ABSTRACT
Agricultural change in Scotland during the eighteenth century, like that in many developing economies, occurred in two ways — in the structural base of farming (the organisation of estates and farms) and in the farming system (the mix of farming technology, knowledge, labour and capital). Throughout northern Europe the slopes of hill areas are traversed by a boundary between unreclaimed moorland and improved farmland. In Scotland the boundary is often a distinct one between natural vegetation and sown crops; but sometimes it may comprise a more gradual transition from degraded pasture invaded by sedge and bracken to closely grazed rough grassland. Because of this there is a need for precise definition of terms. The lack of an integrated approach to landscape study has been responsible for the scant progress made, until quite recently, in reconstructing Scottish landscape history.
