fo contrived, because the harvest is seldom brought home dry, as by perpetual perflation to prevent the mow from heating

Of their gardens I can judge only from their tables. I did not observe that the common greens. were wanting, and fuppofe, that by choofing an advantageous expofition, they can raise all the more hardy efculent plan:s. Of vegetable fragrance or beauty they are not yet ftudious. Few vows are: made to Flora in the Hebrides..

They gather a little hay, but the grafs is mown late; and is fo often almoft dry and again very wet, before it is houfed, that it becomes a collection of withered ftalks without tafte or fragrance; it must be caton by cattle that have nothing this bun by moft English fara e-s would be thrown away.

In the iflands I have not heard that any fubterraneous treasures have been difcovered, though, where there are mountains, there are commonly minerals. One of the rocks in Col has a black vein, imagined to confst of the ore of lead; but it was. never yet opened or effayed. In Sky a black mais was accidentally picked up, and brought in to the houfe of the owner of the land, who found himself ftrongly inclined to think it a coal, but unhappily it did not burn in the chimney. Common ores would be here of no great value; for what requires to be feparated by fire, muft, if it were found, be carried away in its mineral ftate, here being no fewel for the finelting-houfe or forge.

Perhaps.

Perhaps by diligent fearch in this world of ftone,'. fome valuable fpecies of marble might be difcovered. But neither philofophical curiofity, nor commercial industry, have yet fixed their abode here, where the importunity of immediate want fupplied but for the day, and craving on the morrow, has left little room for excurfive knowledge or the pleafing fancies of diftant profit:

They have lately found a manufacture confiderably lucrative. Their rocks abound with kelp, a fea-plant, of which the afhes are melted into glafsi They burn kelp in great quantities, and then fend itaway in fhips, which co.ne regularly to purchase : them. This-new fource of riches has raised the rents of many maritime farms; but the tenants pay, like all other tenants, the additional rent with great unwillingness; because they confider the profits of the kelp as the mere product of perfonal labour, to which the landlord contributes nething.. However, as any man may be faid to give what he gives the power of gaining, he has certainly as much right to profit from the price of kelp as of any thing elfe found or raifed upon his ground.

This new trade has excited a long and eager li tigation between Macdonald and Macleod, for a ledge of rocks, which, till the value of kelp was known, neither of them' defired the reputation of poffeffing

The cattle of Sky are not fo fmall as is commonly believed. Since they have fent their beeves in

great numbers to fouthern marts, they have proba bly taken more care of their breed. At ftated times the annual growth of cattle is driven to a fair, by a general drover, and with the money which he returns to the farmer, the rents are paid.

The price regularly expected, is from two to three pounds a head: there was once one føld for five pounds. They go from the iflands very lean, and are not offered to the butcher till they have been long fatted in English paftures.

Of their black cattle, fome are without horns, called by the Scots humble cows, as we call a beean humble bee, that wants a fting. Whether this difference be fpecific, or accidental,, though we enquired, with great diligence, we could not be informed. We are not very fure that the bull is ever without horns, though we have been told that fuch bulls there are. What is produced by putting a horned and an unhorned male and female together, no man has ever tried, that thought the refult worthy of obfervation.

Their horfes are, like their cows, of a moderate fize. I had no difficulty to mount-myfelf.commodiously by the favour of the gentlemen.. I heard of very little cows in Barra, and very little horfesin Rum,, where, perhaps no eare is taken to prevent that diminution of fize, which must always happen, where the greater and lefs copulate pro

mifcuously, and the young animal is restrained from growth by penury of fuftenance.

The goat is the general inhabitant, of the earth, complying with every difference of climate, and of foil. The goats of the Hebrides are like others: nor did I hear any thing of their fheep to be particularly remarked.

In the penury of these malignant regions, nothing is left that can be converted to food. The goats and the sheep are milked like cows, A fingle meal of a goat is a quart, and of a fheep a pint. Such, at least, was the account, which I could extract from thofe of whom I am not fure that they ever had inquired.

The milk of goats is much thinner than that of cows, and that of fheep is much thicker. Sheeps milk is never eaten before it is boiled: as it is thick, it must be very liberal of curd, and the people of St Kilda form it into finall cheeses.

The ftags of the mountains are lefs than thofe of our parks, or forefts, perhaps not bigger than our fallow deer. Their fleth has no rankness, nor is inferior in flavour to our common venifon. The roebuck, I neither faw nor tafted. These are not countries for a regular chafe. The deer are not driven with horn and hounds. A fportfman, with his gun in his hand, watches the animal, and when he has wounded him, traces him by the blood.

They have a race of brinded greyhounds larger

and

and ftronger than those with which we courfe hares, and thofe are the only dogs.ufed by them for the chafe..

Man is by the ufe of fire-arms made fo much an overmatch for other animals, that in all coun tries, where they are in ufe, the wild part of the creation fenfibly diminishes. There will probably not be long either flags or roebucks in the islands. All the beafts of chafe would have been loft longago in countries well inhabited; had they not been preferved by laws for the pleasure of the rich.

There are in Sky neither rats nor mice, but the weafel is fo frequent, that he is heard in houfes rattling behind chefts or beds, as rats in England. They probably owe to his predominance that they have no other verinin för since the great rat took poffeffion of this part of the world, fcarce a fhip can touch at any port, but fome of his race are left behind. They have within thefe few years began to infeft the ifle of Col, where, being left by fome trading veffel, they have increafed for want of weafels to oppose them.

Σ

The inhabitants of Sky, and of the other iflands, which I have feen, are commonly of the middle ftature, with fewer among them very tall or very fhort, than are fen in England, or perhaps, as their numbers are fall, the chances of any deviation from the common measure are neceffarily few. The tallest men that I faw among them are of the