North from Clackmannan, at a distance of 4 miles, are the Ochils, the scenery of which is unlike anything else in Scotland. Their general character is that of a great igneous block, developing itself in amygdaloid felspar and porphyry, and occasionally in fine pentagonal columns of basaltic greenstone. They are cut into deep clefts, so narrow as not to be visible at a distance, but very striking and picturesque when closely examined. The glens are uninhabited, and the silence is broken only by the brawling of torrents, which struggle on amid rocks and boulders. Enclosed on three sides by two of these remarkable glens is Castle Campbell, once a fortress of the Argyle family, now the property of Mr. Orr of Harvieston. Anciently it was called Castle Gloom, a name peculiarly suitable when we consider the eerie glen through which it is approached. The entrance is near Dollar, where a charge of 6d. is paid to a gate-keeper. A good and well-kept footpath leads up the glen, which is densely wooded, and at the bottom of which a considerable stream thunders onward amid great blocks of stone and many ledges of rock. A quarter of a mile from the gate is a confluence of two streams, locally called "Care" and "Sorrow;" and in the loop formed by these weird glens, on a lofty, almost insulated promontory, are the ruins of the castle. One of the streams gurgles with many a fall through a gloomy chasm, as cleanly and sharply cut as if it had been done with a chisel. From the top of the ruined castle is a most extensive prospect to the southward; but when we looked on the landscape bathed in the sunshine of a brilliant June day, with blackfaced sheep grazing peacefully on the hill sides, and the voice of the cuckoo echoing in the woods, there were few traces left of those days of darkness and blood when the castle was practically useful.

The chief river of Clackmannan is the Devon, which rises in the parish of Blackford in Perthshire, and, after a singularly tortuous course of nearly 40 miles, merges its water in the Forth, 2 miles west from Alloa. It flows east a distance of 10 miles to Crook o' Devon, then turns west through a well-wooded glen, forming beautiful cascades at the Bumbling Bridge, and meanders through a gradually expanding vale till it enters the Forth. Between Crook o' Devon and Bumbling Bridge are arable farms of moderate size, some of the fields extending up the slopes of the hills, which are neither very steep nor very high. At Bumbling Bridge the vale is narrow, and near Dollar much of the flat land is pastured with cattle; but farther on there is a broader expanse, with fields, large, well fenced, and well cultivated. From the neighbourhood of Dollar, by Tillicoultry, the Ochils rise abrupt and high from the flat land, their steep rocky sides bearing good grass, but sometimes stunted furze, and not unfrequently shingle. The Devon is an excellent trouting stream, free to all anglers, and on a favourable day from four to eight dozen good trout can be landed, some of which may be a pound in weight.

Clackmannan has for centuries been the seat of the chief of the Bruce family in Scotland. At an early period John de Bruce, third son of Robert, one of the Earls of Annandale, became its proprietor. King David II. gave it to his kinsman, Robert Bruce, the first laird of Clackmannan; and the old tower is said to have been built by King Robert Bruce himself.

Early Agricultural Improvements.

