224 The Naturalist of Cumbrae. 



mills. On the west side of Bressay he saw three mills 

 on the same stream not far distant from one another. 



" The machine," he says, " consisted of a vertical 

 wooden shaft, which might be about six feet in length, 

 the upper end of which was connected to the grinding 

 or mill-stones, while the lower end had four or more 

 blades attached in a line with the axis of the shaft. 

 The water was directed so that it would only act on 

 the blades on the one side of the shaft, giving it a 

 rotatory motion, which was communicated to the 

 horizontally placed grinding-stones, thus avoiding all 

 complicated and expensive machinery. No doubt a 

 vast amount of the lever power of modern water- 

 wheels is lost in the primitive Shetland contrivance. 

 Still, it was simple and ingenious, and at any rate was 

 a step in advance of the more primitive hand-quern. 

 A hut was built over the mill, having its floor over 

 the stream. None of the wheels were large, apparently 

 about seven or eight feet in diameter." 



Many of the natives kept a sheep or two to supply 

 their knitting-yarn, paying so much annually to the 

 farmers for "grassing" these animals. They did not 

 cut the wool off the creature, as is usually done, but, 

 at a particular season of the year, they tore it off. 



One day, as Mr. Robertson was taking a walk on 

 the moor, an incident happened which recalled the 

 experiences of his own shepherd-boy life. A young 

 woman and a lad were bringing together a small 

 flock of sheep and lambs. When they had collected 

 them, they singled one out and laid it down on its 

 side, and began to pull the wool off, and in a few 

 minutes had it stripped bare, whereupon they let it 



