- 102 Notes and Sketches. 



years thereafter, it was not greatly in use as an article 

 of food in the North of Scotland. The turnip, which 

 had received earlier attention in Norfolk, seems to have 

 been introduced into Aberdeenshire about the year 

 1750. One of the Old Statistical writers says, " Mr. 

 Burnett of Kemnay is said to have been the first farmer 

 in the county of Aberdeen who raised turnips in the 

 fields ;" but he gives no date. The first time turnips 

 were seen in Kincardineshire was about 1754; and 

 ten years thereafter, in 1764, they were still so great 

 a rarity half an acre being deemed a large plot that 

 they were sold, by the few who grew them in small 

 quantities, at the rate of a penny the stone weight as 

 kitchen vegetables. 



Imported grass seeds had been sown in but very few 

 cases earlier than 1750. It was only about that date 

 that they began to be kept for sale in a few shops in 

 Aberdeen. Previously hay had been little known to 

 the farmer, and, where known at all, chiefly in the 

 form of indigenous meadow grass, dried more or less 

 skilfully, and not too succulent at its best. The stall 

 food of the poor pot-bellied " garrons " (horses) con- 

 sisted, to no inconsiderable extent, of dried thistles 

 a plant mistakenly understood to be the special prero- 

 gative of the ass ! 



The name of Sir Archibald Grant of Monymusk, in 

 Aberdeenshire, has been already mentioned. In all 

 schemes of improvement he was prominent, and one 

 special part of his operations was planting wood. 

 Dr. Anderson says Sir Archibald assured him " that 

 he alone had planted during his own lifetime upwards 

 of 48,000,000 of trees, and he lived several years after 

 that, and sent me word about two months after I saw 

 him that he had in that time planted 200,000 more." 

 Dr. Anderson expresses his belief that " no other 

 man ever existed on the globe who had planted so 

 many trees." The Earl of Fife and General Gordon 

 of Fyvie planted largely, General Gordon as many 



