48
19th year is 12 marks, 13s. 4d. Sterling. At his entry, he re*ceives a sufficient quantity of timber to enable him to constructa cottage or cabin, with two bolls, or 280 lib. of oatmeal, tosupport him while building his humble dwelling. Besides this,the proprietor has in the course of the second 19 years, repeatedhis outlay of wood, and paid the brick-tax for a second house ;a tax quite inapplicable and very oppressive to these poor settlers.He also made their roads, and till lately maintained them. Theyhave all now got a third 19 years lease, at the rate of 1 1 . Is. anacre. During the second 19 years of his lease, he pays yearly12s. for each acre of land cleared from moss, and 2s. 6d. foreach acre not cleared, with two hens yearly. In 1768, anothertenant settled on the moss ; in 1769, five more were settled ; in1772, two; in 1773, three; in 1774, one; making in all 13 te-nants, among whom 105 acres were disposed of, being all of thelow moss to which water could then be conveyed.
In 1774, several persons offered to take possessions in thehigh-moss, provided that a practicable access could be made toit, being encouraged by seeing the excellent crops raised by thetenants on the low moss. In general the low moss is only threefeet deep, while the high moss is from six to twelve feet deep,with very indifferent footing even for man, and utterly impracti-cable for horses. Without delay a road was opened, about twelvefeet broad, down to the clay, for several hundred yards in length,by floating away the moss; and an opening being made to admitwater, no less than 12 tenants agreed in 1775 for eight acreseach of the high-moss. In consideration of the greater depthof the high moss, it was agreed that the tenants should pay norent whatever during the first 19 years of their possession ; but,during the second 19 years of the 38, to pay the same as in thelow moss. From 1776 to 1782, both included, 17 additionaltenants took portions in the high moss, making 29 in all; who,with the 13 already in the low moss, made 42 tenants, occupying336 acres. For some time the disposal of the high moss wentslowly on ; not, indeed, for want of persons willing to take por-tions, but the number of operators was already sufficient for thequantity of water.
In the year 1783, Mr Drummond, the present proprietor,succeeded to the estate, and entered fully into the plan adoptedby his father for reclaiming the moss. At this time there still re-mained about 1000 acres of the high moss undisposed of; andas water was the great desideratum, it was determined to spareno pains or expense to obtain that necessary instrument. Mean-while, to prepare for new tenants, a second road, parallel to theformer, was cut for 2670 yards across the moss, quite down tothe clay, 12 feet broad. This opening was previously necessary,that the operators might get a drain formed in the clay to directthe water, and was to remain as an absolutely necessary road for