiful. A picturesque finely situated lake, extending to about 20 acres and formed by the late Sir John, adds greatly to their beauty. The home farm, extending to 670 acres, including the farm of Bogendello, is held by the proprietor. About 150 acres around the mansion-house lie under permanent pasture. The other portion is worked in the ordinary five or six shift rotation, and as a rule excellent crops of barley, oats, and turnips are raised. The soil on the lower parts consists of good black loam, what is known as excellent barley and turnip land, and on the higher parts the soil is lighter, but also fertile. Almost the whole has been redrained lately and also well fenced. Barley yields from 4 to 5 qrs. per acre, weighing from 50 to 54 lbs., and oats from 5 to 7 qrs., weighing from 40 to 43 lbs. Turnips grow exceptionally well, yielding as much sometimes as 30 tons per acre. A very commodious and substantial farm steading, with all the modern comforts and conveniences, was erected on the home farm in 1872. It was built from a design by Mr Murray, the local factor on the property, and is altogether one of the best steadings in the county. The cattle courts are covered, and are extensive. A saw mill, carpenter's and blacksmith's shops adjoin the steading, the saws and other machines being driven from the water-wheel, which also drives the threshing mill. These conveniences enable Sir Thomas to accomplish by his own employees a good deal of the estate work. An excellent herd of polled cattle is kept at the home farm, as also some very good sheep. The herd will be referred to afterwards.

Proceeding eastwards from Fasque we enter the parish of Laurencekirk, in which there is a large extent of good land, clayey loam in some parts, deep strong loam in others, and thin loam on the higher portions. Extending to 5617 acres, this parish has a rental of £12,710, the increase since 1855 being £5198, or not far short of £1 per acre. A good deal of this very large increase is no doubt due to the growth of the village of Laurencekirk; but it is equally certain that there has also been a very large increase in the agricultural rent of the parish. The principal estates in this parish are those of Haulkerton, belonging to the Earl of Kintore, and Johnston, owned by Mr and Mrs Pearson. On the former there are several large and very good farms, on which a most advanced system of farming is pursued. That of Bents of Haulkerton, occupied by Mr William Alexander, is specially worthy of mention. On this estate a good deal has been done in the way of building and draining since 1855. The Johnston estate extends to about 1010 acres—800 arable, 40 under natural pasture, and 170 under wood. The gross rental amounts to about £1800. Near the village of Laurencekirk the rent is as high as £3 per acre, while on the higher parts it is below 20s. Since 1850, some draining and building and other improvements have been effected on the estate. The soil is mostly of a clayey nature; the five-shift rotation being generally pursued. The home farm extends to 200 acres arable and about 80 of wood pasture. A good many small crofts are held by villagers on leases of ten years' duration, and at rents as a rule higher than those paid for larger holdings.

Fordoun, the most important agricultural parish in the county, lies on the north of Laurencekirk. It extends to 26,937 acres, and yields a rental of £21,307. The increase since 1855 amounts to no less than £5358, or close on 4s. per acre of the total area. The soil varies greatly. A large portion is strong clayey loam, a considerable extent good medium loam, and a pretty large area light loam. The subsoil is a mixture of clay and gravel in some parts, and hard gravel in others. Lord Arbuthnott owns some excellent land in this parish; his larger farms being Cairnton, leased by Mr Falconer, and East and West Cairnbeg, held respectively by Mr Brown and Mr Johnston. Cairnton extends to 525 acres, all arable; and was obtained by Mr Falconer at Martinmas 1878. The soil on the lower fields is good friable black loam, a little stiff in some parts, while towards the hill it becomes light. The land is not well suited for wheat, and therefore it is grown only to a limited extent. The better land is worked on a seven-shift rotation,— two years grass, oats, potatoes, wheat, turnips, and barley with grass seeds. A portion of a new steading, consisting of stables, cart sheds, and cattle courts, wholly covered, has just been erected by the proprietor, the tenant performing the carriages; while in draining, about £700 have been spent by the proprietor since Mr Falconer entered. On that sum the tenant pays interest at the rate of 4 per cent. Barley yields about 5 qrs. per acre, and weighs 54 lbs. per bushel; wheat, 3½ to 4 qrs., weighing from 63 to 64 lbs.; and oats, from 5 to 6 qrs., weighing from 40 to 43 lbs. In an ordinary year harvest usually commences between the middle or the end of August, in the earlier parts of the parish. Mr Falconer feeds a large number of cattle, bought in mostly when eighteen months or two and a half years old, and fed off during winter. Latterly, he has been giving the Canadian cattle a trial. He buys them at Glasgow in the autumn, paying from £13 to £18 a head for them. They are mostly strong lean cattle, three or four years old, and larger than could be purchased from Ireland at the same money. They usually weigh from 6 to 8 cwt. when "ripe," and as yet they have paid well. Mr Falconer also holds the farm of Candy on the Drumlithie estate. On that farm about 70 or 80 acres of mossy land were reclaimed about seventeen years ago. At that time the rent was only about £200; now, it is exactly double. In Fordoun rent runs from £1 to £2, while towards Laurencekirk some of the best land is rented at close on £3 per acre. Among the other large farms in Fordoun may be mentioned that of Pitarrow, on Mr Crombie's estate of Pitarrow, and occupied and very carefully managed by Mr Hugh Bisset. This farm extends to 400 acres, and is rented at £602. The soil is mostly a heavy loam, mixed with clay, part of it being in some seasons rather difficult to "make" properly. The five-shift rotation is stipulated in the lease, and it is the system most generally followed in the district. There are many exceptions to it, however, and proprietors do not hesitate to give some freedom to a good farmer. Barley and oats yield about 5 qrs. per acre, the former

weighing 54 and the latter 43 lbs. per bushel. Hay yields 200 stones and potatoes about 6 tons per acre. For turnips Mr Bisset gives about 15 tons of farmyard manure per acre with about 3 cwt. of bones and guano. About one half the cattle stock is bred on the farm, the other half being bought in in summer or autumn. The feeding cattle usually go to the butcher when from two and a half to three years old. Last year (1879) Mr Bisset fattened a lot of Canadian bullocks that paid remarkably well. Very extensive improvements have been effected on this farm during the past twelve years. The proprietor erected, at a cost of £3500, a very large and commodious steading, one of the best indeed in the county. The tenant performed all carriages free, but pays no interest on the proprietor's outlay. He has, however, expended a large sum on draining and liming a large portion of the farm. The farm is well watered, but not so Well fenced. What fences there are consist of wire erected by the tenant. Nine pairs of horses are employed in working the farm, which is maintained in high condition.

Passing northwards into the parish of Glenbervie we find in it great variety of soil and surface. The land is very uneven, but excepting around Glenbervie House, which has a snug and beautiful situation, it is not well wooded. The largest estates in this parish are those of Glenbervie, owned by Mr J. Badenach Nicolson, and Drumlithie, belonging to Mr John Miller, Edinburgh. On the latter a large sum has been expended on reclamation, draining, and building within the last twenty years; while on the former, a great deal has been done in the way of draining, building, and general estate improvements. The Glenbervie estate extends to 8481 acres, and yields a rental from land of £3683, being an increase of about £500 during the last twenty-five years. A survey, taken about thirty years ago, shows the arable area at that time to have been 2985 acres, the natural pasture 3850 acres, and the woods 116 acres. Since that time, however, a pretty large extent has been added to the arable area, while between 200 and 300 acres have been planted. Within the last twenty-five years more than £10,000 has been expended by the proprietor on general agricultural improvements on the estate; and, in addition, the tenants have, by draining small pieces, reclaiming little corners, and other works, done a good deal to ameliorate the condition of the property, which is now far superior to what it was thirty years ago. The late Mrs Nicolson, mother of the present proprietor, took advantage at an early period of the Drainage Loan Act, having, prior to 1855, obtained under that Act about £4500, which was spent in forming about 90 miles of subsoil drains on the Glenbervie estate. That sum has now been wholly cleared off by interest paid by the tenants. If the drains were put in at the commencement of a lease the tenant paid the full amount of interest, which was 6½ per cent., but if the work were done during the currency of a lease only 5 per cent. was charged against the tenant. All the recent improvements have been carried out under private arrangements between the proprietor and each individual tenant. Mr Nicolson also owns the smaller estate of Auchterhouse, in the parish of Garvock. Here also a large sum has been expended on permanent improvements. Since 1855 the rental has increased from £500 to £740. As leases expire on both estates arrangements are made for the improvement of the houses and for other desirable works; and particularly in regard to building there is still a good deal remaining to be done. The soil varies from good strong, fertile, clayey loam to thin loam lying near the rock or on a hard pan. On the better parts the subsoil is gravel and clay. The five-course rotation has long been the rule on the estate, but Mr Nicolson, who is a popular and painstaking landlord, has been encouraging his tenantry to grow a greater extent of grass, and devote still more attention to the rearing and feeding of stock. On suitable land, and under good management, he allows two successive grain crops to be grown when the tenant desires to have that advantage. The portion of Glenbervie that extends on to the Grampian Hills, about 2400 acres, is held as a sheep farm by Mr Lindsay, bank agent, Montrose. Mr Nicolson enclosed the whole of this farm by a substantial fence; and his experience has been that, with the little "hunting" thus required by dogs, the grouse and sheep thrive together most admirably. Under the lease it has been arranged that the heath on one-ninth of the farm shall be burned every year, the tenant giving assistance in the burning. The stock kept are of the blackfaced breed. Between Glenbervie and the sea lie the parishes of Kinneff, Catterline, and Dunnottar. The combined parish first named extends to 7249 acres, and has a rental of £8751, or more than an average of 24s. per acre all over. The increase since 1855 amounts to close on £2000, or over 5s. 6d. per acre of the total extent. Dunnottar extends to 7884 acres, and has a rental of £11,248, or not far short of 30s. per acre. The increase during the last 25 years is equal to more than 7s. per acre. The soil varies greatly in these two parishes. In some parts there is stiff clay, in others deep rich loam, on the heights thin poor loam, and on what may be called the main body of the parishes a medium loam, rather light, but sharp, sound, and fertile. The land is worked mostly on the five and six shift rotations, with one green crop. It is, as a rule, well cleaned and liberally manured, and yields comparatively heavy crops. On the Kinneff and Catterline properties in Kinneff, on the estate and lands of Dunnottar, and on the Barras estate in both parishes, there are several large farms of good land, which being managed in a skilful and liberal manner are made to produce excellent crops. One of the largest and best managed farms in this district is Fernyflatt, on the Kinneff estate, which contains some very good loam, and produces excellent crops. The farms of Harvieston and Beedlieston, also in the parish of Kinneff, and occupied respectively by Mr George Greig and Mr Walker Campbell, are likewise large and are worked in a no less skilful manner. Mr Greig has given great attention to cultivation by steam, and on his own and other farms employs steam extensively and with much success. The improvements on the different estates in these parishes within the last twenty-five years have been extensive and varied, very similar indeed both in nature and comparative cost to those executed in that period on the Glenbervie estate. These remarks apply equally well to the various estates in the parish of Fetteresso which lie on the north of Dunnottar. Extending to 27,528 acres Fetteresso has a rental of £31,264, the increase during the last twenty-five years being equal to over 7s. per acre of the total extent. As in Dunnottar, however, a pretty large part of the rental of Fetteresso is derived from the town of Stonehaven, which lies partly in the one parish and partly in the other. The principal estates in Fetteresso are Cowie, Fetter-esso, Gillybrands and Newtonhill, Muchalls, Netherley, Urie and Rickarton. On all these estates pretty large sums have been expended since 1855 on various improvements, chiefly draining and building; while on all there has been less or more reclamation, mostly done in small pieces by the tenants. Since the beginning of the present century the arable area of this parish has been very largely increased, but the main portion of the reclamation took place prior to 1850. On the lower parts of the parish and along the coast towards Muchalls there is a good deal of medium fertile loam, that yields well under liberal management. On the more inland and higher parts, however, the soil is either mossy, or thin moorish loam, or cold clayey loam; the subsoil being moderately open in some parts, but in a large portion close and hard. Much as has been done in draining there still remains a good deal to be done. On the estate of Netherley there is a large tract of deep moss, from which in former times immense quantities of peat were cut and driven to Aberdeen, mostly by crofters and cottars on the property. The estate of Netherley was purchased close on twenty years ago for Mr W. N. Forbes from Mr Horatio Ross, the famed sportsman, for £53,000. Not very long before that time it was purchased for Mr Ross by the late Mr Walker, Portlethen, for £33,000. When in Mr Ross's possession the property was under the skilful management of Mr Walker, and was in many respects considerably improved. About twenty years ago the Commonty of Cowie in Fetteresso, extending to about 2000 acres was divided among the proprietors interested, the superior, the proprietor of Dunnottar, getting about one-half. When divided most of the land was let in small lots to tenants on improving leases at a rent of 5s. per acre the first ten years, and afterwards about 10s. These tenants reclaimed the land partly by ploughing and partly by trenching; have drained it well and made it into moderately fertile land. The soil consists mostly of moorish loam and moss.