In the latter part of last century the real rent of Clackmannan parish was £4700 sterling. There were 1000 acres of carse land, all very fertile, and rented at about 43s. an acre; but in a great part of the parish the soil was a cold clay, with a wet bottom, some of which was so poor as not to be worth cultivating. A hundred years ago the agriculture of those parts of the parish was wretched. The holdings were small, and the tenants were content with scratching the surface of a small part of their lands, the produce of which was barely sufficient to maintain them and their families, while the rents were paid out of money obtained for driving coals. The steadings were miserable. There were no fences, and the soil was overgrown with whins, broom, and weeds. Toward the close of the century there was a tendency to improvement in both the parishes of Clackmannan and Alloa. As leases expired the size of farms was increased, services and thirlages were abolished, fences in the shape of walls 2½ feet high became numerous. In the parish of Clackmannan the number of farms was reduced to the extent of forty in twenty years. In both parishes the rotation of crops was much improved. Instead of the old method of beans, barley, and oats, agriculturists adopted the method of summer fallow, wheat, beans, barley, grass, and oats on the best soil; while lands of inferior quality had crops suited to their character. Most of the wet lands had been drained, the old form of crooked ridges had given place to straight furrows, and Small's two-horse plough was in general use. It was not considered that turnip husbandry was suited to the district, as the low lands and much of the higher had a subsoil of cold, stiff clay, and the damage done by poaching the ground when taking off the crop counterbalanced the advantages of cultivating that useful root. Just as the spirit of improvement was beginning to spread, an intelligent East Lothian farmer settled in Alloa parish, and took the lead in draining, improved ploughing, and general good culture. Through his efforts a Farmers' Society for the county was formed in 1784, and ploughing matches were instituted, with a silver medal for the first prize. The average produce from the best lands was then 10 bolls of wheat per acre, 7 bolls of beans, 7 of barley, and 8 of oats. The measures employed were the Stirlingshire firlot for oats and barley, the Linlithgow measure for wheat, and a firlot for beans and peas about a quarter in the boll larger than the Linlithgow wheat firlot.

In 1787 there was erected, at Kilbagie, the first thrashing machine on the principle ultimately adopted by Andrew Meikle. The machine included scutchers shod with iron fixed on a strong beam or cylinder, which revolved with great velocity, and, in process of so revolving, beat off the corn, instead of rubbing it off by pressure, as had been attempted by other inventors. To this cylinder, or drum, were added fluted feeding rollers, and afterwards a machine for shaking the straw, fanners for winnowing the corn, and other improvements. The first machine was erected for Mr. Stein, Kilbagie, who had difficulty in obtaining a sufficient number of barn-men to thrash straw for his cattle, of which he had a large stock. The novelty of the experiment, and the doubt entertained by Mr. Stein as to the efficiency of the proposed machine, induced him to require as a condition that if it did not succeed, Meikle should get no payment. But it did succeed, and the thrashing machine at Kilbagie, driven by water, continued for a long course of years in good working order.

Soil, Climate, &c.

The carse of Clackmannan is a rich loam, a large proportion of which has been reclaimed from the Forth, and is still protected by strong embankments. Near the river it is very deep clay; the upper half is clay on a foundation of whinstone; and the carse west from Alloa is on gravel and shells. The climate on the carse is fair, but the crops are generally two weeks later than they are in the Lothians, and about the same as in the carse of Stirling. The soil is heavy to work, and requires a pair of horses for every 50 imperial acres. In the dry field part of Clackmannan the climate is considered very good. Snow seldom lies to any great depth except on the Ochils. The soil varies from stiff clay to sandy loam and peat. Most of the clay and damp soils have been much improved by draining, but a good deal remains to be done in this direction. On the hills near Tillicoultry the soil is thin, rocks crop out in many places, and there is a pro-portion of shingle ; but farther north, at and beyond Dollar, the hills are less steep, and the rocks are better covered with soil, on which grows a verdant and feeding turf.

At the entrance to Kinross-shire, at Crook o' Devon, is a lump of moss which is obviously a remnant of the time when the whole district was an extensive peat moss. The climate is naturally moist and cold, but has been much improved by extensive draining, and now there is much good arable land resting on gravel intermixed with clayey loam. In the higher grounds, the climate is still cold and wet, owing chiefly to the hills, which attract the clouds. Frost sets in sooner, and continues longer than in the adjacent districts to the southward. The parish of Portmoak is sheltered from the cold easterly winds of spring, but is much exposed to west winds, blowing across the Ochils, often covered with snow, and along the surface of the loch. Near the shores of Lochleven the harvest is at least a fortnight later than it is even a few miles farther east. At Lochleven sluice, 360 feet above the sea level, the annual rainfall is about 37 inches ; while at Burntisland it is 29, at Elie 27, at Auchtermuchty 33, but at Falkland, owing to the proximity of hills, it is 42.

