greatest consequence in the harvest-time, the grounds Agricul lying very low; and as now most of the farmers feed their cows and horses on cut clover in the house, the inclosures are of little use. The farmers, therefore, give as much rent for the uninclosed lands as for those that are inclosed. In those parts of the district where the grounds are alternately tilled and laid down for pasture, the farmers are very willing to pay well for the inclosing. Some pay from seven one-half to ten per cent. for the money laid out on the fences. Of late years a great quantity of such lands has been inclosed. Indeed it is a little surprising that there has not been still more done, as the encou ragement is so great. Dry stone walls are frequently used, but hedges and ditches are most common. The men who are employed in building walls for inclosing fields are called here, and in the northern parts of the country, cowans, to distinguish them from the regular masons. This district cannot be said to be well wooded. It is Woods supposed by many that the name Ochils is a corruption of the word Oakhills; and that these mountains, which form the northern district of the country, were once covered with oak. Upwards of forty years ago, Lord Alva, one of the lords of session, who was then praprietor of the barony of Alva, attempted to plant a part of a very steep and rocky hill which rises to a great height immediately at the back of the house. For a considerable time the trees made but little progress. Their growth was either retarded from the height of the mountain, and its being much exposed to the south-west wind, and the thinness of the soil; or, what is more probable, the young trees were often damaged by the sheep, which constantly trespassed on the plantation whenever the snow had covered the fence made to protect it from their depredations. However, of late years, the trees make a ture. trees. Agricul- better appearance. But although the gentleman who pur chased the estate from Lord Alva made additions annually to the plantations, yet he did not pay that constant attention to them that such an undertaking requires; so that as yet there is no appearance of trees near the summit of of the hill. His son, who succeeded him in his estate, has, however, been more attentive, and has annually replaced such plants as failed; and it is hoped that, by persevetance, the very summit may in time be covered with fine When that period arrives, a great extent of country will enjoy the beauty they must give to the rest of the hills. The natural woods of the county are few in number, and of no great extent, altogether not exceeding 400 or 500 Scottish acres. There is nothing remarkable in the management of them, but that they are too much neglected after they are cut; for they are at the very first but ill fenced, and scarcely any attention paid to them afterwards. Notwithstanding of this neglect, there are in some of the woods standards of a tolerable age and size. There is a barony in this county that still bears the name of the Forest of Clackmannan. There is nothing upon it now, excepting a copse of about fifteen Scottish acres. At the beginning of the late century, the last Earl of Marr was industrious in ornamenting his seat at Alloa with plantations; but having engaged in the rebellion of 1715, the misfortunes of his family prevented their being thinned in proper time. During the American war, however, they were thinned a second time, and oaks of six or seven feet in circumference were sold. Before the middle of the late century, also, 158 acres of poor land, which was then rented at L. 40 Scots, equal to L. 3: 6: 8 Sterling, were planted at Tullibodie mostly with firs. Within the forty years, the son of the proprietor began to cut them; they brought at an average L.50 Sterling per acre, being undoubtedly both the least troublesome and the most profitable mode of employing the land. Agricul ture. Farmers We shall here, to avoid repetition, take notice of a club. practice which takes place in all the best agricultural districts in Scotland, and is found highly beneficial; that is, the principal farmers of a certain district form themselves into a club, which meets periodically, for communicating professional information; and one of their efforts has of late years been directed towards the improvement of the important art of ploughing, by instituting trials of skill, Ploughing and small premiums for excellence. There is a club of matches. farmers who meet four times a-year in Alloa, at which some of the proprietors of land in the neighbouring parishes, who are members of the club, attend. About eighteen years ago the club established ploughing matches, with moderate premiums for the best ploughmen. Some weeks before the ploughing matches took place, advertisements were put up in all the parishes included in the district of the club, on the church-doors and marketplaces, inviting every farmer to make his appearance on a particular day, and requesting him to send an account to the secretary of the club, three days before the time appointed for the trial, of the number of ploughs that he intended to send. At the first trial there were twentyeight ploughs that appeared in the field: each ploughman was to plough two ridges; and a ridge was left unploughed between the several divisions, in order that the judges might more readily distinguish each man's work. Stakes were set upon each lot, and small pieces of board, on which the numbers were painted, tied to the top of the stakes. Similar numbers were put into a hat by the secretary, and the ploughmen drew them, and each ploughed the number he had drawn, the secretary having taken down the ploughmen's names, and the number that each Agricul of them had drawn. ture. The judges were farmers in the neighbourhood; but none of the judges were allowed to have any ploughmen as competitors for the prizes. They were not allowed to come near the field until every plough. man had left it; nor to see either the ploughmen or their masters until they had formed their opinion, and made their report to the club, who were assembled at a public house in the neighbourhood. When the judges had gi ven their report, the secretary examined his list, in order to find out the ploughmens names who had ploughed the numbers that were entitled to the premiums. The first premium was 15s. and a silver medal, which cost the club. 15s. The second best ploughman was entitled to 15s. in money; the third got 10s.; and the fourth and fifth got 5s. each. A good dinner was provided for the ploughmen in a neighbouring public house; but their keenness for priority made them inclined to disputes, and therefore this practice was altered; and now each ploughman, as soon as he has finished his two ridges, gets a good mutton-pie and a dram, and takes his horses home without delay. The gainer of the first premium is debarred from ploughing again in competition until such time as there shall have been as many silver medals given as to make up a number sufficient for having a ploughing match on purpose for the victors. The club object to no kind of ploughs, or any number of horses, as they are fully persuaded that those with four or three horses have little chance against the two-horse ploughs. At the first ploughing match, one of the members of the club had a good servant, who was however prepossessed in favour of three horses in the plough with a driver. The master sent him to make the trial, in hopes of convincing him and his other servants of their inferiority, and it succeeded; the whole of them being so ashamed of this man' ture. work as to make them ever since reject and give up ask- Agricul ing for a third horse or a driver. The club are anxious to procure farmers not concerned with the society as judges, in order to avoid giving the ploughmen any ground for suspecting partiality. The benefit which has accrued here, and every where else, was beyond the expectation of the most zealous promoters of the measure; and the ploughmen of this district in particular, from being notoriously unskilful in tillage, were speedily accounted equal to any in Scotland. When the measure was first pro posed, it was objected, in some counties, that it had a tendency to exalt the successful ploughmen too highly in their own eyes, and to induce them to demand a greater rate of wages than could be afforded. The objection was evi. dently groundless; because, if the superior skill of the individual did not render his labour deserving of an unusual reward, nobody would give that reward; whereas, if particular farmers thought fit to give extraordinary wages for the sake of obtaining ploughmen of unusual skill, they would only do so because the measure seemed profitable to themselves; in which case they would undoubtedly suffer no damage. In truth, however, none of these consequences followed from the ploughing matches; the only effect of them was to introduce a general emulation to excel in this art, in consequence of which the whole ploughmen of the district became more skilful than the gainers of the first prizes. This county contains two principal roads. The one Roade proceeds along the foot of the mountains by Alva, Tillycoultry, and Dollar; and the other, which is the chief, leading from Stirling to Dunfermline and Queensferry, proceeds along the Forth. On account of the vicinity of the best materials and firmness of the soil, the former of these roads has long been good; but the other, pro |