In the parishes of Banchory-Devenick, Nigg, and Maryculter, which form the north-eastern corner of the county, there is great variety of soil and an irregular stony surface. Along the coast there is a narrow fringe of good sharp loam, thin as a rule, and nowhere heavy, but generally sure and fertile. Within 7 or 8 miles of Aberdeen almost all the farms and a good many crofts are devoted to producing milk, butter, and eggs for Aberdeen; and in this way larger rents are paid than could possibly be taken out of the land by ordinary farming. In the Portlethen district, for instance, a rent of 30s. or £2 per acre is paid for land that in the centre of the county would not be worth more than £1 or £1, 5s. per acre. These parishes extend respectively to 7819, 4606, and. 7923 acres. In Banchory-Devenick the increase in the rental since 1855 is not far short of 10s. per acre of the total extent. Nigg has increased by more than £1 per acre, but of that a large portion is due to feuing and building in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen. The increase in Maryculter exceeds 5s. per acre. In all these parishes there is a very large proportion of uncultivated land, so that these figures do not represent anything like the actual increase per acre of the arable land. Since 1850 there has been a large extent of land reclaimed, and a great amount of money expended on other improvements, such as draining, building, and fencing. One of the most extensive and systematic improvers in the county was the late Mr Dyce Nicol of Badentoy and Ballogie, M.P. Commencing in 1850 he spent a large sum every year for ten years, in reclaiming draining, fencing, building, and road making; and thereafter till his death in 1872 he set aside one-fifth of the rental of the estate for permanent improvements. Since then his son, under the advice of his experienced factor, Mr George James Walker, Hillside House, Portlethen, has been maintaining the property in excellent condition, spending small sums on improvements now and again. The other larger properties in these parishes are Ardoe, on which Mr Ogston has expended a large sum on building, draining, and other improvements, and to which he has recently added the estate of Heathcot; Banchory, a very desirable property that has been greatly improved within the past twenty-five years, and now owned by Mr John Stewart; Coul and Loirston; Altries; and Kingcausie. On the desirable little estate of Hillside, Portlethen, owned by Mr R. S, Kynoch Shand, there is some very good sharp loam, let in small holdings to industrious tenants, who devote the land to dairy farming and thus pay high rents. On the adjoining small property of Portlethen there is also some very fair land. The largest farm, the Mains of Portlethen, is leased by Mr E. B. Walker at a rent of £456, 6s. For the long period of forty-eight years this farm, and, for the greater part of that time, several other adjoining farms, were held by the late Mr E. Walker, one of the most enterprising and experienced agriculturists of his day. In addition to carrying on several arable farms, which he improved very greatly by reclamation, draining, building, and fencing, he managed with distinguished success during the greater part of his career as a farmer a large and well-bred herd of polled cattle, while he also, at the earnest solicitation of his many friends both among proprietors and tenants, devoted no little time to estate management and to the valuation of estates and farms. In the valuation of estates the benefit of his long experience and accurate knowledge was often solicited, and in many instances the fixing of the price between the buyer and seller of landed property was left entirely to himself. On the Kingcausie estate extensive improvements were carried out by the late Mr John Irvine Boswell; while the present proprietor has also improved the condition of the property. The largest estate in Maryculter is that of Altries, belonging to Mr Kinloch of Park. Towards the river Dee the soil is sandy loam, of moderate depth in some parts but generally light, while back from the river moss and clay predominate. The rent of the arable land averages about 20s. per acre. The extent under wood is about 364 acres, of which 60 acres were planted between 1865 and 1870 at a cost of £1, 2s. per acre. Between 1864 and 1878 about 90 acres of new land were reclaimed by trenching, draining, &c., at a cost of £11 per acre; while, since 1865, £2200 has been expended on farm buildings; £460 on the erection of 13,000 yards of stone dykes, 8½d. per yard; £825 in making 66,000 yards of furrow drains, £1, 5s. per 100 yards; £180 on 9000 yards of leader drains, £2 per 100 yards; and £110 in forming 2200 yards of roads, 1s. per yard. The total outlay on estate improvements during the past fifteen years has thus amounted to about £4900. Improvements have always been made under private arrangement between the proprietor and each individual tenant. Farms on this estate range from 30 to 400 acres in extent, there being sixteen crofts held under lease and rented at an average of about 25s. per acre. The five, six and seven shift rotations, with one green crop, are pursued, the first being the most general. By far the largest farm on the Altries estate is Ashentilly, held by Mr James Duguid. Well laid off and efficiently fenced, with stone dykes, this farm has latterly been stocked mainly by sheep and dairy cows, for both of which it seems well suited. Though his farm is fully 10 miles from Aberdeen, Mr Duguid carries on dairy farming extensively and with success. The dairy produce is driven to Aberdeen every morning.

Proceeding westwards along Deeside we enter the parish of Durris, which extends to 15,435 acres, and has a rental of £9902. The increase since 1855 amounts to £3532, or close on 5s. per acre of the total area. Almost the whole of this parish belongs to Mr James Young, who about eight years ago purchased the extensive estate of Durris from the trustees of the late Mr A. W. Mactier, for the sum of £300,000. The estate extends to 16,659 acres, and yields a rental of £10,104. Mr Mactier expended a very large sum of money in reclamations, draining, fencing, and building, thus adding very largely to the value of the estate. A good deal of the land reclaimed by Mr Mactier was of a rough nature, and in some cases the cost was as much as £50 per acre. The soil consists mostly of loam of various texture, rich in some parts and thin and moorish in others; but the subsoil is for the most part cold damp clay, which has required close and thorough draining. The greater part of the estate, indeed, has been twice drained within the past thirty or thirty-five years ; a good deal of it twice within the last twenty years, being done mostly by the proprietor, but partly also by the tenants. Since Mr Young obtained possession, he has expended a large sum on improvements of various kinds, particularly on planting, which he has carried out perhaps to a larger extent recently than any other proprietor in either of the two counties to which this report refers. The arable land is rented at about an average of 30s. per acre, the highest being £2 and the lowest £1. The rent of one farm let recently fell about 8s. per acre. On the whole, few estates are in a better condition as to houses, fences, draining, &c.; but, as is the case generally in these bad times, the tenants complain of rents being somewhat high. Near the side of the river Dee the soil varies from a light to a medium loam, all being fertile, sharp, and early. On the higher parts back from the river the soil is a trifle stiff, and the climate rather cold and late. One of the best farms on the estate is that of Nether Balfour, which is leased by Mr E. Salmond at a rental of £608, and managed with commendable skill and enterprise. The seven-shift rotation is pursued on this farm, wheat and potatoes being grown with success. Another admirably managed farm is that of Quithelhead, which is rented at £253 by Mr James Cowie Thorn, whose system fairly illustrates that pursued in the district generally. Quithelhead extends to 173 acres, all arable, and to this a croft of 5 acres is added.. The soil is mostly a yellowish loam, with clayey subsoil. Two-thirds of the farm was drained at 18 feet, and the remainder 36 feet apart. The five-course rotation is generally pursued, but many are now turning into the six-shift, which both lessens the labour and manure bills and diminishes the risk of damage to turnips by "finger and toe." Mr Thorn would also prefer the six shifts, with three years grass, but his farm is laid off and fenced with stone dykes in five shifts, so that in six shifts the farm would be very inconvenient to work. Other farmers on the estate, and also on other properties in the two counties, have a similar difficulty to face in the altering of their system of cropping. Barley succeeds turnips on most farms, and yields from 4 to 5½ qrs. per acre, weighing 53 to 55 lbs. per bushel; oats yield from 4 to 7 qrs., weighing from 40 to 43 lbs.; potatoes from 5 to 6 tons ; turnips from 13 to 17 tons; and hay about 200 stones of 22 lbs. each. Turnips and potatoes get from 12 to 18 loads of farmyard manure, with artificial manure, mostly guano, dissolved bones, bone dust, and coprolites, to the value of about 30s. or 40s. per acre. Sowing sometimes begins about the middle of March, and harvest occasionally as early as the second week of August. The latter, however, is often much later in commencing, and is sometimes not finished till the middle of October. Mr Thorn keeps about forty-two or forty-five cattle of all ages. Formerly he fed off his cattle when rising three years, but now he finds it more profitable to feed them off a year younger. Those he has sold when two years old have brought from £23 to £24 a-head. A good deal of linseed and cotton cake is used. A good many cattle are bred in the district, but not nearly so many as are fed in it. A large number of Irish stock are bought in lean, and sold fat, after being kept for from six to ten months. The home-bred stock are far superior to these. Since he began to feed off his cattle when two year olds, Mr Thorn has put his calves into the court their first winter, and has added to their allowance of straw and turnips a mixture of cake and bruised oats and barley. The proprietor lately built an addition to Mr Thorn's steading in the form of sheds and feeding byre, the rent on this account being raised by £10. The farm is divided into fifteen fields, varying in extent from 10 to 14 acres, and the croft into five fields, all well watered and fenced by substantial stone dykes. Entry is obtained to farms on this estate at Martinmas, the first half-year's rent being Payable a year afterwards. Since about 1850 the rent of the arable land has increased by about thirty per cent.

On the opposite side of the Dee from Durris lie the parishes of Drumoak and Banchory-Ternan. Of the former, only 2121 acres are in Kincardineshire, the remainder being in the county of Aberdeen. Banchory-Ternan contains 19,256 acres, and yields a rental of £1409. The increase since 1855 amounts to £5259, or more than 5s. per acre of the total extent. The rent of this parish is largely swelled by the growing village of Banchory; while the average rate per acre is greatly decreased by a large area of uncultivated land. The principal estate in these parishes is that of Leys, owned by Sir Robert Burnett, Bart. of Crathes. This fine property extends to 12,105 acres—5200 under cultivation; 3509 (including the Hill of Fair, which extends to about 1700 acres, and is mostly covered by heath) under natural pasture; 241 of moss; and 3000 acres under wood; roads, &c, taking up 155 acres. The average rent of the arable land is about 18s. or 20s. per acre, the increase on the estate since 1855 being about £1100. Since 1850 very extensive improvements have been carried out on this property, all under the close and careful superintendence of the intelligent and practical proprietor and Mr John Davidson, North Leys, the factor on the estate. Between 600 and 700 acres of land have been reclaimed, partly by trenching and partly by ploughing, the cost, including draining and other work, being about £15 per acre. This work has been proceeding constantly during the past thirty years, so much being done every year. In the same way about 1500 acres have been planted, at a cost of about £3, 5s. per acre, exclusive of fencing and the clearing away of broom and whins, &c.; while on building throughout the estate about £700 has been spent yearly since 1850, including carriages, which were all performed by the tenants. The yearly expenditure during this period on fencing has been about £120, and on draining £180. The total expenditure on road making since 1850 has been about £150. In addition to the land reclaimed by the proprietor, since 1850 the tenants have reclaimed about 400 acres, mostly by ploughing, but partly also by trenching. The houses on the property are as a rule very good, and the land is fairly well fenced, mostly by good stone dykes. The soil is partly sandy, on a gravelly subsoil, and partly light loam, with a subsoil of clay and sand. On the higher portions there is a good deal of moss. The five and six shift rotations are pursued, the latter being now the most general. The farms vary greatly in size. There are six of 200 acres and upwards, sixteen between 100 and 200, and thirty-five between 40 and 100 acres. In addition, there are sixty crofts on the estate, ranging from 5 to 30 acres in extent, some being held, like the farms, under nineteen years' lease, and some under ten years' lease. As a rule the crofters pay higher rents than the farmers, the average on the crofts being about 24s. per acre. The cattle bred and fed on the estate are mostly crosses between shorthorns and polled cattle, a few pure-bred animals of both breeds being raised in the district. The most important change in the system of farming on this estate within the past twenty-five years has been the more extensive adoption of the six-shift rotation. The stocks both of cattle and horses have been greatly improved during that period. On other estates in this parish there has also been a good deal done in the way of permanent improvements since 1855.

The last parish we visit is Strachan, the most western and by far the largest parish in the county. It extends to no less than 41,885 acres, the main portion of it consisting of high hills and moors. The rental is only £5210, the increase since 1855 being £1573. The arable area is very small, and is made up largely by a narrow irregular fringe along both sides of the Feugh and its tributary the water of Dye. Near the village of Strachan on the Feugh there is a considerable stretch of really good arable land, mostly black free fertile loam. The principal estates in this parish are those of Glendye, Strachan, and Blackball. On the former, now owned by Sir Thomas Gladstone, Bart. of Fasque, there is a small strip of arable land along the course of the Dye, mostly between Binglyburn and Glendye lodge, a short distance above the bridge of Dye. On the Strachan estate there are a few good arable farms, the largest being Bowbutts. Extending to 180 acres, all arable, this farm is leased by Mr James L. Rust at a rent of £219. The soil is light black loam, on gravel or rock. One half the farm is worked in five shifts, and the other in the "easy" six-shift rotation. The five shifts is still the most general in the district, but the six is gaining ground. The latter is the most in favour everywhere, but some portions of the land would throw out the sown grasses and go back to the natural state, growing heath and rough grasses, if left three or more years in grass. Oats yield about 4½ qrs. on an average, and weigh 42 lbs.; barley, 3½ qrs., weighing 55 lbs.; potatoes, 5½ tons, suitable for the market; turnips, 18 to 20 tons; and hay, 1¼ ton per acre. Turnips get from 10 to 12 loads of farmyard manure per acre, with from 3 to 5 cwt. of artificial manures. Potatoes get from 12 to 15 loads of farmyard manure per acre, with from 4 to 5 cwt. of light manures. The artificial manures mostly used for potatoes consist of a mixture of potash salts and other substances, and for turnips soluble and insoluble phosphates. Very little wheat is grown in this district, but oats and barley of heavy weights and very fine quality are raised. Harvesting begins, as a rule, early in September. A good many cattle, mostly crosses between the polled and shorthorn breeds, are reared in this parish. Indeed, a few of the smaller farmers breed more than they feed, while the larger farmers have only a few to buy in. Mr Rust and some others allow their calves almost 1 lb. of linseed cake during winter, and for some time before they are finished as feeding cattle they get, in addition to turnips, a liberal allowance of cake, oats, and barley, bruised and mixed with bran. Since 1850 the stock bred and fed in this district have improved very greatly, mainly by the introduction of really good well-bred bulls, and by more attention being paid to the class of cows kept, and to the feeding and housing of cattle. Three years ago Mr Rust sold four cross stots of his own breeding, and under two years old, at an average of £35 each. One of these four, 1 year and 11 months old, weighed when killed, and after hanging in the slaughter-house for two days, no less than 9 cwt. 3 qrs. and 26 lbs., or only 2 lbs. short of 10 cwt. Mr Rust renewed his lease two years ago, and since then the proprietor has built new houses and executed several thousand yards of drains, the tenant paying interest on the outlay at the rate of 5 per cent., and also performing all carriages free. In this district generally the most of the land has been drained since 1850, either by Government, the proprietors' or tenants' money; while besides great improvement in the way of building and fencing, a large extent of new land has been reclaimed, chiefly from moor and moss. Rent varies from 20s. to 28s. per acre. On the Blackhall estate there are also some very good arable farms, managed in a manner similar to the system prevailing on the Strachan property. One of the largest and best managed holdings is the combined farms of Letterbeg and Bucharn, held by Mr James Leys. The extent is 245 acres arable, and 60 of natural pasture, the rental being £240, 11s. The soil is mostly black friable loam. A portion of the farm is put under sheep, and is broken up occasionally. The other portion is worked in five shifts. Barley and oats yield on an average about 4 qrs. per acre, the former weighing 54 and the latter 41 lbs. per bushel. Potatoes yield about 7 tons, turnips 18 to 21 tons, and hay 1½ ton per acre. In addition to a good dose of farmyard manure, turnips and potatoes get a mixture of artificial manure, mostly dissolved bones with a small portion of superphosphate of lime, to the value of about £2 per acre. During the last four years the proprietor has expended £1400 on this farm on trenching, draining, building houses, and erecting dykes, the tenant paying interest at the rate of 5 per cent., and also performing all the carriage free. The farm is well watered and fairly well fenced. The arable land in this district is rented at about 24s. per acre.

Mr Sim, the tenant of the farm of Gateside on the Strachan estate, has for a few years been growing strawberries to the extent of about 2 acres. The results have varied greatly with the seasons, but it is understood that on the whole the experiment has been successful. The yield and the price both seem to be very irregular. This year as much as £27, 10s. per ton was obtained, and it is stated that occasionally the yield will reach close on 2 tons per acre. The labour bill, of course, must be a pretty heavy one. Around Banchory and elsewhere on Deeside there are smaller patches of land devoted to the raising of strawberries. The granite soil and dry climate seem to suit them admirably.

Rent, Leases, Rotation, Size of Farms.

