38o ABERDEENSHIRE STOCK BREEDING 



stocks in a rainy season, and there is some loss of shed 

 corn in putting in and taking out the sheaves. Another 

 plan is to build large loose stocks in the field on the 

 wooden tripods which are commonly used in Scotland 

 for hay. Some such artificial aid to harvesting is 

 certainly needed in this late district, for the days grow 

 rapidly short, and after the equinox there is no longer 

 the prolonged twilight that characterises the northern 

 summer. All the same, the farmer makes the afternoon 

 as long as possible, and sets the clocks back, for harvest 

 work cannot begin until the morning is well advanced 

 and the dews have dried off. Fortunately cold anti- 

 cyclone weather often sets in with September, as it did 

 in 1912, and then all goes well. The corn crops were 

 heavy, and throughout the district were standing up 

 well, having escaped the storm which had done so 

 much damage in Morayshire. Every farm has a few 

 acres of mashlum ; potatoes are usually grown for 

 home consumption only ; but the chief attention of the 

 farmer is centred upon his turnip crop. That year it 

 had made an excellent start, but with the later rainy 

 and cold weather the bulbs had not swollen as they 

 should, and the land was full of weeds, which like the 

 turnips that had been singled out had only grown 

 again after the hoeings. The temporary pastures all 

 carried an excellent growth and were full of clover ; to 

 a southern eye they were long and rough, and some of 

 the aftermaths had shot so much that it seemed waste- 

 ful to think of grazing them. However, a pedigree 

 herd must never be stinted of food, and even at the 

 cost of some waste must always have a full fresh bite. 



In this district the rye-grass controversy is still alive 

 in a different form, whether the temporary mixtures 

 used for sowing down the two or three year pastures 

 should be based on rye grass, perennial as well as 



