1

I

THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

GENERAL VIEW

OF THE

OF THE

COUJVTY OF FIFE:

WITH

OBSERVATIONS

ON THE

MEANS OF ITS IMPROVEMENT;

DRAWN UP FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF THE

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE

fcf INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT.

Br JOHN THOMSON, D. D.

MINISTER OF MARKINCH.

O ! are there not some PATRIOTS, in whose power,

That best, that godlike luxury, is placed,

Of blessing thousands, thousands yet unborn,

Thro' late Posterity ? Some, large of soul ;

To chear dejected INDUSTRY ? to give

A double I^arvest to the pining Swain ?

And teach the labouring hand the sweets of toil ?

Yes, there are SUCH * * * * * THOMSON-.

PRINTED BY J. MOIR, PATERSON's COURT :

SOLD BY W. CREECH, P. HILt, W. LAING, t3* J. GUTHRli :

AND BY G. NICOL, BOOKSELLER TO HIS MAJESTY,

LONDON.

s

ADVERTISEMENT.

n

1 HE great desire that has been very generally
expressed for having the AGRICULTURAL SUR-
VEYS of the KINGDOM reprinted, with the addi-
tional communications which have been received
since the ORIGINAL REPORTS were circulated,
has induced the BOARD of AGRICULTURE to come
to a resolution of reprinting such as may appear
on the whole fit for publication. It is proper at
the same time to add, that the Board does not
consider itself responsible for any fact or obser-
vation contained in the Reports thus reprinted,
as it is impossible to consider them yet in a per-
fect state ; and that it will thankfully acknow-
ledge any additional information which may
still be communicated : an invitation, of which,
it is hoped, many will avail themselves, as there
is no circumstance from which any one can de-
rive more real satisfaction, than that of contri-
buting, by every possible means, to promote the
improvement of his Country.

N. B. Letters to the Board may be addressed to
LORD CARRINGTON, the President, London.

1010658

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION 9
CHAP. I. Geographical State and Circum-
stances.

SECT. I. Situation and Extent i j

II. Divisions 17

III. Climate **£ 19

IV. Soil and Surface 22
V. Minerals and Fossils 31

VI. Water 39
CHAP. II. Stare of Property.

SECT. I. Estates, and their Management.

Division of Property - 46

Transference of Property - 48

Valuation of the County - ib.

Land-tax - •'•V~3&«£ 51

Entails oilfcl _ ib.

Residence of Proprietors - 53

Management of Estates - 54
\ Character and Qualifications of

Factors - - ib.

SECT. II. Tenures - 56
CHAP. III. Buildings,

SECT t. Houses of Proprietors - 60

II. Ruinous Buildings - 65
HI. Farm-houses, Offices, and Repairs 74
IV. Cottages '•;*/•• 8o

CHAP. IV*. Mode of Occupation.

SECT. I. Size of Farms * V 82

II. Character of the Farmers 88

III. Rent - 94

Fixing rent in kind, and making
it payable by the County

Fiars, recommended - 95

*• By mistake, 'printed CHAP: V.

IV CONTENTS.

SECT. IV. Tithes 98

V. Poors Rates - ib.

VI. Leases - - 102

Clauses most commonly inserted 103

General observations respecting

1. The Character of the Tenant 105

2. The mode of letting Farms ic6

3. The stipulated Rent and

Terms of Payment - I op

4. The Endurance of Leases - 112

5. Particular exceptionable clau-

ses sometimes introduced 113

6. The State in which the Farm

ought to be left at the Te-
nant's Removal - 121

CHAP. V*. Implements of Husbandry 124
CHAP. VI. Inclosing, Fences, and Gates 134
CHAP. VII. Arable Land.

. SECT. I. Tillage 143

II. Fallowing 14-7

III. Rotation of Crops - - 151

Rotations most commonly followed 152
I. Scheme of a rotation, combin-
ing both Tillage and Grazing,
with its advantages — - .;• 157
SECT. IV. Crops commonly cultivated.

1. Oats - r «\,f 160

2. Barley 166

3. Wheat - - - 171

4. Beans and Pease] - 178

5. Potatoes ,, -.:;. - 181

6. Turnip 10,3

7. Flax * - - 199
Objections to the raising of Flax

stated, and answered - 207
Rotations most proper to be fol-
lowed when Flax is introduced 21 I
* By nvstake, printed CHAP. VI.

CONTENTS. V

SECT. V. Crops not commonly cultivated.

1. Swedish Turnip, or Ruta Baga 215

2. Cabbage and Coleworts 216

3. Tares a - - 217

4. Carrots ,.* • ib.

5. Rye - 218
CHAP. VII. Grasses.

SECT. I. Pasture and Meadows \*. 219

II. Artificial Grasses - - 220

III. Hay harvest ^1 ... 223

IV. Feeding - - 225
CHAP. IX. Gardens and Orchards - 227
CHAP. X. Woods and and Plantations 229
CHAP. XL Commons and Wastes - 231
CHAP. XII. Improvements.

SECT. I. Draining • - 234

IT. Paring and Burning - 238

III. Manuring , 240

IV. Weeding - - 249
V. Watering I ..*• .. - 250

CHAP. XIII. Live-stock.

SECT. I. Black-cattle.

Description and Excellence of the

Fife-breed - - 251

Calculation of the Expence and
Profit of a Dairy of 12 Cows
of the Fife-breed - ~Y 255

Rearing the Fife-breed, in pre-
ference to any other kind, re-
commended - 258
The Prices of Black-cattle - 260
SECT. II. Sheep - v •« . 261

III. Horses - _ 265

The use of Horses in Husband-
ry compared to Oxen - ib.

IV. Hogs - - 267
V. Rabbits - *6a

VI CONtENTS.

SECT. VI/ Poultry it.

VII. Pigeons - 272

VIII. Bees ^ 272
CHAP. XIV. Rural Economy.

SECT. I. Price of Labour - 273

II. Price of Provisions - 276

IIL Fuel * ^* ' 279
CHAP. XV. Political Economy, as connected

with, or affecting Agriculture.

SECT. I. Roads 28r

II. Canals 293

III. Fairs and weekly Markets - 295

IV. Commerce 297

State of Shipping - 300

V. Manufactures 301

Of Grain r .i.. ;> ib.

Linen •>•."*• ] - 303

Salt .,'•?•? 308

Shipbuilding - - ib.

Leather f **" - 309

Soap and Candle 310

Brick and Tile - - ib.
Vitriol __- - ib.

VI. Population - ib.

Number of Inhabitants suppos-
ed to be em ployed in husband-
ry and manufactures, and the
general result of their industry 3 15
Yearly Revenue, arising from'
the Commerce and Manufac-
tures, Sec. of Fife - 263
VII. Burdens affecting landed property 316
Ecclesiastical Establishment 316
Public Schools - 326

Maintenance of the Poor 33*

CONTENTS. VU

CHAP. XVI. Obstacles to Improvement, in-
cluding observations on Agricul-
tural Legislation and Police.
i. Scarcity of Monev, or a backwardness to

apply it to this purpose - - 33^
3. Thirlage - 335

3. The high interest often demanded by Pro-

prietors for Money laid out by the Ten-
ants on the Improvement of their Farms 337

4. The injudicious Position of Corn-mills 339

5. Entails 342

6. The Short Endurance of Leases - 344

7. Public Burdens »- • • -* 361
CHAP. XVII. Miscellaneous Observations.

SECT. I. Agricultural Societies 367

II. Weights and Measures " - • 369
CHAP. XVIII. Improvements suggested.

1. Inclosing - 377

2. Planting - - 378
g. Draining - •- - ib.

4. Improving the Breed of Black -cattle and

Horses - - ... 379

5. Cottages - - 380

6. Establishing three annual Trysts to succeed

each other ; in the month of March 382

7. Farm-Steads - 383
8.v Carrying on and completing the embank-
ing of the Eden - 384

CHAP. XIX. Circumstances favourable to the
Progress of Agriculture in Fife.

1. The Means of improvement are plentiful,

and of easy access - 385

2. The Fife Farmer can always find a ready

and profitable Market for the Produce of
his Farm - - 386

3. The Examples already Exhibited by several

intelligent Improvers in the County . ib,

Vlll CONTENTS.

Conclusion.

General View of the Advantages that may be ex-
pected from the successful execution of the im-
portant Scheme, at present going 'forward un-
der the direction of the Honourable Board of
Agriculture, for the Improvement of the Soil
in every part of the kingdom - - 389

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY

OF THE

COUNTY OF FIFE,

INTRODUCTION.

AGRICULTURE, in every civilized nation, has
been justly regarded as an object of the first im-
portance, and, of all the useful arts, the most
deserving of public attention and encouragement.
At the same time that it furnishes a steady sup-
ply of all the necessary means of subsistence,
and comfortable accommodation, to the indivi-
dual, it contributes, most essentially, to the
strength, the opulence, and the independence of
the State. It must, therefore, appear surprising,
that, in this country, so much distinguished by
other improvements, the improvement of the
soil should have continued so long the object of
general neglect, and should never, till of late,
have received that public encouragement, to
which it has so just a claim.

Literary merit has been patronised by the most
distinguished names. Improvements in the arts
and sciences have been encouraged by public
honours and rewards. Laws and regulations
have been established, and bounties held out, to
give energy and success to the exertions of the
merchant and manufacturer. Much blood and

B

*

I O IN T R OD UC T10N.

treasure have been spent in the acquisition of
foreign territory, and foreign trade ; and the
lives of many thousands have been hazarded and
lost, for their extension and defence. But the
cultivation and improvement of our native soil,
though an object undeniably of the first conse-
quence to the nation, has been, in a great mea-
sure, overlooked, and suffered to languish under
the pressure of numberless hardships and dis-
couragements.

Public neglect, however, is not the only mis-
fortune which agriculture hath experienced. From
the indolence and inattention of the proprietors
themselves, it hath suffered still more severely.
Blind to their own private interest, as well as to
the general good of their country, they continu-
ed long to regard husbandry with an indifferent
eye, and have never, generally, till within these
few years, taken any proper measures to extri-
cate their estates from that wretched system of
management ta which, from time immemorial,
they had been unhappily subjected.

In many instances, and at a period not very
remote, the pride of family distinction, attach-
ing the idea of meanness to the labours of the
peasant, led gentlemen of fortune to consider
practical farming as beneath their rank, and as
bringing them too much upon a level with the
inferior orders of society. Besides, the greater
part of our young noblemen and gentlemen
were trained up in the persuasion, that the
science of agriculture formed no part of the edu-
cation, and the knowledge of rural economy,
none of the accomplishments, that belong to men
of rank and fashion, The consequence of this

INTRODUCTION. 1 i

has been an almost total ignorance, and a rooted
dislike, of the operations of husbandry among
that order of men, who are most concerned and
best able to promote its improvement. Ab-
stracting themselves entirely from country af-
fairs, they engaged in other employments deem-
ed more honourable, or more suitable to their
station, or else devoted their time to the pleasures
and amusements of gay life, .at a distance from
their estates, which they seldom visited, and of
which they knew little, except, perhaps, the a-
mount of the rental. The cultivation of their
lands was, of course, left to the management of
a class of men, generally without knowledge,
without capital, and without enterprise, attached
to the customs and fashions of their fathers, and
as unwilling to adopt, as they were unable to
form, any rational plan of improvement.

It must be admitted, however, that this charge
of neglect does not apply universally. Upwards
of forty or fifty years a£O, many gentlemen both
in England and Scotland, began to study agri-
culture as a science, and to regard practical hus-
bandry as an honourable as well as a profitable
employment. By a course of experiments and
observations, and at no inconsiderable expence,
they gradually introduced an improved system
of husbandry into their estates ; by which means,
they have at last brought them to a high state
of cultivation. In every county or district where
this has taken place, the consequences are visible
and striking. The value of land has encreased a-
mazingly. The tenants are in a thriving condition,
and many of them rising to affluence. It must
be acknowledged, likewise, to the credit of the
B 2

t2 INTRODUCTION.

farmers, that many of them have displayed
much skill and industry in the cultivation of
their farms; and have contributed, in no small de-
gree, to the improvement of practical husbandry.
The effects, however, of these laudable ex-
ertions have been partial and limited* They
have awakeneH the public attention ; they have
thrown much light upon this important subject;
and have done much good in particular coun-
ties and districts. But they have never been
able to diffuse a spirit of industry and improve-
ment generally through the kingdom ; nor to
establish a system of agriculture upon principles
capable of univeifal application.

When thefe circumstances are considert d, we
cannot wonder that the progress of agriculture
has been so slow, and that, in so few instances,
it hath reached to any degree of perfection. If
I am rightly informed, a comparatively small
part of the kingdom can boast of a complete
state of cultivation. A very large proportion,
though in a progressive state of improvement,
is still, by many degrees, short of perfection.
And vast tracts of land, capable of cultivation,
still remain in a state of nature, or under a
course of management little superior to what
existed some centuries ago.

The period, however, is now arrived, when
the eyes of the nation seem to be opened ; and
a taste and spirit for agricultural improvement,
which, for some time, have been advancing with
slow laborious steps, are now beginning to ope-
rate with a vigour and to an. extent hitherto
unknown. By the persevering efforts of a patri-
otic individual, a BOARD of AGRICULTURE has

INTRODUCTION. 1 3

been established, for the purposes of collecting
information respecting the present state of hus-
bandry through the nation ; of rousing and
spreading a sp rit of industry among the people;
and of devising and employing the most effec-
tual means of accelerating arid bringing to per-
fec'ion the cultivation of the soil in every part
of Great Britain.

Frcm such an institution, patronized by our
Gracious Sovereign, sanctioned by the autho-
rity of Parliament, and under the management
of the first names in the kingdom, we are war-
ranted to prognosticate the happiest effects*
Every friend to his country must anticipate,
with joy, a period not very remote, when the
nation at large shall present to the ravisi.ed eye
a prospect rich and beautiful beyond descrip-
tion- Elegant buildings— regular inclosures —
luxuriant cnops of every kind of grain — innu-
merable herds of cattle feeding at ease on the
richest pasture — snowy flocks ranging the ver-
dant hills — barren tracks, formerly bleak and
dreary, now covered with thriving plantations
— whilst the chearful faces of a happy peasantry,
and the inceflant bustle of active industry, vary
and enliven the delightful scene. Posterity will
mark the present, as an important xra. in the
history of their country, and will remember,
with pious gratitude, those venerable ancestors
who have transmitted to them, not only the
best system of government, but also the com-
pletest system of agriculture, and a territory
improved and enriched by their skilful and la-
borious exertions.

14 ' INTRODUCTION",

Deeply impressed with these views, and feel-
ing a strong inclination to contribute, as far as
lies in my power, to the success of so noble -a
design, I was induced, in compliance with the
repeated solicitations of the late President of the
Board of Agriculture, to undertake the task of
drawing up the Agricultural Survey of the Coun-
ty of Fife. How far I have done justice to the
subject must be left to others to determine.
Notwithstanding my best endeavours to render
the performance as correct as possible, I am
sensible that it labours under many defects, and
that it will have occasion frequently to appeal
to the candour and indulgence of the public.
Facts I have stated, partly from my own know-
ledge, but principally from the communications of
others, whose acquaintance with the state of the
county was more intimate and extensive than
mine could possibly be. The observations in-
terspersed through the work, relative to differ-
ent points in husbandry, are partly the, result of
experience, and partly hazarded as matters of o-
pinion, which may be adopted or rejected as
they shall appear to be well or ill founded.
Many errors and mistakes will, I doubt not, oc-
cur to the intelligent reader ; but I flatter my-
self, that these will be found to be neither so nu-
merous, nor of such magnitude, as materially to
affect the conclusions aimed at, as the great and
ultimate object of the present agricultural inves-
tigations.

( '5 )
AGI CULTURAL SURVEY

OF THE

COUNTY OF FIFE.

CHAPTER I.

Geographical State and Circumstances.

SECTION I.
SITUATION AND EXTEND.

JL HE county of Fife is situated on the south-
east corner of the middle peninsula of Scotland,
and lies between 56° 3' and 56° 25' of N. Lat. and
between 2° and 2° 56' of W. Long, from Green-
wich. It is bounded on the south by the Frith
of Forth ; on the east by the German Ocean ;
and on the north by the River Tay. On the
west, it is deeply indented by the county of Kin-
ross, along the north and south borders of which
it stretches westward, till it meets with the shire
of Perth. In one point it touches Clackmanan-
shire. From the unevenness of its western
boundary, and from the deep impressions made
in many places by the surrounding waters, it as-
sumes rather an irregular form. By the exact-
est calculation that can be made, its medium

l6 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF Chap. L

length, from east to west, may be 36 miles ;
and its medium breadth, from north to south,
14 miles : and, therefore, the whole contents
will amount to 504 square miles, or 256,970
Scots acres, equal to 322,560 acres, English
measure.

Four-fifths of the county, nearly, may be con-
sidered as arable. The other fifth consists of
hill, moss, moor, roads, and woods, and is, therer
fore, either altogether inaccessible to the plough,
or incapable of improvement by tillage, with a-
ny prospect of advantage.

DURING the existence of the Pictish Govern-
ment, this County seems to have formed a part
of that large district of country, bounded on the
north and south by the Tay and the Forth, and
extending from the foot of the Ochil hills, to
the German Ocean, which, on account of its
almost insular situation, was, in these ancient
times, called Ross. This word, in the Gothic or
Pictish language, signifies a peninsula. Hence
Kinross, or Keanross, as it was formerly spelled,
signifies the head of the peninsula ; Culross, the
back of the peninsula ; and Muck ross, the old
name for Fife-ness, the point, or snout of the
peninsula. By this general name it continued
to be called, until, in later times, as Buchanan
informs us, u Reliquum agri ad Fortham usque,
ainbitio, in varias prefectures dissecuit, Clack-
mananam, Culrossianam, et Kinrossianam."
The last of these, about the year 1426, was di-
vided into the two counties of Fife and Kinross :
-and at the Revolution, Kinross being thought
too small a county, as it then stood, was enlarg-
ed by the addition of Orwell, Cleish, and Tilli-

sect. II. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. IJ

bole ; which parishes, before that period, had
belonged to the county of Fife. But though
these are now two discinct counties, and are se-
parately represented in Parliament, they are both
comprehended in the sherifFdoni of Fife.

SE C T. II, D / VISIONS.

A COUNTRY may be divided, either by those
discriminating marks, which the hand of nature
hath fixed, or by those ecclesiastical and politi-
cal arrangements, which public authority may
think proper to establish. The county of Fife
is divided into two parts by that tract of high
ground, which comprehends the Lomond hills
on the west, and from thence stretches eastward
almost in a direct line, till it approach within a
few miles of the sea. The two rivers of Eden
and Leven throw the county into three divi-
sions. The northern division, between the
Eden and the Tay ; the middle division, be-
tween the Eden and the Leven ; and the south-
ern division, between the Leven and the Frith
of Forth.

In respect of ecclesiastical and political arrange-
ment, the county is divided into sixty one pa-
rishes, which are distributed into four presby-
teries, namely, the presbyteries of St Andrew's,
Cupar,Kirkaldy, and Dunfermline, so called from
the names of the places where they are appoint-
ed to meet. Of these four presbyteries, the pro-
vincial synod of Fife is composed, which ordi-
narily meets at Cupar and Kirkaldy alternately,
and at St Andrew's and Duafennline occasion-
G

1 8 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF ckap. 7,

ally. It is to be observed, however, that the
presbytery of Dunfermline, besides the parishes
belonging to the county of Fife, includes the
parishes of Kinross, Cleish and Orwell, which
are within the bounds of Kinross-shire, and
Culross in the county of Perth. And Port-
moak, though in the county of Kinross, is joined
to the presbytery of Kirkaldy.

The two counties of Fife and Kinross, as has
been already said, are subject to the jurisdiction
of one sheriff-depute, who has two substitutes,
one for Fife, and another for Kinross.

The county has also been divided into four
districts for regulating the police, and transact-
ing county business, with greater convenience
and dispatch, called by the same names, and
comprehending the fame parishes, with the four
presbyteries above mentioned. The proceed-
ings of the district meetings are reported to the
general meeting of the gentlemen, which is an-
nually held at Cupar, the head burgh of the
county. Within these several districts, Justice-
of-Peace-courts are held, when necessary, whose
decisions are subject to the review of the Quar-
ter Sessions. In different parts of the county,
courts have likewise been established for the re-
covery of small debts ; the benefit of which is,
every day, more and more sensibly felt, in re-
spect both of the equity of their decisions, the
dispatch of business, and the smallness of the
expence and trouble to which parties are ex-
posed.

feet. III. THE COUNTY OF FIFE.

SECT. III. CLIMATE.

THE climate of Fife is, in general, much
inilder and more temperate, than might have
been expected from its high northern latitude —
milder, indeed, and more friendly to vegetation,
than many parts of the island that are placed in
a more southern situation.

The degrees of heat and cold are not always
in proportion to the latitude of the place ; but
are, frequently, and to a considerable degree,
influenced by the elevation of the country, the
quality of the soil, and its state of improvement ;
its relative situation, and the natural or artifi-
cial shelter which it enjoys. By these circum-
stances the climate of Fife, as well as of other
countries, is very evidently affected and diver-
sified.

In that part of the county which stretched
along the Frith of Forth, and which is not
greatly elevated above the level of the sear well
cultivated and improved, and tolerably shelter-
ed by inclosures and the numerous plantations
around the seats of noblemen and gentlemen,
the climate is warm and temperate. Snow sel-
dom lies long ; and in the case of continued
storms, the frost generally disappears a consi-
derable time before it leaves the higher and more
inland parts. In the middle and northern dis-
tricts, where the ground is high and moun-
tainous, the soil is cold, wet, and less improv-
ed ; or, where it is destitute of shelter, the as-
pect is bleak, and the air more cold and pens-
trating.

C 2

2O AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. /.

This county, from its peculiar situation, and
from the almost uniform direction of its hills
and valleys from east to west, is much exposed
to the winds,, which blow from the east, north-
east, and south-east. These winds not only
sweep along the high grounds, but force their
way through the valleys without obstruction ;
so that the whole county, excepting some par-
ticular spots, accidentally favoured by situation,
lies exposed to their assaults. Armed with the
cold of the great northern continent, over which
they pass, and unsoftened by the small extent
of sea they have to cross, they are keener and
colder than the winds from any other quarter ;
and often prove hurtful to vegetation, especially
when the springing grain is yet in the tender
blade. The winds from the south-west are usu-
ally the most weighty and violent ; and some-
times do material injury to the farmer, by
shaking his ripe grain in harvest.

In the spring and beginning of summer, ve-
getation is frequently retarded by alternate frosts
and thaws, which greatly injure the pasture-
grass and hay crops. But our wheat fields, if
the plants keep the ground, are seldom the worse
for being retarded. Hoar frosts frequently hap-
pen as late as the middle of June, and some-
times later. If wheat be in the ear, and in blos-
som, when this takes place, it will infallibly be
more or less subjected to blight, or what is call-
ed mildew : which it generally escapes, if its
growth be checked in the spring.

From the dry bottom, and natural warmth of
the soil, the north division, and the south banks
of the river Eden, have harvest eight or ten-

fCCl. III. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 21

days sooner than the generality of Fife. But,
which shews that this is not owing to climate,
the south division has pasture grass some weeks
earlier and later than the north.

The west and north-west end of the county,
in the neighbourhood of the Lomond and Ochil
hills, as well as the high ridge of the middle
division, being more subject to cold, rain, and
damp fogs, are still later, by eight or ten days,
in all respects, than the rest of the county.

The quantity of rain that has fallen, or the
proportion of dry and rainy weather, in a year,
or in any given number of years, in Fife, has
never, so far as I know, been calculated and as-
certained. But, from the best observations I
have been able to make, the weather, in this re-
spect, is much the same as in the counties in the
immediate neighbourhood. The Lomond hills
on the west, and Largo-Law on the east, may
perhaps occasion more rain, at times, than would
otherwise happen. The passing clouds, attract-
ed and broken by their summits, often pour out
their contents on the adjacent valleys, in every
direction, as they are carried by the winds.
From every quarter we have fair and rainy wea-
ther : but the rains that are brought by the
south-west, the south-east, and the north-east
winds, are the heaviest, the most frequent, and
of the longest continuance. The rains from the
two last mentioned points are, for the most part,
very cold ; and from thence, too, we have the
greatest falls of snow in winter. The driest and
most steady weather comes from the west, north-
west, and east.

22 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. /.

With respect to the general state of the wea-
ther, through the different seasons of the year,
it is unnecessary to be particular.

It is not from the severity of the seasons, from
the quantity7 of rain that falls, or the extremes of
heat and cold, that the husbandman has so much
to fear, as from the inconstancy and variableness
of the weather ; an evil from which no season
of the year is exempted, and which this county
feels in common with the whole island. Sel-
dom do two seasons, of the same tenor, follow
in succession, Even the same week, nay, often
the same day, exhibits sudden and unexpected
changes, which must unavoidably embarrass and
retard the operations of husbandry. The incon-
veniencies, however, arising from this unfavour-
able circumstance, are not so great as to give any
serious check to the efforts of industry, or to pre-
vent, in any material degree, the progress of
agricultural improvement. They may be great-
ly lessened, and, in some cases, altogether pre-
vented, by attention and activity. Extraordina-
ry labour and expence they will, no doubt, fre-
quently occasion : but judicious management,
and persevering exertion, shall ultimately suc-
ceed.

SECT. IT. SOIL AND CLIMATE.

^ THIS county exhibits a great variety of soil,
differing much both in kind and quality — clay,
loam, gravel, sand, moss, and each of these di-
versified according to the proportions in which
they are intermixed and combined. This ac-

feet. IV. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 23

(?ount, however, is only general, and, though
just, has nothing in it peculiar and distinguish-
ing ; as it may apply to almost any county as
well as Fife, and, perhaps, to almost any parish in
Fife as properly as to the whole. A more par-
ticular description will therefore be necessary.

When the county is carefully surveyed, and
examined with a view to ascertain this point,
we find it dividing itself into four tracts or dis-
tricts of ground, clearly marked, and distinguish-
ed from each other, by a general difference of
soil, and by other circumstances affecting its fer-
tility.

Along the Frith of Forth, from the eastern to
the western boundary, the land rises gently, and
has no great elevation above the sea. Here the
soil is, for the most part, of an excellent quali-
ty ; deep rich loam, good clay, and gravel mix-
ed with loamy earth. In many places the soil
lies on rotten rock ; and, when this is the case,
it seldom fails to be dry and remarkably fertile.
About Largolaw, Kinghorn, Burntisland, and
some other places, where the ground is broken
and uneven, swelling abruptly into eminences
or little hills, the soil is deep and rich, not only
in the interjacent valleys, but as far up the hills
and rising grounds as they are accessible to the
plough.

The breadth of this division, from south to
north, is very different, in different places.
From the parish of Leven, as it stretches east-
ward, it gradually expands, till it reaches the
breadth of three miles, and exhibits a beautiful
tract of rich flat land, unequalled, in point of
extent, by any in the county. From the mouth

24 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF clap. /*.

of the Leven to the western boundary of Kir-
kaldy, this tract of good land is very narrow ;
the poor soil approaching within a mile, and, in
some places, within half a mile, of the shore.
Beyond that, towards the west, it grows broad-
er ; and, in the parishes of Inverkeithing, Dun-
fermline, and Torryburn, the breadth is, in ma-
ny places, almost equal to the tract in the eas-
tern extremity just now mentioned^ Here the
ground is more elevated above the level of the
sea than the other, and the surface more une-
ven ; but the soil is equally rich and productive.
The whole of this division produces luxuriant
ciops of all kinds, wheat, barley, beans, oats,
grass, turnip, potatoes, and all these of excellent
quality. In favourable seasons, when the ground
has been well prepared, the crops are exuberant
almost to excess. And, when well inclosed, and
laid out for pasture, the land here brings a high-
er rent than in any part of Great Britain, where
pasture alone is the object.

Between the ideal waving line, which bounds
the district just now mentioned, on the north,
iind the bottom of the high ground south of the
Eden, and from. St Andrews on the east to the
extremity of the county on the west, the quality
of the soil is, in general, greatly inferior. A ve-
ry large proportion is cold poor clay, and very
vret ; and the strata under it, for the most part,
freestone, and closs till Though numbers of
large and small whin-stones are found, almost
every where, on the surface, or mixed with the
*oil, very little whin-rock strata are found under
it- In this district there are extensive tracts of
mossy, moorish, rocky, and barren ground} eU

sect. 17. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 2£

ther altogether incapable of tillage, or incapable
of being brought under the plough with any acU
vantage. The most remarkable tract of this
kind extends from the western limits of the
county, along the north side of the parishes of
Saline, Dunfermline and Beith, and from thence
by Lochgelly, and along the north side of the
parishes of Dysart and Wemyss, till it approach-*
es nearly to the mouth of the Leven. In short,
the high exposure of this large division, its al-
most total want of shelter, the heathy and bar-r
ren moors it contains, and the scanty crops it
produces, render its general aspect bleak and for-
bidding ; and indicate the propriety of applying
it chiefly to the purpose of breeding and rearing
cattle, for which it is much better calculated,
than for raising crops of corn.

But though the quality of the foil be, in ge-
neral, inferior, and in many places extremely
bad, there are many spots of land in this divi-
sion, and these of considerable extent, where the
soil is excellent, and abundantly, productive.
Amongst these may be mentioned the lands on
the east, near the shore, some grounds along the
north of Largo-law, a considerable proportion
of the parish of Ceres, especially in the hollow
around the parish church, and towards the west ;
the lands about Kennoway, and on the south
side of the parish, towards Markinch ; the south
bank of the Leven, from the east as far as Leslie,,
and the north bank, which lies mostly on a whin
rock bottom, as far as Auchmuir bridge : part
of Balingry, Kinglassie and Auchtertool ; and
many other farms and detached spots irregularly
scattered over this district.
D

*

26 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. /„

Besides the places just now mentioned, there
are many thousands of acres, in this division, of
a good soil ; but covered, at present, with bent
and rushes, and short heath, totally lost through
want of shelter, or rendered useless by the super-
abundance of moisture. Were these lands dif-
posed into fields of a proper size, completely
drained, and surrounded and warmed with en-
closures and stripes of planting, they might be
brought, under the hands of skilful and spirited
improvers, to yield good crops either of grain
or grass, and rendered four times, at least, as
valuable as they are at present.

Next to the district last mentioned, and north-
ward, we meet with another, which marks and
distinguishes itself by its situation and the dif-
ference of its soil. It extends from the mouth
of the Eden, along the course of that river on
both sides, till it reaches the shire of Perth.
"From Cupar westwards, it is a low and level
valley, expanding in some places to the breadth
of three or four miles ; and, from its situation
between two ranges of hills, was anciently called
the How of Fife. Along the middle, and on
the south side of this vale, the soil is generally
light, dry, and sandy. On the West, and at the
bottom of the Lomond hills, it inclines to gravel.
On the other side of this valley, as it approaches
the hilly ground on the north, the soil becomes
gradually deeper and stronger, in some places
clay, and in others rich loam ; with the excep-
tion of Eden's moor, which is a thin mossy soil,
with a substratum, in some places, of sand, and
in others, of cold till, and covered with short
heath. From Cupar eastward, the ground rises -y

sect. IF. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 2?

the surface is more unequal ; and the valley
narrower j but widens as it declines and ap-
proaches the sea. Here the soil is, in general,
superior to that of the western part of the strath.
In some places we meet with a thin, wet soil,
upon a cold tilly bottom : but the greatest pro-
portion consists of loam partly deep and moist,
and partly light and dry ; and in some places a
rich friable clay on a bottom of dead sand. Near
the mouth of the Eden, and on both sides of
the river, there is an extensive tract of rich
ground, gradually rising from the sea, and bound-
ed by the surrounding hills in the form of an
amphitheatre, the fertility of which, and the
quality of the grain it produces, are exceeded,
perhaps, by no other pait of the county.

From the bottom of the hills bounding the
valley just now described, on the north, to the
river Tay, the land is, almost every where, found
to have a whin rock bottom : all the hills are
whin rock, and all the stones, in or upon the
surface, are of the same kind. These hills are
a continuation of the Ochil hills, and their ele-
vation above the sea is considerable. But not-
withstanding this, the soil is in general excel-
lent ; and, except on the very tops of the hills, t
where it is thin and exposed, scarcely inferior
to any in Fife. When viewed at a distance, this
district, from the number of barren rocks* and
the quantity of short ill-thriven furze which
cover the summits, and, in many places, the
sides of the hills, assumes rather a gloomy and
barren aspect, and affords no favourable ideas
of its fertility. But, upon a nearer inspection,
we are agreeably disappointed. The sloping
D 2

28 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY tfF chap. /.

ground, upon the south side of these hills, from
the western boundary to the extremity on the
east, is rich clay, loam, and gravel. On the
north side, along the Tay, the soil is nearly of
the same quality ; only in some places the clay
is heavier and stronger, and in others, the
ground inclines to be wet, from a clayey or
tilly bottom. The lands around the old abbey
of Lindores, and some other flat ground on the
edge of the river, are rich carse lands, equal,
perhaps, to any in the kingdom.

In the middle of this district, the high ground
on the west side of the road that leads from
Auchtermuchty to Newburgh, contains no great
proportion of good arable land. But on the
cast, we meet with a rich extensive valley,
commencing at the Loch of Lindores, in the
parish of Abdie, and winding along eastward,
in different directions, and with various lateral
openings, till it reaches the extremity of the
county. Here the soil is light loam ; gravel ;
in some places, clay ; and in others swampy,
and overrun with rushes, from the want of
draining. The soil on the acclivities of the
hills, on either side, to the very summits, is
nearly the same, but in general deeper, richer,
and more productive. On the eastern part of
this district, \vhere the hills gradually decline,'
and sink down to the level of the sea, there is
much excellent land, especially in the parish of
Leuchars, and seemingly under the best ma-
nagement. At the same time, we find here
large tracts of flat, benty, and light, sandy soil,
lying upon the shore ; which, — from its natural
poverty ; its inability to relieve itself from the

SCtt. If. THE COtfNTY OF FlF£. 29

superabundant moisture it receives in winter, or
in rainy seasons ; and the danger of having the
covering mould blown off the new sown grain,
by high winds, in dry springs, — is incapable of
much improvement, and must ever continue of
small value.

To what has been said respecting the soil of
this division of Fife, it may be proper to add,
that though the crops produced here may not
be so luxuriant as those on the south side of
the county, the quality of the grain, particular-
ly of the wheat and barley, is thought superior,
and brings a higher price at market.

Before I leave this part of the subject, it may
be proper to take notice of the links ^ or sand-
banks which skirt the south and east coasts of
the county. These, though of great extent, are
of little value. The continental soil being bu-
ried under drifted sand, to the depth, often, of
several feet, they afford only a coarse and scan-
ty pasture. But though they have no natural
beauties to boast of, they are nevertheless high*
ly ornamental to the county, by the manufac-
turing towns and thriving villages with which
they are crowded. And though, by their na-
tural produce, they can add little to the gene-
ral stock, they encourage the culture of the
more fertile soils, by the constant demands of
their numerous inhabitants.

The description, which we have given of the
soil, will serve to convey some idea of the sur-
face. It may be sufficient, therefore, to ob-
serve, that in surveying it at large, the eye is
not fatigued with the prospect of an unvaried
plain, where there is no variety of objects te

30 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. I*

arrest, and entertain it; nor disgusted by a
group of barren hills confusedly huddled toge-
ther ; but entertained by a pleasing variety of
mountains and valleys, hills and dales, gentle
swellings and depressions of the ground, in
every direction and in every degree. The Lo-
mond hills, on the west, and Largo Law, on
the east, are equally remarkable for their height,
their verdure, and their form ; whilst the Nor-
man Law, on the north, rises with gloomy ma-
jesty above his surrounding hills. A great
number of noblemen's and gentlemen's seats
appear in the midst of aged plantations, exten-
sive pleasure-grounds, and large enclosures, dis-
posed with taste and elegance ; whilst the sce-
nery, in a variety of instances, is enriched with
deep romantic glens, where the trees and copse-
wood, bending, in thick confusion, from the
rocky precipice on either side, conceal from the
eye the stream that murmurs below. The
whole county, almost, is surrounded with
flourishing sea-port towns, whilst the inland
parts are beautified with numerous thriving vil-
lages, farm-houses, and cottages, marked and
distinguished each by its little clump of trees.
These are objects highly pleasing, because they
suggest the idea of population, industry, and
affluence.

In this survey, the eye would gladly pass
over those tracts of land, which are yet almost
in a state of nature, unsheltered from the storm,
covered with rocks or heath, and drenched or
drowned with water. But they are too exten-
sive to be overlooked. May the Genius of A-
griculturc soon visit these neglected lands, an<2

sect. ?. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 31

turn the barren deserts into fruitful fields!
From these unsightly scenes we turn aWay, and
feel relief from the view of those numerous and
extensive fields of rich and cultivated ground,
which give beauty and opulence to the county,
and where industry and skill are exerting tlvnr
united powers, with success, in carrying for-
ward the improvement of the soil.

SECT. -V. MINERALS AND FOSSILS.

FEW counties in Scotland can furnish such an
abundant supply of both coal and lime as the
county of Fife. From the Forth almost to the
Eden, these minerals are to be found in a great
variety of places, and of the best quality. As
the strata, however, particularly of the coal, vary
much, in their dippings and bearings, as they re-
cede from the shore, it may be proper, in the ac-
count to be given of them, to attend to this dis-
tinction.

On the south side of the county, along the
Frith of Forth, the strata are generally regular,
dip to the east and south-east, and trend into the
sea, on the one hand, and a short way towards
the north-east, on the other ; the strata being
uniformly cut off before they reach the higher
ground, and not extending above two or three
miles from the shore. In this district, on the
western boundary, we find the coal of Tory-
burn ; and at Limekills, about three miles fur-
ther east, the lime-works belonging to the Earl
of Elgin, the greatest, and most extensive, per-
haps, in Scotland. About Inverkeithing, the

32 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF dap. I.

whin rock strata prevail, and there neither coal
nor lime are found near the shore. At Dalachy,
near Aberdour, there is a lime-stone of excellent
quality belonging to the Earl of Morton. In
the parish of Burntisland, there are inexhausti-
ble quarries of lime-stone, which is exported to
Carron and other places, in great quantities, —
But between this and the west end of Kirkaldy,
the whin rock again intervenes, and neither coal
nor lime appears, except in the east of King-
horn, where lime is found at Abden, within sea
mark, and at Innertiel, about half a mile west of
Kirkaldy. In the lime-rock last mentioned,
though elevated at least 50 feet above the sea
at high water, a prodigious quantity of sea-shells
are found incorporated with the solid mass.
From this circumstance it is presumeable, that
the calcareous matter forming the rock must
have been, at some remote period, in a fluid
state ; and that these similar strata must have
been formed by the agency of water, and not
by fire, as some theorists alledge ; for if fire had
been the agent, all these shells must have been
calcined, and their original form entirely de*
stroyed.

In the parishes of Abbotshall and Kirkaldy, a
few seams of coal are found within a mile of the
shore ; but none of them are wrought at present.
In the parish of Dysart, there is a large and ex-?
tensive bed of coal, the property of Sir James
Sinclair Erskine, stretching from the sea to the
water of Orr. The part of this coal, that is just
now working, is eighteen feet thick, divided in-
to three seams by two thin strata of till. It was
discovered and wrought above 300 years

. ?. THE COUNTY OF FIF£. ^J

and is remarkable for having been frequently ori
fire. Oil the estate of General Wemyss, there
are two coallieries, the one at West Wemyss, and
the other at Methel, of considerable extent, and
of excellent quality. Farther east, \ve meet with
l)urie coal, in the parish of Scoonie, belonging
to Mr Christie of Durie ; and Lunden coal, in
the parish of Largo, the property of Sir William
Erskine. The next coal found upon the coast
is at Pittenweem, the property of Sir Philip An-
struther. Some seams of coarl have been disco-
vered at Kilreimie, but not of such value as to
be wrought with advantage. In the parish of
Crail the substratum is whin-rock, and there nei-
ther coal nor lime is to be expected.

The next tract of coal metals upon the north
of that which has just now been mentioned, lies
generally at the distance of two, three, or four
miles from the sea, and in ground considerably
elevated. Here the coal, and all the other strata,
lie quite differently from those on the shore ;
the dip being almost uniformly north or north-
east ; and the bearing from east to west, or frorri
south-east to north-west, with, perhaps, some
few exceptions. On this tract, and of this de-
scription, are the coal of Annfield, in the parish
of Toryburn ; of Pttferrane, the property of Sir
Charles Halket ; PlttencriefF, Batherwic, Cham-
berfield and Halbeath, in the parish of Dun-
fer inline ; of Fordel and Cuttlehill, in the parish
of Dalgety ; Lochgellie, Dundounet, and Clunie,
in Auchterderran ; of Bogie, in Abbotshall ; of
Leslie, Balbirnie, and Balgonie, in the parishes
of Leslie and Markinch ; the last of which only
resembles* the metals on the sea-coast, in respect!
E

34 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF- cbap.< t.

of its regularity and bearing. Upon the same
course is the coal at Gilston, part of Lundin
estate ; Fallfield and Largo-ward, belonging to
Mr Durham of Largo ; Lethallen, the property
of Major Lumsden ; and at Kingsmuir in the
parish of Denino, near the eastern extremity of
the county. From the one end of this tract to
the other, limestone quarries are also found of
greater or less extent. In the parishes of Auch-
terderran and Abbot shall, particularly, are the
lime-quarries of Chapel, Gleniston, and Foul-
ford, where a vast quantity of lime rock has
been, and still continues to be wrought.

To the northward of the tract last described,
we meet with the highest grounds in the coun-
ty, stretching from Saline to St Andrews. Here
the surface being exceedingly unequal, some-
times rising into high hills, and then sinking in-
to deep valleys, we find the different strata lying
in all imaginable directions ; and sometimes the
same strata dipping and cropping towards the
opposite points of the compass. In the Saline
hills, both coal and lime are found in various
places. There is a considerable coal-work at
Kelty in the parish of Beith, on the borders of
Kinross- shire. And at East Blair, on the south
side of Binarty hill, there is another coal, near
which is a lime-\\ork belonging to Mr Syme
of Lochorr. Between Binarty and the Lomond
hills, the strata are interrupted and cut off by
the deep valley through which the water of Le-
ven ^fiows. But near the top of the Lomonds,
the lime-stone again appears, of which a regular
bed is found cropping out on the north side of
the west, and on the south side of the east Lo-

. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. %$

mond. Near the bottom, on both the north and
south sides of the hill, there is an extensive bed
of coal, but too thin to be wrought with' advan-
tage. At Forthar, in the parish of Kettle, there
is a very valuable and extensive lime-quarry,
where a considerable quantity of stone has been
burnt annually for many years past. The lime
is of excellent quality, and brings a higher price,
I believe, than any other in the county. From this,
all along to the eastern boundary, great quanti-
ties of coal and lime rock are to be found in dif-
ferent places, which it is unnecessary to enu-
merate. But, from the irregularities of the sur-
face, and the frequent breaks and interruptions
of the strata, only a few of these are either va-
luable or extensive.

From the south of Eden's vale at the bottom
of the high ground, over which we have just
now passed, northward to the River Tay, nei-
ther coal nor lime are to be found ; nor does
there appear the least vestige of those metals that
usually accompany coal. The want of these
necessary articles is a great disadvantage to the
inhabitants of that district, as they must be sup-
plied at a great expence, either by water, or by
a long land carriage.

Considerable quantities of iron- stone are to be
found in different parts of the county. This mi-
neral is a constant attendant on coal : and, there-
fore, wherever there is coal, there iron-stone is
to be got. In general, however, the beds of
stone are so thin, or the quality so poor, or the
distance from a sea-port so great, that the ex-
pence of working it would far exceed the price
it would hring.

£2

36 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. T.

In several places, however, the beds of iron-
stone have been found of such a thickness, ex-
tent, and quality, as to render the working of
them a* profitable object. Near Dysart, upon Sir
James Sinclair Erskine's, estate, there is a field of
excellent iron-stone, which has continued to be
wrought for a number years. Twenty-four men
are employed, who raise annually 2080 tons.
Iron-stone is also raised in the parish of Dun-
fermline. It lies upon Sir Charles Halket's coal,
and is wrought by the tacksman of the coal.
There is, likewise, an extensive bed of this mi-
neral in the lands of Balgonie, belonging to the
Earl of Leven. The stone has been proved hy
different hands, and is found to yield from 33
to 40 per cent. In consequence of a temporary
bargain, a few hands are, at present, employed
in working it for the Carron Company. To give
the proprietor the full benefit of this valuable sub-
ject, the erection of a blast-furnace upon the spot,
for making it into pig-iron, would be the most
effectual plan. There is plenty of coal at hand,
and lime at no great distance, for carrying on the
operation.

Freestone, another very valuable and useful
mineral, is to be found in abundance, and of the
best quality, in this county. In the whole nor-
thern district, indeed, little freestone is to be
seen. But through the other districts, it is found
in almost every parish, nay, in almost every e-
state of any considerable extent. Its quality is
various ; but a great proportion of it is excellent,
being close, durable, and capable of a fine polish.
In the parish of Burntisland, particularly, there
is a fine freestone-quarry, from which, on ac-
count of its superior quality, and its vicinity to

S€CL r. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 37

the sea, most of the new buildings along the
coast have been supplied with stones for the
hewn-v?ork. In the parish of Strathmiglo there
is an extensive bed of freestone of a dark-red
colour, which not only answers well for build-
ing houses and enclosing ground, but, from the
manner in which the strata are formed and ly,
is peculiarly fitted for pavement, and, when de-
signed for that use, can be wrought with greater
ease and less expence. On the north side of the
Lomond hills, and also in the parish of Dun-
fermline, there are vast rocks of white freestone,
which, from its colour, its durability, and its sus-
ceptibility of a fine polish, is excellent for hearths,
and the jambs and lintels of chimnevs, and for
the corners, and the doors and windows of
houses.

Besides freestone, there is great plenty of
whin-stone, especially in the northern division.
This is a valuable material, and capable of being
applied to many useful purposes, particularly to
the making of roads, inclosing and draining land,
and the building of houses. To this last men-
tioned purpose, a great deal of it is excellently
adapted. It is of a fine colour, is capable of
being neatly dressed, takes firm band, and strong-
ly resists the weather. Houses constructed of
this kind of stone, when the architecture is un-
der the management of masons skilled and prac-
tised in this kind of work, besides strength and
durability, have an elegant and pleasing appear-
ance.

Near Burntislanu, upon the shore, and also
in some other parts of the county, there are
quarries of hard stone, of a dark colour, to be

38 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. A

found, with the peculiar property of resisting
the force of fire. It will endure for many years,
without being wasted or broken, though expos-
ed to the most intense heat. On this account
it is used for the soles of ovens, and for the sides
of chimney grates.

In the Lomond hills, it is believed that there
are both lead and copper. The existence of th'e
former, at least, is certain. A lead mine of rich
ore was discovered many years ago, which at
that time was given up, either through the want
of enterprize, or the want of money to follow
it out. It was again opened, and a second trial
made, at considerable expence, by the present
proprietor. But, jeither through the misma-
nagement of those employed to conduct the
work, or because appearances were not suffi-
ciently favourable to justify the risk, it has been
again relinquished.

Marie, though it cannot be said to abound, is
nevertheless to be met with in several parts of
this county. In the lands of Captain Cheap of
Rossie, there is an extensive and rich bed of
this valuable manure, — the most extensive, per-
haps, of any in Fife. There is marie also in the
estate of Lundin. Some has been discovered
and wrought in General Wemyss's grounds ;
and in the estate of Balbirnie, there is a consi-
derable, though not extensive bed of shell marie,
which has never yet been used. In the bottom
and around the edge of Kinghorn loch, also,
marie has been found. In summer 1 796, which
was a very dry season, a considerable quantity
was taken out by the different proprietors around
the loch. On the farm of Balbedy, I have been

fCCt. VI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 39-

told, marie is so plenty, and so near the surface,
that the wheels of carts often turn it up as they
pass along ; and yet the farmer, either from in-
dolence, or through ignorance of its value, has
never thought of applying it as a manure to his
grounds.

Besides clay of excellent quality for making
house bricks and tyles to any extent, a species
of clay has been found, proper for the purpose
of making fire-bricks. In Durie coal-works,
particularly, it it procured in fuch quantity, a»
to encourage a gentleman to set on foot a ma-
nufacture of fire-bricks, which is doing well j
and the bricks, upon trial, are found completely
to answer the purpose.

SECT. VI. WATER.

THE streams in Fife are so inconsiderable",
that though they are sometimes called rivers,
none of them are properly entitled to be de-
signed, by that name. The largest are usually
styled waters, and the smaller streams, brooks,
or burns — the water of Leven, for instance, and
Pitmilly burn. The following are the principal
waters :

I//, The Orr, which issues from a loch or
lake of that name in the parish of Balingry.
About a mile below the loch, it is joined by a
stream from Lochfittie ; and farther down, by
another from Lochgellie, and, at last loses itself
in the water of Leven, about half a mile above
Cameron bridge. Upon this water there are
six corn mills, two fulling mills, two lint mills,

40 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF thap. I*

one flour mill, and one coal-engine. Lochorr
has been lately drained by the proprietor ; by
which means he has added above a hundred
acres of land to his estate. But while the pro-
prietor of the loch has been a gainer, the pro-
prietors of the mills have been materially injur-
ed by the drainage. The loch was originally a
natural reservoir, in which the water was col-
lected, and from which a regular and sufficient
supply was furnished at all seasons. But now,
that the dam is removed, and the water allowed
to run ofF as it gathers, the mills, in a long
course of dry weather, are but scantily supplied,
and must occasionally stop. Besides, the haughs.
and lo\v grounds, upon the banks of the water,
ure liable to be overflowed and injured, in time
of floods or great falls of rain ; there being no-
thing now to prevent their running oft' as they
are collected.

This water, issuing from mossy ground, and
in its course being mixed with coal -water, has
never been used for the purpose of bleaching.
Trout, pike, perch, and eels are to be found in
it, but no salmon.

2^/, Locbty^ which rises out of Boglochty,
in the parish of Balingry, runs upon flat ground
through the parish of Kinglassie, and falls into
the Orr, about half a mile below the road that
leads from Kirkaldy to\ the New-Inn. This is
a small stream, except in rainy weather. Fish
the same as in the Orr. Only one lint-mill upon
it.

3<y, The Lcven, which issues from the cele-
brated Loch-Leven, in Kinross-shire, and from
which, it takes its name. This water runs east-

sect. III. THE COUNTY OF FIFE* 4!

ward through a beautiful strath, by Leslie, Bal-
gonie, and Balfour, and empties itself into the
Frith of Forth at the town of Leven. In iti
course it is joined by the water of Lothrie a
little below the village of Leslie ; by the Orr^
as was said,- half a mile above Cameron bridge;
and a little farther down, by a burn or brook,
which descends from the Lomond-hills, and runs
through a valley in Markinch, a little towards
the north. From its rise to the sea, it has a
course of eleven or twelve miles. It is a clear,
constant, and weighty stream, and, from the de-
clivity of its channel, is, in many places, rapid; of
quantity and force sufficient to drive machinery
of almost any magnitude. There are, upon this
water, seven bleachfields, two large cotton-mills,
three mills for spinning flax, twelve corn-mills,
three fulling-mills, seven lint-mills, two flour-
mills, four barley-mills, one mill for manufac-
turing lintseed oil, and three coal-engines. Be-
sides the stations already occupied, there are
many others equally convenient for erections of
the same kind, and where a constant and plen-
tiful supply of water can be had at all seasons
of the year. This water abounds with excellent
salmon and trout, and some pikes and eel&
Where it falls into the sea, there is a consider-
able salmon-fishery, the property of which be-
longs to Mr Christie of Durie*

4/j&, The water of Eden, which is formed by
the confluence of several small streams in the
parish of Strathmiglo, winds its way slowly^
through a level valley, passes the town of Cu-
par, and loses itself in the German Ocean a
little below the Guard-bridge. This water \9

F

42 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. /.

encreased by tlie accession of several small
streams that descend from the high grounds on
either side, and has a course of about eighteen
miles. Formerly, from its having little descent,
and from its frequent and sharp turnings, it
very often overflowed its banks, and did consi-
derable damage to the ground on either side,
by washing away the soil. But some of the
proprietors, through whose lands it runs, have
now partly remedied this evil, by straighting
and deepening its channel. Mr Johnston of
Lathrisk, in particular, so far as he was con-
cerned, spared no- labour or expence in order
to render the work as complete and effectual as
possible ; and his operations have been equally
successful and advantageous to his estate. He
caused a spacious canal to be made for the wa-
ter, twelve feet wide at the bottom, and thirty
feet at the top, secured, on the sides, by em-
bankments and hedges, which include a space
of seventy feet in breadth ; so that, in time of
a flood, there is sufficient space for containing
the water, and preventing its overflowing and
damaging the adjacent grounds. Upon this
water there are some mills, and a bleachfield
near Cupar. It abounds with excellent red and
white trout, pikes, and eels : and there is a sal-
mon-fishing at its mouth near the sea.

Besides the waters just now mentioned, there
are a great many smaller streams, upon which
mills for corn, flax, &c. have been erected j
and springs of good water are so numerous,
that, upon a judicious inclosing of the grounds,
there would be few fields of any considerable
extent without a sufficient supply.

feet. III. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 43

Under this article, it may be proper to take
notice of the lochs or lakes with which the
county abounds, and which add greatly to its
beauty. To enumerate the whole would be
unnecessary ; but the following deserve par'dcu-
lar notice.

The Loch of Lindores^ in the parish of Abdie,
is a beautiful sheet of water, nearly a mile in
length, and of unequal breadth. It abounds
with pike and perch, and is much frequented
by wild ducks and other kinds of water fowl.
Colonel Simson of Pitcorthie is the proprietor,
and politely allows the privilege of fishing and
shooting upon it, to such of the neighbouring
gentlemen as are fond of these amusements.
The situation of this loch, too, in relation to the
surrounding scenery, contributes much to its na-
tural beauty. The small wood of Wood-mill,
just shewing its northern extremity on the S. \V.
of the lake ; the manse, church, and church-yard
of Abdie standing solitary on the west ; and the
ruinous mansion-house of old Lindores, with the
trees surrounding it, on the north, form a most
picturesque view, and have a fine effecl:.. Kil~
conquhar loch lies on the boundary that divides
the parish of Kilconquhar from th.e parish of
Elie, is nearly of a circular form, and may be
about two miles in circumference. It is not re-
markable for its fish ; pike and eels being the
principal kinds found in it. But being situated
in the midst of a fertile country, between the
large plantations and enclosures around Ely
house, on the one hand, and Kilconquhar on
the other, it becomes an interesting object, giv-
ing richness and variety to the prospect, and

£ 2

44 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Z.

heightening all the other beauties of the place.
Kinghorn loch lies on the north side of the town
of Kinghorn, and, though not large, is a fine ob-
ject upon the edge of the road that leads from
Kirkaldy to the Queensferry. It forms a natu-
ral reservoir, from which the cotton and flax
machinery at Kinghorn is supplied with water.
In the parish of A'uchterderran there are two
lakes of considerable size, viz. Locbgcllie and
Camilla loch^ the former about 3 miles, and the
latter about 2 miles, in circumference. And
farther weft, in the parish of Beith, we meet
with Locbfittie^ of an oblong figure, and of
equal extent with either of the two last men-
tioned. These three lochs being situated in the
most uncultivated, perhaps, and least sheltered
parts of the county, may be considered as natu-
ral beauties, which arrest the eye of the travel-
ler, and afford him a momentary amusement
under the vexations of wretched roads, and the
inhospitable appearance of the country through
which he is passing. To those already men-
tioned we shall only add the small loch at O/-
ierston, in the parish of Dalgety, about a mile
from the shore, which, from its situation, is uni-
versally admired. On its banks stand three
gentlemens houses, two of which are still inha-
bited ; and it is so surrounded with rising ground
and trees, as to furnish a pleasing miniature
scene.

To what has been said upon this article I
shall only. add, that besides the great abundance
of wholesome fresh water with which the coun-
ty is supplied from itself, it enjoys the benefit

sect. n. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 45

of an extensive sea-coast, a circumstance which
not only contributes to diversify and enliven its
general appearance, but must prove a source of
many substantial advantages, which* a more in-
land district cannot enjoy.

( 47 )

CHAPTER II.

State of Property.

SECTION I.

ESTATES^ AND THEIR MANAGEMENT.

PROPERTY, in the county of Fife, is, perhaps,
more equally divided, and, in proportion to its
value and extent, distributed among a greater
number of proprietors, than in any other county
in Scotland. Here we find no overgrown e-
states, such as are frequently to be met with in
other parts of the kingdom, the proprietors of
which, exalted so far above the rest by their
princely fortunes, and perhaps by the splendors
also of hereditary honours, think themselves
entitled to take the lead in all public business,
and, by the influence usually attendant on rank
and opulence, seldom fail to secure to them-
selves the full power of directing all the politi-
cal affairs of their respective counties. In Fife
a large proportion of the estates run between
400 1. and 3000 1. per annum. From 3000 1.
to 6000 1. there are only a few ; and only one,
I believe, amounts to Soool. From 400!. down
to 30 1. or 40 1. per annum, there are a great
number of proprietors, who pay cess and other
public burdens, and consequently rank as heri-
tors ; and, although of inferior fortunes, are ge-
nerally men of most respectable characters >

Sect I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 47

This extensive distribution of property is at-
tended with the happiest effects. The nobility,
in point of fortune, are equalled, and in some
instances exceeded, by many of the commoners.
But influence, derived from superiority of rank,
unsupported by a corresponding superiority of
fortune, can never be very extensive or danger-
ous. Accordingly, in their interference in the
public and political business of the county, their
good sense never allows them to overstep the
bounds of their order, and in no instance do
they discover any inclination to arrogate to
themselves powers, which are the common right
of the proprietors at large. On the other hand,
the gentry, feeling their own consequence, as
men of opulence and respectability, act, upon
all occasions, with a becoming spirit of inde-
pendence. Hence it happens that the noble-
men and gentlemen in Fife live on the most
friendly and intimate terms ; and all county bu-
siness is conducted with the greatest harmony
and ease, alike undisturbed by the insolence of
family pride, or the mean jealousy of inferior
rank, the violence of party-spirit, or the dis-
graceful artifices of political intrigue.

The number of heritors liable in cess is up-
wards of 1 200 : about 400 of these are entitled
to be commissioners of supply. Of the pro-
prietors, the following hold the first rank.

Noblemen.

The Marquis of Tweedalc The Earl of Morton

The Marquis of Titchfield The Earl of Murray

The Earl of Craufurd The Earl of Kellv

The Countess of Rothes The Earl of Elgin

48 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. II.

The Earl of Leven and Mel- The Earl of Hopetoun

ville Lord Dundas

The Earl of Balcarras Lord Minto.

Baronets.

Sir John Henderson Sir Philip Anstruther

Sir James St Clair Erskine Sir Robert Anstruther
Sir Charles Halket. Sir William Erskine.

Besides the noblemen and baronets above*
mentioned, there is a great number of proprie-
tors, who, though of inferior rank, are of high
respectability, distinguished by the antiquity of
their families or the opulence of their fortunes,
and many of them by both.

transference of Property. The transference
of property, by sale, or otherwise, in this coun-
ty, during the present century, has not been re-
markably extensive. Some estates, indeed, have
entirely changed their -owners ; and parts of
estates have either been sold or gratuitously a-
lienated, by which others have been enlarged,
or new proprietors created. But the great body
of the proprietors hold the lands, either in whole
or in part, that have beer in their families for a
century back; and not a few continue to enjoy
the estates that were in the possession of their
ancestors several hundreds of years ago.

Valuation of the County. As far back as the
reign of Alexander III., a general valuation of
the lands in Scotland was made, for the purpose
both of regulating the proportion of public sub-
sidies, and of ascertaining the amount of non-
entry and relief-duties payable to the superior.
In process of time, however, this valuation was
deemed too low a standard for the superior's-

J-PC/. /. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 49

casualties ; and, therefore, in the reign of James
III., they were fixed by the then value of the
lands. The former was called the old, and the
latter the new, extent. But though the relief
duties were henceforth regulated by the new ex-
tent, the public subsidies continued to be levied
by the old extent, till the time of Oliver Crom-
well, when, by several acts of Parliament, a tax
was laid upon the lands by new proportions.
These proportion were fixed by Parliament in
the year 1656 ; and the sums to which each
county was subjected, were subdivided among
the individual landholders, according to the va-
luations already settled, or that should be settled
by the commissioners appointed for that pur-
pose. The rent, fixed by these valuations, is
commonly called the rained rent, according to
which the land-tax, and most of the other pu-
blic burdens, have, ever since, been levied.

The whole valuation of the county of Fife,
by the old extent, amounted to '347!. ios.
Scots. This appears from an inquest held at
Cupar, by* order of the king, in the year 15*7,
by Patrick Lord Lindsay of Byres, Sheriff, and
twenty-four jurors, who divided the county, and
afcertained the valuation of all the estates ac-
cording to the old extent. Without taking no-
tice of the valuation of each estate or portion of
land separately, as detailed in the fcheme, I shall
only mention the sums that fell to the share of
each of the, quarters into which the county was
divided :

50 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. IT.

Scots.

The Quarter of Eden L. 360 10

The Constabulary of Crail - 217 10

The Quarter of Leven - 365 o

The Quarter of Inverkeithmg - 162 o

The Quarter of Dunfermline - 60 10

The Regality of the Church - 182 o

L. 1347 10

The valued rent, as It now stands, amounts
in whole to 362,584!. 78. 5 d. Scots, propor-
tioned among the different districts in the fol-
lowing manner :

v Scots.

Cupar L. 93,520 6 7

St Andrews 124,832 4 ir

Kirkcaldy 87,780 6 i

Dunfermline 56,451 9 10

L. 362,584 7 5

The valuation of Fife is higher than that of
any other county of Scotland. The valued rent
of the whole kingdom is stated at 3,872,600!.
Scots, of which the valuation of this county is
nearly three thirty-two parts, and consequently
above three times the average of the other coun-
ties.

The proportion between the real and valued
rent cannot be easily or accurately ascertained.
Proprietors are unwilling to make the rentals of
their estates public. Besides, many of them
have considerable portions of their lands in their

sect. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE, 5!

own possession, either as farms or as pleasure-
grounds. Most of the small heritors farm their
own estates ; and in the hands of the oH feuars
there is a considerable quantity of land, of wlvch
the yearly feu-duty, drawn by the superiors, is
a mere trifle. But, supposing the whole lands
in the county, fit for tillage and pasture, which
amounts to about 230,000 acres, were to be let
just now in lease, the gross yearly rent might
be computed at 212,000!. According to this
calculation, the annual average rent per acre is
1 8 s. 6 d., and the real rent is to the valued rent
in the proportion of 61. of the former to lol.
5 s. Scots of the latter. This calculation, how-
ever, is certainly too high for the lands, at pre-
sent actually under lease, the average of which
may not exceed 1 7 s. 6 d.

Land^T ax. — The whole land-tax payable from
this county amounts to 3275!. 195. Sterling;
and the cess paid by the royal burghs is

Entails. — Tailzie, or entail, though sometimes
used to denote simple destination, is chiefly used
to signify the settlement of a land estate upon a
long series of heirs substituted, in succession, to
one another, containing prohibitory and irritant
clauses, which prelude any of the heirs from
alienating the estate by debt or deed, in preju-
dice of the substitutes specified and fixed by the
deed of entail., What proportion of the land in
Fife is under this kind of destination, it is im-
possible, from any information I have been able
tc procure, exactly to state. It is well known,
however, that a great many estates, and some of
tljese of the first magnitude, are strictly tailzied,
G 2

52 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. IT.

How far this mode of settling the succession
of heritage is wi'se and proper, may deserve con-
sideration. To assume the power of determin-
ing just now, who shall possess the estate 500
years hence, when the present proprietor shall
have as little interest in it, as he had 500 years
ago, has at least the appearance of absurdity.
Perhaps ambition to perpetuate the existence of
a family called by his name, at least for many
generations to come, is the motive.- But is va-
nity a principle of conduct which a virtuous and
dignified mind would wish to adopt or to avow ?
Or, is it his object, in securing to his posterity
the unalienable possession of his lards, that they
may be enabled to support, with greater dignity
and splendor, the titled rank to which he has
raised them ? But is it certain that the possession
of the estate will prevent them from disgracing
the nobility fairly and perhaps hardly won by
the illustrious deeds of a worthy ancestor ?

It merits consideration, also, whether entails
may not be unfriendly and injurious to the pro-
sperity of a great commercial and manufactur-
ing nation. The free circulation of land pro-
perty is a powerful spur to enterprise and exer-
tion ; as by that mean, the merchant or manu-
facturer has it in his power to retire, when he
thinks proper, from a hazardous employment,
and to convert the profits of his successful in-
dustry into a more stable and permanent inhe-
ritance. But were all the estates in the king-
dom guaranteed by entails to the present pro-
prietors and their posterity for ever, this would
be rendered impossible.

sect. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE, 53

Besides its being an unnatural restraint upon
property, it not unfrequentiy puts it in the
power of profligacy and dissipation, to ensnare
the honest tradesmen, who may not be apprised
of the terms upon which his employer holds
his estate.

Entails have often the unhappy effect like-
wise of restraining, within too narrow limits,
the operations of natural affection, and natural
justice, by putting it out of the parent's power
to make a suitable provision for the younger
branches of the family.

Nay, in many instances, they prove a great
bar to the progress of agricultural improvement.
If the proprietor has a large family, when he
finds that he can neither burthen his estate, nor
alienate any part of it, instead of devoting a li-
beral portion of his income to the amelioration
of his lands, the advantages of which must be
ultimately reaped by the heirs of entail, he will
be led to save every shilling in his power for
the education and settlement of his younger
children. Or, if he has no heirs of his own
body, and his estate, agreeably to the nature of
the entail, must pass into the hands of a distant
relation, or of one with whom he has little con-
nexion, and for whom he has as little friendship,
he will be equally indisposed to project and exe-
cute schemes of expensive improvement.

Residence of Proprietors. — A few of the pro-
prietors, whose family seats, and the principal
part of their property, lie in other counties, are
non-resident, and seldom visit Fife. There are
some, likewise, engaged in particular employ-
ments, with the prosecution of which a constant

54 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. IT.

residence upon their own estates, is incompati-
ble. And there are some, who have been led
by matrimonial connections to take up their
abodes in other parts of the world. But a great
majority of the proprietors are constantly or
occasionally resident ; a circumstance highly
favourable to their own private interest, as well
as to the general prosperity of the county to
which they belong.

