IN THE HIGHLANDS 43 



had been cut down, lie and I started counting tlie natural 

 rings on the stems of the trees, and found that they 

 averaged about two hundred and fifty years old. My 

 attention was drawn by Lord Elphinstone to the fact 

 that nearly every one of the trees had had a big auger- 

 hole bored into it just above the ground-level. He was 

 told by the old folk in the neighbourhood that these 

 holes had been bored by the Loch Carron people to 

 produce tar for their boats. We could see the marks 

 of the auger-holes in numbers of the trees that were still 

 standing, as well as in those that had been cut down. 



What far happier times those good old days were than 

 these we are living in now ! Even the seasons seemed 

 more " seasonable " and the summers far hotter. What 

 an abundance of cherries there was at Gairloch even in 

 my days in the forties and fifties, and these crops were 

 supposed to be degenerate in comparison with the grand 

 fruity years of the twenties ! There were about four or 

 five big trees of red early cherries and one of black late 

 Guines, and never did they seem to fail. No amount of 

 blackbirds, ring-ouzels, nor any number of boys and 

 girls, seemed to have the slightest effect on themx, and 

 they never, in my recollection, failed to be laden. At 

 long last, however, they had to give in to old age and 

 were blown down one by one; but though my elder 

 brother took great trouble to plant new ones of specially 

 good varieties, there has never, I believe, been another 

 cherry in the Baile Mor garden, the new kinds evident 1}^ 

 failing to suit the soil or climate. 



I now quote from my uncle as to the seasons in his 

 day : " What long, hot days we used to have then 



