284 THE IMAGE OF WAR 



is here, practically invariably, of the Scotch fir (by 

 the way, this and whisky seem to be the only two 

 things it is permissible to call " Scotch " and not 

 *' Scottish " or " Scots " nowadays) variety, and a 

 heavy ish horse can generally be trusted to smash 

 it rather than turn over — if he only hits it hard 

 enough. One thing I may add, as one who, like 

 Mr Jorrocks, has " na carle to ride for rayputation," 

 and that is, that in the matter of gate -fastenings 

 the country is deplorably provided. Only on one 

 estate did I notice a proper hunting latch ; but the 

 usual arrangement is a hook on the end of a chain — a 

 device I have never seen used elsewhere. When I say 

 that, in addition to this, the gates generally have 

 a little piece of barbed wire nailed along them — 

 I presume to prevent cattle rubbing the hook out 

 of the staple it fits into — it is hardly necessary to 

 remark how much work this arrangement gives the 

 recording angel. To complete this picture, I may add 

 that the gate is quite unjumpably high — I ought per- 

 haps to add " for one of my kidney," but I did not see 

 one jumped during the season — and the take-off, 

 generally, a mass of big, loose stones collected off the 

 nearest field before ploughing. The other gate of the 

 country is a " heave-gate," frankly not to be opened 

 from the saddle, but usually jumpable. 



That there is much arable goes without saying, for 

 Scottish land that is not moor and knows not the 

 plough is always the exception. The rotation sj^stem 

 of the district, however, which gives one year's corn 

 and one of roots to four of grass (less on the best 

 land), reduces this drawback a good deal. On the 

 other hand, it accounts for the good upkeep of the 

 fences enclosing the arable ; and whilst, in other 



