as cultivated land; the remainder being hills, moors, mosses, lochs, roads, &c. We may reckon about one-third of the pastoral hills and moors, as good dry grazing-grounds; the other twothirds being spongy moor, heather, or moss-hags, with occasional dry grassy-patches intervening. Plantations of all ages and kinds are included as cultivated lands, and there are large extents of thriving wood throughout the shire, especially in Kyle and Cunningham. The total acreage under wood is estimated at 40,000 acres.

During the sixty years elapsed of this 19th century, the population of Ayrshire has considerably more than doubled. In 1801 the population was 84,207; and by the last census of 1861, it was 198,971. The present parliamentary constituency of the county is.4691, being the largest (we suppose) in Scotland. The valued rental of the county for year 1864-65, was £762,661, apportioned amongst the three divisions as follows,-Cunningham £330,887, Kyle £291,545, Carrick £140,229; and being exclusive of about £120,000 for railways, and £105,000 for the three parliamentary burghs.

SECTION I.

GENERAL ASPECT-Woodland-SOIL - CLIMATE, &c.

THE surface of Ayrshire is very diversified, and yet upon the whole somewhat tame; boasting of nothing sublime in scenery, but still a large choice of pleasing landscape. No part of it can be strictly termed level, as almost every field undulates more or less. From the surface abounding in swelling knolls and low rounded hills, dotted and streaked with thriving plantations and hedge-row timber, from much old woodland on the "banks and braes" of the many rivers, burns, and glens, and from the very numerous county seats of the landed proprietary, all embosomed in large extents of wood, as well as most of the farm-steads being more or less surrounded by belts of planting, the face of the county generally has a highly ornamental appearance. For fine river scenery and woodland, there are few counties, if any, in Scotland, that could match the following walk-namely, starting above Sorn Castle on the water of Ayr, and thence down the river via Ballochmyle, Barskimming, Failford, Coilsfield, Enterkine, and Auchincruive. The two divisions of Cunningham and Kyle, mostly rise from their seaborders in easy acclivities and wavy-champaign country, till terminating in an expanse of pastoral moorland and hill towards their north and eastern verges. The only part of their coasts where bold and rocky, being for a short distance at Portincro-s, in West Kilbride parish. But within the past 25 years, coalmining and iron-smelting have vastly outgrown their former

proportions throughout Kyle and Cunningham, particularly in the latter, and many parts of these, consequently, now possess little of rural quietness.

The general aspect of Carrick is of a rugged character, hence, probably, the name. The Carrick coast, from a little past Girvan, all on to Loch-ryan, as well as at Culzean Castle, and several other parts, is bold and rocky; although there are some fine stretches of warm low-lying shore-land between Doonfoot and Girvan. This division is generally hilly, with a few lovely and very fertile valleys interspersed. The south-eastern half, or more, particularly, is very wild. The altitude of the hills to the east of Carrick and Kyle, and north-west of Cunningham, will run between 800 and 1000 feet-the summit-heights attaining 1,500 or 1,600 feet being few; but the moors, generally, will not be more than from 600 to 800 feet, whilst the average altitude of the cultivated lands may be put at about 150 feet-all above sea level. Carrick, unlike the other divisions, is yet almost exclusively an agricultural and pastoral district.

It

The pastoral and tillage lands of Ayrshire, with but small exception, are quite distinctly separated one from the other. The former lying semicircularly around the rim, and enclosing the cultivated lands on the lower slopes and bottom of the half basin. Owing to the basin-like make of surface, no other county of Scotland can shew so great a stretch of cultivated land at one view; and few counties in Britain present such rich and varied prospects, as are to be seen from almost any of the interior heights, No other part of Scotland either, bears such a close resemblance to some of the English counties; mainly from the prevalence of hawthorn hedges interspersed with trees, surrounding the comparatively small fields. would be a pity, certainly, to see the hedge-row timber entirely disappear, on account of its ornamental show, but many of the trees might be rooted out to the advantage of both landlord and tenant. And although the hedge-rows are as plentiful as in most English counties, yet they are not such wide straggling affairs. The fence in all cases consists only of a single line of thorns, which being occasionally cut over when the fields are lifted to prevent thinning at the roots, and in very many cases yearly dressed up the sides, the ground can thus be got ploughed till within a foot or so of the hedge bottom. Beech plants are always intermixed with the thorn quicks for fences towards the moor-edges; and dry stone dykes may occasionally be seen here and there on upland farms, but these are not at all cominon, except on sheep runs. For several years past more attention has been paid to the regular and proper scutching of the hedges. The writer would wish to note just two instances of first-class fences-viz., those (thorn) on the farm of Whinpark, near Kil

