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Or those Obstacles to Improvement which are local,
AND CHIEFLY LIMITED TO THE HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS OF
Scotland.
By the Rev. Dr Ke vnih.
The greatest obstacle to the improvement of the Highlandsand Islands of Scotland , arises from the climate. This Occasionsoften a late seed-time, and a late harvest; and though therewere both good horses and good ploughs in the Highlands, yet,on an average of seasons, little more than one half the land canbe ploughed by a pair of horses, that is done in the Lowlands.The rigours of the climate however, cannot be removed, but theymay be alleviated by enclosures, hedges, and getting frequentchanges of early kinds of seed from the Low Country.
Section I.
The obstacles which it is more in the power of man to redress,shall be more fully dwelt on.
I. The Tenure of Land in those Districts.
In every country, the state of agriculture depends very muchon the tenure by which the land is held by those who culti-vate it. In the Highlands and Hebrides , there are a variety ofways, by which tenants hold their farms, peculiar to that partof the kingdom ; and, in as far as they are peculiar, they oper-ate as obstacles to the general improvement of these districts.For in no one of these respects do they excel other parts ofScotland , more favourable for cultivation, or better improved.On the contrary, in as far as they differ, they are deficient. Asa proof of this, it is only necessary to point out the peculiar te-nures that prevail over the Highlands and Western Isles .
In general, there are three ways in which the land is possessed :l.by Tacksmen; 2.by Tenants; and, 3. by Subtenants. The tacks-man holds his land immediately from the proprietor, by a lease,like tenants in other parts of the kingdom. As he is generallyof superior education, talents, and rank, to the rest of the inha-bitants, and as he holds his lease for the most part for a consi-derable number of years, he may be a most useful member oftociety, as he has it in his power to promote the improvercent