TO HIS GARDENER 



87 



XXX 



Charles, — We have had a Winter of frost and Snow. If 15 March i74§. 

 mild weather comes you'l have a quick spring after it. 

 Forward fruit and other forward things will certainly be cut 

 off by this Winter, tho' you'l suffer less than had it come 

 later. 



I fear it will cut the Wheat, and even the grass where any 

 Spring may suffer which will appear by changing the deep 

 green to a dead brown. It will also have been severe upon 

 Chickens Lambs and the like if not taken particular care of. 

 You should tell me if the Lambs are Ewes or Rams. 



You tell me you have set one hen for my Wife, and you say 

 she has three fine muf't and top'd hens. Get as soon as you 

 can a setting of 9 Eggs all of muf't and top'd hens only, and 

 set them for her under the first hen that will sit. If you'l 

 keep the Eggs covered carefully in Bran and turn the Eggs 

 carefully every day they '1 keep for some time till a Hen sits. 

 Care makes a great deal of difference in things thriving or not. 

 Give Robertson a Setting of good Eggs that he may have a 

 stock of good chickens for keeping and let him particularly 

 keep a good muft and topM Cock, as I hope you '1 do yourself. 

 A Bad Cock will spoil all the Breed. 



1 This is good antique grammar. It refers to an expression in letter for 

 6th November 1742, 'where . . . the Shades (sheds) were.' Here we have 

 R. L. Stevenson's kindly broad Lothian dialect coming out. 