No appliances seem to exist for ascertaining the rainfall among the Ochils, but at times it is excessive. A notable instance occurred in August 1877. All over Scotland there was heavy rain, with an easterly wind, on the 18th and two following days, with great flooding and extensive destruction of crops; but it was on the 28th that the memorable flood took place on the Ochils. In the county of Fife rain came on heavily, with a southeast wind, at nine in the evening of the 27th, and in twenty-one hours 2.33 inches of rain fell at Ladybank. The rivers were in high flood, and many fields were submerged. At Tillicoultry, close to the highest of the Ochils, rain fell heavily during the whole night, and continued unabated at six in the morning; but the stream which gushes down through the western part of the town gave no cause for alarm. About half-past seven the sky suddenly became more gloomy, and eye-witnesses whose windows look westward describe the scene as like nothing so much as the sombre pictures by which the universal deluge is usually represented. In half an hour the hills above Tillicoultry were white with tumbling cataracts, while the burn which tumbles down through a mountain gorge overflowed its banks, and poured its gushing waters into adjoining streets. The factory belonging to William Hutchison & Co. was situated near the mouth of the glen, and occupied ground on both sides of the stream. As the flood rose and threatened the building, Mr. Hutchison was taking measures to lessen the risk, and, with two of his work-people, a man and a woman, was on a wooden bridge, which suddenly gave way, and all three were carried down by the torrent. Mr. Hutchison and the woman were drowned ; the man was with difficulty rescued. In the town of Tillicoultry damage was done to the extent of £7000 or £8000, and visitors came long distances to witness the scene of devastation. East from the town a deep indentation was made in the hill side, which still remains as a memorial of the deluge. At Dollar the flood was great, but not equal to what it was on the higher hills. In Kinross-shire the storm was accompanied with thunder and lightning. At Milnathort there was a sharp peal of thunder at nine o'clock, and subsequent peals showed that the storm travelled west by north, in the direction of the Ochils, where it was conjectured a waterspout had burst, as, in less than an hour, the streams which intersect Milnathort had risen to a height which was not adequately accounted for by the local rainfall. It is worthy of notice, that though the wind was easterly, the heaviest rainfall in Kinross-shire was an hour or more after the flood at Tillicoultry, which seems to indicate that the storm-cloud was travelling in a different direction from the wind.

Farm Buildings, Machinery, and Implements.

In the carse district farm buildings are good, and landlords have recently spent large sums in improving them, generally with money borrowed from the Government. Many of the cattle courts are now covered over, mostly with tiled roofs. In the higher districts, also, farm buildings have been greatly improved,

many having covered sheds for the cattle, with water often conducted to the steading at very considerable expense. Thrashing is largely done by steam, and the same motive power is much used in cultivation, and can readily be obtained on hire. Where horse-power is used for thrashing, the old-fashioned beater drum is rapidly giving place to pegs, on what is called the Ayrshire principle, which can be worked with much less power. A good deal of thrashing is done with portable machines; and some farms have water power. The grain is all cut with reaping machines, and the hay with mowers. In the county of Kinross there is an increasing number of covered courts, and, in not a few cases, the cattle are tied up to a stake, like cows. Implements are of the most improved description.

Roads, Fences, Tillage Operations, &c.

In the carse of Clackmannan roads have been badly kept, but improvement is visible since the management came into the hands of the new Board. In the same district there is little fencing, as there is almost no pasture land. Any fences that exist are of wire, with wooden stakes. Tillage of the land is very difficult, and to prepare the soil for barley or turnips requires a great deal of ploughing, grubbing, harrowing, rolling, and breaking clods. If not properly tided, it is at times quite unworkable. The carse is generally wrought on the six-shift—that is, wheat, beans, barley, hay, oats, turnips, or summer fallow. Some farm on the seven-shift rotation, taking mashlum, or beans and oats mixed after oats, and this method is approved by some good authorities. All the manure made on the farm is applied to beans and turnips, together with horse and cow manure, which can easily be purchased in the neighbourhood, as many of the inhabitants of Clackmannan keep cows. Guano and bones are also applied to turnips, and a large portion of the oats are topdressed with nitrate of soda. Half the shift is usually put in turnips, the other half is fallowed. Few potatoes are grown. Swedish turnips, if they are got early sown, turn out large crops, quite equal to any other part of Scotland. The bean crop, also, answers remarkably well. One of the most successful cultivators of a carse farm is Mr. Alexander, Loanside, who in 1880, and again in 1881, was awarded the premium of the Clackmannanshire Society—1st, for the best made hay on a carse farm; 2nd, for the best green crops on a carse farm; and 3rd, for the best turnips on a carse farm.