Management of Estates. — It has been already
observed, that the. small heritors, who are very
numerous, usually farm their own lands, and
many of them have been equally spirited and
successful in their improvements. But the great
landholders let their grounds to husbandmen,
who farm them under lease. Several of the
gentlemen, however, of this description, having
acquired a taste for agriculture and rural em-
ployments, have been in use, for some years
past, to retain a portion of their land, in their
own possession, and, in some instances, to a con-
siderable extent, to be cultivated and improved
under their own direction : This plan has pro-
duced very happy effects. Their judicious and
successful exertions have not only contributed
to their own amusement and advantage, but
have been the means of awakening a spirit of
industry, and improving the knowledge of hus-
bandry, through the county at large.

Most of the principal landholders, and even
some of smaller fortune, whose employments in
life oblige them to be absent, commit the ma-
nagement of their estates to factors, whose pro-
vince it is to let the lands, to receive the rents,
*ind, in general, to transact all business with the

SCCt. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 55

tenants in the name and behalf of the proprie-
tor. This is a charge of very great importance.
The improvement and prosperity of the estate ;
the advantages resulting from it to both land-
lord and tenant ; and that mutual attachment
and good understanding which are so necessary
to the comfort of both, depend,' in a consider-
able degree, on the character and abilities of the
person appointed to this office. A factor ought
to be a man of temper, prudence, and address,
that he may be able to manage the various cha-
racters with which he must be connected, and
to command their respect and confidence. He
ought to have a compet nt knowledge of the'
laws of his country, particularly of those which
have a more immediate connection with the bu-
siness in which he is engaged, and to be well
acquainted with the legal forms, by which his
transactions between landlord and tenant ought
to be regulated. This qualification will enable
him to avoid any irregularities or mistakes in
business, that may lead to vexatious and trouble-
some litigations. It will also give him weight
and influence among the tenants, in settling
their little disputes, and preventing them from
entering into unnecessary law-suits. A factor-
ought likewise to be well acquainted with rural
affairs, — with the nature of soil, the value of
land, and the method of management. In short,
he ought, if possible, to be a practical farmer.
And it would be no small advantage, were he to-
have his residence and his farm upon the estate
wrhich he is employed to manage. Thus qua-
lified, and thus situated, he would be able, on
the one hand, to form, upori every occasion, a

56 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. II.

right judgment of his master's interest, and to
guard him against any unfair advantages that
might be attempted ; and, on the other, to dis-
cern clearly what ought, and wh.at ought not,
to be granted to tenants, both in the original
paction, and in the progress of its fulfilment.
And he would be able also to give sound advice
to the tenants, with respect to the method of
managing their farms, and to ensure a prompt
compliance, by exhibiting, on his own farm,
the successful result of the practice he recom-
mends. I need scarcely add, that strict and in-
flexible integrity is peculiarly requisite in one
entrusted \v ith a business of this kind. With a
view to secure extraordinary favour from his
employer, such a man will not allow himself to
harrass and distress the tenants, by iniquitous
and oppressive exactions ; nor will he be tempt-
ed, by the offer of bribes or favours, to grant
the tenants advantages and indulgences incon-
sistent with justice, and injurious to the land-
lord or his estate. A factor of this character,
and of this character all factors ought to be,
will inspire the tenants with activity and confi-
dence, strengthen their attachment to their mas-
ter, secure a cheerful and punctual payment of
rent, and thus promote the best interests of both
parties.

SECT. II. TENURES.

THE lands in Fife generally hold blench and
feu of the Crown. Blench-holding is that kind
of tenure, by which the vassal is bound to pay

Sect. II. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 57

to the superior an annual elusory duty, such as
a penny Scots, merely as an acknowledgment
of the superiority. Feu-holding, again, is that
by which the vassal is obliged to pay to the su-
perior an yearly rent in money or grain, in the
name of feu-duty. Several of the proprietors,
who hold their lands by this tenure, pay a very
considerable sum annually to the Crown. An-
ciently, a large proportion of the property of
this county held of the clergy, but which now,
since the abolition of Episcopal government,
holds of the Crown, as coming in place of the
bishops. The feu-duties for such lands were
paid, partly in money, and partly in grain.
They still retain the name of Bishop's rents :
but the proportion, formerly paid in grain, is
now paid in -money by the fiars qf the county.
The chief revenue of this kind in Fife arises from
the archbishopric of St Andrew's. A few tene-
ments hold of the Prince, and some of the lands
pay a revenue to the Castle of Edinburgh.

The number of freeholders in Fife, qualified
to vote for the member of Parliament, presently
standing upon the roll, as made up at the last
Michaelmas head-court, amounts to 173.

Besides those who hold immediately of the
Crown, there is a great number of heritors, and
many of these of considerable property, who
hold their lands of a subject-superior, and of
course have no voice in the election of the mem-
ber of Parliament. There is also another class
of proprietors, who pass under the general de-
signation of feuars, holding of individual pro-
prietors, and subject generally to a small duty,
or quit rent. Exempted from the payment of
H

$8 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. IT.

cess, and all public burdens, except such as they
are subjected to in common with the inhabitants
at large, they cannot rank as heritors, and are
excluded from all concern in the management
of county business. This class is very nume-
rous, and their number has of late greatly en-
creased. Within the last ten or twelve years, a
considerable quantity of land has been feued to
manufacturers, tradesmen, and others, especially
in the neighbourhood of villages, in some cases,
simply for houses and gardens, and in others, for
the convenience of keeping a cow. In the set-
tlement of these feus, no original price or gras-
sum is, in general, required, but a perpetual
yearly rent or feu-duty is fixed, the amount of
which is mostly from 3 1. to 6 1. per acre, more
or less in proportion to the quality of the land,
or the convenience of its situation.

Burgage- holding is another tenure known in
this county, and is that by which royal burghs
hold of the Sovereign the lands which are con-
tained in their charters of erection. There are
thirteen royal burghs in Fife which have a right
to parliamentary representation, besides some
others, which do not enjoy that privilege. —
Though I have not had access to any of their
charters, yet, from the Statistical Account pf
Kirkaldy, it appears that the burgh of Kirkaldy
had anciently considerable property annexed ta
it, to be held of the Crown: and it is presume-
able that the charters of the other royal burghs
would contain similar privileges. It is believed
that the greater part of these burgh lands have
been alienated and feued out to private indivi-
duals ; but still the. burgh, considered in its cor-

MCt. TI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. $$

porate capacity, must be held as the Crown vas-
sal, and the present feuars only as sub-vassals
holding of the burgh.

In Fife there are two complete districts of
burghs, each of which sends a member to Par-
liament, viz. one comprehending the burghs of
Dysart, Kirkaldy, Kinghorn, and Burntisland ;
and the other Pittenweem, Easter and Wester
Anstruthers, Crail, and Kilrenny. The burghs
of Cupar and St Andrews are united to Perth,
Dundee, and Forfar ; and Dunfermline and In-
vsrkeithing, to Stirling, Queensferry, and Cul-
ross. Fife, therefore, has, in effect, four repre-'
sentatives in Parliament, and consequently, near-
ly the eleventh part of the whole representation
of Scotland. This however is no more than its
just share, being nearly in proportion to its va-
luation, and the amount of cess and land tax
which it is. bound to pay.

60 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF CJMp. 111.

CHAPTER III.

Buildings.

SECTION I.

HOUSES OF PROPRIETORS.

I EW counties in Scotland can boast of so great
a number of noblemen's and gentlemen's houses
as the County of Fife ; many of which are un-
commonly elegant, and by the rich and exten-
sive plantations, and pleasure grounds, with
which they are surrounded, add greatly to the
beauty of the country. To enumerate all the
houses belonging to proprietors would be unne-
cessary ; I shall therefore mention such only as
appear to be most worthy of notice.

Houses of the Nobility.

* Crauford Lodge The Earl of Crauford

Leslie House The Countess of Rothes

Aberdour The Earl of Morton

Dinnibirsel The Earl of Moray

Kelly House 7 TI_ -i- i r v «

*Cambo House < The Earl of Kelly

StCt. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 6f

Broom Hall The Earl of Elgin

Melvill House 7 T-L T- i c r j iv/r i M«

Balgonie CasUe j The Earl °f Leven and MelviU

Belcomie The Marchioness of TitchQeld

Houses belonging to Baronets.

Fordel Sir John Henderson

Dysart Sir James St Clare Erskioc

Pitferrane Sir Charles Halket

Elie House Sir Philip Anstrnther

Balcaskie Sir Robert Anstruther

- XT Sir William Erskinc

Lundin House

tfouses belonging to other Proprietors.

Balcarras The Honourable Captain Lindsaj

* Raith Mr Fergusson
"* Balmuto Lord Balmuto

Cockernie Mr Moubray

Pitliver Mr Wellwood

* Dinnikeer Mr Oswald
Wemyss Castle General Wemyss
Durie Mr Christie

* Largo Mr Durham

* Coats Mr Lindsay
"* Strathairlie Mr Briggs

* Balchristie Mr Christie
Newton Colonel Thomson

* Lethallen Major Lumsden
Kilconquhar Mr Bethune
Innergelly Mr Lumsden
Kilrenny Captain Gilbert Bethune
Pitmilly Col. Monypenny
CuttlehiU Mr Wemyss

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. I/f*

* Lochorr

Mr Syme

Balingry

Mr Bonnar

Balbedie

Mr Malcolm

Inchdemie

Col. Ayton

* Balbirnie

Mr Balfour

Balfour

Capt. Gilbert Bethunc

Pittiliock

Capt. Law

Kirklbrthar

Capt. Seton

* Barnslee

Col. Fasten

* Cariston

Mr Wemyss

Auchtermairnie

Mr Lunden

* Kingsdale

Mr Stark

Stratherny

Col. Douglas

Wemyss Hall

Mr Wenryss

Strathtyram

Mr Cheap

Blebo

Mr Bethune

Smithy-green

Mr Campbell

Bendirran

Mr Dalzell

Upper Rankeilor

Col. Hope

Nether Rankeilor

Major Maitland

Ramorny

Mr Maitland

Tarvet

Capt. Rigg

Saintford

Mr Stewart

Clato

Mr Low

Annfield

Mr Low

Lathrisk

Mr Johnston

Cunnochie

Major Paterson

Fernie

Mr Balfour

* Wellfield

Capt. Cheap

Myres

Mr & Mrs Moncrkff

Rossie

Capt. Cheap

* Pitlour

Mr Skene

Nuthffl

Mr Sandilands

* Mugdruin

Mr Hay

Pitcairlie

Mr Cathcart

Lithrie

Col. Baillie

* Birkhill

Mr Wedderburn

Mountwhannie

Mr Gillespie

* Balgarvie

Heirs of the late Mr Robertson

* Naughton

Major Morrison

* Tayfield

Mr Berry

* Hilltown

Miss Bell

* Lochmalonie

Major Scott

sect. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 6j

Ardit Mr Anstruther

Kincraig Mr Gourley

Carslogie Col. Clephane

Earlshall Mr Henderson

Kemback Mr M'Gill

* Chapel Mr Arnot

Kevil Mr Robison

Pittencrief Capt. Phin

Logic Mr Hunt

There cannot, perhaps, be a surer criterion
by which to judge of the affluence and prospe-
rity of a country, than the state of its buildings.
When we find the houses few, of a mean ap-
pearance, and ruinous or in bad repair, and at
the same time see few or no buildings going
forward, — we immediately and justly conclude
that there is neither spirit, nor taste, nor wealth
in it, and that improvements of every other
kind must be declining, or at a stand. But
when the buildings are numerous, many of
them superb and elegant, and all of them neat,,
and in good order ; and when we observe build-
ing going on without interruption, and new
houses starting up in different places every
year, — we naturally infer general wealth, grow-
ing prosperity, and a corresponding progress in
every other kind of improvement. If this be a
fair rule of judging, then the state of the build-
ings in Fife, at present, and for some years
past, must suggest very flattering ideas of its ad-
vancing prosperity.

Amongst the proprietors houses above enu-
merated, all those marked with an asterism,

64 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. 111.

have either been wholly built, or have received
very large additions, or have undergone very
extensive repairs, within the last twenty-four
years. If to these we add several large and ele-
gant houses that have been built of late by some
opulent manufacturers in Kirkaldy, Dysart, and
and other places, the expence of building them
will, upon a moderate calculation, amount to
100,000!., within the above-mentioned period.
And if such a large sum of money has been ex-
pended in building and repairing only fifty or
sixty houses, what an immense sum may we
suppose has been laid out, during that time, in
building small proprietors houses, farm-houses
and offices, large houses for public works in the
manufacturing line, feus, cottages, and many
other houses in the towns and villages ? Should
we hazard a calculation, it cannot be less, it
probably be more, than 18,300!. annually,
which is only 300!. to each parish, and yet
this amounts to 439,200!.; so that the whole
money expended in building in this county,
during the last twenty-four years, cannot be
under 539,200!. It consists with my own
knowledge, that, in one country parish, the
money spent in building new houses, during
the last fourteen years, without taking the
houses of any of the great proprietors into the ac-
count, has amounted to upwards of 1 0,000 1.

JtC*. fl. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 6$

SECT. II. RUINOUS BUILDINGS.

THIS county presents to the eye a great num-
ber of ancient edifices, fallen, or falling into
de^ay. Some of these ruins are truly magni-
ficent, and are striking monuments of the taste
and opulence of our ancestors in ancient times.

In St Andrew's, a town of great antiquity,
the remains of several superb structures are still
to be seen. St Regulus's Chapel and Tower,
said to have been built in the fourth century,
continue remarkably entire. The two side ailes
of the chapel, are, indeed, demolished ; but the
body of the building remains. The tower is a
square of 20 feet, and 108 feet high, of asler
work, and still in high preservation. The
arches of the doors and windows are semicircu-
lar. The priory also is an extensive ruin. The
surrounding wall is pretty entire, and part of
the houses belonging to the prior and sub-priors
still remain.

Adjoining to the priory are the ruins of the
Cathedral. This magnificent fabric was begun
by Bishop Arnold in the year 1 161, and was fi-
nished by Bishop Lamberton, anno 1318, 157
years from the time when it was begun. It was
built in the figure of a cross, the length from
east to wesc measuring 370 feet, and the tran-
s-ept 322 feet. Of this extensive and elegant
building nothing now remains, but fragments of
the east and west ends ; a part of the west wall
of the south transept, and a part of the south/
wall to ( the west of the transept. The res*
•*• .*.

66 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. III.

\vas demolished by tlie Reformers, In the days
of Mr John Knox. It is matter of regret, that
zeal, employed in so noble a cause as the over-
throw of papal superstition and tyranny, should
have unfortunately, in its course, destroyed such
a valuable monument of the taste and skill, as
well as the opulence, of our country in former
times. The original grandeur of the fabric,
however, the style of architecture, and the ex-
cellence of the workmanship, may still be traced
in the parts that remain.

On the north side of the town, and on a per-
pendicular roc!:, stand the ruins of a castle called
Cardinal Btihunes^ in which he resided, and in
•which he was slain. It has been a spacious and
strong building ; but was almost wholly demo-
lished, in consequence of an act of council, after
the Cardinal's death. Here is still shewn the
window from which he beheld, with barbarous
pleasure, the execution of Wishart, and from
•which also his own body was afterwards expos-
ed, when he was put to death by Norman Leslie,
in the year 1545.

Near the west end of the south street, and on
the south side, is a convent of Grey Friars.
The ruins of the chapel are still to be seen, and
are esteemed a great curiosity. And at the
west end of the north street was a convent of
the Black Friars, of which nothing now remains
but a part of the garden wall.

In Dunfermline, too, we meet with the vesti-
ges and ruins of many ancient buildings of great
extent and magnificence. Here are still to be
seen the ruins of the Abbey founded by Malcolm
Canmore, and finished by his son Alexander L

sect, if. THE COUNTY OF FIF£. 67

for the Order of the ^Benedictine Monks; a build-
ing so spacious, that, we are told, three sovereign
princes, with all their retinue, might have lodged
conveniently within its precincts* It was at first
governed by a prior, but was, afterwards, chang-
ed into a monastery by David I. This abbey
was almost wholly burnt down by the English,
in the reign of Edward I. And the principal
parts of the church, with some remaining cells
belonging to the monks, were demolished, it is
supposed, at the Reformation. The present
ruins of the abbey are inconsiderable ; but there
still remains a window, which belonged to the
Frater hall, and which strikes by it extraordinary
size, and the beauty of its workmanship. And
the present church of Dursfermline, the remains
of the old abbey church, may serve to give some
idea of the ancient grandeur of that venerable
fabric.

Here, too, is to be seen the fragments of a
2tftter or Cattle, built by Malcolm III., and in
which he resided ; and also the south-west wall
of a magnificent Palace^ probably the abode also
of royalty, though the period of its erection is
unknown.

I n the parish of Newburgh, and in the mid-
dle of an extensive field of rich land, gently ris-
ing from the edge of the river Tay, stand the
venerable ruins of the Abbey ofUttdopes. This
monastery was founded in the 1 2th century, and
dedicated to St Mary and St Andrew. The
monks were of the Order of St Benedict. They
had many churches, and drew large revenues
from several different counties. The extent of
ground occupied by the buildings of the abbey1

I 2

|58 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. III.

cannot now be known, as many of them have
been completely razed, and the ground on which
they stood converted into arable land. From
the remains of the church, which are still extant,
no distinct idea of the size or elegance of the fa-
bric can be formed. Parts of the garden walls
are still standing, and a number of the fruit-trees
still continue to bear. These trees, from the ap-
pearances of decay, which they exhibit, must
have been long since planted ; but whether in
the days of the monks, or by the residing pro-
prietor, after the abbey was erected into a tem-
poral Lordship, it is impossible with certainty to
say.

In addition to the ecclesiastical buildings al-
ready mentioned, we might take notice of the
abbey of Inchcolm, the priory of Pittenioeem, the
abbey of Balmerino, and several other religious
houses, the ruins of which are still to be seen.
But referring the curious, for a description of
these, to Grose's Antiquities, and Sibbald's His-
tory of Fife, I shall now mention the ruins of
some of the most remarkable secular buildings
in this county.,

The Palace of Falkland deserves to be taken
notice of in the first place. It was originally one
of the seats of the McDurTs, Earls of Fife, and was
then called the castle of Falkland. In the reign
of James I. it was forfeited to the Crown. Af-
terwards it was greatly enlarged and ornament-
ed by James V. ; and from the pleasantness of
its situation, and the conveniency of the adja-
cent country for hunting, it was made a royal
residence. The south front is yet remarkably
Entire, and. partly inhabited. The east-wing

sect. II. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 69

was accidentally burnt down in the time of
Charles II., of which a great part of the, naked
and mouldering walls still remain. Of the rest,
few vestiges are now to be seen.

Betbunes Tower, near Melville house, has
evidently been a part of a much more extensive
building, the remains of which can, at this day,
be easily traced. The age of this old fabric can-
not be ascertained. But Cardinal Bethune re-
paired it, and occasionally resided in it. The
arms of the Bethunes, and several heads of the
Cardinal in his cap, are still distinctly seen on
the wall. The Earl of Leven, whose property
it now is, is careful to preserve and keep in re-
pair this venerable relic gf antiquity.

The Castle of Rosythe, in the parish of Iiwer-
keithing, is built upon a rock, which is sur-
roumled by the sea at full tide. It consists of a
a large square tower, with some low ruinous
buildings adjoining, and has the appearance of
being a part of a much larger fabric. On diffe-
rent parts of the walls, several pieces of sculpture
still remain, and some inscriptions continue dis-
tinctly legible. This castle was anciently the
seat of the Stewarts of Rosyth, lineally descend-
ed from James Stewart, brother-german to Wal-
ter the great steward of Scotland, and father to
King Robert. After having changed its own-
ers several times, it came at last into the hands
of the Earl of Hopeton, whose property it .now is.

The Castle of Locborr, an old ruin, stands in
the middle of the loch of that name in the pa-
rish of Balingry. It was built by a Duncan
Lochorr in the days of King Malcolm III., and
consisted of a strong tower and many lower hou>

~0 AGRICULTURAL SURVEF OF chap. Iff*

ses, all enclosed by a wall washed by the water
of the loch. In process of time, Wardlaw of
Tory, by marrying the heiress of Balingry, got
a right to this castle ; and before the time of
Charles I, it was the chief mansion-house of that
family. This ruin formed a beautiful object irt
the loch before it was drained*

Seafidd Tatjucr is. an old ruin in the parish of
Kinghorn, standing on a rock close by the shore*
It was the ancient seat of the Moubrays, a fa-
mily of distinction in this county.

The Castle of Ravcitscraig* an ancient fabric
now in ruins, stands, upon a rock projecting in-
to the sea, at the. east end of Pathjiead, in the
parish of Dysart* It was a gift from James. V.
to William St Clare Earl of Orkney, with the
adjoining lands, in consideration of his resigning
the titles of the E^arl of Orkney. Ever since
that period, it has been in the possession of the
family of St Clare.

The Castle of Easter-Wemys^ usually called
M'DufFs castle, stands In the parish of Wemyss.
It is said to have been built by M*Duff Earl of
l:ire, in the eleventh century. Two sqiiarc
towers, with a considerable part of the wall,
•which surrounded the castle, still remain. It is
situated on a delightful eminence* about a hun-
dred yards from the shore.

Craigball, in the parish of Ceres, is an exten-
sive ruin, situated upon the bank of a beautiful
glen, planted with trees. It was the seat of Sir
Thomas Hoper advocate to Charles I.t from
whom the principal families of the name of
Hope in Scotland are descended^ and continued
to be the residence of his heirs5 till the begin-
aiug of the present century.

S€Ci. II. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. jt

Marvel Tower, a beautiful fabric of hewn stone,
stands on the estate of Scotstarvet, in the parish
of Ceres. It is twenty-four feet square, and
•fifty feel high. It is situated on high ground,
and is seen at a great distance. The tower is
formed by one lofty vault raised on the top of
another, the uppermost of which is surrounded
with a .battlement, and has over it an apartment
still covered with slate. From the thickness of
the walls, and from the small number and di-
minutive size of the windows, it appears to
have been originally designed for a place of de-
fence.

Dcnmlln Castle , in the parish of Abdie, Lexch-
ars Gastk, in the parish of Leuchars, Bendon^
in the parish of Markinch, and some others,
might have been noticed. But passing these,
we shall only mention

Balgome Gasth, in the parish of Markinch,
belonging to the Earl of Leven. This is a fabric
of great antiquity, and of considerable strength.
The time when it was built cannot be exactly
ascertained : but^ from the best information that
can be got, v/e are inclined to think that it was
built in the I2th or 1 3th century. From the
similarity of its architecture to that of the castle
of Loch-Levcn, it is presumeable that it may
be nearly of the same age ; and, though the pre-
cise time when the latter was built cannot be
known, yet we find that it was a place of strength
at the beginning of the 1 4th century, as it then
sustained a siege and prevailed.

Balgonie Castle is pleasantly situated on tbe
south bank of the Leven, elevated about 36 feet
above the bed of the river. It is of a quadran-

*]2 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OP chap. 111.

gular form, and stands on an area of about 135-
feet by 105. The open court within is 108
feet by 65. The tower, which stands on the
north side, and near the north west angle, is 45
feet by 36 feet over the walls, and near 80 feet
high. The top is surrounded with battlements,
which project a foot over the walls. It has a
square roof in the middle, between which and
the battlements a passage goes quite round,
covered with flat stones. The walls of the two
lowest stories, both of which are vaulted, are
8y feet thick ; but, above these, they are only
7 feet thick. There is an apartment in it called
the Chapel ; and in the wall on the opposite side
of the court, the ruins of a room are still to be
seen, which was called the Chaplain's room.

Connected with the tower, there is a house of
three stories, extending to the north-east corner,
built by the first Earl of Leven : and on the east
side of the court is another house of the same
height, built by the present Earl's grandfather.
On the south and west sides of the court there
is a high wall, which appears to be coeval witli
the tower ; and, without the wall, the remains
of a large fosse are still to be seen. The archi-
tecture of the keep is still very perfect ; and the
third storey has been lately repaired and made
habitable by the present Lord Balgonie-

Besides1 the ruinous buildings already men-
tioned, there are many others of inferior name,
but which were once the habitations of families
of great respectability ; and many castles and
mansion-houses of eminent men, the foundations
of which still remain, but which are so complete-
ly demolished, that we could scarcely discover

StC, 17. fHE COtJNTV Of FIFE. j$

\vhere they stood, did not tradition or ancient
record direct us to the place.

Ruins so extensive and magnificent, and, in
proportion to the narrow extent of territory to
which they are confined, so numerous, while
they serve to give us a very high idea of the
splendor and opulence. of this county in former
times; and of the dignity, rank, and consideration
of its ancient proprietors ; must, at the same time,
spread a melancholy gloom over the mind, while
contemplating them, a* d lead irresistibly to se-
rious 'reflection. The time was when these
mouldering fabrics stood firm and complete,
adorned with all the elegance known in ruder
times, and many of them inhabited by the first
families in the kingdom. In them all the pomp
of power and riches was displayed ; there hos-
pitality spread the sumptuous board ; the voice
of health and festivity resounded through the
halls ; and the gates were crowded with nume-
rous retainers and dependents. But now these
once stately mansions, unroofed, stripped of
their ornaments and deserted, are mouldering
away in solitary silence, under the ravaging
hand of time. The powerful, the flourishing,
and wealthy masters, whom they onqs boasted
of, are long since gone and forgotten in the
dust. The names of but a few, and the deeds of
still fewer, have reached the present times. What
they and their habitations are now, we, and our
still Jess durable dwellings, in the revolution of
a few ages, must certainly be.

Immortality is the natural wish of the human
heart ; and though too many give themselves

74 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. III.

but little concern about an immortality .beyond
this present life, there are few who do not wish
to live in the remembrance of posterity. But
by what means shall this wish be most effec-
tually accomplished ? The cabinet, the field,,
the bar, the sciences and the arts, are all avenues
to lasting fame : but they are avenues open to a few
only. Reputation may be more generally, and
not less honourably acquired, by the more use-
ful, though less splendid arts of rural life. Let
the spade and the plough engrave your names
upon your lands ; and let your memory be per-
petuated by substantial and permanent improve-
ments of the soiL With what warmth of af-
fection will you be remembered by posterity,
when they shall be able to say, to the skilful
and patriotic industry of our ancestors we owe
the richness and fertility of our lands. These
aged and extensive plantations which now shel-
ter and adorn the once naked and barren hill,
were planted by their hands.. By their toilsome
and expensive labours, the marsh has been drain-
ed, the stony ground cleared and subjected to
the plough, barren moss converted into fertile
soil, and luxuriant crops taught to grow, where
nought but water, heath, furze, or rocks, were
formerly to be seen.

SECT. III. FARM-HOUSES, OFFICES, & REPAIRS.

NOT more than twenty years ago, the farm-
ers houses and offices in this county had, in ge-
neral, a mean and wretched appearance. The
farmer usually lived in a low smoky house.

JtCt. III. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. s 75

badly lighted, and without divisions or separate
apartments, except such as were formed by the
arrangement of the furniture. The office-houses
were small, the walls low and rudely construct-
ed, and the roofs ponderous, and with difficulty
kept dry. Sometimes they were placed irregu-
larly, as fancy or supposed convenience dic-
tated ; and sometimes they formed a square with
the dwelling-house, the barn on the one side,
and the stable and byre on. the other In the
middle stood the dunghill, the hollow situation
of which received and retained all the rain that
fell within the square. During the summer
months, after the dung collected through the
season, was carried to the land, the hollow where
it lay exhibited the disagree-able object of a pool
of stagnant putrid water, equally offensive to
the smell, and pernicious to the health. The
intermediate passages between the houses and
the dunghill were very narrow, and often a
complete mire by the treading of the cattle, or
laid with round stones confusedly thrown toge-
ther.

Since that period, however, there is a mate-
rial change, in this respect, to the better. At
this moment, there are, in Fife, a great number
of very excellent farm-steads. The dwelling-
house is of two storeys, substantially built, coVer-
ed with slate, neatly finished, and with every
necessary convenience for the accommodation
of the farmer's family. The office-houses, are
built in the form of a square, sometimes at the
back of the dwelling-house, and including it as
a part of the square ; and sometimes at a little
distance fro 19 it, having stables, cow-house, barn,
K 2

76 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF ckap. III.

shades for the implements of husbandry, straw-
yard for feeding cattle, milk-house, hog-house,
&c. all built of stone and lime, covered with
slate or tyle, conveniently arranged, and of suf-
ficient dimensions for the size of the farm. Of
these, several h ive been projected an 1 executed
by the landlords, upon certain conditions speci-
fied in their agreement with the tenants ; some
by small proprietors, who farm their own
grounds ; -and some, by the tenants themselves,
and that without the promise or prospect of any
allowance or adequate compensation. This last
case, however, occurs only where the leases are
of long endurance.

But though we meet with a considerable
number of farm-steads of this description, there
are still many which continue in the barbarous
state first described, and these upon the grounds
of proprietors from whom better things might
have been expected.

Between those, which may be styled the best,
and the worst, there are a great number of farm-,
steads, which, though tolerably decent and com-
modious, are still, through the inattention or ill
judged parsimony of the landlord, or the indo-
lence and negligence of the tenant, destitute of
much of that convenience and accommodation,
which every fanner ought to have, and which,
indeed is necessary to the prosperity of his farm.
Some, for instance, are badly constructed and
arranged, or on too small a scale for the farm.
Some have no granaries or lofts for holding
threshed grain. Some have either no shades,
or shades not sufficiently large for the farming
utensils ; so that we often see their carts and

flan </•/*«• Farm StradcfJCuiniiinutntA ia a* Parish cf' Alt'/iff la/sie tA* proper^- <f

i
§••

/'/it- /iwri afan-r tfu- S^rrj i* g trrt
Pt'ua/l afipirjouta. Tttp Ovort ii> OH-
font, one 3 /£*•*• 0b- odbT-^. 7 Ay* .
^'/i^ <j4>^/- in tAf frrnS i~ put window,
a , Thrttffwty mil/ HArrJ .

Gri>un<If/an

Layt* ef*eutt+S ffmrr trmOt, iritM XI /fV

sect. III. OF THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 77

ploughs rotting, in consequence of their conti-
nued exposure to the sun and rain. Some have
no straw-yards, no feeding byres for their cattle,
and both stables and byres too short in the sad-
dles. Many have no proper site for the dung-
hill, so that in some cases, we see the dunghill
soaking in water, and in others the rich mois-
ture running to waste. Some want a proper
milk-house, and other conveniences necessary to
a dairy. Some are set down in an extreme
corner of the farm, or at a distance from good
water. And many have no better threshing
floors than damp clay. And, therefore, though
much has been done of late, much yet remains
to be done, for the improvement of the farm-
steads. Neat farmers houses and complete of-
fices, while they do credit to the proprietor, and
give a beauty and richness to the appearance of
the country, are, at the same time, absolutely
necessary to the profperity of the farmer. Every
gentleman, of a generous and liberal heart, will
feel much pleasure in seeing his tenants in a
thriving condition. But this cannot well be
expected, unless they have every reasonable in-
dulgence and convenience to excite them to carry
on their operations with spirit, and to enable
them to derive every possible advantage from
their farms. Farm-houses inconveniently situ-
ated, or built and arranged on an injudicious
plan, may render extraordinary labour requisite,
and consequently heighten the farmer's expen-
ces beyond what is necessary. The offalls of the
dairy, kitchen, barn-yard, garden, &c. may be
turned to good account, by rearing pigs and
Tf ;::;try : but this cannot be done, without pro-

78 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. III.

per houses for lodging and protecting these ani-
mals.

Farm-steads ought to be proportioned to the
extent, and suited to the nature of the farms, on
which they are built. The farmer of 100 acres
of land may be supposed to carry on the same
plan of husbandry with the fanner of 400 or
500 acres: the difference, therefore, ought to be
in the extent, not in the kind of his accommo-
dations. The former has occasion for the same
houses and conveniences, as the latter, bat only
smaller, in proportion to the smaller size of his
farm. Neither is it to be expected that he should
have, a dwelling house equally spacious and ele-
gant with the other. The nature of the farm
ought likewise to be attended to in this matter.
A farm entirely under tillage, and one chiefly
suited to grazing, will require different kinds of
accommodation.

In short, farmers will, in general, be able to
point out what may be necessary to accommo-
date them, though seldom to tell in what man-
'ner utility and neatness are to be united in the
execution. When farmsteads are to be built or
thoroughly repaired, it might be adviseable that a
proper person be employed to plan before build-
ing, and the plan deliberately examined and
considered by both landlord and tenant ; in
which case, no material defect could escape the
observation of both. The expence should, in
the first instance, be laid out by the proprietor,
as no part of the tenant's stock should be di-
verted from its proper purpose, the improve*-
ment of his farm. Neither ought the landlord
to consider this as lost money. There is no

sect. III. OF THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 79

farmer of understanding, who will not give more
rent for a farm that has such a complete farm-
stead as to enable him to carry on his business
with the greatest possible advantage, than for
one that has it not.

Repairs. — This matter depends very much
upon circumstances. In general, the incoming
tenant, receiving the whole houses from his
predecessor, in a habitable condition, is bound
to leave them in the same state at his removal.
But it sometimes happens that the houses, up-
on the entry of a tenant, are in a ruinous state,
and the former tenant not bound to repair them;
sometimes new houses are to be built, or addi-
tions to be made, or the old houses to be repaired
in a different form. In these cases, thebuilding
or reparations depend upon the bargain between
the landlord and the tacksman. If the proprie-
tor is at the expence of the work, he gets a
plan and estimate,, and by his own manager
sees it executed ; or perhaps he allows the esti-
mated sum to the tenant, who takes charge of
the execution, and sees that the work be suffi-
ciently done. It* the tenant repairs the houses
at- his own expence, he takes the farm with that
burden, to which he attends in the stipulated?
rent. In all cases, however, he is bound to up-
hold the houses, and to leave them in sufficient
order.

Insuring all farm-steads against fire is a mea-
sure which I would seriously recommend as
highly prudent and proper. And to encourage
tenants to this, landlords ought to contribute a
proportion of the premium, especially as their
cnvti interest is materiallv concerned. An acci-

So AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Ill,

dental fire may not only ruin the tenant, but
totally disable him for paying his rent.

SECT. I1T. COTTAGES.

COTTAGES in this county, in point of im-
provement, have kept pace with the houses of
the farmers. They are, indeed, generally bet-
ter now, than many of the best farm-houses
were thirty or forty years ago. • Such as have
lately been built are usually about 15 or 16 feef
wide, and 6 or 7 feet high in the side walls,
constructed of stone and lime, covered with
thatch, well lighted, and sufficiently large to
accommodate any ordinary family. On the
north division cottages are few. This is an in-
convenience that hath been felt and complained
of. Feuing ground in small proportions is not
common in that quarter, and tenants are back-
ward to allow the benefit of a cow's grass to a
cottager. And therefore, mechanics, tradesmen,
and labourers, are discouraged from settling
there. Through the rest of the county cottages
are more common, but sfill not so numerous,
it is thought, as their importance to agriculture
and population requires. They are of various
sizes, consisting of from three or four to eight
or ten dwelling-houses. When these cottages
are attached to particular farms, and at the dis-
posal of the tenant, as indeed they generally
are and ought to be, they must be of great be-
nefit to the farmer. He has it in his power to
let the houses to married .servants, to tradesmen
and labourers, on such terms as always to se-

sect. IV* v THE COU-NTY OF FIFE. $1

cure their assistance in hay-time and harvest,
and at any other season when extraordinary
hands may be -necessary to expedite the busi^
ness of the farm. But this subject we will pro-
bably have occasion to resume before the con-
clusion of the survey.

L

CHAPTER V.

Mode of Occupation.

SECTION I.
SIZE OF F4RMS.

1 ARMS in this county, in respect of extent,
differ much from one another. They are found
of all sizes, from 50 or 60 acres to 400 or 500
acres. The average perhaps may be 120 acres.
There are, besides, many tenements from 50
acres downward to 8 or 10. But few of these
are occupied by actual farmers. Many of them
are the property of small heritors ; and many of
them are taken by manufacturers, tradesmen,
mechanics, and others, merely for convenience or
amusement, who do not depend upon their pro-
duce for the support of their families, or the
payment of the rent.

The question refpecting the size of farms has
been much agitated. Some have argued that
large farms are most favourable to population,
and'to the complete and rapid cultivation of the
soil ; whilst others have insisted that small farms
are best calculated to produce these advantages.
But as the arguments on both sides appear to be
equally conclusive, it is presumeable that both
may be wrong. The truth is, the actual diver-
sity of land, in respect of situation, quality, and

sect i. 'THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 8j

state of improvement, naturally points out the
propriety of a diversity in the size of farms.
There is, no doubt, a point on both sides be-
yond which we ought not to go. No arable
farm, perhaps, ought to exceed 400, or at the
utmost 500 acres : and none should fall below
60 or 70 acres. Between these two points,
farms may be of all different sizes, without pre-
judice to the public, or to the individual, vary-
ing, however, in this respect, according to ex-
isting circumstances. If the ground be all a-
rable, of a rich quality, and in a high state of
cultivation, 60 or 70 acres may, in some cases,
be sufficient, and may enable the occupant to
rear his family, and to live in a decent, respect-
able style. But if the land be in a state of na-
ture, or hath, as yet, received no substantial
improvements, this size would be, by far, too
small. No man of stock, enterprize, and abi-
lity, would sit down upon such a farm. He
could have no room for exertion, no opportu-
nity of a profitable application of his talents,
and no prospect of receiving ultimately any re-
turns corresponding to the capital and skill
which he is able to employ. Farms, therefore,
consisting of land of this kind, ought to be
much more extensive. Three or four hundred
acres might be sufficiently small. In like man-
ner, ground that is not only arable, but, at the
same time, best adapted to the cultivation of-
grain, may be let in much smaller proportions
than would be proper in cases where the land
is either not arable, or more applicable to the
purposes of grazing and rearing cattle,
I, 2

84 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap* ?.

Besides, we find that there is a great diversi-
ty among men, in respect of abilities and cir-
cumstances : it seems proper, therefore, that
the division and size of iarms should be propor-
tioned, in a correspondence to this diversity. A
man may be able to stock a farm of 80 or 100
acres, but not one of 300 or 400. Or, in point
of ability, he may be equal to the task of ma-
naging the former, and yet not qualified to con-
duct the more extensive and complicated opera-
tions of the latter. On the other hand, it
would be hard to confine a man of large stock,
and superior abilities, to a small possession,
where he can have no scope for his genius,
and where he cannot employ half his capital.

A mixture of large and small farms appears,
in another point of view, to be extremely pro-
per, as it may be the mean of preventing a dan-
gerous diminution of active and experienced
hands for carrying on the operations of husban-
dry. Every gentleman-farmer has usually a
foreman, to whom he commits the manage-
ment of his farm : and almost every great farm-
er has one, either as a foreman or principal ser-
vant, on whose abilities and fidelity- he can
trust for conducting the practical part of his bu-
siness. If this foreman be married, as is often
the case, the prospect of being able to secure a
small farm for his son, if he has one, and to
stock it, by the savings of his honest industry,
will be a powerful inducement to breed him a
farmer. "Nor will this motive influence those
merely who are already engaged in the farming
line. The consideration of such a decent inde-
pendence, so easily accessible, will induce others

feel. f. THE COUNTY OF FIFE, j

to breed their children to husbandry, by putting
them into the service of the farmers ; whilst the
desire of attaining the object in view, as speedi-
ly, and with as much advantage as possible,
will render such servants sober, industrious., and
attentive to their duty.

Small farms thus passing into the hands of
those who have acquired skill and experience
on extensive farms under a proper system of
husbandry, will form excellent nurseries for
farm servants both to gentlemen and principal
farmer?. But should farms be generally of such
magnitude as to preclude every hope of this
kind, parents will seek .independence for their
children, by breeding them manufacturers, trades-
men, or mechanics.

In short, either extreme would be attended
with bad consequences. On the one hand, to
mince down all the land in the kingdom into
small tenements, whilst this could neither en-
crease population nor add to the strength of the
state, would, most probably, check the progress
of improvement, and prevent its being ever
brought to any degree of perfection. On the
other hand, to throw the whole estates of the
kingdom into the hands of a few great farmers,
as it might be equally hurtful to the progress of
agriculture, would certainly be highly impolitic,
as it would weaken, in a considerable degree,
that support and security which the constitu-
tion of the country, as well as public order and
tranquillity, derive from the general diffusion of
property. That amorpatrlce^ that public spirit,
that strong sense of national honour, which, ia
former times, animated the breasts evsn of the

86 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. V.

lowest orders, seem now to be, in a great mea-
sure, gone, and nothing but the selfish princi-
ple remains, by which the great body of the
people can be bound to their country and its
support.

Let us suppose the whole lands in Scotland,
usually in the possession of husbandmen, thrown
into the hands of 8000 great farmers ; and each
farmer to have one son who might be depended
upon, as having a joint interest with his father ;
there would, in this case, be only 16,000 of
this class, whom we could trust to join the
landholders in the defence of their country : all
the rest employed in husbandry being in a ser-
vile dependent state, no certain or effectual sup-
port could be expected from them. Suppose
again, that instead of 8000, the kingdom should
be divided into 30,000 farms ; in this case we
should have 60,000 men of this description to
join their masters, who, though not equally in-
terested with those before mentioned, would,
nevertheless, have such a stake in the country,
as would be a sufficient inducement to oppose
every attempt against the peace and safety of the
kingdom, whether from foreign or domestic
foes.

Amongst the numerous causes which com-
bined to overthrow the French Monarchy, and
to involve the great nation in anarchy, despo-
tism, and blood, this defect was, perhaps, one
of the principal and most availing. All were
either extremely rich, or miserably poor. In
the hands of the higher orders, were all the ho-
nours, wealth, and power of the nation ; while
dependence, servility, and abject poverty, was

S*Ct. I. . THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 87

the miserable portion of the lower, and by far
the most numerous class. And if there were
any intermediate gradations, the numbers who
occupied them were few ; and the insecure and
uncertain tenure, by which they held their pro-
perty, must have rendered their exertions feeble,
even though they had been disposed to take
part with their government. No wonder then,
that men thus circumstanced, men who had no-
thing to lose, and no hopes of bettering their
condition in the present state of things, should
have been so easily deceived by the seeming
patriotism of unprincipled demagogues, and so
universally have fallen in with a scheme which
promised them emancipation from poverty, de-
pendence, and degradation, and a more equal
distribution of property and power. And if we
consider that turbulent and seditious temper
which, for some years past, has discovered itself
in this country, and which has required all the
vigilance and activity of Government to keep in
check, it appears highly probable that, had it
not been for the weight thrown into the scale of
constitutional authority and power, by the nu-
merous, wealthy, and respectable classes which
occupy the- intermediate ranks between the great
landholders, and those who have little or no
property, revolutionary and anarchial principles
might have prevailed, and this kingdom have
experienced similar convulsions, attended with
consequences equally disasterous and fatal.

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. 7.

SECT. 77. CHARACTER Of THE FARMERS,

Several" of the farmers in this county, and
these not the least respectable, came originally
from other, and more highly improved parts of
the kingdom ; and heing generally men of con-
siderable stock, and possessed of superior pro-
fessional knowledge, sat down, with great ad-
vantage,, on the less cultivated, and consequent-
ly low rented lands in Fife ; and, by their abili-
ties and enterprise, have contributed not a little
to forward the improvement of this county.

There are also many of the farmers, who
were originally in a lower class, or in a different
Enie of life ; but having, by industry and fruga-
lity, acquired a little money, and having con-
tracted a taste for husbandry, commenced farm-
ing en a small scale. By persevering in the
same plan of rigid oeconomy and hard labour,
they gradually improved their stock, and at last
launched out more extensively into the business.
And now, in point of circumstances, as well as
©f professional skill, hold a respectable place
among the farmers.

But the great body of the Fife farmers are the
fecendents of the old stock of cultivators ; se-
veral of whom, just now, hold the farms that
have been in the possession of their ancestors
for some generations back. Formerly, the con-
nection between master and tenant was very
strong. They were, for the most part, warmly
attached to each other ; and the interest which
tile Landlord took in the prosperity of his tenants

sect. II. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 8$

was generally repaid with corresponding affec-
tion and respect. This connection and mutual
attachment often descended from father to son ;
and its long continuance was frequently the pride
and boast of both. But now considerations of
interest are weakening these old fashioned at-
tachments ; and the amount of the offered rent
is generally more attended to than the plea of
long possession. Nor can this, in every instance,
be blamed. When an old tenant is industrious,
and discovers good management, and an incli-
nation to do well, he may reasonably expect a
preference, upon equal, perhaps upon easier,
terms than a mere stranger. But surely it can-
not, in reason, be expected that a preference
should be given, solely upon this ground, to wa
man who, by his indolence, ignorance, or dis-
sipation, has suffered his farm to run into dis-
order, and has thereby disqualified himself for
doing justice either to himself or to his master.
Though it may not, perhaps, be the principal
object of this enquiry, to ascertain the moral
and political character of the farmers, yet it
might be improper to suffer this to pass altoge-
ther unnoticed. The principles and morals of
of men must ever have a powerful influence in
modelling and forming their characters in rela-
tion to the several occupations and pursuits in
which they may be engaged. In proportion as
these are good or bad, the character of the farm-
er, as well as of the merchant, the manufacturer,
the tradesman, &c. will be more or less respect-
able. Intemperance and dissipation will relax
the sinews of industry, and divert the attention
from business ; and the want of integrity will
M

£0 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. F.

create suspicion and distrust, and hurt him in
all his public transactions. His example will
corrupt the conduct of his servants, rendering
them negligent, unfaithful and disorderly, the
consequence of which will be confusion and mis-
management, in every department of his busi-
ness.

I feel much satisfaction in having it in my
power to bear a. favourable testimony to the cha-
racter of the Fife farmers, in this respect. To
affirm that there are no individuals among them
of a suspicious, or openly bad character, would
be a position which could neither gain nor de-
serve credit. Such perfection is not to be ex-
pected, even in societies much less numerous.
But these exceptions ^are comparatively few.
Taken in a body, their general deportment is
characterised by decency, sobriety, End strict in-
tegrity. In domestic life they are regular, fru-
gal, temperate, and oeconomical. In their inter-
course with one another, they are hospitable,
communicative, and obliging. And in all their
public transactions, their conduct is uniformly
fair, upright and honourable.

Their political character is equally irrepre-
hensible. Impressed with a proper sense of the
advantages they enjoy under a civil Govern-
ment, which affords protection and security to
their persons and property, and suffers them
to prosecute their labours and improve their
fortunes, without the dread of oppressive ex-
actions, or lawless depredations, they cherish
the warmest sentiments of loyalty to our gra-
cious Sovereign, and venerate the Constitution
of their Country, as one of their most invaluable

sect. IT. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. f)I

blessings. Untainted by that revolutionizing
spirit — that political mania, which, of late, hath
so much agitated the public mind, and endan-
gered the public tranquillity, they give no en-
couragement to the abettors of sedition, and are
ready to contribute what lies in their power for
the support of Government, and for the preser-
vation of the peace and quiet of the Country.

Such is the character which the fanners of
this county bear as men and citizens. Consi-
dered as cultivators of the soil, they deserve also
to be mentioned with respect, as a very intelli-
gent, active, and industrious body of men. A
great proportion of them have distinguished
themselves by their spirited exertions, their skil-
ful management, and by the high state of culti-
vation to which they have brought their farms.
A spirit of enquiry, a taste for iitiprovement,
and a laudable desire to excel in their profes-
sion, have, of late, spread very generally among
them ; by reading, by observation, by mutual
communications, and by experience, they have
acquired much professional knowledge, which,
while it hath enabled them to correct former
prejudices and mistakes, has led them to adopt
the best plans of improvement, and, except when
prevented by obstacles thrown in their way by
the proprietor, or by the nature and situation
of the land, have carried them into execution
with judgment and success.

From the progressive improvements in the
science and practice of agriculture, which have
been going forward during the last twenty or
thirty years, the condition and circumstances of
the farmers have experienced an alteration to
M 2

92 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. V,

the better gradually taking place. And their
growing affluence, co-operating with the gene-
ral progress of luxury and refinement through
the nation, have had a very visible • effect upon
their manners and habits of life. Formerly it
was customary for the farmers to subject them-
selves to every kind of drudgery and hard la-
bour, undergoing the same toil, living upon the
same fare, and often eating at the same table,
with their servants. And in some instances this
may be the case still, especially where their farms
are small, their circumstances narrow, their rents
high, and consequently cannot afford to exempt
the master from personal labour. But many of
the farmers now occupy a more respectable and
important station. Their chief business is to
superintend. The operative and servile part
is committed to others : But the master's pre-
sence and direction are every where to conduct
and forward the various necessary operations, in
every department, and in their proper season.
These requisite attentions, together with the bu-
siness of the counting-room, and his attendance
on markets for the disposal of his grain and cat-
tle, a province which he usually reserves to him-
self, will afford little time for relaxation or idle-
ness, and are surely much more conducive to his
interest than holding the plough, threshing the
grain, or filling and driving his own dung cart.
The alteration in their style and manner of
living is equally remarkable. Their houses, in
general, are decently and substantially furnish-
ed, and the apartments so arranged, and the ge-
neral economy of the house so regulated, as to
produce a more marked distinction between mas-

sect. II. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 9J

ter and servants, and to put an end to that in-
discriminate intercourse in respect of sitting and
eating, which was common in former times.
Though many of them continue to be mostly
supplied with necessary maintenance from the
produce of their farms, and to be clothed with
their own manufactures, there are few who do
not indulge more or less in the luxuries of life.
Butcher meat is much commoner now than for-
merly, and their Sunday's dress at least is' fur*
nished from the shop. The universal use of
tea, as an article of living, need not be mention-
ed, as there is scarcely a cottager's house in the
county where it is not to be found. It is to be
observed, however, that between the great body
of the farmers, and those who rank in the high-
est class, there is in this respect a very remarka-
ble difference. Several of this last description
are men, not only in easy but affluent circum-
stances, men who have had the advantage of a
liberal education, and whose manners, from their
intercourse with the world, have acquired a su-
perior polish. Correspondent with these cir-
cumstances is their style and manner of living,
the elegance of their furniture, the economy of
their table, and the quality and fashion of their
dress. Thus distinguished by education, for-
tune, and manners, they hold a most respectable
place in the community, and are entitled to be
considered as one of the intermediate links which,
in the gradations of rank and opulence, connect
the higher and lower orders of men in society.

94 'AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. nr.

SECT. III. RENT.

THE rent of land in Fife is very different, be-
ing higher or lower according to the quality of
the soil, the convenience of situation, or the state
of improvement. Some land, from its situation
in the neighbourhood of towns, and even some,
from its own intrinsic richness, is rented as high
as 4, 5, and 6 pounds per acre. Farms of con-
siderable extent are let at 3 1. ; a great many at
2 1. per acre. In short, we find land rented in
all the various gradations downward to 5 s. ; and
even some moorish, hilly pasture ground below
that rate. Grass parks generally bring a high
rent. Those at Lundin, Balcarras, and in some
other places, have been let as high as 3 1. per
acre.

But, though the rents generally vary accor-
ding to the difference of soil, and other circum-
stances, from the best observations I have been
able to make, they appear to be in no just pro-
portion to the comparative value of the land.
Farms of inferior quality are, f$r the most part,
higher in proportion than those of rich produc-
tive land. This inequality may arise from two
causes : On the one hand, the proprietors of the
poorer lands finding other gentlemen getting
high rents for theirs, and not adverting to the
difference of quality, or regarding their own
property with a partial eye, struggle hard to be
on a footing with their neighbours ; and though
they may not- succeed entirely to their wish, are
generally fortunate enough to get an advance of
rent above the due proportion. On the other

sect. in. THE COUNTY" OP FIFE. 95

hand, tenants who are on the outlook for farms,and
impatient to fix, incompetent judges perhaps of
the quality of the ground, or cherishing too san-
guine expectations from their own industry and
skill, are induced, especially if spurred on by
competition, to come up to the landlord's terms.

Formerly rent was made payable partly in mo-
ney and partly in kind. The tenant was, be-
sides, obliged to pay a certain number of poul-
try, to furnish a certain number of carnages, and
sometimes to send a certain number of hands in
harvest to assist in cutting down the landlord's
corn. Of late, however, gentlemen, considering
rent in kind as a troublesome concern, and of
uncertain value, and wishing to have a fixed and
known rental, have, in almost all the new leases,
converted the whole rent into money, except the
victual due to the minister, which the tenant is
still obliged to pay, and for whichj if not consi-
dered as a part of the stipulated rent, he is al-
lowed a deduction, the price of the victual being
regulated by the fiars of the county.

Were I permitted to give my opinion upon
a fubjed:, of which I profess not to be a com-
petent judge, it would be, that the rent of eyery
arable farm should be fixed in kind, the ipsa
corpora, at the same time, not to be delivered to
the landlord, but to be paid for in money, accor-
ding to the rate of the fiars. To this plan, I
know, some gentlemen object, because, from the
variableness and uncertainty of prices, they can
never have a certain and known rental, and con-
sequently must ever be at a logs how to regulate
their expenditure. But this objection is easily
obviated. Let th^ir expenditure be regulated

96 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF dbap. P>

by the lowest supposable average prices, and if
any overplus remains, which, most probably,
will be the case, they cannot surely complain of
this as a disadvantage. Tenants, also, may pos-
sibly object to this scheme, from the notion
that prices may rise, in which case they would
lose all the advance upon that proportion of
their victual which they are bound to pay to
the master. But this objection hath as little
weight as the other. It will be admitted that
the rent must be paid by the produce of the
farm. When a tenant, therefore, proposes to
take a farm upon a nineteen years lease, sup-
pose, in order to determine what money rent
he ought to pay, during that period, he must
calculate the probable produce of the farm,
the probable average price which that produce
will bring during the currency of his lease,
and what proportion of it may probably be
necessary for defraying the expences of cul-
tivation and management ; he will then be a-
ble to judge what proportion he can afford to
carry to market for the payment of his rent ;
and the average value of this constitutes the
yearly rent which he ought to pay. If then it
be necessary, that, before he can fix the money
rent, he should know what quantity of victual
must be alloted yearly for that purpose, it can,
surely, be of no consequence to the tenant, whe-
ther he pay his rent in money or in kind, since,
with respect to him, the one is tantamount with
the other; or whether he pay the average price
of the victual for 19 years in the name of mo-
ney-rent, or the price it brings every, separate
year, during that period, since, in the calculation,

-sect. in. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 97

they amount to the same. Upon the whole,
this plan seems to be perfectly fair and equitable
for both parties. If the prices shall exceed the
calculation, the master, indeed, as is reasonable,
"has a share of the advantage ; but the tenant is
a gainer on that part of the produce which be*
longs to himself, to the amount of the excess of
the prices above his expectation. If the prices
shall, at any time, fall below the calculation, the
whole loss does not fall upon the tenant, The
amount of what the price of the stipulated vic-
tual rent is below the original calculation, is born
by the landlord. Neither party, therefore, can
have any just reason to complain.

Formerly, when less labour was bestowed up-
on land, and the operations of husbandry ad-
mitted of longer intervals, especially in the sum-
mer months, when the farmer's servants and
horses had little else to do, than the former to pull
thistles and the latter to eat them, the burden of
personal services was slightly felt. But, under
the present system, when every season, and eve-
ry part of the season, has its own particular task,
which, in general, cannot, without risk, be ne-
glected or delayed, they must be considered as a
great hardship. To call for the farmer's reap-
ers, when his own corns are ready to be cut
down, or to demand his horses and servants,
when the critical moment of sowing, fallowing,
&c. is present, may cause him lose the proper
season, derange his plans, and subject him to
material damage. These services, however,
have seldom been rigidly exacted, and will, it is
presumed, be in time entirely given up.
N

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap.fr.

SECT. If. TYTHES.

TYTHES, so loudly and so justly complained
of as an intolerable evil, wherever they prevail,
are unknown in this county. In one or two
places, indeed, tythes still continue to be exact-
ed. But these are such inconsiderable spots,
that the grievance is little felt, and deserves not
to be mentioned. Exemption from this oppres-
sive burden is not peculiar to Fife ; it is very
generally enjoyed through the whole of Scot-
land ; and must be considered as a circumstance
highly favourable to the progress of agriculture,
and to the peace and prosperity of the country
at large. The proprietor, in letting his lands,
feels no obstruction from this quarter to the na-
tural and reasonable increase of his rental. The
activity of the tenant, in the cultivation of his
farm, is not discouraged or checked by the ap-
prehension that another will carry off a large
share of the profits of his industry. And a
fruitful and lasting source of misunderstanding,
and often of ill blood, between the parochial
clergy and the tenantry, so fatal to the respecta-
bility and usefulness of the clerical office, is re-
moved.

SECT. V. POOR S RATES.

POOR'S rates have, as yet, obtained no esta-
blishment in Fife. Extraordinary contributions,
in seasons of extraordinary scarcity, have been

sect. III. THE COUNTY OP FIFE. 99

made: and some of the most charitable among
the higher and more opulent classes, afford oc-
casional aid to the most indigent by private
alms. But the poor are generally supported by
the weekly collections at the church doors, by
the allowance for the use of the parish mort-
cloaths, and by the interest of funds raised by
savings or donations, but which, for the most
part, are of inconsiderable amount. These funds,
scanty and inadequate as, for the most part, they
are, have, nevertheless, been made to answer
the purpose hitherto, by the judicious and ceco-
nomical management of the kirk-sessions, under
whose administration they are placed. And, I
am confident, it will be allowed, that there are
no funds in Great Britain, of any description
whatever, managed to better purpose, and with
so little expence, or which, in proportion to their
amount, are made to go so great a length, and
to be so extensively beneficial.

The kirk-sessions, considering themselves as
guardians of the poor, and feeling it to be their
duty to contribute what lies in their power, to
render their situation as comfortable as possible,
act in this business without fee or reward. From
their intercourse with the inhabitants of their
respective parishes, they are, in general, well
acquainted with the situation of every person
applying for, or needing relief. And as they
can be under no temptation to partiality, the
supplies granted are proportioned as exactly as
possible to the necessities of the different claim-
ants.

How long this matter may continue on its
present footing, it is impossible to say. The
N 2

IDO AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. r.

number of the indigent is not diminishing : the
price of provisions is on the increase : and al-
though an honest pride, or a spirit of independ-
ence, may produce a disinclination to be indebt-
ed to public charity for support ; yet urgent
necessity must finally triumph over these con-
siderations ; and even humanity will consider it
as a duty to search out and relieve those, whose
modesty may endeavour to conceal their ex-
treme want from the public eye. If therefore,
the present funds shall cease to be adequate to
the real necessities of the poor, in consequence
-of the public liberality not keeping pace with
their increasing number or their increasing ne-
cessities, Poor's rates will become unavoidable,
the bad effects of which are numerous, and have
been severely felt by our sister kingdom. These
I will not pretend to enumerate. I shall only
observe, that a scheme which teaches men to
consider supplies of this kind, not as a charitable
contribution, but as a legal provision, and not
to receive them as alms, but to demand them as
a right, must inevitably increase the number of
claimants, by extinguishing that feeling of shame
and dishonour, which is usually attached to a
state of depend'ance on public charity, and which
hath so strong a tendency to prevent improper
applications. A scheme which entirely removes
all apprehensions of want, and holds out the
prospect of an abundant and indiscriminate sup-
ply, must surely be an enemy to industry and
frugality, and a powerful encouragement to idle-
ness, dissipation, and intemperance. Tell a man
that he has a legal right to support from the
parish, when he comes to be in want, and it

sect. 111. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. IOI

will be a matter of indifference to him, whether
he lay by the savings of his labour, or throw
them away by folly and extravagance. So long
as people know that the allowance of public
charity must be small, and that, in bestowing it,
consideration will be had to their former in-
dustry and good conduct, they will be naturally
led to labour for their own support as long as
possible ; and, even after public aid is needed
and bestowed, will continue their exertions while
they can, that, by the addition of their own earn-
ings, scanty as they may be, their situation may
be rendered as easy and comfortable as possible.
But give them a legal claim to support, when
unfit for labour, and in necessitous circumstan-
ces, and one of the most powerful incitements.
to industry and sober conduct is removed. Ex-
travagance can indulge itself freely, without the
dread of beggary ; an inclination to idleness can
easily frame excuses for a cessation from labour ;
and inability will often be pretended, where in
reality it does not exist.

If ever it shall be found necessary to intro-
duce poors rates into this county, the proprie-
tors will have themselves to blame. At present,
the greatest share of the weekly collections
comes from the pockets of the farmers, trades-
men, and labourers. Non-residing heritors can-
not be supposed to contribute any thing this
way ; and they seldom give any thing any other
way. Of the resident proprietors few can be
said to attend the church regularly, and conse-
quently add little to the amount of the public
collections. There are still some, however, and,
I say it with much pleasure, whose attendance

102 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF Cbap.V.

on public worship is punctual, and whose con-
tributions to the poor are liberal. The latter is,
indeed, a natural consequence of the former.
Wherever there is true devotion, there will be
bowels of compassion to the poor brethren.
Prayers, without alms, can never come up as an
acceptable memorial before God. If we are not
charitable to an indigent brother whom we have
seen, how can we love God whom we have not
seen ? But though nothing, except genuine
piety, can give birth to charity, other motives
may lead to alms-giving. I conclude this article,
therefore, with observing, that if the proprietors,
whether resident or not, would contribute for
the support of the poor, as much in proportion
as the inferior classes, which they certainly
ought, and are well able to do, the poor might
continue to be decently supplied, on the present
plan, and all the evils of a poor's rate complete-
ly avoided.

SECT. VI. LEASES.

THE lands in this county are almost univer-
sally occupied under lease. The period of en-
durance is various : but in general it is 19 years.
In some instances leases have been granted for
21, 25, 31, and 38 years: and frequently a life-
time has been added. This addition, however,
is now, in most cafes, dropped. The term of
entry to an arable farm is usually Martinmas,
and Whitsunday for a grass-farm. The terms,
when the rent is payable, if a grass-farm, are
Martinmas and Whitsunday immediately after

sect. VI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE.

entry, in equal proportions ; and if an arable
farm, Whitsunday and Martinmas, 18 and 21
months after entry. In some instances the first
half year's rent is made payable at Candlemas ;
and of late some proprietors have attempted to
make it payable at Martinmas, 1 2 months after
entry. Besides the sum stipulated under the
denomination of rent, the tenant is taken bound
to pay all public burdens that are payable br
the proprietor himself in grain or meal ; on
which account he either pays less rent, or is al-
lowed a deduction according to the value of the
victual.

The covenants in old leases are generally
simple, securing the farm-stead and fences to
be left in complete repair, or otherwise, accord-
ing to the state they were in at the tenant's en-
try,— obliging him to labour and manure the
land according to the rules of good husbandry,
— to leave a certain proportion in grass the last
three years, — to grind his victual at a certain
mill, &c.

New leases are, in this respect, much more
complex, exhibiting a variety of new covenants,
new rotations, and restrictions, which are not
always properly adapted to the soil, or climate,
or the state of the farm : often- embarassing,
and sometimes impracticable, and which there-
fore not unfrequently terminate in litigation,
and the ruin both of farm and farmer.

The following are the clauses most common-
ly inserted :

ift, The lands are let to the tenant and his
heirs only, secluding assignees and subtenants,
voluntary or legal.

104 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap, r.

id, Coal, marie, mines, and minerals, are
all generally reserved, with power to the pro-
prietor to work and carry away the same, and
the payment of surface-damages to be settled
by arbitration.

3*/, The houses and fences are put in repair,
and the tenant is bound to keep and leave them
in that state.

4/£, The tenant is obliged to grind at the
the proprietor's mill, or at such mill as the pro-
prietor himself is restricted to by thirlage.

5/#, Tenants are frequently tied down to a
certain rotation of crops, and a particular plan
of management, to which they are bound, un-
der severe penalties, to adhere,. especially in the
last years of the lease, with the express view of
preventing them from doing injustice to the
land, and injuring the succeeding tenants.

6tb, Tenants are commonly bound to reside,
and to keep a sufficient stock upon their farms,
in order to secure the landlord's hypothec.

jtb, The proprietor reserves liberty to ftraight
marches and roads, and to give and take ground
for that purpose ; and in case any neighbouring
proprietor shall require a mutual fence to be
made upon the march, the tenant is to pay 5 1.
per cent, for the money laid out by his master
upon such fence, and to bear the half of the
expence of keeping it in repair, during the cur-
rency of his lease.

8//6, The proprietor reserves power to plant
a certain number of acres, but for which the te-
nant is to have a deduction out of his rent, for
the ground so applied : the proprietor is bound
sufficiently to fence the plantation.

•fCCf. ri. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. IOJ

9/£, The tenant is sometimes taken bound to1
deliver a certain number of fowls, such as hens,
chickens, &c. and to perform certain personal
services, such as leading coals, &c. if requir-
ed.

lofb, The tenant is obliged to leave the dung
upon his farm at his removal.

I \th, All disputes between the master and
tenant are to be settled by arbitration.

But though these may be the most common,
they are not the only clauses introduced. Lea-.es
are found to vary and differ from one another
without end, in respect both of the nature and
of the number of conditions, according to the
state and circumstances of farms, and to the
different humours of the landlords, as well as
the different purposes they may have in view.

As leases are contracts which continue in
force for a considerable length of time, and in-
volve the most important consequences, both
to the parties themselves, and to the general
improvement of the country, too much pairis
and consideration, in devising and framing
them, cannot be employed. Impressed with
this idea, I shall venture to suggest a few ge-
neral hints on such points as I consider most
deserving of attention in letting farms.

I/?, As the tenant is the person whom the
proprietor employs as the actual cultivator of
his lands, and on whose industry and honesty
he depends for the improvement of his estate,
and the regular payment of his rents, he can-
not be too careful in making a choice. A man
of known profligacy, or even of a suspicious1'
O *

106 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. V.

character, ought never to be encouraged, be
his offers what they will. Such a persbn will
be a perpetual, thorn in the side of his master,
a disgrace to the tenantry, and a constant nui-
sance to the whcle neighbourhood.

Attention ought also to be paid to the cir-
cumstances of the incoming tenant. Without
a capital, in some degree, adequate to the size
and situation of the farm he proposes to take,,
he cannot be expected to prosper and do well.
If he attempts to do justice to his farm, by la-
bour and manure, the expences necessarily in-
curred by this may disable him for a regular
payment of rent. Or, if he endeavours to keep
even with his master, the improvement of his
farm must stand still ; and sequestration and
bankruptcy, in a few years, will be the proba-
ble consequence. The proprietor, if he has
been indulgent, becomes a loser, and the land
is, perhaps, m a worse condition than at the
commencement of the lease,

In the choice of a tenant, too, the landlord
should be satisfied as to his industry and profes-
sional abilities. Without these qualifications,
his capital, however sufficient^ may be soon
squandered away, by negligence or misapplica-
tion, and the proprietor reduced to the neces-
sity of removing him ; a circumstance neither
pleasing nor creditable, and of letting his farm
again, in a reduced state, perhaps, and conse-
quently in circumstances more unfavourable
than before.

