282 SHORTHORNS 



the senior's death. Mr Thomas Elder had been 

 tenant of the neighbouring farm of Stevenson Mains, 

 as it was then named, since 1889, and he bought the 

 farm over six years ago, shortly after the death 

 of the proprietor, Sir Robert Sinclair, and dropped 

 the " Mains." With his son, Mr Hugh Elder, as 

 joint -tenant of East Bearford, the family is now in 

 the fifth lease. It may be noted in passing that 

 Mr Thomas Elder's grandmother was one of the 

 Somervilles of Lampit, whose names are so familiar 

 to students of Clydesdale horse history. The old 

 racial trait admiration for a well-bred good animal 

 takes the Shorthorn course very specially in the 

 case of Mr Hugh Elder. 



Pleasantly set in the Tyne valley, Stevenson has 

 an extent of 400 acres arable and 60 acres of wood- 

 land. About two-thirds of the farm is of a some- 

 what stiff nature, the remainder being useful loam 

 over gravel. Part of the land is too sheltered in 

 some seasons for grain-growing, and a section which is 

 rather closed-in is down in old pasture. The steading, 

 which is an old one, has an excess of spreading out. 

 Stallion-boxes used by Mr Adam Smith, the previous 

 tenant, are now convenient for young bulls. Mr 

 Stevenson is erecting byres, and gradually altering 

 the buildings in general for the new conditions. 

 East Bearford is a very good general -purpose crop- 

 ping farm of 312 acres. The land is a sharp good 

 quality loam, and the steading is an excellent modern 

 one, originally intended for feeding stock, and easily 

 capable of being modified should it be considered 



