THE LOWLANDS. 307 



In former times the lands of a farm in the Lothians, 

 as well as other parts of Scotland, used to be divided 

 into what were called in-field and out-field. The out-field 

 portion remained quite in a state of nature, and was used 

 as pasture ; the in-field, on the other hand, produced corn 

 crops uninterruptedly, barley and oats in succession. A 

 worse system can scarcely be imagined. Fallows are an 

 improvement on this barbarous practice, and were intro- 

 duced simultaneously with wheat-cultivation in 1725-50. 

 The principal merit of their introduction is attributed to 

 the sixth Earl of Haddington, who had seen their good 

 effects in England. Thus we see how much has been 

 done in a short space of time. If the point now reached 

 is the highest that at present exists, the starting-point was 

 certainly the lowest of any. 



All the Lothian farms are worth visiting ; but I will 

 take only one as an example that of Mr John Dickson, 

 a few miles out of Edinburgh, composed of what was 

 formerly three farms. It contains five hundred Scotch 

 a^res,* and is let at 5 per acre, or 2500. In size this 

 farm is an exception, there being few such in this part of 

 the Lowlands. Those around it are in general not so 

 large, but the methods practised are the same on all ; and 

 some of them are let even higher. Notwithstanding 

 these enormous rents, the Lothian farmers make a good 

 business of it. They have almost all excellent houses ; 

 and whatever may be the national character for frugality, 

 they live at least as well as many of our proprietors, even 

 of the higher class. Wages, as usual, profit by the gene- 

 ral state of prosperity ; they are paid half in money, and 

 the rest in kind, amounting together to from Is. 8d. to 

 2s. per day. 



* A Scotch acre is equal to 51 ares 41 centiares = 1 (or 1.27083) imperial 

 acres. 