2^/, The mode of letting farms is also a mat-
ter of no small importance, and merits conside-
ration. Sometimes land is let by public roup :

XCt. PI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. IOJ

and there are cases where it canriQt be regularly
let otherwise ; when lands, for instance, are
under the management of guardians, or a judi-
cial factor, &c. But, in general, though this
may be esteemed a fair method, it certainly is
not the best plan for either of the parties.
Some, from ignorance, or from necessity, or
from resentment, may be led to offer more than
the land is worth : and let the offerer be what
he will, if he can only find means to fulfil the
conditions of the roup, he cannot be rejected.
The landlord can have no power of selection ;
and the offer of a few pounds more rent may
bring a very bad tenant upon his estate.

The practice most commonly followed, at
present, is to roup the farms behind the curtain,
by advertising for concealed proposals* Though
this plan may put it in the landlord's power to
please himself in regard to the tenant's character
and circumstances, yet it seems liable to many
objections, and has been foudly complained of.
The man of character, of substance, and ability,
offers such a rent as, in his judgment, will ena-
ble him to pay his master regularly, and, at the
same time, secure to himself a reasonable return
for the stock of money, industry, and skill,
which he is able to employ. But he is opposed
in the dark by a person of directly opposite cha-
racter and circumstances, a desperate bankrupt,
perhaps, or a speculative ad venturer, whose name
is intentionally concealed, whilst his offer is not
infrequently employed as a handle to draw a
higher offer from the other. Thus does the
proprietor leave the valuation of his lands to be
determined by a competition not of the fairest

O 2

?08 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. F,

kind, whilst he too often follows the judgment
of the least competent, because more consonant
to his own inclinations. But, in the issue, he
often finds sufficient reason to repent of the
measure. Besides, giving in written proposals
seems to be a tedious and inconvenient pl;m,
especially in the way the matter is usually con-
ducted. Many months generally intervene be-
tween the first proposal and the landlord's final
answer, which is often withheld till within a
very short period before the term of entry. This
produces much trouble and disagreeable sus-
pence ; and the unsuccessful candidate is often,
on this account, subjected to the hardship of
losing the opportunity of an advantageous set-
tlement elsewhere1.

It would surely be a much more eligible plan,
were proprietors to consult their factors, or o-
thers, on whose judgment they can safely depend,
respecting the state of the farm in point of im-
provement ; the consequent length of lease pro-
per to be given ; and the fair value of the lands
under good management : and, haying done
this, to advertise themselves ready to treat with
substantial farmers, giving in a system of crop-
ping and management, to which, with the con-
currence of the proprietor, they are willing, as
far as circumstances will permit, to adhere, men-
tioning, at the same time, the size and quality
of the farm, the time of entry, and such other
particulars as it may be judged necessary to
communicate. This public notice will procure
to the landlord an immediate interview with
such as mean to, be candidates for the farm.
Any explanations, or further information that

Sect. VI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. ICQ

may be necessary for the satisfaction of either
party, can be more readily obtained by a personal
conversation than by the tedious process of a dis-
tant correspondence ; and, should any difficul-
ties or objections occur on the one side or on
the other, they can be instantly stated and soon
discussed, and a final agreement, or a final part-
ing, effected without delay.

3</, Another point in leases, which deserves
consideration, is the stipulated rent and the
terms of payment. An inclination in proprie-
tors to draw the highest possible rent from their
estates, though natural, may, nevertheless, be
carried to an extreme. To accept indiscrimin-
ately of the highest offer, or to screw up even a
substantial and industrious farmer to a rent a-
bove the real value of the land, must be an im-
prudent measure, and ultimately hurtful to them-
selves. Besides discouraging the efforts of in-
dustry, by removing the most powerful stimulus
to exertion, and checking and retarding the im-
provem'ent of their lands, they subject them-
selves to the risk of serious losses from the fai-
lure of tenants, or at least to the uneasiness and
inconvenience of delay, uncertainty, and irregu-
larity, in the payment of their rents. Tli£ claims
of justice can never extend beyond the real va-
lue of the ground. And a liberal and generous
heart will never, grudge to sacrifice a few pounds
of his rental for the satisfaction of beholding his
tenants easy, contented and happy.

If the scheme of fixing the rent in kind, and
making it payable in money according to the
1 of fiars, proposed under the article respect-
rent, shaU not meet with general approba-

IIO AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. f.

bation, I am humbly of opinion that rent should
be paid in money, and not in kind. And, as
every thing in a contract of this nature should
be avoided, that may embarass the operations of
the farmer, or lay a foundation for grudging
or dissatisfaction, a certain sum of money should
be stipulated in full of all demands, with the ex-
ception of such victual as the proprietor him-
self is bound to pay. Carnages, personal ser-
vices, the payment of schoolmaster's salary, and
other public burdens, besides the risk and loss
of time they otten occasion, are usually consi-
dered by tenants as burdens imposed upon them
additional to the rent which they ought to pay,
and this notion, however unfounded, is often
productive of murmur and complaint.

With respect to the terms of payment, though,
in general, Whitsunday and Lammas, the one
1 8 and the other 2 1 months after the term of
entry, are made the terms of payment, there are
some instances of leases, in which Martinmas
and Whitsunday, the first 12, and the last 18
months, after the entry are made the terms of
payment. This plan appears to be rather hard
and unreasonable ; nor do I see upon what
ground -it can be insisted upon with propriety.
It will be admitted that the rent ought and must
be paid by the produce of the land. If the mas-
ter chuses to have his rent in money rather than
in kind, he must allow the tenant a reasonable
time to convert the produce into cash. This
cannot be accomplished between the conclusion
of harvest and the Martinmass immediately fol-
lowing. The necessary work upon the farm
during that period, will put it out of his power

MCt. FA THE COUNTY OF FIFE. I IX

to thrash more of his victual than may be bare-
ly necessary for the sustenance of his family and
servants. If then the rent is to be paid at Mar-
tinmas, he must either borrow money for that
purpose, which no prudent farmer would wish
to do, or he must pay his rent with the money
which he meant to expend in furnishing the ne-
cessary means of improvement,

Even the payment of the first half year's rent
at Candlemass, though not so great a hardship,
may, in many cases, be injurious to the tenant,
as it may oblige him to dispose of his grain or
livestock at a disadvantage. Supposing this to
be the universal condition of leases, all tenants,
except such as may be in affluent circumstances,
would be obliged to dispose of a large proportion
of their grain in the winter months, by which
means the markets would be glutted, and the
prices brought under their natural level. This
inconvenience farmers could avoid, if they
had it in their power to delay the sale, or to
give a longer day to their merchants. On this-
account Whitsunday sterns to be the properest
term for the first payment ; and as the farmer
must have a considerable portion of his grain to
thresh after seed time, he can dispose of this
with advantage through the summer months,
the price of which, and of the cattle he may
have fed through winter, will enable him to com-
plete the payment of the year's rent at Lammas.
In short, it seems unreasonable to require a te-
nant to pay a money-rent earlier than the pro-
prietor himself could have raised it from the
produce, had the farm, been in his own posses-
sion.

til AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. r<>

4/£, The endurance of leases is another point
of important consideration. This must be re-
gulated by circumstances, according to which it
may be longer or shorter, without injury to the
occupant, or to the improvement of the soil.
Grass grounds, which are meant by the propri-
etor to be broken up, with the sole view of de-
stroying the fog, and renewing the pasture gras-4
ses, may be let for such a number of years only
as shall be sufficient for that purpose, and the
tenant bound to a certain rotation of crops, and to
lay it down again in grass. But when the farm
is meant to be under the plough, and constantly
in the hands of the farmer, the duration of the
lease ought to be longer. No farm, whatever
be its state of cultivation, ought to be let for a
shorter period than 1 9 years. The operations
of husbandry are slow : many years may elapse
before the farmer can bring his plans to bear,
even when no extraordinary improvements are
necessary : the period of reimbursement is dis-
tant, and his returns, depending on numberless
accidents, precarious. Add to these considera-
tions, the damage attending frequent removals,
change of situation, and new plans of manage-
ment which his new farm may require. When
these circumstances are attended to, it will ap-
pear that 1 9 years possession is sufficiently short
to give him a fair chance of securing the inte^
rest of his capital, and the reward of his toils.

But if the farm be in a state of nature, or
otherwise in such a condition as to require a te-
dious and expensive course of improvement,
such as draining, levelling, inclosing, cleaning
of stones, liming, &c., the endurance of th'e ka-se'

sect. T. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. II*

ought not to be less than 38 years. This sub-
ject,-however, will fall to he considered, more
properly, in a subsequent department of this Re-
port.

5//3/r, In all leases, a variety of particular re-
stricting and obligatory clauses are to be found,
which, though of a subordinate nature, and less
essential than the articles above mentioned, do
nevertheless involve important consequences to
both proprietor and tenant. In framing these
clauses, their effects, I suspect, have not, in eve-
ry case, been sufficiently attended to. Some of
them are certainly exceptionable, and ought ei-
ther to be excluded, or so modified and correct-
ed, as to render them, if not beneficial, at least
harmless. Of these I shall beg leave to mention
the following. '

By a special clause tenants are generally pro-
hibited frpm assigning or subsetting their farms.
This restriction, in a general point of view, may
be exceedingly proper. Taking farms, merely
with a view to make profit, by subsetting them
at an advanced rent, is highly improper, and
ought, by all means, to be prevented. Mid-
dle-men coming, in this way, between the pro-
prietor and the actual cultivator of the ground,
is a curse to any country, being a fruitful source
of oppression, and a certain bar to improve-
ment. But though this general point be admit-
ted, I apprehend, to make the rule universal,
would, in many particular instances, lead to con-
sequences equally oppressive and unjust. .Sup-
pose a man has been in possession of a farm for
a number of years, and has expended a great
P

114 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. V.

deal of money in the improvement of it ; but,
before the expiration of his lease, and before he'
has been able to indemnify himself, he falls into
distress, and becomes unable to manage his own
affairs ; has no child or heir capable of supply-
ing his place, and no person to take charge of his
business, on whose iidelity and ability he can de-
pend. If, in this case, he shall subset his farm
to a man of character, against whom the land-
lord can have no reasonable objection, would it
not be hard, not to say cruel, to prevent him ?
Surely neither the proprietor, nor the interest of
the farm, would be injured by such a substitu-
tion.

Again, suppose a farmer's oldest son, his
heir at law, disliking the employment of his fa-
ther, engages in another line of business, or,
turning out a spendthrift, will engage in no bu-
siness at all ; would it not be cruel to prevent
the father from assigning his tack to a second
or third son, who is sober and industrious, and
has, perhaps, been his father's chief assistant in
the management of his farm ?

Or, supposing the farmer to leave a widow
with an infant family, who must be unfit them-
selves to manage the farm after his death, and
cannot depend on the knowledge, the industry,
or fidelity of servants ; would it not be cruel in
the extreme, to prohibit from subsetting ? On
the contrary, humanity requires that the ruin
of the young family be prevented ; and justice
says, that they should not be deprived of the
fruits of a father's industry, and of the money
he has expended on the farm. These clauses,
in tacks respecting the seclusion of assignees and

sect. Fl. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 115

subtenants, ought certainly to be so modified as
to obviate such hardships, and, in a consisten-
cy with the landlord's rights, and the general
interest of agriculture, to secure completely the
fruits of the parent's stock and industry to his
surviving family.

In some leases, a certain rotation of crops,
and a particular plan of management, is laid
down, to which the tenant is bound, under a
specified penalty, to adhere. The propriety of
such a clause must depend on circumstances ;
and it x is believed that there are few cases in
which it is not liable to objections. Systems of
management, devised by mere theorists, unac-
quainted with practical husbandry, or at least
strangers to the nature of the ground for which
they are designed, may be found by the farmer
to be very erroneous and defective in practice.
In leases of farms, which are yet in a state of
nature, or which, as yet, have received little
improvement, such a clause is wholly inadmis-
sible, as the proper rotation cannot be rightly
ascertained till trial and experience shall point it
out. The seasons, too, and other accidents, may,
in many instances, oblige the farmer to deviate
occasionally from the prescribed plan ; and yet
he cannot yield to this necessity, without risk-
ing the penalty fixed in his lease. Land may
bear a particular course of cropping for a while,
and yet tire of it at last, in which case a change
may be necessary for the benefit of the land as
well as of the tenant. In short, this plan seems
to me to lay a dangerous embargo upon im-
provement. Suppose all the land in the king-
dom to be just now let for a period of 19 years;,

P2

|l6 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. r.

and the clause in question introduced into every
lease, then, during all that time, there could be
no room for experiment or discovery, for the
practical application of improved skill, or the
introduction of more perfect systems of hus-
bandry. The hands of the farmer are tied up,
and he must move on in his present shackles to
the end of his lease. Wise proprietors will,
therefore, be cautious how they introduce con-
ditions of this 'kind. Restrictions respecting
cropping and management ought to be general,
and rather of a negative kind, restraining the
tenant from \vhat is palpably wrong ; but at the
same time, leaving a clear opening for the exer-
tions of genius, of enterprize, and of progressive
knowledge. To take measures for preventing
the deterioration of the ground towards the end
of the lease, to which tenants may be tempted
by a principle, the force of which every man
more or less feels, is certainly proper and ne-
cessary. But it is surely best to refer the ma-
nagement to their own judgment during the
preceding period. In this age of growing in-
dustry and knowledge, tenants, in general, are
sufficiently attentive to their own interest, and
sufficiently intelligent not greatly to mistake the
means of securing it ; and therefore there is lit-
tle danger of gross mismanagement, for it is
impossible for the occupant to injure his farm
without hurting himself.

It may be proper to observe, likewise, that
every prestation agreed to by the proprietor at
the original bargain, ought to be distinctly men-
tioned in the lease, unless it be fulfilled before
the lease be extended, and nothing left to verbal

sect. VI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 1 17

premises on either side. The neglect of this
has often occasioned misunderstandings and dis-
agreeable litigations. An example of this I have
in my eye. A tenant subscribed a tack, in which
the houses and fences were declared to be in a
state of sufficient repair, though in fact they
were not ; the tenant, trusting to the proprietor's
promise, or that of his factor, that they should
be put into that condition in due time. But,
upon the tenant's applying for the fulfilment of
this promise, the words of the lease were ap-
pealed to, and the promise forgotten. A law-
suit was the consequence ; and the proprietor
was justly decerned in the repairs ; but the tenant
was exposed to all the inconvenience of delay,
and brought to considerable trouble and expence.
In leases no clauses ought to be introduced
which may eventually subject the tenant to da-
mages, the extent of which cannot be calculated
when the bargain is made, without stipulating
a compensation adequate to the injury that may
be done. Examples of this are not awanting,
and have given rise to much altercation and dis-
pute between the parties. In some tacks, where
the proprietor reserves the liberty of searching
for minerals, whilst surface-damages are allowed,
the payment of these damages is made to cease,
when the workings are given up. In which
case it may happen that such trials shall, in the
course of two or three years, damage several
acres of the best land, perhaps, in the farm, and
render them totally unproductive during the
residue of the lease ; and consequently the tenant
be obliged to pay rent, during many years, for
land of which he gets no use. It is surely

Il8 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. V.

equitable, that the allowance should be com-
mensurate with the duration, as well as the ex-
tent, of the damages done.

In some instances, proprietors have proposed
a clause to this Affect, that in case the tenant
shall, at any time, be one term's payment in
arrear, when the next term's rent falls due, the
lease shall, in that event, be at an end, arid the
tenant shall have no power to purge the irri-
tancy, but be obliged to remove without any
process whatever. This is a very dangerous
clause, especially when combined with an early
payment of rent, and, in many instances, may
prove ruinous to an honest industrious farmer ;
as sickness, the loss of cattle, or a bad crop, may
occasionally prevent a punctual fulfilment of trie
obligation. In such circumstances, it may be
said, he has it in his power to prevent the mis-
chief, by borrowing from some of his more weal-
thy neighbours. But to whom can he so na-
turally look for indulgence and relief, in times
of distress, as to the roaster for whom he labours,
and who shares the profits of his industry.

In some late leases, tenants are prohibited from
sowing above 10 pecks of lintseed in any one
year, from an apprehension that the culture of
flax is injurious to the land. How far this ap-
prehension is well founded, will be considered
afterwards ; in the mean time, it appears extra-
ordinary that the Board of Trustees for the en-
couragement of Manufacturers, &c. should have
so long held out premiums for the culture of a
plant, which is found to be so injurious to the
soil. These gentlemen, many of whom are not
behind the advisers of this restriction, either in the;-

sect. IV. THE COUNTY OF FIFE.'

knowledge of agriculture, or in zeal for its in-
terests, are certainly not of this opinion, other-
wise they would not continue to encourage the
practice.

As it is believed there is both lime-stone and
marie in many farms, which have not as yet
been discovered ; and as these are such valuable
articles of manure, it might be proper to insert
a clause in leases, encouraging tenants to make
diligent search for them, by allowing them, if
successful, the privilege of a certain quantity for
their own farms. When this encouragement is
withheld, especially when applied for by the
tenants, they will be at no pains to make dis-
coveries, or, if they should make accidental dis-
coveries, piqued at the refusal, they will be apt
to keep them concealed from theproprietor.

When an unimproved farm is let, it often
happens that the houses, though in good repair,
and sufficient for every present purpose, shall,
in a few years, from the increase of the farmer's
stock of cattle and grain, in consequence of his
improvement, become wholly inadequate. Pro-
vision should, therefore, be made in the lease for
this change of circumstances. As houses may
be considered as a permanent improvement,
proprietors should bind themselves to build
what may be really necessary, and tenants to
pay the interest of the money thus expend-
ed at the rate of 5 1. per cent. This would
be no disadvantage to the landlord, whilst the
tenant would be prevented from diverting his
capital from its proper use, the improvement of
his farm. Or, if this shall not be thought pro-

120 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF clap. r.

per, let the farm-steads be valued at the com-
mencement and termination of the lease, and the
difference of value, at the tenant's removal, be
paid, if they are worth less, by the tenant to his
master, but if worth more, by the master to his
tenant.

In some leases clauses have been inserted,
xvhich are not only absurd, but truly prejudi-
cial to both landlord and tenant. A striking
instance of this can be given. Through and a-
long the farm to which I allude, a considerable
water flows, which is capable of being applied,
within the bounds of the farm, to many useful
purposes, both in husbandry and manufactures.
But the proprietor has reserved no power in the
tack, to apply this water to any other purpose
than working coal : and the tenant is strictly
prohibited from making any alteration what-
ever upon the present course of the water, or
any part or portion thereof, for any cause or
occasion whatever. And therefore, should the
landlord find it for his interest to use the water
for a bleachfield, or for spinning machinery,
he cannot accomplish this, without express li-
berty from the tenant. And, on the other
hand, should the tenant incline to erect a thresh-
ing machine, or to apply .the water for any p-
thcr useful purpose upon his farm, he cannot,
without liberty from the landlord. So that,
without a new bargain, this water cannot be
used, during a long lease, for any other pur-
pose than turning coal-engines. When the
tack was framed, the slightest consideration,
one would think, might have discovered the
impropriety of such restrictions ; and a very

sect. Ft. THE COUNTY OF FIFE* 12

small portion of judgment might have so ad-
justed the matter, as to have enabled both pro-
prietor and tenant to enjoy the benefit of the
water for any of the above-mentioned purposes,
•without any material interference.

The farm just now alluded to has a northern
exposure, and is destitute of shelter. On this
account it might have been expected, that all
proper encouragement would have been given
for planting. But this is far from being the
case. The tenant, indeed, is allowed to plant
wood for the use of the farm, but not to sell,
nor to cut for any other purpose ; neither is he
allowed the value at the end of his lease. The
consequence is, that none is planted, and pro-
bably none will be planted, during the present
lease. So that this large farm of near 400 acres,
must be deprived of an improvement, equal-
ly beneficial and ornamental, for 25 years to
come.

In a county so naked and destitute of plant-
ing as Fife, this species of improvement should,
by all means, be encouraged . And, therefore,
on all grounds where it is needed, the tenant
should have liberty to plant to a certain extent,
and upon a fixed plan, and be paid for the trees
at the end of the lease, according to their value,
to be estimated by neutral men, mutually cho-
sen.

I shall conclude my observations on the sub-
ject of leases, with offering my opinion respect-
ing the state in which the outgoing tenant should
be obliged to leave his farm. It has been al-
ready observed, that, though he may safely be
allowed to follow his own judgment, during

°

122 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF

the whole period of his lease, till -within a few
years of its conclusion, to prevent injury to the
farm and succeeding tenant, he should then be
restricted to a certain mode of management.
In doing this, I apprehend, particular attention
should be paid to the operations of the last
year. Accordingly, it is submitted, whether it
might not be proper to introduce a clause to
this effect, That the tenant shall lay down a
field, properly prepared and manured, with
clover and rye-grass, — that he shall reserve an-
other field for summer-fallow ; and, if he has
been in use to sow turnip, that he shall reserve
a field also for this purpose ; all which fields
shall be of a size corresponding to the extent of
the farm. That lie shall carry on the opera-
tion of fallowing, through summer, in a proper
manner, and that he shall prepare and manure
the field for turnip, sow them, dress them, and
take due care of them. That when he leaves the
farm, he shall deliver his whole crop of grain,
hay, turnip, potatoes, together with the whole
dung collected during summer and harvest, to
the proprietor, for all which, and for the ex-
pence of fallowing, and the value of the grass-
seeds, he shall be paid a fair price, according to
a valuation put upon them by neutral men, mu-
tually chosen.

From such a plan the greatest benefit would
result, both to the outgoing and incoming te-
nant, as well as to the farm itself. The present
tenant would be under no temptation to slacken
his industry, fjis horses and servants can be
fully employed, and to the best advantage.
Nay, he ha$ the strongest possible inducement

Sect, VI* THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 123

to persevere in his activity and attention to the
business of the farm to the very last, because
he knows that he must be completely reimburs-
ed at the end. Besides, by disposing of his
crop in this manner, he is neither 'subjected to
the inconvenience of conveying it to his new
possession, which may be at a considerable dis-
tance, nor obliged to sell it by public roup, and
thereby expose himself to the risk of bad pay-
ment, or a distant day. The incoming tenant
is no less benefited by this scheme. He is not
under the necessity of bringing from a distance
fodder for his cattle, and provision^ for his fa-
mily. He is not subjected to the hardship of
having no grass for cutting, or for hay, during a
year and a half to come ; and no turnip for his
cattle, for a year. Receiving his new farm in
the same state, and upon the same terms, as his
master was obliged to receive it from his prede-
cessor, he sits down upon it with every prossible
advantage, having every thing necessary, and
in the same forward state, as if he had been for
several years in possession. The improvement
of the land, at the same time, suffers no inter-
ruption or suspense, but goes on in the same
way as if no succession of tenants had taken
place. In short, this plan will be equally ad-
vantageous to the landlord, as it will not fail to
bring him a good tenant, and the highest pos-
sible rent for his ground.

£24 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF clap.

CHAPTER VI.

Implements of Husbandry.

FORMERLY the implements of husbandry were
few, simple, and rudely constructed. But of
late, from the progress of agricultural science,
the superior and more diffusive knowledge of
mechanical arts, and a growing taste for neat-
ness and elegance, their number has greatly en-
creased, and they have received much improve-
ment in the mode of construction and excel-
lence of workmanship As it was the principal
design, so it has been the happy effect, of these
additions and improvements, to facilitate, ex-
pedite, and render more perfect, the various ne-
cessary operations of husbandry. In mention-
ing these implements, we need not take up
time with a very particular and minute descrip-
tion of them, as they are, in general, the same
here as in the neighbouring counties, and have
been distinctly described in other agricultural
surveys.

The old Scots plough is now almost entirely
gone into disuse, and its place supplied by a
small light plough, usually with an iron head
and a cast mettle mould-broad, constructed on

chap n. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 125

such principles as to require less power to draw
it, and to perform the work with greater exact-
ness and perfection. Few ploughs, constructed
entirely according to the form of Mr Small's,
are used in this counry. They are thought not
to answer well, and therefore not in general
estimation. This, however, may be owing, not
to any defect in the form of the plough, when
properly made, but to the want of skill in our
mechanics, who may not be able to execute the
work with sufficient exactness.

The plough most commonly in use has no
chain ; the sheath is of wood, and \\ ithout cur-
vature ; and the mould-board, instead of being
hollow, is round. The beam, though sufficient-
ly low behind, is formed with such a curvature
as to bring the bridle down to the proper line
of draught, and is frequently strengthened with
a plate of iron planted on each side, and extend-
ing the whole length ; or, in place of these, with
a plate of iron on the lower side. The part
where the coulter passes through it, is fortified
with a piece of iron above and below. But a
great part of this iron work is unnecessary, as
the beam seldom gives way, except at the coul-
ter or sheath ; and therefore, if properly secur-
ed at these points, there will be little danger of
failure.

The hollow mould-board is certainly best for
opening up stiff ground, and for ploughing ley,
strong clay, or such land as admits of a clean
furrow. But when the mould is loose* wet,
and apt to fasten to the plough, the round
rnould-board seems to be preferable, as it clears

126 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. 71.

itself more easily of the earth, and makes the.
furrow neater.

The harrow is another implement indispen-
sibly necessary in husbandry. It is commonly
four feet square, and consists of four bulls, with
four slots passing through them at right angles ;
and both the bulls and slots at equal distances
from one another. Each harrow ~has 20 iron
teeth, or tynes, as they are usually termed, five
in each bull ; the whole weighing about 72
English pounds.

I do not know that any remarkable improve-
ment has been made upon this instrument in
this county, though it certainly is very capable
of it, particularly in the arrangement of the
tynes, with a view to produce as many separate
ruts at once as possible.

Each harrow is drawn by one horse ; and
generally two, sometimes three horsts are yok-
ed a-breast The power is applied to one of
the corners of the harrow, to give a greater
breadth to the stroke, and to encrease the num-
ber of ruts.

There is a heavy harrow, called a break,
which is used for breaking stiff land, and loosen-
ing and tearing up grass roots and quick weeds.
The construction of this is much the same with
that of the common harrow, only much larger
and heavier, and furnished with a greater num-
ber of teeth. Sometimes it consists of two parts,
which move on iron joints : constructed in' this
manner, the whole harrow will be able to touch
the ground, and no part of it pass without do-
ing execution. In some cases, however, I
should think the other kind preferable. In Ian4

chap. VI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE.

that is uneven, and starts up into hard, lumpy,
and tough points or eminences, the jointed har-
row can bear upon these with only half its
weight at a time ; but when the other is drawn
right across them, they have to sustain the
weight of the whole harrow, and consequently
will more readily give way. To answer every
purpose for which the break-harrow is neces-
sary, and at the same time, to save the expence
of having more than one ; the jointed kind may
be made to act occasionally as if it were all one
piece, by the application of one or two strong
cross bars so fitted as to be conveniently put
on and removed, as circumstances may require.

There is also a small light harrow used by
many of the farmers for covering grass seeds.
This is very proper, especially when the grasses-
are sown among young springing grain of any
kind, as there is no danger of its tearing up the
young plants, which the larger harrow ofte.n.
does.

Rollers are much used, and now considered
as necessary implements in husbandry. They
are either of stone, or cast iron, or wood, from
five feet to five feet and a half long, and of dif-
ferent diameters and weight, according to the
materials <5f which they are formed, and the
purposes they are meant to serve. They are
sometimes made to consist of two pieces ; and,
if made of wood, the pieces bound, each at both
ends, with hoops of iron, and moveable inde-
pendently of one another.

As different kinds of ground, and the diffe-
rent purposes of rolling, may require rollers of
different weight, it might be proper to make the

128 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. VL

roller light, but with a box on the frame or
carriage, into which stones or any other heavy
substance may be put occasionally. In this way
the weight could be encreased or diminished at
pleasure, and the same roller be made to answer
in all cases.

The usual purposes to which the roller is ap-
plied, are. smoothing grass lands, or giving them
more solidity when loose and open, and break-
ing the clods of rough land under tillage. It is
likewise applied to land newly sown with flax
or grass seeds, or turnip ; and when young wheat
is harrowed in the spring, a practice which is
sometimes followed, this operation is usually
succeeded by rolling. There are some kinds of
land that have a natural tendency to heave and
swell, soon after the grain is sown, by which
the tender plants are in danger of being torn up
by the roots and destroyed. Frequent plough-
ing may reduce and consolidate this kind of soil,
but where this remedy has not been used, no-
thing except the application of a heavy roller
can save the crop.

Instruments for drilling and hoeing are nu-
merous, and of various construction. The drill
barrow, for sowing turnips and other small seeds,
is simple and of easy management. One kind
requires only one man, and another two, to ma-
nage it, Some years ago a kind of drill machine
for turnip was in use, which was drawn by a
horse, run upon two wheels which turned the
seed box, had a share for making the rut or fur-
row, and dragged a small harrow behind for co-
vering the seed. But this is now less common-*,

*bap. r. THE COUNTY OF FIF£.

ly used, and has given way to others more sim-*
pie, and equally answerable.

Besides the hand-hoe, there are two kinds for
horse-hoeing; one for the purpose of laying
away the earth from potatoes, turnip, or drilled
beans, which is made quite close on the left side,
to prevent the earth from falling upon, and co-
vering up the young plants ; but is otherwise
mounted like a common plough, only of a smal-
ler size. The other, designed to lay back the
earth to the plants, is usually furnished with a
mould-board on each side, moveable on joints at
the sheath, which consequently can be more or
less spread out, and fixed at any width, which
the distance of the drill rows may require. It
has sometimes two socks or shares, one like that
of the common plough, and another broad, ob-
tuse pointed, and of a sharp edge, designed to
cut the weeds, clean the bottom of the furrow,
and to raise up more earth to be laid to the rows.

The Reaping Hook needs scarcely t6 be taken
notice of. This instrument continues much the
same that it has been for time immemorial, and
probably is incapable of any material improve-
ment. In some places, and on^ particular occa-
sions,when reapers have been scarce. cutting grain
with the scythe has been practised* But as a
sufficient supply of hands can generally b'e pro-
cured in this populous county, this mode of reap-
ing has not become an object of consideration^
nor is it constantly followed by any one*

Wheel-Carriages have undergone the same im-
provements, and are brought to the same per-
fection, in this, as in other counties. These used
in husbandry are chiefly of two kinds, the close
R

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cfcap. V.

cart, and the corn cart. The former is of great-
er or less dimensions and strength, according as
it is to be drawn by one or two horses. Axles
of iron are much used, both from a principle of
economy, and from their contributing to the
easiness of the draught. The bodies are made
to turn over, when unloading, independent of
the shafts, to which they are connected by an
iron rod a little before the axle. Their sides are
strengthened and supported by iron stays both
on the fore and hinder part, and, when resting
on the shafts, they are secured by iron locks be-
fore. Of late they are made broader in the bot-
tom, projecting some inches over the naves, by
which means their capacity is enlarged, and the
side standards, being more perpendicular, are
less apt to be strained by the weight of the load,
Sometimes a frame is made to fix occasionally
on the close bodied cart for the purpose of car-
rying hay or corn in the straw. Farmers, how-
ever, have generally carts constructed solely for
this purpose. These are open bodied, much
longer, and with a wide projection above, so as
to admit a load of hay to the extent of a ton
weight. Sometimes they are so constructed,
that the body can be removed from the shafts,
and, by fixing bars on the sides and ends with
iron bolts, they can be easily fitted for the pur-
pose of carrying wood ; and were they made
close in the bottom, they would be equally con-
venient for the carriage of stones.

Single Horse Carts arc coming much into use,
upon this just principle, that two single horse-
carts will carry more than one double cart, with'
less strain to the carts, less damage to the roads,

clap. r. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 131

and greater ease to the horses, which, in a dou-
ble cart, without great attention in the driver,
can scarcely ever be made to draw equally : and
one man can easily manage two carts of this
kind. It is to be observed, however, that if sin-
gle horse carts are employed in carrying hay or
corn in the straw, each cart should have a driv-
er, especially where the roads are not very good,
as such high and bulky carriages are more easily
overturned.

Fanners^ for cleaning grain, have been used in
this county for many years. This is surely a
great acquisition to husbandry. Formerly the
farmer was subjected to all the inconvenience of
delay in calm weather ; and when there was a.
•sufficiency of wind, he was obliged either to car-
ry his corn to the fields, or wait till it should
blow directly into his barn-door ; which often,
occasioned much loss of time, much extraordi^
nary labour, and much waste of grain. And
the same or greater inconveniences were felt at
the mills. But now, by the use of fanners, all
these hardships are removed. This machine is
of various construction, and of various powers.
Some are made only to separatq the chaff and
light grain, and others perform the business of
riddling and sifting also. They cost from al,
to 3!. or 4!., according to the workmanship and
complication of the machinery ; and, if properly
taken care of, will last many years.

Thrashing Mills, a late, but most important
invention, are now very common in Fife, and
their number is encreasing every year. In al-
most every parish they have been erected, and
in several single parishes not less than 7 or 8.
R 2

1^2 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. V.

are to be seen. In the whole county, the num-
ber may probably be nearly 300. They are of
different constructions, and various powers : and
since they were first introduced, have received
very considerable and material improvements.
Some are moved by water, when a convenient
stream can be had ; but the greatest number are
wrought by horses. I know of none that do
not require at least two horses. Some require
four, and some six. They thrash from two to
twelve bolls in the hour ; and many of them,
by connecting fanners and other pieces of ma-
chinery with the principal movement, are made
not only to thrash, but also to clean, to riddle,
and to sift at the same time.

Of the many excellent and effective machines
of this kind to be found in the county, the one
erected, some years ago, at Kilry, ^n the parish
of Kinghorn, was reckoned, at the time of its
erection, one of the most complete. It is mov-
ed by water, and is said to thrash and clean i ^
bolls in the hour. Many people in the neigh-
bourhood carry their grain to be thrashed there,
which they get done for sixpence per boll. Com-
bined with this, there is a corn mill, a barley
mill, and a hoisting tackle, all moved by the
same water wheel.

Since that period, a great many other thrash-
ing mills of equal, and some of superior powers,
have been erected in this county. There is a
'very powerful one at Pusk in the parish of
Leuchars, which was erected by Mr Buchan the
late tenant. And Mr Cheap of Rossie has erect-
ed one lately, which, in respect of the excellence
p.f materials and workmanship, the convenience

Cbap,.r. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 133

of the several arrangements connected with it,
the extent of its powers, and completeness of
execution, is equal, perhaps superior, to any in
Fife.

The advantages of this invention to husban-
dry are great. It separates the grain from the
straw more completely than flails can do. It
performs the work in a shorter time ; and re-
quires fewer hands upon the whole. By thrash-
ing wet grain quickly and completely, it saves
it from being lost in wet harvests, when the
crop cannot be got easily and properly drie<J.
In short, the same hands, that would otherwise
be necessary on the farm, will be able, with this
instrument, to accomplish the business of thrash-
ing without much perceptible loss of time, as
they can always in an hour in the morning, be-
fore they go outgto the plough, or other work
without doors, thrash as much as will serve the
bestial for one or perhaps two days.

In a few instances, indeed, I have heard com-
plaints that this machine, though erected at great
expence, and judged to be sufficiently executed,
did not thrash clean. But this "must be owing,
not to any defect in the principle, but to some
inaccuracy in the construction and adjustment
of the machinery : a circumstance not to be
wondered at, in a work so new and so compli-
cated. It may be expected, however, that, by a
course of trials, every defect will be discovered
and corrected, and by the improved skill and
dexterity which the mechanic will derive from
practice, the machine will be brought to such
perfection as to remove every complaint.

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap.

CHAPTER VI.

Inclosing, — Fences , — Gate s.

INCLOSING land is allowed to be an improve-
ment in agriculture of great importance and uti-
lity. Few counties need this improvement more
than Fife, and there are few, perhaps, where it
is so far behind. At first view, one would ima-
gine that a very considerable portion is inclos-
ed : but when more closely examined, manv of
the fences are found to be so imperfectly exe->
cuted, or so totally neglected, as not to deserve
the name. In some cases the fences consist of
ditches without thorns ; and in others, of thorns
unprotected either by stone dikes, or by palings
of wood, so that cattle can walk out and in at
pleasure. The hedges are often choaked with
grass, stunted, r-nd full of gaps ; and the ditches
grown up with weeds and rushes ; so that they
are equally unfit for confining cattle, or for
draining the ground.

So far as can be judged, one third part of the
county may be considered as completely and
substandally inclosed : the rest continues partly
open, and partly fenced in the slovenly and
incomplete manner just now described. It is
matter of satisfaction, however, that though we
may be considered as far behind many others in
this useful and necessary piece of improvement^

Chap. VI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE.

the advantages are now seen and acknowledged;
and the spirit of inclosing, hitherto so feeble, and
so limited, is now beginning to operate with
rapidity and effect.

Wherever inclosing has taken place, the be-
neficial consequences have been evidently great,
The soil has been warmed and meliorated by
the shelter which the fences aiford, and by the
aid, which the ditches give, in draining off the
superfluous moisture. If under the plough, the
crops are more luxuriant, and the quality of
the grain superior. If in pasture, the tattle,
feeding at ease and under shelter, thrive much
better, than when exposed to the storm in the
open fields, or hunted and driven about by the
dog of a capricious keeper. The value of land
being thus enhanced, a corresponding rise of
rent has been the consequence.

It must be confessed, indeed, that the extra-
ordinary increase of rent which land has brought
for some years past, must, in part, be attributed
to the general prosperity of the country, in re-
spect to trade and manufactures, as well as to
the improved state of agriculture. For it will
be found, that good openfield land, or land im-
perfectly inclosed, and treated or laboured as
openfield, has advanced nearly in the same pro-
portion. But though this be true, it cannot be
denied, that the effect of inclosing, in promoting
this rise of rent, has been considerable ; especially
where the land is naturally cold and wet, and
consequently incapable of much improvement:
whilst in an open, unsheltered state.

The size and form of inclosures cannot be
subjected to any general rule. These must

136 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF ckap. VI*

vary according to the size of -farms, and to the
nature and situation of the ground. In general,
inclosures contain from ten to twenty-five or
thirty acres. The fences, too, are of various
kinds, of which the following are the most usual
and common.

. isf9 Strong high wall's ^ built with stone and
lime. These are chiefly used in fencing parks
and inclosures around the seats of / the nobility
and gentry ; and many of them are very old,
arid still very sufficient. Several fences of the
same kind, though not of equal height and thick^
ness, have been built of late in such places as
are in the immediate neighbourhood of lime,
and have easy access to stones.

idly, Dry stone-dikes^ of four feet and a half
high, sometimes covered with turf, and some-
times with large stones, projecting a few inches
on either side. The expence of building the
rood of 24 yards in length, is about 20 s., inclu-
sive of quarrying, carriage, and -building. This,
however, must admit of variety, according to
the distance of the quarry and the difficulty of
working it. The duration of this kind of fence
depends upon due attention being paid to the
founding as well as the building. The dike
should be founded so far below the surface, as
to be beyond the reach of the frost ; the stones
must be skilfully laid ; and thorough-bands, or
large long stones passing quite through the dike,
ought to be placed at proper heights and dis-
tances, to keep the whole fast together. If these
circumstances are sufficiently attended to, walls
of this kind form very strong and permanent
fences.

chap. ri. THE COUNTY OF FIFE, 1^7

3^, Galloway-dikes are used in several parts
of this county, especially where the ground is
high and cold, the soil not proper for rearing
thorn-hedges, or where sheep are kept, and con-
sequently thorns cannot thrive. This fence con-
sists of a double dike two feet thick, and twen-
ty, or twenty-four inches high, over which is
laid a single course of large flat stones, projecting
five or six inches on either side, upon which a
single dike of big round stones is reared, gra-
dually diminishing in size, and terminating in a
narrow top, about five feet from the ground.
This is esteemed an excellent kind of fence, as
it requires fewer stones ; is built at less expence ;
stands well, as no creature almost will attempt
it ; and if any part of it should give way, it is
easily repaired.

4/£, Ditch and hedge is perhaps the most
common mode of fencing in this county ; and,
as it unites draining, shelter, beauty, cheapness,
and the most complete security, seems to ap-
proach nearest to perfection. The ditch is made
five feet wide at the top, three feet deep, and
one, or one and a half foot wide at the bottom.
The turf, taken from the place intended for the
ditch, is laid along with the green side down,
at the distance of eight or ten inches from the
edge of the ditch. Upon these the young thorns
are laid at the distance of five or six inches from
one another pointing towards the ditch, and some
of'the finest of the mould laid next them, upon
which the rest of the earth taken from the ditch
is thrown. And, in order to protect the thorns,-
and to form a complete fence at once, sometimes
a paling of wood, and sometimes a coping of

138 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF

stones, is placed close behind the new planted
hedge. '1 he last is by far the preferable me-
thod. This stone-coping is usually about two
and a half, or three feet high, covered and se-
cured at the top with a course of pretty large
stones set edge ways, and projecting a little.
This dike is built close behind the hedge, upon
the earth thrown from the ditch ; and, in order
to prevent it from swaying or falling down, the
earth ought to be levelled and made equally so-
lid and firm.

In raising thorn hedges, the quickness of their
growth, and the future perfection of the fence,
depend very much upon adapting the mode of
planting them to the nature of the soil. Where
the ground is wet, and a ditch necessary, not
only to form a part of the fence, but also to- as-
sist as a drain to carry off superfluous water,
laying the thorns some inches above the surface
of the ground, in the manner just now mention-
ed, seems to be proper and necessary \ because,,
if planted in or below the surface, the too great
quantity of moisture would check their growth,
and perhaps destroy them altogether. But if the
ground be very dry, and the soil light and gra-
velly, planting them below the surface seems e-
qually necessary to secure them a sufficiency of
moisture for promoting their growth.

In this case, let a ditch be made and coping
built, as above described, only the coping next
the ditch. Along the inner side of the dike,
let the ground be dressed with a spade, and le-
vel with the surface, to the breadth of two feet
from the coping ; and if a li;tle dung can be
spared to it, so much the better. Then let the

cbaf. VI. THE COUNTY OF FiFE. 139

thorns be planted ten or twelve inches from the
wall, and at the distance of five or six inches
from each other, sloping along the Hue of the
hedge, and forming an angle of 45° with the
surface of the ground. This mode of planting
is performed with great expedition. One man
opens the ground with a spade edge-wise along
the line, and another lays the sets in the open-
ing, at the proper distance, and in the proper
position. Sloping the plants in this manner is
very material, as it contributes much to the
thickness of the hedge at the bottom. In the
part of the plant which stands above ground,
there are usually several eyes, from which the
young shoots spring. These sJioots will rise per-
pendicular, by which means the whole space
will be filled with a great number of stems pa*-
rallel to one another and at proper distances,
which will push out lateral branches, and, cor>-
sequently, if thriving and properly taken care of,
will form a close strong hedge in a very few
years. This method I myself have seen prac-
tised repeatedly, and with complete success, with
this only difference, that the earth thrown from
the ditch was faced and covered at the top with
the green turf, to supply the place of a stone-
coping.

Besides the different kinds of fences just now
mentioned, there are some others, , though less
in use, to be found in the county. The double,
ditch and hedge, with a row of trees planted in
the middle, has been tried, but does not seem to
meet with general approbation. I should ima-
gine, however, that a very strong and durable
fence might be constructed in this manner ; and

140 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap, FJ.

might be very proper on the sides of roads, e-
specially where the adjacent fields may require
open drains to carry off the water.

There are some instances of the double ditch
and hedge, but at a greater distance from each
other, with belts of planting between. In cases
of this kind, we sometimes find the Galloway-
dikes, or the double stone-dike formerly men-
tioned, used, instead of the ditch arid hedge.
This mode of enclosing is surely extremely pro-
per, where the land is high, cold, and exposed ;
and it is to be regretted that it has been so sel-
'dr-in practised in a county that needs this kind
of shelter so much as Fife.

Beech-hedges have been greatly and justly re-
commended ; and we meet with some excellent
fences of this kind, about gentlemen's seats ; but
they are no where used for enclosing common
fields.

In training thorn-hedges, the usual practice is,
to keep them as clean about the roots as possi-
ble for the first three or four years, or longer, if
their growth shall be slow. Once a-year, at
least, all the weeds and grass roots are pulled,
and the earth stirred and dressed. Perhaps this
operation should be performed twice a-year, a-
bout the beginning or middle of June, and again
in the month of October. After two or three
years growth, if the thorns shall appear thin at
bottom, and disposed to run up into bare stems
with few lateral branches, they are usually cut
over six or eight inches from the ground. This
produces a great number of new strong shoots
close to the bottom, and the loss of time is more

Chap. VI. THE COUNTY OP PIPE. 14!

than compensated by the consequent thickness
and strength of the fence.

The hedges, inclosing gentlemen's pleasure-
grounds, and other fields in their own posses-
sion, are regularly dressed and kept in good or-
der. But this attention is not general. In ma-
ny instances it is the practice, with a view to
save expences, to allow the thorns to run up un-
pruned for many years ; and then, to save the
hedge from ruin, to cut it over a little above the
ground ; and the tops are employed to form a
temporary fence somewhere else, or placed as a
dead hedge behind new planted thorns, to save
the expence of a stone.-coping. And this plan,
when executed regularly and judiciously, does
not seem liable to much objection, especially in
cases where pasture forms a part of the farmer's
course. When the matter is so regulated that
the hedge shall be in its unpruned state, when
the land is in grass, and cut, when the land is in
tillage, this double advantage is gained : the cat-
tle, when feeding, are completely sheltered ; and
the growing corns not liable to be injured by
yermin, or by the want of air.

GATES.

THE gates, in general, which are to be found
on the farms in this county, possess few quali-
ties that can recommend them to notice. Most
of them are formed of indifferent materials, and
coarsely put together. Some of them consist of
a frame, made with the bars either horizontal.
or upright, hanging between two upright posts,

J42 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. P/,

turning on the one, and closing upon the o-
ther, and furnished with different contrivances
to fasteri or lock them. Sometimes they con-
sist of four or five bars, which are made to slide
backward and forward, through openings in the
upright posts, or which are hung and fastened
to the posts with iron chains. The gates, how-
ever, about the mansion-houses of the principal
proprietors, are generally of the best materials,
and of superior workmanship. To describe the
various kinds would be tedious, as well as un-
necessary, as they are to be found in all the va-
riety of structure and elegance, which fancy or
mechanical ingenuity has been able to devise.

( '43 )

CHAPTER VII.

Lands.

SECTION I.

TILLAGE.

WH ETHER there is more land in this county
actually under the plough at present, than there
was 60 or 80 years ago, may admit of some
doubt. But that the importance of tillage, and
its proper application to the various purposes of
husbandry, are now more generally and more!
perfectly understood, and the practical part per-
formed with greater skill and dexterity, will not
bear a dispute. Many of our ploughmen exe-
cute, in a very complete and masterly manner,
forming and keeping the ridges perfecly straight,
and of equal breadth from end to end : and
adapting with judgment, the breadth, depth,
and inclination of the furrow, to the purposes
both of neatness and of utility. To this im-
provement, the frequent ploughing-matches that
have been encouraged in different parts of the
county, and the premiums distributed upon
these occasions, have not a little contributed,

It must be owned, however, that a great
many instances occur, where tilling is still per-
formed in a very slovenly and injudicious man-
ner ; no regard being paid to the size, straight-

144 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. ViL

ness, direction, or equality of breadth, in the
ridges, and the ground often scratched, rather
than ploughed. The great object of husbandry
is to encrease the quantity, and to improve the
quality, of the produce of the soil ; and the chief
art of husbandry is to reach that object, with the
least expence, in the shortest time, and with the
greatest possible effect. Nothing, I apprehend,
will contribute more effectually to this, than a
proper disposition of the ground, and a judici-
ous use of the plough. Without these, even
manure, however good in quality, or however
Hberally bestowed, will not avail. When land
is designed for cropping, or to be laid clown for
pasture, the ridges ought to be straighted, re-
duced to an equal breadth from end to end, and,
as far as soil and situation will allow, to be com-
pletely levelled. WThen ridges are crooked, the
water cannot easily run off. Inequality of
breadth will occasion many unnecessary turn-
ings of the plough, and consequently much loss
of time. And when the middle of the ridge
is much elevated, the sides may be too much
bared of soil, and thereby rendered less produc-
tive. If the field lies on a gentle declivity, the
direction of the ridges Ought to be right up and
down. But if the declivity be very steep, the
direction should be neither right across, nor dU
rectly up and down, but slanting or oblique^
This method will render the ploughing more
easy and expeditious, and, at the same time,
prevent the soil from being carried too rapidly
downwards, either by the plough or by water.
It has been recommended by some, to lay the
ridges in a direction from east to west, because

StCt. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 145

when lying north and south, the side of the
ridge towards the east is always less productive.
But this must be regulated by circumstances.
To give the ridge such a direction as will most
easily and most readily carry off the redundant
moisture, must be a first object ; and therefore,
if the direction recommended can be effected
consistently with this, it may be followed : but
if it cannot, then it must give way to the other,
which is of greater importance. Even on land
that is tolerably dry, I should suppose a direc-
tion east and west to be necessary, only when
the ridges have a considerable rise in the mid-
dle : for if the ground be level, or nearly so,
the easterly winds will bear equally upon every
part of the ridge, whatever its direction may be.

The proper breadth of ridges must depend up-
on circumstances. If the ground, be quite dry,
they may be of almost any breadth, without af-
fecting the crop. In this case, liberty is given
to attend at once to neatness and economy. I
should think seven yards the most convenient
breadth with a view to both these objects.
Ridges of this size can be sown with two casts,
covered by three harrows at twice, and are most
convenient for four reapers in harvest.

But if the soil be heavy and wettish, and with
such a declination as to permit the water easily
to pass off, I should be of opinion that 3- yards
would be the most proper breadth* In this way
the soil can be kept nearly at an uniform thick-
ness, and thereby all unevenness in the strength
of the crop prevented. The encreased number
of furrows, acting like so many distinct open
T

146 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. 711.

drains, will contribute greatly to dry the ground.
These ridges, as well as those on the dry ground
before mentioned, ought to be cloven every time
they are tilled. And, in this last case, particular
care should be taken to prevent any hollow a-
long the middle of the ridge. For this purpose,
let the two furrows that are to form the crown
of the ridge be first tilled ; and, in tilling the se-
cond of these, let the right hand horse go in
the first made furrow : this will bring them
close together, and raise them to a proper height.
But if it shall happen that this heavy damp land
has little declivity for carrying off the surface-
water, it may be necessary, in order to make
and keep it dry, to give the ridges a greater
breadth, that thereby an opportunity may be
afforded for deepening the interjacent furrows,
and raising the ridges by an accumulation of
soil. In this case seven yards may be a com-
petent breadth : and in ploughing such ridges,
they ought to be cloven the first year, gathered
the second, and cast the next two years in suc-
cession. The reason for casting them two years
in succession is, that by the operation of cast-
ing, two ridges are always brought nearer, and
two more widely separated alternately over the
field. By casting again, the succeeding year,
the soil is brought back to its proper place.
When ridges are gathered or cast the second
time, the land is in the most convenient state
to be sown out for hay or pasture.

II. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 147

SECT. II. FALLOWING.

Du R ING the existence of the old system of hus-
bandry, which seems to have been much the same
all over Scotland, the practice of fallowing was
unknown. That part of the farm which lay at
the greatest distance from the farm-stead, and,
therefore, called ti\z out-field, was usually thrown
into a certain number of divisions, called breaks^
and tathed in succession by the cattle folded
upon them. From each of these breaks, four,
and sometimes five crops of indifferent oats were
taken, and then the land laid out for pasture,
without sown grass, and in very bad condition.
In this state it remained, till its turn for tathing
again came round.

In-field^ or croft-land, was usually divided
into four parts, and kept constantly in crop, by
the stable and byre dung. The course gene-
nerally followed was ; 1st, bear with dung, and
then three crops of oats ; or, if pease were sown,
ist, pease with dung; 2d, bear; 3d and 4th, oats:
Or, ist, bear with dung; 2d, oats; jd, pease or
beans ; 4th, oats. By such a course, it is ob-
vious that the land must have been much in-
jured, and scanty crops produced. All kinds
of weeds being allowed to grow and shed their
seeds, without any method being taken to des-
troy them, the ground, of necessity, became
foul. The weeds, drawing to themselves the
strength of the manure, became more abundant
and luxuriant, whilst the grain, starved by the
want of its proper nourishment, and unable tQ
T 2

148 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. nf.

cope with its more powerful enemies, often pin«r
ed away and perished.

To cure this evil as speedily and as effectually
as possible, recourse was had to summer-fallow-
ing, and the remedy, wherever it has been ju-
diciously applied, has been attended with com-
plete success. By frequent ploughing and har-
rowing, all the seeds of the weeds are brought
alternately Jo the surface, where they are allow-
ed to spring, and then turned down and des-
troyed. All the roots, too** of perennial weeds
are torn up and separated from the soil, and are
either gathered together and burnt, or carried
off the ground.

But cleaning land, though a principal., is not
the only advantage obtained by fallowing. It
is useful, also, to enrich the soil, to break and
reduce it, when too hard and stiff, and to keep
it longer from tiring of any particular rotation
of crops. By frequent ploughing and harrow-
ing, a considerable quantity of vegetable sub-
stance is not only produced, but immediately
reduced to a state of putrefaction, and thus con-
verted into manure. The land is also broken
and pulverized, and consequently fitted to re-
ceive and retain, more readily, the fertilizing
dews and showers of rain. And the ground
being opened, becomes more penetrable by the
air, which, as it circulates through innumerable
pores, deposits- in the soil the putrid effluvia
which it collects and carries along with it, as it
passes over the surface of the earth. Hence we
find, that if land under a course of fallowing
be opened up, even in the driest weather, it will
appear black artd moist. But if ground, that

sect. II. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 149

has not been stirred by the plough, shall be
turned up, it will be found hard, and totally
destitute of moisture. In short, the ameliora-
tion of land by fallowing is so great, that in
many instances, especially when most abound-
ing with vegetating substances, it has been found
to require either no additional manure at all, or
not the half of what would have otherwise been
necessary.

The general utility of fallowing, and its ab-
solute necessity in many cases, being ascertained
by trial and experience, the practice is. now be-
come common in this county ; and, indeed, is
in no case neglected, where good husbandry
prevails. But though the propriety of fallow-
ing for cleaning foul land has been acknowledg-
ed by every intelligent improver, the propriety
of repeating it has been disputed. Nay, it has
been the object of the unqualified reprobation
of some whose agricultural abilities cannot be
questioned. I am apt to suspect, however, that
the ridicule and abuse, with which such persons
have treated this practice, have originated in a
too limited investigation of the subject. The
theories, founded on facts and experiments within
the bounds of a single county or district, must,
in general, be fallacious, and cannot, with safety,
be universally adopted. What is good hus-
bandry in one part of the kingdom, may be very
bad in another. » Thus, for example, shallow
ploughing is certainly very proper in the case
of sandy porous soils ; but would be very im-
proper, where the soil is a thin clay lying upon
a closs tilly bottom. It may be granted, how-
ever, that if the ground has been once complete-

150 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. VII.

ly cleaned, a proper system of cropping adopted
and followed, and a sufficient quantity of ma-
nure always at command, the frequent repeti-
tion of fallowing will, in general, be unnecessary.
But I should doubt whether ground can be ever
so completely cleaned, as to supersede the ne-
cessity of fallowing for ever after. Some lands
.are so disposed to run into weeds, that even
drilled crops, the best plan next to fallowing,
will not avail to keep it always clean. In short,
as the repetition and frequency of fallowing,
must depend much on the nature of the soil,
the command of manure, and the system of
cropping adopted, no rule, perhaps^ can be laid
down capable of universal application. And
therefore the matter should be left to the judg-
ment of the farmer. No intelligent husband-
man will be disposed to sacrifice a valuable crop,
in order to secure an ideal advantage.

In managing this branch of husbandry, it
would be extremely proper, if other operations
which may claim a preference will permit, to
give the land, designed for fallow, the first fur-
row, before the winter frost sets in, especially if
the ground be stiff and heavy, as the action of
the frost upon such soil would do more to re-
duce and pulverize it, than several ploughings.
For the moisture, contained in it, increasing in
bulk by congelation, will forcibly produce a se-
paration of its parts ; and consequently, when
thaw and dry weather come, the cohesion being
previously destroyed, the earth will fall down
into a crumbly or powdery state. With this
view the ground should be tilled across, and
formed into narrow ridges of two furrows plough-

sect. Ill) THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 15*

ed deep, and laid up against each other. This
would expose the greatest possible surface to the
air, and bring almost the whole soil under the
influence of ' the frost. The second furrow
should be given assoon after the end of April
as possible. The ground, after this second
ploughing, will readily be very rough and un-
even, and of course a great number of weeds
will have the opportunity of vegetating. In a
fortnight or three weeks after, let the break-har-
row be applied. This will not only bruise the
clods, and destroy the weeds newly sprung, but
will tear up and separate from the soil all the
roots of perennial weeds, which may be collect-
ed and burnt the first dry day. The subsequent
ploughings and harrowings, in respect both of
time and number, must be regulated by the
weather and the state of the land. If designed
for wheat, the last ploughing should take place
about the middle of August, or the beginning
of September, when the ground, if the season
has been favourable, will be ready to receive the
dung and seed furrow, as soon as the farmer
finds it convenient to sow.

SECT. 111. ROTATION OF CROPS.

NOTHING, I am persuaded, contributes more
to the amelioration and permanent fertility of the
soil, than a judicious rotation of crops. When
this is neglected, the effect of every other species
of improvement will be lost or greatly diminish-
ed. This circumstance hath not escaped the
notice of the Fife farmers. For a considerable

152 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap, ril,

number of years back, the introduction of pro-
per systems of cropping has been a serious ob-
ject of their attention. Accordingly, in many
places, where the land is rich, improvements
most advanced, and the occupants intelligent and
enterprizing, judicious rotations have been esta-
blished and followed with success. In a large
proportion of the county, however, improve-
ments may be considered as but just beginning,
and therefore the land merely in a state of pre-
paration and trial. Wherever this is the case,
neither rotations of the best kind, nor indeed
regular rotations of any kind, can as yet be ex-
pected. In the high, cold, and poor lands, no
rotation is observed, at least none that deserves
the name.

From the different rotations to be met with in
this county, the following are selected, as being
practised by the best farmers and most generally
approved of.

I. On strong moist and productive soils.

1. Fallow with dung, or lime or i. Fallow dunged, &.c.

and dung

2. Wheat 2. Wheat

3. Beans drilled or broad-cast 3. Pulse or clover (rows

4. Barley with grass seeds 4. Barley with 2 or 3 fur-

5. Hay 5. Oats, then fallow again.

6. Oats, then fallow again

2. On rick dry bottomed loams.

1. Potatoes or drilled beans Or, if the farm has access to

with dung plenty of town dung

2. Barley with grass-seeds I. Fallow with dung

3. Hay 2. Wheat

4. Wheat 3. Barley

5. Pulse 4. Clover

6 . Oats . 5 . Wheat with a slight d unging

6. Oats

sect. PlI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 153

3. On light or gravelly soils.

1. Turnip dunged On. Turnip with dung Or I. Turnip

2. Barley 2. Barley 2. Barley

3. Hay 3. Clover 3. &. 4. Hay

4. Wheat 4. Wheat or oats 5. &-6. Pasture

5. Pulse or oats 7. Oats

Or i. Oats from old ley Or I. Potatoes with dung
broken up

2. Flax 2. Flax

3. Barley with dung 3. Clover and rye-grass

4. Hay 4. Hay

5. Pasture 5. Oats.

N. B. — A light Soil, unless very tenacious of moisture, is
improper for flax.

On a dry light loam, mixed with gravel, and
of a good depth, the following rotation has been
tried and found to answer :

i. Potatoes. 2. Wheat. 3. Hay. 4. Oats.

5. Drilled beans, or pease and beans mixed.

6. Barley. Or, i. Turnip well dunged. 2.
Barley. 3. Hay. 4. Oats. 5. Drilled beans,
slightly dunged. 6. Wheat.

In the first of these courses the best method
seems to be, to give half of the dung to the
wheat, and the other half to the beans or barley,
and none to the potatoes.

The following rotation has been adopted by
Mr Qheap of Rossie, upon a farm which he has
lately improved, and keeps in his own hand.
i. Potatoes and turnip, and partly pulse. 2.
Barley. 3. Hay. 4. Pasture. And, 5. Oats.
The farm consists of 150 acres, inclosed and
subdivided into parks of 30 acres each, corre-

u,

154 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. VII.

spending to the above course. The land, in its
original state, consisted of a poor, thin, deafish
soil, without any good property to recommend
it, except its being dry, and not worth 5 s. per
acre. By judicious management, and a plenti-
ful supply of manure, particularly of marie, the
quality and appearance of the soil is entirely
changed, and the land brought to such a state of
improvement, as to bear abundant crops of any
kind of grain. Upon ground in such good con-
dition, many farmers would have introduced
wheat into the rotation. But Mr Cheap has,
with great propriety, rejected it, as being rather
too severe a crop for so light a soil. The ex-
clusion of the wheat will enable the land to pro-
duce the other crops in greater abundance and
perfection, and to retain its fertility more per-
manently and with less expence.

The leading feature in all rotations is, to in-
troduce green and cleaning crops, as much as
may be, between the white crops.

Upon the high and extensive district, men-
tioned pages 24th and 25th of this survey, where
the soil is a cold wet clay, generally upon a close
tilly bottom, with large baulks between the old
ridges, and these baulks full of stones ; the prac-
tice of the most spirited farmers is, first, to clean
the land of stones, and to enclose with the larg-
est; then thoroughly to drain it, applying the
smaller stones to this purpose ; and, while these
operations are going forward, to give it a com-
plete summer-fallow. These preparatory steps
being taken, the following course is observed :

mt. III. THE COUNTY OF PIPE. 155

1. Wheat, and perhaps part oats, well limed and

dunged.

2. Pease or beans, or a mixture of both.

3. Barley, with grass-seeds.

4. and 5. generally hay,

6. 7. 8. and, sometimes, 9. pasture.

to. Oats, and then return to summer-fallow.

But experienced farmers, rinding that land of
this kind, and under this management, does not
require fallowing so soon again, substitute flax
in place of the fallow at the beginning of the
next course. This is generally a rich and pro-
fitable crop, attended with this peculiar advan-
tage, that, being separated from the ground ear-
ly in the month of August, sufficient time is al-
lowed for giving the land a complete dressing for
the ensuing crop of wheat. The wheat is suc-
ceeded by pulse, and the rotation goes on as be-
fore. On many farms in the county, consisting
of this kind of soil, the course just now men-
tioned has been followed without the smallest
perceptible infeilority in the aftercrops, from the
effects either of the wheat or of the flax : a proof
that the culture of flax is not so ruinous to land
as it has been sometimes represented.

As Pife is a grazing as well as a corn county,
and as the black cattle bred in it are in high es-
timation, both for the dairy and for the sham-
bles, the course last mentioned, or something si-
milar, that shall combine both tillage and pas-
ture, would be highly eligible. It will be said,
perhaps, that no rotation of this kind can be de-
vised that will be universally applicable ; be-
cause there are some kinds of soil that will noc

U 2

I$6 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. fll*

suit all the different crops necessary to be intro-
duced. But, though this may be true, I appre-
hend a rotation of this kind may be pointed out',
that will apply to any farm which is proper for
the cultivation of wheat, provided it be dry, or
capable of being laid dry. Perhaps a strong
stiff clay must be excepted ; and yet, even though
a small portion of the farm should consist of
this kind of soil, the inconvenience arising from
thence, as well as from any smaller variations,
may be remedied by occasional deviations from
the established course.

In order at once to explain my meaning, and
to shew the practicability of the scheme, let us
fix upon a farm of any given size, all arable, and,
though consisting of different soils, all good,
and capable of bearing wheat ; let the farm be
completely inclosed and subdivided into eleven
fields, as nearly of equal size as circumstances-
will admit. Let it be drained and cleared of
stones, and otherwise properly prepared. On
such a farm, the course, laid down in the follow-
ing scheme, might, I apprehend, be advantage-
ously adopted, with a view to the above-men-
tioned objects.

( 157 )

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158 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Vll.

The 1 2th year the same rotation commences,
and goes on as before ; or, should the ground
appear to be sufficiently clean, pulse, potatoes,
or some other crop proper for wheat in succes-
sion, may be substituted in place of the fallow.

The above plan is suggested as an example,
not as the most perfect of its kind. More com-
petent judges may be able to devise a course of
the same duration, and calculated to answer the
same purpose, more complete, both in point of
arrangement, and in respect of the particular
kinds of crops proper to be taken.

This rotation recommends itself by several ob-
vious and important advantages, u/, It is evi-
dently calculated to keep the land in good or-
der, such a large proportion of it being applied
to green crops and pasture.

2^/, It is calculated to give as much perma-
nency as possible to the fertility of the soil un-
tler the same course. It is well known that a
constant succession of the same crop, or of dif-
ferent crops of a scourging quality, will very
soon weaken and impoverish the soil. And it
is probable that the same rotation, if a short one,
constantly recurring, will have the same effect,
though not so immediately. Let the course be
ever so good, the ground will tire of it at last.
To prevent this as far as possible, the best me-
thod seems to be, to put it under a course which
will not bring the same kind of crop upon the
same spot for a considerable number of years ;
and the longer the intervening period shall be,
the longer will the land submit to the rotation.
This, however, may be carried too far. There
is certainly a point, beyond Which the prolon-

sect. III. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 159

gation of the course cannot be extended, with-
out injury to the tenant. The above plan is
judged to be in neither extreme. Whilst it
seems best for preserving and continuing the fer-
tility of the land, it, is so devised as to afford a-
bundant produce for securing the interest of the
tenant.

3^/y, Another obvious advantage is, that a
farm under this course will always be able to
produce for itself a sufficient supply of dung.
This is surely of the greatest consequence, espe-
cially when the farm is so situated as to be un-
able to procure the necessary article in sufficient
quantity from the neighbourhood. Lime or
marie will not make up for the want of dung ;
and, therefore, if the farm cannot supply itself,
less must be kept in tillage, or, by a scanty sup-
ply of dung, the crops will fail, and the interest
of the farmer be injured.

