"FIELD AND FERN"; OR, SCOTTISH FLOCKS, HERDS, AND LOWLAND SPORTS. BY H. H. DIXON.

A REVIEW.

The author of the two volumes before us is already favourably known to the public by his "Druid" publications, and more recently by his Essay on Shorthorns, which gained the Royal Agricultural Society's prize in the present year. If any evidence were wanting of honest industry in investigation and extensive knowledge of his subject, we should have it in these volumes; and we are greatly indebted to the author for an excellent work on one of the most important and difficult questions which can engage particular or general attention. If any time could have been selected more adapted for the treatment of stock than another, it is a season in which we are suffering, and are likely to suffer, from the high price of provisions. Causes of various kinds have combined to produce this effect upon articles of necessary consumption. It is unfair to saddle upon any one cause, be it unusual drought, or murrain, or increased consumption, that which arises to a certain extent from many causes; but of one thing we may rest assured that he deserves well at the hands of all men, be they producers or consumers, who calls attention to the improvements which have taken place, or points to any means which may be used for increasing those necessary articles of daily consumption-the beef and mutton of these islands. The exertions of Mr. Dixon have been well directed. With a natural apology for frequent, but not vain repetitions, the author promises an occasional break from the higher subjects of his investigation, into the more lively themes of horseflesh, salmon fisheries, dogs, and game. This promise he has amply fulfilled; rendering his volumes, "North" and "South," as interesting to the general reader as they are important to those more particularly occupied in the business of agricultural life. His book is interspersed with anecdotes of men and localities sufficiently well known to most of us; and they are told with a vigour and raciness which proves his own intimate acquaintance with the subjects and his love for the labour he has undertaken.

The original intention of the author, like all other original intentions which are worth anything, seems to have been much modified by circumstances. We have all heard of the Irish gentleman who set out with a small carpet-bag and one change of linen for a short visit to his friend, and who was found in the same place, a welcome guest, at the end of three years with an increased stock of linen and the same bag. Mr. Dixon's first idea was a modest one-" his pleasure in the Scottish woods three summer months to take." The serious task which grew out of this pleasurable excursion consumed the best part of three summers, a winter, and a spring, with about 8,000 miles of travelling, and two hundred and fifty nights away from home. The information which was collected in this extended survey of Scottish flocks and herds filled two fat note-books to the brim, and must have resembled the stuffing of the

Rogerson and Tuxford, 246, Strand.

new linen into the Irish gentleman's original carpet-bag, if, indeed, that eccentric visitor has ever taken his leave. It is beyond the province of a reviewer to substitute his rapidly-stored fragments for the hard, welldigested matter of the author. It is unfair upon the writer, and upon the public. In the present instance it would be impossible to do so; the book will speak better for itself than we can for it. It is rather our office to whet the appetite for more by giving only such a general outline of Mr. Dixon's investigations as will show how really valuable his labours have been, and how much real information may be acquired by a careful comparison of "Field and Fern" with other sources of similar knowledge,

Perhaps no country has improved so rapidly, and attained such welldeserved repute, in agriculture and the breeding of stock, as Scotland. It presents itself to the inexperienced as full of natural difficulties and inadaptation for the purpose. Its character is one of presumed barrenness in many parts; and to English ears it sounds only as the Eden of the most enduring sportsman. Who that had no personal experience of the fact, and was ignorant of the names of Boswell, M'Combie, Douglas, Grant Duff, of the Dukes of Athole and Richmond, Lords Kin naird, John Scott, and Southesk, of Smith of Deanston, and many others, could conceive the efforts that have been made in the last five-and-twenty years to improve the breeds of native cattle and sheep, to drain successfully the unproductive lands, to reclaim the waste, to improve the fertile, and to plough and plant the "barren muir" for the benefit of mankind? Deer forests and grouse hills remain for the sportsman: the river and the loch still yield their silvery products to the fisherman in greater abundance than of yore. They who participate in these pursuits have nothing with which to reproach increased civilization; and tens of thousands owe a debt of gratitude to the names we have quoted, for the more valuable supplies which have advanced to meet an ever-increasing demand,

