Auchlossan, a quondam lake in Aboyne and Lumphanan parishes, Aberdeenshire, adjacent to the Deeside Extension railway, 25 miles W by S of Aberdeen. It was partially drained near the close of the 17th century; it afterwards covered about 180 acres with open water, and about 60 with aquatic marsh; it abounded with various kinds of fish, including pike of unusual size and weight; it also was frequented by flocks of waterfowl, so plentifully as to be one of the best spots for duck shooting in the N of Scotland; and, at the same time, it was a nuisance to the surrounding country, exhaling so much noxious gas from decaying vegetation as to injure the salubrity of the climate. The Marquis of Huntly, Farquharson of Finzean, and Shaw of Auchinhove are proprietors of the lands around it; and in 1859 they jointly formed a plan to have it drained by a tenant under an advantageous lease of the loch itself, and of 180 contiguous acres of arable land. A tenant was not found till 1860, when Mr James W. Barclay got possession and commenced operations; and he proceeded with such success as to have upwards of 20 acres of the lake's bottom under an excellent crop of oats in 1863, and all the rest of the bottom under luxuriant crops of grain in 1868. The draining was done, partly by deep cutting, partly by tunnelling, partly by other operations, and cost upwards of £6000; but it proved abundantly compensating, and serves as a fine model for bold, sweeping, agricultural improvements. A black alluvial subsoil, becoming almost white on exposure to the atmosphere, was found to lie near the surface over all the bottom; and under the treatment which Mr Barclay gave it, proved to possess similar fertility to that of the virgin soils of the American prairies. Both the bulk of straw and the yield of grain in the crops raised upon it have been extraordinary. The straw of the year 1868 was sold for more than £500; and the grain weighed from 40 lb. to 44 lb. per bushel.
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