Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland

DEER FORESTS AND GROUSE MOORS.
In addition to this list there are about eighteen forests,
each containing an area exceeding 20,000 but below
30,000 acres. The largest holder appears to be the
Duke of Sutherland. The united forests of Her Majesty
the Queen extend over an area of 22,070 acres.
A considerable number of the Scottish deer forests
are let on leases to tenants; and according to the assess-
ment or rental, more than sixty are in the occupation
of persons other than their owners, at rents which vary
from ,£1000 to £4500 per annum. It is not possible
to[set down with accuracy the actual rents of the vari-
ous forests, but approximately the following figures
denote the annual value of some of the highest-rented
areas, including grazing and fishing: — Ballochbuie (Bal-
moral), £2393; Invercauld, £2000; Mar, £4000; Black-
mount, £4500; Invermark, £3500; Ardverikie, £3000;
Balmacaan, £2700; Ben Alder, £1500; Ceannacroc,
£2500; Glenfeshie and Invereshie, £3800; Glenstrath-
farrar, £5750; Glenquoich, £3022; Athole, £3500;
Auchnashellach, Coulin, etc., £2250; Applecross,
£2200; Kinlochluichart, £3000; Letterewe and Fisher-
field, £2370; and Strathconan, £2500. Estimating
these sums of rent by the extent of acreage, it will be
seen that the forest of Mar is valued at Is. per acre,
Blackmount at about Is. 3d., Glenstrathfarrar at a
little over 2s., Ceannacroc at nearly Is. 6d., which shows
an average of about Is. 6d. At this rate the rental of
the deer forests in Scotland would be a little over
£148,000, for which nothing is obtained but the privi-
lege of shooting so many deer. The following estimate
has been made of the number of stags which it is cal-
culated the forests in the counties named will yield: —
Forfar, .... 200
Inverness, . . . 1500
Perth, .... 300
Ross and Cromarty, 1300
Sutherland, . . 250
making in all 4377 stags, which if estimated at the
regulation price of fifty guineas would mean a rental of
very nearly £230,000 a year. But the price quoted
includes various other items of expenditure than the
rent, large sums being expended in wages and the exer-
cise of hospitality; so that in all likelihood a sum equal
to the rent is spent every season by the tenant of a deer
forest. Various reliable figures bearing on this point
were stated during the inquiry into the condition of the
crofters and cottars in the Highlands and Islands of
Scotland. One gentleman who was examined men-
tioned that his expenditure in a period of eighteen
years amounted to £l05,000, or more than £5000 per
annum. Sir John Ramsden had expended a total sum
of £180,000. Large sums are constantly being ex-
pended in repairs and improvements, greatly to the
benefit of the resident population; planting, building,
and earthwork are always being executed, whilst there
is a constant demand for ghillies and labourers, all of
whom are drawn from the crofter class, who greatly pre-
fer such employment. 'The number of persons per-
manently employed in connection with deer forests as
compared with sheep farms is about the same, the per-
sons employed all the year round being foresters in the
one case and shepherds in the other, and in regard to
temporary or occasional employment the advantage is
in favour of deer forests.'
With reference to the contention that the ground
occupied by deer would be more profitably devoted to
the grazing of sheep, seeing that the weight of meat
derived from venison only amounts to one-fifth of the
mutton displaced, it has been argued that the whole
matter resolves itself into one of rental, and that if the
land brings Is. 6d. per acre as a deer forest no proprietor
could be expected to accept only half of that amount for
1708
Aberdeen, . .
. 400
Argyll, . . .
. 250
Banff, . . .
. 65
Caithness, . .
. 100
Dumbarton,
12
it as a sheep walk. This has been made a sentimental
question, but as a matter of fact it takes on an average
five acres of land in the deer-forest regions of the High-
lands to graze one sheep. The sheep fed in the four
Highland counties during 1893 were as follows: —
Argyll,. . . 1,042,0431 Ross & Cromarty, . 333,778
Inverness, . . 672, 562 1 Sutherland, . .209,265
or a total number of 2,257,548. The loss to the commun-
ity (from the non-feeding of more sheep) is not only in-
significant but almost inappreciable; while, owing to the
large proportion of wool from abroad, the additional
supply of home-grown wool would be altogether unim-
portant if the area now occupied by deer were devoted
to sheep.
Grouse. — Grouse are most plentiful in the northern
counties, and particularly in Perthshire, which is famed
for the abundance and fine quality of its birds. We
are unable to state the precise number of grouse moors
in Scotland, as in some instances two or more are occu-
pied by one tenant, whilst in some cases a large area
may be divided into two or more shootings; but in all
probability there are not less than 2400 shootings, in
addition to the 110 deer forests. In the county of
Perth there are at least 400 sporting estates, and the
game-rental of that county exceeds to-day the sum of
the whole game-rental of Scotland as it was assessed
half a century since, about which period an extensive
area of moorland could be had for about one-fifth of the
money it costs to-day. The grouse harvest lasts from
the 13th of August to the 10th of December inclusive,
in the course of which time it has been estimated that
during a plentiful season as many as from 800,000 to
900,000 single birds will be shot. That this estimate
is not at all exaggerated may be judged from some of
the individual bags. In Perthshire ten brace of grouse
to each 100 acres may be calculated upon ; on the Moor
of Tulchan the kill in sixteen or seventeen days was
2000 birds. If each of the 2400 grouse moors of
Scotland were to yield on an average only 200 brace
of birds, the total number would, of course, be 480,000
brace, or 960,000 single grouse.
It is somewhat curious that, notwithstanding the
prodigious annual slaughter of these birds, the number
to be killed seems constantly to increase, till some kind
of check takes place, such as the mysterious disease,
which thins down the birds. The number of breeding
birds required to provide such a supply of grouse as has
been indicated, must of necessity be large, considering
the constant mortality which is incident to the life of
all wild animals. The breeding power of this bird of
the heather Is considerable. Each nest yields probably
seven young ones, and as the parent grouse take great
care of their young, most of the birds arrive at matu-
rity. The exact number of moorfowl that a given
expanse of heather will feed and breed is not well
understood; some shootings are much more populous
than others, the conditions of life being more favour-
able, food and shelter abundant, and enemies fewer.
To all appearance the number of grouse which now
reach the markets is very largely in excess of the quan-
tity shot some years ago. During the first few days of
every season the markets become glutted by the arrival
of birds in tens of thousands, consigned to the big
dealers of London, Liverpool, and Manchester, for im-
mediate sale to the retail poulterers. Gentlemen who
lease grouse moors have no alternative but to sell their
birds, as they cannot possibly dispose of them in any
other way. But no profit can be obtained by such sales.
As already mentioned, it is calculated that each brace
shot costs the lessee of a moor £1, but it is open to
question if for all he sends to market he will receive
more than 2s. each; whilst, in the case of a glut, 2s. 6d.