Rent.—The rent of arable land varies with soil, climate, and situation, and as we have already seen there is great variety in these respects, in both Forfar and Kincardine. Near Dundee, it is as high as 120s. per acre, from 80s. to 100s. being general in that district. A few miles along the coast northwards it falls to about 60s., and then to from 40s. to 50s. Here and there along the coast there is a farm rented at about 35s. per acre, but all the better land reaches or exceeds 40s. On the slopes of the Sidlaw hills rent ranges from 20s. to 28s. per acre, a few farms being even higher and some lower. Throughout the valley of Strathmore it varies from 30s. to 50s. per acre, 38s. and 42s. being the most general figures for pretty good land; the average all over the vale would not exceed 35s. per acre. On the Braes of Angus it runs from 18s. or 20s. to 35s. or 38s., the average being under 28s. Around Brechin and on the north-eastern corner of the county, it varies from 30s. to 42s. per acre. In Kincardineshire rents are considerably lower, only small portious of the land here being rented for wheat and potatoes. Some of the best land in St Cyrus is rented at close on 60s., a good deal of it being over 40s. Along the coast between Bervie and Montrose it ranges from 28s. to 50s., the average being under 30s. On the Garvock slopes it varies from 18s. to 30s.; in the Howe of the Mearns from 28s. to 45s., the average being 30s. to 33s.; on the slopes lying up to the Grampians from 20s. to 25s.; in Glenbervie, Kinneff, Dunnottar, and Fetteresso, from 20s. to 30s., some farms being over 30s., and a few as low as 15s.; between Stonehaven to Aberdeen, from 20s. to 48s.; in Mary-culter, Durris, Drumoak, and Banchory-Ternan, from 20s. to 38s., the general run being from 25s. to 30s.; and in Strachan from 15s. to 30s.; the average being 22s. or 24s. per acre. The increase since 1855 also varies greatly in different parts of the two counties. Near large towns the increase has perhaps not exceeded 12 per cent.; but in other parts where extensive improvements have been effected, it has amounted to 30 per cent. or more. The average increase in the two counties is as nearly as possible equal, and may be safely put at from 20 to 25 per cent. There is much speculation at present as to whether or not rents will fall. The almost imprecedentedly bad weather of recent years, coupled with foreign competition both in grain and meat markets, has, naturally enough, disheartened Scotch farmers, and led many of them to take a somewhat gloomy view of matters. There is not the faintest risk of Scotch farming coming to a standstill. It must and will go on and prosper as before. "We are not sure, indeed, but that foreign competition, and these times of adversity in regard to weather, which it may be hoped are merely temporary, will ultimately establish not only Scotch, but British farming generally, on a sounder basis : than it has ever before been. There is no blinking the fact, however, that the large majority of farms let within the last two or three years have brought lower rents than were paid for them before. It is undoubtedly a fact that rents have got a decided check ; and there is even prospect of their receding somewhat. Indeed, a landed proprietor in Kincardineshire, who has a practical and accurate knowledge not only of the agriculture of this county but of farming and business matters generally, gives it as his opinion that rents will fall about 10 per cent. The rent for sheep farms has risen since 1855 at about the same rate as that for arable land.

Leases.—The nineteen years' lease holds sway almost all over these two counties. There are a few "improving" leases of twenty-five or more years' duration; while on the Airlie estates the land is held under fourteen years' leases. Crofts are as a rule held from year to year, but in some cases under ten, fourteen, or nineteen years' leases. About ten or fifteen years ago "life" leases were pretty numerous in Forfar, the large majority being on the Panmure estates. The last, however, expired six or seven years ago. Generally speaking, few changes take place among the farmers of these counties, and only in exceptional cases do tenants remove from one estate to another. In Forfarshire the Martinmas term of entry to farms is the most general; Kincardineshire being almost equally divided between that term and Whitsunday. Where entry is obtained at Martinmas, the incoming tenant has, as a rule, to take over, at valuation by arbiters 1 mutually chosen, one half or the whole of the growing crops of grain, and the whole of the turnip crop, but no potatoes or hay. The incoming tenant has to harvest the grain crops, but is paid for his work by the outgoing tenant. Tenants entering at Whitsunday usually take over at valuation all the grain crops, the grass, and dung. Rents are paid on almost all estates half yearly, the majority at Candlemas and Lammas,—the first half at Candlemas, fifteen months after entry. In a good many 9 cases Martinmas and Whitsunday terms are the rent days. Forehand rents are the exception. On Mr Baird's estate of Rickarton, in Kincardineshire, forehand rents have been paid from time immemorial by a considerable number of tenants—at

Candlemas before sowing, and Lammas before reaping. In some recent cases tenants have stipulated for breaks in their leases at the end of ten years or thereby, while in general a strong desire is being expressed for more freedom both in cropping and disposing of produce. On the highly rented lands near towns and railway stations, many tenants have already almost perfect liberty in these respects; while all over both counties farmers have more freedom in cropping than formerly. Mr Patrick Dickson, the factor on the Urie and Hallgreen estates in Kincardine, has introduced the following clause as to cropping into the leases of these properties; and having let several farms under it, he finds that it meets with the approval of the tenants: —"The tenant shall farm the lands well, and they shall be so cultivated that there shall never be two white crops taken from the same field in succession unless after three years old grass. Each field when not in white crop or grass shall be thoroughly cleaned and well manured. There shall never be more than two-fifths of the farm in grain crop, nor less than one-fourth in grass in any one year, and any field sown out in grass is to be cut only one year. No manure shall be sold off the farm."

Rotation.—A number of different systems of rotation is pursued throughout these counties. In the wheat and potato districts the six and seven shift systems prevail. The crops in the six shifts are:—first oats, second potatoes, third wheat, fourth turnips, fifth barley, and sixth grass partly cut and partly pastured. The seven-shift rotation includes a second year of grass. In some particular localities the six shifts are the most general, but taking the wheat districts as a whole the seven occupy the larger area and are gradually gaining ground. Near Dundee and other towns, some farmers work on eight shifts:— first grass, second oats, third potatoes, fourth wheat, fifth turnips, sixth oats, seventh potatoes, and eighth wheat with grass seeds. On the thinner soils the five and six shift systems with one green crop are generally pursued—two or three years grass, followed in succession by oats, turnips, and potatoes, and barley and oats, and perhaps a portion of wheat. Where the land and situation are suitable, and where the tenant has liberty to do so, a fifth, a fourth, a third, or even a half of the green crop break is put under potatoes, care being taken not to repeat potatoes on the same part of the shift when its next turn comes for green crop. On other farms where the soil is strong a portion of the green crop break is put under beans, cabbages, and tares, or one or other of these. On good soils some farmers work on the following seven shifts:—three years in grass, fourth oats, fifth potatoes, beans, vetches, and cabbages, and perhaps a portion a second time under oats, sixth turnips, and seventh barley with grass seeds. Throughout both counties the five-course rotation is less popular than formerly, and many farmers are giving it up in favour of the six shifts which introduces a third year's grass. The latter lessens not only the labour and manure bills, but also, it would seem, the risk of damage by " finger and toe." If the land could be made to carry grass fairly well for three years, it is pretty evident that all the thinner varieties of soil, if not indeed also all medium soils, would be more profitable under the six than under the five-shift rotation.

Size of Farms.—Taken as a whole, these two counties are fairly well apportioned into large, medium, and small farms and crofts. In some districts, however, more particularly in the richer parts, there is a scarcity of crofts and small farms; while in others, usually on the poorer soils, there are rather too many holdings ranging from 20 to 40 acres. These latter holdings are somewhat large to be worked in twos by one pair of horses, and too small to be laboured singly with full advantage. Crofts and small farms are the best possible nurseries of farm labourers, and a scarcity of these holdings is therefore a misfortune to a district. The following tables show the number of holdings of various sizes in both counties:—

In Forfar, in 1875, the percentage of holdings under 20 acres in extent was 41; above 20 and under 100 acres, 27; and above 100 acres 32. In Kincardine the corresponding figures were 50, 29, and 21. In the first of these three classes of holdings, Forfar stands nineteenth in Scotland, in the second seventeenth, and in the third thirteenth. Kincardine stands respectively, twelfth, fifteenth, and nineteenth.

Buildings, Drains, Fences, and Roads.

Buildings.—The extensive improvements effected on the leading properties since 1855 in the way of building, draining, fencing, and road making, have already been fairly well indicated, and therefore, to say much more here would be superfluous. As to building, it may safely be said that few counties have made more rapid progress within the last twenty-five years than Forfar and Kincardine. On many estates in both counties the farm buildings were pretty good long before 1855, but on the majority of properties they were decidedly behind the age, not so much perhaps in size as in comfort and convenience. Every year of the last twenty-five, however, has witnessed improvements on all hands, and so, perhaps, will every year for some time to come. As leases expire proprietors either erect new steadings, or enlarge, improve, and modernise old ones. The tenant in all cases performs the carriages free of charge, and sometimes also pays a certain percentage on the outlay. The more general custom now, however, is for the proprietor to erect houses under an arrangement as to rent agreed upon when the tenant enters the farm. In almost all cases where new steadings are built, large wholly or partially covered cattle courts are provided, while these valuable erections invariably form a prominent feature in improvements effected on old steadings. The majority of farmers seem to favour wholly covered courts, but still a good many skilful men prefer them partly open. In both counties there are still a good many old-fashioned inefficient steadings, without covered courts, and many other conveniences that characterise new farm offices, but these are gradually disappearing. In farm dwelling-houses, too, there has been great improvement since 1855 ; and, generally speaking, both counties are fully abreast with the times in this as in most other respects. In Forfarshire, in particular, there is a large number of farmers' residences almost mansion-like, both in dimensions and in surroundings. Few counties have so many resident proprietors. They are indeed very numerous, and therefore, as might be expected, there are in these counties a great many gentlemen's seats, many of them imposing mansions, embosomed in beautiful policies. The houses of crofters and small tenants are, comparatively speaking, not as a rule equal to those of larger farmers, but in these also there has been great improvement since 1855. The supply of labourers' cottages is not yet complete, but it has been increased largely within the last twenty-five years. It is now rather better than in most other counties north of Perth. In driving threshing-mills, water is used wherever it can conveniently be obtained; but still, on a very large number of farms, steam has to be employed.

Drains and Fences.—As indicated in the notes of our supposed tour a very large sum of money has been expended in these counties since 1850 in the draining and fencing of arable land. In the former, in particular, a great deal has been done in both counties, not only in the draining of new land but also in the redraining of old land. As in the case of buildings, less or more draining is usually arranged for at the beginning of leases, tenants always performing carriages and generally also paying an increased rent or a certain percentage of interest, generally 5 per cent. In addition, however, to what has been done in this way by proprietors, the tenants have themselves since 1855 effected a very large extent of drainage. On the whole, it may be said that both counties are now pretty well drained; but in some localities still further drainage would considerably improve the quality and value of the land. Tiles are now used for the most part. Though a great deal has also been accomplished in fencing within the last twenty-five years, these counties are probably further behind in this respect than in any other. The Deeside districts of Kincardineshire are well fenced, mostly by substantial stone dykes erected by the proprietors since about 1845 or 1850; while there are also some other parts of this county and some portions of Forfar very fairly supplied with fences,—partly dykes and hedges, but mostly wire,—but taking the lower districts of the two counties as a whole, they are greatly deficient in permanent fencing. Both proprietors and tenants seem more than ever alive to the great advantages of sufficient fencing on a farm, and there is every reason to believe that the want in this respect will speedily be supplied. A very large extent of fencing is being erected every year.

Roads.—Both counties are exceptionally well provided with roads—alike with farm, district, and county roads. Probably nowhere in Scotland are the roads more easily maintained or of better quality than in Kincardineshire, while Forfarshire is but very little, if any, behind in this respect. The cost of maintenance, charged against the county rates is below the average in Scotland generally. Indeed, in some parishes in Kincardineshire, it does not exceed 3d. per £1—l½d. on proprietors, and 1½d. on tenants and occupants. The turnpike roads of Forfarshire are over 190 miles in length.

Grain Crops.

The following table shows the number of acres under all kinds of grain crops at various times since 1854:—

It will be seen that both counties increased rapidly in the area under grain from 1854 to 1875, the comparative increase being greater in Kincardine than in Forfar. In common with most other counties in Scotland these two show a decline in the corn area during the last few years, the decrease in this respect being represented by a more than corresponding increase in the extent under grass. The percentage of the total area of Forfar under corn crops in 1870 was 16.2, and this year 16.6, which places this county eighth in this respect in Scotland. The percentage in Kincardine in 1870 was 18.2, and this year 18.1, which places it fifth. In the Board of Trade returns the counties of Scotland are classed as "pastoral," "corn," and "mixed" counties. Forfar and Kincardine are ranked as "corn" counties; and among these, which also include Aberdeen, Banff, Berwick, Elgin, Fife, Haddington, Nairn, Orkney, and Ross and Cromarty, Forfar stands sixth as to its percentage under corn, while Kincardine ranks fourth, Fife coming first with 26.4, Haddington second with 25.3, and Berwick third with 21.6. As to the yield and quality of grain these counties hold their own pretty well with Scotland generally. In the better parts of Forfarshire a great deal of very fine wheat is grown; while, in both counties, barley and oats of the very best quality are produced. The variable climate makes considerable difference in the times of sowing and of harvesting between the higher and lower districts. Wheat is sown as soon as possible in the autumn and winter, and the other varieties as soon after the middle of March as the state of the land and weather permit. Most of the grain is now sown by machinery. Drill machines are used almost exclusively in some of the earlier parts, and with these very small quantities of seed suffice, thin sowing being largely practised in Forfarshire. In the earlier parts harvest commences between the 10th and 31st of August, and in the later districts between the 1st and middle of September. Cutting is almost wholly performed by reapers, and has been so for several years. It may be interesting to note that the original inventor of this now indispensable farm implement—the Rev. Mr Bell—was a native of Forfarshire, and that his invention was first tested publicly on the farm of Powrie near Dundee. It may also interest and, perhaps surprise some to know that in parts of Forfar the reaper succeeded directly to the old-fashioned hand hook, the intermediate scythe never having been adopted. The work of the harvest is pushed on with great energy, and often finished in a very short space of time, sometimes, indeed, in less than a month. On one large farm in Strathmore last season 200 acres were cut in ten days with two reapers. The cost of harvesting is usually reckoned at from 17s. to 20s. per acre. Taking all the varieties together, exclusive of beans and peas, the value of the grain crop in Forfar may be estimated at about £8 per acre. In the better localities it is of course considerably higher, but making full allowance for the falling off in the later and poorer parts, this figure pretty nearly represents the average value.

The following table shows the average fiars' prices for the different varieties of grain in both counties from 1872 to 1878, both inclusive:—

The figures show an increase of more than double the decrease in the area under wheat. The counties of Fife and Forfar are by far the largest barley growing counties in Scotland. They usually have about the same acreage under this variety of grain, but this year Forfar has the advantage by about 1500 acres. Kincardine stands ninth. On the whole, barley is perhaps the most profitable variety of grain grown in these counties. Along with potatoes it is undoubtedly the mainstay in Forfar, and also in the earlier and better parts of Kincardine. Where so much feeding is carried on as in these counties, a large supply of good straw is indispensable; and there is no doubt that, but for the coarse quality of its straw, a much larger area would be put under barley than at present. The yield of barley varies from 4 to 6 qrs., the average being between 36 and 40 bushels per acre. The weight per bushel ranges on an average from 50 to 54 lbs., 56 lbs. being frequently reached. The general quality of the barley grown in these counties is undoubtedly very high. Since 1850 the yield of barley has increased by from 4 to 8 bushels per acre, which has been brought about by the more thorough draining of the land, the use of more artificial manure and feeding stuffs, and by better cultivation. From each quarter of barley there would be about 20 stones of straw, worth perhaps 11s. The average price of barley for the ten years up to 1878 was 30s. 9d. per quarter. Supposing 36 bushels were the average yield, the total value realised from an acre of barley would be about £9. Barley is grown on most farms after turnips, and is sown between the middle of March and end of the first week in May. From 2 to 4 bushels of seed is allowed to the acre. A very large proportion of common barley is grown, but most farmers sow a portion of Chevalier, Cheyne, or some similar variety.

