80 ORMISTOUN^S LETTERS 



It is a common wise practice which proceeds from their wise 

 heads and noble way of thinking in Scotland, that if any thing 

 is made look ugly, or if neat is spoiled in dressing, it is thrift.^ 

 Losing a hog for a halfpenny worth of Tar is with them a 

 mark of judgment. How many instances do you see daily (if 

 you look about you) of pounds being lost by saving as many 

 shillings which if laid out to purpose in doing what they were 

 about completely, would have made it by so many pounds 

 better. I don't thoroughly understand what it is that you tell 

 me Mr. Yool desires. If drawn upon paper I shall judge 

 better and if I see no material objection I'll be ready to serve 

 him. Tell him that I wrote to Mr. Tod upon receipt of his 

 and I had an answer telling me he would serve Mr. Yoole the best 

 he can as I had wrote so strongly to him. The Quarry is very 

 deep in Tirring ^ you know, and so will prove expensive, but if 

 you, he and others will join, I won't refuse to let you have 

 Stones for the Working, provided you work it fairly without 

 spoiling of it. I am sorry to lose more of the trees, so I only 

 do this to encourage Building in the Town. Every good House 

 built in it adds to the Value of the rest, and if more houses 

 there would be more business of all kinds. 



Hereabout they have neither too much nor too little 

 moisture but the earth finely mellowed and in very good order. 

 I hope you planted some few Swedish firs in the Wood cut this 

 year if you had any proper for it. If you found the ground 

 wanted more moisture to enable them to make holes where the 

 old firs were, why did you not supply the Hedge row trees 

 down at the Town for which the season answers finely. Pray 

 think. Why did you not send to Kelso ^ a second time for an 

 answer.? Was the trouble great? Sure you are asleep. I 



^ Thrift on the part of the heritors, and not the Puritanism of the Presbyterian 

 Church, accounts for the ugly, mean parish churches. Pennant said, because the 

 Master was born in a stable, they thought it fit to worship Him in one. 



^ Removing the surface soil so as to expose the rock, still used as a technical 

 expression. There are traces of this quarry nearly opposite the old house and 

 in the bank of the dean. 



2 Professor Walker tells that there was at this time a nursery carried on by one 

 Dickson at Hassendean Burn in Teviotdale, which must be what is referred to 

 here. Near his death Dickson went over his books and found he had sold 

 enough trees to plant 38,000 Scottish acres. The * Swedish firs ' above were 

 spruces. 