In other parts of the county statute labour roads have been much improved since the adoption of the Roads and Bridges Act two years ago, and the old turnpike roads are also well kept. Fences consist of stone dykes, hedges, and wire palings, generally in very good order. The usual rotation of crops consists of potatoes and turnips, with a grain crop following, which may be wheat, barley, or oats, generally one or other of the two last named, then hay or pasture for two or more years, then oats, followed again by a green crop. The most common grain crop is oats, of which the quantity is probably three times that of barley, and six times that of wheat or beans. Lately the mixture of beans and oats, called mashlum, has been regarded with increasing favour on dry field as well as carse land. Turnips and potatoes are grown, the former exceeding the latter in the proportion of two to one. A few mangolds are also grown on the best farms. Manure is plentiful. Besides what is made in the farm-yard, it can be purchased at four shillings a ton for the best, produced in three large distilleries, and by large numbers of cows and pigs kept in the towns and villages. Guano, bones, and other manufactured fertilisers are also very extensively used.

In Kinross-shire there are wire fences, stone dykes, sometimes with one or two wires on the top, and, in some cases, thorn hedges, generally well kept. In that county the six-year course is usually adopted in cropping, the rotation consisting of green crop, corn, and three years in grass, but in some cases only two. Almost no wheat, and not much barley is grown. A good many potatoes are produced on moss land, especially on the pendicles about Crook of Devon. They are very suitable for seed potatoes in other districts. The land is largely cultivated with the grubber. In addition to farm-yard manure, bones and superphosphates are used, but farmers grudge the expense of these artificial manures. Turnips are extensively eaten with sheep, which helps to improve the soil.

Ceops, &c.

The grain crops in the carse consist of wheat, oats, barley, and beans. In a fair season the land, if in good condition, will yield 7 quarters of beans, 5 quarters of wheat, 6 quarters of barley, 6½ quarters of oats, and 250 stones of hay, all per imperial acre. On a field of turnips on the farm of Loanside, which gained the Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire Society's prize in 1881, the crop weighed 28 tons per imperial acre. In Kinross-shire the ordinary produce per imperial acre is oats 5 quarters, barley 4 to 5 quarters, potatoes 6 tons, turnips 15 to 20 tons, and hay 150 stones. In that county increasing attention is paid to grass. About 6 pounds of clover seed is sown to the acre, mixed with a bushel and a half of rye-grass. There are also a few meadows of Timothy grass, especially on the Blair Adam estate. In some instances' grass has been sown without a grain crop. In Clackmannan the principal meadows are in the policies of the Earl of Mar and Kellie, Lord Balfour of Burleigh, and Mr. Orr of Harviestoun. All along the Devon valley there is much green pasture, and the Ochils are, of course, wholly pastoral. In Kinross-shire the proportion of grass on every farm is large, and a good deal of land is kept permanently in grass parks.

Live Stock, &c.

Cattle are not reared to any extent in the carse, but a good many are bought at Falkirk and elsewhere in autumn, wintered, and sold in spring, chiefly to local dealers. The wintering of cattle has paid well lately. No sheep are kept, and no cows except what are required to supply with milk the farmer's family, and the work-people. Very few cattle are fed in the carse. Much attention is given to the breeding of horses, and the Clackmannanshire Agricultural Society pays the highest premium for a stallion of any Society in Scotland except the Highland and Agricultural Society. The horses are good, steady Clydesdales. In other parts of the county the cattle consist of crosses bred from Ayrshire cows and short-horned bulls, but lately a number of Irish cows have been bought by dairymen in the towns. A good many cattle are fattened on the pastures, getting cake, and draff from the distilleries, but the greater number are finished in winter on turnips, cake, and grain. As regards sheep, there are some fine Leicesters kept on some of the best farms; cross hoggs also are wintered and fattened on turnips and draff, or grass. Blackfaced ewes are kept on the Ochils, and crosses are bred from them with Leicester rams.