Oats.—The following table shows the acreage under oats at different times since 1854:—

In Forfar there has been less alteration in the area under oats than any other crop during the last twenty-five years. Indeed, until within the last five years, it had scarcely increased any. In Kincardine there has been a pretty gradual and rather more rapid increase. The greater area under oats is due more to the reclamation of new land than to its substitution for any other crop. Forfar stands fourth and Kincardine fourteenth in regard to the extent under oats, Aberdeen coming first and Banff second. The yield of oats varies greatly, ranging from as low as 3 to as high as 9 qrs. per acre. The average would probably be from 36 to 46 bushels per acre. The weight per bushel averages from 40 to 43 lbs. On the better land much higher weights are often obtained. From 8 bushels of oats the yield of straw would be about 24 stones, worth from 12s. to 15s. The average price of oats for the ten years ending 1878, was £1, 4s. 8d. per qr. The total value thus obtained from an acre of oats, that yields 46 bushels, would be about £10, 9s. 10d. Oats are grown mostly after lea, but also largely after turnips, and in some cases after potatoes. The quantity of seed varies from 3 to 6 bushels per acre. They are sown between the middle of March and the end of April. The varieties most largely grown are Early Angus, English Birley, Sandy, Potato, Black, Pedigree, and other newer "varieties.

Rye, Beans, and Peas.—The area under rye since 1854 has been exactly tripled in Forfar, the extents being 111 and 333 acres. It has increased in Kincardine from 62 to 82 acres. Beans are grown pretty largely on some farms, but there is little change in the area under them since 1854. The extent in Forfar that year was 690, and last season 605 acres. In Kincardine the area in 1854 was 474, and in 1880 464 acres. In Forfar there were 138 acres in 1854, and 18 in 1880 under peas; and in Kincardine 77 acres in 1854, and 36 last season.

Hay, Grass, and Permanent Pasture.

The following table shows the area of hay and grass under regular rotation in various years since 1854:—

It will thus be seen that latterly a greater extent of land has been allowed to lie longer under grass than ten years ago. This is due mainly to the increase in the cost of labour, and to the fact that experience has shown that turnips are less liable to damage from "finger and toe" when the land is worked in the six-shift rotation, which includes three years grass, than in the five-shift system, in which there are only two years grass. The increasing of the area under grass also helps to lessen the manure bills, which, of course, is also an important consideration Near the larger towns in Forfar the grass land is mostly preserved for cutting, a ready sale and high price being obtained from cowfeeders for all the hay and fresh grass the farmers can raise. For this purpose at least three crops are got in one season. Throughout both counties a pretty large quantity of hay is made, though not so much, in comparison with the area under grass, as in some other counties. The yield of hay ranges; from 1¼ to 2 tons, the average on well managed farms being about 1¾ ton, worth about £4 per ton or £7 per acre. The greater part of the grass land is sown out with barley. In the districts too high and late for barley the grass seeds are sown with oats. The mixture of grass seeds sown varies greatly. It. usually includes from 16 to 22 lbs. of rye grass and from 6 to 10 lbs. of different kinds of clover seeds per acre. Forfar stands fourth and Kincardine eleventh in Scotland in respect to the area under grass in rotation.

In both counties there is a pretty large extent of permanent pasture or grass not broken up in rotation, exclusive of heath or mountain land. The area in Forfar has increased from 27,225 in 1854 to 27,719 acres this year. In Kincardine the extent has decreased from 13,029 in 1854 to 5797 acres in 1880.

Root Crops.

Turnips.—The extent under turnips at various times since 1854 was as follows:—

It will be seen that the area under turnips in both counties had increased gradually up till a few years ago, and that latterly it has been falling off somewhat. This is no doubt mainly due to a large breadth being put under potatoes since 1875, and. to a still greater increase in the area under grass. As previously noticed, many of the wheat growing farmers have recently been altering from the six to the seven shifts, mainly with the view of lessening the labour and manure bills, and of avoiding damage to turnips from "finger and toe." In the parts where wheat is not grown a large number of farmers are, with the same view, giving up the five shifts in favour of the "easy" six with three years grass. These changes, at the same time, involve a decrease in the area under turnips. In regard to the area under turnips Forfar ranks second, and Kincardine ninth in Scotland,, Aberdeen being the highest by nearly 60,000 acres. Generally speaking, the turnip crop in these counties is both heavy and of excellent quality, though perhaps barely equal in either respect to the famous crops grown on the granite soils of Aberdeenshire. The yield varies from 14 to 30 tons per acre. Even as many as 36 tons are grown sometimes. The average would perhaps range from 16 to 18 tons. Calculating from the prices obtained within the last eight or ten years, the average value, if sold to be consumed off the farm, would be about £1 per ton or £16 to £18 per acre, less the cost of lifting and conveying to the nearest railway station. If consumed on the land by sheep, the price obtained ranges from £7, 10s. to £11, 10s. per acre. If consumed on the farm by cattle the price varies from £8 to £14. Swedes bring from 15s. to 30s. more per acre than yellows. Near the larger towns very high prices are generally realised from the cowfeeders, most farmers in these parts having liberty to sell all the produce off their farms. In the neighbourhood of Dundee as much as £22 per acre is very frequently obtained. The cost of growing an acre of turnips, of course, varies with the rent of the land, the amount of manure given, and other circumstances.

The report of the judges in the turnip competition in connection with the Stormont Union Agricultural Association (1880) has just been issued. The results are as follows:—1st, Mr Playfair, Coupar Grange, weight per acre 23 tons 15 cwts. 1 qr. 21 lbs.; 2d, Mr Smith, Drumbeltie, weight per acre 23 tons 6 cwt. 2qrs. 21 lbs.; 3d, Mr Tasker, East Camno, weight per acre 23 tons 3 cwt. 2 qrs. 4 lbs.; 4th, Mr Buttar, Corston, weight per acre 23 tons 3 cwt. 0 qrs. 12 lbs. The number of turnips in each acre on the successful farms is stated at from 20,747 on Mr Buttar's fields, to 21,940 on Mr Smith's. The manure given for turnips varies from 10 to 20 tons of farmyard manure per acre, with a mixture of artificial manure, consisting of guano, dissolved bones, or bone meal, and a little superphosphate of lime and potash, amounting in value to from £2 to £4 per acre. In some cases where most of the farmyard manure is given to potatoes, the yellow turnips get nothing but artificial manure. Coprolites are being tried to a limited extent. At Balhousie, Mr Cowe has been specially successful both in the growing of turnips and potatoes. For turnips he gives from 12 to 15 loads of farmyard dung per acre, with the following mixture of 10 cwt.—2½ cwt. of guano, 1½ cwt. of bone meal, 4 cwt. of crushed bones, and 2 cwt. of dissolved bones. Turnips are sown between the 10th of May and middle of June, some even later. A very large proportion of swedes is now grown, a small quantity of soft varieties being sown for early use. A great portion of the turnip crop is consumed every year by sheep, mostly on the turnip field, but partly also on grass fields. Many farmers store the greater part of their turnip crop in good time, but still, as a rule, too little attention is given to this. The turnip crop is, with the exception of potatoes, the most costly one grown, and yet, many farmers leave their turnips exposed to the whole winter's frost.

Potatoes.—The area under potatoes at various times since 1854 was as follows:—

Forfar stands third and Kincardine fourteenth in Scotland in regard to the area under potatoes. Perth comes first with 21,414, and Fife second with 18,640 acres. It will be seen that within the last five years there has been a very large increase in the area under potatoes. Of all the crops grown this is by far the most costly.

In some seasons the cost of the seed amounts to as much as £5, 10s., and in others it might not cost more than £3. There is no doubt that potatoes is the most speculative crop grown by farmers. It is uncertain alike as to yield and value. In a good year as many as 10 and 12 tons will be lifted on well managed farms, while in other seasons on the same land the yield may be less by a half or three-fourths. In a pretty good season a fair average for both counties would be 5½ or 6 tons per acre, while it may be reduced by one-half or more by a short period of unfavourable weather, or, indeed, rendered of very little value by disease. Prices again vary from £2 to £10 per ton. It often happens, as this year, that when a full average yield is obtained, and when there is little or no disease, the price is so small, under £3 per ton, that the crop cannot be disposed of to advantage. The average yield this year would perhaps, be about 6½ or 7 tons; but the price as yet being under £3 per ton, the whole yield of the two counties, if sold just now, would do little if anything more than meet the actual outlay in its production. On some farms, however, the yield reaches as much as 10 or 12 tons, and in these cases from £30 to £40 per acre will be realised. Last year the average yield was barely one-half of what it is this year, and yet the price was so much higher that the crop, taken as a whole, was worth more money than this year. For a crop of barely one-half the weight of this year's crop, some Forfarshire farmers last year obtained no less than from £45 to £48 per acre. A large farmer near Montrose pointed out a field on his farm to us which, the one year it was under potatoes, had brought him £60, and the other over £1000. When disease breaks out, and it has occurred very frequently in recent years, the price for sound potatoes rises so rapidly and to so high a point, that those who are fortunate enough to escape the disease obtain something like a windfall. It is doubtful if, during say the last two rotations, or ten or twelve years, potatoes have been on the whole a paying crop. Most farmers, who have long experience with them, say they have not. The speculative element, however, is no doubt a charm to some. It would seem that each hopes that he may be one of the fortunate few destined to have a large and sound crop in a year of disease. The wheel of fortune has undeniable attractions to many. There is no doubt that during the last few years, when almost all other sources of profit to the farmer would seem to have for the time become dry, potatoes, wherever they have been extensively grown, have proved a most important mainstay. Last year, in Forfarshire for instance, some farmers, who had little or no grain to sell and made small profits from stock, realised so much for potatoes that after all the year, most calamitous as it was to British farming generally, was to them a profitable one. Another point in favour of the crop is that it is an excellent preparation for wheat, which is, in almost all parts suited to it, grown after potatoes. In Kincardine only small patches of potatoes are grown. Potatoes require liberal manuring, and also run up a very heavy bill for labour. The expense of planting is being lessened by the adaptation of mechanical appliances, but as yet planters have not come into general use. Diggers, however, are to be found on every potato farm. From fourteen to fifteen loads of farmyard manure are allowed to the acre, with only a little artificial manure in some cases, but in general a mixture costing from 25s. to 75s. per acre. A few farmers give even more than this. The light manures most generally used for potatoes are guano, bones, superphosphates, and potash. The farmyard manure is found to be more efficacious in the case of the potato crop when driven straight from the court to the drills, than when it has lain on the field for a time. In general potatoes are grown after oats; but in some cases they follow lea, and in these latter instances they often receive nothing but artificial manure, of which they get a mixture costing from £4 to £5 per acre. Some farmers spread the dung on the stubble field, and plough it in during the autumn and winter, but the majority apply it in the drills in spring. Many farmers are using less artificial manure for potatoes than formerly, believing that forcing by light manures increases the liability of the crop to fall a victim to disease. Potatoes are planted as early in the spring as is convenient. About one-half ton of seed is allowed to the acre. The varieties most largely grown are champions, regents, and Victorias. The crop is lifted as early as possible in October. Sometimes it is sold before being lifted, either by the ton or the acre. When the price is low, as it is this year, many store potatoes in pits, and wait in hopes of an improvement in the state of the markets. A pretty large quantity of potatoes are given to stock when they are cheap or damaged by disease.

Other Green Crops and Fallow.—Under other varieties of green crop last season there were 1085 acres in Forfar, and 414 in Kincardine. Mangold 7, carrots 37, cabbage, kohl-rabi, and rape 66, vetches, &c, 975 acres in Forfar—and carrots 28, cabbage, &c, 15, and vetches, &c, 371, in Kincardine. The area under these crops in Forfar in 1854 was 835, and in Kincardine 218. Vetches are used mostly in assisting to feed the cattle stock when the grass begins to fail. Only a small area is left under bare fallow. The extent in Forfar was, in 1854, 623, and this year 694 acres ; the figures in Kincardine being 319 and 141.

Cattle.

The following tables show the number of cattle of different classes in the two counties at various times since 1854:—

Decrease in total since 1854, 202.
In the returns of 1854, the class "Under two years" comprises calves only.

It will be seen that the number of cattle in Forfarshire twenty-five years ago, was considerably greater than now. This is mainly due to the dreadful manner in which rinderpest devastated the herds in that county in 1865-66. To recount the progress of that terrible scourge would perhaps serve no good end. Suffice it to state that wherever it appeared it swept away almost every animal of the cattle tribe, dealing out ruin to many a man who would otherwise have been in comfortable circumstances. It also spread into the Mearns and some other parts of Kincardineshire, but this county, as a whole, suffered less severely than its neighbour in the south. There is no doubt that it gave a very serious-check to the agriculture of Forfarshire, more particularly to-rearing cattle. Had not many of the landed proprietors come forward and very generously subscribed to help the more necessitous to tide over the sad calamity, the consequences might have been even more serious than they were. Apart from their pecuniary loss, many even of the more spirited farmers were so discouraged by the destruction of their fine stock, that for years they were unable to set to work in thorough earnest to replace what had been so ruthlessly swept away. At last, however, this feeling, and in most part also the pecuniary loss, would seem to have been got over, for the farmers in Forfarshire and the Mearns have for several years been devoting themselves, with all their wonted energy and success, to rearing and feeding cattle. In the former the lost ground has not yet been wholly made up, but there is reason to believe that the increase in the next ten years will be greater than in the last. The recent rapid growth of the herds of polled cattle will be afterwards noticed.

In dealing first with the ordinary farm stock, we may state at the outset that, in the system of breeding, rearing, and feeding, there is hardly any difference between the two counties. In neither the one nor the other is breeding pursued quite so largely as some twenty-five years ago. Latterly, it has been on the increase, but still it may safely be said that too few cattle are bred in both counties. There can hardly be any doubt that with freedom from disease, breeding would pay fully as well on the higher lying and lighter soils as would either feeding entirely, or partly feeding and partly breeding. In the later districts at present a good many farmers keep a breeding stock, and sell off their surplus cattle in lean condition either as yearlings or two-year-olds, the buyers being generally farmers in the neighbouring districts. A much larger number keep partly a breeding and partly a feeding stock. These breed from one-fifth to one-half of the number of cattle they feed and buy in the remainder at sales or markets. The great body, however, of the farmers of both counties keep only as many cows as supply the farm with milk, and perhaps rear from eight to twelve calves. On many large farms, indeed, not more than three, four, or five calves are reared. The total number of cows in each county is about equal to five for every holding above five acres in extent, and on a very large number of extensive farms the actual stock of cows kept does not exceed that. The general custom is to buy in lean stock either in spring, summer, or autumn, and feed them off during the winter and spring months. The majority are bought in when from fifteen to eighteen or twenty months old, and, being fed off in six or eight months, are thus little more than two years old when slaughtered. Some farmers prefer older cattle, and either keep the cattle they buy in for two seasons, or buy in two-year-olds and feed them off when a little over three years. About twenty years ago very few cattle were fed off at so early an age as two, but now the majority of farmers prefer animals that suit this rapid system of feeding. By far the greater number of the home-bred cattle, which are superior to those bought in, are sent to the butcher when from two to two and half years old, while on the other hand the majority of those bought in are not fed off till about three years old. The large majority of the bought in stock come from Ireland, and are nearly all shorthorn crosses. They are usually large for the price paid, but they are often rough, and are frequently so badly used in the journey from their native isle to their ultimate destination, that they take some time to recover. They are, as a rule, in every respect inferior to the home-bred cattle, but they are very often the only class of cattle to be had. They are brought over by Irish dealers, from whom the farmers in these counties buy them either in markets or at sales, generally the former. Latterly a few farmers have been trying Canadian cattle, which are being sold regularly in Glasgow in large numbers. They are large, but rough and old. They are bought at small figures, however, and those who have tried them say they have paid well. A few Caithness crosses have also been brought into Kincardineshire for several years, while from England and even the eastern states of the European Continent, occasional lots are introduced. The extent of grass is limited in the wheat-growing districts, and a very large number of the bought in cattle do not enter the counties till well through the summer and in autumn. Generally speaking, the home-bred stock consist of crosses between either pure-bred shorthorn or polled bulls and cross cows, the latter being in most cases crosses between these two valuable breeds. There is no doubt that since 1855 the ordinary cattle-stock, taken as a whole, have improved greatly, partly from the more general use of well-bred bulls, partly from more careful selection of cows, and partly also from better housing and feeding. The early maturing properties of cattle have received more attention latterly than some twenty years ago, with the result that home-bred cattle are generally fed off a year sooner than formerly.