4/£/y, Another advantage resulting from this-
scheme is, that the farmer will have three stocks
to depend upon for the payment of his rent, and
the subsistence of his family, his grain, his cat-
tle, and his dairy. Any one of these may occa-
sionally fail ; but it will seldom, perhaps never,
happen, that they shall all fail together.

To this plan it has been objected, that the pe-
riod of the rotation is so long, that the tenant
cannot go twice over it during the ordinary cur-
rency of leases. But this objection, if it has any
weight, operates, not against the plan, but against
the short endurance of the lease. If the scheme
be good, and conducive to the general improve-
ment of the soil, the short period of leases can
be no sufficient reason for rejecting it. The ce-

l6o AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. ril.

lerity and perfection of agricultural improve-
ment is the first and principal object. The en-
durance of leases is but a secondary considera-
tion, and therefore ought to be modelled in a
subserviancy to the other.

It must be acknowledged, however, that on
very rich and high rented lands, this course may
not be the most eligible. When the fair rent
rises to 405., 505., or 60 s. and upwards per acre,
the farmer must raise a greater number of the
more valuable crops, during the currency of his
lease, to pay the rent, and indemnify himself.
But on all farms in the situation above describ-
ed, the fair rent of which does not exceed 305.
per acre, the plan recommended bids fair to suc-
ceed.

SECT. IF. - CROPS COMMON LT CULTIVATED.

i. OATS.

IN this county, the cultivation of oats is more
universal and extensive than that of any other
kind of grain. The reasons are obvious. Oats
are more generally adapted to the soil and cli-
mate. Oat-meal still continues to be a principal
article of food among the lower classes of the
people ; and the consumption by horses has
been on the increase for some years past. The
progress of luxury has encreased the number of
carriage and saddle horses, as well of those em-
ployed upon the road, as of those in the hands
of private gentlemen. Besides, horses are more
generally used for the purposes of husbandry

sfrt. ir. THE COUtfTY OF FIFE. i6i

than formerly ; they are commonly of a better
kind, and more constantly employed, and there-
fore require a more plentiful and constant sup-
ply of oats The quantity of land annually
sown with this kind of grain cannot be comput-
ed at less than 30,000 acres, and it generally
turns out to be a very profitable crop.

ij/, Preparation.— Oats are sown upon ley
land broken up after hay or pasture. Frequent-
jy they succeed barley, if the barley has not beerf
sown down with grass-seeds, or if the grass has;
failed. They sometimes follow pease, some-
times turnip, and sometimes wheat.

2^/, Sort, — i. Blainslie^o called from the name
of the place where they are originally cultivat-
ed. This species possesses several properties,
which recommend it to attention. It will grow
and yield a good crop on land that would pro-
duce a very inferior crop of any other kind. It is'
early, and not easily shaken. It meals well, and
produces plenty of excellent straw. On strong
land, however, and in moist weather, it is apt
to lodge. 2. Botbrie Oats. — This kind produces
nn abundant crop, and plenty of meal ; but the
straw is rather hard and coarse. It requires land
in good order, and is not so early as the former.
3. Red Oats. — The cultivation of t'iiis kind is
becoming very common. It is well adapted to
cold soils, and ripens some weeks earlier than
common oats. The straw is neither abundant,
nor of a good quality.. But it stands well, is
not easily shaken, and gives plenty of meal.
From an acre of this kind of oats, sown on or-
dinary lands, I have known 9 bolls of meal pro-
duced. 4. A species called Early Brow?i, of
X *

l62 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Fit.

English Broivn. — This is an early and hardy
kind, and on that account is sown chiefly on the
high and cold districts of the county. Of late
Church V Oats have been introduced, and pro-
duce very luxuriant crops on rich land. But
the cultivation of this kind is not yet very exten-
sive. No Grey Oats, and few of the black kind
are cultivated.

3^/, Seed. — The necessary quantity of seed
varies according to the condition of the ground
and the quality and richness of the soil. If the
land be in good order, or if the soil be warm
and dry, less seed will be necessary than when
the land is poor and nearly exhausted, or than
when it is cold and wet. In the former case,
a boll or five firlots will be sufficient ; but in the
latter case, fix firlots, and sometimes more, will
be necessary. There have been instances of old
rich pasture ground, when broken up, sown with
eight or nine pecks and producing upwards of
30 seeds. The practice of changing the seed
every three or four years is very common, and
certainly very proper. But to make this prac-
tice answer the purpose completely, proper at-
tention should be paid to the kincb, and to the
soils from whence they are taken, that they may
be adapted, with advantage, to the land where
they are intended to be sown. Even upon the
same farm, if it contains a variety of soils, seed
may be changed with advantage. It is to be
observed, however, that the change ought always
to be from the colder and poorer land to that of
a warmer and richer quality.

4//?, Time of Saving. — From the beginning
of March to the middle of April : And some-

feet. ir. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 163

times early oats are sown as late as the begin-
ning of May on warm dry ground.

5/£, Culture while Growing. — No culture
given, except taking out thistles and other large
weeds, during the summer months, with the
hand, or with the weed hook.

6//6, Harvest. — The time of cutting oats va-
ries according to the difference of seasons, and
of climate. They begin, in general, to be cut
about the beginning of September, and are finish-
ed in four, five, or fix weeks, according to cir-
cumstances. In early seasons, oats are ripe in
some places a fortnight sooner, and on the high
cold grounds, and in late seasons, they are not
ready before the beginning or middle of Octo-
ber, and sometimes later.

Oats are universally cut with the sickle, andput
up in shocks (provincially stoo&s) of 1 2 sheaves,
two of which are used for the covering. This
mode of drying, or winning oats, as well as wheat
and barley, is perhaps the best that can be devised,
when executed with skill and care. The great
object is to put up the stook in such a manner as
completely to turn off the rain, and to stand fast
in blowing weather. For this purpose the sheaves
ought to be made as equal in size, and as square
at the bottom as possible. In setting them up,
the bandster ought to give them a firm seat on
the ground, with the bottom neither too close,
nor too much separated, gently and equally in-
clining to each other, and meeting close at the
top. The covering sheaves ought to be well
opened at the root knot, and properly spread
down on each side, to grasp the upright sheaves
as close as possible, and with a proper inclina-

X 2

164 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. VII,

tion or slope to carry off the rain. . The root-
ends of the covering sheaves, meeting at the top
and middle of the stock, ought also to be open-
ed and spread a little with the hand, and then
pushed close together ; by which means, being
entangled with one another, they will more ef-
fectually shut cut the rain, and acquire a greater
firmness for resisting the blast. The corn knots
are, in this county, generally turned to the out-
side of the stook. But this is a bad practice,
because, in wet weather, they are apt to spring,
and the corn, in consequence, must be lost. That
the stocks may be in the least possible danger
of being overturned by the winds, they ought
to be built in the direction of north-east and
south-west, because the strongest winds usually
blow from the south-west.

Some practise the method of hutting^ that is,
setting up the corn in single sheaves, with the
band fixed near the top, and the root end open-
ed and spread out in a circular form. When
oats are grassy, or full of weeds, this must be a
good plan. Should the weather be fair, with a
brisk wind, it will dry more, this way, in two
days, than, when stocked, in six. Or, should it
happen to get rain, whilst in this position, a
day's drought will dry it again. When half
dried, it can be put up in hand ricks consisting
of from 6 to 10 stocks each, in such a manner
as to complete the winning, to secure it from
any material damage from the weather, and to
put it in the farmer's power to wait the oppor-
tunity of bringing it to the barn-yard, without
danger, and in good condition. In bad wea-
ther, and when the grain is at a great distance

sect. IV. THE COUNTY OF FIF^. 1 65

from the barn-yard, it might be adviseable to
rick oats and other kinds of corn in the field.
By this method the farmer could watch the op-
portunity of a favourable day, and put them
speedily out of danger, which he could not so
easily accomplish, if he should carry them in
the first instance to the barn yard. After it is
thus secured, he can cart it home when he finds
it convenient.

7/£, Thrashing. — Oats and every other kind
of grain are thrashed, partly by the Hail, and
partly by the lately invented thrashing mills.

8//>, produce. — On rich land in .high order,
the produce will be twelve bolls per acre and
upwards. It is often ten, and from that down
to four bolls, according to the quality and con-
dition of the land. The medium cannot be
estimated above six bolls per acre, which will
bring the whole quantity raised in the county
to 180,000 bolls. The oats will weigh from
12 to 14 stone Dutch weight per boll. Some-
times they will exceed that ; but I suspect they
oftener fall below it, especially on the high cold
grounds. A boll of good dry oats will yield a
boll of meal, and pay the multures, which gene-
rally amount to a thirteenth part of the whole.
But in most cases the proportion of meal to oats
is 13 or 13^ pecks of the former to 16 pecks of
the latter, besides paying the multures.

9/>6, Consumption. — Of the above estimated
produce, 36,000 bolls may be allowed for seed ;
40,000 bolls for feeding horses and other ani-
mals ; and the remaining 104,000 bolls is ma-
nufactured into meal, producing about 90,000
bolls. Oat-meal still constitutes a principle ar-

j66 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. Fit.

ticle of food among the lower classes of the peo-
ple. It is partly made into pottage and eaten
with milk or small beer for breakfast, and often
for supper ; and partly into cakes, which, not-
withstanding the increasing consumption of
wheaten bread, are yet to be met with in almost
every house, and very much used. By a cer-
tain process, which it is unnecessary to describe,
oat-meal is frequently made into a dish, called,
in this country, solvent, which resembles, in
consistence, a flour pudding, is gently acid, and
forms a very wholesome and palatable meal.
The meal, which remains among the husks, after
sifting at the mill, is commonly applied to this
purpose.

BARLEY

BARLEY is cultivated in Fife to a very con-
siderable extent, and is considered as a crop of
great importance to the farmer. Not less than
20,000 acres are annually applied to the raising
of this kind of grain.

ist, Preparation, — Barley is frequently sown
after turnip or potatoes. But some chuse to sow
oats rather than barley after a turnip crop ; ap-
prehending that the barley, in this way, does
not succeed so well. This, however, I should
suspect is owing to mismanagement, rather than
to any defect in a turnip crop as a preparation.
If the turnips are sown on dry land and properly
dressed ; if they are removed from the ground
before they shoot and flower ; and if two or
three furrows are given to the land before sow-

sect. Jr. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 167

ing the barley, I am persuaded there would be
no risk of any deficiency in the crop. 2. It is
frequently sown after beans or pease. In this
case the barley crop is found to be more or less
abundant, in proportion as the beans and pease
have been more or less luxuriant and clean.
3. Barley is sometimes sown after oats, with
two or three ploughings, and with or without
dung, according to the condition of the land.
And, 4. It is sometimes sown after wheat. —
This method, however, I should think not judi-
cious. Wheat and barley are, perhaps, too si-
milar in quality to succeed one another imme-
diately in the rotation : And accordingly, I have
heard farmers complain that their barley crop
was seldom good, when sown after wheat.

2*/, Sort. — i. Common Barley , usually called
Bear, with six rows of grain on the ear. This
kind was once very generally cultivated ; but,
as improvements in agriculture advance, is
now falling into disrepute. It still continues
to be sown in the higher and colder parts of
the county, to which it is much better adapt-
ed than any other kind, as it ripens early, and
will yield a tolerable crop on ground, where a-
ny other kind would fail. 2. The long-eared
barley, with two rows of grain. This sort is
now universally cultivated on all lands that ly
low, and are warm, and are under an improved
system of husbandry. It produces larger grain,
and of a better quality, than the common bear,
is stronger and harder in the straw, and not so
apt to lodge, and therefore more proper, when
grass seeds are sown along with it. It has been,
alledged by some, that when barley and com-

l68 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. ril.

mon bear have been sown on ground equally rich
and well prepared, the common bear produced
the bulkiest crop, both of straw and grain. But, be
this as it will, as the long-eared barley is unques-
tionably the superior, and consequently the most
marketable grain, it ought to be preferred, where-
ver the soil and climate are sufficiently favourable.
3. , Rammcl, or blended Bear.— —This is the long-
eared barley and common bear in a mixed state.
The cultivation of this mixture seems to have
been the first step of improvement upon the old
plan, in respect of the quality of the grain : and
this practice still continues in many places. It
deserves to be remarked that the long-eared bar-
ley and common bear, if mixed together, after
growing on separate rlelds, will not spring e-
qually, either when sown or made into malt ;
but that, after they have been cultivated for some
time in a mixed state,' there will, in these re-
spects, be no perceptible difference. The quali-
ty of this mixture seems to hold a middle place
between the barley and common bear, being su-
perior to the latter, but not so good as the for-
mer. This may be owing, perhaps, to the ap-
proximation of their different qualities, occasion-
ed by the mutual influence which the plants
may have upon one another from their conti-
guity, whilst growing and coming to maturity.
4. Siberian Barley. — The ear of this kind is
formed like the long-eared barley, but the grain
has a husk like wheat or rye. It is said to mal-
ten well, and to be particularly proper for pot-
barley. This kind, is not cultivated in Fife to
any extent. 5. French Barky is likewise to.

S€Cf. IV. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 1 69

be seen in some parts of the county. It lias two
rows of grain, is short in the ear, and spreads
the awns in the form of a fan. When it meets
with good soil and good husbandry, it produces
abundantly. But it is not much cultivated.

3^/, Steeping. — Steeping barley, though sel-
dom or never practised in this county, may, ne-
vertheless, in certain circumstances, be extreme-
ly proper. When sown on light land, and in
very dry weather, it will ly long in the ground,
and at last spring very unequally, This incon-
venience may be prevented by steeping the seed
for 36 hours immediately before it be sown.
And to answer the purpose more completely,
it ought to be sown under fur. In this way,
the seed being lodged in the moistest part of the
soil, and beyond the reach of the scorching heat,
the vegetation of every grain will be secured,
whilst its being previously steeped, will make it
appear above ground as soon as if it had been
lodged nearer the surface.

4//&, Seed. — The quantity of seed allowed to
an acre, is from 10 to 16 pecks, varying accord-
ing to the dryness and richness of the soil, and
as it is more or less early sown.

5//6, Time of Solving. — From the middle of A-
pril to the end of May.

6//6, Culture while growing. — The same as of
oats.

7//6, Harvesf.—B&rlQy is, for the most part,
earlier than oats, and is reaped in general be-
tween the middle of August and the middle of
September. Common bear, sown about the
middle of May, will be as soon ripe as barley
sown in the end of April, It is almost alway
T

I~0 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chilp. FII.

cut with the sickle, bound in sheaves, and stock-
ed in the same manner as oats. It is more dif-
ficult to dry, and more easily spoiled in the stack
than oats, and therefore requires to stand longer
in the field.

In rainy harvests, the farmer is sometimes un-
der the necessity of bringing his corns to the
barn-yard, before they be completely dry. In
this situation they run a great risk of being da-
maged in the stack ; to prevent which, several
expedients have been devised. Some times a
sack stuffed with straw, or a sheaf of thatch of
about 15 inches diameter, is drawn up the mid-
dle, from the bottom to the top, gradually, as
the stack is a-building. Some, again, fasten to-
gether three pieces of wood of the thickness of
rafters^ and sufficiently long, in a triangular form,
with lath. This they place in the middle, and
build the stack around it. In both these me-
thods, if the stack be set on the ground, a com-
munication is kept open at the bottom for the
admission of the external air ; and thus the heat
and moisture are carried off, and the grain pre-
vented from suffering material damage.

8t/j, Produce. — This must vary in .barley as
well as every other kind of grain, according to
to climate, and to the quality and preparation
of the ground. In some instances, 1 2 bolls and
upwards will be produced from an acre ; and in
others not above four bolls. The average may
be 6-^- bolls per acre ; consequently the whole
barley produced in the county may amount to
1 30,000 bolls. The best barley weighs from
17 to 19 or 20 stone Dutch Weight per boll.

IV. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 17*

Consumption.—*- Though wbeaten bread is daily
becoming more common, barley meal is still
very much used, and is made into bread either
by itself, or, which is more frequent, mixed with
pease meal, and sometimes with dat meal, A
much greater proportion of the barley, however,
is consumed by the breweries and distilleries in.
the eounty. A considerable quantity is made
into pot-barley ; and what remains is exported.

WHEAT.

THAT wheat was cultivated in this county,
to a considerable extent, some centuries ago,
cannot be doubted, when we find that it con-
stituted a principal part of the revenues belong-
ing to the several religiouo houses in Fife, be-
fore the sra of the Reformation. At that pe-
riod, the wheat payable to the Abbey of Dun-
fermline amounted to 455 bolls. Upwards of
twice that quantity was drawn by the Archbishop
and prior of St Andrew's. And we may rea-
sonably suppose, that the abbeys and priories,
and other religious houses of inferior name, in
the county, would have their due proportion.
But to what extent the culture of this grain was
carried at that time, and what the mdthod of
management ; whether it continued :o be equal-
ly an object of attention after the Reformation,
or whether it suffered any periodical declines
and revivals, and what were the causes, we
have not sufficient information rightly to ascer-
tain. This, however, we know, that, during
Ui£ last twenty or thirty years, the cultivation
Y 2

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY dF chdp.

of wheat has been gradually extending, and has
invariably kept pace with the progressive im-
provement of the soil. Many parts of the coun-
ty are extremely fit for the production of this
valuable grain. It is probable, however, that
many have been tempted by' its value to push
the wheat husbandry further than is proper,
sowing it on land, either not adapted to that
kind of grain, or before it has been brought to
a right state of preparation. By which means
they have reaped a very bad crop of wheat,
where an abundant crop of oats or barley might
have been raised, at less expence, and with less
injury to the ground.

* u/, Preparation. — Wheat is most commonly
sown here after a summer fallow, with dung,
or with dung and lime, spread upon it before it
receives the seed furrow. If the land be light,
it is sometimes ploughed in with a thin furrow.
This practice seems very proper, as it lodges
the seed beyond the reach of crows and pigeons,
at the same time that it serves to give the plants
a firmer hold of the ground. 2. After clover,
sometimes with one furrow, and sometimes with
three. Manure, in this case, is applied or not,
according to the state of the ground. 3. Af-
ter potatoes. If the potatoes are got off the
ground in due time, and the seed inserted
while the land is dry, a very good crop is ge-
nerally the consequence. When wheat is sown
after potatoes, it might be proper 10 give the
potatoes one half of the dung, and to reserve
the other half to be laid on immediately after
they are taken up ; then the wheat sown and
ploughed down with a thin furrow. 4. After

ftct.ir. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 17$

beans or pease. In this case the dung is some-
times given to the wheat> and sometimes to the
beans. If the beans have been drilled, and the
ground made clean, the wheat crop following
seldom fails to be good.

2d, Sort. — On land that is cold and moist, and
not very strong, the red wheat is preferred ; it
being thought capable of standing the winter
better, and producing a- larger crop upon this
kind of land than any other. But, from the
defect of colour in the flour, it is not in such
high estimation with the bakers, and therefore
usually brings a lower price at market. White
wheat is most generally cultivated* Of this there
are different kinds. Velvet wheat is coming
much into use, and thrives well. The brown
or yellow is likewise sown.

3^/, Steeping, or rather Pickling, is very ge-
nerally practised. This is done in different
\vays, either with a pickle of water and sea salt,
made so strong as to carry an egg, or with stale
urine. When this last is used, sometimes no
more is applied than what is just necessary com-
pletely to moisten the seed. The grain is al-
lowed to continue no longer in the pickle than
is necessary to separate the weak grain, which
swims on the top, and is carefully scummed off.
Then it is mixed with as much powdered lime
as will dry it to a degree fit for sowing, which
is always done immediately. Indeed, when it
is pickled with stale urine, it must be sown in-
stantly. Should it stand but for a few hours,
its vegetative powers will be endangered. In
both cases the powdered lime ought never to be
applied, new slacked, and very hot, as, in this

1^4 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Vlt*

state, it has been found to injure the seed, and
sometimes to ruin the crop altogether.

Pickling wheat is beneficial in several respects.
By separating the weak from the sound grain,
it gives the best chance for a healthy and vigo-
rous crop. Soaked with salt water or urine,
and crusted around with lime, the seed is less
apt to be devoured by fowls. And it is found,
by experience, to prevent smut, a disease pecu-
liarly hurtful to wheat, as it not only diminishes
the quantity, but renders the sound grain less
valuable, as it must 'be washed and dried before
it can be made into flour, an operation which
requires considerable trouble and expence. It
must be confessed, that smut has appeared where
the seed has been pickled, but not so frequently
as where it has not.

Various and ingenious have been the opinions
formed respecting the nature and cause of this
disease. Some have imputed it to vermin a-
mong the seed, some to wet and variable wea-
ther, and some to poverty of soil. But, whether
it be owing to any, or to all of these causes, the
business of the farmer is to adopt such methods,
as by trial and experience have been found most
effectual to prevent it. Pickling, especially with
stale urine, seems best adapted to kill vermin.
If the cause be poverty of soil, this may be re-
medied, by manure and proper cultivation ; and
if these two preventatives be constantly observ-
ed, it is probable that the danger arising from
the weather will not be great.

4^, Seed. — The quantity of seed depends up-
on the mode of culture, the state of the ground,
and the time of sowing. When sovai broad-

sect. If. THE COUNTY OF FIFE, 175

cast, seldom less than a boll, and seldom more
than 1 8 pecks, are allowed to the acre. When
drilled, which is sometimes practised, 5 or 6
pecks will be sufficient. When the land is rich,
dry, and in high order, and the sowing early,
14 pecks will serve an acre as completely as 18
pecks when the ground is cold, wettish, and of
inferior quality, or when the time of sowing is
late.

5/£, Time of Soioing.—^ Wheat is sown from
the beginning of September to Christmas. This
point is generally regulated by the season, and
by the mode of preparation. Sometimes it is
sown as late as the month of February with suc-
cess. Late sowing, in otherwise favourable cir-*
curristances, will produce as bulky a crop, but
early sowing generally produces the heaviest
grain.

6fb, Culture while Growing. — If drilled it is
managed like other drilled crops, by horse or
hand-hoeing, and harrowing the intervals. If
sown broad-cast, nothing more is done, than in
barley or oats, except that, in some cases, it is
harrowed and rolled in the spring. The pro-
priety of this has been doubted. Circumstances,
however, I should apprehend, must determine
the matter. If the ground be naturally loose
and open, and, at the same time, clean, harrow--
ing would be of little service, perhaps rather in-
jurious, but rolling may be proper and necessa-
ry. Whereas, if the land be rather hard, and
crusted on the surface, harrowing will be of ad-
vantage, as it will have the effect of a hoeing,
opening the ground, and allowing the air and
moisture to penetrate the soil, and to circulate

176 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. VII*

more easily about the roots of the grain. This
operation, however, ought to be performed when
the weather is dry, and neither harrow nor rol-
ler ought to be heavy.

7/£, Harvest.— AVheat harvest begins from
the middle to the end of August, and ends about
the beginning of October. It is cut with the
sickle, bound in sheaves, and put up in stocks
like oats, with this difference, that the stook
consists of 14 sheaves instead of 12. From the
length of the straw, two sheaves will cover 1 2
of wheat, as completely as two will cover I o of
oats or barley. As wheat is generally free of
grass or weeds, and strong in the straw, it dries
sooner than other grain. If the weather be dry,
with a good breeze of wind, it will be ready for
stacking in eight or ten days : And, unless wet-
ted with rain, need never stand in the stook
above a fortnight, It is put up in the barn-yard
in round ricks like oats or barley, either raised
on stone pillars of about 1 8 inches high, over-
laid with planks of wood, or set on the ground
with straw or brush wood under it, to keep it
from suffering by damp.

8//>, Produce. — The produce of wheat, like
that of every other kind of grain, varies, accord-
ing to the difference of soil, season, improve-
ment, &c. Instances there are of 15 or 16 bolls
from an acre : but these are rare : sometimes 1 2 ;
often 10 ; and still more frequently eight and
under. Eight bolls may be considered as the
average produce per acre. The quality of the
wheat, in many parts of Fife, is scarcely inferior
to any in Scotland, the boll often weighing from
1 6 to 17 stone Averclupoise weight. The me-^

StCt. /r. tHE COUNTY OF FIFE. 177

dium, however, cannot be calculated above 15,
perhaps not above 14^ stones per boll.

9//jj Manufacture of Bread. — In nothing al-
most does the progress of luxury in this county
appear more remarkably, than in the increased
consumption of wheaten bread. Formerly it was
rarely to be seen, except at the tables of the gen-
try, and of the more wealthy classes of the peo-
ple ; and even by such it was but partially used.
Oaten cakes, and bread made of a mixture of
barley and pease-meal, were very commonly used
by the higher, and wholly by the lower classes.
But now there is not a family, however poor,
that does not use wheaten bread more or less.

There are 14 flonr mills in this county, which
manufacture into flour not less than 40,000 bolls
of wheat annually, most of which is consumed
in the county, besides a considerable quantity
brought from Edinburgh and other places. -

In manufacturing wheat into flour, the fol-
lowing is the quantity and proportion of the
different kinds, according to the method usually
followed here. Six bolls, which is the ordinary
grist produce

B. F. P. Stones.
Fine flour 6 2 o === 52

Second . 200 1 6

Third 020 4

Bran 130 14

Lost in grinding 00.2 I

10 3 2 87

The quantity of land annually applied in
Fife to the purpose of raising wheat, may a-
Z *

178 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF C&af. Vlt.

mount to 9000, or from that to 10,000 acres ;
and, therefore, according to the calculation be-
fore made, the whole produce will be from
72,000 to 80,000 bolls.

BEANS AND PEASE.

Beans and pease are cultivated sometimes se-
parately, and sometimes in a mixed state. Beans
are either drilled or sown broad-cast. They
thrive best, and consequently prevail most, in
,the northern and southern districts. In the
middle and upland part of the county, they
produce, in general, but a scanty and precarious
crop. Between six and seven thousand acres
may be annually applied to the raising of this
kind of grain.

iy?, Preparation. — Pease and beans, being a
a green crop, and of an ameliorating quality,
are generally introduced after white crops, par-
ticularly wheat or oats, according to the scheme
of rotation followed by the farmer. When
beans are sown as a preparation for wheat, they
commonly get the dung : but when they 'ollow
wheat which has been sown on a summer-fal-
low, and to be succeeded by barley or oats, they
are allowed none. It deserves to be remarked,
that in the culture of pease and beans, lime is-
a manure of peculiar efficacy, insomuch that on
many different kinds of ground, be it never so
well dunged, if it has not been previously lim-
ed, they never thrive nor produce a tolerable
crop.

JCCt. ir. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 179

When beans are sown in drills, the rows are
generally from two to two and a half feet distant
from one another. Pease do not answer to be
drilled, when sown by themselves, as they will
fall over into the intervals, and be in danger of
rotting, through the want of air, and too much
moisture in the hollow.

idy Sort. — The small horse-bean, the grey-
pea, and the hasting, are the kinds most com-
monly cultivated.

3<y, Seed. — An acre will require from a boll to
five firlots of pease, when sown unmixed; and of
clean beans, from seven to eight firlots. When
sown together, more or less is allowed between
these extremes, according as the beans or pease
predominate in the mixture.

4/£, Time of Sowing. — From the 1st of Feb-
ruary to the 20th of March.

5//>, Culture •while Growing. — Drilled beans
are horse and hand-hoed, as often as circum-
stances may require. But when sown broad-
cast, or mixed with pease, or when pease are
sown by themselves, seldom is any culture gi-
ven them while growing.

6tbt Harvest. — Beans and pease are cut with
the sickle, and laid down on straw-bands, if
clean beans ; but if clean pease, or pease and
beans mixed, they are laid upon bands made of
the pease ; and allowed to remain in that state
for some time. They are then bound and set
up in stocks, the part of the sheaf that lay un-
dermost, being always put to the outside of the
stook, and the stooks sometimes covered, and
sometimes not. In this situation they are al-
lowed to remain till they be fit for the barn-
L 2 '•*/

l8o AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Vll.

yard. When pease have few or no beans mix-
ed with them, they are sometimes laid down on
the fields in handfuls, and turned over, more or
less frequently, as the weather and other cir-
cumstances may require. In this loose and o-
pen state they are suffered to remain, till they
be completely dried, and then put up in stacks
like hay.

Beans are sometimes allowed to stand uncut,
till they are almost quite dried ; the pods grown
black, and the foliage withered ; in which case,
they are usually lit to be put together in a few
days after they are cut down.

7//?, Produce. — Sometimes the produce will
be 14, 15, or 1 6 bolls from an acre, the boll
the same as of wheat. But such a large encrease,
is rare ; the average produce cannot be estimat-'
ed above 6 or 7 bolls. The straw, when pro-
perly dried, is excellent food for horses, and may
be worth from 505. to 4 1. per acre.

Consumption. — So late as 12 or 14 years ago,
beans and pease were manufactured into meal in
considerable quantities, and this again, either by
itself or mixed with barley meal, was made into
bread, and very generally used in farmers' fami-
lies, as well as by trades people and labourers.
But though the practice still continues, much
less is now consumed this way than formerly.
Besides what is made into meal, a considerable
quantity is consumed by horses, hogs, &c. and
and a still larger proportion, perhaps, exported.

SCCt. 17. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. l8l

POTATOES.

THE Potatoe is generally supposed to be an
American root, and said to have been brought
into Ireland about 230 years ago. From thence
it found its way into Britain. But its import-
ance, as an article of food, not being known or
attended to, it "was at first regarded as a matter
of curiosity, and cultivated to a very limited ex-
tent. In this country, about 60 years ago, it
was to be seen chiefly in gardens ; few were
planted in the fields. It is only within the last
20 or 30 years that its value has been understood,
and the cultivation of it has become general.
The culture of this root is now found to be a
very useful and profitable improvement in hus-
bandry. By growing under the surface, and
thereby breaking and loosening the earth, by the
manure and dressing necessary to render them
sufficiently productive, and by the stirring which
the land receives, when they are taken up, they
contribute greatly to ameliorate the soil, and
form an excellent preparation for other kinds of
crops, such as wheat, barley, oats, and flax.

And as it is profitable as a cleansing and ame-
liorating crop, it is found to be a wholesome,
nourishing, and palatable food for both man and
beast. The abundance of the pr6duce is like-
wise a powerful recommendation of this plant.
An acre of land in potatoes will yield a much
greater quantity of food for the human species,
than when applied to the production of any o-
ther crop. In short, since this root came into
Such general repute, the nation has never been

I 82 AGRICULTURAL StTRVEY OF Chap. FI1,

exposed to such scarcity, as was experienced be-
fore that time, and which sometimes bordered
upon famine. It may be said to constitute one-
third of the food of the common people for
eight months in the year. On every farm a
considerable quantity is planted for the tenant
and his. cottagers. And on the lands in the im-
mediate vicinity of the towns and villages, which
are very numerous in Fife, a still greater quan-
tity, in proportion, is raised. Such of the inha-
bitants as have no ground in their own posses-
sion, take pieces of land from the farmers in the
neighbourhood, when it can be got, and, at a
convenient distance, for planting potatoes, ma-
nuring it with ashes and street soil, or with
dung, when it can be procured. This practice
is not merely beneficial to the persons to whom
the land is thus let, but very advantageous to
the farmer himself. The land brings a good
rent, is let only for one year, and, being well
manured and cleaned, is properly prepared for a
succeeding crop. The quantity of land, annual-
ly in potatoes, cannot be under 6000 acres.

ist, Preparation. — Potatoes being usually cul-
tivated as a cleansing crop, they are introduced
immediately after white crops, such as wheat or
oats. This root seems to be fondest of an open
loose soil, such as gravel, sand, or light dry
loam. It may, however, be profitably cultivat-
ed on any kind of dry land> except a stiff clay.
The ground designed for potatoes, is commonly
ploughed about the beginning of winter, and as
completely loosened and pulverised as possible,
by repeated pkmghings, before they are planted.
The lazy-bed plan, which was formerly follow-

tCCt.ir. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. J 83

ed, is almost totally given up, and they are now
planted everywhere in drills. Those who take
land from the farmers for raising potatoes, anxi-
ous to have as large a crop as possible, seldom
make the drills above 1 8 or 20 inches asunder,
from an apprehension that wider drills will les-
sen the quantity of the produce. This, how-
ever, is found to be a mistaken notion ; and
therefore farmers and others, who do not labour
Under that prejudice, generally make the rows
three feet, or at least 2± feet distant, and the
plants from 8 to 10 inches asunder in the row.
By this method, whilst an equally large crop is
produced, an opportunity is afforded for repeated
horse-hoeings, which, in cleaning foul land, is
certainly more effectual than all the dressing
which can be given merely with the hand-hoe.

In some cases, after the land has been pre-
pared by repeated ploughings, it is laid into
ridges of 3 feet broad, and the dung spread a-
long the furrows. The potatoe sets are then
dropped on the dung at the proper distance. To
lay the sets in the furrow before the dung is
spread, is a good method, and sometimes prac-
tised. The seed being thus put in, it is cover-
ed either by ploughing the whole intermediate
ridges at once, or by a single furro v from each
side, leaving the rest untouched till about ten
days or a fortnight after.

Sometimes, before planting, the ground is
harrowed, and the dung spread over the whole
surface as evenly as possible. On each side of
the ridge, beginning at one side of the field, a
furrow is opened, and the sets dropped along
them : they are then covered with the plough ;

184 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. T17,

and after the covering furrow, the plough goes
twice or thrice round the ridge, before planting
again, so as to bring the rows to their proper
distance. And thus they proceed with every
ridge in the field, till the whole operation be
completed. But it may happen, that, if the
hands employed in planting are too few, the
plough must .stand still for some time ; or if
they are sufficiently numerous to keep the plough
constantly at work, then they must stand idle
all the time the plough is employed in tilling
the spaces between the rows. In order, there-
fore, to save time and labour, the planting
should be carried on upon two ridges at the
same time ; so that when the planters are at
work on the one ridge, the plough may be em-
ployed on the other. By this method, the
farmer is not under the necessity of having more
hands than can be kept constantly at work.

2</, Sort* — Seed has been sometimes pro-
duced from the apple, and much attention has
been paid to bring them to perfection as soon
as possible. This practice, it has been alleged,
is necessary to prevent degeneracy and a dimi-
nution of the crop. Of this, however, I appre-
hend, there would be little danger, even from the
continued use of cuttings for seed, provided due
attention is paid to soil and culture. It is not
easy to express* intelligibly the different kinds
by their names, as the same species is often
called by different names in different parts of
the country, The kinds most usually planted
are, the large and small kidney ; the round, and
the oblong flat white, and the species usually
Called the Tartar. This last is. much esteemed,

tect. /T. THE COUNTY OF FlFE. ijf

as it is equally prolific with any other kind, im-
proves towards the end of the season, and con-
tinues longest sweet and good. While grow-
ing, the young tartars keep together in a cluster
about the root of the stem, and ly near the
surface ; whereas the white kinds grow deeper,
and spread wider in the ground. The tartars
are of a pale red, streaked with white, especially
at the top end. They are hollow eyed, and of
a round form. There is likewise a kind to be
met with, called blacks or blackamores, of a ve-
ry dark purple, inclining to black. It is said
to possess all the good properties of the tartar,
with this exception, that it is not so prolific.

Potatoes are seldom planted whole ; but are
cut into pieces, care being taken to have an eye
in each set. The quantity of seed necessary de-
pends partly on the attention paid to the opera-
tion of cutting the sets, and partly on the greater
or less width of the drills. Three bolls will,-
in general, be sufficient for a Scots acre.

3^/, Time of Planting. — Potatoes are planted
here from the middle of April to the middle of
May, and sometimes as late as the beginning
of June.

4//&, Culture while Growing. — Whichsoever of
the methods of planting before mentioned, is
adopted, the ground is harrowed at or a jitfle
before the time when the potatoes begin to ap-
pear. This destroys all the seed weeds that have
sprung since the time of planting. As soon af-
ter as the rows can be distinctly observed, the
earth is tilled away from the potatoes ; the
plough, in this operation, being brought as near
A a

l86 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cba. Vlt.

the plants as possible, consistently with their
safety. This contributes not only to destroy
weeds, but to loosen the ground about the plants^
a circumstance peculiarly advantageous in the
culture of this plant. The hand-hoe is employ-
ed to stir the ground, and destroy the weeds be-
tween the plants in the row. And if the land
be stiff, and bound together with root weeds,
such as couch-grass, &c., these are torn up with
the three-pronged hoe. In about ten clays after,
and when the weather is dry, the earth is laid
back to the plants with the double mould board
drill plough. The subsequent ph'ughings, as to
their frequency, and the season of giving them,
depend upon the state of the land and the wea-
ther. But the last ploughing is generally exe-
cuted with the broad sharp share before describ-
e$. and pretty deep ; after which it would be
proper to draw up the mould close to the stems
of the plants, with light broad teethed iron rakes,
1 8 inches long in the head, and with handles of
convenient length. . Instruments of this kind
will perform the work more expeditiously, and
perhaps more completely, than hand-hoes.

The Curl, a disease formerly unknown, is now
become very common, and very hurtful to this
plant. There has been much speculation, and
many conjectures formed respecting the cause of
this evil, and many methods proposed for pre-
vention and remedy. It is, however, doubtful,
whether the real cause has as yet been discover-
ed : and, consequently, whether any of the re-
medies proposed will prove universally success-
ful. Of the various means of prevention that
have been suggested, change of seed, especially

SfCt. VII. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 187

from later and colder soils, where the potatoe
has not attained its full maturity, seems to be
most generally approved of. And yet, if I may
be allowed to judge from my own experience, I
apprehend, that change of seed is not always ne-
cessary, either for preventing or curing this dis-
ease, or for preserving the quality and quantity
of the crop. About 14 years ago, when I came to
reside in this county, I purchased my seed pota-
toes from a cold backward farm. The second
year after they came into my possession, the curl
appeared, and a great number of the plants were
affected. Ignorant of the cause or cure of the
disorder, and under no apprehensions about the
consequences, I continued to plant the same, po-
tatoes, and have never to this day changed the
seed. The curl has never appeared among them
since. The crops continue equally abundant^s
at the first, and the quality, if there be any dif-
ference, is rather improved. I fcave sometimes
70 bolls from the acre, and never, under 50, ex-
cept in a very cold and wet season. The kind
is the Tartar, and the soil a mixture of gravel
and light loam, dry and tolerably deep. And
they are planted on the same ground only once
in six years.

5//>, Harvest. — Potatoes are generally taken
up in the month of October. Forks, provin-
cially called gropes or grapes, with three strong
broad prongs bent forwards a little towards the
points, and with shafts like the spade, are com-
monly used for this purpose. With this instru-
ment one person turns out the potatoes and
searches the ground, another gathers. Some-
times, when the crop is very abundant, cue rais-
A a 2

1 88 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chip. FIT.

er will keep two gatherers fully employed. The
plough is seldom used, except for turning away
a furrow from each side of the row, with a view
to render the operation easier and more expedi-
tious. After the potatoes are taken up, they are
sometimes put into pits in the field for preserva-
tion. The pits are made 4 feet wide, from 4 to 5
feet deep, and of any length, as. circumstances
may require. When this method is followed;, the
potatoes are raised a little above the level of the
ground, and drawn together at the top, in the
form of the roof of a house ; then covered with
a thick coat of stra^v, or pob from the lint-mills ;
after which they are secured with a covering of
earth closely packed, and made pretty sharp at
the top, with a little ditch around to carry off
the water. The pits ought to be made in ground
having a declivity, and of a sandy or gravelly
nature, to prevent the collection or retention of
water about the potatoes.

Sometimes a place is fitted up for them in the
barn-yard under ground, and the hay-stack built
over them. The door or entrance is either at
the end or side, according as the declivity of
the ground answers.

But potatoes are most commonly preserved
through winter in the house. And as they are
peculiarly liable to be injured by heating or by
frost, proper precautions should be taken to guard
against these dangers. They should be put to-
gether in as dry a condition as possible ; and
the whole wall of the potatoe-house, exposed to
th-? open air, ought to be carefully lined with
straw, pob, or withered ferns, to prevent the

SCCt. IV. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. . 189

access of frost, which, if severe, will penetrate
almost any wall.

But, as it will sometimes happen, from wet
or frosty weather at the time of raising, that
they cannot be housed in the most proper state
for keeping, and will therefore be in danger of
being' damaged, in spite of every precaution,
especially if they are put together in large quan-
tities, it may, in that case, be necessary to turn
them over during winter, with a view to sepa-
rate such as are spoiled from the sound. This
operation is very 'troublesome and inconvenient,
unless the house be much larger than would
otherwise be necessary. In. order, therefore, to
obviate these inconveniences, and to give the
potatoes the greatest possible chance of keeping
well, I would beg leave to suggest the following
method of arranging and fitting up the potatoe-
house.

Suppose, for example, the house to be 15 feet
wide within the walls, eight feet high in the
side walls ; and of any length, corresponding to
the quantity to be put up. From the door,
which ought to be in the middle, to the back
wall, let a space five feet broad be kept open.
Then let the two ends of the house be thrown
into three divisions each, the divisions four feet
wide, extending from the open space in the
middle to the gabels, separated from one another
by an opening of one foot wide. These divi-
sions or apartments, designed for holding the
potatoes, may be conftructed with upright bars
fixed in the ground and properly secured at the
top, and thinly warped with hazle or willow, or
any kind of slender and pliant branches. The

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbaf. FIT.

spaces of one foot wide between may be either
left open, or loosely filled with coarse straw or
furze, or any thing else that will admit a ready
circulation of air. Though the side walls are
supposed to be only eight feet high, yet by
beam-filling, the apartments may be raised to
the height of 10 feet, if necessary.

The advantages of this plan are obvious. The
apartments being no .more than four feet wide,
the body of potatoes is not very thick. The
heat and moisture have an opportunity of escap-
ing easily, and passing off through the open
spaces between. And should it happen that
the potatoes j through the badness of the wea-
ther, have not been got up perfectly dry, the
risk, arising from this circumstance, will be less,
as they will be more accessible to the air, which
may be admitted by keeping the door open in
dry windy weather, for some time after they are
put up. It is unnecessary to observe, that, dur-
ing frosty weather, they should be completely
secured at all points against its entrance. If it
shall be found proper to turn over the potatoes
in the winter or spring, with a view to clear
them of earth, and to pick out the frosted and
unsound, the method of putting them up in se-
parate divisions will also facilitate this operation.
Before it bcomes necessary, it is probable that
one of the apartments at least may be emptied
for the use of the family. The next may then
be overhauled, and as the potatoes are picked
and cleaned, they can be thrown into the empty
one ; and so on with all the rest, proceeding
more expeditiously or more leisurely, as time

Sect. IP". THE COUNTY OF FIFE. IQl

and hands can be spared, without the least in-
convenience.

6lb, Produce. — This varies, like crops of every
other kind, according to soil, culture, and sea-
son. Sometimes the produce is not above 20
or 24 bolls, and sometimes 60 or 70 bolls from
the Scots acre. The average may be 40 bolls
per acre. The barley firlot is used for measur-
ing potatoes, but is usually half heaped, or as
many allowed as can be laid on with a shovel.
When they are sold by weight, 24 Dutch stone
is allowed for a boll. According to this suppo-
sition, the quantity annually produced in the
county may amount to 240,000 bolls, which,
in point of solid nourishment, may be equiva-
lent to 80,000 bolls of oat-meal.

jfb, Consumption. — A very considerable pro-
portion of the potatoe crop is consumed by
horses, cows, hogs, and poultry. For horses,
they are esteemed a most excellent feed, are
usually given raw, after being washed, to the
extent of a peck. to each per day. They keep
the skin soft, and the belly open. They are
exceedingly proper also for milk-cows, and by
some are reckoned preferable to turnip ; as they
produce an equal quantity of milk, and give no
bad taste to either milk or butter. But as cows
are in danger of being worried or suffocated
with potatoes, and as some accidents of this
kind have happened, it would be adviseable to
cut or mash them before they are given. In
feeding hogs, nothing is preferable to the potatoe,
either for rearing or fattening. I have seen some
fed to a large size, and of excellent quality, who
got nothing but potatoes raw or boiled, except a

192 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Vll.

little pease or oat-meal mixed with them, for a few
days before killing. It has been already observ-
ed, that potatoes constitute a large proportion,
and a very wholesome part, of the food of all
ranks, but especially of the lower classes of the
people. They are used in various different
ways. — Sometimes boiled and eaten simply with
^ak, often with milk, sometimes with butter,
and sometimes with both. — Frequently with
butcher- meat, — in pudding and in soup. Pota-
toes are also manufactured sometimes into starch
by private families for their own use.

As potatoes are usually planted in drills, it
might be an improvement to mix them with
beans. When this practice is observed, the pro-
per method is to drop the beans regularly be-
tween the potatoe sets, as they are laid in the
furrow. From ground usually so wrell prepar-
ed and manured, a tolerable crop of beans may
in this manner be produced, without injury to
the potatoes. I myself have repeatedly tried
this plan on a small scale, and found it to an-
swer. There was no perceptible difference in
the quantity or quality of the potatoes, and no
inferiority in the following crop. The last trial
was made in 1798. The potatoes were planted
in drills four feet distant, anc) both potatoes and
beans laid under the dung. The produce was
90 bolls of potatoes from the acre. Not half the
beans came up ; whether this was owing to the
seed, or to their being planted under the dung, I
cannot say. But, notwithstanding this, the
produce was from three to four bolls. Such as.
did spring were extremely prolific. I sometimes'
counted upwards of 30 pods upon one stalk.

sect. /r. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 193

The kind planted was the small horse-bean. If
is to be noticed, that when beans are in this man-
ner planted with potatoes, the earliest kind
should be chosen for seed, as the potatoe seed-
time is usually three weeks later than that of
beans.

TURNIP.

Twenty years ago, very few turnips were
cultivated in this county. Since that time they
have been gradually coming into repute, and
the culture of them, of course, more extended,
and better understood. Still, however, the tur-
nip-husbandry is not nearly so extensive as its
usefulness seems to require, and the nature of
our soil will admit. North of the Eden, and
west from Burntisland, few turnips, compa-
ratively speaking, are raised. The reason as-
signed by the farmers is, that wheat being a
principal object, they find that they cannot spare
manure from this crop in such quantity as to
raise turnips to any considerable extent. Ac-
cordingly, on many large farms, we often find
not above three or four acres of turnip, which
are chiefly designed and used for feeding their
milch cows in winter. In order to make up
for the deficiency of manure occasioned by
the want of turnip, the fanmers often feed
their cattle and horses in the house, during
the summer months, with cut clover. On
many farms, however, in the middle divisions,
and on the east coast, they are cultivated in
considerable quantities, and form a part of the
usual rotation of crops. From the best informa-
Bb *

194 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. FIT*

tion I have been able to procure, there may be
about 5000 acres annually in turnip.

i/?, Preparation. — Turnip generally succeeds
a white crop, and when the land is not extreme-
ly stiff or foul, is a very good substitute for fal-
low. The soils most proper for turnip, and on
which they are usually sown, are gravel, sand,
light loam, and even a clay or heavy loam, if
tolerably friable. But on whatever sort they
are planted, it is indispensibly necessary that it
be dry. This root never thrives on wet land.
And besides the scantiness, or total failure of
the crop, the ground cannot be properly dressed
and cleaned, so that it is often left in a worse
condition, in that respect, than before.

The land generally is, and indeed ought al-
ways to be, ploughed, before, or during the
course of winter ; and in the months of May and
June, the operation ' of ploughing is repeated
more or less frequently, according to the state
of the ground, that it may be as well broken,
pulverised, and cleaned as possible, before sow-
ing. They are almost universally sown in
drills. The distance between the rows is va-
rious ; generally from two to three feet. This
circumstance, however, ought always to be re-
gulated by the state of the ground. Jf clean,
they may be closer ; but if foul, they ought to
be wider, that as much room and time as pos-
sible may be allowed for horse-hoeing the in-
termediate spaces. Sometimes the land is thrown
into narrow ridges, corresponding to the intend-
ed width of the rows ; then the dung is laid in-
to the furrows, and the ridges again split with
the plough j so that the dung now lies in the

sect. IT. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 195

middle of the new formed ridges, right over
which the seed is sown with a drill-barrow, and
followed by a light roller. Sometimes the dung
is spread over the whole surface of the field ;
then the ridges are formed by throwing two
furrows together, and nearly meeting ; in the
opening between which the turnips are sown,
and then the ground rolled. The first method
seems to me to be the best ; as the dung placed
so far below the surface, is not in danger, as in
the other way, of being withered by the drought,
and is in the properest situation for meeting,
and supplying with nourishment, the strong
root which the turnip pushes downward in
quest of food. Some intelligent farmers spread
the dung upon the land, plough it down, and
mix it with the soil before the drills are made ;
and this method is found to answer very well.
Planting them in drills is preferable to broad-
cast, as they are more easily dressed, and the
land more completely cleaned, without any di-
minution of quantity. Besides dung, the tur-
nip often gets lime, especially if the land has
not been limed before. In this case the lime
is spread over the field, immediately before the
drills are made.

2</, Sort and Quantity of Seed — The red,
white, and green-toped, are the kinds most com-
monly soWn, sometimes mixed and sometimes
separately. The quantity, from two to three
pounds per acre. Much less seed might suf-
fice. I have known an acre sown broad-cast
with a single pound, and the crop sufficiently
thick and regular. But less seed is necessary in
drills than in broad-cast. Judicious fanners,
B-b 2

196 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. VII.

however, generally sow thick, from an opinion
that this practice gives the best chance for a full
crop ; whilst the expence of the seed is so trifl-
ling, as to render the saving of it no object,
and the superfluous plants can be removed with
very little additional trouble.

3</, Culture 'while growing. — As soon as the
plants are so far advanced as to render the rows
easily distinguishable, the earth is laid away
with a light plough, which is close on the left
side, as far forward as the coulter, to prevent
the earth from being thrown upon, and bury-
ing the young plants. They are then hand-
hoed, and thinned to the distance of 10 or 12
inches ; regularity of distance being, at the same
time, occasionally sacrificed to the preservation
of a healthy vigorous plant. This operation
should never be too long delayed, otherwise the
young plants, crowded together, instead of
spreading their foliage, and acquiring strength,
and rapidity of growth, will push up into long,
spindly,tender stems; and care should be taken not
to suffer them to remain in clusters. When two,
or three, or four plants stand close together, the
growth of the whole will be much cramped and
retarded. Some time after, perhaps a fortnight,
when they have acquired a tolerable size, the
earth is laid back with the double mould-board
plough. In doing this, the ploughman should
cautiously avoid throwing any of the earth up-
on the plants ; or should this at any time acci-
dentally happen, the plant ought to be imme-
diately relieved. If earth is allowed to lodge in
the heart of the plant, it will infallibly destroy
it. Even breaking the tender blade, and mak-

sect. IV. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 197

ing it bleed, greatly hurts the growth. Care
should likewise be taken not to raise the earth
too high, or to bring it so close as to squeeze
the spreading leaves together. This method an-
swers well for potatoes, but is injurious to tur-
nip. After laying back the earth, it should be
stirred and trimmed ; and where by. accident it
is raised too high, should be levelled with the
hand-hoe. Turnips do not thrive when covered
up with mould. They swell best, and acquire
a larger size, when two-thirds, perhaps three-
fourths, of the body of the turnip stands above
the surface of the ground. How often, or how
long the operations of ploughing and hoeing
turnips should be performed, must depend up-
on the state of the land, and the forwardness of
the crop. It may be laid down, however, as a
general rule, that they ought to be repeated as
often as weeds appear, and continued as long as
they are practicable, without endangering the
plants.

The principal danger to which this plant is
exposed, is from the slug and the fly. In a,
fortnight after the young turnips begin to ap-
pear, it often happens, especially in dry wea-
ther, that either the whole is totally consumed,
or so many destroyed as to leave a very scanty
and irregular crop. Various methods have been
devised to prevent this calamity. Some roll the
turnip in the night-time, when the slugs, con-
cealed in the ground through the day, are sup-
posed to come out and feed upon the young
plants, by which means they are crushed and
destroyed. To save the crop from the ravages
of the fly, it has been recommended to sow a

198 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. VII.

mixture of seed of three different and successive
years growth. As the latest growth will al-
ways spring first, the different proportions of
the mixture will rise at different times. The
fly will naturally fasten on that which first ap-
pears ; but so soon as a second growth comes up,
it will quit the first, and attack this ; and the
same preference will be given to the third when
it appears, the youngest being always the sweet-
est and most palatable. But before this last is
finimed, what remained of the two former
growths, will be so far advanced, and have ac-
quired such a harsh and bitter taste, that the fly
will not return to them again ; and thus a suffi-
cient quantity of plants will escape, and remain
for the crop. As this is a very easy method, it
is surely worth while to make the trial.

4//7, Produce, — Of turnip, in drills from 2-~
to 3 feet wide, when the soil is good, the season
favourable, and the management proper, an acre
will yield from 50 to 60 tons. But as turnips
are not infrequently raised on land rather cold
and wettish ; and as the mode of culture is not
yet, perhaps, universally well understood, the
average produce cannot be calculated above 35
ton per Scots acre,

7/£, Consumption. — The turnips are generally
carted from the field to the house or cattle sheds,
and used for fattening cattle, or for feeding milk
cows, and young stock. Fed off this way, they
produce a great quantity of manure. Seldom
are sheep fed here with turnip, at least to any
considerable extent. The chief inconvenience
attending this crop, is the labour of carting them
from the field, and in wet weather or moist land,
the poaching and spoiling the ground. To prevent

sect. IV. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 199

this, it has been recommended to pull all the
turnip before the month of December, and, af-
ter cutting off the leaves, to pile them up in con-
venient heaps, covering them with straw. This
is, no doubt, a laborious business ; but the plan
is surely very proper, as, at the same time that
the turnips suffer nothing in their quality for
feeding, the land is saved from being cut and
injured by the carts in wet weather. It should
be observed, however, that as the leaves are ex-
cellent food, and therefore ought not to be lost ;
and as they will soon become unfit for use after
they are cut, the turnip ought to be drawn and
piled up, no faster than the leaves can be con^
sumed in a fresh state. At all rates, turnip
should never be allowed to remain on the ground
after the beginning, or at farthest, after the mid-
dle of March. After that time they begin to
flower, grow hard and sticky, and make bad
food, and at the same time greatly impoverish
the ground. Whatever quantity remains uncon-r
sumed at that time, ought to be pulled and piled
up, as before directed. In this way the turnip
will be preserved in good condition for feeding,
the ground will not be injured, and time will be
allowed for giving it the necessary number of
furrows before putting in the succeeding crop,

FLAX.

THE liberal encouragement, given by the
BOARD of TRUSTEES for introducing and ex-
tending the culture of Flax in Scotland, has been
very successful in Fife : there being few counties,

200 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. VII.

where a greater quantity is raised in proportion
to its size, and where the management is, in
general, now better understood. From the best
information that can be got, it is probable, that
about 1500 acres of flax may be annually raised
in this county.

1st, Soil and Prepttration.-~-ln the cultivation
of flax particular attention is necessarily paid to
the quality of the soil. A light, thin, gravelly,
or sandy soil, if naturally dry, is unsuitable.
Neither will a hard stiff clay, or land that is very
spongy and wet, answer. Light loam, friable
clay, and in general, any open soil of a tolerable
depth, and sufficiently retentive of moisture, is
proper. The richest crops are usually produced
on haugh land, or ground lying on the banks
of rivers, which have been deepened and en-
riched by the fine mould, carried down from the
neighbouring hills, by the rain, or with the se-
diment occasionally deposited by the overflow
of water in the time of a flood.

Pasture-ground, that has been laid down clean
and in good order, after carrying one crop of
oats, will seldom fail to yield a good crop of flax.
Potatoes, likewise, is an excellent preparation ;
and grass seeds sown along with the flax will
thrive as well, perhaps better, than after most
other crops. The potatoe ground is either not
ploughed at all, or ploughed immediately after
the potatoes are taken up. Clay land, when
designed for flax, is ploughed before winter, to
expose it to the action of the frost, and thereby
to pulverise it more completely. Indeed any
kind of land, that is intended for this plant,
ought to be tilled, two or three months before

Jtct.ir. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 2OI

sowing ; as early ploughing has the effect,
both of lessening the quantity of weeds, and of
rendej ing the ground fitter to resist the drought,
in case a course of dry weather should succeed
the sowing.- Land that is full of weeds, or that
is reduced and impoverished by cropping, what-
ever be its natural quality, is never chosen for
this crop by the judicious farmer ; as, in the
former case, the expence of weeding will greatly
diminish the profit, and in both cases, the crop
will be so deficient, both in quantity and qua-
lity, as not to balance the expence of manage-
me,nt.

When the flax is sown, the ground is com-
pletely harrowed, all large lumps of earth are
broken with a clod mallet, and stones, quick
roots, and every thing that may obstruct the
growth of the plant, removed.

zd Sort. — Seed from Holland, Riga, and
Philadelphia, are the kinds mostly sown. The
first is generally preferred, as being best adapted
to this climate, and as producing the largest crop,
and finest flax. Philadelphia seed is thought to
thrive better than Dutch seed on cold wet soils,
and the flax is tolerably fine. Riga seed yields
an abundant crop ; but the flax is of a very coarse
quality. Seed produced at home is, sometimes,
used ; but does not yield so large a crop as fo-
reign seed. Though this may be true in gene-
ral, I am apt to think that the difference, when
remarkably great, may be owingj in some mea-
sure, to the want of skill and attention in dry^
ing and keeping the seed, and to oiir not giving
it- a fair trial by a change of soil. Besides, it
must be all") wed that flax -req uires a more fre-
C c *

202 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. F/1V

qnent change of seed than almost any other
plant. Flax seed propagated at home, in con-
tinuation will soon degenerate, and a failure of
crop, in respect both of quantity and quality,
must be the consequence. To prevent this, and
at the same time to save the expence of seed, as
far as it can. be done with safety, the best me-
thod, perhaps, would be to sow foreign seed and
its produce alternately ; or, if home seed should
be sown for a number of years in succession, let
it always be the produce of .foreign seed.

3^/, 'Time of Sowing and Quantity of Seed. — The
time of sowing is from the beginning to the end
of April : but by far the greatest quantity is
sown about the middle, and from that to the
end of the month. Ten pecks Linlithgow mea-
sure is the usual quantity allowed to an acre ;
though, if the land be of inferior quality, or not
in the best order, 1 1 , or 12 pecks are sown. A
calm day, when the ground is dry, is chosen for
sowing : after which it pets a double stroke of
a light harrow. If, in the harrowing, any large
stones, or quick weeds, are turned up, they are
immediately gathered and carried oft: and then
the ground is smoothed with a roller.

4//6, Culture •wbik Growing. — If the flax stands-
in need of weeding, this is usually performed
when it is about four inches long. If done soon-
er, sufficient time is not allowed for the spring-
ing of the weeds, and their coming to a proper
length for pulling, , and consequently many will
escape, and the crop will be foul; If delayed
longer, the stalks will be in danger of being bro-
ken, or bended so as not to recover their straight-
n-ess again. This operation is usually perform--

Sft't. Jr. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 203

ed by women, who range themselves in close
array across the field, and in a lying posture,
and, with great dexterity and expedition, pick
out every weed that is to be seen or can be laid
hold of. Sometimes, however, much damage
is done by careless or inexperienced hands, bruis-
ing the stalks with their shoes and elbows, and
tearing up plants with the weeds. Grass is not
considered as a weed necessary or proper to be
pulled. It does little harm to the rlax, though
permitted to remain, but, if pulled, as it has a
deep and wide-spread root, it seldom fails to
bring a considerable number of the plants along
with it.

5//^, Harvest. — Flax is pulled from the be-
ginning to the end of August. When the seed
is intended to be saved, either for sowing or for
bruising, it is allowed to stand till the stalk be-
comes yellow, the leaves mostly fallen off or wi-
thered, and the bolls hard. But if the fineness
of the flax is the great object, it is pulled about
a fortnight or three weeks earlier.

When pulled, it is laid in handfuls across each
other, and suffered to remain in this situation for
some time, perhaps fur two or three days, and
rippled. Care is taken to sort the flax, so as not
to mix long and short in the same sheaf. The
sheaves are bound with stalks of itself, and made
of a size that a man can grasp them with both
his hands. The bolls are either dried in the
sun, if the weather permit, or dried slowly on a
kiln, then threshed, and the seed cleaned, and ei-
ther put up for sowing, or sold to the oil-mills
for bruising. In some cases, where the preser-
vation of the seed for sowing is a principal cb-
Cc 2

204 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. F1L

ject, the flax is dried in stocks, like oats or bar-
ley, with the bolls upon it, stacked up through
•winter, threshed in the spring, and watered as
soon thereafter as the season shall prove favour-
able.

Flax is frequently watered, without being rip-
pled. But this is surely an improper practice.
The bolls, which are an excellent food for cows
or horses, being put into the water, are render-
ed unfit for this purpose, and, at the sametime,
are apt to breed vermin in the water, and there-
by endanger the flax. In the operation of wa-
tering, care is taken to have soft water, if possi-
ble. Sometimes it is put into moss holes, and
sometimes into canals or ponds, into which soft
water can be introduced. If the canal be long,
and its situation render a constant supply of wa-
ter necessary, the flax, where the fresh water en-
ters, is always sooner watered, than that which
lies at the other end. This circumstance should
be attended to. Flax ought never, if it can po§-
.sibly be avoided, be put into water, that has
been used for the same purpose immediately be-
fore. If the season be warm, the water soft,
and collected for some time, it will require from
eight to ten days. But in this county, flax is
seldom allowed to continue in the water till it
be completely ready. Allowance is made for its
lying a week, perhaps two or three weeks, on
the grass.

In putting the flax into the canal, attention is
not always paid to the proper method of placing
the sheaves. They are frequently thrown in
•without order, and laid in a horizontal position :
whereas they ought to be disposed in rows across

sect. IV. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. "205

the canal, beginning at the lower end, and plac-
ing them in ax sloping posture, with the crop or
top end up. The reason of which is, that the
crop end is most difficult to water, and therefore
ought to lye where the water is warmest. The
whole is usually covered with sods, having the
green sides turned down, to keep the ilax clean.
In order to prevent its getting either too muck
or too little of the water, some stalks are drawn
from the middle of a sheaf, and dried for trial.
This is done for two or three days successively,
immediately before the time it may be supposed
to be ready. When, at last, it is found to be
sufficiently watered, the covering is carefully re-
moved, and the ftax taken out, sheaf by sheaf,
and laid in a heap on the edge of the canal,
where it remains till the water be tolerably well
drained off. Any sheaves, that may. be dirtied
by the mud on the sides or bottom of the canal,
are carefully washed in the water. It is next
carted to a grass field, as smooth and clean and
well aired as possible ; and spread by women in
straight and regular rows, the top end of the lat-
ter always covering the root of the former row,
to prevent its being lifted and disordered by the
wind. • This operation they perform with great
dexterity and expedition. In this state it re-
mains, till it be judged sufficiently watered. In
taking it up, they use the point of a reaping '
hook' to raise it from the ground, and collect it
into sheaves, which are now made of a larger size
than formerly. It is then either stacked at home,
or carried directly from the field to the mill,
where it is put up, and carefully secured from
the w cathcr, till it be dressed, which is ordinari?

206 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chip. ni.

ly done in the course of the ensuing winter or
spring.

6//?, Produce. — This depends much on the
soil and preparation of the ground. Sometimes,
on rich land, and under good management,
from 30 to 36 stones have been raised from the
acre, each stone 22 libs. Averdupoize. The
average, however, is iar below this, not perhaps
above 22 stone per acre. Dressing at the mill
is now 2 s. per stone ; and heckling, including
both lint and braids, is i-s. the stone. Suppose,
then, 1500 acres of flax, and each acre to pro-
duce 22 stones, the v\hole produce will amount
to 33,000 stones. All this flax is spun in the
county by women and girls, who have generally
two-handed wheels, and are so alert at the bu-
siness, that they can in ordinary spin 'from ten
to twelve beer per day. Some have occasionally
spun 1 8, 20, and even 24 beer per day. But
this requires early rising and late sitting, and is
so hard work, that it cannot be done constantly.
When manufactured into yarn, it will yield, at
<n average, 8y spindles per stone, including tow
rnJ braids, and consequently the produce in
yarn will amount to 280,500 spindles. This
again, manufactured into cloth of various de-
scriptions, will produce, at the rate of 3 i- yards
from the spindle, 981,750 yards.

Before 1 leave this article, it may he proper
to take notice of an attempt that has been made
of late by some proprietors, to check the culti-
vation of flax, in this county, by introducing a
clause into the new leases, prohibiting the te-
nant from sowing more than a certain specified
quantity in the year, .anjl that simply for th£

chap. r/7. r THE COUNTX_OF FIFE. 2Qf

use of his own family. The quantity allowed
seldom exceeds ten pecks.

A restriction, so novel, and so contrary to
the sentiments and practice that have hitherto
prevailed, surely merits some consideration. If
the reasons are substantial and conclusive, the
prohibition should take place, not only in this
county, but in every county in Scotland ; for
they are equally applicable to all. The Board
of Trustees must have, hitherto, been in a great
error, and ought instantly to desist from offer-
ing premiums, or giving any further encourage-
ment to a practice now found to be so hurtful.
But, on the contrary, if it shall appear that the
resolution has been hastily and inconsiderately
adopted, and is not supported by any solid rea-
sons the scheme ought to be abandoned, and
the culture of flax allowed to go on in its usual
course.

The chief, and indeed the only reasons as-
signed for this prohibition, are these two : i//,
That flax is a very exhausting crop ; and, idlyy
That it affords neither food for cattle, nor ma-
nure for the ground.

That flax is an exhausting crop is admitted ;
but so likewise are wheat, barley, and oats. Be-
fore the culture of this plant was rightly under-
stood, it was sometimes sown on land that had
carried several crops of oats in succession, im-
mediately before ; and then after the flax oat&
were sown again, the ground all this while re-
ceiving no manure. This being the method,
it is no wonder that the land suffered. But the
injury is not to be ascribed solely to the flax ;
the other scourging crops must bear an equal

208 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. FIT.

share of the blame. The truth is, the mischief
is not to he imputed to the kinds of crops taken,
but to the injudicious system pursued. Rare
instances of this, however, are now to be met
with : and every intelligent farmer would spurn
at such wretched management.

But supposing they were more common than
they really are', this might be a reason, not for
prohibiting the sowing of flax, but for restricting
to a more rational rriode of cropping. I am au-
thorised to state, from the observations and ex-
perience of the most intelligent farmers in the
practice of raising flax, that it is not a more ex-
•hausting crop than oats, and not so much so as
wheat ; and that, when a judicious method of
cropping is followed, it has been found, on re-
peated trials, to have no perceptibly bad effects,
either on the other cropSj or on the soil.