marnock, tenanted by Mr. James Brown, and two of beech, some 3 miles in length, due north from Sorn Castle gates on the Galston road. These, each of their kind, could not be matched in the kingdom; although there are many other cases about equally as good in the county.

Most of the present woodland of Ayrshire was planted towards the end of last century and beginning of this, consisting chiefly of Larch and Scots Fir, but having generally hardwood trees intermixed-Beech, Ash, and Elm, predominating. In many parts of Kyle and Cunningham, are miles of road closely set on each side with large umbrageous beeches, forming most delightful over-arching avenues. Oaks do not seem to have been much thought of by Ayrshire planters in days of yore, although there are now some very fine plantations of young oak -from 30 to 50 years-throughout the county, and specially on the Cessnock and other estates of the Portland family. The present inheritors now and for years back are reaping the beneficial effects of this wise foresight on the part of their ancestors, in annual sales of valuable timber, and thus making room for further planting. Great part of the old Larch has been cut down years ago for railway sleepers, but the ground was almost always replanted. There are thousands of acres yet in Ayrshire, chiefly in the upland and moorland districts, where shelter for the sheep, and cattle, and crops, is in many places much needed, on which a better paying crop than wood could not be put. Acres that the writer has seen being cut down for some time back, yielded sums corresponding to an annual rental of from £4 to £5; and the same land, if let for ordinary purposes, would not have brought as many shillings in some cases, and not more than from 15s to 20s per acre in even the best. A large demand exists for colliery prop-wood, and even the thinnings are thus valuable. Most of the wood is planted in judiciously placed clumps and belts as shelter on the more exposed grounds; and for useful works of this kind executed, say between 1830 and 1850, the names of the late Earl of Eglinton, the late Duke of Portland, the late Mrs Sommervell of Sorn Castle, and the late Mr. Nicol Brown, and present Mr. Thomas Brown of Lanfine, are specially deserving of notice. During the last 10 or 12 years, the proprietors generally have been planting to a greater degree than for many years previous, and by much the most extensive operation in that line at present, is on the Dumfries Estate, in the Cumnocks, belonging to the youthful and accomplished Marquis of Bute. Some 500 acres have been planted of late on the Dumfries estate, and there are still from 800 to 900 acres of land laid off to fill up. Few larch are now planted in comparison with Scots Fir and Spruce, and about ten of these to one of hardwood, will be about the proportions put in. Ayrshire, in whole, is probably

the most densely wooded county in Scotland; and this fact, along with the general insufficiency of drainage, accounts somewhat for the great and constant moistness of climate.