Mixture for Ten Feeding Cattle for One Day.

After two months, 20 lbs. of crushed grain, maize, oats, and barley are added, bringing the total weight to 450 lbs., and the total to 6s. 10d.—an average weight of 45 lbs., and an average cost of barely 8¼d. per day. The mixture is given in two meals a day, morning and evening. Mr Buttar also tried the keeping of store cattle, and finding pulping better adapted to this class of stock than to feeding cattle he now feeds only a few. He buys in lean cattle when about eighteen months old, in the autumn, selling off the majority in spring in good condition but not fat, and retaining a number of the best for feeding on grass in summer. For the first two months they are in the house the lean cattle get the following:—

Mixture for Ten Store Cattle for One Day.

After the first two months the mixture is increased by about one-third, or to the value of say 5s. 2d., making the average maximum cost about 6¼d. per day. The mixture is given in three meals when it has been raised to the maximum quantity. The following shows the relative cost of the pulping, and the ordinary systems of feeding store cattle: —

The pulped mixture is made up each forenoon, and allowed to lie till next day before being used. A layer of straw is laid down first, then turnips, then cake, and lastly the diluted treacle. The heap is at once turned over three times, and then left untouched for close on, but never more than, twenty-four hours. In two hours two men and a boy make up a mixture for a day's feed to over 120 head of cattle. The pulping and bruising apparatuses are driven from the turbine wheel of the threshing-mill, so that there is no extra cost for motive power. The cattle relish the mixture very much and thrive admirably upon it. The straw in the mixture, and the supply always within reach of the cattle, is balanced by the manure.

Polled Cattle.—Probably no more interesting chapter in a history of the agriculture of these counties could be written than on the breeding of polled Aberdeen and Angus cattle. It is a subject of much importance, and has a history of peculiar interest. The materials, too, are plentiful. In a report such as this, however, unless it were to be enlarged to the dimensions of a volume, it would be impossible to enter anything like fully into the matter. A very brief account must suffice. In a word, it may be stated that the black polled cattle, now known as the polled Aberdeen and Angus breed, are the direct descendants of the ancient Angus "Doddies," and Buchan "Humlies," the native polled cattle of the north-east of Scotland. There have been much discussion and dissension as to whether Forfarshire or Aberdeenshire has the better claim to be considered the cradle of the improved breed; but into that question we do not intend to enter, nor need we dilate upon the value and importance of this fine breed, which is every year making greater and greater strides in popularity, and which may safely be said to have before it a brilliant and useful future. It is pretty certain that even before the advent of the present century, the excellent beef producing qualities of the polled breed had been discovered, and to some degree developed by method and care in breeding and rearing. It is well authenticated that, about the beginning of the century, it had attained to considerable popularity all over the north-east of Scotland, and that soon after several polled herds were founded in the ancient little county of Angus and elsewhere. Twenty-five years ago—at the commencement of the period to which this report specially refers—there were in Forfarshire a large number of polled herds, valuable, and in several cases very distinguished herds. Chief among these were the herds of the late Mr Hugh Watson, Keillor; the late Mr R Scott, Balwyllo; Mr Bowie, Mains of Kelly; the late Mr Fullerton, Mains of Ardestie; Lord Southesk; Mr W. Whyte, Spott; Mr J. Lyell, Shielhill; Mr W. Buxton, Farnell; the late Mr James Mustard, Leuchland; and Mr Goodlet, Beauchamp; while just across the border into Perthshire were the herds of Mr T. Ferguson, Kinnochtry, and Mr James Leslie, Thorn. By that time a few herds that in their day had done much good, had ceased to exist. Among these must be specially noted the herd of the late Lord Panmure, whose name, through the famous bull Panmure (51), will for ever be associated with the glossy blacks. Rinderpest almost annihilated the Forfarshire polled stocks, and the majority of those herds named have become things of the past. The only ones now remaining are those at Mains of Kelly, Spott, Kinnochtry, and Thorn; but within the last fifteen years, the ranks of breeders have been recruited by the Earl of Airlie, the Earl of Strathmore, Mr Thomas Smith, Powrie; Mr William Smith, Stone o' Morphie; and Mr Ferguson Balunie. Lord Southesk, after a long interval, has also just procured materials with which to found a fresh herd. It may safely be said that the rinderpest scare, great as it was, has completely died out. Forfarshire is fast returning to its old love, and numerous as were its polled herds in Hugh Watson's time, there is every prospect of their being still more numerous at no distant day.

No one will deny that the credit of being the first to commence the systematic improvement of the polled breed belongs to the late Mr Hugh Watson. The intimate friend and occasional host of Sir Walter Scott,—the associate of the late Mr John Booth, Mr Wetherell, and other noted agriculturists, most of whom are now no more,—one of the most extensive, enterprising, and skilful farmers that have ever held land in Forfarshire, Mr Watson was a strikingly intelligent and accomplished man. He lived in advance of his time; and, like many other pioneers who would seem to have made their earthly pilgrimage prematurely, did not a little to facilitate the onward march of his fellow-men. In 1808 he commenced a herd of polled cattle. The foundation consisted partly of six cows and a bull left to him on the farm of Keillor by his father, and partly of ten of the best polled heifers and the best polled bull he could find in the great fair at Trinity Muir, Brechin. Unfortunately, there is no very complete record of Hugh Watson's practice in the breeding and rearing of his favourite blacks. The most we know of his method of breeding is, that he "put the best to the best, regardless of affinity or blood." He evidently pursued in-and-in breeding to a considerable extent, and also aimed at rearing up separate and distinct families. He devoted a good deal of attention to the preparing of animals for shows, and in the hottest contests of the day he generally carried off the lion's share of the honours. After a brilliant and useful career of over fifty years his fine herd was dispersed in 1860. Shortly before, pleuro-pneumonia had dealt it a heavy blow, and in consequence it did not show to advantage. Moreover, the times were then unpropitious for polled cattle, and the prices obtained were comparatively low. The two highest priced cows went to the late Mr W. M'Combie of Tillyfour and Mr Thomas Ferguson, Kinnochtry, at £64 and £58, 10s. respectively. That Keillor blood has exercised a powerful influence in establishing the improved polled breed there can be no doubt; but as to the real extent of that influence we cannot stop to inquire.

Of the other early breeders few had a better grasp of the important subject in hand, or really did more to develop and perpetuate the good qualities of the polled breed, than the late Mr William Fullerton, Mains of Ardestie (formerly Ardovie). Had he done nothing else than establish the foundation of the celebrated Queen tribe, his name would have been indelibly associated with the breed as one of the most prominent of its earlier improvers. From his cow "Queen of Ardovie" (29), by "Captain" (97), and calved in 1836, he founded a famous and valuable strain; and from her in direct descent we have the Prides of Aberdeen, the Vines, the Duchesses, the Charmers, the Victorias, and the Dandies, the first of which, in the hands of the late Mr M'Combie of Tillyfour and others, attained a fame and value unrivalled by any family, excepting perhaps the Ericas of Ballindallocli. Then as to the Balwyllo herd, which was long one of the largest and best known in the country, we have in several existing herds unmistakable testimony of its exceptionally high character. Mr Scott's well-known bulls, "President" (205), "President 2d" (54), and "President 3d" (246), all appear in the pedigree of the 270 guinea cow "Pride of Aberdeen 9th," in the possession of Mr Auld, Bridgend; while the Balwyllo Queens have long been well known. On the death of Mr Scott, his mother, who still survives, carried on the herd successfully, but unfortunately the plague made sad havoc here also. Both Mr Fullerton and Mr Scott won many show-yard honours, both in local and national shows. The former lost no fewer than eighty fine animals from pleuro-pneumonia. The Shielhill herd produced many excellent animals, notably the bulls "Prospero" and "Tom Pipes," which were victorious both at the Highland Show at Perth in 1861, and at the Royal Show at Battersea in the following year. Mr M'Combie stated that he believed no purer stock existed in Forfarshire than the Leuchland herd, and that he "often admired its purity, style, and condition," the late Mr J. Mustard having been a moderate but judicious feeder. This herd also fell a victim to rinderpest. The earlier Kinnaird herd had a long and useful career. From a very early period in the century there had been a pure herd of Angus cattle at Kinnaird; but it was not until the present Lord Southesk succeeded that the stock was brought out to full advantage. Mr M'Combie says that, before being annihilated by the plague in 1866, the Kinnaird herd was "almost the best in the land," and adds that "Lord Southesk spared no expense in purchasing the finest animals, and had an able assistant in his brother, the Hon. Charles Carnegie," a gentleman who is not only an enthusiastic admirer of the breed, but has also an intimate knowledge of its history and pedigree. The best testimony to the character of Lord Southesk's herd is to be found at Ballindalloch in the celebrated Erica family, one of which, "Echo," has just been brought back to the home of her ancestors by Lord Southesk at the handsome sum of 200 guineas. The descendants of "Fanny of Kinnaird" (330), are also in high repute. Of several other defunct Forfarshire polled herds, good testimony is still to be found in different stocks throughout the country. The Thorn herd came prominently to the front many years ago. In 1864, Mr Leslie's bull "President 4th" (368), out of Mr Buxton's "Flower of Strathmore" (479), and got by Mr Scott's "President 3d" already referred to, was first as a yearling at the Highland Show at Stirling, and first at the same show at Inverness the following year. This fine bull was sold by Mr Leslie at a long price, and was used at Tillyfour.

The Mains of Kelly herd is the oldest now existing. Founded in 1810 or 1811 by the late Mr Bowie, this celebrated herd has had a long and brilliant career, made almost romantic by its deadly struggles and narrow escapes in the days of rinderpest and pleuro-pneumonia. The actual foundation on the female side was a cow picked up on Mr H. A. F. Carnegie's property of Spynie and Boysack. From this cow, named "Boysack," "Jenny" (55), "Rose of Kelly" (828), and other famous animals were descended. It is from its achievements in the male line that Mr Bowie's herd stands out the most prominently. Indeed, it is not too much to say, that in this respect it has had few if any equals. "Cupbearer" (59), spoken of as one of the finest polled bulls ever seen, and his equally famous half-brother "Hanton" (228) are as household words among breeders of polled cattle. The former, out of "Rose of Kelly" (828), and got by "Pat" (29), was a noted showyard winner. In 1852 he was purchased by Lord Southesk at £60, and at Kinnaird he produced many meritorious animals, including the celebrated showyard bull "Druid" 225. "Hanton," also got by "Pat" and out of " Lizzie" (227), was purchased in 1854 by the late Mr M'Combie of Tillyfour for £105, and he too was the sire of many excellent animals. Indeed, Mr M'Combie says that "Hanton" with Mr Watson's "Angus" (45), and with "Panmure" (51) was, in the male line, his " herd's fortunes." "Hanton" won several showyard honours, including the first prize at Paris in 1856, where he was placed before " Cupbearer," who was the older by two years. By rinderpest and pleuro-pneumonia, Mr Bowie's herd was reduced from ninety-three to twenty-one, but since then it has almost regained its wonted strength, and numbers over fifty head. The Victorias, a branch of the Queens of Ardovie, are the most famous tribe now in the herd, the other leading strains being the Jennets, the Marthas, and the Lizzies.

In seniority, Mr Whyte's herd at Spott comes next. Mr Whyte has been breeding polled cattle for about thirty years, and many of his animals have in reality a longer line of distinguished ancestry than their recorded pedigrees indicate. A careful judge and enthusiastic admirer of polled cattle, he has done a great deal in an unostentatious way to improve the properties of the breed and to add to its popularity. Most of his stock trace back on the male side to "Othello" (319), bred by Mr Lyell, Shiellhill, and got by "Tom Pipes," the winner of the first prize at the Highland Show at Perth in 1861.

Lord Airlie commenced the breeding of polled cattle about twenty years ago, but it was not till about 1865 that he began to devote his attention to the subject in thorough earnest. Deeply interested in all matters affecting agriculture, his lordship devotes special attention to the breeding of polled cattle, and in a comparatively short time he has succeeded in bringing his herd to the front. Among his first purchases were " Victoria of Kelly" (345) from Mr Bowie, "New Year's Day" (1124), and "Jessica 2d," and several heifers from Mr Whyte, Spott; while in 1870 and the following year his herd was largely augmented by important purchases at Mulben, Aldbar, The Burn, Spott, Thorn, and Mains of Kelly. Subsequently he made selections from the Easter Tulloch and Johnston Lodge, the Gavenwood, Ballindalloch, and Tillyfour herds. At the late Mr M'Combie's sale at Alford, in 1874, he secured at high figures four of the best bred cows and heifers sold, some of them being of the famous Pride tribe, while at the dispersion of the Tillyfour sale last August he made the following very important purchases:— "Pride of Aberdeen 5th" (1174), at 135 guineas; "Pride of Aberdeen 23d" (calf), at 35 guineas; and "Sybil 1st," at 110 guineas. The first was the only daughter of the original "Pride" in the catalogue, and though in her thirteenth year, looked fresh ,and useful. She has bred several very fine animals, including the "Shah," for which Mr Ferguson, Kinnochtry, obtained the first prize at the Highland Show at Dumfries in 1878, "Lilias" of Tillyfour, and "Pride of Mulben," for which Sir George Mac-pherson Grant, Bart. of Ballindalloch, paid 91 guineas at the dispersion of the Mulben herd. The "Pride" calf is out of "Royalty" (3053), a very heavy, handsome Pride cow, which was bred by Lord Airlie, from whom she was purchased by the late Mr M'Combie, and which at the Tillyfour sale was taken out by Mr Duff of Hatton at 80 guineas. Her other daughter, "Pride of Aberdeen 15th," went to Sir Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks, Bart. of Guisachan, at 105 guineas. "Sybil 1st" was bred at Baads, got by the prize bull "Sir William " (705), and among other honours won the first prize as a cow at the Highland Show at Edinburgh in 1877, and the first prize and the challenge cup for the best animal of the breed at the Aberdeen Show the same year. She is now in her eighth year, but looks remarkably fresh •and lively. Her daughter, "Sybil 2d," won in the cow class •last summer (1880) at the Royal Show at Carlisle, and the Highland Show at Kelso, and also at the Aberdeen Show, where she likewise won the "M'Combie Prize" for the best polled -animal shown, her chief opponent being the Marquis of Huntly's famous bull, "Monarch." Animals of so rare merit as these three can hardly fail to leave their mark upon the herd. Many coveted showyard honours have lately fallen to the Cortachy herd. At the last Highland Show the first prize, both in the yearling and two-year-old heifer classes, went to Lord Airlie, the winner in the latter class "Pavillion" [We regret to have to state that since the above was written, this fine heifer ("Pavillion") has died.] (3772), bred by Mr Hannay of Gavenwood, out of "Patience of Corskie" (1932), 'and got by "Clansman" (398), having also headed the heifer class at the Royal Show at Carlisle, and for the second time won the cup for the best polled animal exhibited at the Angus and Mearns Show. In addition to these, the Ericas and other noted tribes are represented in the herd. On the male side, Lord Airlie has drawn largely upon Ballindalloch blood. At a draft sale in the autumn of 1876, seven cows averaged over 41 guineas each; six two-year-old heifers, 32½ guineas; and four yearling heifers, 43½ guineas; while the famous "Juryman of Ballindalloch," who was used in the herd with great success, was bought by Mr Grant, Advie, at 57 guineas. Another draft sale was held at Glamis last September,, when forty-three animals brought an average of £30, 3s. each.

