392 CARSE FARMING IN FORFAR 



farmed ; in the eastern part of the county one passed 

 for mile after mile through big cultivated fields, often 

 open, sometimes divided by stone walls or low, well- 

 kept quick hedges that cause no waste of land. Little 

 or no stock were to be seen in the fields, sometimes 

 sheep eating off the aftermath, sometimes cows where 

 a farmer had taken up dairying, but in the main the 

 country was being farmed for crops on the six-course 

 rotation described above, though, of course, Irish stores 

 were bought for winter fattening in the byres. The 

 buildings were ample, the stacks well made, and, 

 without taking into account the excellent crops that 

 were to be seen in process of cutting during the first 

 week in September, there was a general air of 

 prosperous briskness and attention to detail that gave 

 us a very favourable impression of the local agriculture. 

 In most parts of England you may find first-class 

 farmers and land managed in a fashion that is beyond 

 criticism, but these men and farms stand apart, and 

 their neighbours on the estate may show all degrees 

 of careless and slipshod management. In Scotland 

 the general average of the farming is certainly higher, 

 and wherever the land is really suitable the whole 

 district looks well managed and possesses an aspect 

 of hard business which is rare over any considerable 

 area in England. The farms gave one the impression 

 that considerable capital had been put into them of 

 recent years ; buildings are extensive and in good 

 repair, drainage is still going on, hedges had been 

 straightened up and are kept close, the bad farmer 

 is not allowed to drag on at an easy rent because 

 he makes no calls on the estate. Agriculture, after 

 all, depends on the men who direct it ; and the 

 farming of the east of Scotland very much reflects 

 the dour, hard-bitten character of its men. 



