Charles Hacket of Inver (unsay. Ill 



century laird. A small, compactly-built man, with 

 brownish-coloured coat, and worsted knee breeches, 

 knitted as were also the stockings that encased his 

 sturdy and somewhat " bowed " lower limbs by his 

 own wife. On his head, when in the sort of undress 

 that served for every-day home use, he wore a worsted 

 nightcap, or Kilmarnock cowl, underneath which 

 glowed his reddish visage and sharp twinkling eyes. 

 Such was the man, who, " docken " spade in hand, 

 strode about commanding everybody right and left, 

 and astonishing his jog-trot neighbours by the novelty 

 of his proceedings as an agriculturist. 



He sowed turnips first about 1750, and in those 

 days people came from the next parish, when harvest 

 was over, to buy them by the pound and stone weight 

 from his farm grieve, to be used as a dainty dish at 

 the " clyack " supper and other fit occasions. He 

 sowed at first broadcast, a practice which, although 

 given up earlier in some localities, prevailed pretty 

 commonly in Aberdeenshire down to the close of the 

 century, and even a little later. And he believed in the 

 broadcast method for the time, though not impervious 

 to argument on the subject. When drilling began to 

 be advocated, Hacket saw fit to forego the old practice 

 for a season in favour of it. The crop disappointed 

 his expectations, however, and in hot ire he exclaimed, 

 " Deil drill me aff-o' the earth if ever I drill again." 

 Yet he did drill again, not once but frequently, having 

 seen reason to change his opinion, while the arch 

 enemy took no immediate advantage of his rash utter- 

 ance. 



Racket's tenants, as was common in those days, 

 were bound to give certain personal services to their 

 landlord ; and these services included a day at turnip 

 hoeing. In order to compel the workers to keep 

 their eyes sufficiently near the ground to admit of the 

 plants being clearly seen, the regulation length of the 

 hoe handle was fixed at two feet and a half; and 