In Kinross-shire there are some good short-horned cattle, a good many crosses, and lately some Ayrshire cows have been imported, chiefly for dairy farms, of which there are seven or eight in the county. Six or seven have been established within the last five or six years. Some let the cows for £15 or £16 each cow, giving them what grows on the farm, and a certain quantity of bean meal. In the county of Kinross more horses are reared than in any other county in proportion to its size, and they find a ready market. The sheep are chiefly blackfaced; but at Annacroich is a flock of Leicesters, about forty or fifty rams from which are sold every year in Edinburgh, and bring good prices.

In the county of Clackmannan there is one good herd of shorthorns, the property of Mr. Andrew Mitchell.

Land Tenure, Capital, &c.

In the carse, land is generally held on a nineteen years lease, with the old conditions, except that, in some cases, liberty is given to sell straw and turnips, but in this case manure must be purchased. The capital required for 100 acres is about £1200. The condition of the farmer will compare favourably with that of any other district in Scotland, but they are all practical men, who understand the business and personally superintend all departments of the farm work. Most of the proprietors have given large reductions of rent during the recent unfavourable seasons, and farmers have weathered the storm who might otherwise have been compelled to succumb; but tenants consider the rents too high, on which account they cannot keep the land in such good condition as it might be. The land is generally pretty well drained; but as part of the carse is very flat, the drains need to be often renewed. In the carse of Clackmannan the Forth is prevented from overflowing the land by a strong embankment, through openings in which the water from the land can escape only when the tide is back. When the tide is rising a sluice closes to exclude the advancing water; but meanwhile the water flowing from the land accumulates behind the embankment, and in wet weather the amount is sometimes such as to overflow part of the fields. Bent in the carse is from £3 to £3, 10s. per Scotch acre. In Kinross-shire leases are generally for nineteen years; but a large proportion of proprietors farm their own land. The amount of capital required is £8 an acre, as the land is light, and a couple of horses can do more than in some other places. Rents are much lower than in the carse. The farm of Earnieside, 700 acres in extent, wholly grazing, and occupied with blackfaced sheep crossed with Leicester tups, is let for £210 a year. The farm of Braughty, 510 acres in extent, also wholly pastoral, is let for £210. Craighead, 694 acres in extent, nearly all in grass, keeps three or four hundred blackfaced ewes, and pays £205 of rent. Golland, 455 acres in extent, all at present in grass, is worth about £442 of rent. There have lately been some reductions. Wester Coldrain, 284 acres in extent, was formerly let for £335, but has lately been re-let at a reduction. Seggie, in the parish of Orwell, 465 acres in extent, was let formerly at £582, but has been reduced to about £420. Westhall, in the same neighbourhood, has been reduced in a similar proportion.

None of the farms in Kinross-shire are very large. One of the largest in Orwell parish is Seggiebank, 540 acres, rented at £400. Craigow Mill and Castlehill extend to 642 acres, and the rent is £430. South Dalqueich and Shanwell, contain 231 acres, and are let for £330. Arlary, 261 acres, formerly paid a rent of £530, but is now occupied by Mr. Glass, the proprietor. Warroch, 790 acres, is occupied by the proprietor, at an estimated rent of £455. Orwell, owned by the Bishop of Glasgow, and occupied by Mr. James S. Fleming, is 305 acres in extent, and the rent is £420. In Portmoak parish, rents are somewhat higher than in other parts of the county. West Mains, owned by the Marquis of Northampton, and occupied by Mr. John Paton, Standing-stones, East Lothian, is 350 acres in extent, and the rent is £530. West Bracklay, 295 acres, is owned and occupied by Mr. Thomas Miller Tod, and the valued rent is £400.

