70 ORMISTOUN'S LETTERS 



expected from the whole. I reckon this weather has checked 

 the Wheat Tares and Grass and that none of them look so 

 fresh as upon Saturday senight. A little warm weather will 

 recover all and will bring up the pease and Oats ^ lately sown. 

 The clay land will require some dry days to make it fit for labour 

 and Groping. A little march dust will come seasonably, and 

 I wish none may neglect it if it come, for fear of wet again. 

 A late Seed time makes a late harvest, which seldom proves a 

 good one. Besides it leaves no time for many things for our 

 service between that and Winter, which we should do. 



I long to hear of the Haining being finished and the 

 Nurseries put into order. As the numbers of plants in it now 

 lessen every year I expect what remain have room and all of 

 it is in good order. English Elms are now the chief I would 

 have propagated, so lay all you can and take care of what are 

 taken off. I wrote before not to take ofl' what are not well 

 rooted. 



Pray do my Wife's fowls prosper and thrive. How do the 

 Hogs ^ look ? 



24 Feby. 1741. 



XXII 



3 March 174$. Charles, — The chief reason for my writing is to send the 

 enclosed List of Seeds which went this morning with Sir 

 Ch: Gilmour. 



You wrote that Lowther had sent you little Leek Seed, so I 

 wrote by penny post to desire him, if possible to get and send 

 me a little more, and having no answer (you know we use 

 many Leeks in Soups when you have plenty) I called at 

 Switeser's Shop^ in Westminster Hall, having got a List of 



1 Winter wheat was sown then in October, and now, end of February, in 

 braird. Pease and oats, sown here early in February, were the staple crops of 

 the tenants, who had scarce any wheat and rarely saw wheaten bread. See 

 p. 18. Cockburn writes to Wright {1725), ' I am of your opinion that you may 

 come to make wheat and rye bread as cheap as peas.' 



2 Young sheep fattening. 



^ Schweizer, a German. Westminster Hall and St. Paul's were open resorts 

 for business. At one time it was the same outside the bar in Parliament House, 

 Edinburgh. Here Lord Cockburn bought his first skates. 



