ABSTRACT
In June 1845 Loch had claimed in his own defence that there had been no calamitous famine in Sutherland since 1817. In the following November the first fears of the potato blight were reported from the Highlands. During that winter there was little panic, and the disease does not appear to have caught hold of Sutherland crops. But great care was taken to persuade the people to preserve their potato seed for the coming season.
