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Vol. I.
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181
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IN SCOTLAND.

181

rearing of live-stock is a principal object, though corn is alsoraised in great quantity), farms in general run from 120 to150 acres. In Kincardineshire several are below forty, andsome amount to 400. In Aberdeenshire a few exceed 500. Inthe shires of Banff , Elgin, and Nairn, several farms arc below30, and others exceed 300 acres. In this district also, a fewsmall pendicles are found near towns ; and, in the vicinity ofAberdeen, a number of small farms have been trenched withthe spade and mattock at a very great expence, and are rent-ed by nurserymen and gardeners. In the mountains of Marrthere are some very extensive sheep farms. One of these con-tains 40,000 English acres, twenty-three only of which arearable. Indeed, in such situations, a farm must be of a largesize, as it cannot otherwise be attended with much profit tothe occupier.

In the 6th district, or West Highlands, there is thegreatest disparity in the size of farms, with a very small pro-portion of arable land. The two largest sheep farms, theone in Inverness , and the other in Argyle shire, containeach nearly 60 square miles, or 38,000 English acres; butthe small arable farms, in the occupation of the native farmers,rarely exceed 30, and are often below 8 acres. A great partof these two counties is let to tacksmen, who generally culti-vate from 30 to 50 acres, and sublet the rest to the natives.Sheep have also been partially introduced in place of horsesand black cattle. The sheep farms are -of great extent, andare generally rented by farmers from the south country.

In the 7th, or North Highlands, the size of arable farmsis generally very small. In the counties of Ross and Cro-marty, the average extent is below 20 acres. In Suther-land, with the exception of the wadsetters, who generally oc-cupy from 30 to 50 acres each, the farms let to the nativesare of still less dimensions, probably below 15 acres at a me-dium. • And in Caithness, (where a few arable farms, from130 to 600 acres, are let to tacksmen, and several farms,from 100 to nearly 400 acres* are occupied by the landhold-