410
“ 8. On the Mainland, or Highlands, perhaps a larger breedof horses ought to be introduced. Stallions, therefore, ought tobe procured by the proprietors from the South, and allowed tocover gratis, or at an easy rate, over al) their property. Manylandlords of the Hebrides have already shown such a patrioticspirit; and perhaps none more than Mr Campbell of Shawtield.The Island of Isla will, of course, soon abound with horses of adifferent, though not inferior breed, to any in Scotland .
“ 9. The utmost care ought to be taken to improve the quali-ty, and extend the quantity of meadows fit for hay. floodingthem in spring might accomplish the one, and draining morassesmight serve the other purpose. Many meadows might be flood-ed at a very trifling expense, by which the crop might he great-ly increased in quantity as well as quality; and nfany morassesand mosses might, at a small sum, be converted into meadowlands, by first draining, and then flooding them. ’’
Ilut more ample and accurate information on this subject maybe found in I)r Walker’s posthumous work, so often quoted. Tothat the reader is referred.
While so much may be accomplished by the united exertionsof the landlord and tenant,
III, The Legislature ought also to co-operate.
Indeed, without this powerful aid, many of the greatest obsta-cles to the improvement of these districts never will be complete-ly obviated.
Of all the obstacles to the improvement of pastoral districts,such as the Highlands and Hebrides ,
1. The Duty on Salt is one of the greatest. Yet neither thelandlord, nor tenant, nor both united, can remove it. The Le-gislature alone can give relief from such a burden.
There can be no doubt, that this duty operates as a powerfulobstacle to the agricultural interests of Britain at large. For, ifit w ere removed, salt might be used as a powerful manure, espe-cially in those districts at a distance from lime. It might beused with advantage, mixed with the food of cattle; and it wouldoperate as a powerful preventive, too, of many of those diseaseseo fatal to live stock.
But while the operation of this duty is felt, over the wholekingdom, as a bar to improvement, it is still more severely felt,and sometimes absolutely ruinous, to tire remote regions of theHighlands and Hebrides . Cattle, and not corn, are the naturalproduce of these districts. For this produce they have no mar-ket at hand. In most cases, they must be driven a hundred, orsometimes two hundred miles. And what adds tenfold to this ca-lamity is, that this market often fails; so that the tenant is underthe dire necessity of driving his cattle home again, and to returnpgnnyless, with his stock greatly reduced in value. Nay, to cod*