A Hill and a Half-Hill Farm. 
"The Engineer." The coach road is bounded by the Dumfries- 
shire and Liddesdale hills ; and the Linhope farm, which lies on 
both sides of it, extends from Castle Weary, rather more than a 
mile from Linhope, to Moss Paul, where Dumfriesshire and Rox- 
burghshire are divided by two rivulets, which run into the Esk. 
It was at the Moss Paul Inn that the great flockmasters of the 
district once held their Wisp Club each March, and struck after 
dinner the averages for the financial year of cattle and sheep 
stock, " white and tarry 'oo." In days when newspaper informa- 
tion was much less systematic, the list of prices, which was 
regularly registered in the club books, had an especial value, 
and was often referred to, both by landlord and tenant, in order 
to regulate the terms upon which a lease was to be made or 
renewed. The club was established in 1826, but at last very 
few of the original members were left, and it was dissolved by 
consent, after having v/ell discharged its mission. Mr. Aitchison, 
as being strictly "the local member" of it, was faithful to the 
close ; but with the opening of the North British line the very 
inn itself was deserted. 
There are nearly 3000 acres of the Linhope sheep farm. 
A great deal of it is on the uniformly hard and sound lea 
of Teviotdale, but still a large portion of it is rather wild. 
The rent is calculated by the amount of ewe stock it will keep, 
and settled with the Duke of Buccleuch's agent as the lease falls 
in. When a tenant quits a farm of this kind, the whole of the 
sheep stock is left by valuation to the succeeding tenant. Over 
the Duke of Buccleuch's estate the ordinary rent is seven ta 
nine shillings per ewe, but it has been hardly half that sum. 
The Buccleuch leases are generally for nine years, but in the 
Langholm district his Grace has granted some for fifteen. The 
Linhope feeding is of scarcely average quality, but the farm 
produces a sound, healthy sheep, and carries a few score under 
2000 ewes. Its highest point is Toothope, which rises to about 
1900 feet, or about twenty above "lofty Moss Paul." There is- 
plenty of the cotton plant, but nearly all of it is on the hill top, 
Avhich renders it not available in hard snowy seasons, when the 
Cheviots lose courage, and cannot hunt the hill for their food. 
It has some grass along the banks of the small burns, but there 
is not much bog ground, and its mountain hay is not equal 
to that on Penchryst, which has also much the best grouse and 
blackcock shooting. There are three hirsells on it, with a 
shepherd and a boy to look after each ; and it is held by 
Mr. Aitchison with Menzion, which has three of ewes and one 
of wethers, as well as Penchryst with four ewe hirsells, Stelshaw 
with one, and Glenkery Avith two. A hirsell varies in size with 
the lie of the ground, and ranges from 25 to 40 score. Taking 