When a man travels for his own pleasure there are many modes of locomotion open to him. In certain countries we advocate a knapsack and double-soles, as being the only means of enjoying its beauties; in others, a horse and saddle-bags, posters, or the rail, as the case may be. To a man of strong nerves the transit from Bellinzona to Altorf may be accomplished with much satisfaction in the coupé of a diligence. When, however, the pleasure begins to assume an air of business, and the voyageur has laid upon himself a certain necessity, we hardly see how Mr. Dixon's plan could have been improved upon: he decided against walking, and very properly. If the body be fatigued, it is almost impossible that the mind can work successfully. The very anxiety to be at the end of a tedious journey militates against the due digestion of the information we have obtained, or (to speak metaphori cally) of the aliment we have been laying up in store. He judged wisely, in a country like Scotland, when he decided upon a hack. To a man accustomed to the saddle the fatigue counts for nothing; and the advantage of pushing on as occasion offers, of getting off to walk, of transferring yourself, your hack, and your baggage to the boat or rail, if necessary, speak volumes in its favour. But let the inexperienced beware of any such temptation as the author's success holds out: he will assuredly repent him of his temerity; and when he has lost his

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time, his leather, and probably his horse into the bargain, he will find that a ride on an unconditioned Galloway from Caithness to Kensington is no joke. Mr. Dixon is sufficiently modest usually in speaking of himself and his exploits, a virtue not found in every journalist; but he is fully justified, as claiming some merit for sitting "three-quarters of an hour at night on a corn-bin, to be sure that the ostler does justice" to say nothing of having "to blindfold and stuff the ears of your mare, and twist her five or six times round to make her forget which way you wanted to go, when you found a Lanarkshire or Ayrshire blast furnace roaring like a lion in your path, late at night, between yourself and your inn." Certainly the undertaking to which he committed himself was no light one, and the modus operandi quite unfitted for any feather-bed excursionist.

The Scotch themselves are a pleasant and hospitable people to travel amongst; and the kindness with which our author was received, and the readiness with which information on his favourite topics was supplied, speak well for both parties. Still, even here there are certain difficulties to contend with, not so common in a country where the dialects are more familiar to the ear. Gaelic, to a southerner, is embarrassing, to say the least of it-doubly so where accuracy of name is required; and we believe that few men would have cared to enter upon so peculiar a study as that of a Gaelic dictionary. We have before said

that Mr. Dixon offers an apology for the dryness of his matter; and there can be no doubt that he has a right to have his claim allowed, when "ewes and wedders" are compelled to form a foreground for his picture, instead of the joys and sorrows of human beings. It is time, however, that we give the reader some limited insight into the method and detail of the work itself.

Mr. Dixon, starting from Aberdeen, describes the incidents of a very unpleasant voyage, as we all know, up to the Shetlands. Here and in the Orkneys he finds ample scope for observation. He does not appear to have been bitten with the mania of Sir Henry Dryden, or to have indulged in his taste for ecclesiastical architecture, but to have gone at once to his business in hand. The cows we may leave to speak for themselves, or, rather, we recommend the reader to the pages of Field and Fern. It was, however impossible to pass through such a district without a word upon horseflesh; and we have consequently a very interesting description of the ponies. Instead of carrying peat, as heretofore, they have been sent annually, in numbers of from three to five hundred, to the pits. The sum of £5 10s. is said to have acted as a lure to the breeders, who have furnished of late years the Northumberland collieries. The drain upon the Shetlands accounts for a smaller supply during the last few years. The dealers' purchases, however, have, during the last two summers, fallen-off, and have given a new impetus to the breeders. Northumberland employs the greatest number of Shetlands; while Durham gives the preference to the Welsh. The fact is that size and weight in the collieries must tell. Men soon discover that the saving of outlay is a false economy, unless the work required is effectually performed: hence the crosses, to produce size. It is said that breeders are too indifferent there, as elsewhere, to the points of the sire. The probability is that half a loaf is better than no bread, and they take what they can get.

While on the subject of ponies, one thing is worthy of remark: we scarcely ever saw, and never had, a thoroughly bad one. They are usually enduring, usually sound, and capable of performing journeys (due regard being had to pace) to which the capability of horses bears no comparison. Many of these animals, of which the author speaks, live, more or less, entirely underground. It is no uncommon thing for them to pass four or five years deprived of daylight-some that he mentions exceed fourteen or fifteen years in the pit, and one has been a subterranean labourer for at least twenty. When we add that an average day's work is some twenty miles (half with empty tubs), we need not advert to the fact that their fodder is of the best, and most abundant. These islands are said, too, to excel in the quality of their wool, and on each sheep there are three kinds or qualities: the first quality adds to the comfort of our women in the form of veils and shawls, the latter of which can be drawn through a wedding-ring; and the other sorts make stockings of various substance. The manners, indeed, of the producers are not first-rate; for, like our Welsh friends in the midland counties, they can scarcely ever be considered as positively safe till they make their appearance upon the table.