More than one-half of all the arable lands consists of clays and heavy loams. Situated on the coal formation from near Girvan up to Beith, outbursts and dykes of trap-rock, and limestone abound, and the strength of the soil varies much. On many farms, consequently, some of the fields or parts of them may be of comparatively friable soil, whilst the others are of the usual deep elay; mostly with clayish sub-soil, and in the basins or lowerlying tracts of land, from two to ten fathoms of boulder-driftclay ere the first bed of new red sandstone is reached. Within the last twenty-five years, however, and in some cases for a much longer period, much of the clay land, through drainage and other meliorating influences, has been changed into a darker coloured, and more workable, but still very strong loam. Nowhere is such change more observable than in the valley of the Irvine in which, if we trace out a walk from Kilmarnock, south-west by Forty-acres Toll to Dundonald, thence northwest to Irvine, thence round by Auchenharvie to near Stewarton, and back via Rowallan to Kilmarnock, we will enclose some forty square miles of the truest, and best cropping and grass land in the county. The clays on the higher ridges are thinner and nearer the till, of a brownish red colour generally, and totally unworkable for green crops with Ayrshire climate. That kind of clay soil hardens into a brick-like substance during the occasional summer droughts. A stripe of land stretching along the shore in an almost unbroken line from Largs to past Girvan, and, excepting a few places of high rocky coast, having a breadth of from one to three miles, comprises the greater part of the light soils. Considerable extents of good holm-land-deep light loams mostly-are scattered throughout Kyle and Cunningham by the banks of the Ayr, Irvine, Garnock, and other waters; and more of such of even finer quality, alongside of the Girvan and Stinchar rivers, and in other minor vales of Carrick. Carrick division, although least in propor-. tion of arable land, contains by much the largest extent of good turnip-soils; most of the seaward declivities of all the high grounds from Doonfoot to past Ballantrae being of a light friable nature, excellent for green cropping, and producing a strong sward of sweet grass. As for level "carse-clay land," there is not a bit of it in all Ayrshire.

The arable farms towards the moor-edges of Cunningham and Kyle, usually include a large portion of what can only be described as peatish clay soil, commonly termed grey land, and which, barring the lateness of situation, is not the worst kind of soil in the county. Throughout the glens of the hilly parishes,

such as Muirkirk, New Cumnock, Barr, Colmonell, &c., the arable lands are far more light and friable than those lying in the centre of the basin. All the moundish hills, or hillikins rather lying within the basin, such as the Dalry Hills, the Galston Moor and Craigie Hill ranges, Dundonald Hill, the Craigs of Kyle, &c., are cultivated up to and over their very summits. The summit soils are generally of the prevailing clay of a more sterile sort, except where lying close on the whin or upheaved limestone. The hilly tract of land to the East of Largs and West Kilbride parishes, is mostly covered with good sound grass, growing upon peaty moorland with a clayish sub-soil-the predominating rocks being the old red sandstone and trap. The higher parts in the north and centre of Carrick, also, are mostly under good old grass, admirably adapted for cross-bred and cheviot sheep. Some of the best land in Carrick lies on the lower slopes of these hillikins, such as up the water of Stinchar from Ballantrae by Colmonell, and in several other places.

Large areas of moss and moorland were brought under cultivation, both by proprietors and tenant-farmers, about the latter end of last and beginning of this century; but little progress in that line can be noted during the last twenty-five years, with some exceptions, as for instance, at Corwar. Most of the Eglinton portion of Shewalton Moss is now under thriving wood (spruce and Scots fir) of from ten to twenty-five year's growth, and some of it older; and very many patches of moss and swamp throughout, the shire, included within the bounds of farms long cultivated and from half-acres or so up to five and six acres, have mostly all been thoroughly reclaimed since tiledraining became general. On many of the moor-edge farms, chiefly in the parishes of Fenwick, Loudon, Sorn, Auchinleck, &c., small fields of reclaimed moor have been, and are being, added now and again to the ploughable lands. These improved blackish soils are famously adapted for growing sound potatoes, and a ready market and good prices exist for any quantity grown on them, as a change of seed to the clays and sands. The reclamation of sands along the coast, will be noticed farther on.

The locality where the improvements of Mr. Rigby Wason of Corwar have been effected, extends from the village of Barrhill to the water of Cree in the extreme south-east of Carrick. With the aid of his tenants, Mr. Wason has altogether reclaimed and improved, fully 3,500 acres of wild heathery moor and 200 acres of black deep moss-mostly all now excellent pasture-with no appearance of the heather returning. Corwar estate, when Mr. Wason bought it, was merely a wild moor with hardly a vestige of housing upon it; but he has now built and completed a score of farm-steadings, besides forming about