The crops raised by the crofters are almost exclusively oats and potatoes; a little barley and some turnips are also grown. Besides their arable land the crofters have the right of grazing cattle and sheep on specified areas of moorland, or "hill" as it is called. The average stock of each crofter in Gairloch is two or three cows, one stirk, and five to ten sheep; a few horses or ponies are also kept. There are now four hundred and forty-two crofters on the Gairloch estate of Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, who pay an average rent, including common pasture, of £3 15s 5d, and have on an average three and a quarter acres of arable land. On the estates of the late Mr Bankes there are one hundred and one crofters, paying an average rent of £5 2s 2d for four and a quarter acres of arable land and the hill pasture. Of course each crofter has a dwelling-house, besides byre and barn, mostly very humble structures. The average number of persons residing on each croft is five. The crofters live in communities called townships, and the "hill" is occupied in common by each township; a herd boy is usually employed by the township to herd the cattle and sheep. Few of the crofters have ploughs; they work their crofts by means of the "cas-chrom" (_see illustration_). A southerner might well be pardoned for disbelieving that such a primitive and ancient instrument should still exist and be used in Great Britain; nevertheless hundreds of cas-chroms may be seen in use within the parish of Gairloch every April and May. The cas-chrom is generally, but not universally, condemned; no doubt it is a slow process to turn over a plot with this simple and ungainly-looking implement, but some argue that if properly used it is effective in getting at the sub-soil. The following extracts from Sir G. S. Mackenzie's "General Survey," and Sir Francis Mackenzie's "Hints," bear on our present subject:--