Labour, &c.

In nearly all parts of the two counties bothies prevail to a greater or less extent. In the carse about half the men are married, the others are in bothies. Houses are pretty good, without being too expensive. Wages of married men are about £30 a year, besides meal and a bag or two of potatoes. They get milk also, for which they pay a moderate price. The quantity of meal is half a boll of oatmeal every four weeks, or six and a half bolls in the year. Bothy men have about £2 less, with the same perquisites. In Kinross-shire married men have a house and garden, and some get potatoes planted, while others get two cart-loads of potatoes. They have six and a half loads of oatmeal in the year, and 14 gills of milk a day, winter and summer, but some farmers give more in summer and less in winter. Bothy men get meal and milk, the same as the married men, and they get potatoes to boil for supper from lifting time till planting time. They get £20 to £22 in money; and they are hired for the year from Martinmas till Martinmas. Domestic servants are engaged by the year, and get £10 to £12. Out-workers have 1s. per day all the year; but potato lifters get 1s. 8d. to 2s. a day; and harvest workers 3d. an hour and their dinner. In harvest it is common in' Kinross-shire to begin work at 8 o'clock, continue till 10 when there is a quarter of an hour's interval, have an hour for dinner from 1 till 2 o'clock, and have another quarter of an hour's rest in the afternoon. Wages are 50s. on an average lower than they were some years since; and men are more plentiful than they were formerly.

Progress during the Past Twenty-Five Years.

Though the past quarter of a century has included a period of depression in the agricultural world, a good deal of progress has been made. Conspicuous among improvers has been the Earl of Mar and Kellie. On the part of the Mar estates called the Forest, new farm-houses have been built at Hazleyshaw, Gibsley, Woodside, Garthnowie, and Knowehead. Hazleyshaw was the first, and credit is due to the tenant, Mr. Blelloch, for having induced the late Earl of Mar to make a beginning in a really good work. On the same farm the old steading has been remodelled, and a double set of feeding boxes has been introduced, with turnip house at the end, and a gangway between, from which the cattle are fed. Most of the farms on Lord Mar's estates, including those at Alloa and Ferrytown, have their cattle sheds much in the same style. In all parts of the counties there is an increasing number of covered courts.

There has been a good deal of draining effected during these twenty-five years. The farms tenanted by the Messrs. Mitchell, especially Meadowhill and Allaleckie, have both been thoroughly drained during that time, also the farm of Gibsley, a large portion of Woodside, and less or more on all the farms on Lord Mar's estates. The greater part of Hazleyshaw farm was reclaimed fully twenty years ago ; and on Gibsley not less than from 70 to 80 acres have been reclaimed within the last ten years. This farm is tenanted by Mr. Thomas Thomson, Bankhead, Alloa, and since he became tenant the farm is believed to be worth twice the rent paid by the former tenant. On the estate of Harviestoun, the property of James Orr, Esq., the farms of Aberdona and Bathcarthy have been very much improved by draining, and a great deal of muir reclaimed, and stone dykes built, as well as a fine steading erected. The proprietor has brought water from the Ochils by gravitation; and the tenant, Mr. William Stirling, who has a dairy farm, has lately erected an engine for driving his churn by water power. Water has also been brought by gravitation to Woodside, on the same estate, of which Messrs. Scotland are the tenants; and also to the farm of Meadowhill, tenanted by Messrs. A. and A. Mitchell. To Gartknowie water is brought from a considerable distance, having been previously elevated with a pump to a sufficient height.

A good many fences of different kinds have been constructed. On Hazleyshaw farm most of the boundary fences are of wire, as also are a great part of the subdivisions. The march dyke between the properties of Lord Mar and Lord Abercromby is of stone. Wire fences have also been erected very extensively on Meadowhill and Knowhead, and Woodside, as also at Gartgreenie and Gibsley, all within little more than fifteen years.