When flax is sown after potatoes, and follow-
ed by clover and rye-grass ; or when it succeeds
oats taken from old pasture-ground, broken up,
and followed by wheat properly dunged, or by
summer fallow, or by turnip and potatoes, ac-
cording, as the soil and state of the ground shall
appear to be most answerable, a good crop may
be expected, without injury to the land or to
the succeeding crops. When sown with grass
seeds after potatoes that have been properly
dunged, and completely cleaned by horse and
hand -hoeing, it requires no weeding ; the pro-
duce has been from 30 to 36 tron stones from
the acre ; and the land, after yielding two good
crops of grass annually, for two successive years,
has been broken up for oats,, and produced 10 boll*

XCt. IV. THE COUNTY OF FIFE, 209

per acre. The above statement is from actual ex-
perience, and may therefore" be depended upon ;
and from hence it may be fairly concluded, that
•upon this plan no injury can be done to the land-
lord or his ground. Let us next see how the
interest of the tenant is affected.

An acre of flax, managed according to this

plan, produces, at au average, 32 stones, at

12 s. per stone L. 19 4 ©

If rippled, and the seed carefully managed, the

produce will be at least two bolls, which,

at 20 s., is --zoo

The boll chaff, a valuable feed for horses, will

be worth - - - .- o ro o

Gross value

Suppose the rent, per acre

Seed 10 pecks, at 43. 8 d.

No weeding necessary. .

Pulling, rippling, watering, See. - 2 10 o

Dressing at the mill 32 stones, at 2s.

per stone - ' -340

Expence

Neat profit L. 12 4 4

Suppose a wheat crop upon the same ground,
Produce i o bolls, at 22 s. per boll - L. n o o

Straw, 8 thrave at 43. 6 d. I 16 o

Gross value L. 12 16 o
Rent - - - L. i 10 o

Ploughing once - 050.

Seed - - 120

Cutting, leading, thrashing - i o o

— 3 17 o

110 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. VII.

Neat profit from the flax crop
Neat profit from the wheat

Balance in favour of the flax L. 3 5 4

But if, instead of wheat, we should suppose
barley or oats to be the crop, the difference of
value in favours of the flax would be 2 1. or 3 1.
more.

In short, it seems evident that flax may be
raised with as little injury to the land as either
wheat or oats, provided the following courses
be observed.

1. Potatoes with dung, well Or, I. Oats from old rich ley.
hoed and cleaned ;

2. Flax with grass Seeds. 2. Flax.

3. Hay. 3. Turnip or potatoes dunged.

4. Oats. 4. Barley with grass seeds.

5. Turnip. 5. Hay.

6. Barley with grass seeds. 6. Pasture, &.c.

7. Pasture, &cc.

Or,

1. Oats as above.

2. Flax.

3. Wheat with three furrows and dunged.

4. Pulse.

5. Barley with grass seeds.

6. Hay.

7. Pasture, §tc.

N, £. If the ground be not very rich, sum-
mer fallow may succeed the flax, and wheat
after the fallow.

In the middle district of Fife, where the
ground is much elevated, and the soil cold and
moist-bottomed, flax is found to thrive extreme-
ly well, and to be of a fine quality. Hence the
culture of flax prevails more here than in any

Sttt. IV. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 21*

other part of the county. Even on very poor,
cold bottomed land, inclining to clay, and rent-
ed at or below I o s. per acre, where the best
management cannot produce a tolerable crop of
any kind of grain, flax will yield a good crop.
To the farmer possessing such land, the raising
of flax must be a very material object ; and the
course found most advantageous is; u/, Oats from
old pasture, the produce not exceeding three
seeds. 2<tf, Flax, the produce at an average 20
stones tron. 3^, Oats with dung, the produce
from four to five bolls per acre. 4/£, After oats,
the ground fallowed, limed and dunged ; for, 5^,
Barley or oats with grass seeds. 6/>6, Pasture, to
continue for fix or seven years. If the quality
of the soil will admit, wheat with dung is intro-
duced after the flax, the produce seven or eight
bolls. Whether this practice can be justified
upon the principles of good husbandry, I pre-
tend not to say. But it proves that the flax is
no way injurious to the ground, because it ap-
pears that the crop of oats following the flax,
even when no dung is given, is uniformly equal,
and often superior, to the one preceding it ; and
wheat after flax seldom fails, if the land be other-
wise answerable.

But supposing it proved that the culture of
flax, when managed with judgment, does not
injure the land, it is still insisted, that, as it pro-
duces neither food for cattle nor manure for the
ground, it ought to be discouraged. Perhaps,
however, this objection will be found to have
no great weight, when the following observa-
tions are considered :

D d 2

212 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. FTI.

ifti When a farm is brought to a proper state
of improvement, and under judicious manage-
ment, the other crops will generally be so a-
bundant, as to yield a sufficient quantity of fod-
der and manure, even though a part be applied
to a crop which affords none.

2<^, The farmer is usually allowed to sell hay
from his farm, and it often happens that he de-
pends upon this for a considerable proportion
of his rent. Instead of selling hay, he can dis-
pose of his flax, and reserve as much hay as
will correspond to the quantity of fodder that
would have grown on the land appropriated to
the flax. In this way the farm sustains no loss
by a deprivation of manure.

3///j', The whole flax raised at present in the
county, is scarcely sufficient for home-consump-
tion; and, therefore, it merits some consideration,
whether it be wise or proper to restrain the in-
habitants of any country, or district of a coun-
try, from supplying themselves with the neces-
saries of life from their own territory, when this
can be accomplished on easier terms than from
a foreign market, and, at the same time, with-
out any injury, either to the proprietor, or to
the cultivator, or to the land.

4//>, In a county like Fife, where the linen
manufactures are carried on with so much spi-
rit, and to so great an extent, can it be good
policy to restrain within such narrow bounds
the production of the raw material from which
the goods are manufactured ? Suppose the cul-
ture were much more extensive than it is, as it
would be no injury to agricultural improvement,
so it would have the effect of lessening the im-

sect. JK. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 213

portation of foreign flax ; and thus keep the
money circulating at home, that would other-
wise be sent to a foreign market.

5/£, Supposing no restrictions of this kind to
take place, there can be no danger that the cul-
ture of this plant will ever be carried to an ex-
treme. At present, there is not above the T j-^tli
part of the arable land in the county applied to
the raising of flax. But though the T^th part
should be occupied this way, and beyond that
there is no probability it can ever go, this would
never give any serious cause of alarm. The
land is not generally proper for flax : And wise
farmers will always avoid raising the least pro-
fitable crops. Water is not to be got every
where at a convenient nearness ; and it is a crop
which requires a great deal of attention, labour,
and expence ; and consequently must occasion
considerable loss in t:ase of failure. These cir-
cumstances will, of themselves, be sufficient r •-
straints, without any formal or express prohibi-
tions. Accordingly we find, that, in many parts
of the county, particularly on the north side,
these considerations have had their effect, and
little flax is produced.

In short, it is highly probable, that, as the
science of agriculture in general, and the culture
of flax in particular, come to be better and more
universally understood, flax will in no case be
raised on land where grain crops can be culti-
vated with superior, or even with equal advan-
tage, but will be entirely confined to such farms,
or to such parts of farms, as are peculiarly a-
dapted to this kind of crop, and consequently
can be more profitably applied to this, than to

214 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. ril.

any other purpose. Such restrictions, therefore,
are equally unnecessary and improper.

6/£, The liberty of raising flax to any extent
the farmer himself shall judge proper, must, in
many cases, be highly beneficial, as it furnishes
him with the most effectual mean of securing a
sufficient supply of hands, at all times, and up-
on reasonable terms, for carrying on the busi-»
ness of the farm. During the summer and har-
vest months, when his potatoes and turnips are
to he dressed, his hay to be win, and his corns
to be cut down, he has occasion for a number
of extra hands to assist. These he often finds
it difficult to procure. Most of the young men
are either engaged by the year, or confined to
some stated employment ; his chief dependence,
therefore, is on the females. In order to secure
them, he has it in his power to oblige them, by
sowing for each a few lippies of lint-seed, for
which they pay, in labour, at the rate of 2 s. or
2 s. 6 d. the lippie, according to the quality of
the ground. And as they consider sowing lint
for them as a favour, they not only work for
their lint ground, but are ready to work to him
for wages at any time when their assistance may
be necessary. In this way he can always secure
a certain number of hands, when their services
are wanted, while, at the same time, he fur-
nishes them with the means of being usefully
employed at home, when he has riot occasion
for their labour.

jtb, Though flax, it must be owned, does
not produce fodder and manure equal to other
crops, yet even in this respect it is not totally
deficient. The chafT and weak seed of an acre

SCCt, IV. THE COUNTY OF FIFE.

is reckoned worth 10 s.; and the oil-cake of 2
bolls of seed, the produce of an acre, is 22 stone,
equal to double its weight of hay for feeding.
And the dung of cattle, while feeding on the oil-
cake and boll-chaff, is much richer than farm-
yard dung, two cart-loads of the former being
reckoned equal to three of the latter.

SECT. r. - CROPS NOT COMMON LT CULTIVATED.

I. SWEDISH TURNIP, OR ROOTA BAGA.

THE cultivation of this root has been attempt-
ed ; but it has neither been general, nor to any-
considerable extent by any individual. At the
same time, if it possess the properties ascribed
to it by those who seem to be acquainted with
it, it surely deserves attention. Though of a
smaller size, and less luxuriant foliage, it is
more solid, and heavier in proportion to its
bulk, than the common turnip, stands the frost
much better, and when in flower in the spring,
continues soft and juicy ; and the cattle are ex-
ceedingly fond of it. And, therefore, though
the farmer should not entirely substitute this
root in place of the common turnip, it might
be cultivated, with advantage, for a supply of
green food between the turnip and the young
grass, especially as it keeps well, when pulled
and piled up in heaps. The principal objections
to it are, that it requires more labour, as it must
be raised on a seed-bed and transplanted, and

2l6 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. 711.

that it does not produce such a quantity of food
as the common turnip. But the objection arising
from the additional trouble, if the plant be valua-
ble, is of little consequence. It requires no more
time and expence in raising and planting, than
cabbage or coleworts. As to quantity, I am of
opinion, that, if proper attention be paid, a crop,
not remarkably inferior, may be raised. As it
does not grow to a very large size, and as the
foliage is not so very luxuriant, the drills may
be brought nearer, and the plants closer in the
row. Suppose, then, the drills at 20 inches
distance, and the plants 8 inches from one ano-
ther in the row, and suppose the average-weight
of each plant to be 2 lib., which is a moderate
calculation, as we are told by a gentleman well
acquainted with the subject, that the weight
runs from 4 to 10 pounds each, we shall in
this way have about 16 pounds in the square
yard, which will amount fully to 40 tons in
the Scots acre» This, I presume, will be found
equal to an acre of ordinary turnip. At any
rate, the culture of it seems to be of importance,
at least to fill up blanks in turnip-fields, or for
putting in, when the turnip shall be destroyed
by the fly, and the season too late for sowing
again with any prospect of a tolerable crop.

2. CABBAGE & COLEWORTS, OR OPEN KAIL,

ARE cultivated, but not commonly. Cab-
bage requiring a stronger soil, more manure and
more room, and being more susceptible of in-
jury from rainy and frosty weather, is not so

Sect. r. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 2 17

much in use as the coleworts. On farms, where
these vegetables are cultivated to any considerable
extent, they form a part of the rotation ; and are
introduced along with the turnip or potatoes,plant-
ed in drills of the same width, the cabbage plants
at the distance of two feet, and the open kail a
few inches nearer, in the row. They are horse
and hand-hoed, and cleaned in the same manner
as potatoes. They answer better for feeding
milk-cows than for fattening cattle ; and have
the advantage of being easily taken up in the
time of frost, when the turnip cannot be got,
The number of plants allowed to an acre is from.
8,000 to 10,000, according to the width of the
drills.

3. TARES,

ARE sometimes sown as a green food for
horses, and come in between the first and second
cutting of the clover. Winter tares have like-
wise been sown, in some instances, for a supply
of green food, in the beginning of summer,
before the clover is ready for cutting. But the
culture of neither has ever been carried to any
great extent.

4. CARROT.

THIS root, though a most wholesome and
nourishing food, whether for horses or hogs, is
seldom to be met with here in the open fields.
Carrots require a deep, rich, open soil. In frosty
weather, they are still more difficult to be taken
up than turnip. They often suffer from ver-
E'e *

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY 01- chap.Vll.

min, when they continue long in the ground ;
and perhaps they cannot be kept in a body so
conveniently and so safely, if they are taken
up before winter. The best way of preserving
them is to mix them with dry sand.

5. RYE.

THIS kind of grain, though once common in
Fife, is now cultivated but by a few, and on a
very limited scale. It will thrive on land too
weak and poor for wheat, and will stand where,
from the richness of the soil, wheat would fall
and be lost. But as it is a very exhausting crop,
the value of the grain small, and the bread made
of it disliked by most people, especially since
wheaten bread came to be so much used, few
farmers think it worth their while to cultivate it.

There may be some crops of other kinds tried,
such as hemp, buck-wheat, mustard, rape, &c.
but all on so small a scale, that it is unnecessary
particularly to mention them.

sect. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 2 19

CHAPTER VIII.

Grasses.
SECTION I.

PASTURE AND MEADOWS.

JLT has been already stated, that about one-fifth
of the county may be considered as inaccessible
to the plough, A considerable portion of this,
however, yields, though not an abundant, a
nourishing and wholesome pasture for sheep
and young cattle. Of that part which is consi-
dered as arable, a large proportion has never, at
least within memory, been touched by the
plough. The difficulty and expence of drain-
ing, and clearing it of stones, which in many
places are to be found very large, and in great
quantities, and also the short duration of leases,
have discouraged farmers from the cultivation
of it, and induced them to apply their labour
to such parts of their farms as yielded the fair-
est prospect of success and indemnification.

Of the land capable of tillage, without the
difficult and expensive preparations just now
mentioned, there is a large portion which, from
soil, climate, and other circumstances, is judg-
ed to be more properly adapted to pasture ; and

E € 2

210 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. VIII.

therefore, after having born two or three grain-
crops, is laid down in grass, and allowed to ly
in that condition for seven or eight, or, perhaps,
a greater number of years.

Of the land of a superior quality, and in a
higher state of cultivation, there is also a part
annually in pasture. This consists partly of
parks laid down in grass by proprietors, and
occasionally broken up for grain ; and partly of
land under a regular course of cropping, but re-
verting more quickly to tillage.

Of meadow-ground there are also several con-
siderable tracks, besides many detached spots of
smaller extent, scattered over the county. The
quality of the meadow-grass is various. Some
of it is exceedingly good ; but the largest pro-
portion is coarse ; very fit, however, for the
winter-food of young cattle ; and, when well
got up, good food for any cattle, while feeding
on turnip. The quantity of each of the diffe-
rent kinds of pasture and meadow-ground, just
now mentioned, cannot be easily ascertained.
But the whole cannot be reckoned less than
140,000 acres*

SECT. II. ARTIFICIAL GRASSES.

RYE-GRASS, and red and white CLOVVRS, are
the artificial grasses most commonly sown.
Some years ago the cultivation of these was
very limited. But now they are to be seen on
almost every farm ; and many farmers raise them
in such abundance, that they can not only sup~
ply themselves plentifully, but dispose of a ecu-

sect. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 221

siderable quantity to others. When hay is the
object, rye-grass and red clover are sown in a
mixed state, in the proportion of two Winches-
ter bushels, or which is nearly the same, two
wheat firlots of rye-grass, and 1 6 pounds of red
clover to the acre. The seeds are sown, some~
times separately, and sometimes mixed. The
first is judged the preferable method. When
rye-grass is intended for seed, it is sown by it-
self, or with a very small proportion of clover.
If the crop is intended for green food, it con-
sists either altogether of clover, or, which is
the better method, with a small proportion of
rye-grass. When the land is to be laid down
for pasture, a less quantity of red clover is al-
lowed, and the deficiency supplied with white
clover and rib-grass.

There are two kinds of rye-grass, the one pe-
rennial, and the other annual. When the land
is intended to carry grass for one year only, the
annual kind is perhaps preferable, as it produces
rather a more luxuriant crop than the other,
and leaves no quick roots to hurt the land.
Rye-grass, especially if the seed be allowed tp
ripen, is a very exhausting crop. But clover
has the contrary effect, partly from its being a
broad leaved succulent plant, and therefore de-
riving much of its nourishment from the air,
and partly from the largeness of its roots, which
being reduced to a putrescent state by tillage,
serve to fertilize the soil. Clover, when not
sown too thick, produces a tall strong stem ;
the root of course will be proportionally large,
and therefore must be more ameliorating. But
when so\vn thick, and the stems consequently

222 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap.

small, or when cropt down by feeding, the roots
will be proportionally weak, and therefore will
be less serviceable to the ground.

These grasses are usually sown in April and
May, along with barley, oats, or wheat. They
ought never to be attempted on cold, wet, or
stiff clay soils, till the ground be completely
dried, warmed, and pulverized with tillage and
manure. On all soils that are open and dry,
and properly manured, they thrive well. Even
on hard light land, when rightly prepared, lux-
uriant crops are produced in a dropping season.
But in no case ought artificial grasses of any
kind to be sown, unless the ground be previ-
ously well cleaned, either by a red fallow or a
drill crop. In this county there may be from
10,000 to 12,000 acres annually under clover
and rye-grass. The crop is generally good, and
in some places uncommonly abundant. In the
parish of Newburgh, upwards of 400 stones of
hay have been taken from an acre, besides two
weighty after-crops cut and fed off green. But
the average produce will not much exceed 200
stones per acre.

SECT. II. HAY-HAR7EST. ,

HAY-HARVEST begins in July, sooner or lat-
er, according as the season is more or less fa-
vourable. In hay-making, two things are chief-
ly attended to ; — first, the time of cutting ; and,
secondly, the manner of winning or drying the
hay. When the rye-grass is sown with a view
to save the seed, as soon as it is fully ripe, it is

S€Ct. II. THE COUNTY OF FIFE.

cut and bound up in sheaves, dried in stocks,
and put up in stacks like barley or oats. But if
hay only be the object, it is cut dcwn at least a
a fortnight before it be ripe, and while the seed
is not yet in a state to be easily separated from
the straw. Several advantages arise from this
practice. The hay will be much superior in
quality than when allowed to be fully ripe ; will
have a better flavour, and possess more of the
natural juices. When completely ripened, be-
fore it be cut, the seed is apt to be mostly lost
in the process of winning, stacking, cutting
down again, and carrying to the rack or hay-
loft. And this kind of grass, when fully ripe,
and deprived of the seed, is little superior to oat-
straw. Another advantage is, that, by cutting
before it be ripe, the ground will be less exhaus-
ted. When plants of any kind are allowed to
run to seed, the leaves fall or wither ; and the
stem grows dry and hard, and consequently in-
capable of deriving any further nourishment
from the air. The soil, therefore, being now o-
bliged to supply the whole food necessary for
maturing and perfecting the plants, must be
greatly scourged and exhausted. This injury
to the ground will be prevented by removing
the crop before it be fully ripe. Another ad-
vantage, derived from early cutting, is, that the
succeeding crop of clover will be more forward
and more luxuriant, and the rye-grass, spring-
ing again, will render it more weighty and a-
bundant. And, which is of no small conse-
quence, if the whole second crop shall not be
necessary for green food, more time will be al-
lowed for making it into hay. Perhaps the b^st

224 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. rill.

method of managing this, is, to make it rather
more than half dry, and then mix it intimately
with fresh old straw, and put it up into a stack.
It will, in this state, make excellent winter food
for cattle.

The mode of winning hay is not uniform ;
but is generally regulated by the kind and na-
ture of the grass, and the state of the weather.
Sometimes hay from the seed, such as clover
and rye-grass, is allowed to ly in the swathe for
a few days after it is cut ; and then, if the wea-
ther has been, and still continues to be dry, it is
put into large cocks or trarnp ricks in the field.
Others, after allowing it to remain in the swathe
for a short time, either turn it over or spread it
out on the morning of a dry day, and, on the af-
ternoon, put it into large cocks ; after which,
as soon as it is judged sufficiently dead, it is
brought to the barn-yard and stacked. The for-
mer method requires less labour ; and, therefore,
when circumstances will permit, ought to be pre-
ferred. But should it meet with much rain in
the swathe, and should it, at the same time, con-
tain a large proportion of clover, it will be ne-
cessary, at all events, to spread it out. In such
circumstances, should it be allowed to continue
long in the swathe, it would come so close toge-
ther, that the air could not easily penetrate it :
It would become yellow, and lose its flavour be-
fore it could be dried. Repeated showers, or a
long continuance of heavy rains, will do less
harm to hay when spread, than when lying in
the swathe, or in small cocks.

Natural grass, or meadow-hay, from its soft-
ness, and consequent, closeness, vrhen thrown off

sect. II. THE COUNT* OF FIFE.

the scythe, will not admit of the same method
of winning as rye-grass. The practice, there-
fore, is, to spread it soon after it is cut, and to
turn it repeatedly at proper intervals. As soon
as it is tolerably dry, it is put into cocks of a
moderate size, which, if the weather continue
favourable, are not spread out again, but turned
over and enc.reased in size, by putting two into
one ; and then, when sufficiently dry, they are
put together in tramp ricks, containing from 50
to 80 stones^ neatly formed, and made fast with
ropes, to secure them against the weather.

Heating in the stack, to a certain degree, is
reckoned no disadvantage to hay, if this be oc-
casioned by its own natural sap^ but if by rain,-
the effect is otherwise.

SECT. 17. FEEDING.

THE quantity of live-stock that can be fed
upon any given quantity of pasture, must depend
upon a variety of circumstances ; such as the na-
tural quality of the ground, and the improve-
ment it has received ; its being open or inclosed,
and the particular method of management ob-
served. Enclosures of a rich soil, and laid down
in proper order, will not barely keep in good
condition, but will fatten, in the proportion of
an ox, or a cow of a large size, to the acre. Of
some kinds of pasture, two acres, and of others
much more, will be necessary for the same pur-
pose. There are considerable tracts of land in
the county which would be overlaid if two sheep
were allotted to the acre. The various grada-
tions in the quality of the pasture, and the ex*
F f *

226 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. FIIT.

tent of each kind, is beyond my power, and is,,
perhaps, of little consequence, precisely to ascer-
tain. But as so large a proportion of the coun-
ty is better adapted to grazing than to the cul-
ture of grain, it may be proper to suggest how
this branch of husbandry may be managed with
the greatest economy and advantage.

As much of the land, principally designed for
pasture, as possible, should be enclosed. The
same quantity under shelter will feed a greater
number of cattle, and to better purpose, than
when in an open and exposed state. The pas-
ture ought never to be overstocked. AVhen this
is done, not only are the cattle starved, but the
quantity of herbage diminished, and the soil
impoverished. When the pasture ground is en-
closed and subdivided, the cattle ought to be
shifted from one enclosure to another, at proper
intervals. This practice tends to encrease the
quantity of grass, and the ground being clean
when the cattle return to it, they feed more
greedily, and with greater relish. As the dung,
dropped by the cattle while feeding, tathes ma-
ny spots of the ground, and raises a luxuriant
crop of grass, which the cattle themselves wo'nt
taste, horses should be brought in to eat it up.
When the dairy is a principal object, and the
quality of the rnilk and butter particularly re-
garded, sheep should not be allowed to feed a-
long with the milk cows, as they will select and
pick up by the roots the finest parts of the her-
bage.

The different purposes to which the pasture
grounds are applied, will be mentioned under
the article respecting live-stock,

clap. IX. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. £27

CHAPTER IX.

Gardens and Orchards.

1 HERE is nothing in Fife that can be properly
called an Orchard. The remains of one, indeed,
are to be seen at the old abbey of Lindores ; but
its extent is so much contracted, the produce so
diminished, and the quality of the fruit so much
degenerated, that it scarcely deserves attention.
The soil and climate must certainly have been
found unfavourable to the production of apples
and pears, in any degree of perfection, other-
wise we might have expected that the cultiva-
tion of them would have been much more ex-
tensive, when we consider the taste and opulence
of the ancient inhabitants ; and, particularly, the
number of abbeys and monasteries, and the ma-
ny church dignataries, who, in the times of po-
pery, had their residence in this county, and
who usually paid the greatest attention to these
luxuries.

Gardens, however, are very numerous, and
many of them extensive, and in a very elegant
style. This is owing to the great number of
opulent proprietors, who are resident, or have
their family-seats in the county. In these gar-
dens, strawberries, gooseberries, currants, plumbs
and cherries, of every species, are produced in
great profusion, and of excellent quality. Ap-
F f 2

228 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap..!X-.

pies and pears, too, are to be seen on walls, and
standards and espaliers, in considerable quantity,
and tolerable perfection. Many of the Noble-
men and Gentlemen have hot-walls, hot-houses,
and green-houses, on which the pine-apple, the
grape, peach, apricot, nectarine, and many exo-
tic plants, are cultivated with success. In all
these, as well as in other gardens of inferior
style, every kind of kitchen vegetable is pro-
duced in great abundance.

There are few gardens in the county, and
none of these of any considerable extent, rented
by gardeners, for the purpose of disposing of
their produce to the public. About twenty acres
of ground are occupied this way in the vicinity
of Kirkaldy ; but not near so much, I believe,
any where else. Most of the families, in the
towns and villages, have little gardens, either
rented, or their own property, from which they
supply themselves with as much garden stuff as
is necessary.

chap. X. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 229

CHAPTER X.

Woods and Plantations.

1 HERE are some patches of natural wood in
.Fife ; but these are so few and so inconsiderable,
that they deserve no particular notice.

The wood growing around the mansion-hou-
ses of proprietors, may be considered as planta-
tions. These are numerous, and the wood
mostly aged, and valuable, consisting of ash,
elm, beech, fir of different kinds, limes, and
some oak. Those belonging to the Earls of
Crawfurd and Leven are the largest. Several
plantations, less extensive, have been raised in
different parts of the county, particularly on the
north side by the proprietor of Rankeiler, and
Mr Gourley of Craigrothrie ; and on the south,
on the estates of General Wemyss, Sir James
Sinclair Erskine, and Mr Ferguson of Raith.
These are now in an advanced state, and, whilst
they greatly improve the appearance of the
country, will amply repay the owners for their
trouble and expence.

Several tracts of barren ground, and divided
commons, have been lately planted. But as the
trees are yet in an infant state, they make little
appearance. These young plantations consist
of various kinds, such as oak, Scots-fir, larix,
beech, birch, ash, &c. the kind always bearing

230 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. X.

the largest proportion, that is judged most con-
genial to the soil. The larix seems to be in
highest repute, as it agrees with almost any
soil ; the wood is found to be very valuable,
and its growth more rapid than that of any o-
ther kind.

As the want of shelter is one of the greatest
disadvantages which this country labours under,
more attention ought to be paid co planting than
has hitherto been. Besides the profits ultimate-
ly arising from the wood, the adjacent grounds,
whether in tillage or in pasture, being thus shel-
tered, would become more productive and more
valuable.

:hap. XI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE.

CHAPTER XL

Commons a?id Wastes.

THERE is now very little uappropriated land
in Fife. The commons have, of late, been
mostly divided, and applied either to cropping,
or pasture, or planting, according to the quality
of the ground, or to the taste and views of the
several proprietors. In the management of these
divided commonties, an error may be commit-
ted. The desire of immediate profit may blind
the eyes of the proprietors, and induce them to
appropriate a greater proportion of them to til-
lage and pasture, than is proper. This ought
to be guarded against. Most of the grounds in
question, it is apprehended, are incapable of be-
ing improved to advantage, except by planting ;
that is, they will in no other way yield an ade-
quate return for the expences that must necessa-
rily be incurred.

Of a different description, however, is the ex-
tensive commonty of the Lomond-hills. This
commonty contains from 3000 to 5,500 acres,
free from heath : the sward is verdant and kind-
ly, chiefly composed of sheep's fescue, white-
clover, and other good herbage, inferior to no
ground in Scotland, of equal extent, for grazing;
either sheep or young cattle.

232 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbaf. Xt-

This extensive subject was formerly attached
to the palace of Falkland ; but has long since
become, under charters from the Crown, the
common property of rhe surrounding heritors.

It cannot be supposed, that at a period when
the great benefit, resulting both to the indivi-
duals and to the public, from the division of
commonties, is so clearly seen, and so generally
embraced, this valuable tract of land should be
suffered to remain in its present comparatively
unproductive state, from any other cause, than
the supposed difficulty of obtaining a division,
under the authority of the act 1695 ; which
act exempts from division commonties in pro-
perty to the king or to royal burghs.

How far the above restrictive clause of the
act is applicable to the Lomond-hills, I take not
upon me to decide. But I hope I shall not be
thought to step out of my way, if I venture to
suggest to the heritors interested in bringing
about a division, that if the act 1695 be found
inadequate to that end, the object might easily
be obtained by an application to Parliament :
That such an application would meet with suc-
cess, there is the best reason to expect, especial-
ly at this time, when both King and Parliament
are patronising and supporting a Board of Agri-
culture, for the express purpose of extending
and accelerating the improvement of the soil in
every part of the kingdom.

The following information, afforded me by
a neighbouring heretor, appears to place the
matter in a new and important point of view,
and shows how" highly advantageous the divi-

chap. xr. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 233

sion of this commonty would be to all con-
cerned.

This gentleman has lately enclosed about 170
acres of ground contiguous to, and of very much
the same quality of soil, with the Lomond-hills.
This ground, in its former open state, yielded a
rent of little more than ijd. the acre. Last year
he let it as a grass park for 50 guineas ; and
this year, although one of the moft unfavoura-
ble seasons experienced for a long time past, it
has maintained above 70 head of cattle.

From the above experiment, this gentleman
makes the following calculation : The Lomond-
hills are of a quality no way inferior to the
park above mentioned, and about 20 times its
extent. Therefore he reasonably concludes,
that in a divided and enclosed state, they would
maintain above 1400 head of cattle. If grazed
with sheep, the profits would probably be still
greater: A very different return, indeed, from
that which the proprietors now draw from it,
in its present neglected state. He concludes
with observing, that the hill abounding with
lime-stone and free-stone quarries, the expence
of enclosing would not be heavy.

If 'by wastes, we are to understand ground
capable of improvement, either as arable land,
or for pasture, or for planting, but which is suf-
fered to remain in a state of nature ; there are
large tracts of this kind, particularly in the up-
land parts of the county^ both in the middle and
on the north. Though the extent cannot be
ascertained with any degree of exactness, I
should suppose it cannot be less than 50 or 60
thousand acres.

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Xlt.

CHAPTER XII.

Jmprovemeftfs.

SECTION I.
DRAINING.

ON all wet, spungy, or spouty ground, drain-
ing is a species of improvement indispensibly
necessary. Without this, any other improve-
ment will be of little avail, and the land must
continue for ever unproductive, and compara-
tively useless. This has not escaped the at-
tention of the gentlemen and farmers in Fife ;
and a good deal has been done this way, by
' which the value and appearance of the county
have been much improved.

Drains from 2-3- to 4 feet deep, rilled with
small stones to within a foot or 18 inches of
the surface, and covered with turf, the green
side down, or with coarse straw, pob, or ferns,
before they are filled up with the earth , are the
most common, most approved, and most suc-
cessful.

On wet bottomed, and fenny or mossy ground,
requiring deep drains, they are sometimes filled
with thorns,, or other brush-wood, for want of

sect. t. THE COUNTY OF FIFE.

stones. This mode, being cheap, may be use-
ful to a tenant who has only a short lease. But
as it cannot be durable or permanent in its ef-
fects, it ought to be discouraged, except where
stones cannot be got.

In some instances, when stones cannot be
procured, the following method has been prac-
tised. A cut is made three feet wide, and from
two and a half to three feet deep, as circumstan-
ces may require. Then along the bottom, and
right in the middle of this, another cut is made,
a foot or 15 inches deep, 15 inches wide at the
top, and a foot wide at the bottom. The sods
taken off the surface, if they can be got of a
proper thickness, and if the sward be sufficiently
tough, are laid at full length across the lower
cut, with the green side down, so as to fill the
whole width of the upper cut. After which
the earth is thrown in and the drain filled up;
If the sods, taken from the place where the drain
is made, are not answerable, others, proper for
the purpose, are taken where they can be most
conveniently got. Those are best, which are
rendered tough and adhesive by the roots of
rushes, bent, or other strong coarse grasses.

Persons, who either have of their own, or can
readily procure, the weedings of young planta-
tions, such as are commonly used for pailings,
have it in their power to make a very material
improvement on this plan. Let the weedings,
when from two and a half to three inches dia-
meter, be laid along the middle of the lower
cut, supported by pieces of wood of sufficient
strength laid across at the distance of six feet
from one another, and sunk so far into the
G g 2

236 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XII*

ground, as to form a level bed for the sods.
Then let the sods be laid in the way before-
mentioned, and the drain filled up. In this way
the sods will be supported, and prevented from
giving way by any pressure from above, and the
drain will of course be rendered more durable
and sufficient.

It must be confessed, however, that though
draining has been much attended to, the extent
to which it has been carried, bears but small
proportion to the quantity of land in the county
that neeus this improvement. But as the ne-
cessity and importance of draining must be ob-
vious, and as it has been particularly adverted
to by the Board of Agriculture, it is to be hoped
that it will be pushed more extensively, and
conducted with such skill and spirit, as to render
it at once effectual and permanent.
. To this, Mr Elkington's principles and mode-
of draining, adapted to every possible case, ex-
hibited in a late masterly publication by Mr
Johnston, will, I have no doubt, greatly contri-
bute, provided the execution be committed to
skilful hands. However excellent and effective
the plan may be, and however plain and intelli-
gible the directions given ; yet, if left entirely
to the farmers, to be put in practice, its utility,
I am afraid, will be very limited. Many of this
class, I believe, have ability to comprehend, and
spirit to carry it into effect. But by far the
greater number are unequal to the task. There
are many men, who are not destitute of parts,
and yet, upon a survey of the ground to be drain-
ed, and with the plan and directions in their
hands, could not exactly tell how to put it in

StCt. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 237

execution. Under the management of such per-
sons, many mistakes will readily be committed,
and much money misapplied. The expence
and want of success will discourage them, and
induce them to abandon the enterprize. Be-
sides, in many cases, the circumstances of the
occupant, or the shortness of his lease, may be
such as to render it prudent not to hazard the
attempt.

In order, then, to carry this so necessary piece
of improvement most speedily and most ef-
fectually into execution, instead of putting the
plan and directions into the hands of the farmers,
and leaving it to them to judge whether or not,
or in what manner, they shall execute it ; I am
humbly of opinion that the proprietors should
take the business wholly upon themselves, and
employ men of known skill and experience to
perform the work ; bearing the whole expence
in the first instance, at the same time having
recourse upon the tenant by a per-centage on the
money so expended, more or less, in proportion
to the remainder of his lease, and the advantage
he may be supposed to reap during that period.
In order to lessen the expence as much as pos-
sible, it might be proper, on all farms abounding
with stones, to oblige the tenants, in the course
of dressing and cleaning their fields, to lay down
all the stones they collect, if not needed for in-
closing, but, if needed for inclosing, all that
are small and unlit for that purpose, at the place
where the drains are to be made.

To this proposal surely neither party can
reasonably object. The proprietors, having the
chief interest, ought certainly to be at the ex-

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap, Xil.

pence, in the first place ; they have a sufficient
compensation- for their money, during the cur-
rency of the existing lease ; and as the improve-
ment, if properly executed, is of a permanent
nature, they may expect more than full indem-
nification by the consequent rise of rent. Nei-
ther can the tenant have any objection to pay a
reasonable interest for the money, as his profits
must be considerable, by the increased value of
the ground. In fixing the per-centage, howe-
ver, payable by the tenant, regard must be had
to the quality of the ground, and the period,
whether it shall be near or more remote, when
the draining may yield him the expected advan-
tages. In this way the improvement of the
country is accelerated, and the land put into a
state to be let at its full value at the expiration,
of the current lease.

SECT. II. PARING AND BURNING.

THIS has been seldom practised. The few
instances in which it has been tried, have been,
generally, on fenny ground newly drained ; or
on land having a mossy surface, where it has al-
ways answered expectation.

With respect to the propriety of this practice,
different opinions have been held. By some it
has been condemned as wasting and destroying
the staple of the ground ; and, by others, recom-
mended as an improvement of the first import-
ance. Both opinions, I dare say, have been
the result of experiments fairly made, and there-
fore may be right, so far as experience goes.

sect. II. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 339

But neither the one nor the other can be the
foundation of a general rule. All that can be
inferred is, that paring and burning is, on some
soils, a proper and advantageous improvement ;
but, on others, injurious and not to be followed.
Farmers, therefore, instead of adopting either
the one or the other opinion implicitly, should
be induced, by this diversity of sentiment, to
examine carefully the nature of the soil, and to
follow the plan upon such ground only as has
been found from experience, or appears to their
best judgment, to be suitable.

When the land consists of a thin sward, lying
upon a substratum of sand, or gravel, or poor
till, I should imagine the practice would be im-
proper. But if the subsoil be a rich clay, or
should there be a thick surface of moss, bent,
heath, or matted rushes, containing a large pro-
portion of vegetable substance, the practice may-
be good. It is to be observed, however, that
on land of this last description, the application of
lime, where it can be had in sufficient quantity,
and at a reasonable rate, will supersede the ne-
cessity of paring and burning. By subjecting
it to a red fallow or to a drilled crop, according
as the one or the other shall appear most suita-
ble, all the quick vegetables in the soil will be
killed, and a complete liming will hasten the pro-
cess of their putrefaction, in this way the lam!
will be enriched and prepared for a profitable
rotation of crops afterwards, without risking the
staple by a dissipation of its vegetable substan-
ces by burning. In short, I am humbly of opi-
nion that paring and burning, even in cases
where it may be practised with advantage, is on-

240 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XII.

ly adviseable when manure is absolutely want-
ing, or when it can be had only in scanty pro-
portion.

SECT. Ill MANURING.

EVERY kind of substance, which, being mix-
ed with the soil, has the effect of rendering it
more productive, may be styled a manure.
These substances are various, and produce the
effect in different ways.

I. Farm-yard dung is the most universal, and,
perhaps, the most efficacious and valuable kind
of manure that is used. Putrid animal and ve-
getable substances seem to be the proper food of
plants ; and, in proportion as the soil contains a
greater or a less quantity of these, it is, cteteris
paribus^ more or less fertile. Indeed it is proba-
ble that the chief use of artificial manures is to
produce and encrease the quantity of this kind.

Wheat, barley, turnips, potatoes, and some-
times beans, are the crops to which the farm-
yard dung is usually applied. The quantity al-
lowed to an acre is from 20 to 40 tons, accord-
ing as it can be spared, or as the state of the
land may require.

But though dung be the best of all kinds of
manure, and its necessity and utility in fertiliz-
ing the soil be generally understood and ac-
knowledged, a due attention does not seem to
be always paid to the increase and preservation
of it, and, in the application, a want of judg-
ment is frequently to be observed. In collect-
ing and preparing this article, a proper situation

sect. III. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 241

should be chosen for the dung-hill, the size
bearing proportion to the farm and stock, rather
hollow in the middle, of a close and solid bot-
tom, and surrounded with a stone or turf-wall.
In order to preserve the moisture, and encrease
the quantity of manure, it would be a good plan
to cover the bottom of the dung-pit with moss,
earth, scourings of ditches, &c. to the depth of
three feet, upon which let the dung be thrown ;
and, in order to produce a proper degree of fer-
mentation, and thereby to reduce the straw, and
other vegetables mixed with it, to a putrescent
state, care should be taken not to compress
the dung too much. When fermentation takes
place, a considerable quantity of moisture is se-
parated, which will be absorbed and retained by
the moss or earth put under, and will convert
them into rich manure* A similar device might
also be used to take up and retain the water
which flows, in large quantities, from the byres,
when the cattle are feeding on clover or turnip.

The dung, collected in the straw-yards where
the cattle feed, ought to be removed to- the dung-
hill at certain periods, perhaps once in three
weeks, with a view to fermentation, of which it
must remain, in a great measure, incapable,
whilst it continues to ly in a scattered state, and
under the constant tread of the cattle, and, con-
sequently, if carried to the land in this condU
tion, its efficacy, as a manure, must be much less
powerful. It is proper, likewise, to turn over
the dunghill a few weeks before it be laid on the
ground. And, when it is carried out, it ought
to be instantly spread and ploughed in. When

":red to remain on the surface, for any length
Hh

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XII*

of time, either in small heaps, or in a scattered
state, its nutritive powers will be much diminish-
ed by the action of the ain Dung used by it-
self, as a top-dressing for grass lands, is an unne-
cessary waste of manure. Half the quantity re-
quisite this way, if intimately mixed with good
earth, will be equally effectual.

id^ Lime. — This county abounds with lime-
stone of excellent quality. For a considerable
number of years back, lime has been gradually
coming into repute as a manure. It is applied,
along with dung, to a summer fallow, for a
wheat crop. It is used also for turnip, if the
land has either never been limed, or limed at a
remote period. Sometimes it is laid upon stub-
ble land, if clean, and sometimes on ley groundj
with a view to tillage, or on pasture in order to
destroy fog, and to restore the grass to its for-
mer luxuriance. The quantity allowed to an
acre varies according to the quality and condi-
tion of the land. A sfrongj heavy, stiff soil$
will require from 50 or 60 to 80 bolls of shells,
Linlithgow measure to the acre. On ordinary
light land, 30 bolls is reckoned sufficient.

Lime seems to operate as a manure, by con-
verting other substances into food for the plants,
or by introducing to them food that is already
prepared. Thus lim'e, by its sceptic quality,
when it meets with any vegetable substances
mixed with the soil, hastens the process of pu-
trefaction, and reduces it to manure. It has al-
so the effect of loosening and pulverizing the
soil, by which means it renders it more easily
penetrable by the fertilizing dews and showers
<:f raiii ; and as the air can more readily enter

SCCt. III. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. £43

and pervade the mould in this state, the nutri-
tive particles it carries along with it, are more
readily conveyed to the roots of the plants,
whilst they, for the same reason, can more easi-
ly spread themselves in every direction in quest
of nourishment.

To make lime produce its effect most com-r
pletely, much attention is. necessary as to the
mode of applying it. In all cases, it ought
to be spread on the ground in as perfect a
state of pulverization as possible. The more
uniformly, and the more intimately it is mixed
with the soil, the greater will its effect be. It
frequently happens that the land is not ready to
receive the lime, at the time when most conve-
nient for the farmer to bring it home. . In that
case it is sometimes injudiciously left to be slack-
ed by the air and the rain ; in consequence of
which it not infrequently happens, that when it
comes to be carted to the field, it is found to be
concreted into large lumps, or so drenched with
water, that it can neither be equally spread, nor
made to cover the extent of ground intended.
To prevent this inconvenience, as well as loss,
the lime-shells, as soon as laid down, ought to
receive as much water as will slack them, and
then be either covered with turf or straw, or mix-
ed with a sufficient quantity of loose earth ; by
which means it will be kept in a powdery state,
and prevented from running into mortar, or ga-
thering into hard lumps.

When lime is applied to ley ground, designed
for tillage, it ought not to be laid on immediate-
ly before ploughing, as in that case it will tum-
ble into the bottom of the furrow, and be total -
Hh 3

244 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XII.

ly lost. It ought to be spread, at least, a year
before the land be broken up ; and if it shall lie
on the surface two years it will be so much the
better, as it will have full time to sink into the
sward, and mix with the soil, and, by encreasing
the quantity of herbage, it will produce a great-
er quantity of manure, when the land comes to
be ploughed. In this way, too, the ground
will lose its stiffness, and be more easily broken
and pulverized for succeeding crops.

When a turnip crop is intended, the lime is
spread upon the land immediately before the
drills are formed for sowing. When applied to
fallow, or to stubble ground, it is laid on after
the seed furrow is given, and harrowed down
with the seed. Lime has a tendency to sink,
and if it get below the reach of the plough, it
cannot be recovered, and the ground derives no
further benefit from it. To prevent this, when
lime is spread on the surface, it should be tilled
in with a thin furrow ; and the following year,
or whenever the ground is opened again, the
plough should go deeper, in order to throw up
the lime, and keep it near the surface. '

If lime, as a manure, act in the manner above
supposed, then it follows that it can be of little
or no service to iand quite exhausted by over-
cropping. Having no vegetable substance re-
maining in the soil to act upon, it can produce
no food for the plants. • Nothing but the appli-
cation of dung will recover land in this state.
But land, though naturally poor and unproduc-
tive, if it contains any considerable quantity of
vegetable substance in or upon it, such as short
heath, rushes, coarse benty grass, and the like,

sect. III. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 245

and at the same time is dry, or can be dried,
will derive great benefit from lime. When it
is ploughed, and the tops and roots of these ve-
getables are blended and mixed with the soil,
and no longer at liberty to vegetate, the lime
will convert them into putrescent manure. On
the same principle, lime, wjien applied to peat
moss in sufficient quantity, provided the moss
be relieved from superabundant moisture, will
prove an excellent fertilizer, and in a few years
will reduce it to good vegetable mould.

Lime has been justly considered as an altera-
tive, /". c. as producing such a change in the soil
a.? to qualify it for the production of vegetables,
whic;} it never carried before, and enabling it
to send forth its own natural grasses with an im-
proved quality, and in greater abundance. This
observation is confirmed by fact and experience.
When mossy or heathy ground has been limed,
white clover, and other grasses of superior qua-
lity have appeared, which were never seen to
grow upon it before. Land has been known
to yield abundant crops of pease after liming,
which before could never, with the best prepa-
ration, be made to carry a tolerable crop. A-
bundance of straw there might sometimes be,
but little or no corn. This effect the lime pro-
duces, probably, by correcting or removing
something in the soil, which prevented the seeds
from vegetating, or by preparing and supplying
the food peculiarly adapted to their nature, but
which, before, they either had not at all, or had
not in such plenty as to bring them to any dp*
gree of perfection.

246 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XII.

This property of lime deserves the particular
attention of those who have easy access to it,
and at the same time have poor, cold, pasture-
ground, carrying nothing but coarse grass, and
that in scanty proportion. A good liming would
greatly encrease the quantity, and improve the
quality of the herbage of such lands, if toler-
ably dry, and make it support double the num-
ber of cattle, that, in its present state, are fed,
or rather half starved upon it.

3^, Marie is also a manure used in this coun-
ty. Its quality and effects are similar to those
of lime ; but a much larger quantity is necessa-
ry. Clay and shell marie are the kinds found
here. Little stone marie is to be seen.

4/£, Peat and Coal Ashes. — From the great
number of towns and villages in Fife, as well
as from its great population in general, it may
be expected that a very considerable quantity
of this kind of manure will be produced. But
it is seldom used in an unmixed state. Those
who have cows and horses, farmers as well as
others, frequently throw their ashes on the
dung-hill. Such as have no animal dung, ge-
nerally mix their ashes with street- soil, scour-
ings of yarn, and any other materials they can
find, which they think can either encrease the
quantity, or improve the quality of this kind of
manure. It is sometimes used by the villagers
and cottagers, upon ground which they take for
raising potatoes ; and it is sometimes purchased
by the farmers in the neighbourhood, and used
indiscriminately for wheat, barley, turnip, and
potatoes.

chap. III. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 147

j/£, Sea-weed. — From the great extent of
sea-coast which Fife enjoys, this kind of ma-
nure is obtained in considerable quantities. It
is cast on shore by the waves, especially in the
time of high tides, or in stormy weather. When
carried to the land, it is usually spread imme-
diately, as allowing it to ly in heaps for any
length of time is supposed to lessen its efficacy.
It is used for crops of all kinds, and forms a
powerful manure ; but is reckoned not so last-
ing in its effect as dung. It is found to be an
excellent top-dressing for grass : and, indeed, in
every case, it is judged best to apply it to the
surface, without ploughing it down. \Vhea
spread and exposed to the air, it very soon dis-
solves and mixes with the soil.

6tb, Compost Dung-hills are very common.—-
This is a good plan for furnishing a supply of
manure, when a sufficiency of animal dung can-
not be had. They consist of earth, scourings
of ditches, road-soil, peat-moss, mossy earth,
iJ.nie, and dung, and such other kinds of vege-
table substances as can be easily got, and other-*-
wise of little use, such as -quick roots gathered
from the land, ferns, leaves of trees, &c. These
are all mixed and turned over repeatedly, and
suffered to ly and rot for several months, per-
haps a year, before the compost is laid upon the
land.

In forming compost dung-hills, consideration
should be had to the quality and state of the
land for which they are intended. If it be a
thin, light, gravelly, or sandy scil^ the propor-
tion of earth may be encreased to any quantity
that can be conveniently got, or carried to the

248 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XII*

ground ; and it may consist of clay, moss, and
good earth of any kind that is not sandy or
gravelly. In this case, though the dung-hill
may not be rich in proportion to its size, yet,
as it will contain the same quantity of lime and
dung, and vegetable substances, convertible in-
to dung, and to be spread no farther than if this
extraordinary addition of earth had not been
made, it will bring upon the ground a sufficient
quantity of manure ; and at the same time, by
the great proportion of earth it contains, it will
serve to deepen the soil, and render it more te-
nacious of moisture. When intended for thick
land, and of a good quality, the compost dung-
hill need not contain so large a proportion of
earth, whilst the same quantity of the richer
materials is allowed. When designed for a stiff
clay, or mossy soil, instead of clay and moss,
which are proper in the first mentioned case,
d and gravelly earth ought to be employ-
ed.

Farms, having easy access to lime and peat-
moss, can always have plenty of manure. By
compounding these in proper proportions, and
adding a certain quantity of dung, excellent
manure may be formed : the effect of the lime
and the juice of the dung being to perfect the
putrefaction of the vegetable substances of which
the moss is composed.

It may not be improper here to mention the
method of making up this compost, as recom-
mended by gentlemen who have made the trial.
The lime and moss ought to be in the propor-
tion of one cart-load of the former to live of the
latter, and the dung one fourth of the original

sect. IV. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 249

compound. When the moss and lime are mix-
ed, the moss ought to be tolerably dry, and the
lime new slacked and hot. This mixture, af-
ter it has lien three or four months, should be
turned over ; and in 5 or 6 months after, turned
a second time. At this second turning, the
dung ought to be added. After having receiv-
ed the dungj it should not ly above three weeks^
before it be laid upon the land. In some cases,
the natural qualities of the composition may re-
quire it to be thrice turned, and to ly twelve
months before it be used. Thirty cubical yards
of this compound, per acre, will be a sufficient
dressing for turnip, and forty for wheat.

SECT. IT. WEEDING.

WEEDS ought to be considered as robbers,
that pilfer the food which is necessary for the
support of the more valuable and useful vege-
tables, and therefore ought by all means to be
destroyed. Or if their total extirpation cannot
be accomplished, their propagation at least should
be checked, and their nuir>bers diminished as
much as possible. The weeds most commonly
to be met with in this county, and which, at the
Same time, prove most hurtful to the land, are
the thistle, the dock-weed, the rag- weed, wild
mustard, and wild raddish, provincially called
skellocks, guild, or the wild chrysanthemum^
spurry, couch-grass, knot-grass, crowfoot, and
some others. 10 destroy these, and every o-
ther noxious weed, summer-fallowing, and
horse and hand hoeing, with drilled cjops, arc

li

#

250 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cBaf. X1T,

the most common and most effectual methods
employed. The thistle, the dock, and other
large weeds that appear among growing corns,
are either pulled with the hand, or cut with the
weed-hook.

It is to be observed, however, that through
indi lence, or hurry of other business, they are
often allowed to escape ; and the farmer seldom
meddles with them, unless they are caught in
the very act of doing mischief. You will see
his servants, perhaps, employed in extirpating
thistles from his young corns ; whilst those that
grow by the sides of roads and ditches, or in
the neglected corners of the fields, are suffered
to remain unmolested. And as the rag- weed
most commonly infests the pasture-ground, it is
equally disregarded. All kinds of weeds ought,
if possible, to be destroyed before they run in-
to seed, but more especially those that carry
winged seeds. If these seeds shall be allowed
to ripen, they will be scattered by the winds
over the whole adjacent fields, and prove the
source of more extended mischief.

SECT. r. WATERING.

THIS method of improving land might, I
doubt not, be easily and advantageously em-
ployed in many parts of the county ; but has
seldom, I believe, been practised

/. THE COUNTY OF FIFE

CHAPTER XIII.

Live Stock.

SECTION I.

SLACK CATTLE.

1 HE county of Fife has been long distinguish-
ed by the excellence of its breed of black cattle.
The following are considered as the chief cha-
racteristic marks. Though the true Fife^breed
may be found of any colour, the prevailing co-
lour is black ; nor are they less esteemed, though
spotted or streaked with white, or of a grey co-
lour. The horns are small, white, generally
pretty erect, or at least turned up at the points,
bending rather forward, and not wide spread
like the Lancashire long-horned breed. The
bone is small in proportion to the carcase ; the
limbs clean, but short ; and the skin soft. They
are wide between the extreme points of the hook
bones; the ribs are narrow and wide set, and
have a greater curvature than in other kinds,
which gives the body, a thick round form. They
fatten quickly, and fill up well at all the choice
points. They are hardy, fleet, and travel well :
tame and docile, and excellent for work, whe-
ther ia the plough or in the cart. When fat,

li 2

252 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XIII.

they bring a much higher price at Smithfield
market, than almost any other kind, and are
generally selected by the English butcher for the
tables of the greatest connoisseurs, and most
luxurious of his employers. I have heard an
English dealer say, that a Fife bullock of 40
§tone, suppose, will bring an equal, and often a
higher price at the London market, than an
English bullock 10 stone heavier, and equally
fat.

The size is very various ; and this variety is
owing to the difference in the quality of the
pasture, and the attention paid in breeding and
rearing them. When fed for the butcher, bul-
locks weigh, in general, from 30 to 50 or 60
Dutch stones. Fed cows and heifers weigh less.
A Fife bullock, slaughtered lately in this neigh-
bourhood, weighed, the four quarters, 67 stone
14 lib.; the tongue and braids I stone 3 lib. and
the hide and tallow 2 t stone 3 lib. amounting,
in whole, to 90 stone 4 lib. Dutch weight. And
it is well known that many of them have been,
slaughtered, both at home and in the English mar-
ket, of considerably greater weight. Indeed, by
care in rearing and feeding, they maybe raised to a
size equal to almost any in the kingdom. It is
allowed, however, that the small and middle
sized cattle make the finest beef. When three
years old they are fit to be fed with advantage
for the butcher. At 6, and from that to 8 years
old, they are judged to be in their greatest per-
fection, when the richness and delicacy of the
meat, and not merely its fatness, is the object.

And as the Fife cattle are in high estimation
for the shambles, so they are of equal repute for

Sect. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 253

the dairy. A good Fife cow will give from 10
to 14 Scots pints of milk per day, ( 2 Scots pints
are nearly equal to an English gallon) from 7 to 9
lib. of butter, and from 10 to 12 libs, of cheese per
week, tron-weight, for some months after calving.
The quantity, indeed, gradually diminishes in
harvest and winter, and especially as the next
calving approaches. Yet, as they generally give
milk for 10 or 11 months, the quantity just
now stated may be considered as the average
for 26, perhaps for 28 weeks in the year. It
must be confessed, however, that a great many
of our cows do not produce so much milk and
butter ; but this is not owing to any imperfec-
tion in respect of kind, but to the less quantity
or inferior quality of their food, and in some
instances, to misconduct, either in rearing the
cows, or in managing the dairy.

The cows are, generally, milked thrice every
day. This practice is certainly very proper, as
it produces a greater quantity of milk, than when
they are drawn only twice a day, and besides, pre-
vents the cow from being fretted and uneasy by
an over-distended udder. The milk, when taken
from the cow, is usually poured through a wire
or woollen search into flat wooden vessels, which
are, by most people, thought preferable to earth-
en or metal ones. The milk is never allowed
to be above four Or five inches deep in the ves-
sel, which makes it cool sooner, and throw up
the cream more readily and more completely.
The plunge and 'patent churns are both in use ;
the construction of which it is unnecessary to
d escribe, as they are well known almost every
where, The cream is churned, either every

254 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XIII.

day, or every other day, or once in three days,
according to the extent of the dairy. It is sel-
dom, however, churned on the day it is taken
off the milk ; it being understood, that by stand-
ing some time longer, the operation of churn-,
ing is facilitated, and the quantity of butter en-
creased.

On farms in the immediate vicinity of the
towns and large villages, the dairy is a principal
object ; as all the milk and butter can be dispos-
ed of with little trouble, and to the best advan-
tage. The milk, if newly drawn from the cow,
is sold at 2 d. in summer, and at 2 '~ d. or 3 d.
per pint in winter, and the butter at i s. per
tron lib at an average. In the more inland parts
of che county, and at a distance from towns and
villages, though the dairy cannot be supposed to
turn to so good account ; it may, nevertheless,
under careful management, be a very profitable
concern. A good Fife cow, fed, partly on rich
pasture, and partly on green clover in the house,
during summer, and on turnip and other green
vegetables, such as potatoes, cabbage, or open
kail, in winter, will yield 7 lib. of butter, and
12 lib. of cheese per week, for 26 weeks in the
year, which, supposing the butter I s. at an a-
verage, and the cheese 4d. per lib., and the va-
lue of the whey, either sold, or used for domes-
tic purposes, at I s. per week, will amount to
I2s. per week : to this add I2s. for the calf
when new dropt, and the yearly produce of the
cow wiil amount to i61. 45.

The following statement will shew the ad-
vantage that may be derived from a dairy, sup-
posing the cows of the best kind, and the dairy
under proper management :

UCt. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 255

Let the number of cows be 1 2, the annual pro-
duce, according to the above calculation will
amount to - 10,4 8 o

Value of the dung - - 15 o o

209 8 o
The expence of feeding, &c. will stand thus :

£. s. d.

12 acres of good pasture, at 403. per acre 24 o o

4 acres doVer, for. summer food, at 61.

per acre 24 o o

5 acres turnip, for winter, at 4!. - 20 o o
900 stones of hay, at 5d. per stone - 18 15 o
900 stones of straw, at ^d. per stone - n 5 o
To a man aud woman for taking care of

cows and managing the dairy - 28 o o
Interest of money laid out in purchas-
ing the cows, and for keeping up the

the stock, and incidents - 20 o o

146 o o

L. 63 8 ro

By this calculation the neat profits of a dairy of
1 2 cows amounts to 63 1. 8 s., which is a trifle
more than five guineas a-head. This, however,
may be thought to be no very great sum from
such a number of the best cows, so highly fed.
But it must be considered that the profit above
stated is not the only advantage arising from the
dairy. Besides the benefit of having his grass
and hay, &c. consumed upon his own farm, the
farmer reaps the full Value which these articles
would bring at market, and to which he looks,
in the first instance, for the payment of his rent,
and defraying the expence of management.
The dairy may, therefore, be regarded as a dis-
tinct concern, and the produce of it as additional

2<;6 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Xtll,

gain. In short, by converting his grass and hay
into butter and cheese, he draws a much higher
price for them, and reaps more clear profit than
he could possibly do by disposing of them any
other way.

Some intelligent farmers, to whom the above
statement has been mentioned, are of opinion
that I have rated the profits of a dairy too high.
But, upon reconsidering the matter, I find no
reason to depart from my opinion. The calcu-
lation proceeds upon the supposition, that the
cows are of the very best kind ; that they are
highly fed, and, particularly, that they have
plenty of green food, during the whole time
'they give milk ; that the dairy is furnished with
every necessary convenience, and managed with
all possible economy and care.

It has also been suggested, that one woman is
not sufficient for the management of so large a
dairy, and, therefore, that I ought to have charg-
ed for two. I well know, that, for the sake of
dispatch, and to have every thing done in pro-
per time, the dairy maid will have occasion for
frequent assistance, especially in milking the
cows. But the time which she and the man
will be able to spare from their proper business
for other work through the year, will amply re-
pay this occasional assistance.

It may be thought that the sum allowed fo?
the interest of money laid out in purchasing the
cows, keeping up the stock, &c. is too small.
But to balance this, it is to be noticed, that no-
thing is charged for the old stock. The cows,
after they are judged unfit to be kept any longer
as milkers, will bring a good price from the gra*

sect. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 257

sier, to be laid on grass, and fattened for the
butcher.

But how profitable soever a good dairy may
be, there are but few instances where it is con-
sidered as a leading object, or where the farmer
counts much upon its produce. Upon exten-
sive arable farms, of rich quality, and productive
of abundant crops of grain, we often see not a-
bove 5 or 6 milk cows, the produce of which,
after feeding their own calves, and perhaps a
few more bought in, and supplying the family
with butter and cheese, can spare but little for
the market.

On farms principally adapted to breeding and
rearing cattle, the dairy, though not altogether
overlooked, is but a. secondary object. Such a
number of cows are usually kept, as may be ne-
cessary for feeding the quantity of young stock
the farmer means to bring up. Additional to
the produce of his own breeders, he frequently
purchases calves from the cottagers, and from
others, who do not incline, or who have not
convenience, to rear them. The calves are ge-
nerally fed from the bucket, and are allowed
five or six Scots pints of milk every day. Some-
times, when there is a deficiency of milk, hay-
tea, or water-gruel, mixed with a small propor-
tion of milk, is given for their mid-day food.
Calves are allowed milk, till they be I o or 12
weeks c.J. And, as farmers seldom choose to
rear late calves, they are at liberty to apply the
the whole milk, from the middle or end of Ju-
ly, to the purpose of making butter and cheese ;
and where there is any considerable number of
Kk

258 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cloap. XIII.

cows, a large quantity of both is often made, for
the supply of the family and for the market.

There are, however, some farmers who pay
attention to both objects. As the number of
cows they keep are more than sufficient to feed
the calves they wish to rear, regard is had to the
dairy from the first^ and considerable advantage
is derived from it.

Though a great proportion of the county is
chiefly adapted to the breeding and rearing of
young stock, a great many cattle are also fed
for the butcher. Those who follow this prac-
tice, do not depend upon the stock bred by
themselves ; but buy in such a quantity as they
want, in the spring, fatten them on the grass in
summer ; and dispose of them as soon as they
are fit for slaughter. After which a fresh cargo
is purchased for winter, which they fatten on
turnip with hay or straw, and sell in the spring.

Besides the true Fife breed, which are chiefly
to be found in the hands of actual farmers, se-
veral other kinds have been introduced from
England and other places. These last are most
commonly to be found in the possession of the
gentlemen, and by crossing them with the na-
tives, a mixed breed has been produced, and is
now very plenty in the county. This, how-
ever, with submission, has hurt the breed, in-
stead of improving it. These foreign and mixed
breeds can boast of no quality, which the pure,
unmixed native stock does not possess in higher
perfection, with this peculiar advantage, that
they have always a ready sale, and bring good
prices, when the purchasers from England will
scarcely offer money for the other.

MCt. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 259

There was lately in the possession of the
Earl of Leven, a bull of the true Fife breed,
which was bred by Mr Robert Russel, in New-
ton of Markinch, one of his Lordship's tenants,
an engraving of which is prefixed. He was
esteemed a very complete animal, possessing all
the properties for which the Fife breed is so
much admired by the English drovers. An exact
measurement of him was taken, at the desire of
the FIFE FARMING SOCIETY, by two of its
members, and is as follows :

Feet. Incise: .

Length of the head - 20

Ditto from the root of the horn to the rump 8 4
Ditto from the root of the horn to the top of the

shoulder - 2 6£

Ditto of the horn - I o£

Distance from point to point of ditto - - i 10

Girth of the body at the shoulder - - ' 7 6^

Ditto before the hough bones - - 7 8^.

Ditto fore-leg smallest part, between the knee and

hoof - - o 9§

Ditto hinder-leg at ditto - - - o 9 1

Ditto fore-leg at fore spald - - 20

Height at the shoulder - -411

Ditto at the hough bone - 4 n

Ditto from the shoulder to the breast bone 3 6

Ditto of the knee joint fore-leg - I o£

Breadth of the hough bones - 22

Ditto of the are-bones - I 4j

In short, if what has been said, respecting the
Fife breed of black cattle, be just, it follows, that
all foreign and mixed kinds should be extirpat-
ed as fast as possible, and that our farmers ought
to confine themselves entirely to the native
stock. "And I have no scruple to say, that if
our own breed were kept pure and unmixed ;
K k 2

26d AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XIII.

if, in rearing, proper care were taken to select
the handsomest both of males and females for
breeders ; and were the same attention paid to
feeding arid management, that there is in the
breeding counties in England, excellent as our
breed is at present it would soon be carried to
a much higher degree of perfection ; the folly
of introducing foreign and different kinds, and
of spoiling our own by crossing, would become
more apparent ; and the practice, at last, be en-
tirely abandoned.

The number of milk cows in Fife may a-
mount to 10,000 ; and the whole stock of black
cattle annually kept, including lean cattle and
others brought from other counties by graziers,
may amount to, perhaps exceed, 60,000.

The price of cattle has, for the lafh 5 or 6
years, been on the rise ; and though not so high
this year, as during the last 1 or 3 years, still
they bring a good price. It is difficult perhaps
impossible, to state the prices with such preci-
sion, as to render them intelligible to any except
such as are much conversant with the subject.
From 3 years old and upwards, the price varies
from 5 1. to. 20 1. according as they differ in
age, weight, kind, or condition. The follow-
ing average-prices for the laft 3 or 4 years, may
not be far from the truth.

A calf properly fed for the butcher, 6 weeks

* old, from - i 5 to 2 2

If kept for rearing, and sold at'io or 12

months old . 3 o to 4 o

When 2 5 year's old, and sold fat - 4 o to 5 o

When 3 years old, and kept for breeding,

or to be laid on the grass to fatten 5 o to 6 6

sat. II. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 2.6 1

When 3^ years old, and fat for the butcher 7 o to 8 d
Four years old, and full grown 8 o to 10 o

Milk cows at the calving, from a to 8 years

old 9 o to 12 o

Oxen 3 or 4 years old, and lean 8 10 toioio

Ditto 5 or 6 years old, and fat - 1212 toiSiS

Oxen, after having been some years in the
yoke, have been sold, when 7 or 8 years
old, to the English dealers, at the end of
the season, when half fed, to be fattened
the ensuing winter on turnip for* slaugh-
ter, as high per head as - 20 o to o o

SECT. II. SHEEP.

