IN SCOTLAND.
165
CHAP. IV.
BY THE REV. DR GEORGE SKENE KEITH*
Preliminary oeservations.
.The mode in which the territory of a country is occupied*is an object of the utmost consequence to the community. Itis not merely a t matter of speculation, but of practical im-portance; and it involves several questions, (respecting themutual interests of the proprietors of the soil on the onehand, and its cultivators on the other), concerning whichthere is great room for diversity of opinion.
In order that so important a subject may be fully elucida-ted, it is proposed to state how land is actually occupied inthe several districts of Scotland , and to compare the relativeadvantages and disadvantages attending each mode of occu-pation. Where a more minute detail of circumstances, or amore full discussion of disputed points, is considered to beeither necessary or expedient, the reader will be pleased toconsult the numbers in the Appendix , respectively referredto in this Chapter.
The lands of Scotland , in so far as regards the soil orsurface, are; 1. Occupied in common; or, 2. Cultivated bythe actual proprietor; or, 3. Rented in severalty by far-mers.