92 BRITISH RURAL LIFE AND LABOUR. 



steward, the head ploughman (sometimes called ' plough- 

 man steward ') often acts in that capacity, or as foreman 

 or under-steward, if a head steward is employed. He 

 has always a responsible position, as he has to look after 

 the work of the other ploughmen and see that they give 



S roper care and attention to their horses and their work, 

 n a large farm the ploughmen are classified as first 

 horsemen, second horsemen, and third horsemen, the 

 last class being frequently lads or ' halflins.' Each horse- 

 man has not only to work his pair of horses in the field, 

 but to feed and generally look after them whether in the 

 stables or out in the fields. In arable districts the horsemen 

 form the considerably larger portion of the farm servants, 

 the proportion of orramen being, perhaps, one to six or 

 seven horsemen. The orramen, or 'spade hinds,' as they 

 sometimes are called in the Lothians the Lothians are 

 Haddington (East Lothian), Edinburgh (Mid Lothian), 

 and Linlithgow (West Lothian) do all the odd work, 

 hedge-cutting, draining, and heavy work in the fields 

 and steadings, which is more suitable for them than for 

 women. Generally speaking, the earnings of the orramen 

 do not differ materially from those of ploughmen, but in 

 many cases they are a trifle lower. On some farms there 

 is a woman steward in charge of the women, or a leading 

 woman, who is paid a little extra to lead on the others 

 or, in other words, ' to make the pace.' Shepherds, or 

 herds, are an important class in Scotland. In the chief 

 sheep districts the calling is often hereditary. The sons 

 follow their fathers, being frequently employed on the 

 same farm from boyhood, and the flock, or ' hirsel,' as it 

 is called in some districts, not unfrequently passes to their 

 charge. The reasons for their remaining in their situations 

 for long periods are generally the same as those given in 

 the case of the Northumbrian shepherds (p. 17). On some 

 of the large sheep farms in the Highlands a number of 

 shepherds are kept. Single shepherds are often boarded 

 by the married men, who either get allowances of food 

 for them, extra cash, or else are paid directly by the men 

 who are boarded. Each shepherd has his own ' hirsel ' 

 to look after. If the land is unenclosed, as it often is 

 in some of the Highland districts, he may frequently have 

 to go long distances after his flock ; and when there are 

 snowstorms and he has to search for buried sheep, his 

 work is exceptionally heavy. The work of shepherds is 

 also necessarily arduous at the lambing season, and when 

 engaged at such operations as washing, dipping, clipping, 

 smearing, and ' speaning/ i.e. weaning or separating 

 the lambs from the ewes. Hill shepherds have also 

 sometimes to mow and make hay for their flock, and in 

 this they are usually assisted by their families. It is 

 a common practice for northern hill farmers to send their 

 hogs in the winter to the arable districts nearer the east 