Though comparatively young, Lord Strathmore's polled herd is one of the choicest and most valuable in the country. Pounded in 1876, it has been rapidly brought into a prominent position. None but animals of really high merit, both in breeding and character, were bought; and as his lordship did not hesitate to pay pretty long figures, the very best material was obtained at the outset. The first purchases were made at the Mulben, Ballindalloch, and Drumin sales in 1876; subsequent selections being made at Advie, Gavenwood, Tillyfour, and elsewhere. The herd now numbers eleven females and three bulls; the females being—"Beauty of Glamis" (3515), "Beauty 1st of Glamis" (3314), "Blanche of Advie" (3588), "Cowslip of Glamis" (3313), "Echo," late "Evelyn" (4119), "Ellen 2nd of Mulben"' (2358), "Ellen 1st of Glamis" (3311), "Julia," by "Elcho'" (595), "Mina 5th" (3844), "Sweetheart" (1689), and "Violet of Montbletton." The valuable sire, "Elcho" (595), bred at Ballindalloch and belonging to the Erica tribe, presides over the herd, and is to be assisted by "Bismarck 2nd" and "Knight of the Legion," two very fine young bulls purchased at the dispersion of the Tillyfour herd at 72 and 40 guineas respectively.. In September last a draft of the herd was sold jointly with a draft from the Cortachy herd. Lord Strathmore's lot of twenty-two animals brought an average of close on £36 each.

Mr Thomas Smith's herd at Powrie is one of the largest, and. also one of the best, in the country. It numbers close on sixty head, and combines excellent blood with high individual merit.. The handsome cow, "Ruth," purchased at the Tillyfour sale in 1878, has done well here, having produced a pair of beautiful heifers. From Easter Tulloch at various times some very good. animals have been obtained, including " Mayflower 2nd," the mother of that charming little cow, "Witch of Endor" (3528),, for which Sir Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks paid 155 guineas at the Tillyfour dispersion sale; "May 2nd" (3727), "May 3rd"' (3728), " Levity" and " Old Jean," the latter a wonderfully fresh cow of twelve years. The "Mayflower" cow had a very fine-heifer calf last season, while "May 2nd" herself, a very tidy compact cow of rare symmetry, has an excellent yearling heifer in the herd. One of the sweetest cows in the herd is "Naomi" (3730), bred by Mr M'Combie of Easter Skene, out of "Prudence" (1809) by "Clansman" (398), and got by " Bachelor of Ballindalloch" (690). For a few years Mr Smith's stock bull has been "Norman" (1257), bred at Cortachy and got by "Juryman" (404), while at the Tillyfour dispersion sale he was fortunate enough to secure at a small figure Lord Huntly's well-known Highland Society winner, "Monarch" (1182). Mr William Smith's herd at Stone o' Morphie is not large, but also contains both good blood and high individual merit. Mr W. Smith has bred many very good animals. "Griselda" (3877), the highest priced animal at the joint sale held last September by the Earls of Airlie and Strathmore, was bred at Stone o' Morphie. Her sire was "Timour 3rd" (1287), a bull that has produced some excellent stock to Mr Smith. He was bred by Mr F. G. Forsyth Grant of Ecclesgreig.

The Balunie herd is small but very choice. It was founded in 1876 by the purchase of "Dido," a heifer, at the Cortachy sale, the price being 38 or 39 guineas. She was then rather small, but has turned out well. Her dam went to Kinnochtry at the same time at 69 guineas, and was bought two years before at Tillyfour at 76 guineas. At Balunie, "Dido" has produced three heifer calves, all got by the " Shah," and all animals of exceptional merit. Indeed, last summer Mr Ferguson refused 100 guineas for her and the heifer calf at her foot. His second purchase was one of the "Heather Blossom" twin heifer calves, sold at the Corskie sale in 1877, the price being 33 guineas. This calf's dam went, at the same time, to Mr Pearson of Johnston Lodge at 111 guineas, and its own brother, "Warrior," to the Marquis of Huntly at 155 guineas. She, too, has done well at Balunie, having, along with "Dido's" heifers, won several local showyard honours. Her first calf, unfortunately, died; but last season she produced a very pretty heifer. The remainder of this small but promising herd consists of three females bred at Kinnochtry.

Mr Thomas Ferguson's herd at Kinnochtry, though in Perthshire, is so close to the Forfarshire boundary that we may take a passing glance at it. This valuable herd numbers no fewer than seventy-eight head, and contains many very fine animals. It was founded in 1835. Four years after, "Young Favourite" (61), a daughter of "Old Grannie (1), was purchased, while a few more years brought in the old grey-tailed cow of Keillor, now known as "Favourite 2nd." From the former animal the Baronesses and Princesses, are descended, and from the latter the Favourites. These tribes still form by far the majority of Mr Ferguson's herd, which is thus, more than any other herd, composed of Keillor stock. Mr Ferguson has won many victories in the showyard. At the Highland Show at Dumfries in 1878 his stock bull the "Shah," bred at Tillyfour, was first in the old bull class, and a Baroness heifer first in the two-year-old heifer class; while, at the same show at Kelso in 1880, a Baroness bull, of his own breeding and got by the "Shah," headed the two-year-old class. He has also frequently obtained very high prices for animals bred at Kinnochtry. At the Highland Show at Perth in 1879 he sold some young heifers and a young bull for exportation to the United States of America. At Gwynd the representatives of the late Mr Pearson have still some very good polled cattle.

Kincardineshire has also played a not unimportant part in the developing and establishing of the improved polled breed. The late Mr R. Walker, Portlethen, was, for over fifty years, one of the leading breeders of polled cattle in the country. He obtained his first bull, "Colonel," in 1818, and had at that time a stock of good nonpedigreed black polled cows, most of them having a brown stripe along the back and also partially light-brown ears. By 1826 his pedigreed herd was fully established, and he carried it on with great success as long as he lived. It usually numbered from 80 to 100, but sometimes comprised as many as 110 or 115. The greater portion was dispersed in 1874, but a part was retained and is still successfully carried on by his son, Mr R. B. Walker, who succeeded him in the Mains of Portlethen. The late Mr Walker's success in the showyard was quite exceptional. Mr M'Combie says—"It would be endless to attempt to sum up his victories—local, national, and international—they are spread over such a large surface." Mr Walker bred a large number of celebrated animals, both male and female. Among his more noted bulls was "Fox Maule" (305), got by "Marquis of Keillor" (212), and out of "Matilda Fox" (302), bred at Mains of Kelly, and got by the famous "Cupbearer" (59). "Fox Maule" won many showyard honours, and is described by Mr M'Combie as "one of the best polled bulls ever exhibited." The " Banks of Dee" is also said to have carried everything before him in showyards, while, in one season, "his descendants gained seven first and one second prize." One of the best animals in the herd at the time of its dispersion was "Madge" (1217), which was secured by Mr William Macdonald for the Marquis of Huntly. This fine cow has herself achieved many victories, while her stock have been perhaps still more successful. Her son, "Monarch," now at Powrie, won first prize both at the Aberdeen and Highland Shows in 1880; while, at the former, the special prize for the best family of the breed, consisting of a cow and two or more of her own produce, was awarded to "Madge" and her stock, against a very fine group of "Ericas" from Ballindalloch. "Madge" was bred at Tillyfour.

The late Mr Hector, Fernyflat, was long an extensive and successful breeder of polled cattle. He secured the best of blood, and produced stock of a very high character. He won many prizes at both local and national shows. Mr Hector was recognised as one of the best judges of black polled cattle of his day. After his death the herd was carried on by his son-in-law, Mr Arthur Glennie, who succeeded to Fernyflat. The latter died in 1875, and in the following year the herd was dispersed. Among others who for some time bred polled cattle in this county, we may mention the late Sir Alexander Burnett, Bart. of Leys; and his son, Sir Thomas Burnett, Bart.; and Mr P. Davidson of Inchmarlo. Colonel M'Inroy, The Burn, has for a long time had some good polled cattle; while, latterly, Lord Clinton has been breeding a few.

Mr F. G. Forsyth Grant of Ecclesgreig, St Cyrus, has a small but very good herd, containing some excellent Forfarshire blood from Balwyllo, Mains of Kelly, and elsewhere. He was the breeder of "Timour 3rd" (1287), a bull that, in the neighbouring herd of Mr W. Smith, Stone o' Morphie, already noticed, got some very fine heifers. At Johnston Lodge, Mr Pearson has a valuable herd, numbering fifty head. Most of the cows belong to Ballindalloch, Bothiemay, and Balwyllo strains; while the bulls used were bred at the Thorn, Portlethen, Tillyfour, and Gavenwood, the one bred by Mr Hannay being now in use. One of the most important purchases was the fine cow, "Heather Blossom," at the Corskie sale in 1877 at 111 guineas. The herd was founded in 1869, and has been successfully and carefully conducted.

Sir Thomas Gladstone, Bart., of Fasque, has a herd that displays good breeding and excellent character. It numbers about thirty head. At the Balwyllo sale in 1863, the cow, "Eugenie" (458) and the bull "Randolph" (389), were purchased, and from these the main portion of the herd is descended. The cow's granddaughter, "Eugenie" (3910), a thick massive fresh looking ten-year-old cow still in the herd, has produced no fewer than eleven calves, the majority being females, also still in the herd. Herself a good looking cow, her stock as a lot would be very difficult to beat, being strong, thick, well formed, and richly covered with flesh, and good milkers. Some of them have carried everything before them in the local shows. There is also some Easter Skene blood, through "Nigris," in the herd. Sir Thomas has been lucky with his bulls. At a sale at Portlethen in 1869, Mr Murray, his local factor, secured at a small figure the bull calf "Adrian," and so well did that animal turn out, that at Kelso in 1872 he headed a strong class of aged bulls, and was considered one of the most complete bulls seen for years. At the Aboyne sale last year (1879), Mr Murray purchased, also at a small price, the bull calf "Diamond," by "Waterside King" (870), and out of "Daylight" (1478), by "Clansman" (398). This bull has also done remarkably well, being a large, handsome, stylish bull. He won the cup for the best pure bred animal in the Kincardineshire Show last summer, and will in all probability gain still higher honours.

By far the largest polled herd that exists now, or has ever existed, is that owned by Mr James Scott, of Easter Tulloch. For a long time Mr Scott has been breeding black cattle, and partly through the prolific character of his stock, and through purchases, his herd had a few years ago assumed great dimensions. It numbered at one time not far short of 200 head. Within the last two years over fifty head have been sold, chiefly at Aberdeen, but still the herd is by far the largest of its kind existing. And not only is it large, but it also contains many animals of more than average individual merit, and of really good breeding. His herd is invariably kept in lean condition, and it is seldom that he feeds for the showyard. His stock has, however, carried off many prizes, while in the possession of others. The highly satisfactory manner in which Easter Tulloch stock thrive and breed with those that purchase them is quite proverbial, and this is no doubt mainly due to the moderate, indeed almost spare, system of feeding pursued by Mr Scott, and also to the fact that his cattle spend much of their time in the open fields. There is a good deal of variety in the herd, containing as it does representatives of the Kinnochtry, Southesk, Balwyllo, Keillor, Ballindalloch, Tillyfour, Portlethen, Fernyflat, and several other herds. One of his own oldest tribes is the Blue Bells, descended on the female side from "Bess," a cow bred by Mr Robert Scott, Upper Tulloch, and on the male side from "King Henry" (390), bred by Lord Southesk, out of "Kathleen of Kinnaird" (339), a well-known prize winner and got by "Windsor" (221), the famous "Tillyfour," son of "Hanton," for which Lord Southesk paid £180 in 1858 to the late Mr George Brown, Westerton. Some very fine bulls were bred from the Blue Bells, notably "Bluebeard" (648), the winner of the first prize in the two-year-old class at the Aberdeen Show, and also at the Highland Show at Inverness in 1874. He was one of the best two-year-olds ever seen in the Aberdeen Show, and it is to be regretted that his career was curtailed by foot and mouth disease, to which he fell a victim in his third year. But of all the really good animals bred by Mr Scott, and descended from his stock, perhaps the most celebrated is the beautiful three-year-old cow "Witch of Endor" (3528), already referred to. She was one of the fine group with which the late Mr M'Combie "swept the field" at the Paris Exhibition in 1878. Got by the Easter Skene bull "Valiant" (663), she is out of "Mayflower 2nd, of Easter Tulloch" (3521), now at Powrie, and got by "Emperor of Easter Tulloch" (396), which was bred at Ballindalloch.

Shorthorns.—Shorthorn breeding has almost ceased to exist in Forfarshire. It was never pursued to any great extent, but some time ago there were a few fair-sized and well-bred herds in the county. The largest, and perhaps also on the whole the best, was that carried on for about thirty years, first at Kincraig near Brechin, and latterly at Old Montrose, by Mr Charles Lyall. Among his first purchases were four animals from the late Captain Barclay of Urie, while from other herds well-bred females were subsequently obtained. The stock consisted of mixed Booth and Bates blood, and Mr Lyall having frequently gone to the noted English herds for his bulls, the best strains were engrafted upon his herd. Among the sires used were Lord Dunmore's "Crown Prince" (28,281), and Colonel Kingscote's "Duke of Dursley" (25,953), the latter having been the last bull used in the herd. The herd had become a large and very flourishing one about 1860, but in 1865 rinderpest killed no less than fifty-six, leaving only a very few that were enclosed in a garden surrounded by a high wall. With these few and others purchased, a fresh start was made, and in a short time a large and very good herd was again established. In October 1874, however, it was dispersed. The average obtained for thirty-eight head was about £30. Mr Lyall has still a few shorthorn cows, but has not again entered into shorthorn breeding with thorough earnest. With animals of his old herd he won many prizes. Previous to the outbreak of the rinderpest, Lord Airlie had a good shorthorn herd for some time at Cortachy; while others who bred a few shorthorns for a time have also given them up. The chief shorthorn breeders now are Mr Arklay of Ethiebeaton, Monifieth; Mr Granger, Pitcur, Kettins; Mr Hume, Barrelwell, Brechin; and Mr Arnot, Mains of Glamis. The herds of these gentlemen, however, are small. Mr Arklay's stock bull "Master Toddles" (40,331), was highly commended in a very strong class at the Highland Show at Kelso in 1880.