ANCIENTLY, sheepformed a considerable part
of the live-stock of this county. Every farmer
almost kept a quantity, which fed with his cows
in summer, and in winter ranged in common
over the whole country. But when the system
of husbandry came to be. changed ; when the
culture of wheat became more general ; clover
and rye-grass more commonly sown, and the
lands, at the same time, continuing open and
exposed, or the thorn-fences young, and there-
fore ready to be checked in their growth, or
entirely destroyed, by the sheep, (for the wool
of sheep is fatal to thorns,) their numbers greatly
decreased, and now few, comparatively speaking,
remain. There are no flocks, perhaps, consist-
ing of above 300 or 400 in the possession of
one man ; and few nearly so numerous. These'
are chiefly to be met with on the Lomond-
hills, the high-grounds on the north, on Eden's-
muir ; and on the Downs, in the parish of Leu-
chars, commonly called the 'Tents-Moors. Be-
sides, many of the gentlemen, and some of the

262 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY 6fr chap. Xllt.

principal farmers, keep a few, principally for
the use of their own families ; and some, who
have a taste for that kind of stock, and conve-
nience for feeding them, keep more, and what
they do not use, they sell to the butcher. Some
gentlemen-farmers and others, follow the prac-
tice of purchasing annually in the spring, a few
scores of great ewes, or ewes with young, for
the most part of the black-faced kind. These
they lay on good pasture ; the lambs they dis-
pose of, in the course of the summer, to the
butcher, and the ewes at the end of the season.

The old Fife breed is of a small size, the car-
case when fat, seldom weighing above 24 or 26
lib. tron. They are generally horned and white-
faced, and carry a scanty, coarse, open fleece.

The Earl of Leven has a flock consisting of
about 300, which was originally of this kind.
But by crossing them with the Beckwell-ram,
has brought them to an astonishing degree of
perfection. Their weight is fully doubled, and
the wool greatly improved both in quantity and
quality, and sells usually at 2os. per stone.
His Lordship, some years ago, procured a Spa-
nish ram, with a view to the improvement of
the flock. The effect hts been, that the wool
is so much finer, as to bring the price 4 s. per
stone higher. I do not think, however, that it
has made any improvement upon either the size
or the shape of the animal, or bettered the qua-
lity of the mutton.

SCCt.III. THE COUNTY OF FIFE, 263

SECT. III. HORSES, &C.

ABOUT 30 years ago, the breed of horses Ira
this county was of a small kind, and generally
as unsightly to the eye as unlit for the saddle, or
for the purposes of husbandry. Since that time,
however, they have been much improved, Se-
veral individuals, whether induced by taste, or
prompted by views of interest, have distinguish-
ed themselves by their attention to this object,
and can produce horses of their own breeding,
inferior to few, either for the saddle or for the
draught. But though this be the case, in some
instances, it is far from being general. Still
there is much room for improvement. And as
our present breed of horses excel only in pro-
portion as they deviate from the original breed,
the best horses and mares from England should
be encouraged, which, by mixing with ouf pre-
sent improved breed, would soon put us on a
footing with such of our neighbours as are most
eminent in this respect. And this is of the great-
er consequence, as breeding horses for sale, is
now become an object of some attention ; the
beneficial effects of which will be in proportion
to the improvements made on the breed.

With respect to the use of horses in husban-
dry, when compared with oxen, upon conver-
sing with actual farmers, I iind there is a diver-
sity of opinion. They who give the preference
to horses, contend that they can be more univer-
sally useful, and perform the \vork more expe-
ditiously than oxen ; that on land, where the
plough may be endangered by unseen checks
and interruptions, the horses will instantly stop

264 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XIII.

when they feel the obstruction ; whereas oxen
press forward, to the risk of breaking the plough
or the harness ; that, admitting the feeding of
the oxen to be less expensive than that of horfes,
a greater number, in the proportion of at least
three to two, will be requifite to perform the
same work ; and consequently, a greater num-
ber of servants must be kept to work them, the
additional expence of which will more than ba-
lance any profit that may arise from the cheap-
er keeping of the cattle.

They, who take the side of the oxen, affirm,
that there is not fuch a remarkable difference
between horses and cattle, in respect either of
alertness, or of the quantity of work they can
perform, as has been alleged : That oxen can
be trained to stop as readily as horses, when
any dangerous interruption comes in the way ;
that fhey can be kept at a much cheaper rate,
little or no corn being necessary when they are
under proper management ; in short, that they
are liable to fewer distempters, and, when old
or disqualified for labour, are much more va-
luable.

If the question is to be decided by general
opinion, I suspect the decision will be in favour
of the horses. There are still some, it is true,
who continue to use oxen in the operations of
husbandry. But the instances of such are com-
paratively few. There is not, perhaps, one ox
employed at present in the plough or cart, for
ten that were used twenty years ago. The
horses, at and before that period, were much
inferior to the present breed ; and it is observa-
ble, that in proportion as the breed of horses

JtCt. III. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 265

has been improved, the use of cattle has gra-
dually declined ; to which we may add another
fact equally remarkable, that those, who have
quitted oxen for horses, have never given up
the horses and returned to the oxen again.

This matter, I should apprehend, might be
easily compromised. It will be granted, that,
in. no instance, the use of oxen in agriculture,
to the total exclusion of horses, would be pro-
per. On every farm, some necessary services
will be found, which horses can perform to
much better purpose than oxen. When the
farms are small, and can be wrought with one
plough, horses only should be kept. When two
ploughs are requisite, the labour may be divid-
ed between the horses and the cattle. And on
all extensive farms, consisting of four, five, or
fix plough-gates, and upwards, two, or at least
one yoke of oxen, may be kept solely for the
plough, and as many more as may be necessary
to take the chief burden of the carriages, for
which they are allowed to be, in general, as fit
as the horses. As this last mentioned service
may not require the whole time and labour of
the oxen, the farmer will have it in his power
to apply them occasionally to the plough, when
bad weather or other unfavourable circumstances,
may have thrown that part of his work behind.
Besides, having both horses' and cattle at his
command, he can always employ the oxen
where the land is capable of the. easiest tillage,
and consequently, need never be under the ne-
cessity of yoking more than a single pair in one
plough at a time. In this way, the farmer will
be enabled to carry on his operations with su£r
L 1

266 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. XUI*

ficient dispatch, and at the same time, save what-
ever difference of expence there may be between
the plan of keeping a full complement of horses,
and the partial substitution of cattle, in the way
above proposed.

But whatever become of the general question,
when the subject come? to be considered with a
reference to particular cases, the propriety or
impropriety of the measure, will be more easi-r
ly ascertained. When the fanner has no o-
ther purpose, in breeding, or buying in cat-
tle, but for their labour : When the spe-r
cies, he employs, have a natural sluggishness
and inactivity, which cannot be overcome ; or
when his farm has little pasture-ground, or i$
otherwise so circumstanced as to oblige him to
feed his cattle at a very expensive rate, he may,
with some shew of reason, question the eligibi-
lity of 'the plan. But on farms where there is
plenty of pasture, and where breeding and rear-
ing cattle for the market forms a part of the far-
mer's system, the propriety of the measure can-
not be so easily disputed. Of his young stock
he can select such as he judges most proper for
the puipose, train them betimes to the yoke,
work them for several years with very little ex-
traordinary expence, and then dispose of them
at the same price as if they had never been in
the yoke. In this county the practice seems
peculiarly proper, not only as it is a breeding
county, but because the Fife cattle are hardy,
active, and tractable, and if due care be taken in
training them, they may be made to go almost,
perhaps altogether, as quickly, and perform as
much work as horseB.

sect. IV. THE COUNTY OF FIFE, 267

I shall only observe further, that when oxen
are used for labour, especially in the cart, they
ought to be shod and harnessed in the same
manner as horses. This will enable them to
travel more expeditiously and more pleasantly,
and to endure more fatigue with less injury to
themselves.'

SECT. IV. HOGS.

NoT/many years ago the flesh of this animal
was generally disliked by the lower classes of
the people, and therefore very few hogs were
reared. But that aversion has been gradually
overcome, and they are now to be met with in
considerable numbers through the whole coun-
ty. The greatest quantities are bred and fatten-
ed by distillers. The mills, too, being nume-
rous, and affording a cheap and plentiful supply
of food for them, a great many are bred by the
mill-masters and their millers. Few gentlemen
want them. They are to be seen aji'Otit almost
every farm-house. Even cottagers either breed
them, or purchase them when young from those
who do, and feed them for their own Use, and
sometimes for sale. Of late the demand has
been so great, that pigs of 5 or 6 weeks old sell
from 8s. to 123. a-head, according as they are
of a smaller or a larger kind.

But though this species of live- stock be very
plentiful in Fife, few or none prosecute the rear-
ing of it as a principal or leading object. Hence
it is that we do not find the same attention paid
L 1 2

268 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Xm*

either to kind, or to the mode of feeding, that
is shewn in many parts of England.

The principal advantage attending the breed-
ing of swine arises from the cheapness of their
food. There are many articles upon which
they can live and thrive, nay, of which they are
extremely fond, but which would otherwise be
of little use, or at least could not be consumed
to such good purpose any other way ; such as
the grains of malt from the distilleries and brew-
eries, the refuse of the garden, the offals of the
kitchen and dairy, and most kinds of weeds and
rank foul grass which other animals will not
taste.

When they are fattened for slaughter, the
usual method is to give them, for some weeks
before they are killed, boiled oats, or the meal
of oats or pease mixed with boiled potatoes, in-
creasing the proportion of meal, and lessening
that of the potatoes as the time of killing ar>-
proaches. In many instances, however, this at-
tention in feeding is not paid. Often they re-
ceive little else than potatoes additional to their
common food ; and even in this way are made
abundantly fat, though the pork may not be so
solid or well flavoured.

They are killed at different ages, the greater
part, perhaps, at and below a year old : and they
are found of all different weights, from 6 to-
1 6 or 1 8 stones, 22 lib. averdupoise to the
stone.

SCCt. V. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 269.

SECT. V. RABBITS.

RABBITS are bred in considerable number's
on the extensive links and sand-banks along the
shore, and on several tracts of sandy ground in
the more inland parts of the county. But
though they are esteemed delicate eating, and
valuable for their skins, few consider them as
an object of importance, or attend to them with
a view to gain.

SECT. VI. POULT RT.

IN Fife there is abundance of all kinds of
poultry. Geese and Turkeys are to be seen
chiefly about the houses of the gentry, and of
some of the principal farmers. They are bred
principally for private use : few are brought to
the market. Ducks are bred more generally.
Not only gentlemen and farmers, but cottagers
also, where ever there is convenience, rear them.
They are easily brought up, not expensive in
feeding, and do less damage, perhaps, than any
other domestic fowl. But the dunghill fowl is
most universally bred, and is of all the most
profitable. When properly fed, it is delicate
eating. The eggs form a part of the food of
all classes ; and such as don't chuse to consume
them in their own families, find a ready market
for them, and a good price. As a proof of the
high estimation in which this species of poultry
is held by persons of taste, the tenants have been,
for time immemorial, and still continue to be.

270 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY Ot chap.

bound in their leases, to pay to the landlord a
certain number of hens and chickens every year.
No cottager is without his breed of hens ; and
whilst he preserves his number of breeders, he
sells the rest, and such a proportion of the eggs,
as he does not use in his family. The fowls
and eggs are generally sold to the inhabitants of
the towns within the county ; and some are car-
ried to the Edinburgh market, by persons who
make a business of collecting them for that pur-
pose. The peacock, and Guinea fowl, are like-
wise to be seen about gentlemens houses ; but
they are kept rather as ornamental birds, and
seldom appear at table.

5-JTCn FIT. — PIGEONS.

PIGEONS, however much esteemed as art af*
tlcle of food, and however ready and convenient
a dish they may afford to the table> are justly
reckoned a great nuisance to the country at large.
There are, in this county, not fewer, perhaps,
than 360 pigeon cotes, which may contain
36,000 pairs of breeders. They make dreadful
havock among the grain, particularly the wheat
arid pease, in filling and harvesting time, and
are supposed to consume not less than between
3,000 and 4,000 bolls of grain annually.

But if the damage done by pigeons to the
community be so great, it is surely natural to
enquire what the profit is which they bring to
individuals, and whether that profit wtll balance
the mischief they occasion, The value of a
pigeon eote cannot be estimated,, at more than

SICt. I'll. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 2JI

5 1. yearly. Many of them are not worth so
much, 1 know some gentlemen, who have two
or three pigeon cotes in their possession, which,
never yield them 200 pairs in a year. The
value of their annual produce, therefore, must
fall short of the value of the grain they con-
sume, to the amount of nearly 2,000 1. If, then,
the advantages derived from this species cf pro-
perty must be purchased at such an extensive
rate, must not this be a good reason, if not for
their total extirpation, at least for diminishing
their numbers?

h is some consolation to the farmers, how-
ever, that pigeons are not now so plentiful as
formerly. Gentlemen seem not to set so high
a. value upon this species of stock as they once
did. Many of the pigeon houses have been
suffered to go to ruin. Proper attention is not
always paid to keep them in repair, and this is a
temptation to the pigeons to desert them. Even
those which are kept in good order, are not in
general so rich and well stocked as they once
were. This circumstance has been imputed by
some to the pickled wheat which they devour
at the time of sowing. Cramming themselves
full of grain soaked with brine, and crusted
round with lime, may have the effect, it is sup-
posed, of killing many of them.

272 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XIU,

SECT. rill. BEES.

IN the garden of almost every gentleman, a
few hives of bees are to be seen. Some of the
farmers also, and many of the tradesmen and
and mechanics keep them. But the breeding
of them is attended to by no individual as a
business. Few ever keep above six stock hives ;
and the greater part not so many. Whether
from the want of skill in the management, or
from climate or other local disadvantages, I pre-
tend not to say ; but the propagation of this
useful insect is considered here as a precarious
business, and seldom productive of much profit.

CCt. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 273

CHAPTER XIV.

Rural Economy.

SECTION I.
LABOUR.

i HE variety of manufactures carried on in this
county, and their flourishing condition, have had
the effect of producing a. scarcity of farm-ser-
vants and labourers. The price of every kind
of rural labour has, of consequence, risen to a
remarkable height. Within the last 30 or 40
years the wages of servants, and others employ-
ed in the operations of husbandry, have advan-
ced not less than a hundred per cent ; two-thirds
of which rise may be placed to the account of
the last nine or ten years.

Farm-servants, if married, have a free house
and garden ground sufficient for his family, from
61. to 81. of money, 6~ bolls of meal, a cow's
grass, and some other perquisites, such as a few
potatoes planted, or some lint sown, the amount
of all which may run from i61. to i81. If he
be unmarried, and live in the family, he has
from 81, to 12!. of wages yearly, more or less
Mm *

274 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF

acording to his qualifications, or the station he
occupies, besides his victuals in his master's
house.

Labourers get from I s. to i s. 6d. per day in
summer, and 2d. or 3d. less in winter. Both
the hired servant and day-labourer commence
work, in summer, at 6 o'clock in the morning ;
and, being allowed two hours intermission, usu-
ally dispatch breakfast, and take their rest chiefly
in the middle of the day. They cease working
at 6 o'clock in the evening. Hired servants,
however, do not consider themselves as entitled
to quit work invariably at that hour; as circum-
stances must occur which will render it necessa-
ry for them to be occasionally employed at car-
Tier and later hours. In winter, labour commen-
ces and ends with day light. The wages of
maid-servants are from 3!. to 4!. per annum.

Men hired for harvest get from 25 s. to 30 s.,
and their victuals ; and the women from 20 s.
to 25 s. On the north of the Eden, reapers
wages are considerably higher, owing to the
scarcity of villages and cottages in that district.
There the men usually get from 305. to 2!. 2s. j
and the women from 25 s. to 30 s. When hir-
ed by the day a man's wages is from i s. to I s.
6d., and a woman's from lod. to is., with
victuals. They work generally from sun-rising
to sun-setting. In some places where there are
small farms or pendicles, in the neighbourhood
of villages, the reapers do not begin till after
breakfast. They rest an hour at dinner, and
quit work at 6 o'clock, or sunset. In this case
the men have is. per day, and the women iod.,
but no supper. Bread and beer is the usual din-

serf. /. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 275

ner. They are allowed each an oaten loaf, ten
or twelve of which are made from the peck, and
an English quart of beer. This they consider
as at once a sufficient and a wholesome meal ;
and as they can perform their work upon this
kind of diet, with more ease and alertness than
any other, so the farmer finds it the least trou-
blesome and most convenient to provide.

Working by the piece is not a general prac-
tice ; though in many kinds of work it is the most
eligible plan. As it proves a stimulus to exertion,
it is more profitable to the labourer ; and while
it gives the employer the advantage of having
his work executed with dispatch, it encreases
the quantity of productive labour in the coun-
try, and therefore must be a benefit to the com-
munity at large.

But though working by the piece be not a ge-
neral, it is a frequent, practice. And the fol-
lowing are the usual rates, in those cases where
it takes place. Wheat is threshed at I s., and
oats and barley at 8 d. per boll. Hedging and
ditching at 10 d. per rood of six yards, the ditch
five feet wide. Hay is cut at from 2 s. 6 d. to
5 s. per Scots acre, more or less, as the crop is
heavy or light, is laid and entangled by the
weather, or stands fair. Smith-work is always
done by the piece ;, shoeing horses at 2 s. per
fet, when the iron is furnished by the fmith ;
but when the iron is furnished by the employ-
er, at 10 d. per set ; and for each remove, i^- d.,
the smith affording the nails. Cart-wheels are
ringed and mounted at 75. 6 d. per pair, the
iron by the employer. Plough-work is done
M in 2

276 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap.Xir*

either for a certain quantity of victual yearly,
the iron furnimec] by the . employer, or by the
weight of the wrought iron, \\hen furnished by
the smith. The iron-work rates, if coarse, at
5 d., and if fine, at 6 d. per lib.

SECT. II. PROVISIONS.

FROM the great progress which agriculture
has lately made, and from the fertility of the
cultivated grounds, the produce, taking every
kind of grain into the account, is, in general,
more than sufficient to supply the inhabitants.
The culture of oats, it is true, is not so exten-
sive as to furnish a sufficiency of oat-meal, es-
pecially as the consumption of oats by horses,
has, of late years, greatly encreased. Every
year, therefore, there is a considerable importa-,
tion of this article. But this deficiency is more
than balanced by the great annual exportation
of wheat and barley and beans. The prices will
appear from the following state of the Fiars for
the last IQ years.

sect. II. THE COUNTY OF FIFE.

t-^ -

cr. CS O CO

M - • Q r> o Q o o Q -

oonoon^oo-

O\vq-«T\C,<5 G
r» ^ •* O M <N

^-.poonooo,
O O O O\ O ON -\ cnOO

'f S

£78 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap.

The markets are, in general, well supplied
with butcher meat of all kinds. Of these, beef
is the most common and plentiful. The cattle
slaughtered for the market, are mostly reared
and fattened in the county, and, in point of
quality, equal perhaps to any in the kingdom.
The veal is, in general, tolerable, but not plen-
ty ; and, in rare instances, is it to be found
completely fed. " There is also abundance of ex-
cellent mutton and lamb, partly the produce of
the county, and partly brought from other parts
of the kingdom. Besides the hogs slaughtered
for the public markets, a great number are kil-
led by private families. Of late, pork has be-
come a very common article of food among the
lower classes of the people.

The price of butcher-meat has risen, within
the last eight or ten years, at least 50 or 60 per
cent. Though poultry of all kinds are reared
in abundance, from our vicinity to the metro-
polis, and the growth of luxury, the price has
greatly advanced. Fowls, which sold within
these last 10 or 12 years, at 7d., and from that
to 9d., now bring from i s. to i s. 4d. Geese,
turkeys, and ducks, in proportion. Eggs are ri-
sen from 2 d. and 3 d. to 4 d. and 6 d. per do-
zen.

Besides having plenty of butcher-meat and
poultry, the county is generally well supplied .
with iish of various kinds, — with salmon from
Leven, Newburgh, St Andrews, Perth, and Stir-
ling ; trout, pike, perch, &c. from the inland
streams ; and from the friths, with white fish,
such as haddocks, whitings, cod, turbot, scate,
flounders, and shell- fish, such as lobsters, crabs,

sect. II. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 279

mussels, cockles, &c. For some years past, the
herring-fishing in the Frith of Forth, upon the
south coast, has been very successful. This, as
furnishing a cheap article of provision, and at'
the same time giving employment to a great
number of hands, has proved highly beneficial
to Fife, as well as to the other adjacent counties.
The fishing usually commences about the mid-
dle or end of October, and continues for jo or
12 weeks. Besides the immense quantities that
are cured for exportation, a constant and regu-
lar supply is conveyed to every part of the coun-
ty, during the whole fishing season, and sold
frequently as low as I o d. or I s. per long hun-
dred of 132. They are used and much liked
by all ranks ; and particularly are a great bles-
sing to the lower classes, as, when used with
potatoes, they afford a cheap and wholesome
meal. Besides those that are consumed fresh,
considerable quantities are salted by different
individuals for future use.

SECT. III. FUEL.

FROM the account formerly given of the coal-
works in Fife, it is evident that the county must
have a constant and abundant fupply of this ar-
ticle. The price varies in different places from
45. 6 d. to 75. 6d. per ton, at the pit-mouth,
according to the quality of the coal, and the con-
venience of situation. On the north side of the
county, where no coal is to be found, the car-
riage and tolls add greatly to the original price.
In many places, where the people hire the car-

280 THE COUNTY OF FIFE. cbap. XIF.

riage, the cost of the coals, when laid down at
their door, is .not under 135. 6 d. per ton.
They are, sometimes, brought round by water ;
but the advantage arising from this is not very
material, except to those who reside upon, or ve-
ry near the shore. The quantity consumed an-
nually in Fife may amount to 160,000 tons.

Besides coal, peat is to be had in many parts
of the county : but, except by those who live in
the immediate neighbourhood of the mosses,
peat is seldom used as ordinary fuel. The ex-
pence, and the waste of time necessary in dig-
ging, drying, and carrying them home, besides
the risk of their being rendered unfit for use by
rainy seasons, must ever prevent the general use
of this kind of fuel, in a country where coal can
be got at a moderate price. There are, however,
considerable quantities used for kindling fires
and drying grain.

Wood is seldom used as fuel : indeed the
county is too scantily supplied with this article,
to admit of its being used in any quantity for
that purpose.

/. TH£ COUNTY OF FIFE.

CHAPTER XV.

Political Economy , as comucted with, or affecting
Agriculture.

SECTION [I.

IN OT twenty years ago, the roads in Fife were
in a very wretched state. In many parts of the
county, where roads were evidently necessary, not
Only for the safety of passengers, but for the con-
veience of the neighbourhood, none were to be
seen, except such tracts as had been formed by the
occasional tread of horses, the wheels of carts, or
the footsteps of the traveller. Even the great
roads, to which the principal attention h;id been
paid, were, for the most part, intolerable, and,
during winter, in many places almost impassa-
ble, being unskilfully made, aiid kept in bad re-
pair.

The neglect of an object of so much import-
ance, must appear surprising, when the state and
circumstances of the county, in other respects,
are considered. Fife had been long remarkable
for its great population, and the numerous thriv-
ing villages it contained. A large proportion of
Nn *

282 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Xf.

the proprietors were resident ; and the more o-
pulent generally kept carriages. Carts and
wains were become very common. Manufac-
tures were in a flourishing condition, and car-
ried on to a considerable extent. And a spirit
and taste for improvements in agriculture had
appeared and diffused themselves among many
of both the gentlemen and the farmers. Besides,
Fife was the great thoroughfare between the Me-
tropolis and some of the principal towns in the
north of Scotland, particularly Perth and Dun-
dee. Must it not then appear unaccountable,
that, though good roads have ever been deemed
a first step of improvement in any country, and,
indeed, an essential requisite to improvements
of every other kind, they should have been so
long and so totally neglected.

An act of Parliament, it is true, was obtained
in the 26th of the reign of the late King, and
another in the I2th of his present Majesty, for
making and repairing certain roads in Fife. But
the operation of these acts was very limited, be-
ing confined chiefly to the western district of the
county. The sum arising from the assessment
of 20 9. Scots upon every lool. Scots of valued
rent in thecounty,for repairing roads and bridges,
was too trifling to produce any perceptible ef-
fect. Even the benefit of the statute-labour was,
in a great measure, lost, through the want of
judgment and economy in the application of it.

At last, however, the state of the roads came
to be an object of serious consideration, not on-
ly as an evil that could no longer be suffered,
but as disgraceful to a county so opulent and
flourishing. In the year 1 790, the gentlemen

t€£t. /. THE COUNTY OF FIFE.

applied for and obtained an act of Parliament,
with such extensive powers as might enable
them to apply an immediate and effectual reme-
dy. In this act all the different lines of road,
intended to be made and repaired, are particular-
ly pointed out. The trustees are empowered to
borrow to the amount of 16,000!. for defray-
ing the expences. Toll-gates are ordained to be
erected, wherever it shall be judged proper, but
not nearer each other than 6 miles, and the rates
leviable from passengers at the several bars are
specially fixed. It would be unnecessary here
to mention particularly the several lines of road,
the whole powers of the trustees, and all the dif-
ferent provisions made in act : these, every per-
son, who wishes for information, may know, by
having recourse to the act itself. I shall only
observe, that this act hath been carried into ef-
fect with much spirit and judgment : and though
some of the less important roads are yet unfi-
nished ; and though the roads, in general, may
not yet be brought to such a complete state, a>s
could be wished, and may be designed, a very
great and happy change is observable, and the
most serious causes of complaint, so far at least
as the great roads are concerned, are removed.

In the progress of this business, however, the
trustees, rinding that their powers were too li-
mited for the complete accomplishment of the
object of this act ; and also, that the making and
repairing of several other roads would be highly
advantageous to the public, resolved to apply for
further aid from Parliament. Accordingly, in
1797, an act was obtained for enlarging the
terms and powers of the former act, by which
Nn 2

284 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. XV.

|:hey are enabled to encrease the number of toll-,
gates, and the amount of the duties ; and to bor-
row further sums on the credit thereof ; and al-
so, to make the additional roads specified in the
act. There is also a clause introduced into this
act, calculated to obviate an inconvenience felt
under the other. The trustees were authorised,
when they should borrow money for the roads,
to assign the duties of the toll-bars of the parti-*
ticular district for v hich the money was borrow-
ed, as security to^the lender. But no provision
\vas made for the conveyance of this as;>igna-
tion, and the trustees were not obliged to give
their own personal obligation for the money.
The consequence was, that when the lender
found it necessary to lift his money, he was o-
bliged to take possession of the tolls assigned to
him, and to draw the whole duties, until both
principal and interest should be paid. Such a
tedious and inconvenient mode of obtaining pay-
ment, discouraged people from lending money
on such security. Under this new act, how-
ever, the assignations of the toll-duties are made
transferable by a simple indorsation. And,
therefore, as the security is perfectly good, any
person, who has money to spare, will the more,
readily lend it on this footing, as he knows he
can transfer at any time, when he finds the re-
payment of his money necessary.

But notwithstanding the ample powers al-
ready granted, for making and repairing the
high roads, the trustees apprehended that they
might still be insufficient, and were of opinion,
that if the whole statute-labour of the county
were converted, upon equitable terms, into pay-,
merits of money, in place of the present services,

tect. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 285

and powers granted to borrow money to a cer-
tain amount, upon the credit of the produce of
vsuch conversion, they would be enabled to ac-
complish the design with more expedition, and
with more complete effect. Application was,
therefore, made to Parliament in the same year
1797, and a separate act obtained, entitled, an
Act for regulating and converting the statute la-
bour in the county of Fife, and for more effec-
tually making and repairing the high-ways in
the said county.

As this is an act, in which every individual in
the county is particularly interested, it may not '
be improper here, to give a short abstract of it.

By the act, the county is divided into four
districts ; viz. Cupar, St Andrews, Kirkaldy, and
Dunfermline. Trustees are appointed of the
same description with those in former acts of
this kind. The particular times of their annual
district, and general meetings are fixed, and lists
of roads are ordered to be made up for each pa-
rish, where they shall appear to be most neces-
sary, and to which the funds ought, in the first
instance, to be applied.

In the conversion of the statute-labour, it is
enacted, that a plough gate shall be deemed e-
qual to 50 acres of land, whether plantation,
arable, or pasture-ground ; or, in the option of
the proprietor, to 70 1. of gross-rent, payable by
the occupier ; that 20 s. shall be the maximum
of conversion for a plough-gate ; the same sum
for every chaise with four wheels, drawn by two
horses, and let for hire ; I o s. for every chaise
with two wheels, drawn by one horse and let for
hire: Jos. for every cart drawn by two horses, and

286 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Xf.

55. for every cart drawn by one horse, and both
let for hire : — That all householders, cottagers,
labourers, and tradesmen, of every denomination,
whether masters or journeymen, living toge-
ther or separately, in one house, shall, in lieu of
personal services, be assessed in the conversion
of such a number of days labour, not exceeding
six, as the trustees shall judge proportioned to
the circumstances of each individual : — That the
masters, and employers of all journeymen, shall,
in the first instance, be liable in, and obliged to
pay, the conversion leviable from their journey-
men ; for the recovery of which, they shall be
entitled to the same diligence as is competent to
the trustees for levying the conversion of the
statute-labour imposed by this act : — That all
servants hired bona fide by the year, for speci-
fic wages, and all householders renting houses,
xvhich, with the yard and other premises, do
not exceed the yearly rent of 2os., are exempt-
ed from the statute-labour, or payment of con-
version-money, altogether : And that the trus-
tees shall have it in their power, by a writing
under the hands of any three of them, to re-
lieve from payment of the conversion, such per-
sons as, from indigence or other causes, they
fhall judge to be proper objects of exemption.

It is likewise enacted, That in order to ren-
der the making up of the lists of plough-gates
more easy and expeditious, each heritor shall
annually, on or before the first day of January,
deliver to the clerk of the district, a written spe-
cification of the mode by which he inclines to
have his plough-gates rated for the ensuing
and of the number of plough-gates, and

fCCt. 1. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 287

proportional parts of a plough-gate, he is liable
for, agreeably to that option : Declaring always,
that all proprietors of land shall have it in their
power to make a separate option of the mode of
conversion for each particular farm separately
possessed by them or their tenants ; and such
option shall, in every case, be made in the man-
ner most beneficial to the tenant ; and heritors,
occupying their own land, shall be liable in the
conversion of statute-labour, in the same man-
ner as tenants ; the yearly value of the land for
a lease of 19 years, to be fixed by two neutral
men, the one named by the proprietor, and the
other by the trustees ; and this option of the
mode of rating the conversion of the plough-
gates, both -of proprietor and tenant, the heritor
is entitled to make every year.

It is likewise enacted, that the trustees for the
several districts shall appoint surveyors, who are
annually to make up and report, upon oath, an
exact list of plough-gates, chaises, carts, house-
holders, &c. liable in the conversion of the statute-
labour ; and the said surveyors, after having as-
certained the conversion due by virtue of the
act, shall leave with each person so liable, or
with his known factor or agent, a note, written
and subscribed, specifying the conversion to
which he is liable ; and the persons so assessed,
in case they shall think themselves aggrieved,
shall have power, within ten days from the, date
of the said note, to appeal for redress to the
next general meeting of the district, whose judg-
ment shall be final. N. B. This is a very pro-
per clause, as it tends to prevent any person from
being surprised or taken at an unawares, by sum-

288 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Xr«

mary diligence, a hardship which had formerly
been soitt£times felt and complained of.

It is further enacted, That the trustees of the
several districts shall have power to borrow mo-»
ney for making and repairing the roads in their
respective districts, on the security of the funds
leviable by virtue of this act ; but with this ex-
press provision, that no sum shall be borrowed,
except it clearly appears that the funds, upon
the credit of which the money is borrowed, are
sufficient not only to pay the legal interest, but
to afford also a sum equal to 5 per cent, per an-
num of the sum proposed to be borrowed, to be
set apart as a sinking fund for extinguishing the
debt contracted. The trustees are empowered
to assign the funds leviable by this act, in secu-
rity for the money borrowed on the credit there-
of. And the assignations are made transferable
by a simple indorsation upon the back.

And in order to give further aid to the funds
provided by this and former acts of Parliament,
the act before us empowers the trustees to ex-
tend the assessment of 20 s. Scots imposed by
former acts, upon every i oo 1. of valued rent in
the county, to 40 s. Scots, if this shall be found
necessary.

With respect to the mode of laying out and
employing the conversion-money, it is enacted,
that the whole produce of the conversion of sta-
tute-labour, and the sums of money borrowed on
the credit thereof, shall be expended upon the
roads within the parishes respectively, from
which such conversions shall be levied, or on
which the interest of the money to be borrow-
ed shall be charged, and no otherwise. And,

SUt. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 289

by another clause, it is expressly provided, that
the funds, to be levied by virtue of this act, sh'all
be disposed of by the trustees in repaying the
money borrowed, and in making, repairing, and
keeping in repair, the said roads : Declaring al-
ways, that the funds of each parish shall be ap-
plied in repaying the money borrowed, on the
credit of the sum levied in said parish, and in-
terest of said sum, and to the sinking fund for
discharging the debt thereon, and in making and
repairing the roads in that parish, and in no
other way.

It is, however, provided, that any heritor or
heritors, possessing three-fourths of a parish, or
the dominion utilc^ to be ascertained by the num-
ber of their plough-gates, may apply, if they
shall think it proper and necessary, the money
Levied in such parish, or the money borrowed on
the credit thereof, to the roads adjoining to or
connected with the parish. And the trustees
are authorised to allocate the money levied with-
in the territories of royal burghs upon the diffe-
rent roads leading thereto, to the extent of two
miles from said burghs, whether the roads, to
which the same is applied, be within the parish-
es where the conversion-money is exigible, or
not.

The expence of building bridges on the boun-
daries between two contiguous parishes, is to be
defrayed by the parishes between which they
form the junction, in proportion to the number
of their plough-gates. It is also provided by
this act, that when the expence of rebuilding or
repairing any bridge within the county exceeds
80 L, the one-half shall be paid by the diftric$
O o

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap, XV.

within which the bridge is situated, and the o-
ther half by the other three districts, in propor-
tion to their several valued rents. But the ne-
cessity of rebuilding or repairing such bridge
must be allowed, and an order given for that
purpose, by a general meeting of the county.

And in order to give greater effect to the
powers of the trustees, and to prevent all negli-
gence or misapplication of the funds in those
who shall be employed in the execution of the
work, there are several important clauses intro-
duced, which the reader will find, page i6th of
the act, and to which he is referred.

From this short abstract, the principle and ob-
ject of the act will be easily understood ; and
whoever peruses the act itself at large, with the
least attention, will acknowledge that it hath
been framed with much judgment, and that the
several provisions it contains are well calculated
to answer the design in view. In fixing the
conversion of road-services, due regard has been
evidently paid to the interests of all whom the
law .more directly and immediately affects. And
it ought to be observed and mentioned, that, in
the conversion of the services of householders,
cottagers, labourers, &c. where the trustees have
evidently the greatest discretionary powers, these
powers have, in the first instance, been exercised
with equal tenderness and wisdom, in the mode-
rate rate at which they have fixed the conver-
sion. And it is not to be doubted, that, in the
future exercise of these powers, they will act
with the same consideration, and make the bur-
den feel as light as possible to the lower and less

THE COUNTY OF FIFE*

t

opulent, though not the least useful members of
the community.

Before I quit this article, it may be proper to
observe, that although in none of the acts of
Parliament respecting the roads, is any direct
mention made of the by-roads, the general tenor
of the act for converting the statute-labour, and
the powers thereby lodged with the trustees,
render it probable that the framers of the act
had these likewise in their eye. The funds are
to be laid out in the parishes where they are le-
vied respectively, and in no other place. And
though it is provided that they shall be applied,
in the first instance, to the great and cross-roads
within the parish, it is obvious, that, when the
first object is obtained, the funds of the parish
may and ought to be laid out in making and re-
pairing the by-roads in the same.

The case is, indeed, extremely urgent. The
by-roads are in a most deplorable state. Many
parishes can derive little benefit from the great
and cross-roads, though in the best state of re-
pair. Numbers of the inhabitants cannot reach
a turnpike-road, but with great difficulty, and
with scarcely half a load ; and when they have
reached it, besides the previous risk of horses
and carts, and the great expence of time and la-
bour, they are subjected to double duty, paying
as much for the half load as others do for the
whole.

An immediate and universal remedy cannot,
perhaps, be applied to this evil. But it may be
expected that the trustees, by the means they
now have in their power, will be able to accom-
plish it, at no very distant period. By the am-

O O 2

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY Of chap. Xf*

pie funds provided, the principal roads may be
completed in a few years. If the work be exe-
cuted in a sufficient manner^ the roads, for se-
veral years after, cannot require very general or
expensive repairs. During this period, the debts
contracted may be extinguished, and then the
revenue, arising from the toll-gates, the conver-
sion of the statute-labour, and other provisions
made by law, will be able, not only to keep the
great roads in repair, but also to furnish some
effectual aid towards making the by-roads and
keeping them in good order.

As prejudices are commonly entertained a-
gainst such practices as are new and unusual, e-
specially if they shall touch the pocket, the erec-
tion of toll-bars was, at first, unpopular, and still
continues, with some, to be a cause of grumbling
and complaint. But, surely, of all complaints
this is the. rhost unreasonable. Few public ad-
vantages can be equally enjoyed by all ; and
where these advantages are to be paid for by the
community in general, it is impossible to propor-
tion the burden exactly to the particular share
of the advantage which each individual enjoys.
There is, however, no public good more gener-
ally felt than good roads ; and no good of equal
magnitude purchased at so easy a rate. When
good roads are made through a country ia eve-
ry proper direction, travelling becomes safe,
pleasant, and expeditious. Social communica-
tion is promoted, and the necessary intercourse
of life rendered easy. Farmers and traders can
carry their grain and goods to market in less
time and at a cheaper rate. The same horses
and carts can transport a much greater load, with

fett. ]". THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 293

more ease to the horses, and less danger to the
carts and harness. So that, in performing the
same labour, much time and expence are saved.
For every shilling laid out by the community as
toll-duty, ten shillings, at a moderate computa-
tion, may be allowed to be saved.

I shall conclude this subject with observing,
that, under the turnpike and statute-labour acts,
the trustees are empowered to make and repair
whatever roads they shall judge necessary. About
150 miles of turnpike road have already been com-
pletely made, exclusive of those presently making.

The funds put in the power of the trustees for
making and repairing the roads, may be stated
as under :
Besides those connected with thfe

ferries, there are 1 2 toll-bars, the

annual duties of which at present

amount to about - L. 2,714 o o

The amount of the conversion of

the statute-labour, not under - 3,800 o o
The yearly assessment of 3 s. 4 d.

upon every icol. Scots of valued

rent, (the valued rent of the coun-
ty being 362,585!.) which the

trustees are empowered to levy 604 6 o

L. 7,118 6 o

II. CANALS.

THERE are no canals in Fife. The situation
of the county, between two large navigable ri-
vers, furnished with numerous convenient har-
bour,-,/ from which the greater part of the coun-

294 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XV*

ty is removed not more than three or four miles,
and no part above eight or nine miles, renders
this public accommodation less necessary here,
than in many other parts of the kingdom. Dr
Campbell, in his Statistical Account of Cupar,
has suggested that a navigable canal upon the
Eden might be carried as far up as Cupar at no
formidable expence, and has stated, in strong
terms, the advantages which the town of Cu-
par, and the adjacent country, would derive
from such a cut.

The practicability of the proposed canal can-
hot, I suppose, be disputed. It must likewise
be acknowledged, that it would be a great pu-
blic benefit, provided the expence of making it
will admit the rate of the canal-duties to be so
moderate as to render the carriage of goods
cheaper this way than any other. This point
must be ascertained, before the elegibility of the
scheme can be determined. For that purpose,
the expence of making the canal, and its neces-
sary appendages, as also the whole cost of car-
rying goods along the canal, must be estimated.
And the probable quantity of tonnage, which
the exports and imports will require, must be
calculated. Then it can be known what canal-
duties it may be necessary to impose, in order
to indemnify the undertakers of the work, and,
of course, whether it will be the cheapest mode
of conveyance.

I pretend not to be a competent judge of the
matter, and therefore may very readily be mis-
taken. But I strongly doubt whether the ex-
ports and imports of Cupar, and the whole ad-
jacent country, within the reach of the canal,
would be sufficient to raise such an ample and

tect. III. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 295

steady revenue as completely to repay die ex-
pences incurred, without fixing the rate of car-
riage so high as to defeat the great object in
view. If gentlemen of opulence, and who are
more immediately interested in the prosperity
of that part of the county, would risk the ex-
pence, without any view to indemnification, it
would do the greatest credit to their liberality
and public spirit. But I am apt to suspect that
no individual, or society of men, will be found
so generously disposed, as to venture such a
sum of money as the extent of the scheme
would require, without the prospect of being
fully repaid.

SECT. III. — -FAIRS AND WEEKLY MARKETS.

THERE is, perhaps, no county in the king-
dom so well accommodated in this respect us
Fife. In all the towns and large villages, nu-
merous fairs and markets are held on different
days, through the several months of the year,
at which a great deal of business is transacted.
The principal articles bought and sold are,
grain, horses, and black cattle, and these last
either fat or lean, or for milking. Besides
many other commodities, such as haberdashery
goods, groceries, flax, yarn, hard- wares, and
such other things as are most likely to meet the
public demand, are exhibited for sale. And
the country people knowing and taking advan-
tage of this, usually attend upon these occa-*
sions, and purchase what they find necessary
for the use of their families.

296 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Xt\

The stated fairs or markets in the county,
through the year, amount to 87. — At Cupar, 8.
— At Dimfermline, 8. — At Falkland, 8.— At
Leven, 7.— At St Andrews, 6. — At Inverkeith-
ing, 5. — At Crossgates, 5. — At Dysart, 4. — At
Auchtermuchtie, 4. — At Anstruther, easter, 3. —
At Saline, 3. — At Leuchars, 2. — At Leslie, 2. —
At Kilconquhar, 2. — At Kinglassie, 2.7 — At Pit-
lessie, 2. — At Ceres, 2. — At Colinsburgh, 2. —
At Kirkaldy, 2. — At Kinghorn, 2. — At New-
burgh> 2. — At Strathmiglo, 2. — At Pathhead, 2.
— At Torryburn, i. — At Wemyss, i. — Besides
these, which are the principal, some other mar-
kets are held in a few of the obscurer villages,
particularly in the month of April, for the sale
of flax-seed.

In all the principal towns, weekly markets
are regularly held, to which the people in the
neighbourhood resort with such productions
frpm the country as they have to spare, and
which may be most wanted by the inhabitants
of the towns ; at the same time furnishing
themselves from the shops with such articles as
they find most necessary for domestic use, par-
ticularly articles of clothing and groceries. Nay,
in almost every village of any consequence
through the county, shop's are to be found,
which supply the neighbourhood with a varie-
ty of necessary articles, and which could not be
got otherwise, but from an inconvenient dis-
tance, and with much loss of time ; such as meal,
barley, spirits, candle, soap, starch, ashes, tea,
sugar, bread, butter, tobacco, snufF, ropes, nails,
furnishing for funerals, locks, hinges, ,scythes,
reaping-hooks, &c. &c.

sect. IV. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 297

The principal weekly market for grain is held
at Cupar. A market of the same kind was late-
ly established at Kirkalday ; but I understand
there is not a great deal of business transacted
at it*

SECT. If. COMMERCE*

THE situation of this county is very favour-
able for trade. It is almost surrounded with
the sea, and abounds with harbours, several of
which are capable of being fitted, at a moderate
expence, for the reception of ships of almost
any burden : And though not so conveniently
situated for the West Indies, America, or the
south of Europe, its communication with all
the northern kindoms is short and easy. Not-
withstanding these advantages, however, it has
never made any considerable figure in commerce.
This may be partly owing to the proximity of
the Port of Leith, the connection of which with
the Metropolis, as it would early give it the ad-
vantage over every other port in the neighbour-
hood, so it must continue to secure to it the as-
cendency it had gained.

There are two ports in Fife where custom-
houses have been established, viz. Kirkaldy and
Anstruther. The former has under its manage-
ment all the duties on exports and imports from
Aberdour to Largo, inclusive ; and the latter,
from Largo to St Andrew's. The trade on the
north side is under the inspection of the custom-
houses of Dundee and Perth j and that from

'2$S AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XF.

Aberdour, westward, belongs to the custom-
house of Borrowstounness.

The foreign trade of this county is carried on
chiefly with Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Rus-
sia, Poland, Prussia, Germany, and Holland.
The chief articles of export are coal, and a few
of our manufactures. The imports are wood
of different kinds, such as oak, fir, beech, &c.
— oak-bark — hydes and tallow — grain, particu-
larly wheat, barley, and oats — flax, and yarn
made of flax — hemp — iron — tar — flax-seed —
clover-seed — pearl-ashes — Geneva, &c.

'['he coasting trade is more important and va-
luable than the foreign. The principal articles
exported this way are grain of different kinds,
such as wheat, barley, pease, beans, malt ; coals;
lime ; salt ; various kinds of manufactured goods,
such as damasks, diapers, checks, ticks, Silesias,
Osnaburgs; leather, whisky, &c. The porta
from whence grain is exported, are Kirkaldy,
Nether Largo, Pittenweem, Ely, Ans-truther,
Grail, St Andrew's, Newhaven, and Newburgh.
Wheat is carried chiefly to Leith ; barley, to
Leith, to the west of Scotland by the great Ca*
nal, and to other counties in the more imme-
diate neighbourhood, for supplying the distille-
ries. Coal and salt arc exported from Kirkaldy,
Dysart, Wemyss, Methel, Pittenweem, Inver-
keithing, Capernaum, St David's, and Crombie-
point. Lime, chiefly from Charlestown, Aber-
dour, and Burntisland. The last three articles
are carried to different parts of Fife, particularly
on the north side, and to the counties north of
Fife. Some of the coals go to the south side of
the Forth, and some of the lime to Carron. The

tCCf. IT. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 299

linen manufactures are shipped principally to
the English, and partly to the Scots market :
The Dunfermline goods, at Crombie-point for
Borrowstounness ; and the other kinds from the
ports of Kirkaldy and Newburgh.

The goods imported coastwise are chiefly for
home consumption, and consist of wheat, bar-
ley, oats, oat-meal, wine, foreign spirits, porter,
tea, sugar, soap, candles, and other groceries,
wool and cotton, and all kinds of woollen and
cotton goods, dried fish, various kinds of hard-
ware, &c. These are brought from London
and other places in England ; from Leith, from
Glasgow, from Dundee, and from the north of
Scotland.

In a survey which respects agriculture chiefly,
it will be expected that the exports of grain
should be particularly noticed. It is difficult,
however, perhaps impossible, to ascertain the
quantity with perfect accuracy. The exports
on the north side, and west from Aberdour, are
under the inspection of custom-houses, without
the bounds of this county, and which, I am in-
formed, keep no separate accounts for Fife. But
from the statements with which I have been fa-
voured, from the custom-houses of Kirkaldy and
Anstruther, and from the best information I
have been able to procure, from those princi-
pally concerned in this business, I am persuad-
ed the following state will not be far from the

truth.

Bolls.

Wheat sent coast-wise annually, at an average 28,000

Barley, ditto 4j>COQ

"Pease and beans 12,000

Malt - , -

PP2

300 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. xr.

The quantity of oats, oat-meal, and wheat
flour, exported, is so inconsiderable, that it de-
serves not to be mentioned.

For many years back, the quantity of grain
exported has been on the increase ; and of late
the increase has been rapid and great. This
may, perhaps, be imputed to the progressive
improvement of the soil. But it deserves to be
remarked, that to this improvement, and the
consequent increase of exportation, there is one
cause which has greatly contributed. The open-
ing of a communication between the Forth and
the Clyde by the great canal, whilst it has pro-
duced the most beneficial effects on the trade
and navigation of this part of Scotland in gene-
ral, has proved a powerful stimulus to the agri-
cultural exertions of this county, by furnishing
a convenient and profitable market for whatever
grain we can spare. In the course of the year
ending January 5th 1 799, from the port of Air-
struther alone there were shipped coastwise,
upwards of 28,000 quarters of grain of different
kinds ; whilst there were only about 600 quar-
ters imported, chiefly oats ; and of the above
quantity shipped, three fourths, at least, went
through the canal.

The following is the state of the shipping at
present employed in carrying on the trade of
this county, both to foreign ports and coast-
wise :

In the district belonging tq the Custom-

house of Kirkaldy - 89 10,489 649

In. the district belonging to the Custom-

house, of Anstruther - 53 5,024 234

Carry forward 142 13,513 883

Sect. r. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 30!

Brought forward 142 13,5 3 883
The shipping employed in the trade west
of Aberdeen, and on the north side of
the county, cannot be ascertained with
any degree of exactness. But when
we consider the great exportation of
lime and coal from the parishes of
Dunfermline and Inverkeithing, a-
mounting annually to not less than
j 20,000 tons ; the great quantities of
grain shipped from the north side, and
other branches of trade, belonging to
these districts, of inferior importance
and extent, the shipping necessary for
these purposes, making allowance for
the vessels belonging to the other ports
that may be occasionally employed,
cannot be calculated under - 80 6,400 480

222 19,913 1,363

SECT. r. MANUFACTURES.

FIFE has been long distinguished as a manu-
facturing county ; and particularly, within the
last 12 or 15 years, some of its principal manu-
factures have reached a degree of perfection,
and havetbeen carried on to an extent, unknown
at any former period.

In a report, which has a special reference to
agriculture, the manufacture of grain must na-
turally fall under our observation. It has been
already stated that there are, in Fife, 14 flour
mills, which annually manufacture 40,000 bolls
of wheat into flour, and chiefly for home con-
sumption. Of barley, there cannot be less than
42,000 bolls yearly made into malt, and that
again manufactured into whisky and beer of

302 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Xr.

different kinds. In the county there are at pre-
sent four distilleries. The contents of the stills
amount to 214 gallons. To make good spirits,
I have been informed by competent judges, the
stills, which are nearly equal, cannot consume,
each of them above 60 bolls of malt in the week.
But as, from the present construction of the stills,
evidently calculated to work them off with the
greatest possible dispatch, greater regard seems
to be had to profit, than to the quality of the
spirits, they may be supposed to consume 90
bolls each per week, which will amount to
4,680 bolls through the year: and consequently
the four stills will use 18,720 bolls annually.
Each boll will yield 1 1 gallons of Spirits; so that
the whole quantity of whisky produced by the
stills in Fife in a year, supposing them to be
constantly employed, will amount to 205,920
gallons ; and the duty arising from thence will
be 21,852 1. per annum.

Breweries are very numerous in Fife ; though
there are none upon a very extensive scale.
Besides those in the large towns, there are small
ones in almost every village, from which the
inhabitants in the immediate neighbourhood are
regularly and conveniently supplied with beer.
A considerable quantity of strong-ale is made
by the principal brewers. The quantity of malt
consumed this way, cannot be less than from
j 8,000 to 20,000 bolls, besides what is used by
private families who brew their own beer.

A considerable quantity of pot-barley like-
wise is made, not less perhaps than 25,000 cwt.,
which is scarcely one and a fourth cwt. for each
family in the county, at a medium, through the

sect. V. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 303

year. And this will consume at least 15,000
bolls of barley.

Linen. — The manufacture of linen is more
extensive, more valuable, and employs a much
greater number of hands, than any other in the
county. The different kinds of linen goods
manufactured here, are damasks, diapers, checks,
ticks, Osnaburghs, arid Silesias, or brown linens,
besides plain linen of various fabrics, for shirt-
ing and other domestic purposes. Damasks
and diapers are made chiefly at Dunfermline,
which town has been long famous for that branch
of business, employing sometimes not less than
800 looms in it. Checks and ticks are manu-
factured principally at Kirkaldy, Dysart, and
the immediate neighbourhood. Silesias, Osna-
burghs, &c. are made in great quantities in
Auchtermuehtie,Falkland, Cupar, Kettle, Strath-
miglo, Leslie, Markinch, Kennoway, Leven,
Largo, East Wemyss, and by a variety of hands
more widely scattered, in other parts of the
county.

The following abstract-account of linen cloth
stamped for sale annually in the county of Fife,
with its value, and medium price, for the space
of 1 1 years immediately preceding November
1798, will serve to give a view of the progress
and importance of this Branch of business. The
account for 1799 could not be furnished before
this went to the press : but it is supposed that
it will far exceed the quantity of any former
year.

304 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF

\car.

Quantity
Yards,

Value,
L. s. d.

Price at a Me-
dium,

FromNov.i787toi788

3,850,147!

144,259 ii- of

8T85per yarc

1789

3,934,568^

14I->473 7 2i

8 A

1790

3,665,461^

J38,936 7 I0i

9fi

1791

4,I46,635|

166,876 18 ii

9

1792

5,004,726!

209>975 J3 102

9&

*793

5,013,089!

200,543 14 9

9r*i

1794

4,812,319

188,370 12 6

9^

J795

5,212,548

214,013 19 10

94

1796

5,693,1 76^

243>9C9 9 10

I034

1797

4,293>8914

J75,3i9 15 7'

943

1798

4,487,391

i95»443 *4 ii

IQ&

50»"3»955$

2,019,123 4 9?

Besides this, it may be computed, that 600,000
yards of plain linen are annually manufacture^!
by private families for their own use, which,
not being stamped, cannot be included in the
above account. Damasks, and fine diapers for
table-cloths, are likewise" not included. The an-
nual average quantity of linen cloth, therefore,
of.all descriptions, made in this county for the
last ii years, will amount to 5,155,8145- yards.
And as a large proportion of the cloth manufac-
tured for private use is of a fine fabric, the ave-
rage value of this may be estimated at i s. 4 d.
per yard ; consequently the annual average va-
lue of the whole will l?e 223,556!. 135. 2 d.
And the medium value per yard io-/Td,

Of cloth of a coarse fabric, one loom is com-
puted to make from noo to 13 20 yards per
annum. But as the above calculation includes
all diapers and fine linens, the average quantity
wrought by one loom may be fixed at 1000
yards 5 consequently the whole number of looms

sect. Fa THE COUNTY OP FIFE* 305

employed will amount nearly to 5,156. The
average quantity of yarn to a piece of 100 yards,
will be 24 Spindles ; and therefore the whole
linen manufactured will consume 1,237,392
spindles of yarn, including the cotton yarn used
in the checks and ticks. And allowing 3^ lib.
to the spindle, the weight of the flax and cot-
ton will be upwards of 4,640,220 libs, or 2071
tons. •

The different operations of heckling, spinning,
dying, bleaching, winding, and weaving, are
computed to require 5^ hands to each loom.
But as a considerable quantity of the cloth re-
quires neither dyeing nor bleaching, and as many
of tl>e people employed in these operations do
not apply their whole time to them, but are fre-
quently taken off by the necessary avocations of
domestic life, we may suppose each loom to re-
quire only 4-i- hands. The number of persons,
then, young and old, engaged in this business,
will amount to 23,192.

The yarn is partly imported from a foreign
market, partly purchased in the neighbouring
counties, and partly spun at home. The flax
spun at home is partly the produce of the coun-
ty, but chiefly imported from Russia and Hol-
land. Of the yarn spun at home part is manu-
factured by the hand, and part by machinery.

As mills for spinning flax have been lately
introduced into this county, and are of the
greatest importance to the linen manufactures,
they deserve to be particularly taken notice of.
The first erection of these mills was so late as the
year 1793, and at that period only three began
to do business. Since that time, their number

cu

306 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Xf.

has encreased to eleven, nine of which spin
both lint and tow, and two, tow only. Besides
those already at work, there are five more just
now erecting.

When our people first began to use these ma-
chines, they could spin lint-yarn only. But by
improved skill and dexterity derived from prac-
tice, as well as from the application of genius,
they can now spin not only heckled flax, but
braids, tow, and backs also. In point of quan-
tity and quality of the yarn, likewise, they have
much improved. Their coarse yarns, whether
from lint or tow, are not inferior to those spun
by the hand. The grist of their lint-yarn is
commonly from 3 lib. to 6 lib. per spindle.
Some has been spun so fine as 24- lib. and even
2 lib. the spindle, but this is in no great quan-
tity. Their tow-yarns are from 5 lib. to 10 or
1 2 lib. the spindle.

The lint-yarn made at these mills, is manu-
factured into threads, coarse shirting, ticks and
checks ; sail-cloth, Osnaburgs, &c. : The tow-
yarn is used for woof to ticks, sail cloths, Osna-
burgs, &c. The flax they commonly use is
brought from the Baltic, viz. Petersburgh, Riga,
Libau, &c. and also from Holland. The Russia
flax is in general of so coarse a fibre, that it can-
not be spun fine : But, from the great improve-
ment already made in spinning with these ma-
chines, it is not to be doubted but that in time,
and with flax of a proper quality, they will be
able to spin yarn small enough for fine linen.
Upon trial, they find that our home-grown flax
spins well ; and from what is good of it, finer
yarn can be spun than from Dutch flax.

feet. r. THE COUNTf OF FIFE. 307

The great demand upon the St Petersburgh
market, in consequence of the erection of spin-
ning-mills in this country, has been the mean
of raising the price of flax there from So to 90
per cent, above what it was in the year 1791.

The quantity of flax consumed at present by
the spinning-mills in this county, is about 660
tons in a year, or 67,200 stones tron, 22 lib.
Averdupoise to the stone. Rating it at 60 1. per
ton, which is under the current price of this
year, it will amount to 39,600 1.

The number of people'of all descriptions em-
ployed at the mills, in the whole process of the
manufacture, from the raw lint to the weaver
or the market, is about 960. The greatest pro-
portion of these are from 8 and 10 to 16 and
1 8 years of age. And most of the mills have a
person properly qualified to teach the children
to read, and to instruct them in the principles
of Christianity.

The spinning-mills have hitherto been general-
ly wrought by water, and are therefore fixed in
different parts of the county where the conve-
nience of the water-falls can be most easily got.
But now the steam engine begins to be used in-
stead of water. This is considered, by those
who are employed in this business, as a very
great improvement, as it enables them to place
their machinery in any populous town or village,
where there is a shipping port, or where hands
can be got in plenty, and at easier wages. When
the mills are turned by water, the undertakers
are often obliged to settle in the most inland
parts of the county, remote from a sea port, and
with all the inconveniences of long carriages,

2

308 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF clap. X7.

bad roads, and scanty population ; and as they
are under the necessity of collecting their hands
from different and distant parts of the country,
they must sink a considerable sum of money for
their accommodation. The steam-engine ob-
viates all these disadvantages, and bids fair to
make water-falls of considerably less value.

Salt. — -The southern coast of Fife, being wash-
ed with salt-water, and abounding in coal from
the one end to the other, is most advantageously
situated for the manufacturing of this article.
Accordingly we find, that the making of sea-
salt has been an established business in Fife for
many centuries back. This manufacture is car-
ried on chiefly at Dysart, Kirkaldy, Inverkeith-
jng West Wemyss, Methel, and in some places
within the district belonging to the port of An-
struther. The quantity annually made, is not
under 90,000 bushels. The duty, at 5 s. 6 d.
per bushel, will amount to 24,750 1. One hun-
dred and twenty loads of coals are required for
making every 100 bushels of salt. And from
1 10 to 120 hands may be employed in this bu-
siness.

Sbip-luilditig. — Before the conclusion of the
American war, little attention was paid to ship-
building in this county. But since that period,
and especially since the amendment of the Na-
vigation act, excluding all ships not British limit
from the trade of this country, it has made very
considerable progress. Within the last 15 years,
not less than 1,200 tons of shipping have been
built annually in our several ports, principally
at Dysart, Kirkaldy, Wemyss, and Anstruther.
Klost of the vessels have been built for our own

sect. V. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 309

trade : but some of them also for other ports in
Scotland. The crooked wood is mostly import-
ed from Hamburgh ; and the planks, partly from
Dantzick, and partly from England. About
120 men may be employed in this business.
This branch of our manufactures, though carried
on upon a comparatively small scale, is, never-
theless, productive of considerable advantage to
the place ; as, besides the number of hands en-
gaged in building, it furnishes employment for
many others in importing the materials, and in
manufacturing the cordage, sail-cloth, iron work,
&c. which such a business requires.

Leather is manufactured in several parts of
Fife, particularly at Kirkaldy, Cupar, Auchter-
muchty, and Falkland. This branch of busir
ness employs about 40 hands, who manufacture
rnnually between 9,000 and 10,000 hydes of
oxen and cows, perhaps as many calf skins, and
some seal-skins. Such proportion of the raw
hydes and skins, as Fife cannot supply, is brought
from the neighbouring counties, from the North
of Scotland, from Ireland, and sometimes from
Holland. About 560 tons of oak-bark are an-
nually consumed by the tanneries, purchased
partly in England and Scotland, but, owing to
the great rise in the price of British bark, prin-
cipally from Germany and the Netherlands.
The quantity of leather annually manufactured,
is about 164,000 libs. It consists of all the usual
kinds, whether for shoes, saddles, harness, or
other purposes, and is disposed of in Fife and
in other places in Scotland. The annual return
it brings at an average, is about 30,000 1. j and

310 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap. XF.

the duties, drawn from it by Government, a-
moufit to upwards of 1,000 1.

Soap and Candles are manufactured in consi-
derable quantities in Fife. About 250,000 lib.
of the former, and 180,000 lib. of the latter, are
made annually ; the duties of both \vhich amount
to about 3,000 1.

Brick and Tyle are manufactured at Cupar,
Kirkaldy, and Leven. About 750,000 are made
annually ; and the duty is about 300 1.

Vitriol. — This article is manufactured at Burnt-
island. The business commenced several years
ago, and is at present in a flourishing state. I
have not been able to learn the quantity of vi-
triol annually made ; but the work is allowed
to be the second of the kind in Scotland.

SECT. VJ. POPULATION.

THERE are only five counties in Scotland
which exceed Fife in population ; viz. Aber-
deen, Mid-Lothian, Lanark, Perth, and Forfar.
But in proportion to its territorial extent, it is
the most populous, except the counties in which
the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow are situ-
ated. The whole number of souls amounts to
87,250, as appears from the Statistical Accounts
pf the several parishes :

Parishes.

Cupar Presbytery
Cupar
Kettle

Pop- 1755-

Pop. 1790-98

Increase.

Decrease.

2,190

3>7°2

M10

1,621

1,729

13«

565

703

138

Stct. VI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 311

Parishes.

Denbog

Abdie

Flisk

Strathmiglo

Creich

Monimail

Cult

Collessle

Newburgh

Kilmeny

Auchtermuchty

_

Dairsie
Moonzie
Ceres
Falkland

St Andrews Presbytery
St Andrews & ?
St Leonard's 5
Anstruther, Easter
Anstruther, Wester
Crail

Pittenweem
Kilrenny
Leuchars
Kemback
Kilconquhar
Kmgsbarns
Benin o
Carnbee
Cameron
Ferry
Forgan
Elie
Largo
Ncwburn
St Monance

KirSaldy Presbytery
Kirkaldy
Balingry
Burntisland

Pop- 1 755

Pop. 1790-98.] Increase. 'Decrease

255

235

20

822

494

328

318

331

13

1,695

980

715

375

306

69

884

1,1 01

217

449

534

S5

989

949

40

1,347

1,664

317

781

869

88

1,308

M39

I3I

41'

425

12

469

54°

71

241

• 171

7C

2,540

2,320

220

*>795

2,198

4°3

4,9J3

4,335

578

1,100

1,000

100

af3

37°

15

1,710

463

'939

1^086

218

262

1,691

1,620

71

420

588

168

2,131

2,013

118

871

807

64

598

383

2I5

I»293

1,041

252

1,295

1,165

621

875

254

751

875

124

642

620

22

''438

't^

18

780

»3-

5 a

2,296

2,67^5

377

464

223

244

**39Q

1,210

I 80

312 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XV*

Parishes.

Auchterderran
Wemyss
Auchtertool
Kennoway
Markinch
Dysart
Kinghorn.
Leslie
Scoonie
Abbotshall
Kinglassie

Dunfermline Presbytery
Dunfermlins
Saline

Inverkeithing
Dalgety
Carnock
Aberdour
Beith
Torryburn

Increase

From the above table it appears, that there
are in Fife 173 souls for every square mile of
land ; and that though the county is not, in
point of extent, above one forty eight part of
Scotland, it contains above a nineteenth part of
its population. Its present extraordinary popu-
lation cannot be ascribed to the improved state
of agriculture ; as for the last 45 years, the in-
crease of inhabitants has been inconsiderable.
This circumstance, I should be inclined to think,
is rather to be imputed to the natural advan-
tages which Fife enjoys beyond most other coun-
ties. The greatest part is excellently adapted

Pop. 1755.

Dop. 1790-98.

Increase.

Decrease.

i,M3

1,200

57

3»04i

3,°25

16

389

334

55

1,340

1,500

260

2,188

2,790

602

2,367

4,862

2,495

2,389

1,768

621

1,13°

1,212

82

1,528

1,675

147

1,348

2,136

788

998

1,200

202

8,55*

9,55°

998

1,2 S 5

95°

355

1,694

2,210

5l6

761

869

108

583

97°

387

1,198

1,280

82

1,099

45°

649

1,635

1,600

35

81,57°

87,250

",575

5,895

81,570

5,895

5,680

5,68o

•

sect. VI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 313

to the raising of grain or breeding of cattle ; and,
therefore, under very ordinary management, is
capable of furnishing a considerable supply of
provisions. It enjoys the benefit of an exten-
sive sea-coast, which must enable the inhabi-
tants to draw a large portion of the means of
subsistence from the surrounding waters : and
its numerous commodious harbours give them
the advantage, in case of internal scarcity, of an
easy importation from other parts of Britain, or
from foreign ports. Fuel is to be had within
itself in great plenty, and at a reasonable rate.
Salt, an essential article, can be manufactured to
any extent. And for building, lime and stone
are to be found almost every where at a conve-
nient nearness, and of the best quality. All
these advantages are highly favourable to popu-
lation. Besides, wherever they are to be found,
there trade and manufactures will naturally take
up their residence. Accordingly this has hap-
pened in Fife : and it is probably to the grow-
ing prosperity of our manufactures, rather than
to any other cause, that any increase of popula-
tion, for the last 30 or 40 years, is to be ascribed.

Besides the 13 royal burghs formerly men-
tioned, there are about 66 towns and large vil-
lages in the county, containing each from 200
to 1,200 inhabitants; and in these towns and
villages perhaps one half of the people in the
county have their residence-

When the several facts before stated in this
report are considered, it must appear that the
county of Fife, though it comprehends but a
small portion of the territory of Great Britain,
and, in several particulars, is not to be compared
R r *

314 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Xf.

with many other parts of the kingdom, does,
nevertheless, hold a respectable place among
the counties of Scotland. This will appear from
the following recapitulation.

Of the inhabitants engaged in, or dependent upon
Agriculture , for their subsistence, the number is
not kss than - - 30,000

By the labour and industry of this class, besides a
sufficient supply for home consumption, a consi-
derable surplus of grain and cattle is produced
for exportation.

Bolls.

