"It is our opinion that provisions should be framed, under which the crofting cla.s.s would be protected against any diminution, for the purpose of afforestment, of arable or pasture area now in their possession, and by which the areas which might hereafter form the most appropriate scene for expanding cultivation and small holdings, should be preserved from curtailment; if this were done, the interests of the cla.s.s for whom we are specially concerned would be effectually secured."
Grouse shooting is of course a sport largely indulged in by sportsmen tenants in Gairloch, as in other parts of the Highlands. Grouse are not so abundant on the west coast moorlands as in some other districts. This is princ.i.p.ally due to two causes,--the larger proportion of bent-gra.s.s and rushes to heather, which is the food of grouse; and the cold hail and rain which often occur just at the time the grouse are hatching.
There is one compensation, viz., the grouse disease does not appear so frequently, nor wreak such wholesale destruction, on Gairloch moors as on other better stocked grounds elsewhere. In many years nearly all the first nests produce no young birds, so that by the Twelfth "cheepers"
are still abundant, and it is far pleasanter to defer grouse shooting until a fortnight later.
The delights and the healthfulness of grouse shooting have been favourite subjects of sporting writers. There are few peculiarities in grouse shooting in Gairloch. Perhaps it is worth mention that mixed bags are more frequent here than in many districts, and this is especially true in the latter part of the season, which by-the-by yields out and away the most enjoyable and invigorating sport. It is a pity that so many sportsmen from the south run away to their partridges and pheasants, and leave untouched and unenjoyed the very pick of Highland sport. Many sportsmen, even of some experience, would be surprised to find how well grouse lie to dogs on the west coast up to the very last day of the season. In and after October the following varieties may be added to the bag of grouse, viz., woodc.o.c.k, snipe, wild duck, teal, golden plover, rock-pigeon, hares, and rabbits. Of course black game and partridges are also frequently met with, as well as roe-deer.
Grouse and ptarmigan are shot in all the deer forests of Gairloch. There are only three separate grouse shootings in the parish, viz., those attached to Inveran, Poolhouse, and Drumchork.
List of Books and MSS. quoted or referred to.
BEAUTIES OF GAELIC POETRY. By JOHN MACKENZIE.
BENNETSFIELD MS.
BISHOP R. FORBES" JOURNALS, AND CHURCH IN ROSS. By Rev. J.
B. CRAVEN, 1886.
BLAEU"S MAP OF THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND, 1660.
BRITISH BIRDS. By WILLIAM YARRELL, V.P.L.S., F.Z.S.; revised and enlarged by NEWTON and SAUNDERS; completed 1885.
BRITISH LICHENS. By W. LAUDER LINDSAY, M.D., &c., 1856.
BRITISH WILD FLOWERS, ill.u.s.trated by JOHN E. SOWERBY; with Supplement by SALTER and SOWERBY, 1876.
BRONZE WEAPONS AND OTHER REMAINS FOUND NEAR POOLEWE. By WILLIAM JOLLY, F.G.S., F.R.S.E.
BURT"S LETTERS FROM THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND (1726). Reprinted 1876.
CARMEN POOLEVIENSE. By H. F. WILSON, M.A., &c., Cambridge, 1885.
CELTIC MAGAZINE. Edited by ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, F.R.S.
DESCRIPTION OF THE WESTERN ISLANDS OF SCOTLAND. By MARTIN MARTIN, _circa_ 1695; reprinted 1884.
DOUGLAS"S PEERAGE.
DR SCOTT"S FASTI ECCLESIae SCOTICANae.
EARLY RECORDS RELATING TO MINING IN SCOTLAND. Collected by R. W. COCHRAN-PATRICK, M.P., LL.B. Cantab., F.S.A. Scot., &c., 1878.
ETTRICK SHEPHERD"S WORKS. Revised by Rev. THOMAS THOMSON, 1873.
GAELIC TOPOGRAPHY OF SCOTLAND. By Colonel JAMES A.
ROBERTSON, F.S.A. Scot., 1869.
GENEALOGICAL ACCOUNT OF THE MACRAES. By Rev. JOHN MACRAE, who died 1704.
GENERAL SURVEY OF THE COUNTIES OF ROSS AND CROMARTY. By Sir GEORGE STEUART MACKENZIE of Coul, 1810.
GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE.
GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES AT HOME AND ABROAD. By ARCHIBALD GEIKIE, LL.D., F.R.S.
GEORGE JAMESONE, THE SCOTTISH VANDYCK. By JOHN BULLOCK, 1885.
GUIDE TO THE ENGLISH LAKES. By HARRIET MARTINEAU.
GUIDE TO THE HIGHLANDS. By GEORGE and PETER ANDERSON.
HIGHLANDS AND WESTERN ISLES OF SCOTLAND. By JOHN MACCULLOCH, M.D., F.R.S., L.S.G.S., 1824.
HINTS FOR THE USE OF HIGHLAND TENANTS AND COTTAGERS. By Sir FRANCIS MACKENZIE, Bart. of Gairloch, published 1838.
HISTORY OF THE MACKENZIES. By ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, F.R.S., F.S.A. Scot.
HISTORY OF THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS AND ISLES OF SCOTLAND FROM A.D. 1493 TO A.D. 1625. By DONALD GREGORY, F.S.A. Scot., 1836.
LEABHAR NA FEINNE. By JOHN F. CAMPBELL of Islay.
LETTERFEARN MS. HISTORY OF THE MACKENZIES.
LETTERS FROM THE HIGHLANDS. Reprinted from the _Times_, 1884.
MACALPINE"S GAELIC DICTIONARY.
MANUFACTURE OF IRON IN GREAT BRITAIN. By GEORGE WILKIE, a.s.soc. Inst. C.E., 1857.
MAP OF "THE KINGDOME OF SCOTLAND." By JOHN SPEED, 1610.
MORE LEAVES FROM THE JOURNAL OF A LIFE IN THE HIGHLANDS. By HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA, 1883.
MY SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS. By HUGH MILLER.
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES FROM RUSSIAN ASIA. By A. H. M., FIELD, October, 1883.
ODD AND END STORIES OF DR JOHN MACKENZIE, Eileanach (in MS.).
ORIGINES PAROCHIALES SCOTIae. Vol. II.
PENNYLESSE PILGRIMAGE. By JOHN TAYLOR, printed 1633.