471 
of Edinburgh, Session 1874-75. 
turists in the county of Berwick, which had then the repute of 
being the best farmed district of Scotland. On this farm — Whit- 
some Hill — he remained for three years, engaging, as he himself 
records, “in every sphere of work which the ploughman, the 
shepherd, and the field-worker must perform in the field, or the 
steward or cattleman at the steading;” even in the dairy and 
poultry-house part of his time was spent; and all this he undertook 
“not of necessity, but voluntarily, and with cheerfulness, in the 
determination of acquiring a thorough practical knowledge of his 
profession.” 
Thus armed, he was prepared to encounter the work of cultivat- 
ing a part of his own estate, and he soon saw that to do this 
satisfactorily a considerable expenditure of money was called for ; 
and this was done, to the effect of raising the value of the farm 
which he personally worked, from L.150 to L.400 a year. But evil 
days were in store for him. By the failure of an Indian house in 
which his money was invested, and just at the time when he had 
spent much on improving his property, he was straitened in his 
means, and he had to bethink himself of other ways of carrying 
out his life’s object of being an agriculturist. It was at this time, 
when he was under the cloud of misfortune, that an accident 
occurred which laid the foundation for his reputation as an agri- 
cultural author. He was travelling in the coach from Dundee to 
Edinburgh when he encountered, as travelling companion, the 
eminent founder of the great publishing-house of William Black- 
wood and Sons. The sagacious William Blackwood was too acute 
not to perceive that in his young travelling companion he had 
found a man thoroughly versed in the science of agriculture. He 
shortly after called Stephens to his aid in conducting the Journal 
of Agriculture, and thereby was commenced a literary connection 
with the Blackwoods, which has extended even to a third genera- 
tion. It was through them that he gave to the agricultural world 
his “Book of the Farm,” the first edition of which was pub- 
lished in 1842, and a second edition in 1871 — the manuscript of 
which, — almost a complete re-writing of the original edition, — was 
worked up with the same precision, attention to detail, and neat- 
ness of penmanship, which characterised the “Course of Education” 
of 1815, His other works were — in conjunction with Mr Gr. II. 
3 p 
VOL. VIII. 