Wheat, to the annual amount of - - 28,000

Barley 45>ooo

Beans and pease - - 12,000

Malt . 2,000

Black cattle, of different ages, both fat and lean,

yearly sold from the county - - 10,000

Of the inhabitants engaged in, and wholly support-
ed by the Commerce, and the different manufac-
tures of the county, upwards of - 28,000

Number of ships, of all dimensions, employed in

our trade and commerce - - 222

Tonnage of ditto -

Of the Manufactures, the following are the most

important.

Linen cloth annually manufactured - yards, 5,155,814

Value of ditto - L. 223,556*

Malt bolls, 42,000
Whisky, supposing the stills to work constantly

through the year - gallons, 205,920

Ale of all kinds brewed annually - barrels, 42,356

Salt made in a year - bushels, 90,000

Of shipping built annually . tons, 1,200

Leather yearly manufactured - Ibs, 164,053

sect. r/J. THE COUNTY OF FIFE.

Soap ditto - - Ibs, 248,483

Candle ditto - - Ibs, 180,420

Brick and tyle . 741,000

Yearly Revenue arising from the commerce and manufac-
tures, &c. of Fife.

£• * *

Duties upon foreign exports and imports,

at an yearly average, about - - 6,500 o o
Amount of duties upon the following arti-
cles taken for the year from July 6th
1798 to July 5th 1799.

Beer and ale . 5>35^ oil

Candles ... ^x x^ o»

Soap - ». 2,329 10 6

Leather - 1,032 18 4^

Malt - - 6,130 i i

Salt sold, 51,062 bushels] - ~ * 6,595 o 3

Brick and tyle - - 292 10 7

The distilleries for nine months, ending 9th

July 1799 - 16,932 8 c

Supposing the stills to work through the
whole year, there would be an additional
duty for three months amounting to - 4,233 2 o

Total, L. 60,147 6 9

SECT, VII. BURDENS AFFECTING LANDED PRO-

PERTT.

OF these I shall only mention, ministers sti-
pends, school-masters salaries, and the mainte-
nance of the poor.

The Ministers of Religion, and the Teachers
of Schools, from the nature of their official du~
Rr 2

316 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XV.

ties, cannot be supposed, like the husbandman,
.the manufacturer, or the artificer, to earn their
subsistence, or to add to the stock of national
wealth, by. what is called productive labour. By
a different application of their time and their ta-
lents, however, they contribute most essentially
to the public good. The education of the
young in every necessary branch of useful liter-
ature, and the instruction of the people at large
in the great principles and duties of religion and
sound morality, is the important task assigned
them by the community. In the faithful and
successful discharge of this office, is laid the sur-
est foundation of jiational prosperity, as well a§
of individual happiness. Under a just convic-r
tion of this, Government has considered public
teachers as a necessary order in the State, given
them a legal establishment, and burdened the
landed property with their support.

'The Parochial Clergy. — In Fife there are 6 1
parochial charges ; but as four of these are col-
legiate, the number of established ministers is
65. The clergy in this county, as in other parts
of Scotland, are mostly stipendiaries ; that is,
they have a living or stipend modified from the
teinds of their respective parishes. As the teinds
are the only funds from which church livings
can be legally granted or augmented, so minis-
ters stipends, and augmentations of stipends, are
the only burdens by which they can be legally
affected. Manses and offices must be built, and
glebes provided for the clergy, at the private ex-
pence of the heritors, in proportion to their va-
lued rents. The legal glebe consists of four
acres of arable land, and pasture sufficient for

S€Cf. 711. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 317

one horse and two cows, besides half an acre of
ground for house and garden.

Sometime ago the clergy in this county were,
in general, but scantily and inadequately provid-
ed. But now their condition is greatly ame-
liorated.

The Lords of Session, who are authorised to
act also as a Court of Teinds, have, of late,
shewn themselves very favourable to the claims
of the clergy. Since the present Lord President
came to the chair, no reasonable application has
been rejected. Wherever -there have been un-
appropriated teirids, augmentations, greater or
smaller, have been granted according as the ex-
tent of the funds would allow, or the urgency
of the case seemed to require.

Within the last fifteen years, a great number
of new manses have been built, and- most of
them upon a liberal plan, and at considerable
expence. Indeed, there are few instances in
which the comfortable accommodation of the
clergyman's family has not been duly consulted.

In ftating the livings of the Fife clergy, I can-
not pretend to be perfectly accurate. The in-
formation given in the Statistical Accounts of
the several parishes, is in some instances defec-
tive, and, in others, not sufficiently explicit.
Since these accounts were drawn up, several aug-
mentations have been obtained. And the price
of victual is fluctuating, though, perhaps, upon
the whole, progressively on the rise. I am con-
fident, however, that I cannot be materially wide
of the truth, if I calculate the average of the
livings of the established clergy in Fife, includ-
ing the glebes, at 120 1. per annum each, which

3*8 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XV.

amounts in whole to 7800!. The annual ex-
pence of building and repairing churches and
manses, cannot be stated at less than 2,200 1.
So that the whole burden upon the landed pro-
perty, arising from the ecclesiastical establish-
ment in Fife, will amount to 1 0,000 1. per an-
num, which may be nearly equal to a twentieth
part of the land rents of the county.

Besides the churches upon the establishment,
-there are at least 36 places of worship belong-
ing to the Burghers, Antiburghers, Relievers,
Cameronians, and other sectaries, the support of
which must bring a serious fturden on the com-
munity, and must ultimately affect the landed
property. Building 36 churches, and as many
manses, cannot cost less than 20,000!., the in-
terest of which, and the annual expence of keep-
ing these houses in repair, will amount at least
to 1,300!. per annum. The stipends of their
clergy, computed at 75 I. each, will be 2,700 1.
in whole 4000!., which is more than six fifths
of the whole land-tax payable by the county.

Such a large sum, annually sunk for the sup-
port of the different sectaries, deserves the con-
sideration of the landholders, and ought certain-
ly to render them cautious of giving their coun-
tenance to any measures, especially in church-
settlements, that may tend to encrease the bur-
den, by exciting discontent among the people,
and spreading more widely the spirit of separa-
tion. Patronage has been alleged by all the sec-
taries, as one cause, and by one sectary as the only
cause, of seceding from the established church.
But the truth is, the evil is owing, not to the kw
of patronage, but rather to the want of conduct

SECT. PH. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 319

and management in carrying it into effect. And
I strongly doubt, if one instance of a violent set-
tlement can be produced, where the business has
been wisely and prudently conducted.

I had the honour of being acquainted with a
gentleman, who had the charge of settling 20
churches for 30 years ; during .all which period,
every settlement under his direction was effect-
ed peaceably and without a struggle, Besides
the temper and address he discovered in manag-
ing the passions and prejudices of men, his ge-
neral character contributed, in no small degree,
to his success. His personal piety, his steady
regard to the interests of religion, and the peace
of the church, the affability of his manners to-
wards his inferiors, and the warm interest he
took in whatever concerned their good, secured
to him universal respect and esteem. Hence it
happened, that his opinions, his advices, and re-
commendations, in every thing relative to their
religious, as well as their temporal affairs, were
listened to with a kind of veneration, and al-
most implicitly followed. Simi4aj effects will
flow from similar causes ; and I am convinced,
that if church-settlements had - been universally
conducted with the same wisdom and address,
most of those religious animosities and disputes,
which, to the great prejudice of true religion
and social happiness, have distracted and soured
the minds of the lower classes, would have been
prevented, and the additional burden of main-
taining a separate order of clergy, would never
have been necessary, or at least would not have
been so extensively felt.

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap< XT,

Teachers of Schools — This class includes both
masters in Universities and parochial school-mas-
ters.

THE UNI7ERSITT OF ST ANDREWS.

OF this ancient and respectable seminary of
learning, I cannot give a better account than that
furnished by the reverend Dr Adamson, in his
Statistical report of the parish of St Andrews.

" The UNIVERSITY," says the Doctor, " which
is the oldest in Scotland, being founded in 1444,
formerly consisted of 3 colleges ; viz. St Salva-
tors, founded by JAMES KENNEDY, bishop of St
Andrews, in 1458 ; St Leonardos College, found-
ed by Prior HEPBURN, 1512 ; and 67 Marys,
founded by Bishop JOIINH.AMILTON, 1552. In
each of these colleges were lectures in Theolo-
gy, as well as in Philosophy, Languages, &c. In
the reign of James VI., 15/9, under the direc-
tion of GEORGEBUCH AN AN, the University was
new modelled ; and St Mary's college was ap-
propriated to the study of Theology, and is there-
fore distinguished by the name of the Divinity
College, or the New College. In 1747, on a
petition from the masters of the two colleges of
St Salvator's and St Leonard's, the Parliament
united these two colleges into one society, under
the designation of the United College. These
colleges are independent of each other in their
revenues and discipline. The Senatus Academl-
cus, or University Meeting, consists of the Prin-
cipals and Professors of both Colleges, which
have a common interest in the Library. The

PH. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 32 J

preses of this meeting is the Rector or his de-
pute. The higher academical degrees are grant-
ed by the University. The Rectpr confers the
degree of Master of Arts in the United College.
The Dean and Faculty confer the degree of Ba-
chelor of Arts. The Rector is chosen annually,
on the first Monday of March > by the comitia of
the University, consisting of the Rector, Princi-
pals, and Professors of both colleges, with the
Students of Divinity, of Moral and of Natural
Philosophy. All these masters and students are
divided, according to the place of their birth, in-
to 4 nations, Fifans, Angusians, Lothians, and
Albans, which last class comprehends all who
belong to none of the first three. Each nation
chooses an intrant : and the 4 intrants name the
Rector. If the votes of the intrants are equally
divided, the Eist Rector, who is preses of the
comitia, has the casting voice. The only per-
sons eligible into the office of Rectorate, are the
Principals, and the Professors of Divinity, who
are designed Vlrl major Is dlgnltatis ac nomlnis^ or
Vlri Rectoraks. The Rector, immediately after
his instalment, (which is performed by his put-
ting on the gown of office, being a purple robe,
with a large hood, the hood and borders of the
robe lined with crimson satin ; and by receiving
the oath de Jideli) names deputies from among
the Vlrl Rectorales^ and assessors from the Sena-
tus Academlcus. He is a civil judge in the Uni-
versity, before whom may be brought complaints
against masters, students, or supposts of the Uni-
versity. To his court there lies also an appeal
from the judgments of either college, in matters
of discipline. In the Rectorial court, the asses-
Ss

322 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XV.

sors have a deliberative voice ; but the Rector is
not bound by their opinion or advice, having
the power of decision entirely in his own per-
son. The Court of Session have shewn them-
selves very tender in receiving appeals or advo-
cations from the Rector, in matters of discipline
over the students.

" The revenue of each of the colleges is part-
ly in tithes, and partly in property lands. The
revenue from tithes is always decreasing, by
augmentations of stipend granted by the com-
missioners of teinds to the parochial ministers.
In each college there are apartments for lodging
the students, rent-free : there is also a public
table for the bursers on the foundation. In the
United College there is a separate table for such
of the students as choose to board themselves,
at aboat lol. Sterling for the session, consisting
of 6~ months. At each table one of the mas-
ters presides.

" St Andrew's has many advantages as a place
of study. The University library is well stored
with books in all the sciences, to which every
student has access, for a small yearly payment.
The masters are eminent in their several de-
partments. There are very few avocations to
the youth, who are not, however, restrained
from innocent amusements, which are proper-
ly regulated by the masters. The person, the
actions, and the character of every student, are
well known by the masters ; so that any ten-
dency to riot or dissipation is immediately
checked ; attention, diligence, and good beha-
viour are observed, encouraged, and honoured :
and the public examination of each class, in the

sect. ril. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 323

University-hall, at the end of the session, ex-
cites and maintains a spirit of application and
emulation.

" The situation of the place is very healthy ;
there are dry walks at all seasons ; the air is
pure ; the streets are spacious and open ; and
the water, brought into the town from adja-
cent springs in leaden pipes, is plentiful and
excellent. Putrid or malignant diseases are
scarcely ever seen in St Andrew's. Epidemi-
cal diseases of any kind are very rare, and also
much milder than in other places of the same
size and population."

Parochial Schoolmasters. — In every parish, so
far as I know, there is one school established
by law. By an act of King William's first Scots
Parliament, held in 1696, it is ordained, that a
school be settled, and a schoolmaster appointed,
in every parish ; and that the heritors shall pro-
vide a commodious house for a school, and mo-
dify an annual salary to the schoolmaster, not
under 5!. iis. lyd. nor above ill. 2s. 2-|d.
Sterling, and to be paid by equal portions, at
the terms of Whitsunday and Martinmas; which
salary is declared to be over and above the per-
quisites which formerly belonged to the readers
and clerks of the kirk-sessions.

In Fife, the medium of school-salaries is not
above '/I. per annum ; which, for 60 parishes,
amounts to 420!.; the whole burden to which
the heritors are subjected for the support of the
parochial schoolmasters. The number of chil-
dren attending the public schools may be from
3000 to 4000 : say, however, 3500 at an ave-
S s 2

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF doap. XV.

rage annually. The school-fees, and other per-
quisites connected with the office, added to the
salary, will amount to about 1800!., which is
30!. to each schoolmaster. But as the schools
in the burghs and large towns have the best sa-
laries, and are attended by the greatest number
of children, the emoluments of the country
schools cannot be estimated above 25!. per an-
num.

Whether this be a suitable provision for an
order of men engaged in a business so laborious
in itself, and at the same time of such essential
importance to society, may be referred to the
judgment of every candid mind. The salaries,
and other emoluments, though small, might be
sufficient at the time they were fixed. But such
a change has taken place, during the lapse of a
hundred years, in the general mode of living,
and in the price of provisions of every kind,
that i ol. at the end of the last century was a
better income than thrice that sum at this pre-
sent time.

Some men, I know, affect to despise this of-
fice, as below public notice and encouragement;
and, if at all necessary, allege that a very small
portion of education and respectability are suffi-
cient to qualify a man for the discharge of it.
Such an idea of the matter must arise either
from the want of consideration, or from some-
thing worse. In the parochial schools is laid
the foundation of the future fortunes and the
future usefulness of the rising generation. There
the children are taught to understand, to feel,
and t© venerate, the sacred obligations of reli-
gion, without a Strong and prevailing sense of

sect. VII. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 325:

which among the people, no government can be
stable, no nation can flourish, no individual be
happy. There they are brought to think and
to act as social beings ; to know and to practise
the principal duties which man owes to man,
such as justice, truth, benevolence, and the
like. There the habits of sobriety, industry,
subordination, and obedience to lawful authori-
ty are formed and cultivated. There, in short,
the young are instructed in the first principles
of useful literature, such as reading their mo-
ther tongue, writing, and the fundamental rules
of arithmetic, and the course of education regu-
lated and extended according as genius points,
or as circumstances may permit. Thus furnish-
ed with virtuous habits, and the principles of
useful knowledge, they enter upon the theatre
of life, prepared to act their part with honour
to themselves, and advantage to the public, in
whatever department it may please Providence
to place them.

An office of such high importance to the corrw
fort and usefulness of individuals, especially of
the lower classes, and to the best interests of the
community at large, ought certainly to be filled
with men of education, of prudence, and re-
spectability of character. And this is the more
necessary in the present times, when the ene-
mies of religion and of good order are endeavour-
ing, by all means in their power, to taint the
minds of the weak and the ignorant, with the
poisonous principles of infidelity, disloyalty, and
licentiousness. But what man of education and
respectability, will settle in a parish school with
an income little better than that of a common

326 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XV.

labourer, and far inferior to the emoluments of
the menial servants of the higher and more
wealthy 'classes of citizens ? Is it consistent with
the opulence, the refinement, and the liberal
sentiments of the present age, that a body of
men employed by the State, in training up the
rising generation in the principles of religion,
morality, and useful knowledge, should be doom-
ed to struggle with indigence and contempt ?
To accomplish most effectually the purposes of
the institution, the salaries of school-masters
ought to be augmented. A more liberal provi-
sion would encourage men of character and abi-
lities to undertake the office. But, if no mea-
sures shall be taken to ameliorate the condition
of the parish school-masters ; — if poverty, with
its usual attendant, contempt, shaH continue to
be their portion ; — it may be expected, that in a
short time, few men of talents or of merit will
be found to undertake the laborious task. The
education of the young will either be neglected,
or fall into the hands of persons destitute of the
requisite qualifications. The great body of the
people must of course sink into ignorance, and
become altogether insensible to every principle
and obligation that can restrain their passions,
and bind them to duty : a situation which, how-
ever agreeable to the sentiments and views of
those who consider them as born only for drud-
gery and submission, must render them more
liable to deception, less apt to bogle at the com-
mission of crimes, and a most formidable and
dangerous engine in the hands of the desperate
and designing.

sect. VII. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 327

It has been urged, as an argument against
augmenting the school-masters salaries, that such
a measure might render them so far independent
of the school-fees, as to make them indolent and
negligent in the discharge of their duty. In
answer to this, I would ask whether four times
their present salary could render their circum-
stances so easy and independent, as to produce
the supposed effect. Men, whose sentiments
and taste have been cultivated by a liberal edu-
cation, who hold an important station in society,
and who must naturally wish to live in such a
style as to support the respectability of that sta-
tion, will find that the sum of 30 3. or 40 1. is
insufficient, even upon the most economical
plan, independent of school -fees and other per-
quisites.

But, supposing an augmentation of salary-
should have a tendency to render them negli-
gent, the danger will be very generally prevent-*
ed by a sense of duty, a regard to reputation,
the love of esteem, and the desire which every
man feels of living respected and happy among
his neighbours. Or, should these considerations
in any instance fail, the heritors and minister
of the parish have a right to superintend the
conduct of the master, and to insist upon the
faithful discharge of his duty in all points.

There are others, I am sorry to say, who re-
probate the establishment of parish-schools alto^
gether, and are of opinion that no public en-
couragement or support should be given to such
an institution, alledging, that the education of
the lower classes is not only useless, but hurt-
ful ; nay, -some carry the matter so far, as tc

328 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XT.

affirm, that it would be much better for society,
if the greater part of them could neither write
nor read. For, say they, that enlargement of
mind which they thus acquire, is apt to render
them self-conceited, and discontented with their
lot ; less tractable and submissive to their supe-
riors ; averse to the low and laborious, though
necessary occupations of life ; and ambitious of
situations and employments to which they have
no title to aspire.

This notion of public education, is so illibe-
ral, so impolitic, and, in its consequences, so
unjust, that I am confident few entertain it, and
fewer still will be hardy enough to avow it.
Indeed, it is so exceedingly absurd, that it scarce-
ly deserves attention. Absurd as it is, how-
ever, it may be improper, as it has been men-
tioned, to suffer it to pass altogether unnoticed.

Have they, who embrace this wild opinion, I
would ask, drawn the line between those classes
in society, who are to enjoy the priviledge of
education, and those who are not ? Have they
said how far down the scale of rank knowledge
may be allowed to descend, and where igno-
rance is to begin ? They do not mean, surely,
to exclude farmers, manufacturers, merchants,
shopkeepers, tradesmen and mechanics. With-
out reading, writing, and arithmetic, how could
such people manage their affairs with any degree
of order or exactness ? How could they keep re-
gular accounts so necessary in business, or make
out bills to their employers ? Gentlemen would
'find it very inconvenient, I suppose, if their
principal servants at least had no education,
iiow unfit for their ©ffice would stewards, but-*

sect. FIT* THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 329

lers, house-keepers, and principal farm-servants
be, if they could neither read nor write ? Even
common labourers, and common servants, in this
country, would often find a total ignorance 'of
letters a great disadvantge. And is society at
large to be deprived of a priyiledgc which the
great body of the people find so necessary in
the common transactions of life, merely to ob-
viate an ideal objection, which, had it any force,
can apply only to the lowest and least numerous
class ?

Again, let ine ask, is not Christianity the
established religion of this country ? Is it not
the gift of Heaven to the poor as well as to the
rich ? Arc not all, the servant as well as the
master, the peasant as well as the peer, com-
manded to search the scriptures ? And can any
man, consistently with his character and profes-
sion as a Christian, propose to withhold educa-
tion from the lower ranks, and thereby render
them incapable of reading their Bibles, and other
books of religious and moral instruction, so ne-
cessary to their improvement in the knowledge
of their duty,' and their consolation under the
toils and hardships of their humble lot ?

Permit me to ask further, whether the system
of those who hold the opinion in dispute, does
not tear from the British Constitution one of its
fairest ornaments, and destroy one of the strong-
est arguments, by which the attachment and ve-
neration of the people can be secured ? Talents,
abilities, and industry, are the chief distinctions
which it professes to acknoxvledge. These it
encourages and protects : and, possessed of these,
the meanest and most obscure are permitted to
Tf *

330 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XF.

rise to affluence, to honour, and to power. But
how can any man avail himself of this constitu-
tional advantage, if he is arrested at his outset
by a regulation excluding him from the very
first principles of literature ?

I would ask, likewise, whether the dignity,
strength, and general prosperity of any nation
or state are net greatest, when genius, talents,
and abilities, in whatever class or order of men
in the community they may exist, are encoura-
ged and permitted to exert themselves without
check or controul ? And as these qualities do
not belong exclusively to any particular rank,
nor descend by inheritance iri any particular
line, is it not incumbent on those, who consult
for the public interest, to adopt the most proper
measures for the .discovery and improvement of
them ? But can any scheme be devised, that will
answer this end more effectually, than the esta-
blishment of parochial schools, suitably endow-
ed, and under proper regulations ? In these lit-
tle seminaries of education, while the children
are instructed in the first principles of morals
and literature, their y6ung minds are opened ;
scope is given to their several powers and capa-
cities to unfold themselves, and the strength
and bent of every particular genius is, in some
.measure, discovered ; by which means a right
judgment may, in most cases, be formed of the
particular department in life in which they will
act with the greatest advantage; and consequently
the subsequent plan of education most proper to
be followed with that view, can with greater cer-
• tainty be determined. The advantages, in this re-
spect, of extending the means of education teevery

#r/. VII. THE COUNTY OF SlfE. 33*

rank in society, are not merely fanciful and ima-
ginary. They are known to be real, from fact
and experience. How many men, descended
from the lowest classes, have done honour to
themselves, and signal service to their country,
by the exertion of talents which, but for the lit-
tle school of their native parish, would have re-
mained for ever useless and unknown ?

I have only to add, that the scheme of depriv-
ing the lower classes of the means of education,
and thereby keeping them in gross ignorance,
is inconsistent with the principles of sound po-
licy, and, if acted upon, might, in the present
state of things, be productive of the most serious
mischief to the State. In this idea I am sup-
ported by the sentiments of an eminent philoso-
pher of the present age. Dr Smith, in his cele-
brated Treatise on the Wealth of Nations, ex-
presses himself, upon this subject, in the follow-
ing words : " A man, without the proper use of
the faculties of a man, is, if possible, more con-
temptible than even a coward ; and seems to be
mutilated and deformed in a still more essential
part of the character of human nature. Though
the State were to derive no advantage from the
instruction of the inferior ranksof people,it would
still deserve its attention that they should not-be
altogether iininstructed. The State, however, de-
rives no inconsiderable advantage from their in-
struction. The more they are instructed the less
liable they are to the delusions of enthusiasm and
superstition, which, among ignorant nations, fre-
quently occasion the most dreadful disorders.
And instructed and intelligent people, besides, are
Tt 2

332 AGRICULTURA SURVEY OF

always more decent and orderly than an ignorant
and stupid one. They feel themselves, each
individually, more respectable, and more likely
to obtain the respect of their lawful superiors ;
and they are, therefore, mbre disposed to respect
those superiors. They are more disposed to
examine, and more capable of seeing through,
the interested complaints of faction and sedition ;
and they are, upon that account, less apt to be
misled into any wanton or unnecessary opposi-
tion to the measures of Government. In free
countries, where the safety of Government de-
pends very much upon the favourable judgment
which the people may form of its conduct, it
must surely be of the highest importance, that
they should not be disposed to judge r:^hly or
capriciously concerning it."

Poor. — The maintenance of the poor is a bur-
den which sits very light upon the landed pro-
perty in this county. Assessments may be oc-
casionally called for, in seasons of scarcity, when
the price of provisions is high : But in few in-
stances are permanent assessments necessary.

The number of the poor, so far as can be
collected from the Statistical reports, who receive
supply statedly or occasionally, may amount to
abput 1,200 1. ; and the money applied for their
support 'to 'about i,8ool., \vhich, as was for-
merly stated, arises from the collections at the
church-doors, the interest of lying stock, the
allowance for the pall or parish mortcloth, dues
at marriages, and lines levied from delinquents.
According to this calculation, every individual,
taking them at an average, receives yearly il. ics.
This, every one must be sensible, is a very in^

chap. XVI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 333

adequate supply. It must be observed, how-
ever, that such of the poor as are able to do any
thing, contribute in part, by their labour, to their
own subsistence j and many of them are indebt-
ed to the kindness and private liberality of their
neighbours for assistance, when distress, or any
other cause, render their necessities more urgent.
It is likewise to be observed, that in various
parts of the county, especially in royal burghs,
and more populous towns, funds have been
established by different trades, and by friendly
societies, for giving relief and assistance to such
of their members as may fall into distress or in-
digence ; by which means, the ordinary funds
are relieved from the burden of a .considerable
number of poor, who, without such charitable
institutions, must have come upon them for
support.

334 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cfap. XVI*

CHAPTER XVI.

Obstacles to Improvement ; including! Obervations
on Agricultural Legislation and Police*

i. 1 HE Want of money has been suggested by
some as a principal obstacle to1 the improvement
of their estates ; and I may add, that in some
cases,- where there is no want of money, there
may be a backwardness to apply it to this pur-
pose. In mentioning this, I do not mean to
insinuate, that the obstacle is either peculiar to,
or generally prevalent in Fife. Many of the
proprietors, of all ranks, have paid the greatest
attention to the amelioration of their lands.
Money has been laid out with an unsparing
hand ; and I am proud to say, that their exer-
tions have been equally judicious and success-
ful. At the same time, it must be admitted,
that the obstacle does exist, and has> to a certain
degree, had its effect.

There are many tracts of land intrinsically
good, but so full of stones, or so drenched with
water, or so rugged and untractable, as to re-
quire a great outlay of money before they can
be brought into order. The proprietors are ei-
ther timid, and cannot think of risking the ne-
cessary expences ; or so circumstanced, that they
cannot spare the money without embarrassment,
perhaps material injury to their families. In

chap, xn. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 335

In this case, I can see no way to get the better
of the obstacle, but one ; and that is, to let such
lands to substantial and intelligent husbandmen,
upon such terms, and for such a length of time,
as may enable them to execute the improve-
ments with a probable prospect of full indemni-
fication for their labour and expences.

But though improvements may, sometimes,
be prevented or retarded by the want of money,
there is reason to suspect, that an inclination to
apply it to some other purpose, is more fre-*
quently the cause. Many chuse rather to place
their money in a Bank, or in the Stocks, than to
spend it in the amelioration of their lands. And
in some cases the taste for expensive living and
expensive amusements, is so strong, that the
whole income is barely sufficient to supply the
necessary means of gratification. But surely,
there is no Bank so safe, or which will yield so
high interest, as their lands. And if pleasure be
the chief object, there can be no comparison be-r
tween the pleasures that arise from the indul-
gence of vanity and appetite, and those that
flow from a consciousness of being useful to our-
selves and to the world, Every man of true
taste, will enjoy more satisfaction in' beholding
his fields well cultivated, than in faring at a. lux-
urious table ; and will find more rational amuse-*
ment in superintending and directing the opera-
tions of rural industry, than in spending lib
time and his money at the gaming~ta%ie, or on
the turf.

2<//y, 'Thirlagg) — \Vliei\rver it prevails, is al-
lowed to be a serious bar to improvement. I
shall not take up time in tracing the origin, or

336 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XVI.

in explaining the different kinds of this servi-
tude ; especially, as the evil is neither univer-
sally nor severely felt in this county ; and as,
besides, the grievance is now in a great mea-
sure removed, by a late successful application to
the Legislature. By an act obtained in the last
session of Parliament, the dominant proprietor
is obliged to relinquish all further claim to
this servitude, upon receiving from the pro-
prietor of the astricted lands a fair and equi-
table compensation. By this law the most ob-
jectionable and oppressive species or thirlage
is done away ; it is now in the power of every
proprietor, who feels the burden, to throw it on.
It is surprising that a measure, so necessary to
the improvement of the country, should not have
been adopted at an earlier period. The same
principle that led to the abolition of tithes in
Scotland, should also have suggested the proprie-
ty of abolishing thirlage. Both operate precise-
ly in the same way as a check to the cultivation
of the soil.

When the proprietor of the mill is also the
proprietor of the astricted lands, which is most
commonly the case in Fife, he has it in his pow-
•er to remove the grievance, without the inter-
ference of public authority. Accordingly, the
gentlemen, sensible of the inconvenience which
their tenants suffer from this servitude, have re-
lieved them, from the burden, restricting them
only to the extent of the victual used -in their
own families.

The quantum of multures, payable at different
mills, varies in consequence of the different me-
thods followed in exacting them. But the a-

chap. XVI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 337

verage amount may be about one-thirteenth part
of the corns manufactured. From the mode ge-
nerally observed at present, in charging multures,
there is room for much imposition. The whole
dues for the mill-master and his servants, are paid
by measure : and their measures are heaped and
hand-waved, which can bear no proportion to
any legal standard. When this practice was in-
troduced, meal of every kind was sold by mea-
sure ; and, in order to make it measure out as
far as possible, it was the custom to grind it ve-
ry fine or small. But, for a considerable time
past, meal has been generally sold by weight ;
in consequence of which it is made rounder and
better, there not being the same temptation to
grind it small as formerly. When meal was sold
by measure, it was reasonable that the multures
should be exacted by measure ; but it is unfair
to continue the practice of measuring, especially
in the way it is done, now that meal is sold by
weight. This evil every proprietor has it in his
power to remedy when he lets the mill. Let
the mill-master have a fair and adequate allow-
ance for himself and his servants ; but let that
allowance be precisely ascertained, and made
payable by the . standard meal-weight, of the
country.

3^//)', Another circumstance frequently com-
plained of as a check to improvement, is the ex-
orbitant interest sometimes demanded by pro-
prietors for money expended on Inclosing. Fenc-
ing land, when substantially executed, is justly
considered as a permanent improvement. Five
per cent., therefore, on money laid out this way,
js thought sufficient, as the landlord has the le-
Uu *

338 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OP chap.

gal intereft for his money in the meantime ; and
as the tenant will be bound to leave the fences
in good and sufficient condition, he may expect
a rise of rent, at the expiration of the lease, in
consequence of, and in proportion to this im-
provement. Seven and a half per cent., howe-
ver, is the interest usually required. Some ten-
ants, who know the inconvenience of possessing
open farms, will rather comply with the terms,
hard as they are : but a far greater number are
deterred from inclosing on such conditions
And as this plan is hard and oppressive,
so it seems not altogether reasonable. The
money laid out by the proprietor an inclosing,
may be considered as lent to the tenant, to be re-
paid at the end of the lease, by the fences he
leaves upon the ground. And there can be no
good reason why extraordinary interest should
be paid for money lent in this way more than
in any other way. It may happen, indeed, that
the value of the fences, at the end of the lease,
may not be equal to the money expended. But
the tenant can be bound, in that case, to pay the
landlord the difference, upon its being fairly a-
scertained. This would oblige the tenant to be
as economical as possible in the outlay of the
money, consistently with the sufficiency of the
fences, supposing the execution of the work en-
trusted to him, and would render him careful in
rearing and protecting them, and in keeping
them in good repair to the last.

This hardship, however, is becoming gradu-
ally less common. As the old leases expire,
this point is adjusted and settled with the in-
coming tenant, and, for the most part, on terms

cbap.XVl. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 339!

sufficiently fair and liberal on the part of the
landlord.

', The injudicious position of corn-mills
has been found, in different parts of the county,
to have the effect of preventing the improve-
ment of some extensive tracts of excellent ground.
The dam-dikes raised to keep in the water, and
to conduct it to the mills, is frequently the cause
of flooding the adjacent fields, and keeping them
in a comparatively waste and unproductive state.
An instance of this I had occasion to see about
two years ago, in the western part of the coun-
ty. But, as I understand the affair is now set-
tled between the contiguous proprietors, and the
nuisance removed, I shall take no farther notice
of it.

A similar case occurs in the parish of Kil-
many, on the north side of the county. There a
large tract of very rich and valuable ground, to the
extent, I am informed, of between 300 and 400
acres, is mostly flooded by the water employed
in turning three corn-mills, and the greatest part
of it thereby rendered entirely unfit for tillage.
Crops have been attempted on some of the driest
spots : but, except in very favourable seasons,
they have proved very precarious ; and in rainy
seasons have1 been entirely lost. Were these
mills removed, the whole could be so effec-
tually dried, as to be cultivated and cropped,
without risk even in wet seasons. The sup-
pression of the mills could be no public disad-
vantage. There are other mills in the neigh-
bourhood, so situated as to occasion no damage,
and at the same time sufficient to manage all the
additional work, which the want of the milh in

340 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XVI.

question might render necessary. The profits
presently arising from them, cannot countervail
a tenth part of the damage they occasion. If
this large tract of excellent land, at this moment
of comparatively little value, were brought un-
der the plough, and completely improved, be-
sides the great benefit resulting from it to the
proprietors and tenants, what a considerable ad-
dition would it make to the produce of the dis-
trict where it lies. Sucli parts of this ground
as have been in crop, have been known to yield
1 6 bolls of oats from the acre, and the oats of
such excellent quality as to produce 1 6 pecks of
meal per boll.

This being the case, it must be an object of
importance to have the evil remedied as soon
as possible. It is natural for man to be tena-
cious of his rights. But surely no gentleman
of liberal sentiments will obstinately hold rights,
manifestly injurious to his neighbours and to
the public, when full compensation is offered.
I must own, however, that where very great
advantages result to the public, from the renun-.
ciation of private rights, it is highly reasonable
that the person who gives up his private rights,
should have some share, at least, of these ad-
vantages. The value, therefore, of the mills in
question ought to be estimated on the most
liberal principles. And when this is done, let
the several proprietors pay in proportion to the
quantity and quality of the lands benefited by
the removal of the mills ; and let the tenants
pay the interest of the money thus laid out,
during the currency of their present leases ; to
which terms their own intereft will lead them

chap. xvi. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 341

readily to agree. This would he fair and equi-
table for all parties. The owner of the mills
receives the full value of his property. The
proprietors of the lands can run no risk, as the
money is laid out upon their own estates ; and,
at the termination of the present leases, they
may expect a considerable rise of rent in conse-
quence of this improvement.

But as the passions, the prejudices, and jar-
ring interests of individuals, are apt, on many
occasions, to throw obstacles in the way, and to
retard or prevent the agreement of parties, it
would, perhaps, be adviseable to apply for an
act of Parliament, not merely with a view to
this particular case, but which should extend to
all instances of a similar nature through the
kingdom ; by which means a speedy and effec-
tual remedy could be applied, wherever the
evil should be found to exist. And should a
law of this kind be obtained, a clause might be
introduced, providing, that whoever shall pos-
sess land that cannot be drained without bring-
ing up a level through part of his neighbour's
ground, shall be authorised to do this, upon
paying full damages for the cut. And as, in
many cases, such drains could not be made,
without benefiting more than one proprietor,
the maker of the common drain shall have it in
his power to cause each pay a share of the ex-
pence, in proportion to his share of the advan-
tage gained ; in the same way as, by the exist-
ing laws, he can oblige a neighbouring heritor
to straight marches, and, if he chuses to inclose,
can make him pay half of the expence of the
fence upon the march.

342 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. Xn,

Draining is, in all cases, equally necessary,
and in many cases, more necessary, than inclos-
ing. There is, therefore, as strong a reason, at
least, for the Legislature interposing in the for-
mer case, as in the latter.

$tbly, Entails. — The effect of entailing lands,
as a bar to improvement, was shortly stated in
a former part of this survey. To what was then
said, I shall only add here, that as the proprie-
tors of estates strictly tailzied, are prevented
from laying out money themselves, to any con-
siderable amount, for the improvement of their
lands, so they cannot let them to tenants on
such terms as will encourage them to make any
extensive or lasting improvements. Seldom do
entails admit of leases of longer endurance than
19 years ; a period too short to induce the tenants
to take the whole burden upon themselves.

It is true, an act of Parliament was passed in
the loth of his present Majesty, entitling heirs
of entail to improve their estates by granting
leases, building farm-houses, draining, enclosing,
and excambing, under certain limitations, and
to claim repayment of three fourths of the ex-
pence from the next heir of entail. By this law,
the effect of entails, as a bar to improvement, is
partially, indeed, but not completely removed.
Upon looking into the act itself, we find that
the proprietor may grant leases of 31 years en-
durance, upon all uninclosed lands ; but if en-
closed, whatever their condition may otherwise
be, the duration of the lease is limited to 19 years.
According to the act, no lease can be granted till
the former lease be determined, or if for a term
certain., be within a year of being determined ;

chap. XVI. AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF 343

a provision which, in many cases, may occasion
a delay of improvement for many years. The
act likewise bears, That every proprietor of an
entailed estate shall be a creditor to the succeed-
ing heirs of entail for three-fourths of the mo-
ney which he shall lay out upon improvements.
But as the profits arising to himself from the
improvements specified, must be inconsiderable,
especially if made at an advanced period of life,
it is scarcely to be supposed that he will sink
money, to any great amount, upon the estate,
three-fourths of which only can be reclaimed ;
when, by a different application, he may have it
in his power to enlarge the sum, and to dispose
of the whole at his own pleasure. It is provid-
ed by the act, That the claim against the suc-
ceeding heir shall not exceed four years free
rent of the entailed estate, as at the term of
Whitsunday after the death of the heir who ex-
pended the money. But it is well known, that
there are many estates, which twice that sum
would be insufficient to put into any tolerable
order. And the effect of this limitation, as a
bar to improvement, is the greater, that by an-
other clause in the act, it is provided, that, when
a sum equal to four years free-rent shall have
been expended, and shall remain a subsisting
charge against the succeeding heirs, it shall not
be lawful for the subsequent heirs to expend
any more under the authority of this act. This
being the case, is it to be supposed that the suc-
ceeding heir, burdened with a debt equal to four
times his yearly rent, having, perhaps, a young
family to support and educate, and obliged to
live in a style, in some measure, suitable to his.

344 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbilp. XVI.

rank, will be inclined to subject himself to an
additional burden, by expensive and more ex-
tended improvements ? In short, when the pro-
prietor of entailed lands, lias no heir of his own
body, or no children to provide for, and when
the next heir is only a distant relation, in the
improvement of .whose fortune he does not feel
himself much interested, it is generally found
that present profit is the great object, and that
no sums of any consequence are laid out upon
the estate, without the certain prospect of a large
and speedy return.

6//6/V, Tbe short endurance of Leases is com-
plained of as one of the greatest obstacles to im-
provement. Under the article respecting leases,
it was observed, that on all corn farms, no lease
ought to be shorter than 1 9 years ; and if the
land, at the commencement of the lease, be in
an improved state, this may be a period suf-
ficiently long. But if the ground be in a waste
uncultivated state, requiring to be enclosed,
drained, cleared of stones, straighted and level-
led, fallowed, and manured with lime and dung,
a much longer period will be necessary. And
yet many proprietors are unwilling to grant
leases, even on such land, of a longer duration ;
a period within which it is impossible for the
tenant to execute such expensive and tedious
improvements, with safety and advantage. This,
I think, must be evident to every man who has
any knowledge of the business.

Let the farm be of any given extent ; let it
consist, for example, of 200 acres ; suppose the
tenant to be intelligent, industrious, and -posses-
sed of a sufficient capital : let the proprietor be.

chap. XVI. THE COUNTY OF FIFfi. 34^

at the expence of enclosing, or at least of put-
ting up the fences, and the tenant obliged to
lay down the materials ; even in these favoura-
ble circumstances, not more than 10 acres can
be improved annually. The farm must depend
chiefly upon itself for dung; three-fourths of
the farms in this county not having the oppor*
tunity of purchasing this kind of manure, or at
least under the necessity of bringing it from a
great distance, and buying it at a very dear rate.
The operations before mentioned, will require
great strength of men and cattle, and consequent-
ly a great outlay of money. Before the farmer
can see a blade of corn above the ground, his
expences per acre, including rent and seed, will
not be less than from 81. to ! o 1.

It may be alleged, that as the improvement of
the farm goes forward, the tenant will have it
in his power to cultivate a larger portion of his
farm every year progressively, in consequence
of the increased supply of manure which it will
be able progressively to produce. This, howe-
ver, is scarcely to be supposed. In a few years,
the improved fields will need a repetition of ma-
nure, besides the continued labour and atten-
tion which they will necessarily require. And
it is well known to every experienced farmer,
that even a well cultivated farm can spare but a
small proportion of the manure it produces, to
be otherwise applied. Of this, proprietors them-
selves are abundantly sensible. Hence, the sol-
licitude they discover to prevent the tenant from
putting any of his straw or fodder from off his
farm, lest the land should be thereby injured.
Indeed, every prudent husbandman will be cau-
X x

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap.

tidUs how he sells any part of his straw, well
knowing that this must diminish the necessary
supply of manure, and thereby hurt both the
land and his own interest.

Upon this supposition, then, a farm of 200
acres cannot be completely improved in a shorter
period than 20 years. And what is true with
respect to a farm of 200 acres, is equally true
of a farm of any other size ; because every thing
else must be in proportion. Let it be granted,
however, that the improvements may be com-
pleted in 1 7 or 1 8 years ; yet, even in that case,
no tenant can be supposed to proceed uniformly
in his operations to the last, under a lease of 1 9
years. At the commencement, indeed, he goes
on with spirit, and grudges no necessary labour
or expence, knowing that he will be amply re-
imbursed. And this he may continue to do,
during the first ten or eleven years of his lease :
at which period he will have completely im-
proved 100, perhaps 120 acres of his farm. He
now naturally pauses : he looks forward and
sees the termination of his lease fast approach-
ing. His encouragement to proceed with the
same spirit as before, is greatly diminished.
.From the labour and expences upon new im-
provements for the next three or four years, he
observes no tempting profits can be expected ;
and, during the last three or four years, instead
of making any profit, he knows he must be sub-
jected to considerable loss, if he shall be obliged
to leave the farm.

• Besides, it is to be observed, that the part of
his farm which remains unimproved towards the
end of the tack, will readily be the worst, and

chap. XVI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 347

the most difficult to cultivate. For it is natural
to suppose, that, so far as he can do it, consist-
ently with any regular plan, he will turn his
attention, at first, to those parts that can be im-
proved at the least expence, and will yield him
the largest and readiest returns.

He next considers the 100 or 120 acres which
he hath brought into order, and, after serious
deliberation, concludes, that to confine his at-
tention henceforth to the land already improved,
and to apply to this all his manure, and to keep
it in high order, will be infinitely more profi-
table than to throw away his money upon im-
provements, the advantages of which must be
uncertain, and may be enjoyed by another.

Let us now suppose the endurance of the lease
to exend to 38 years, and observe the consequen-
ces. The tenant has full time to carry on his plan
of improvement, and to complete it in the most
substantial manner. This he will be able to
accomplish during the first 19 or 20 years, all
suspension or relaxation of industry being effec-
tually prevented by the certain prospect oi reap-
ing abundantly the fruits of his labour. And
at the end of his lease, he will be in a condition
to offer an increase of rent greater perhaps than
any other can do. By the accelerated improve-
ment, and the consequent increase of produce,
the State will be greatly benefited, and the pro-
prietor will come in for a fair proportion of the
advantages.

But, perhaps, the proprietor may alledge, that,
at the expiration of 19 years,* he has reason to
expect a rise of rent upon such a farm, even
though the improvements should be carried no

X X 2

348 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY • P chap. XP1.

further than the present tenant may see it for
his interest ; and therefore may think it hard
that he should be excluded from this rise for so
long a period. Whether or not this be a hard-
ship, must depend very much upon the terms
of the original bargain. It is to be supposed
that a tenant will give more rent, if the lease
ghall extend to 38 years, than if limited to 19 ;
and in this way the proprietor may receive the
full equivalent of any advance of rent he could
reasonably expect.

But whatever be in this, as the case stands at
present, it is evident, that between the back-
wardness of landlords to grant long leases, and
the hardships which tenants suffer under short
ones, a considerable portion of the lands in the
county are kept in a waste and unproductive
state, and at best can make but slow advances
in improvement.

In order to remove this great obstacle to the
progress of agriculture, which short leases, and
the jarring interests and mutual jealousies of
proprietors and tenants, had unhappily thrown
in the way, a plan of a kase was devised by the
late Lord KAIMS, a gentlemen not more distin-
guished, perhaps, by his abilities as a lawyer,
than by his knowledge of husbandry. As this
plan has been highly applauded by some good
judges, I shall state it to the public, as it has
been particularly detailed by Doctor ANDERSON,
in his Agricultural Survey of Aberdeenshire ;
and the rather, as some observations upon it,
which I mean to suggest, could not otherwise
be so well understood,

THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 349

" His Lordship proposed that the lease should
extend to an indefinite number of years, con-
sisting of fixed periods, at the end of each of
which a rise of rent should take place, with
permission for the tenant, at the period of each
of these rises of rent, to give up his farm, if he
shall see proper ; and granting a similar power
to the landlord, upon proper terms, to resume
his land, if he shall think fit. The particulars
of this contract, and the grounds on which they
rest, are as under.

" He assumes it as a postulatum, that a land-
lord and tenant are capable of forming a tolera-
bly just estimate of the value of the land in
question for a short periM of years, such as it
is customary to grant leases for in Scotland : say
2 1 years. And having agreed upon these terms,
which, for the present, we shall call lool. rent,
the tenant expresses a wish to have his lease ex-
tended to a longer period. To this the proprie-
tor objects, on this ground, that it is riot possi«-
ble to form a precise estimate of what the value
the ground may be at the end of that period.
He has already seen that ground for the last 2 1
years has increased much more in value than
any person at the beginning of that period could
easily have conceived it would have done, and
therefore he cannot think of giving it off jusc
now for a longer period, as a similar rise of va-
lue may be expected to take place in future.
This reasoning appears to be well founded, and
therefore, to give the landlord a reasonable gra-
tification, he proposes that ir. should be stipu-
lated, that if the tenant should agree to give a
certain rise of rent at the end of that period,

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF clap. XVI.

suppose 20!., the landlord should consent that
the lease should run on for another period of
2 1 years, unless in the cases to be after men-
tioned.

" But as it may happen that this 2O 1. now
stipulated to be paid at so distant a period, may-
be more than the farmer will find he is able to
pay, an option should be given to him to resign
his lease, if he should find that is the case, by
giving the landlord legal notice one year at least
before the expiry of the lease ; but if that no-
tice be omitted thus to be given, it shall be un-
derstood that the tenant is bound to hold the
lease for the second 2 1 years, at the rent speci-
fied in the contract. And if the landlord does
not give the tenant warning within one month
after that period, it shall be understood that he
too is bound to accept of the stipulated addi-
tional rent for the 2 1 years that are to succeed.

" It may, however, also happen, that the
sum specified in the lease may be a rent consi-
derably below the then present value of the
farm : or the proprietor may have very strong
reasons for wishing to resume the possession of
that land, or to obtain an adequate rent for it :
a power therefore should be given to him in
cither case to resume the lands, if he should so
incline. But as a great part of that present va-
lue may be owing to the exertions of the farm-
er, who has laid out money upon the farm, in
the hopes of enjoying it for a second period of
21 years, it woulcj be unjust to deprive him of
this benefit, without giving him a valuable con-
sideration for that improved value. On this ac-
count it should be stipulated, that in case th2

THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 351

proprietor at this time resumes the farm, he
shall become bound to pay to the tenant TEN
years purchase of the additional rent he had a-
greed to pay ; which in the example above stat-
ed would be 200 1.

" But the land may be worth still more than
the 20 1. of rise mentioned in the lease, and the
tenant may be content to pay more, say 10 1.,
rather than remove, ; and he makes offer accor-
dingy to do so. In that case the landlord should
be bound either to accept that additional offer,
or to pay ten years purchase of that also ; and
so on for every other offer the tenant shall make
before he agrees to remove from the farm.

" In this way, the landlord is always certain
that he can never be precluded from obtaining
the FULL value for his land, whatever circum-
stances may arise. And if the tenant shall prove
disagreeable, so that he would wish rather to put
another in his place upon the same terms, it ne-
ver can be any hardship upon the landlord to
pay the stipulated sum ; because it would be the
same thing to him as if he bought a new estate
at TEN year's purchase, free of taxes: a thing
he never can expect to do. It is indeed true,
that it would be more advantageous for* him to
allow the present tenant to continue : and there-
fore this alternative will be always, unless in ve-
ry extraordinary cases, accepted of, as it ever
ought to be ; and thus the tenant's mind is im-
pressed with a< conviction that he will continue
in his possession ; a conviction that ought ever
to prevail, because it stimulates to industry in
the highest degree.

352 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XVI.

" And as the tenant is thus certain, that, at
the very worst, his family must be entitled to
draw a reasonable remuneration for the exer-
tions of his industry, he can never find the small-
est tendency to slacken his endeavours in any
way.

" By stipulating in the original lease, in the
same manner, that, at the end of the second 2 1
years, the lease shall be continued for 21 years
more ; and so on at the end of the third, and
fourth, and any farther number of periods of
2 1 years, on agreeing to pay a specified rise of
rent ; reserving to each party the same privile-
ges as above described, the lease might be conti-
nued to perpetuity, without either party ever
being in danger of having an undue advantage
over the other. The tenant will always be cer-
tain of having a preference given him over eve-
ry other person, and will, of course, go on with
unceasing exertions to better his land, which
will, of necessity, tend to augment the income
of the proprietor much more than could have
happened under any other system of manage-*
ment."

At first sight this appears to be the most per-
fect plan of a lease ever yet devised ; and, to be
completely calculated, at once to accelerate the
improvement of the soil, and to secure the inte-
rest of both landlord and tenant. And yet, if it
does really possess the excellence ascribed to it,
how comes it that it has never found its way in-
to general practice. I have never heard of its

THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 353

being, in any instance, adopted. This, surely,
leads to a suspicion that it labours under some
material defect. It may be deemed presump-
tion in me to find fault with a plan which can
boast of such high authority and approbation.
But, with all due deference to great names, there
is one objection which strikes me strongly, and
which appears insurmountable. The objection
is, that the interest of the proprietor is not suffi-
ciently attended to and secured.

To accelerate the improvement of the soil,
and to prevent all suspense or relaxation in car-
rying it forward, is the great leading object.
For the accomplishment of this, it is proposed
to bring the landlord and tenant together on.
such terms, as may most effectually encourage
the vigorous and uninterrupted exertions of the
latter, and, at the same, secure to the former eve-
ry advantage from the cultivation of his lands,
that he can, injustice, claim. With this view
the lease is made to extend to an indefinite num-
ber of years, but, at the same time, divided into
periods of 21 years, and stipulating a certain rise,
of rent to take place at the commencement of
each period. At the termination of every pe-
riod, the tenant is at liberty to resign his farm,
if he shall think fitTupon giving his master no-
tice in due time, or to continue in possession^
upon paying the rise-rent fixed in the lease ; un-
less the proprietor shall think proper to resume
the possession of his lands, which he is entitled
to do ; but upon the express condition that he
pay the tenant 10 years purchase of the stipu-
lated advance of rent for the next period, and
of any additional sum he may chuse to offer.
Yy

354 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XVI.

And this allowance is given to the tenant as an
incitement to persevering industry, and a re-
ward for his improvements.

Now, this scheme would be perfectly right,
were the rise of rent universally owing to the
tenant's improvements, which seenas to be the
principle upon which it proceeds. But this, it
is well known, is not always the case. Other
causes, besides the amelioration of the soil, may
be assigned, — the fall of the value of money, for
instance. A farm which, under the last period
of 21 years, paid a rent of 100 1., may, on this
account, yield I2ol. during the currency of the
next period, without having received any im-
provement. The reason is plain : The same
proportion of the produce which, during the
former period, brought lool. at market, will
now yield 120!. Here, then, there is in fact
no real rise of rent ; because the same quantity
of produce pays the rent now as formerly ; and
100 1. was of as much value to the landlord, un-
der the former period, as 120 1. is under the lat-
ter. Will any man then say, that it is just and
equal that the landlord should pay this 200 1.,
being the ten year's purchase of the rise-rent,
•when that rise of rent is owing, not to the te-
nant's industry, but to the depreciation of mo-
ney ?

Again, a growing taste for husbandry may
encrease the number of candidates for farms.
This will naturally produce a competition, and
a rise of rent will be the certain consequence,
Or, in a great manufacturing county, the thriv-
ing state of the manufactures, or even a particu-
lar period of uncommon prosperity, will 'have

XVI. THE COUNTY OF FIF£. 355

the effect of raising the rents. The demand for
provisions will, in these circumstances, be en-
creased, and the price of grain will, of course,
become higher.

Many other causes, such as an encreased po-
pulation, in consequence of the establishment of
a manufacture, or any other public work in the
neighbourhood ; making or repairing the public
and private roads ; the benefit of a canal ; the
discovery of new means of improvement in the
farm, or in the vicinity, &c., will produce a rise
of rent, independent of any improvements an-
tecedently made upon the soil.

To the truth of these observations fact and
experience will bear testimony. In my own
neighbourhood, I know several farms which, at
the end of the last lease of 1 9 years, were in as
bad, perhaps a worse state, than at the begin-
ning; and yet, under the next lease, brought a
rise of rent from 50 to 100 per cent, from good
substantial tenants., Now, let us suppose one of
these farms to have been let during the last 2 1
years upon the plan under consideration, and
see how the case will stand. Supposing the
rent iool.,the rise for the next period will be 20!.
The landlord wishes to remove a lazy spiritless te-
nant, who has rather injured than improved his
farm : arid, besides, he has an offer of 200 1.
for the farm from a substantial and industrious
tenant. The sitting tenant, however, is entit-
led, by the lease, to continue in possession, un-
less the landlord give him ten year's purchase of
the rise-rent, and of what additional advance he
may choose to offer. Let us suppose that he offers
Yy 2 '

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cloap. XVI.

60 1. advance. In that case, the landlord must
either refuse the offer of 200 1. yearly rent, and
suffer his farm to continue in the hands of a slo-
ven, to his own great mortification, and to the
great loss of the community, or pay the present
tenant 600 1. to get quit of him. In these cir-
cumstances, can any man say that the interest
of the landlord is properly attended by such a
plan? Repays the tenant 600 1. without any
equivalent, and the tenant receives that sum
without having done any thing to entitle him to
it. Let it be admitted, that the tenant has a
right to 10 year's purchase of such proportion
of the rise-rent, as can be fairly placed to the
account of his improvements ; but more than
this he cannot, in reason and justice, claim.

Could the lease in question be so altered and
modified, as to obviate this objection, it appears
to be, in other respects, unexceptionable. I pre-
tend not to say, however, how this can or ought
to be done. I shall only observe, that as the
great object of the plan is to promote the speedy
and complete improvement of the country, and
with that view holds out the ten year's purchase
of the rise-rent to the tenant, as an incitement
to persevering industry, some alteration, such as
the following, might answer the purpose with
greater effect, and at the same time completely
secure the landlord's rights. It might be pro-
vided in the lease, that in case no part of
the rise-rent can be fairly ascribed to the te-
nant's improvements, he shall be obliged to
remove without any allowance. Jf any pro-
portion of the rise-rent, under two-thirds, can
be placed to the account of his improvement.

chap. XVI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 357

then he shall be entitled to 10 year's purchase
of such proportion. But if two-thirds and up-
wards of the rise-rent offered are clearly owing
to his improvements, in that case, though his
claim in point of justice cannot extend so far,
yet, to encourage him to unremitting exertion,
he shall be entitled to ten year's purchase of the.
whole rise-rent. To ascertain how much of the
rise-rent is to be stated to the account of the te-
nant's improvements may be difficult ; but it is
not impossible. A survey of the farm, at the
commencement and termination of the different
periods, by competent judges, and a fair calcula-
tion of the difference, in the quantity of grain,
the farm is capable of producing, and in the
number of cattle it can maintain, at these periods,
would enable parties to form a judgment of the
matter, sufficiently exact for the purpose in
view.

But if this point cannot be adjusted in an e-
quitable and satisfactory manner, the following
plan, or something similar to it, might be adopt-
ed.

Let the duration of the lease extend to 42
years, divided into two periods of 2 1 years each :
That the proprietor may not suffer by the depre-
ciation of money during so long a lease, let the
rent be fixed in kind, and made payable by the
county fiars, and let a reasonable advance of rent,
such as the parties can agree upon, be stated and
made payable at the commencement of the se-
cond period. As the speedy and extensive im-
provement of the soil is a principal object, and
as the length of the lease is designed to encour-
age and reward the exertions of the tenaat, let

35$ AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XVI.

all the improvements, judged necessary to be
made upon the farm, be specified in the lease,
and the tenant taken bound to have them exe-
cuted during the currency of the first period.
And in case he shall not accomplish these im-
provements in the time agreed upoft, let this fai-
lure be a forfeiture of his lease, and the landlord
be entitled to remove him, and resume the pos-
session of his land. Let the tenant be at liber-
ty to resign his farm, if he shall think proper,
at the end of the first period. And, upon his
removal, whether at the end of the first or second
period, let him be bound to put and to leave his
farm in the state and under the conditions men-
tioned at the conclusion of the Section respect-
ing leases, (see page I22.\. And should any dif-
ference or dispute arise between the landlord and
tenant, respecting the implementing the above,
or any other conditions contained in the lease,
let the parties be obliged to refer such differen-
ces and disputes to the judgment of neutral men
mutually chosen, and to abide by their determi-
nation.

By this plan the interest of both proprietor
and tenant are consulted and provided for, and,
at the same time, the most effectual provision
made for hastening and perfecting the improve-
ment of the farm.

Dr Anderson speaks with rapture of the asto-
nishing height to which he supposes improve-
ment might be carried, in the course of a hun-
dred years, by Lord Kames's plan. But I
should imagine, that the greatest part of the
farms in Scotland, if not improved completely
within the period of 42 years, supposing them

chap. XrT. THE COUNTY OE FIFE.

350

under proper management, and let on the terms
just now mentioned, stand but a poor chance of
ever being improved at all.

The plan which I have ventured to recom-
mend, it is to be observed, is not meant for
farms of every description, but chiefly, if not
solely, for those lands that are in an open, waste,
and uncultivated state ; and, therefore, have sug-
gested those terms and conditions only which
appeared to me 'most necessary and best calcu-
lated to accelerate and perfect the improvement
of such lands, and to which, at the same time,
neither proprietor nor tenant could have any
reasonable objection.

When land is once brought into a complete
state of cultivation, the endurance of leases will
then be a matter of less importance. If the pe-
riod is not less than 19 or 20 years, the tenant
can have no reason to complain, as he enters to
his farm in high condition, and can be subjected
to no extraordinary expences to put or keep it
in order. On the other hand, if the rent be fix-
ed in kind, it is of no consequence to the land-
lord, so far as rent is the object, whether the
land be let for 20 or for 200 years. For, as the
-land is supposed to be in a complete state of im-
improvement, and consequently cannot be ex-
pected to yield a greater increase at any future
period than at present ; and as the stipulated
rent is supposed to be a fair and full proportion
of the produce, the proprietor can never expect
any further rise of rent, than what may be occa-
sioned by the rise of prices ; and this, by the te-
nor of the lease, he enjoys to the last, how long
soever its endurance may be,

360 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap.XVI,

The truth is, as was formerly observed, there
is here no real rise of rent. The proportion of
produce, allotted for rent, continues the same ;
and, upon the supposition that the land is as
productive as it will ever be, and the quantum
of rent fairly fixed, the landlord can never, in
justice, require or expect more ; and, therefore,
though he may reserve an advance of money,
he receives only what is equivalent to his pro-
portion of the produce, in which the rent is
made to consist. And the tenant, though he
may pay more money to the landlord, pays no
more than the quantity of produce, stipulated as
rent, brings him at market.

And as this plan will secure to the landlord
the full value of his lands in perpetuum ; so it
will prevent any real fall of rent, which, during
long leases, the depreciation of money may oc-
casion. Should the proprietor be obliged to re-
ceive the same sum of money for his lands, dur-
ing a long period of years, while, all the time,
the value of money may be gradually decreasing,
his rents would fall proportionally ; for the ten-
ant would be able to pay his rent with a gra-
dually decreasing proportion of the produce of
his farm.

Suppose, for example, a farm let for lool. of
money rent, and the average quantity of grain,
during a lease of 19 years, necessary to raise this
sum, to be 150 bolls. Suppose, during the next
period of 19 years, 100 bolls shall, at an aver-
age, produce the same sum. If then the land-
lord shall continue, during the second period, to
receive the same money as under the first, his
rent will be actuallv diminished one-third. His

cbap.xri. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 361

tenant can now pay his rent with two-thirds of
the grain requisite under the former periods.
And to the proprietor i oo 1. is of no more va-
lue now, than 661. 135. 4d. was, during the
preceding 19 years. But had the 150 bolls of
grain, necessary to raise the lool. of money
rent under the former period, been fixed as the
rent, it is plain that, under the next period, the
same quantity of grain, without prejudice to the
tenant, would have raised the money payable to
the landlord, from lool. to 150!.

Lastly, Taxes and Public Burdens. — On this
ground there is little reason to complain. These,
if heavy, and imposed during the currency of a
lease, as they form an unexpected addition to
the stipulated rent, may distress and embarrass
the farmer, and, in some cases, may be materially
hurtful. But if known* previous to his enter-
ing to the farm, they cannot be considered as
an obstacle to improvement, so far, at least, as
the tenant is concerned ; because he has it in
his power to insist upon a diminution of rent,
in proportion to the extent of the tax or burden
imposed.

The road-money is one of the principal bur-
dens to which the farmers in this county are
sujected. But this, even though imposed dur-
ing the currency of the lease, cannot be consi-
dered as a material hardship, as the advantages,
which they will derive from the improved state
of the roads, will more than compensate the
duties they are liable to pay on this account.
And at the end of the lease the burden must
fall upon the proprietor ; as, making a new bar-
gain, the tenant will, and in prudence ought to
Z z *

362 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XYl*

take care, that whatever sum of money he shall
pay as occupant, whether in the name of rent,
or under any other designation, shall be no
more than the farm can bear.

The Assessed Tax Act bore, with peculiar se-
verity, upon the farmers of this county ; and,
had it continued in force, great numbers of
them would have been much distressed, and
obliged perhaps to quit their farms.

By that act, the income of every tenant was
to be held equal to three-fourths of his rent, if
under lool. But if his rent should be iool.,
or upwards, his income was to be held equal to
his rent. It would be presumption in me to
question the principle upon which this mode of
rating the income of tenants was founded. But
one thing is clear, that if the principle be just,
farming must be a very lucrative business. For
it is demonstrable, that the capital employed on
farms of iool., and upwards, must yield at
least from 25 1. to 35 1. per cent, per annum.
A farmer's capital can rarely be calculated low-
er than three times his yearly rent, which, in
order to produce an income equal to his rent,
must yield 33^- per cent, profit. But suppos-
ing the capital to be calculated as high as four
times his yearly rent, even in this case the pro-
fit must be 25 1. per cent. It is true, some
farms arc so circumstanced, as to require a stock
equal to five or six rents. But it is equally
true, that the state of such farms may, and ge-
nerally does, require a very great proportion of
the stock to be sunk immediately upon improve-
ments, the effect of which is uncertain, and for
which, though ultimately successful, an ade-

chap. XVI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 363

quate return cannot be expected, during many
years.

What may be the profits of farming in Eng-
land, I know not. But I am confident that few
farmers in Scotland make above 10 per cent, of
their capital; numbers of them, not above 5 ;
and, in many cases, the most unremitting in-
dustry, and the most rigid economy, are neces-
sary to enable them to pay the landlord, and
maintain their families ; so high are the rents
at present, and so great, of late, has been the
rise upon the price of labour.

But all the hardships felt by the tenants un-
der the assessed tax act, are now completely re-
moved by the new act, laying a tax upon Income :
An act which exhibits a plan of taxation, the
most unexceptionable, and, at the same time,
the most productive, that human wisdom, per-
haps, ever devised. Indeed, to contrive a scheme
of taxation so complex in itself, and so exten-
sive in its operation, and, at the same time, to
frame it in such a manner, as to bear equally
and proportionally upon all, is an effort of poli-
tical wisdom, perhaps, beyond the reach of the
human mind. Objections have, accordingly,
been urged against the scheme, some upon the
the ground of inequality, some, probably, from
the mere wantonness of opposition ; and others,
I doubt not, from the best intentions. But
when these inequalities are of trifling conside-
ration, and not materially or extensively hurt-
ful, I must esteem that man a narrow mind-
ed, churlish being, who will venture to com-
plain at such a time as this. The crisis is aw-
ful and deeply interesting. We are struggling

Z 2

364 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap* XFI.

with a formidable, an ambitious, and an impla-
cable enemy, for every thing we hold most va-
luable and dear. It must, therefore, be the duty
of every good subject to support Government,
and to contribute what he can to give energy
and success to every measure necessary for our
defence.

In that part of the act which respects the far-
mers, humanity and sound policy are equally
discernible. Had the tenantry been kept under
the very unequal pressure of the former act,
numbers would have suffered, and been obliged,
most likely, to give up their farms. Rents must
have fallen, and, of course, the taxable income
of the kingdom must have been diminished.
But by the provisions of the income act, all these
evils will be prevented. The only difficulty
that remains is, to know how to ascertain the
farmer's income. Three fourths of the tenants
keep no regular and exact accounts, and are, in
a great measure, ignorant of the profits they
reap from their farms. And if the farmers
themselves do not know, how shall any other be
able to ascertain it ?

A method, however, may be devised, by which
this may be easily done, and, at the same time,
all oppression, on the one hand, and all evasion,
on the other, effectually prevented.

That the farmer's income may be rightly as-
certained, he ought to be considered in the same
light as a merchant or manufacturer, who has a
certain stock or capital, which he wishes to em-
ploy in business. Husbandry is the trade he
prefers. He takes a farm proportioned, as near-
ly as circumstances will permit, to the extent of

chap. XVI. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 365

his capital, and on this he lays out his money.
Considering the farmer, then, in this light, and
in this light he certainly ought to be considered,
the profits he may be reasonably supposed to
draw from his farm, after the rent, and the ne-
cessary expences of management, are deducted,
ought, in strict justice, to be held as his income.
But, in order to ascertain the amount of these
profits, the knowledge of his capital is necessary.
And the amount of his capital may be determin-
ed, with sufficient accuracy, by the quantum of
his yearly rent. Those, who have paid parti-
cular attention to this subject, have given it as
their opinion, that the capital employed in hus-
bandry, may amount to thrice the yearly rent,
or at most to three rents and a half at an aver-
age. And though, in many cases, the farmer's
profits may not exceed five cent, and, in some
particular instances, may reach 15 per cent, of
his capital, yet that 10 per cent, may be a fair
medium. Ten per cent, then, of a sum equal to
thrice his yearly rent and a half, will be the
farmer's income. Suppose, for example, the
rent to be 300 1., the capital, according to the
proportion above stated, will be 1,050!., and
10 per cent, of this sum will produce an income
of 105 1.