Though shorthorn breeding is now carried on only to a very limited extent in Kincardineshire, yet this county figures prominently in the early history of the shorthorn in Scotland'. Probably no name is so closely associated with the introduction of the fashionable "red, white, and roan" into the north of Scotland as that of the late Captain Barclay, from whose celebrated herd at Urie the ancestors of a great many of the shorthorns now in the northern counties were obtained. Captain Barclay's herd was founded in 1829 by the purchase of " Lady Sarah," the best cow at Mason's famous sale at Chilton. Subsequently, selections of well-bred cattle were made, and a very choice herd established. In 1836 or 1837 these were sold off; but soon after, Wetherell, the great auctioneer, was commissioned to select in England and send to Urie a foundation for a fresh herd. Ten heifers were sent, and it is stated that they were not of very high merit. A stock bull, however, "Mahomed" (6170), a son of the old cow "Lady Sarah," was brought back, and his influence produced a wonderful effect. From these ten heifers a great number of the shorthorns now in the North of Scotland are descended, and there is no doubt that their good qualities are largely due to the "Mahomed" cross.

Horses.

The following figures show the number of horses in the two-counties at various times since 1854:—

There is an apparent slight decrease in the number of horses in Forfarshire this year as compared to twenty-five years ago, but in reality this is not so. The Board of Trade returns prior to 1869 included horses belonging to all classes of the community, and now they include none but those owned by occupiers of land. About twenty-five years ago, the number owned by occupiers of land did not exceed 9500, or nearly 1000 fewer than were returned last spring. In Kincardineshire, as will be seen, there has been a pretty large increase. Of the horses returned in Forfar this year, 8451 are used solely for agricultural purposes, the other 1992 being unbroken horses and mares kept for breeding purposes. The corresponding figures for Kincardine are 3863 and 1040. On most farms, as many horses are bred as maintain the force required; but breeding for sale is carried on only to a very limited extent. The exorbitant prices reached for horses a few years ago gave a great spurt to breeding for a time; but, with the recent fall in prices, matters have in this respect resumed their normal condition. It is seldom that horse breeding is found to be profitable on farms where the ordinary mixed system of husbandry is pursued.

There is perhaps no part of the country where men and horses accomplish more work than in these counties. Both are well fed and well housed, and are perhaps quite as well worked. On the heavier soils, from 50 to 60 acres of land are allotted to each pair of horses, the extent in the lighter districts ranging from 70 to 80. Since 1855 there has undoubtedly been great improvement in farm horses, mainly through the introduction of superior Clydesdale stallions, in which respect the agricultural associations and many of the landed proprietors have done good service to the country. The farm horses, as a rule, partake much more than they did twenty years ago of the Clydesdale stamp. They are, generally speaking, of a very good class, strong, active, and hardy.

Throughout both counties there are a good many well-bred Clydesdales. The best stud unquestionably is that which Lord Strathmore has carried on at Glamis, with so much success and such great benefit to the country for well nigh twenty years. This stud was founded in 1869 by the purchase of "Maggie" (404) then two years old, and shortly afterwards of other two mares from the celebrated stud of Mr Anderson, Gillespie. The first stallion used was "Lofty 4th" (461), and from him and these mares several excellent foals were raised, all of which were sold with the exception of "Miss of Glamis" (406), the dam of "General Lee." In 1871 the "Prince of Renfrew" (664) was used, being followed the next two seasons by the famous horse "Clansman" (150), whose sudden death put an untimely end to a very useful career. The present stud horse, the "Thane of Glamis" (855), got by "Clansman," was next obtained, and from him, as from the others, some very good stock has been produced. The stud at present numbers eight mares, all well-bred, of good form and in the best breeding condition. They are as follows:—"Maggie of Glamis" (404); "Miss of Glamis" (406); "Susie of Glamis" (408); "Flora of Glamis" (410); "Duchess" by "Thane of Glamis" (855); "Darling," also by the "Thane"; "Countess," by "Farmer" (286); and "Victoria" by "Victor" (895); and out of "Maggie" (404). Mr Watson, Ochterlonie, not far from Glamis, has a few very good Clydesdale horses, and has been winning prizes at the Glasgow Show with fillies of his own breeding. Mr Whyte, Spott, who is a good judge of horses as well as of cattle, has also bred some very good horses; while Mr Bruce, Jordanston, Meigle, and others throughout Forfar, have two or three good Clydesdale mares. In Kincardine there are a good many well-bred Clydesdale horses, at Johnston Lodge, Pittengardener, Fasque, Portlethen, and elsewhere; but there are no studs kept for the special purpose of breeding. Mr Baird established a very fine stud at Urie a few years ago, paying very high prices for his animals; but they were all dispersed recently. The late Mr Walker, Portlethen, who was an excellent judge of all kinds of stock, always kept a very fine lot of horses on his farms, the majority of them being either jet black or grey in colour.

Sheep Farming. Sheep farming is carried on extensively in both counties. The hills are, on the whole, fairly well adapted for it. The winter is somewhat severe on the higher reaches, and there is rather too much black ground for the extent of green land. With very few exceptions the sheep-runs are safe and sound. The Grampian range in Forfarshire is intersected by several extensive and beautiful glens, drained by numerous waters and streamlets, alongside which, and on all the lower stretches, there is a good deal of excellent green pasture. Half way up the heights there is, as a rule, hardly any vegetation excepting heather ; while a little higher in many cases we find little or nothing covering the rocky surface. The scenery displayed in some of these glens is very grand, and in the summer they are popular resorts for tourists and other pleasure seekers. The extreme west of the hilly division of the county is bound in by Glenisla, the parish of which extends to 41,375 acres. In this large glen there are some good arable farms, several very good grazings, and a large extent of excellent shooting ground. The smaller glen of Lintrathen lies on the south-east, while on the north-east of it, again, Glen Prosen and Glen Clova stretch away back past the top of Lintrathen, and join Glenisla on the watershed near the boundary of Perthshire. Of these glens, Glen Clova is rather the best. Its flora is remarkably rich, containing as it does many rare plants. The haughs by the watersides are cultivated and held mostly in small farms, on which a good many cattle are bred and sold as yearlings, or when eighteen months old, to farmers in the lower parts of the county. Most of these small tenants also keep a number of blackfaced sheep, and rear greyfaced lambs, which they sell to the larger sheep farmers. There is a large extent of green land in Clova, the hillsides in some parts being ' partially green up to a high elevation, while almost to the tops the heather is mixed with "month" or "moss" grasses. In Glen Prosen, the lower portion in particular, there is also a good deal of green land. Glen Moy and Glen Ogle are offshoots from Glen Clova, and they too contain some good land, and also carry some very fine flocks. The greater part of the northwestern portion of the hilly range is occupied by Glenesk and Lethnot, the former being the largest glen in the county. Generally speaking, these glens also contain less green land than Clova, the greater portion being covered with heather, mixed here and there with month or mosses. On the lower parts, how-ever, there are many bogs and swamps, which, when surface drained, afford rich pasture. Passing into Kincardineshire, the hilly range retains its black heathy aspect on the heights all through Glendye, and as far north-east as the junction of the parishes of Durris, Fetteresso, and Glenbervie. As in Glenesk and Lethnot, there is a good deal of green land in the valleys in the Kincardine range; but here also the hill tops as well as the sides far down are covered almost solely by heather. It is, however, a peculiar but proverbial fact, that the heather in Glendye is of. finer quality than in most other parts of the Grampian range. It is supposed to be sweeter, and not so rough and strong as in the greater portion of the higher hills in Forfarshire. The larger part of the hilly range of both counties is devoted to sheep farming; but in Forfarshire there are several extensive deer forests, the dimensions and number of which have been considerably increased since 1855.

The following table shows the number of sheep in both counties at various times since 1854:—

It would seem that the number of sheep in Forfarshire has been gradually increasing, and it is equally clear that latterly Kincardine has been going the other way. Between 1854 and 1870 there had been an increase in Kincardine, the number in 1869 having been 41,031. The increase in the arable area of the cattle stock is no doubt partly to blame for the decrease in the sheep stock since 1870. A good many farmers who for several years after the outbreak of rinderpest fed or wintered a large number of sheep, have now abandoned this system, and keep cattle for all. The sheep stock paid pretty well, but many farmers found that under sheep their land was beginning to produce too much straw, and that the grain was becoming lighter in weight than formerly. As in regard to cattle, the stock kept and general system of management in the two counties are very simi-lar. The Blackfaced breed has the field almost entirely to itself. Occasionally a few Cheviots have been kept, but at present there are no regular flocks of this breed. The stock consists mainly of Wethers of different ages, bought in as lambs at the great Lanark market. Breeding is carried on only to a very limited extent. Most of the small tenants along the foot of the hills keep small flocks of blackfaced ewes, and from these and Leicester tups they raise a very good class of greyfaced hoggs, which they generally sell to be fed on arable farms in the lower parts of the county. A few of these small tenants rear purebred blackfaced lambs, and of these the wethers are sold to larger farmers to make part of their stock, while the ewe lambs are retained by themselves to replenish their ewe stocks. On the lower and greener parts of the larger grazings, a few ewe stocks are also kept. The largest breeding stock belongs to Mr William Whyte, Spott, who, with his father and brother,, also owns the largest general flock. Mr Whyte's flock of ewes numbers about 1000 head, and they are of a very high character. He is careful to use good tups and also feeds well, and thus rears a class of wethers that are invariably about the best reared in the northern half of Scotland. The system of management will perhaps be best understood from a brief sketch of the treatment a flock receives from the time it is bought in till it is sold off as two and a half or three and a half year olds. When taken home from Lanark the lambs are washed or dipped. For a short time they are kept on clean land preserved specially for them, care being taken not to give them too rich pasture at the. outset. If commenced on moderate pasture they are usually hardier for the winter, than when they are fed highly at the outset. In the first or second week of October they are taken down from the hills, and kept on grass in the lower parts of the county till February, when they get a daily supply of turnips, the cost of this system of wintering ranging from 4d. to 10d. a head per week. They are returned to the hill about the second week in April, and are clipped about the 20th of June, being taken down again about the first or second week of October, and wintered on grass as the first winter, excepting that if they are not to be sold three and a half years old they receive no turnips. When they are to be sold off when two and a half years old, they are wintered almost as well as when hoggs, receiving a liberal supply of turnips. In their second and third years they are dipped before being sent to the wintering. A much larger number is now sent off when two and a half years old than formerly, which is in the main the result of a more liberal system of feeding during winter, and of the early maturing properties of the breed being made the subject of more special care. When sold the large majority are in pretty high condition, many almost fit for slaughter, the general time for selling being about the middle of October. The large majority are sold at local markets, some being sold at home by auction and others sent to auction marts. From the higher reaches the whole stock have to be withdrawn during from six to twelve weeks according to the character of the weather; but on the-

lower and better parts, a good many wethers and ewes are retained during almost the whole winter, being shifted only when a very severe snowstorm sets in. Generally speaking, sheep are much better wintered now than twenty-five years ago, and on the whole there has been a slight improvement in the character of the stock, though even as far back as 1855 a very high class of sheep was kept in these counties. The only changes in the system pursued since 1855, are that a greater number of sheep are bred, and that a much larger number of the wethers are now sold off at two and a half years old. Indeed, nearly one-half of the whole stock is now sold off at that age. Breeding stocks, of course, require rather more careful management than the wether flocks. The tups are let loose about the 22d of November. The ewes are taken to low ground for a short time when their regular runs are deficient in pasture, or when there is a heavy snowstorm on the hills; but they receive no turnips. In a good year a lamb for almost every ewe is reared in some flocks, ninety per cent. being about the average. Among lambs the annual death-rate is about five per cent., and among older sheep from two to three. In exceptionally bad seasons, of course, the loss by death is much greater than this, but on the other hand it is sometimes less. Of every one hundred wether lambs bought at Lanark, probably about ninety are sold when two and a half or three and a half years old. The death-rate among ewes is not, as a rule, much higher. Ewes are generally sold as "casts" when four or five years old, most generally five. Ewes are a week or two longer in being clipped than wethers. The average yield of wool from ewes would be from 3 to 3½ to 4 lbs.; from hoggs, 3½ to 4¾ lbs.; and from wethers, 4 to 5½ lbs., sometimes even as much as 6 lbs. The whole stock on some of the better farms, when well wintered, averages close on 5 lbs. a head of unwashed wool. The large majority, however, are rather below that. The dipping mixture used, to which a little castor oil is occasionally added, costs from a 1d. to 2d. a head. None are smeared now. The wintering of hoggs or lambs from the middle of October till the second week in April, costs from 7s. to 10s. a head, the average being about 8s. or 8s. 6d. For a shorter period, and without turnips, older sheep cost from 3s. to 5s. a head. The rent of sheep farms has risen fully as much as that of arable land since 1855. It has increased by about 25 per cent. since 1860. For grazings on which sheep cannot be kept during winter, the rent averages from 3s. to 4s. per head of the stock the farms maintain; while for breeding and wintering land it ranges from 6s. to as much as 10s. a head. For one large farm in the northeastern division of the county of Forfar, now rented at £400, the rent paid thirty years ago consisted of one hundred three-year-old wethers. Shepherds' wages have almost doubled during the past twenty-five years. In the winter season each shepherd has from 400 to 500 sheep under his charge, the "hirsels" in summer ranging from 500 to 1000 each. The duties of the shepherds have been lightened greatly since 1855 by the erection of a large stretch of ring fencing, erected mostly by the proprietors, the tenants paying interest on the outlay. Many of the grazings have also been greatly improved within the past twenty-five years by surface draining, effected partly by the proprietors, but mostly by the tenants. Very few sheep are lost by drowning, and both counties are on the whole remarkably healthy for stock. It is seldom that disease of any kind breaks out among the flocks, but occasionally braxy causes loss when great care is not taken to shift the hoggs and wethers in good time for wintering. At Lanark the wether lambs cost from 11s. to 15s. a head, and when sold at three and a half years old bring £2 or more, while they weigh on an average about 58 lbs. Some of the better stocks, such as those of the Messrs Whyte, Mrs Kennedy, Glenmoy, and others, often reach 64 lbs. a head. In Glendye, Sir Thomas Gladstone, Bart. of Fasque, has the largest single sheep stock in either county. It numbers about 4000 head, from 700 to 800 being ewes and the remainder hoggs and wethers. The large majority of the surplus wether stock go to the southern counties to be finished for the butcher; but during the last fifteen or twenty years a pretty large number are fed on arable farms in Forfar and Kincardine, on grass, turnips, hay, cake, and grain.