The Earl of Mar and the Hon. E. Preston Bruce, M.P., have recently completed the straightening of the Black Devon between Meadowhill and Gartknowie and Piper's Pool, at a cost of £200 or £300. The old channel where the bends were has been all filled up, and the newly-cut channel has been strongly embanked. In Kinross-shire there has been reclamation of land to a limited extent, and considerable improvements in steadings. James Richard Haig, Esq. of Blairhill, has a considerable farm in Kinross parish, on which a good deal of attention is bestowed. The highest rent is paid by Mr. James Stevenson for Cavilston and Brunthill, and the land is well maintained with manure driven from Kinross. Turfhills, a mile from Kinross, farmed by Mr. Henderson, the proprietor, affords an instance of land kept in a high state of cultivation. Wester Balado, 460 acres in extent, is occupied by Mr. John Ramage Dawson, who feeds many cattle on draff from the distillery. On the farms of Kilduff, north and south, and on Shorlahill, Mr. Thomas Spowart of Dunfermline has made improvements. The changes in the direction of dairy farming may be regarded as improvements, as the climate is well suited for this kind of industry. Generally the milk is sent to Dunfermline, which can easily be done now since railway communication is so direct.

Other Industries.

A century ago there were collieries at Clackmannan, Sauchie, and Kennet; and about 7000 tons were annually exported to Leith, Dunbar, Perth, Dundee, Montrose, and other places. The working of the Sauchie coal dates back to a remote period, and much of it was used by the Devon Iron Company. The Kennet coal was used in distilleries; but after 1789 about 2000 tons a year were shipped to Leith. The Devon Iron Company was begun in July 1792, and they had two blast furnaces ; but the seam of iron became nearly exhausted. The Clackmannan coal is a valuable deposit, and the whole is now worked by the Alloa Coal Company.

There were distilleries at Kilbagie and Kennetpans; and previous to 1788 the manufacture of Scotch spirits was carried on to an extent unknown in any other place. At Kilbagie alone there were 60,000 bolls of corn used in the manufacture of whisky, and 3000 tons of spirits were manufactured. The excise duties paid at Kilbagie and Kennetpans were said to be greater than the whole land tax of Scotland at that time. Owing to changes in the law, both distilleries were wrecked, and though they resumed operations, the glory was departed. At Kilbagie there is now an extensive paper manufactory; but there are in and near Alloa three distilleries and six breweries. Carsebridge Distillery is one of the largest in the country, and can turn out 60,000 gallons of spirits in a week. Glenochil is next in extent, and then Cambus. A collateral benefit to agriculture is the quantity of draff and of manure produced at these works.

At an early date Alloa was conspicuous for the manufacture of bottles; and bottles were shipped from the pier to Leith and other places. At present there are bottle-works, glass-works, paper-works, ship-building, and other industries.

The manufacture of woollen cloths was early begun in the county of Clackmannan, and has greatly increased during the past forty years. Previous to that time the chief articles of manufacture were Scotch blankets and Tillicoultry serges; there are now manufactured yarns, plaiding, shawls, tartans, blankets, tweeds, and sealskins. In Tillicoultry alone there are nine manufactories, besides some small ones. The reason for selecting this place was probably the good quality of the water, and the advantage of a waterfall for driving machinery. At least one of the factories has an elaborate arrangement for purifying the water, constructed at great expense. It works well, and the outlay is at least partly compensated by the manure obtained from the sediment. The wool used at Tillicoultry is chiefly colonial, together with some of the finest Caithness and Boss-shire. The blackfaced wool produced on the adjoining hills is too coarse, and is used chiefly for blankets and carpets. At Alloa, tweeds were manufactured previously, but that has ceased, and the staple manufactures now are yarns. There are two large manufactories, where all sorts of yarn, coarse and fine, knitting, fingering, hosiery, and tweed yarn are manufactured. The manufacturers use Cheviot, Saxony, and colonial wools. At Clackmannan there is a large yarn mill, belonging to Messrs. Paton, Alloa, and it has been built there to get the advantage of fine, pure water.

Fisheries.