I know that farms, in a high state of cultiva-
tion, and yielding from 2 1. los. to 3!. and
upwards per acre, may be stocked with less than
three rents and a half. But as the occupant
possesses land that requires no extraordinary
outlay of money, and is in a condition to yield
not only an ample, but an immediate return, it
is not unreasonable that he should be rated a.

366 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XVI.

little higher than the medium. There are other
farms, again, which, from their unimproved
state, may require a capital equal to five or six
rents. But as the farmer, in this case, may be
\inder the necessity of sinking considerable sums
on" expensive improvements, and of depending
upon his stock, for the support of his family
and farm servants, during some years, it is rea-
sonable that he should be rated easier, in consi-
deration of these disadvantages. . It will be said,
perhaps, that by this mode of rating the tenants,
a great proportion of them will escape altoge-
ther. And why not ? If their income be fairly
estimated, is it not equitable that they should
be allowed to enjoy the exemption designed
them by the act ?

At the same time, I am persuaded that few
of the tenants would have complained, though
the minimum of the taxable income had been
fixed much lower than it is by the act, which
might have been done without any sensible
hardship to them or to the community at large.
Had it been taken as low as 40 1., and all in-
comes of 40 1. and under 50 1., rated at I d. per
pound ; and all at 50 1. and below 60 1. at I -5- d.
per pound, this would have comprehended a
very numerous class, and have raised a large
sum, without being, in the least, felt or grudged.
The farmers, in this county, I am certain,
would not have objected. They are a loyal
body of men, and firmly attached to the existing
Government ; and therefore have no wish to
stand aloof, or to be excused from bearing their
just share of those public burdens which, lor the
safety of their country, it may be necessary to
impose.

fCCt. I. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 367

CHAPTER XVII.

Miscellaneous Observations.

SECTION I.

AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES.

1 HERE are two Societies of this kind in Fife ;
one called the FIFE FARMING SOCIETY, and the
other, the INVERKEITHING CLUB. The former
was instituted about six years ago, and at pre-
sent consists of nearly 200 members. The prin-
cipal objects aimed at by this institution, are, a
mutual communication of discoveries and im-
provements in husbandry ; common protection
against thieves and depredators who shall un-
justly invade their property ; and raising a joint
stock or capital for the benefit of their widows
and children, and of members reduced to distress
or indigence. Members pay one guinea at their
entry, and half a guinea yearly. None are ad-
mitted but men of good character ; and such
members, as shall be found guilty of crimes and
misdemeanors punishable by the laws of the
land, are liable to expulsion, and a total depri-
vation of all benefit from the Society's funds.
No member can draw any thing from the fund
till it amount to 500 1. ; neither can any one

368 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XVlf.

be entitled to any allowance, until five years
after his admission. The allowance, fixed for
a member fallen into distress or indigence, is
308. per quarter ; but this allowance is grant-
ed upon the. express condition, that he has not
brought the distress upon himself by drunken-
ness, or any other kind of disorderly conduct.
And during the time he is receiving the allow-
ance, if he shall be found guilty of a dissolute
or immoral behaviour, it is put in the power of
the managers to deprive him of it. The wi-
dow of a member is allowed 25 s. quarterly,
so long only as she remains his widoxv, and
maintains a good character. And the children,
when no widow is left, are entitled to draw the
half of what their father contributed. If a
member shall die, and leave neither widow nor
children, his next heir, or whoever shall be ap-
pointed by him, shall be entitled to the half of
what he has contributed, after deducing a pro-
portional share of the expences incurred by the
Society since his entry.

This Society is, at present, in a very respect-
able and flourishing condition. The funds al-
ready amount to about 500 1., and all its affairs
are conducted with great order and regularity.

The Inverkeitbing Club was instituted earlier
than the Society just now mentioned : but its
members are not nearly so numerous. The
object is more limited than that of the other j
being chiefly designed to increase and diffuse
the knowledge of agriculture among themselves,
and to promote the improvement of practical
husbandly, by the institution of ploughing

sect. II. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 369

matches, and the distribution of premiums a-
mong those who excel upon these occasions.

SECT. II. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

THE measure by weight used in this county
is chiefly of three kinds, commonly known by
the names of English, Dutch or Amsterdarrij
and Tron. The English pound contains 16 oz.
the Dutch pound i 7^- oz. nearly, and the Tron
pound 22 oz., all Averdupoise weight. The
stone of each denomination contains 16 of their
respective pounds.

Flour, bread, pot-barley in retail, and all kinds
of groceries, are sold by the English weight :
Flax, wool, butter, cheese, tallow, hides, hay,
are sold by Tron weight : Butcher- meat, in the
district of Kirkaldy, is sold by the Tron weight ;
but in the other districts by the Dutch weight.
Meal of every kind is sold here, as in all the
other counties of Scotland, by the Dutch weight,
liut though meal be generally sold by weight,
yet, as it was anciently sold by measure, the old
terms are still used. Thus, we talk of a boll, a
firlot, a peck, a lippie of meal. Eight stone is
the boll, 2 stone the firlot, 8 lib, the peck, and
2 lib. the lippie.

Grain is understood to be sold by the Lin-
lithgow measure ; wheat, beans, pease, and rye,
by the standard firlot containing 2 1 ^ Scots pints,
each pint 103,405 cubic inches; and oats, bar-
ley, and malt, by the firlot of 31 Scots pints.
Two Linlithgow bolls, wheat measure, is about
3 A

370 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XVII.

2 per cent, better than the English quarter : and
the barley boll is about -} of a pint less than 6
Winchester bushels. Potatoes are measured by
the barley firlot, and as many are allowed to
the firlot as can be thrown on with a shovel.

The Scots ell of 37 inches, is still in use in
this county ; but most kinds of goods are sold
by the English yard of 36 inches. When land
is let by the acre, or when grass or growing corn
are sold, the Scots acre is the measure -common-
ly used. The Scots acre contains 5,760 square
yards of 37 inches. And 4 Scots acres are equal
to 5.0284 acres English ; the English acre con-
sisting of 4,840 square yards of 36 inches.
Land is measured here, as in other counties, by
a chain, 24 Scots yards, or 74 feet in length,
divided into a hundred links of 8,888 inches
each, and consequently ten square chains make
exactly an acre.

The diversity of weights and measures em-
ployed not only in this county, but through
•every part of Great Britain, has been often com-
plained of as a great inconvenience, and the
cause of much uncertainty and confusion. By
some, however, it is alleged that the evil ap-
pears more formidable in theory than it is found
to be in practice. Those who trade in grain or
any other commodity, whether at home or with
foreign countries, very soon understand the pro-
portion which the weights and measures in dif-
ferent places bear to one another ; and find no
difficulty in adjusting their prices accordingly.
And with respect to the internal commerce of a
county, the different weights and measures, in
use, are so well known in general, and are be-

sect. II. THE COUNTY OF FUE. 371

come so familiar, through practice, that the peo-
ple cannot easily mistake or be imposed upon.
They know, not only the proportion they hear
to one another, but the several kinds of goods
to which they are severally applied.

But though all this may he in a great mea-
sure true, it must be confessed, that a more ge-
neral uniformity would be very desirable, as it
would contribute to remove all suspicion and;
uncertainty in commercial transactions, and en-
able buyers and sellers to settle prices, with great-
er ease and precision.

Some, who have attended much to this subject,
and these, too, men of the greatest abilities^ have
pronounced the scheme of reducing the weights
and measures to a fixed and uniform standard,
to be extremely difficult, if not impracticable.
To me, I confess, the difficulty does not appear
unsurmountable. This may be owing, perhaps,
to my not understanding the matter thoroughly :
And confidence, it is well known, is never great-
er than when it proceeds from ignorance. But
whether my ideas be right or wrong, to men-
tion them, as others have done theirs, can do
no harm. Might not the Winchester bushel be
established by an act of the Legislature, as the
measure of capacity for all dry goods ; the Aver-
dupoise pound, with its parts and multiples, as
the measure by weight ; the English wine gal-
lon, containing 462 cubic inches, with its parts
and multiples, as the measure for liquids ; and
the English yard of 36 inches, for measuring
all lines, surfaces, and solids, for the whole
kingdom ? Some confusion and uncertainty
might, probably, take place at first ; but this
3 A 2

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XFH.

would very soon be at an end. And if there
are any servitudes upon the lands payable in
kind, the matter might be easily adjusted, by
attending to the proportion which the present
measures bear to the -standard to be hereafter
used. The above weights and measures are par-
ticularly specified, not because they haVe in
themselves any natural right to a preference,
but merely for example's sake. Parliament may
adopt these, or any others they may think pro-
per. The only thing to be attended to, in thi-s
respect, is to fix upon such as are best known
and most familiar to the generality of the people,
because such could be brought more easily and
more quickly into general use.

In order to fix a standard for the several
weights and measures henceforth to be used,
the following method appears to me the easiest
and most simple. Let the inch be adopted as
the radical measure, by which all the rest shall
be determined and adjusted. This measure, for
centuries back, has varied less, perhaps, and, at
this moment, is more uniform in Britain, than
any other. But should any diversity be sus-
pected, this may be easily discovered by com-
parison, a fair medium struck, and the inch
henceforth to be used, absolutely fixed. When
this is done, let the foot, as usual, be 12, and
the yard 36 of such inches. And let the inch,
with its parts and these multiples, be the stand-
ard measure for lines, surfaces, and solids ; or-
daining, at the same time, that quantities of
whatever denomination, whether miles, acres,
&c. ascertained by this measure, shall be fixed
and uniform all over the kingdom ; so that, sup-

Sect. II. THE COUNTY OF FtFE. ' ' 373

posing the English measure adopted, an acre
shall every where consist of 4,840- square yards,
a mile of 1,760 yards, a yard of cloth, of 36
inches, &c.

There is at present a measure of capacity in
use, and very generally -known, called the Win-
chester bushel. By law, this bushel ought to
contain 2150.42 cubic inches. To avoid -the.
inconvenience arising from the fractional pans
of a small integer, let it be declared that the
bushel shall contain 2150 cubic inches. Let it
be adjusted with all possible exactness by the
inch fixed upon as the radical measure, and ap-
pointed to be the only standard for measuring
grain, &c. through the kingdom, in all time
coming*

There is likewise a weight commonly used,
called the Averdupoise pound, 16 of which make
a stone English. This pound may not be pre-
cisely the same every where. But this is of no
moment : Let the Legislature fix upon any one
of them, and let its weight in cubic inches of
water be ascertained ; and for greater exactness,
distilled water may be used. Let this pound,
with its parts and multiples, be the standard, and
the only weight to be used in the kingdom.
And the number of cubic inches of water, which
.it is found at present to veeigh, will serve to
preserve its uniformity and sameness in all places,
and in all time coming.

The same plan can be observed with respect
to liquid measure. By determining the contents
in cubic- inches, the standard measure, whatever
it may be, can be adjusted with exactness, and
perpetually preserved. .

374 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap.

The weights and measures being, in this man-
ner, fixed and adjusted, the head burgh of eve-
ry county ought to be furnished with a com-
plete set of them, constructed of the best and
most durable materials, for the purpose of regu-
lating all those that may- be used in their seve-
ral districts. And as the inch is the radical
measure, upon which all the rest depend, and to
which recourse must be had, whenever any ad-
justment in future may be requisite, it must be
preserved with the utmost care. For this pur-
pose let a piece of brass, or any other solid and
durable substance, such as may be least capable
of expansion, contraction, or waste, be chosen,
and let the inch be marked upon it with all pos-
sible accuracy. Perhaps it would be adviseable
to make it three feet long, divided by inches, as
the same instrument would answer as a standard
for the yard and foot, as well as the inch. And
that there may be the least possible variation,
when applied for trial and adjustment, let the
state of the atmosphere be ascertained by a ther-
mometer, at the time when the inches are mark-
ed, and let the application of it for trial be made
at the time only when the atmosphere shall be
found to be in the same state. Let one of these
instruments be lodged along with the sets of
standard measures in the several head boroughs,
and, for the more complete preservation, it ought
to be kept as much as possible from the action
of the air, and from the extremes of heat and
cold.

But whatever become of this or any other
scheme that may be projected for reducing
weights and measure to one uniform standard, I

Sect. 11. THE COUNTY OF FIFE.

375

am of opinion that it would be adviseable to fix
the prices of all kinds of grain by weight. A
measure of capacity is a very uncertain standard
for ascertaining the value of grain. Soil, season,
and management, occasion often such a diffe-
rence of quality, that two firlots may be equal
to three But when the grain is weighed, though
there may be a difference of the value of the
same weight on account of the difference of qua-
lity, yet this difference will be, by many degrees,
nearer the truth than when measured.

I would propose, then, that all kinds of grain,
though deliverable to the merchant by measure,
shall be appreciated by the weight. Suppose,
for example, the farmer and his merchant agree
that the price of barley shall be 1 6 s. per boll,
if the boll weigh 1 6 stones, and of course that
the price shall be more or less in proportion to
its weight : when the barley is delivered, a few
bolls or sacks may be weighed, which shall de-
termine the average weight of the whole cargo.
But as a stone of that barley, which weighs 1 8
stone the boll, is morevaluable than a stone of bar-
ley, the boll of which weighs only 16 stones/; and
as a stone of that which weighs only 14 stones
per boll, is not so valuable as a stone of that
which weighs 1 6 stones the boll, the price ought
to rise or fall by ah encreasing ratio. A boll of
barley, if worth 1 6 s. when it weighs i 6 stone,
would be worth more than 1 8s. if it should
weigh 1 8 stone ; because the encrease of weight
is owing to the encrease of meal, without a-
ny encrease of husk, which rather diminish-
es as the weight rises. In like manner, and
for- the same reasons, a boll of barley, weigh-

AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF

ing only 14 stones, will not be worth 145., if
1 6 s. be a fair price when it weighs 1 6 stones ;
as the quantity of kernel or meal is diminish-
ed, while the quantity of husk and refuse is
encreased. The same observations will hold
with respect to every other kind of grain. Were
this method adopted, it would readily have the
effect of improving the quality of every species
of grain. When the farmer knows that the
price will be proportioned to the weight, he will
be at all possible pains, by the right cultivation
and management of his grounds, to secure the
advantage of the best price.

cbap.xrm. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 377

CHAPTER XVIII.

Iniprovements Suggested.

IN the course of this Survey hints have been
given respecting such improvements as appeared
to be most needed ; and, therefore, to repeat and
enlarge upon these here will be unnecessary. It
may be proper, however, to bring them into one
point of view, by a short recapitulation, and to
take notice of some others that have not been
mentioned, though of equal importance.

1st) Enclosing. — Though enclosing has been
going forward, for some years past, with en-
creasing rapidity, much still remains to be done*
A considerable proportion of the county still
continues naked and exposed. Nothing, there-
fore, would contribute more to the general ame-
lioration of the lands, than carrying forward this
improvement with spirit, and completing it, in
a substantial manner, with all possible dispatch.
This species of improvement ought not to be
confined to the richer and more productive
grounds, but should extend to those parts of the
county that are elevated and exposed, cold and
wet, and, in their present condition, compara-
tively barren and useless. Would the proprie-
tors be at the trouble and expence of surround-
ing such lands with large belts or stripes of plant-
3 B *

378 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF cbap.xrill.

ing, and of throwing them into sub-divisions ju-
diciously laid out, this would not only give beau-
ty, richness, and warmth, to the general aspect
of the country, but would be productive of solid
advantages to themselves, by improving the her-
bage for pasture, and enabling them to reclaim '
such parts of these waste grounds, as are capable
of being brought under the plough, with greater
ease and effect. These stripes of planting, how-
ever, ought to be of a considerable breadth, not
less than 30 yards, and to be sufficiently pro-
tected with ditches, that they may be able to re-
sist the storms, and to thrive in such exposed
situations.

idly, Planting — is an improvement much
needed in Fife. Proprietors see the necessity,
as well as the utility of this ; and many of the
commonties, lately divided, are now planted. All
those tracks of land that are wet and marshy,
and at the same time so situated as to be inca-
pable of complete drainage, or, if capable of be-
ing laid dry, of such a bad soil that under the
plough they could not repay the expence ; and
all spots of ground so steep, or elevated, and so
bare of soil, as to be unlit for tillage, ought to
be applied to this purpose. The profits, though
distant, will be considerable, and will amply re-
pay the expence of planting and inclosing, and
the loss of the scanty herbage they now pro-
duce.

3^/j', Draining. — A very considerable portion
of the county stands in need of this improve-
ment. Much, indeed, has been done this way ;
but much remains to be done, and, in many in-
stances, the work has not been executed so

chap. xrni. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 379

skilfully or completely as to render the im-
provement at once effectual and permanent.
Wherever draining is necessary, it ought, in-
deed it must be regarded as the first and most
essential of all improvements. It will be to
little purpose to inclose ground of this kind :
till it be completely laid dry, it must ever re-
main unproductive, and of little value.

4//&/K, The Breed of Cattle and Horse /.—The
excellence of the Fife breed of black cattle has
already been mentioned : and I beg leave here
to repeat what was before suggested ; that both
landlords and tenants, if they consult their own
interest, will endeavour to get rid of every fo-
reign or mixed kind, and confine themselves
entirely to the native stock. And as the Fife
cattle are yet capable of much improvement,
both in shape and size, great care should be ta-
ken to select the healthiest and handsomest for
breeders, and to feed and manage them proper-
ly when they are young. By persevering in
this plan, they may be brought to a much high-
er degree of perfection than they have yet
reached.

The same observations will apply to the
breeding of horses. This species of stock has
been much improved within the last 20 or 30
years : but still there is room for greater and
more general improvement. To accomplish
this, horses of the best kinds, whether for the
saddle or for the draught, ought to be intro-
duced by the gentlemen, and allowed to cover
for their own tenants, without charge, or for a
small consideration, and for others at a mode-
rate rate. The gentlemen, from that easy in-

3B 2

380 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap, XVIII.

tercourse with every part of the island, which
their rank in life gives them, must be supposed
to have a better opportunity than their tenants,
to discover and to procure the best kinds : and,
from the superiority of their fortunes, they must
be abler to bear any extraordinary expence that
may be necessary in the first instance. They
cannot but see that their own private interest,
as well as the general good of the country, is
deeply concerned. It must therefore be pecu-
liarly incumbent upon them to take a leading
and active part in promoting this improvement.
$tbly, Cottages. — Building and keeping up a
sufficient number of cottages, is surely an object
of much importance to husbandry ; especially
when farms are extensive, and situated at a dis-
tance from the large villages. That the great-
est possible advantage, however, may be deriv-
ed from cottages, I am humbly of opinion, that
they ought to be established en the following,
or some similar plan. The cottages should con-
sist of from 3 or 4, to i o or 1 2 dwelling-houses,
proportioned to the size of the farms to which
they are attached. The cottage ought to be built
at the expence of the proprietor, at a conveni-
ent distance from the farm-stead, and so situaN
ed as not to interfere with the farmer. Let a
portion of land be appropriated to the cottage,
divided among the cottagers, in the proportion
of one or two acres a-piece, according to the
quality of the ground, by which means each
may be enabled to keep a cow. Let the cottage
be let along with the farm, and the tenant
made responsible for the rent ; bound, at the
•iame time, to keep the cottage in repair ; and

chap.xrni. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 381

never to divert the land attached to it from the
original purpose. On the other hand, let the
tenant have full power to choose the persons
who shall occupy the different cot-houses, and
to settle with them for what time, and upon
what terms he pleases. A condition perfectly
reasonable, as he is bound for the rent to the
proprietor. Besides, were the cottages to be let
by the landlord, and made independent of the
tenant, the principal design would be frustrat-
ed.

The advantages resulting to the farm from a
plan of this kind are many and obvious. The
tenant can let the houses to married servants, to
labourers, and to such mechanics as are most
necessary for the purposes of husbandry. He
has it in his power to let them on such terms as
to command the labour of the cottagers, at any
time when extraordinary labour may be neces-
sary. The plan will be equally advantageous
for the cottagers, as by the work they are bound
to perform, they can pay their rent without any
sensible difficulty. The privilege of having a
comfortable habitation, with as much ground
as will keep a cow, and produce a little food for
the family, is a great encouragement to people
of that class to marry, and settle in the coun-
try ; and thus population will be promoted,
and the health and morals of a numerous
and useful body of the people preserved. Be-
sides, as the children of the cottagers will rea-
dily be employed, from time to time, in the
different operations of husbandry, they will
contract a taste for rural occupations, and, at
the same time, acquire skill and dexterity in the

382 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap,

performance : And thus the cottages will be-
come excellent nurseries for breeding farm-.ser-
vants of both sexes, and of every description.

6tbly, The establishing of three Annual ''Trysts,
to succeed *each other, early in the month of
March, one in the east, one in the middle, and
one in the west of the county, for the sale cf
wintering stock, might be very beneficial to the
tenantry, as well as to others concerned. For-
merly the English dealers purchased and drove
up our cattle in summer, in good condition, kept
them on their worst pasture during autumn, win-
tered them, and fed them off the ensuing sum-
mer ; retaining a part of them for feeding next
winter. From the advanced state of husbandry
in Scotland, it is found that we can now winter
our cattle1 as well as they generally do in Eng-
land. And, therefore, the English drovers come
down, at the end of February or the beginning
of March, a practice which they have followed
for* some years past ; go along from farm to
faim, often in vain ; and with much fatigue,
trouble, and expence, purchase what wintering
stock they can find. These they drive up, and
make fit for slaughter in summer ; and after-
wards make purchases for feeding off in winter.
It may, therefore, be easily conceived, that, by
the proposed arrangement, much time, expence
of feed, and interest of money, must be saved to
the English feeder, and consequently that he can
afford a much higher price to the Scots farmer.
Such an intercourse, therefore, so beneficial to
the landlords, as well as to their tenants, and to
the county at large, ought to be encouraged, and
made as easy and permanent as possible, lest it

chap. XVIII. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 383

should fall into disuse, through the prodigious
trouble the drover is at present subjected to, in
making and collecting his purchases. This ob-
ject is certainly entitled to the consideration of
the gentlemen of the county ; and if of such
consequence as the most experienced and intel-
ligent among the farmers judge it to be, the
sooner the regulation is established the better.

"jtbly, Farm-Steads. — Though many excellent
farm-steeds have been lately built in this coun-
ty, they are not so general as they ought to be ;
and even those that have been built in a superior
style, are still capable of much improvement.
To what has been said upon this point, in a for-
mer .part of the Survey, I need add nothing
here ; only I cannot forbear mentioning a set of
office-houses lately built by Mr Cheap of Rossie,
not on account of their superiority in respect of
workmanship, or the number and extent of their
conveniences ; but chiefly because they seem to
be constructed on an improved plan, and, on
that account^ deserving of notice and imitation.

The roofs of the shades are made to incline to
the outside, by which means none of the rain
that falls upon them is allowed to run into the
straw-yard, to the annoyance of the cattle, or
the detriment of the dunghill. The high walls
upon \\hich the upper part of the roof rests, be-
ing on the inside, prove a more complete shelter
from the blast ; and, by encreasing the reflexion
of the heat, when the sun shines, render the
straw-yard warm and comfortable for the cattle.

The open shades are likewise so constructed,
as to be easily converted into close byres. Doors
are prepared, and exactly fitted to the several o-

384 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XVHl.

penings, so that they can all be completely shut
up, except such as may be necessary for the en-
trance of the cattle. Stakes are fixed along the
back walls ; the saddles properly laid ; and eve-
ry other requisite arrangement made, that when-
ever it shall be thought necessary to use them as
byres, they can be immediately applied to that
purpose.

%tblyy — To carry forward and complete the
straigbting and embanking the 'water of Eden,
would be an improvement highly beneficial to
the proprietors, through whose lands it runs.
This necessary and laborious work, Mr John-
ston of Lathrisk hath executed as far down the
river as his lands extend. And, by the benefi-
cial effects it has produced upon his estate, its
importance is sufficiently established. Besides,
by the example he has set, the best mode of exe-*
cution, as well as the necessary expences attend-
ing it, may be more easily ascertained.

cbaf. xix. THE COUNTY OF FIFE.

CHAPTER XIX.

Circumstances favourable to the Progress of

AGRICULTURE in FlFE.

I. .FIFE enjoys numerous means of improve-
ment, and these of easy access. Besides the great
quantity of animal dung produced by the nu-
merous herds of cattle which it rears and main-
tains, it possesses an inexhaustible fund of lime
conveniently situated for the greater part of the
county. Marie is to be found in many parts of
the county, and of an excellent quality. And
an extensive sea-coast furnishes the adjacent
grounds with a considerable supply of manure
from the sea-weed cast upon the shore. The
great abundance of coal, easily accessible to a-
bout two thirds of the county, while it contri-
butes much to domestic comfort, and enables
the fanners to procure lime for their land, in
sufficient quantity, and at a moderate rate, frees
them, at the same time, from that great waste
of time and labour, to which many other coun-
ties are subjected, in digging, winning, and car-
rying home, peats for fuel ; a business which, in
many places, occupies the farmer's servants ana
horses through almost the whole of the sum-
mer months, and which, therefore, must be a
great hindrance to the operations of husbandry,

3c

386 THE COUNTY OF FIFE. cbap. XIX.

And as convenient and substantial farm-steads
are essentially necessary to the prosperity of
farming, the materials are to be found every
where in plenty, and of the best kinds. Ex-
cellent quarries, either of whin or free-stone, are
to be met with in every corner of the county.

2</, Another circumstance, tending to en-
courage and promote agricultural improvement
in this county, is, that the farmer can always
find a ready market for the produce of his farm.
The great population of Fife, and the extent
and flourishing state of its manufactures, must
require a large and constant supply of provi-
sions, and of course occasion a constant demand
upon the farmer for every article of that kind
which he can furnish. And as the market is
ready, so it is convenient. So small in propor-
tion to the number of inhabitants is the terri-
tory which they occupy, that he can never be
exposed to any considerable expence or loss of
time in carrying his victual to market. Nor
does his encouragement stop here. Besides
having the advantage of large demands for home
consumption, he can find a ready and profitable
matket for his surplus produce to any amount.
Exportation is easy and convenient, by reason
of the great extent of sea-coast, and the proxi-
mity of the most inland parts to a commodious
port.

3</, Another encouragement to a more spirit*
ed and extensive improvement, is, the laudable
example which several intelligent and enterpris-
ing improvers have already exhibited.- There
is no kind of soil, perhaps, remaining to be cul-
tivated, upon which experiments have not been

chap. XIX. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 387

successfully made by different gentlemen and
fanners in different parts of the county. In at-
tempting the improvement of such land, pro-
prietors and farmers are not left to conjecture,
as to the proper mode of management, the ex-
pence that may. he incurred, or the advantage
that may be ultimately expected. They are no
longer under the necessity of trying schemes of
unknown efficacy, and uncertain result, or of
acquiring agricultural knowledge by a tedious
course of experiments, wrhich may be erroneous
and unsuccessful, and therefore must be aban-
doned, or which, in the end, will yield no return
proportioned to the expence of carrying them
into effect. Those who have boldly led the
way, and whose laudable exertions have been
crowned with success, will be ready, I am con-
fident, to communicate every necessary infor-
mation to such as are willing to follow their ex-
ample, and to allow them every advantage that
can be derived from their experience.

I will not pretend to mention every proprietor
and farmer who have distinguished themselves
as improvers. But I should do injustice to the
county, did I not mention at least a few of them.
And I should do injustice to the gentlemen them-
selves, did I not mention their names with the
highest respect. Mr Wedderburn of Wedder-
burn; Mr Johnston of Lathrisk ; Mr Cheap
of Rossie ; Mr Gourley of Craigrothie ; Mr
Balfour of Balcurvie ; Mr Stark of Kingsdale ;
Mr Fergus of Wester Strathorr ; Mr Hender-
son of Hutton ; Mr Kinnear of Kinloch ; Mr
Anderson of Inchrye, &c. These, and several
others that might be mentioned with equal pro-
302

388 AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF chap. XIX.

priety, have exhibited examples of the most
important and useful improvements. By them,
rivers have been straighted and embanked, —
marshes drained, — waste, stubborn, or stony land
reclaimed, — cold, wet, and poor soil, sheltered,
drained, and fertilized, — plantations reared, — ju-
dicious and substantial enclosures executed, — and
many farm-steads erected on convenient and li-
beral plans.

CONCLUSION.

I SHALL now conclude with mentioning a
few of the many great advantages that may be
expected from the successful execution of the
important scheme at present going forward
under the direction of the Honourable BOARD
of AGRICULTURE, for the general improvement
of the kingdom.

An increase of produce, both of grain and of
live-stock, which will advance in proportion to
the degree of perfection to which improvements
in Agriculture are carried, must be the immediate
and happy consequence. This will not only
secure us from scarcity and famine, evils ever
dreadful to a nation, but will afford an abundant
supply of food for the inhabitants ; and not in-
frequently a large surplus for exportation ; be-
sides furnishing in greater quantity, and of an
improved quality, the raw materials of many of
our most valuable and profitable manufactures,
such as wool, flax, hides, tallow, &c. As Agri-
culture advances, the number of inhabitants will,
of course, multiply ; for population always keeps
pace with the cultivation of the soil. Produc-
tive labour, the great source of national wealth,
will increase, without any considerable addition
of unproductive consumers. Hence will arise
an accumulation of the general stock and reve-
nue of the kingdom, which will furnish large
resources for supplying the exigences of the
£tate, in respect both of internal government.

39° CONCLUSION.

and national defence, — resources not only plen-
tiful, and at hand, but subject to none of the
difficulties and uncertainties, to which those
drawn from foreign territory and foreign trade,
are unavoidably exposed.

Besides, Agriculture is peculiarly friendly to
the health and morals of the people. The exer-
cises, in which it employs them, are generally
in the open air, and of such a nature as to ren-
der them hardy and robust, and to preserve
them from those diseases, to which men em-
ployed in sedentary occupations, or confined
within the noxious atmosphere of large towns,
are usually liable.

And as Agriculture contributes to bodily health
and vigour, so it tends to preserve innocency and
simplicity of manners. At the same time that
it promotes population, it obliges the people to
continue in a divided and scattered state, there-
by preventing that growth and prevalence of
corruption which an easy and frequent inter-
course is so apt to produce. And as every day
hath its particular task, which can seldom be
anticipated or postponed, they have neither lei-
sure nor opportunity allowed them for contract-
ing habits of idleness and intemperance. By
their situation and manner of life, they are pre-
vented from being often witnesses to scenes of
profligacy and vice, and thereby kept in a great
measure free from the contagion of bad exam-
ple, the frequency of which proves so destruc-
tive of the morals of the crowded city. Hard
and constant labour serves to keep the passions
in check, and affords no time for the contriv-
ance and execution of deliberate schemes of

CONCLUSION. 391

wickedness. In short, as idleness is the first
step to profligacy, so the habits of industry are
highly favourable to the interests of virtue, as
they keep men out of the way of those tempta-
tions, by which virtuous principles may be
shaken and overthrown.

It deserves consideration, likewise, that Agri-
culture, when in a flourishing state, contributes
greatly to the prosperity of trade and manufac-
tures. With what superior advantage may
these be carried on, \vhen, instead of being
obliged to depend upon the precarious and of-
ten expensive supplies of a foreign market, the
numerous trading vessels that crowd our ports
can be completely victualled, and at the same
time supplied with many valuable articles of
commerce ; and when the manufacturer can be
furnished with a constant and plentiful supply
of provisions from the produce of our own
country.

Besides, as the people become more wealthy,
a taste for refinement will, of course, spread and
be more generally indulged. Not satisfied with
bare necessaries, men will look out for the ele-
gances and delicacies of life. Hence the de-
mands upon the manufacturer and the merchant
will increase ; and hence fresh encouragement
to activity and improvement will be derived.
But the advantage will not be wholly on the
side of trade and manufactures ; it will return
back to the farmer with interest, and be amply
repaid by a ready market, and a high price for
the productions of the field.

The truth is, Agriculture and Manufacture?
ought to go hand in hand ; and a wise Govern-

CONCLUSION.

ment, so far as the interference of Government
may be competent and proper, will study to
direct their several operations, and to adjust the
encouragements that may be necessary for their
improvement and success, in such a manner as
to render them mutually advantageous, and
jointly subservient to the general welfare.

In short, this great plan for promoting in-
dustry and agricultural improvement, if carried
into full effect, will have the happiest influence
on the political sentiments of the people at large.
When they find themselves the objects of public
attention and care ; when they see Government
chalking out to them a path by which they may
rise to opulence and consideration ; when they
experience from their masters a kind and liberal
treatment ; and when they find themselves pro-
tected in the enjoyment of the fruits of their
honest industry, by the operation of laws wisely
framed and impartially executed, they become
naturally and warmly attached to their native
soil, repay the friendly attention of their supe-^
riors with honour and esteem ; and look up with
veneration to that system of Government under
which they flourish and are happy, and will be
ready, in the moment of danger, to stand forth
in its defence.

O THOU ! by whose Almighty nod, the scale
Of e-npire rises, or alternate falls,
Send forth the saving virtues round the land,
lii br'ght patrole ; white PF ACE, and social Lo~»'Z

CONCLUSION. 393

The tender looking CHARITY, intent
On gentle deeds, and shedding tears thro' smiles ;
Undaunted TRUTH, and dignity of mind ;
Courage composed and keen ; sound TEMPERANCE,
Healthful in heart and look ; clear CHASTITY,
With blushes redd'ning, as she moves along ;
Rough INDUSTRY ; ACTIVITY untir'd,
With copious life inform'd, and all awake :
While in the radiant front, superior shines
That first paternal virtue, PUBLIC ZEAL ,•
Who throws <Ar all an equal wide survey
And ever musing on the common weal,
Still labours glorious with some great design.

THOMSON.

APPENDIX I.

PLAN OF A LEASE,

Suggested by the Observations made upon this Subject in the
preceding SURVET, and calculated to forward and perfect
the CULTIVATION of OPEN and UNIMPROVED LANDS.

JLT is CONTRACTED, AGREED, and finally ENDED, betwixt A,
B. Esq. of A. heritable proprietor of the lauds underwritten,
on the one part, and C. D., tenant in E., on the other part,
in manner following : That is to say, the said A. B. for the
tack-duty, and with and under the reservations and special
conditions after mentioned, hath sett, and hereby in tack
and assedation, letts, to the said C. D. and his heirs, se-
cluding all assignees, voluutary or legal, except such assig-
nee shall be one of his own la\vful children*; also, secluding
subtenants, excepting in the single case of the demise of the
said C. D. before his heir, or the child he intends to suc-
ceed him, shall be capable of managing the farm from non-
age : in which case the curators of that child shall have
power to subsett, for the remaining years of the lease, to
any man of good character, who shall find sufficient securi-
ty to the said A. B., to put a stock upon the farm equal in
value to three years rent, — ALL and WHOLE the Farm of
C., with the houses and office-houses built thereon, as prt-
sently possessed by J. O., tenant there, and that for the space
of 42 years complete f, from and after the term of Martinmas
next 1800 : RESERVING full power and liberty to the
* Page 114, . f P. 357.

APPENDIX.

said A. B. at all times, during this tack, to search for, dig,
and carry off, coal, limestone, and all metals and minerals
•whatever, from the lands above sett ; and to erect engines,
&c. as the case may be *, on his allowing the said C. D.
and his foresaids the damages done to the surface of the
ground, as the same shall be estimated by two men mutual-
ly chosen by master and tenant, yearly, out of the tack-duty
aftermentioned. ALSO, full power to streight the march-
es of said farm, and excamb ground with the neighbouring
heritors, when he pleases, or when the inclosing aftermen-
tioned renders the same necessary. WHICH TACK, with
and under the reservations above and conditions aftermen-
tioned, the said A. B. binds and obliges himself and his heirs
to warrant at all hands. FOR WHICH CAUSE, and on
the other part, the said C. D. binds and obliges himself, his
heirs, &c. to pay to the said A. B. his heirs, and assignees,
the value of 100 bolls of barley and ico bolls of oats f, at the
county fiars, yearly, at the terms of Whitsunday and Lam-
mas:}:, for each of the 21 years of this lease, or first period
thereof; and the value in money ascertained } by the said
county fiars annually of 130 bolls of barley and 130 bolls
of oats, at the said terms of Whitsunday and Lammas, in
equal portions yearly, and each year of the remaining or
second period of 21 years this lease is to endure ; making
the first term's payment of said tack-duty at Whitsunday
1802, and the next term's payment at Lammas thereafter,
and that in full of tack-duty for crop and year 1801, and
so forth, yearly, during the first period of 21 years : and
the augmented rent, before mentioned, yearly, at said terms,
by equal portions, during the second period, or remaining
21 years of this lease : with annualrent of said money-
rent from and after each term's falling due,, during the net-
payment of the same. And it is mutually agreed, by both
parties, that as this farm, in its present state, is uninclosed,
full of stones which interrupt the plough, with a great pro-
portion of \vct land, occasioned by springs, as well as by
the crooked injudicious manner in which the ridges pre-
* Page 117. f P. 9?, JP. no. § P. 357.

APPENDIX. 397

sently ly, that all these defects shall be remedied, and the farm
completely improved*, during the first period of 21 years,
frofii the commencement of this lease : AS FOLLOWS,
viz,, the said C. D. binds and obliges himself and his fore-
saids, to inclose the whole lands above lett, 5nd subdivide
the same into parks or inclosures, according to a plan given
him by the said A. B., so as completely to finish the same
within the period before mentioned. And that he shall
completely finish the fencing of one inclosure, at least, each
year from the commencement of the lease : Which fences
shall consist of five feet clap-ditchf, planted with good
thorns, not less than five years old, the backs of the
ditches carefully levelled, to secure a proper founda-
tion ; and a dry stone-dike built thereon, two feet wide
at the bottom, contracted three inches on each side a-
bove the found stones, battered to sixteen inches on the
top, finished with a coping of large stones, to project three
^nches on each side, making the whole height three feet.
And on those parts of the farm where draining is not ne-
cessary, and where thorns will not thrive, he obliges him-
self to enclose £ with good Galloway stone-dikes, founded 2
feet 6 inches wide, contracted to 2 feet above the first stone,
and 4 feet 6 inches height ; with a gate having 3 bars to eacli
park. And, for his encouragement, the said A. B. binds
and obliges himself to allow the said C. D. the sum of
Sterling for each chain of 24 ells of said
fences, that shall be completed in a substantial manner ;
with for each park- gate, when the

park is completely inclosed, out of the first year's rent,
and so on progressively, out of each year's rent, and un-
til the whole enclosing is complete. And the said C. IX
is bound and obliged, over and above the tack-duty before
mentioned, when the second year's rent falls due, also to
pay the said A. B. 5 per cent. } for the sum allowed him the
preceding year, for enclosing or for draining, as after men-
tioned, and so on progressively until that improvement is
complete. And the said C. D. binds and obliges hi
at least once, to summer-fallow the whole lands abc- I,
Page 358. f P. IJ7- t P- J37- § P- 337. ^

398 APPENDIX.

during the first 21 years of this lease, one park each year
from the commencement. And, during the fallow year,
he obliges himself to mark the stones^ his plough shall touch
each plougliing, and shall dig out the same, and cart them
off to build said fences ; and the small stones brought up
by the harrows*, he shall gather and cart off after, each har-
rowing, to fill the drains after mentioned. And he obliges
himself to uphold the whole dikes so built during this
lease, and leave the same completely fencible at the expiry
hereof, the dikes free of slaps, the ditches clean scoured ;
and as to the hedges, the said A. B. shall employ a hedger
to clean the same properly, three times per annum the first
two years, and once yearly thereafter, so long as either mas-
ter' or tenant judges cleaning necessary ; and likewise to
cut and train up the hedges, (the method of training tie
Ledges agreed upon to he inserted here.) And the said C.
D. shall be bound and obliged to repay the said A. B. one
half the amount of said expcnce yearly, along with the tack-
duty. FUPvTHER, IT IS AGREED, that the wet land on
this farm shall lie completely drained, during the first 21 years
of this lease. And^for effecting thisf, the said A. B. shall
employ a man of experience in the art of draining land, who
shall point out where these drains ought to be cut, and of
\vhat width and depth. And during the year of fallow, the
said C. D. shall cut the drains, cart the stones, and fill
them, agreeably to the directions given him, till the field is
thus completely dry. The expcnce of this durable im-
provement, executed at the sight of the said A. B., or his
managers, shall be allowed to the said C. D., in the same
manner as the enclosing before mentioned ; and the said C.
D. shall pay him 5 per cent, interest, on the expenditure, in
like manner J. FURTHER, the said C. D. binds and obli-
ges himself and his foresaids, not only to fallow and drain
one park each year, as before specified, clear it of stones,
and drain it, but shall level and lay the ridges in the most
convenient direction, to keep it dry, and shall lay thirty
bolls of lime-shells on each acre, with such a quantity of
* P. 237. | P. 237. J P. 333.

APPENDIX. 399

dung as he can afford : And shall sow that field down
with grass seeds, with the first crop, or with the third crop
after the lime, if the second crop was a green one, and had
dung applied to it, to be cut once for hay, and then pastur-
ed from 2 to 8 years (according to circumstances), and so
on progressively, park after park, till the whole farm is
thus cleared of stones, inclosed, drained, fallowed, ridges
thrown into proper form, limed and dunged, as far as he can
procure that article. AND that the lands may be always
kept in good heart, after this improvement, the said
C. D. binds and obliges himself, &c. never to have above
one third of the farm let in white crops, and shall
keep the other two thirds thereof always in hay or pasture
grass, or green crops, during the whole currency of this
lease. And obliges himself to reside with his family upon
the farm, and to consume thereon the whole fodder it shall
•produce, and sell no part thereof, hay excepted ; and shall
keep a stock of cattle, to consume said fodder, equal in value
to one year's rent at least : EXPRESSLY DECLARING*, That
in case the said C. D. shall fail in completing said improve-
ments during die first 21 years of the lease, the same shall
cease and determine ; and the said A. B. shall be entitled
to remove him, and resume possession of the farm, in the
same manner as if the lease had been expired. AND, on
the other hand, if the said C. D.f shall judge the stipulat-
ed rent for the second period of 21 years to be more than he
can pay, he shall be at liberty to remove and give up the
lease, at the end of the first period, upon formally intimat-
ing the same to the said A. B. one year at least before the
expiry of the first 21 years. But whether the said C. D.
shall remove at the end of the first, or the second period,
he binds and obliges himself, &c. at his removal, to leave
ihe farm in the following state ; viz. one field £ properly
prepared and well manured, sown with clover and rye-
grass, the last year of his possession, and shall summer-
fallow completely another field during the last year of his
possession, and ridge it up before harvest, and lime it ,-i.it'-
• P. 358. t Ibid. $ P. m.

400 APPENDIX,

ficiently at the sight of the said A. B. or his manager :
That he shall prepare properly another field, sow it with
turnip, dress and take due care of them, and besides have
at least one half of the whole farm in hay or pasture, one
half of which pasture must have been grazed with cattle
for the three preceding years, AND at such removal,
•whether at the first or second period, the said A. B. ob-
liges himself, &.c. to purchase the whole crop of grain,
hay, turnip, potatoes, £cc. together with the whole dung
collected in summer and harvest ; for all which, and for
the eicpence of fallowing, lime laid on, and the value of the
grass-seeds sown the last year before the tenant's removal,
he shall be obliged to pay for at a fair price, according to
a valuation put upon them, by neutral men, mutually cho-
sen. AND the said C. D. shall be obliged to deliver the
whole to him, and no otherwise dispose of any part there-
of. AND with regard to houses * presently upon the farm,
an accurate estimate has been made, and the actual value
amounts to no more than L. Sterling, and though suf-
ficient at present to contain the cattle the farm will support,
must become inadequate, when the quantity is increased in
proportion to the improvement : Therefore, the said C. D.
shall be at liberty to extend the buildings in proportion to
the cattle required to consume the increased produce, build
a shade for the farming utensils, erect a granary above it,
fit to contain bolls of grain ; and other conveniences he
may judge necessary ; always submitting the plan, and si-
tuation of these buildings before execution, to the said
A. B. for his advice and direction : And at the end of this
lease, whether the same shall happen at the expiration of
the first or second period of 21 years ; the value of the
whole buildings shall be again estimated, by two men mu-
tually chosen ; and the said A. B. .obliges himself to pay
to the said C. D. the difference in value between the esti-
mates, at the entry and expiry of the lease, if the amount
of the last estimate shall exceed that of the first, and if it fall
short of it, then the said C. D. becomes bound to pay to the
* P. uj>.

APPENDIX. 40f

said A. B. whatever the actual value at the expiry falls
short of the L. . at which these houses were estimated
at his entry. AND as there are no cot-houses on the lands
above set, * the said A. B. obliges himself, &c. to build
cot-houses, at an expence not exceeding L. during the first
3 years of this lease, and put the said C. D. in possession
thereof; and the said C. D., on his part, becomes bound,
over and above the tack-duty beforementioned, to pay the
legal interest of the sum thus expended, yearly, during this
lease, and uphold the houses, and leave them worth the same
sum at the expiry hereof or pay the deficiency, if they shall
be estimated at less, to the said A. B. &.c. AND, as the farm
above settf, has many waste spots, incapable of culture, the
said C. D. obliges himself, &.c. to plant that waste ground to
the extent of acres, with trees proper for the soil ; shall in-
close and protect the same from cattle ; and shall be at full li-
berty to cut for his own use as much thereof as he pleases, such
trees only excepted as the said A. B. shall mark as proper to
remain for ornament and shelter to the farm ; such standards
to be at least 1 2 feet distant from each other, and the said
C. D. at liberty to cut out the intervening trees, if he
think proper : And> at the expiry of this lease, the said A.
B. shall have full power to purchase the whole trees then
remaining, at a fair price fixed by two men mutually chosen,
or what number thereof he chuses ; and if it is not his
choice to make such purchase, he shall notify the same to
the said C. D. 18 months before the expiration of the lease,
during which time the said G. D. shall have liberty to sell
the whole to the best advantage ; the expence of fencin;;
which for its protection, shall be paid by the said A. B.
as the other enclosing, and the interest by the said CI D.
in like manner, AND, as a further encouragement to the
said C. D.t it is agreed, that if he shall be able to make a
discovery of either coal, lime-stone or marie, on the farm
above sett, he shall have full power to apply a quantity of

' Pa~e. ",?0. f P. I2T. * P. Jl6.

402 APPENDIX.

lime and marie so discovered, to manure said farm, not ex-
ceeding bolls per annum ; and if coal is discovered by
him, he shall be entitled to a quantity fit to burn the lime
above mentioned. AND the said C. D. binds and obliges
himself, &x at the expiration of this tack, to flit and re-
move from the lands hereby let, and to leave the same
void and red, without any previous warning or process of
removing to be used against him or them, for that effect.
AND, LASTLY, both parties bind and oblige themselves
and their aforesaids, to implement, perform, and fulfil these
presents reciprocally to each other, under the penalty of
L. Sterling, to be paid by the party failing to the par-

ty implementing, or willing to implement his part hereof,
over and above performance.

* And in case any disputes shall arise between the parties
during the currency of this lease, or at the expiry thereof,
the same are hereby referred to two men skilled in Agri-
culture and inclosing, to be mutually chosen by the par-
ties. And, in case of variance between them, to an over-
man chosen by the arbiters so to be named, whose deter-
mination in all cases, shall be final. And both parties con-
sent to the registration hereof in the books of Council and
Session, &c.

The above plan, it will be observed, contains only the
principal outlines of the lease. Many requisite stipulations
are designedly left out, because of less importance to the
main object I have in view. . Besides, when it comes to
be put in practice, additions, variations, and omissions, even
in the principal points, may sometimes be found necessary,
from the peculiar circumstances of the cases to which it is
applied.

*'Page 358.

APPENDIX IT.

INLAND CANAL.

-1 HE following information has been communicated re-
specting a small inland canal, which Mr Low of Burnturk
has projected, and is, at present, carrying into execution.
As the scheme is ingenious, and, if properly executed, may
be of advantage to the public, as well as to the proprietor,
it certainly deserves notice.

On the south side of the road from Cupar to the New-
Inrf, and about four miles from Cupar, there is a range of
lime-rock, of considerable extent, and of excellent quality.
But as it lies upon a ridge of high ground, almost inacces-
sible to ordinary carriages, it has never been wrought to
that extent, which either the wants of the country, or the
interest of the proprietor (the Earl of Crawfurd) seemed
to require. Within two miles of this rock there is a coal-
liery belonging to Mr Low of Burnturk. Their contigui-
ty naturally renders them of great value to one another,
more especially as the one is the most northerly coal, and
the other the most northerly lime-rock in Fife. But the
ruggedness of the interjacent ground, rendering their com-
munication with one another exceedingly difficult, has hi-
therto prevented both the proprietors and the public from
denying any material advantage from them.

To remedy this, Mr Low has opened- a communication
between them, by carrying^ small caual from hfs coal-
works on Burnturk, to the bottom of the hill where the
lime-rock lies ; along which he means to convey the raw

404 APPENDIX.

lime-stone to draw-kills, which he has cut out of a spongy-
rock, on the edge of a den close by his coal-pits. This ca-
nal is on a level with the top of his draw-kills. From the
bottom of these kills another canal is cut, extending north-
ward about half a mile, till it reach the declivity of the hill,
for the purpose of carrying away the burnt lime-stone, as
also coal, and some other articles to be mentioned after-
wards. When the loaded boats reach the end of this canal,
they are made to pass into skeleton carriages having broad
wheels, and conveyed down the hill, to the side of the high
way, near the village of Kettle, where their contents are
to be deposited in shades for the convenience of purchasers.
In passing down the hill they go singly, and are drawn up,
when empty, by horses. But it is intended that after the
first year the loaded carriages shall draw up the empty
ones. The same method is observed in bringing the un-
burnt lime-stone from the quarry to the entrance of the
upper canal.

Neither of these canals have occasion for locks, as they
are on a dead level. Both branches are of the same dimen-
sions, being nine or ten feet broad, and three feet deep.
They are supplied with water from a coal-level, which ne-
ver becomes dry ; and all surface water is excluded, to pre-
vent the canals being filled up with the mud, which such
water may occasionally bring along with it.

The boats on the different canals are not of the same size.
Those on .the upper canal, being used only for carrying raw
lime-stone/ afe to be from four to ten tons burden ; where-
as the boats on the other are to contain two tons only. His
reason for making these, last 3<>,srmall is, that he wishes the
coal and lime conveyed, b^y them not to be broken, but to be
delivered at tbe slides- & entire as when taken from the
pits and the kiUs,* To make tljtse boats strong and tight,
the seams are to be covered wftlf t^£ sheet iron or copper,
of two inches in breadth. r

The conveyance of the boats along the lower canal, is
fo be effected by means of the boatman's pulling or shov-

APPENDIX. 405

ing the boat by the strength of his arm, exerted on a hori-
zontal pole; elevated about three feet above the canal, and
in the same line of direction, in the same manner as is
practised in the Duke of Bridge-water's tunnel, where a man
pushes from 70 to 100 of our loads of coals at a time. The
larger boats on the upper canal, designed for the raw lime-
stone, are to be conducted by a man on each side of the ca-
nal, pushing a pole stretched across, and fastened to the
leading boat. Tims they will push or pull,- so as to suit
the size and windings of the canal better than a horse, and
can do more work than ten horses on a road in the course
of a day.

The boats are to be marked with figures, to ascertain,
the quantity they contain by their depth in the water.

Mr Low meant to have laid waggon-ways for his car-
riages, but thinks he can have all their advantages, with-
out the expence and trouble, by laying the dry smooth
materials, with which the quarries abound, on a well form-
ed flat-road, and using such broad wheels as will act as
rollers, and rather smooth than cut the ground. By this
saving, he will be enabled to accommodate the country
with coal and lime in greater quantity, and on more fa-
vourable terms, than could otherwise be afforded. And,
to secure this advantage to the public more effectually, he
works part of the lime- quarry under ground, that the quar-
ry-men may be independent of the weather, and be able,
at all times, to afford a quantity of lime suited to. the de-
mands of the country.

His coal, which stretches through 130 acres of ground,
consists of live seams of different kinds, viz. a splint, three
feet thick ; a parrot, from tht*e to four and a half ; a cherry,
20 inches ; and tv/o seams of blind-coal, so called, from its
emitting neither flame nor s?noke, one of which is three
feet five inches thick. ^ThltTias.t is used wicfly for drying
malt, but may be properly applied in making Tyle, as it
is said to burn clay to a blue colour, by means of the sul-
phur it contains.

406 APPENDIX.

Besides coal and lime, he proposes to convey free-stone,
bricks and charcoal, to the same place for sale, and also
iron-stone, with a view to render the carriage easier to pur-
chasers.

As Mr Low means to employ his own carriages when
they can be spared, in carrying coal, lime, &tc. to New-
burgh, Cupar, and elsewhere, he builds a shed upon the
end of the canal, at the back of his own house, where they
may be lodged till he find it convenient to send them away.

It is mentioned also as a consequential advantage arising
from the canals, that they furnish, so far as they go, com-
plete fences and most effective drains.

ERRATA.

Page 2». line 27. for Sail and Climate, read Soil and Surfaee.

92. line 4. for la*t, read tat.

— — 301 line 3. for Aberdeen read Aberdour.

307 line .14. dele tie.

— — 348. line 17. for are, read h.

_ij 360. line 8. for reserve^ read receive*

. 361. line a. fotferiodt, read/«-»W.

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L. Y.
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of the University of Edinburgh
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^ copies
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408

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409

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Mr James Hall, at Callange
Mr William Hunt, at Dunfermline
Mr David Halkerston, Merchant^

Falkland
Mr William Hislop of Blackcraig,

Cumnock

Mr James Hog, Merchant at Mark-
inch

Mr Robert Hitton, Dunfermline
Mr John Halkerston, Drumned
Mr Alexander Hutchison, Flcsher in
Kirkaldy x

SUBSCRIBERS NAMES>

Mr Peter Henderson, at Pitkennie
Mr David Hair of Orchard
Mr James Hope in Newton
Mr John Hope

I.

David Johnston, Esq. of Lathfuk,

2 copies
Colonel Imrie

Captain Johnston, jth N. B. M.
Provost Inglis
Mr Thomas Johnston, Land-surveyor,

Edinburgh, a copies
Mr Robert Johnston, Writer, Cupar
Mr John Jamie son, Dysart
Mr William Jeffray, at Cambo
Mr Colin Innes, at Glasgow
Invcrkeithing Farmer Club, 10 copies
Mr Gavin Inglis, at Kirkaldy
Mr William Inglis, at Ardross
William Johnston, E?q. of Roundston-

flat

Mr Izett, Hatmaker, Edinburgh
Mr Jamea Johnston, merchant, Dal-
keith

K

The Right Honourable the Earl 6f

Kelly, 4 copies
The Right Honourable the Earl of

Kinnoul, ^ copies
Mr Kinnear of Kinloch, 4 copies
Reverend Mr Alexander King, at Dal-

keith

Mr George Keltic, at Falkland.wood
Mr Peter Kinninmonr, at Innerteal
Mr Robert Kinncar, at Kinnaird
TVTr James Kidd, at Kilbaskie
Mr David Keddy, Leuchars Castle, St

Andrews
Mr John Kilgoar, at Dunfermline

The Right Honourable the Earl of
I.evsa, 3 copies

The Honourable Captain Lindsay o£

Leuchars, 4 copies
James Lumsden, Esq. of Innergelly
Major Lumsden of Lethallan
Peter Lindsay, Esq. of Coats
Charles Lunden, Esq. of Auchtermair-

nie

John Lumsden, Esq. of Blanairn
Alexander Low, Esq. of Cash, ^ copies
Hugh Logan, Esq. of Logan
Reverend James Lister, Auchtermuch..

tie

Mr Henry Lawrie, at Lawftown
Mr Peter Lumsden, at Ayton
Mr Alexander Landale, at Maw
Mr Alexander Leslie, at Goatsmilk
Mr David Liddel, at Urquhart
Mr James Landale, at Dunfermline
Mr Robert Laing, Baldastard, 4 copiei
Mr William Lindsay, at Balmungie
Mr David Lawrie, at Hillcairny
Mr James Lister, at Pitlessie-mill
Mr William Lewis, at Buglillie
Mr David Lawson, at Kirkaldy
Mr JamesLiddle, at Auchtertool-kirk
Mr Dewar Lauder, at Springston
Mr James Laidlaw, in Corsebank
Mr Robert Lorimer, in Gavels

M

His Grace the Duke of Montrose,

4 copies
Her Grace the Dutchess of Montrose,

1 copies
The Right Honourable the Earl of

Morton, 4 copies
The Right Honourable the Earl of

Murray, 4 copies
Sir Hector Monro, » copies
Sir William Murray of Ochtertyre
Colonel Monypenny
Charles Maitland, Esq. of Rankeiler
James Morison, Esq. of Naughton,

a copies
Mr Monro of Pointifield, a copies

SUBSCRIBERS NAMES.

D. M'Cleod, Esq. of Geanies
Major M'Kenzie of Mountgerald
Provost M'Intosh of Drummond
Mr M'Intosh of Holm
Major Murray, 5th N. B. C.
Patrick Murray, Esq. of Ochtertyre
JVTr Murray of Alton
Honourable George Melvill Leslie
General Melville *

Reverend Dr George Moir, Peterhead
Reverend Dr Muirhead, Dysart
Reverend Mr George Muirhead, Dy-
sart
Reverend Mr John Martin, Strath-

miglo

Captain J. Mitchell, R. G. B.
David Melvill, Esq. of Craigfudie
Mr David Millar, Cu t
Mr John Millar, Kincraigie
Mr Robert Meldrum, Easter Kinnear
Mr Alexander Melvill, Peasehill
Mr Robert Melvill, at Newbigging
Mr James Moriion Pringle, Dswar'g- a copies

™JU Robert Patullo, Esq of Balhoussie

Mr David Mathcw of Thornton
Mr John Mitchell, at Duniface, i cop.
Mr William Mitchell, at Dunipace
Mr John Melvill, at Dysart, 2 copies
Mr John Moir, LongsiJe
Mr J°hn Muir, merchant, Edinburgh
Archibald Menzies, Esq. Edinburgh
Lieutenant David Moyse, Burntisland
Mr John M'Night, Old Mill, N.
Cumnock

Mr William Mell*, Longfaugn.mains
Mr John Moir, printer, Edinburgh,
a copies

Mr John Nkol, merchant, Edinburgh,

James Townsend Oswald, E>q. of

Dinnikeir, 4 copies
Archibald Officer, overseer to the

Muirkjrk Iron Company
Mr John Oliphant, at Spittal
Mr Robert Orr, of Tarvet Mill
Mr James Otto, in Sanquhar
Mr Thomas Oliver, in f alahall

Colonel William Paston of Barnslee,

Mr David Paterson, surgeon, Auch»

termuchty

Mr Andrew Patrick, at Coldwell
Mr Andrew Peat, in Easter Kelty
Mr George Pearson, at Ba'lbirney

Bleachfield

Mr Thomas Paterson? Edinburgh
Mr Thomas Purvis, Waukmill
Mr Archibald Peebles, Wester Anr

struther »

Mr John Millar, atMilton, of Balgonie Mr George Philip, Borthwick mains
Mr John Millar, at Kirkland Mr Thomas Paterson, soap-niaker at

Prestpnpans
Mr Archibald Patk, in Windy-main?

Mr John Mitchell, at Pittachope
Mr Robert Marshall, at Wermit
Mr William Mitchell, at Bah am
Mr Andrew Melville, merchant, Ken- R

noway

Mr George Mitchell, at St Andrew'* The Right Hpnourable the Countesj
Mr Thomas Melville, St Andrew's of Rothes, a copies

Mr; Alexander Melvill, at Grange The Right Honourable Lord Rutb-
Mr William M:llar, Sythrum ven, a copies

MrWiliiamMurison,brewer,Dalkeith Captain Rigg, z copies
Mr James Mutter, in Mansfield and Major RPIS of Milcraig

New-farm

3 Fa

412

SUBSCRIBERS NAMES.

Major Ramsay of Whitehill
Reverend Mr William Reid, minister

of N. Cumnock
Mr Robert Russel, at Newton of

Markinch, 2 copies
Mr James Richardson, Colosheil
Mr William Renwick, at Burnturk
Mr James Russel, at Pitlour
Captain Thomas Robertson of Cavil
Mr Thomas Russel, at Auchmuty
Mr James Russel, at Cadam
Mr John Rus&el, at Byres
Mr Alexander Ritchie, at Freartown
Mr Jame* Reddie, at Dysart
Mr George Rutherford, at Dy?art
Mr John Reddie, junior, at Dysart
Mr William Richmond, at N. Cum-
nock

Mr Alexander Russel, at Balinbreach
Mr David Russel, at Sweatbank
Mr Philip Russel, at Banchor
Mr David Rintoul, feuar atKennoway
Mr William Ritchie, at St Andrew's
Mr William Roger, at Kings>barns
Mr Thomas Rogers, at St Andrew's
Mr William Richard, at St Andrew's
Me-srs William and Robert Russcls,

Kirka'dy
Mr Ritchie, Edinburgh

S

The Right Honourable the Earl of

Seaforth, z copies
The Right Honourable Lord Som-

merville, 4 copies
Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster, baronet,

2 copies

Sir John Stewart of Fettercairn, Bart.
Robert Stuart, Esq. of Saintford, 4 cop.
Colonel Simpson of Pitcorthie, 1 cop.
David Skene, Esq. of Pitlour, 4 copies
James Stark, Esq. of Kingsdale, a cop.
George Sandilands, Esq. of Nuthill,

2 copies

Christopher Seton, Esq. of Kirkforthar
William Simpson, Esq. of Star

Dr Thomas Stewart, minister of New-
burgh
Reverend David Swan, minister of

Scoonie

Reverend James Struthers, Edinburgh
Mr James Sharp at Lathrisk
Mr Michael Storer at Leslie
Mr James Smith, at Easthall
Mr Henry Spiers

Mr James Struthers, writer,Edinburgh
Mr David Simpson, Dunbog
Mr Stewart Sheperd, at Balmerino
Mr John Smith, at Kinnaird
Mr Archibald Syme, at Frearton
Mr Alexander Swan, at Cupar, 2 cop,
Mr David Swine, at Dysart
Mr William Swine, at Dysart
Mr James Seton, at Carriston
Mr James Stark, writer at Cupar
J. Spence, ^ copies
Mr James Swan, jun, Muriespot
Mr George Smith, at Torbean
Mr David Syme, at Pitrachnic
Ninean Scot, Esq. of Knockinstob
Mr John Skene, at Spithead
Mr George Smith, saddler at Kirkaldy
Mr James Swan, at Banbeath
Mr Robert Spiers, at Kirkaldy
Mr James Scton, surgeon at Kennovvay
Mr John Steel, at Pittowie
Mr James Stoddard, at Glenmanna
Mr Mark Stark, at Kirkhill
Mr Archibald Simson, Dalkeith
Mr Archibald Shiells, nursery and

seedsman in Dalkeith
Mr Walter Skirving, merchant, Dal.
keith

Crawford Tait, Esq. W. 3. Edinburgh
Reverend A. Thomson, minister, Bal-
merino

Reverend Alexander Thomson, mini-
ster of Carnock

Mr Andrew Thomson of Kinloch
Mr Oliver Thomson, at Leckiebank

SUBSCRIBERS NAMES.

413

Mr David Thomson, at Kirkforthar
Mr George Taylor, at Balvaird
Mr William Thorns, at Balhelvie
Mr David Torrance, at Colluthy
Mr Robert Tod, at Drumcara
Mr William Tclpcr
Mr David Thomson, at Galatown
Mr John Thomson of Pnorton
Mr James Taylor, bookbinder, Lawn-
market, Edinburgh
David Thomson, E<q. W. S. Edinburgh
Mr Robert Tait, at Crichton
Mr Jamts Thomson, saddler at Cupar
Mr James Thomson, at Letham, ^ cop
Mr Thomas Thomson, in Markinch,

2 copies

Mr Alexander Thomson, at Garden
Mr Robert Thomson, at Pusk
Mr Alexander Tod, at Dunmuir
Mr David Thomson, Dundee
Mr David Tod, at Newbigging
Mr Thomas Thomson, at Glenim

Colonel Veitch of Elliock
W

William Wemyss, Esq. of Cuttlehill,

a copies
Alexander Wedderburn, Esq. of Wed-

derburn

Captain Wemyss
Reverend Patrick Wright, miniscer of

Ken no way
Reverend James Wemyss, minister of

Burntisland

John White, Esq. advocate
William Walker, Esq. W. S. Edin.

burufh
David Wemyss, Esq. W. S. Edinburgh

Mr David Walker, at Edenshead
Mr John Walker, at Drumtenant
Mr Robert Wemyss, at Clato
Mr Robert Walker, at Higham
Mr David Wallace, at Balmedieside
Mr Andrew Wylie, at Morton
Mr John Whyte^ surgeon, Dysart
Mr David Watt, at Bankhead
Mr David Whyte, Pitferrane
Mr Adam Wilson, at Largo
Edward Whigham, Esq. provost of

Sanquhar

Mr John Watson, Bowhouse
Mr James Wallace
Mr Peter Watson, Wallace-Court,

Glasgow
Mr Archibald Whyte, Rector of the

Grammar-school, Alloa, i copies
Mr David Walker, at Wood-mill
Mr John Wemyss, at Bogue
Mr William Walker, Orchardhead
Reverend Mr John Watson, at Dunse
Mr George Welsh, at Balmullo
Mr Arthur Walker, at Strulpie
Mr James Watt, at Balberton
Mr Andrew Wallace, at Hattpn
Mr Henry Watt,' at Walton
Mr David Wallace, at Kinglassie
Mr Robert Williamson, at Bar
Mr John Walker, merchant, Edin-
burgh
Mr James Weddel, merchant, Edin.

burgh
Mr Ninian Wallace, uphoLterer, E-

dinburgh
Mr William Wilson, sen. candlemaker^

Dalkeith

Reverend Thomas Young, at Ford
Mr William Young, distiller at Graogf

At Edinburgh :

Printed by JOHN MoiB

Paterson's Court.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY

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Gt. Brit. Board

460 of Agriculture -

F4G79 General view of A 000000196 6

the agriculture
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