212 FIELD AND FERN. 



from the range of the Grampians ; and this system 

 begins at Girdleness, and continues along the coast, 

 and through the Mearns as well. " The little men of 

 the Mearns" have arable farms of between two and 

 four hundred acres. They breed very few cattle, 

 and buy what they want in the Falkirk trysts or North 

 of Aberdeen, mostly two-year-olds, to finish and turn 

 off" at three. Blackfacedwedders are sometimes bought 

 and turniped along the coast ; but farmers in these 

 parts, as a general thing, do very little with sheep 

 on their own account. The Southdowns, which we 

 had almost lost sight of since Gordon Castle, except 

 at Mr. Walker's in the Aberdeen district, began to 

 rear their heads again as we drew nearer to Keillor, 

 once their great Scottish stronghold. Mr. Garland 

 of Cairnton breeds and sells tups of the sort, as well 

 as Leicesters. The latter are used to draft Cheviot 

 ewes from Sutherlandshire, and at Fetteresso near 

 Stonehaven the blackfaces have been crossed most 

 successfully with the Southdown. Two blood sires, 

 Champ Fleury (so called after a celebrated West- 

 Lothian meet), and Cortes by Alarm (bred by Mr. 

 Greville and the sire of Jessie), travel about here, 

 but it is not much of a horse district, and the youngest 

 farmers continue faithful to life in a gig. 



Mr. Arthur Glennie, who has, in proportion, nearly 

 as large a practice as judge at shows in Scotland as 

 " Mr. Baron Unthank" in England, farms Fernyflatt 

 which lies between the sea and the road. He breeds 

 a few good polls, and feeds off annually, among 



