The book Arran; - Cook Clan

176 THE BOOK OF ARRAN
be inclosed round, so as one man may not be hurt by the
encroachments of another farm's cattle.'
The proposed regulations as to the improvement of the
actual husbandry would appear also to have been only in
part put in practice. To cope with the terrible growth of
weeds, especially gule or corn-marigold (' that weed being
their inveterate enemy ' ^), arrangements were to be made
for supplying lime, by use of which too they might succeed
in securing plenty of good clover and rye-grass hay instead
of the coarse scanty natural pasture of old. Then all land
within the head dyke was to be divided into three parts,
not more than one of which was to be ploughed and sown,
the rest to lie under grass ; and not more than two crops
to be taken in succession. This, of course, was an effort to
break away from the old wasteful system of a continually
cropped infield or croft, and a spasmodically cropped out-
field. The eager improver is also fully sensible of the
desirability of raising the quality of the crops, and applies
for good seed barley, oats, and pease :
' If good grass were
raised and good cattle reared, there can be no better security
for rent, especially in a locked island.' But there emerges
no hope of subdividing the pastures ; it is trouble enough
to soum them properly, restricting each tenant to a reason-
able proportion of cattle.
One experience leads the diarist to the enunciation of
an unhappy prejudice. The lady who leased the Mill Hill
mill was £18 in arrears, and invited him to seize her estate
for the debt. He found on inquiry that all her goods and
gear would not at best bring in more than £6, and that
' this break is entirely owing to extravagancy and bad
management.' Therefore he comes to the resolution 'never
again to grant a lease of mills or land to womankind,' and
makes the best of a bad debt.
1 It was of all agricultural Scotland, as can be inferred even from Acts of the old
Scottish Parliament.