Chiefs of Grant > Correspondence

SIR ARCHIBALD GRANT OF MONYMUSK. 443
imposers of it. They enjoy roads more than the rich, and saveitig labour by easy carriage is
immense gain to them.
The rich should have comfortable houses, and large gardens stocked with fruit, great
and small ; and each farm a inclosure for planting, in proportion to its size, for shelter to
cattle, etc. ; and wood for use of farm, they mantaining stock, which will also warm and
beautifye the whole country ; firs for shelter, but mixed with oak, beetch, birch, ash, elm,
liburnum, holly, thorn, and poplars, and saughs for wett land ; and each tennant, great and
small, bound to plant yearly, after first, second, or third years, and to mantain them, under
penalt} r s of sixpence each and their growing values, a fixed number of those.
All who incline the improvement of the country, or their own estate, will carefully
avoid too much land being in the possession of one man, or even his haveing many slaves
under him. But though this rule is established by long experience, it admitts of reasonable
exceptions upon speciall circumstances — e.g., where gentlemen, or even farmers of some more
than common substance or ingenuity, incline husbandry as a science and trade, they should
be encouraged by chances of uncommon profite, from pretty large tracks of land, provided
they came under regulations to inclose and plant, and settle proportionable sub-tennants upon
the farm in a limited time.
There is no need of regulations in husbandry if two-thirds of arrable land be always in
grass for pasture and hay — not above one-fourth in hay. Proper management will easily in
consequence occur ; and the tennant will soon have more grain and straw, and of better
quallity, and not depend totally on grain for rent ; and never to overstock pasture is the most
prudent and profitable measure.
To encourage to good houses, yards, incloseing, etc. — If possessor is not able to advance
the mony, the heritor ought to do it at moderate interest, his own land being best security
for mony, and such encrease of rent, the cheapest purchase ; and if the farm cannot bear
the sinking of mony for such things, the cost limited, or value at issue of lease as
determined by Shiriff, should then be repaid, and all leases to assignes, to make them
mercantile, which much encourages industry, and persons of ingenuity and substance to
become farmers, for which purpose also, and likewise to preclude arguments about the
anuall value of the farme, lett the tennant have frequent options of removall upon year's
nottice, but heritor bound for the whole agreed term.
To promote and enable to improvements, the rent for the first few years of the lease
should be moderate, rather below than at racked value, and encrease gradually at each four
or five years, and option to remove as above at each encrease.
Heritor should keep one or two good staillions, ditto bulls, bores, rams, and jack-ass
for mules, to allow to his tennants gratis, or for easy payments, to improve brood, which are
much degenerated. Even poultry, and by same charge and trouble, may be much more
valuable, and a commodity for sale.