The journey from Tain to Inverness, taken as it was at leisure by the author, presents some interesting features connected with shorthorn crosses, and the rearing of calves. No truism is more thoroughly impressed in this county than the fact that you "must feed from the starting post." There is great truth in the aphorism that all "the goodness of young things goes in at the mouth;" and whatever pains may be taken in breeding cattle, be it of whatever kind it may, they are all thrown away unless the rearing of them go hand in hand with it. Our author has not forgotten, in speaking of colour, the old Scriptural account of the force of external impression, and he relates two very striking anecdotes on the subject. We shall allow him to tell the story in his book about the strange cat and the still stranger marks on the bullock, and the dog which chased the cow about the meadow, and had the satisfaction of welcoming a calf which corresponded to him "with photographic accuracy. In one point we can experimentally bear testimony to the observation of Mr. Dixon-that a yellow skin (and especially about Alderney and Jersey cows) denotes a well-filled pail.

In speaking of sheep farming, it would have been difficult to have avoided the vexata quæstio of heather burning. We have no desire to be put down as of either side-with the sheep or with the grouse; but there is no doubt that means may be found to reconcile the interests of both parties, and that the permanent advantage of the country will depend upon it. The fact is that sport, and everything connected with it, has now become so great a "furore"-men are so capable of paying for their pleasures, and so happily inclined to those which have a healthy and vigorous tone, that we have no anxiety to thwart their wishes or injure their interests. We believe the two may be made, if not coincident, at least unantagonistic; and if Mr. Houstoun's rotation system of cutting the heather into squares, with considerable drainage, be found effective, we should certainly recommend its adoption. Men must have mutton, and they will have moors- "the moor the merrier," as a friend of ours observed on an occasional visit to Scotland; but we never desire, with all our love of sport, to see the necessaries of life sacrificed for selfish in

terests or pleasures. To possession are attached immense responsibilities; and an accusation has been made of late years, against Scotch proprietors, of excessive avarice. The national character stood in need of no such counterbalance to its proverbial hospitality; and the robbing of Peter to pay Paul is a mark neither of wisdom nor morality. Every man has a right to do what he will with his own, conditionally that he does with it no wrong-a truth worth studying by the owners of certain mysterious "flyers" on the turf; and it seldom happens that national prosperity is advanced by individual cupidity. The rich man wants grouse, and the price he offers for them will command a supply; but the poor man wants mutton, and as he can only afford to give a moderate sum for his necessities, the country should be permitted to carry at least its due proportion of sheep. It is to very little purpose that crosses between Scotch sheep and Leicesters or Southdowns receive so much attention if the improvement in size or quality is met by a deficiency of supply.

Muis revenons à nos moutons, and leave those of the Scotch lairds for the present. Dunrobin calls out the author's national taste for sport, increased as it is by the sight of Purday's and Lancaster's, deersaddles, and the details of hill craft in the Duke's gun-house; and the poetry of his nature is let loose upon the beauty of the dairy, by the ribbon borders" of pink saponarium, white nemophylia, blue salvia," and other flowers which "run coyly from the Castle gardens to the sea." The Duke's piper, too, comes into the picture, not so much for his talents as a musician as for his costume, Highlanders being as uncommon north of Inverness as they are common between Temple Bar and Nottinghill, or on the sands of our fashionable watering-places. Inverness and the claims of the Highland Society give Mr. Dixon a proper occasion for a good spell upon cattle. No man knows better how to make use of the opportunity. We will not rob him of the pleasure and profit, nor inflict on the general reader the pain of going through the Belvilles, the Charlottes, the Druids, the Hantons, the Fair Maids of Perth, with all the other prize-winners and "Black Venuses" enumerated by our author here and elsewhere. We refer the enthusiast or the sceptic to his pages for gratification or conviction of the immense attention that has been given to the subject by our North British neighbours. Those accounts will be found to be interspersed with amusing anecdotes of the breeders, and with salient remarks on the peculiarities of the people; and we cannot help adding, for the benefit of others who may come after him, that from beginning to end there is not one word of illnature or one single breach of confidence. The gentlemen who have trusted Mr. Dixon will have no reason to repent of their confidence ; and although a work of this kind must have depended for its accuracy and interest on the amount of intimacy which the author has been allowed to cultivate in certain quarters, although he may have been tempted by an appreciation of humour, which is manifestly one of his qualifications for popularity, and although the Scotch character presents as many peculiarities to an English mind as any other nation under the sun, there is scarcely a word in the two volumes which, on that score, we would desire to alter. We hope this is high praise: we mean it to be so: for the miserable instances of a contrary policy are sufficiently numerous among literary men, and we can conceive nothing so degrading to the profession.