Todsted Farm. 297 



flourish on such ground and in such a situation : firs, 

 pines, rhododendrons, ferns, and so forth, and not only 

 has he his reward, but every passer-by has his share 

 in it. Such a man is a great benefactor, and every 

 visitor to Rothbury is indebted to him. 



As we drove along beyond Cragside grounds a 

 strange sight met our eyes. On a field on the side of 

 one of the gentle slopes to our left, lying as it were 

 between two swelling heights, fit probably only for 

 grazing sheep, we saw what seemed to us two figures 

 in women's dress — the one at the plough, the other at 

 the harrow. The horses seemed under complete com- 

 mand, and the work was proceeding apace. In surprise 

 we turned to our intelligent driver, who said, in answer 

 to our queries : " Yes, they are women, and the people 

 round about here regard it only as an ordinary matter 

 to see them out at work. That is Todsted farm ; it is 

 held by a man who has four daughters, and up to quite 

 a recent date they themselves did the whole work of 

 the farm, ploughing, harrowing, sowing, reaping, and 

 attending to the stock. The bulk of the farm, which 

 is between 300 and 400 acres, is in sheep runs, but 

 certain things have led the father of late to turn a little 

 more into arable, and he has now got the assistance of 

 a young man, but the daughters still take a turn at 

 every kind of work, and very good hands they are 

 too." It was very odd to have gone to the wild and 

 picturesque neighbourhood of Rothbury to see some- 

 thing in this line so entirely new — to see something 

 more than a practical working out of the old saw which 

 it is so often said has now got antiquated — 



" Man to the mow, 

 Wife to the cow, 

 Son to the plough, 

 Girl to the sow.' - ' 