Throughout the arable districts of both counties a large number of sheep of different kinds are reared and fed. A good many arable farmers also hold grazings; and in addition to wintering their hoggs on their arable land, also feed on it a number of their wethers. Other farmers, who have no hill grazings, buy in wethers for feeding; while a still larger number breed for themselves a lot of cross-bred lambs. Some buy in cast blackfaced ewes early in autumn, and from these and Leicester tups, rear greyfaced lambs, which they fatten and send to the butcher in June and July, The ewes are also highly fed all the time, and are usually fit for slaughter within a month after the lambs leave them. A number of farmers have for some years been rearing a very fine class of lambs from half-bred ewes and Shropshire tups. With this kind of stock Mr Buttar, Corston, has been exceptionally successful. He buys in about 200 cast half-bred ewes (crosses between Cheviot ewes and Leicester tups) at the St Boswell sales about the middle of September, taking care to select those hailing from high-lying sound land. When taken home they are dipped and put on clean pasture, not too luxuriant at the outset. For about a month or so before the rams are let loose, and during all the time they are out, the ewes are kept on the best grass on the farm, a little rape being provided for them when possible, the object being to put the ewes into a rapidly improving condition at the rutting season. This, Mr Buttar finds, has a powerful influence in increasing the crop of lambs. When within about six weeks of the lambing time the ewes get a supply of turnips, about 1 ton to the 100 ewes per week; when turnips are scarce, a little bran or brewer's grain is given. The ewes are thus strong for the lambing and full of milk, which gives the lamb an excellent start. During the whole season the extra food is continued, each ewe and its lambs getting, in boxes on the fields, about 2 lbs. a day of a mixture of bran, linseed, and cotton cake, and some bruised oats. By this liberal system of feeding, the ewes and lambs fatten at the same time, and go away together, the last being usually sent away about the end of June or first of July. The cost of the feeding from the time the ewes are bought in, say the 15th September to the end of January, is about 4d. a head per week, and from the 1st of February to the end of June, by which time both ewes and lambs have been fed and slaughtered, about 1s. a week for each ewe, including what the lamb's consume. In a specially good year two lambs are reared for every ewe; this was done on Corston last season; but the average is about three lambs for every two ewes—300 lambs for 200 ewes. The lambs sell at an average of about £2 a head; they often bring more; while, including the wool, the ewes bring about 10s. a head more than their purchase price. This would give an income from the 200 ewes of about £700 to meet feeding and other expenses—a profitable transaction certainly. And in addition to this, it should be remembered that, through such liberal feeding on the fields, the land must be greatly enriched. Mr Buttar keeps about fifty pure-bred Shropshire ewes, and rears his own tups. From experience he has been led to use none but tup lambs among his half-bred ewes, allowing one tup for every 30 ewes. Several other farmers throughout the two counties also pursue a liberal and skilful system of rearing and feeding cross-bred ewes and lambs, and as a rule it leaves a satisfactory profit.

In Forfar there are several very good flocks of Border Leicesters, notably those belonging to the Earl of Dalhousie; Mr Cowe, Balhousie; Mr Goodlet, Bolshan; Mr Lyall, Old Montrose; and Mr Tailor, Bed Castle, Arbroath, and others. Lord Dalhousie's flock numbers about eighty ewes, of the best strains in the country. Mr Cowe's stock, numbering over fifty, are descended from five very fine ewes, selected fifteen years ago from the flock of the Messrs Clark, Oldhamstocks. Both these flocks show excellent breeding, good shapes, and fine quality. Mr Goodlet's flock, one of the best in the country, was established in 1863 by selections chiefly of Mellendean blood, subsequent additions being made of Courthill, Costerton, Castlemains, and Blainslie strains, while high-priced tups from the Polwarth, Blainslie, Castlemains, and Mellendean stocks have been used. The Bolshan shearling tups brought the highest average obtained at the Perth Border Leicester sale in 1880. At Kinnochtry a large and very fine flock of Border Leicesters is kept; while Mr Johnston, Cairnbeg, Laurencekirk, has a very well-bred stock, tracing mostly to the flocks at Oldhamstocks and Castlemains. At Powrie near Dundee, Mr Thomas Smith has a large and very fine flock of English Leicesters. It numbers about 120 ewes, and has been bred at Powrie for thirty-five years. Tups are introduced at high prices from the best English stocks, and the general character of the flock is indeed very high. The animals are beautifully formed, stylish, and of very fine quality.

The rapidity with which crosses from Shropshire tups are gaining in popularity gives special importance to the few very fine stocks of pure Shropshires kept in Forfarshire. That belonging to the Earl of Strathmore is both the largest and best. Shropshires were first brought to Glamis about 1862, with the view of breeding lambs to fatten on turnips, and of seeing whether or not they would suit the climate. The trial was most successful. They were found to suit the climate well and to please the butchers admirably, being "heavy killers" and full of lean mutton. Therefore in 1867 a visit was made to the great annual sale at Shrewsbury, and twenty one-year-old ewes and a couple of rams were purchased as a foundation for a flock at Glamis. The ewes came from the celebrated flock of the late Mr Price Bowen, and were by the famous tup "Maccaroni," while the rams were bought from the Messrs Crane. In the following year another lot of twenty ewes was bought, including the first prize yearlings at Leicester; and at the same time a ram was purchased from Mr Mansell, and got by " Conservative," who was the sire of the first prize ewes at the Highland Show at Dumfries in 1878. Again, in the following year the highly-commended ram at the Royal Show at Manchester was purchased at 40 guineas, and from him was bred the first prize ram and also the first prize ewes at Kelso, and also the first prize ewes and the second prize ram at the Royal Irish Show at Belfast in 1880. In 1870 the renowned "Standard Bearer," the first prize winner at the Royal Show at Bedford, was introduced; while about the same time about forty yearling ewes were purchased, all got by the famous "Cardinal," also a first Royal winner. Then followed "Potentate," the first prize old tup at the Royal Show at Cardiff, and in 1873 a ram was hired from Mr Mansell at £105. This latter animal, after being used at Glamis for some time, was taken back by Mr Mansell, and fed for the Royal Show at Bedford, where he carried off the first prize in the aged class. He was afterwards called " Bedford Hero," and from him was bred the first prize ram at the Royal Show at Birmingham, and also the dams of the first and third prize rams at the Royal Show at Carlisle in 1880. The next purchase was Mansell's No. 4, 1877, a tup that has done much wood in the flock. In 1879 a ram named "Trouster" was bought from Mr Napper of Lochcrew, Ireland; while, in 1880, Mr Shelton's highly-commended ram at Carlisle was bought. The flock at present consists of about a hundred ewes and their produce. The rams are sold when about eighteen months old at the autumn sales. The top prices are invariably obtained. In 1879 a number of young tups were sent to the Birmingham sales, and there they also fetched the highest average. The flock is carefully kept, and is of an exceptionally high character. As already stated, the Earl of Airlie has a small flock of Shropshires, mostly descended from the Glamis flock, while others throughout the county have some good specimens of this valuable and rising breed.

It is worthy of mention that, with a pen of crosses between pure-bred Shropshire rams and half-bred ewes, Mr Buttar, Corston, carried everything before him at the Scotch and English Fat Stock Shows in 1879.

Swine and Markets.

Bearing and feeding swine receive but very little attention, less, indeed, than farmers might find it profitable to bestow upon them. The following table shows that in both counties there has been a large decrease in the number of pigs kept since 1854:—

Both counties are well provided with markets for all kinds of stock and farm produce. Trinity Muir Fair, held near Brechin, is one of the most important stock markets in the country. Auction marts, held in most of the chief centres, are now to a large extent diverting the buying and selling of stock from markets.

Labour.

These counties are, generally speaking, fairly well supplied with labourers of all classes. In many parts the supply is less. than twenty-five years ago, but still it is not, as a whole, far-short of the demand. Farmers in the neighbourhood of towns-find that the factories and other works draw away many of their best labourers. One reason why town work is preferred to farm labour is, no doubt, that in connection with the former the house accommodation is far superior to that provided on most farms. These counties are better supplied with farm cottages than most other counties in the north, excepting Boss and. Cromarty, great improvement in this important respect having; been effected during the past twenty-five years. There is still, however, a great deal to be done, and until the supply of cottages is considerably increased there is every prospect of the number of farm labourers continuing gradually to decline. The position of farm servants can never be anything like satisfactory until ample facilities are provided for their entering into married life. In the meantime, owing to the want of farm cottages, a very large number of Scottish farm-servants have no such prospect to brighten and elevate their lives. On all the larger farms in these counties there is less or more cottage accommodation. On some it is now ample or almost so, but on others it is greatly deficient. Perhaps fully one-half of the servants are married, and these, as a rule, live in cottages on the farms on which they are employed. When there is not sufficient cottage accommodation on the farm, the wives of the married servants have to reside in villages, perhaps a pretty long distance from where their husbands are engaged. Nearly all the single mem are lodged in " bothies," a few being boarded with married men and a very few kept in kitchens. As a rule, the bothy comprises a general sitting and cooking room, and a bed-closet for every one or for every two men, with, in some cases, a small store or pantry. In a very few instances there is also a small reading room. Bothies, like cottages, have been greatly improved during the past twenty-five years, but in not a few cases they are still somewhat deficient in accommodation and comfort. As a rule, the bothies are cleaned out and the beds made every day by a woman engaged for the purpose. In some cases,, however, the men, who are almost always their own cooks, also have to perform these other services. On several farms female outdoor servants also live in bothies, while on others they are lodged either in the farm kitchen or with married servants.. The wages of ploughmen at present vary from £25 to £35 a year, according to the capabilities of the men, with board and lodging. The average would probably be about £28, 10s. for general ploughmen and cattlemen, grieves and foremen with partial charge getting from £2 to £5 more. Men who are not capable of building stacks in harvest and such work get perhaps £3, £1, 10s., or £2 less. The perquisites usually consist of about 6½ bolls (140 lbs. each) of oatmeal, valued at about £7, 12 gills of new milk daily from Martinmas to Whitsunday, and 18 gills daily from Whitsunday to Martinmas, the yearly value being estimated at £7; a cart load of coals, valued at from 15s. to £1; and from 3 to 4 bolls, or from 10 cwt. to 1 ton, of potatoes, worth from £2 to £4. Only in some cases do single men get potatoes. The money value obtained by married servants for their work for a year would thus be as follows:—

In some cases married men are allowed the use of a cow instead of a supply of milk and other perquisites. Shepherds obtain about the same wages and terms as ploughmen. During the last three years wages have fallen about 25 per cent., but still the present rate is about 75 per cent. higher than that about 1850. Out-door female workers get 1s. 3d. per day, or 5d. more than 1850. For potato-lifting they get 2s. per day, exactly double what they obtained for this class of work thirty years ago. In harvest they receive 3s. 4d. a day, with perhaps an allowance of beer and bread once or twice a day. Women for house work get from £10 to £16 a year, with board and lodging. Farm-servants are engaged mostly for a year from Martinmas to Whitsunday; a few engage privately, but the majority attend feeing markets in the different localities. As a rule, married men remain long periods in one farm, but single men change frequently. The meals of men who live in bothies consist mainly of oatmeal brose and oatmeal porridge, but some sell a portion of their meal and buy coffee, bread, herrings, and other commodities. Married men in cottages live very similarly to married men in towns. Generally speaking, the farm-servants in these counties are sober, industrious, and efficient workmen. The Forfarshire ploughmen, indeed, are proverbial for their industry.

Other Industries.

The commercial industries of these counties, especially of Forfar, are of vast importance and of various character. We can do no more here, however, than by a few facts and figures indicate their wide extent and great value.

There are no coal-beds in either county. There are small quantities of iron and lead, but not enough to make mining profitable. For a short time many years ago iron was quarried in Edzell and lead in Glamis and Glenesk. Both counties contain some limestone, and in various parts of Forfar it has been worked pretty extensively for agricultural and building purposes. The stone quarries are numerous. In Forfar a great many freestone quarries are worked regularly, and employ a large number of men. The stone, mostly belonging to the sandstone formation, is, as a rule, of good quality but various texture. It endures the influence of weather admirably. The ancient round tower of Brechin is built of Forfarshire freestone, and although that strange erection is supposed to have stood since the ninth century, the weather has made little or no impression upon its mason work. In some parts the slate vein formerly referred to has been worked. At Carmyllie there is a famous and very extensive pavement quarry, from which very large quantities of beautiful stone are shipped from Arbroath to many parts of the United Kingdom. The stone, a greyish-blue sandstone, is of very fine quality. At this and other quarries machinery is extensively used in cutting and dressing the stones. The proprietors of pavement quarries are finding concrete a rather formidable opponent.

Forfarshire contributes more than one-half of the total production of linen in Scotland. As early as 1727 it had the lead with 595,821½ yards, valued at £13,980, 10s., and all along it has not only maintained but even improved its position. In 1822 the number of yards of linen produced was estimated at 22,629,553. Mr A. J. Warden, in 1867, stated the number of flax, jute, and hemp factories in Forfarshire to be 108, with 7715 nominal horse power, 278,564 spindles, 11,329 power looms, and 46,571 persons employed. Of these works, Dundee had 72, while there were 18 in the Arbroath district, 6 in the Montrose district, 6 in Forfar, 4 at Brechin, and 2 at Carnoustie. In that year the total number of similar works in other parts of Scotland was 89, with 77,237 nominal horse power, 109,015 spindles, 8580 power looms, and 30,624 persons employed. There are a great many other works throughout Forfarshire, such as iron foundries, implement factories, tanneries, tobacco manufactories, breweries and distilleries, flour and meal mills, sawmills, &c. The manufactories of Kincardine are not extensive. There are several tanneries, breweries, and distilleries, and a few woollen and linen factories.

Kincardine has little or no shipping, but that of Forfar is extensive. At Dundee shipbuilding was carried on largely even at the commencement of the present century. In 1856, when wooden shipbuilding had reached its height, there were six firms engaged in this work at Dundee. Iron shipbuilding began at Dundee in 1838, the building of wooden steamships having commenced in 1823. During 1878 twelve vessels were built at Dundee, three being sailing vessels (two of iron and one of wood) and nine steamers of iron. Their gross tonnage was 8094. In the same year a wooden sailing vessel of 104 tons was built at Arbroath, and one iron steamer of 50 tons at Montrose. The number of sailing vessels registered at Dundee on the 31st December 1878 was 150, and their tonnage 69,132, there being also fifty-one steamers with a gross tonnage of 23,934. At Arbroath there were at the same time fifty-three sailing vessels and two steamers registered, the gross tonnage of the former being 10,009 and the latter 247. At Montrose sixty-seven sailing vessels and nine steamers were registered, the tonnage of the former being 12,532 and the latter 2233. In 1878, 1308 British vessels, with a gross tonnage of 364,721, and 247 foreign vessels, having a gross tonnage of 61,293, entered Dundee harbour; while there cleared out 1261 British vessels, with a tonnage of 344,228, and 215 foreign vessels, with a tonnage of 54,469. In Arbroath 330 British and 47 foreign vessels, with a respective tonnage of 36,561 and 8306, arrived; while there sailed 328 British and 47 foreign vessels, with a respective tonnage of 36,940 and 8345. At Montrose 588 British, with a tonnage of 64,110, and 92 foreign vessels,, with a tonnage of 28,516, arrived; while there sailed 576 British and 95 foreign vessels, with a respective tonnage of 60,766 and 25,952.