U rie.
tions the ftately rooms in the new buildings, and the library. He
alfo fpeaks of St. Padie’s church here, famous for being the burial
place of St.' Palladius, who in 431 was fent by Pope CaleftinrJ
preach the gofpel to the Scots. |
Wait on Robert Barclay, Efq-, at his feat at Urie, about a mile I
diftant from Stonehive. This gentleman, by the example he fetal
his neighbours in the fine management of his land, is a moft ufe-j
ful and worthy charaiter in his country. 'He has been long a
peripatetic obferver of the different modes of agriculture in all
parts of Great-Britain: his journies being on foot, followed by]
a fervant with his baggage, on horfeback. He has more than
once walked to London, and by way of experiment has gone eighty
miles in a day. He has reduced his remarks to practice, much to I
his honor and emolument. The barren heaths that once iurroundedJ
him, are now converted into rich fields of wheat, bear, or oats»
and his clover was at this time under a fecond harveft.
He is likewife a great planter: he fills all his dingles with trees,*
but avoids planting the eminences, for he fays they will not thriva
on this eaftern coaft, except in iheltered bottoms. The few plsnJ
tations on the upper grounds are ftunted, cankered and moftl
grown. *
Mr. Barclay favored me with the following account of the pro-j
grefs of his improvements. He firft fet about them with fpirh11*
the yean 1768 ; fince which-he has'reclaimed about four hundred*
, acres, and continues to finifh about a hundred annually, by draining,
levelling, clearing away the ftones, and liming. Thefe, will
the ploughing, feed, &c. amount to the expence of ten pouniji
an acre. The firft crop is commonly oats, and brings in fix pounffl
an acre: the fecond, white peas, worth fometimes as much, but
fcnerally only four pounds : turneps are the third crops, and
;■ .«fually worth fix pounds : the fourth is barley, of the fame value :
ftlover fucceeds, worth about four pounds : and laftly wheat,
‘.which brings in about feven pounds ten ihillings an acre, but
oftener more.
I As foon as the land is once thoroughly improved, it is thrown
' into this courfe: turneps, barley, clover and wheat; fometimes
-turneps, barley, clover and rye-grafs. He fometimes'breaks up
l|the laft for white peas, and afterwards for wheat: and fometimes
fallows from the. grafs, and manures it for wheat, by folding his
■ The land thus improved was originally heath, and even that
I .which was arable, produced moft miferable crops of a poor de-
pyenerate oat, and was upon the whole not worth two ihillings an
liiicre; but in its prefent improved ftate is worth twenty, and the
jfenants would live twice as well as before the improvement.
■ Some of the fields have been fallowed from heath, and fown
; .with wheat, and produced large crops. One field of thirty-four
|apres, which had been moftly heath, was the firft year fallowed,
■rained, cleared of the ftones, limed, See. and fown with wheat,
Bhich produced in the London, market two hundred and feventy
Bounds, clear of all expences. Mr. Barclay has lately ereited a
Bill for fine flour, the only one in the county, which fully an-
B ers, and has ferved to encourage marry of his neighbors to fow
B cat where it was never known to be raifed before. At prelent
Bar eight hundred bolls are annually produced within ten miles
p the place.
X The