practice is immemorial in Zetland.

'The merks are divided into different classes, such as
, and merks. These are
arbitrary numbers, employed to designate certain differences in
the rents of the merks, according to their size and produce. Thus
nine-penny merks should be more valuable than six-penny merks,
and twelve-penny more so than nine-penny. But these distinctions,
although rounded, no doubt, originally on real differences, are at
present very inaccurate measures of the relative value of the
different classes of merks; for sometimes happens that a six-penny
merk is as large and productive as a twelve-penny one. . .

'The lands in the different towns generally lie, ,
intimately mingled together, which not only [Page 3 rpt.] creates
frequent disputes, but prevents the more industrious tenants from
making smaller enclosures...

'The ground is divided into what is called and
. The outfield is the land which has been last brought
into a state of cultivation, and in most parts the soil is mossy. It is
sown generally with oats. The infield, on the contrary, has been
long in a state of culture, and it produces barley, called in Zetland
bear, and potatoes. The outfield is seldom well drained, although
it might be easily done without any additional trouble or expense.
Thus, when cutting peat for fuel, which is often done within the
dyke, instead of doing this in parallel lines, leaving a considerable
space between them to become a future corn-field, the people cut
in every direction, disfigure the ground, and very often form
reservoirs for water to accumulate in. The outfield is allowed to