190 State of Agriculture in Northumberland. 



his power to do. The existence of this kind of confidence and accom- 

 modation may be adduced as one of the beneficial effects of the system 

 herein explained. A master, in such case, frequently gives the servant 

 the use of one of his cows until he can procure one for himself ; but the 

 servant is always anxious to have the credit of having a cow of his own, 

 and it would be absurd not to give every encouragement to the main- 

 tenance of so laudable a spirit.* 



*' It may further be worthy of remark, that only two in the foregoing 

 list ever received parochial aid — one, John Redpath, who was disabled 

 by illness from working for nearly three years ; and George Chirnside, 

 whose father died, leaving a widow and four very young children, of 

 whom he was the eldest; but since the time that he was sixteen years 

 of age the whole family have been supported by their own industry. 

 He was at first assisted by his master in the purchase of a cow, which is 

 now cleared ofi^", and the family are in good circumstances. 



*' In contrasting the condition of the peasantry in the southern with 

 that of the northern parts of the kingdom, it would be highly improper 

 to pass over unnoticed the superior education of the latter, and the effect 

 which is produced by it upon their worldly circumstances, as well as 

 upon their moral and religious character. No greater stigma can attach 

 to parents than that of leaving their children without the means of 

 ordinary education, and every nerve is strained to procure it. In the 

 school attached to almost every village, one finds children not only able 

 to read and write at a very early age, but most expert in all the common 

 rules of arithmetic, and not unfrequently capable of extracting the square 

 and cube root with great expedition and accuracy. And even the young 

 men who labour in the fields all the day often spend a couple of hours 

 in the evening in school, to advance themselves in such acquirements. 

 If occupation alone is a valuable antidote against idle and vicious habits, 

 the acquirement of useful knowledge and the cultivation of the mental 

 faculties must be still more so. And when these are prosecuted, not 

 by gratuitous means, but by the produce of economy and toil, it bespeaks 

 a state of society where sobriety is habitual and intelligence is held in 

 estimation." 



Farm Buildings. — In consequence of the abundance of stone 

 which the county everywhere affords, the buildings are all of a 

 most substantial kind — brick being only used for chimneys and 

 inside partitions. Blue slate from Wales or Westmoreland forms 

 the universal covering of all buildings of recent date^ and the 

 homely thatch and unseemly red tiles are now the exception, though 

 within the last sixty years little else was to be seen. Roofs of 

 gray sandstone-slate are occasionally met with, but although they 

 are more agreeable to the eye than red pantiles, they are much 

 inferior to blue slate on account of their great weight, their 



* Cow-clubs are now established in various parts, to purchase cows for 

 the members who have the misfortune to lose them. The farmers subscribe 

 according to their number of hinds, and each hind, to enjoy the benefit, 

 subscribes Is, per quarter. 



