SCOTLAND TO-DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 3, 4 January 1934, Page 9

SCOTLAND TO-DAY.

COUNTRY AND CITY.

EDINBURGH WAR MEMORIAL

THE I.AND OF BURNS. "Anyone who )'as been away from Scotland for a long time experiences a thrill when he crosses the border at Carter Bar and runs down into the beautiful wooded country which constitutes the Border Counties," said Mr. D. Tannock, of Dunedin, in an address to the Dunedin Burns Club following a recent visit to his native land. "Everywhere there are trees in plantations and as individual specimens, on large and small estates; thriving farm steadings sheltered by clumps of trees, and thriving industrial towns. The border towns, where weaving is the chief industry, have not experienced the slump to the same extent as many of the other towns. They were quite busy until two years ago, and as most of the workers own their own houses and have, no doubt, a little bit put aside for a rainy day, they ar t » mostly comfortably off. T;.e houses t.re we" built, the gardens t <•; t and tiiy and bright with dahlias, rambler rose?, and hardy plants. The large to\vi.s, such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Pertn, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock, etc., have mad 3 great progress with their hnir-ing schemes, and are extending out info the country, not as the usual streets of tenements, but as cottages and bungalovs, with gardens and trea-lined streets. Everywhere new main road& have I'een formed, with parks, open spaces, children's playgrounds, and golf courses very much in evidence.

'"Glasgow is famci.s for its parks, gardens and fonservaiciies; Edinburgh for its Princes street gardens and its flor.al clock; Aberdeen for its street trees; and Dunfermline for its park with its range of glass houses, tea rooms, museum and shelter for old men, and its rose and herbaceous garden. Scottish Farming. "The Scottish farmers can still hold their own with any, and. the well-built farm steadings, well-trimmed hedges, thriving crops and herds of contented cattle were evidence of good management and progress. Tho hay crop had been cut and ricked, tho grain crops were ripening, and in eome cases harvesting had commenced in the beginning of August; potato crops and root crops were good, and the country in tho Lothians, near Stirling, in the Carso of Gowrie, near Inverness, and in Ayrshire and tho iborder counties looked goirl. Farmers arc paying particular attention to the poultry industry, and instead of tho hens being confined in the precincts of tho farm buildings they arescattered in colonies of about 60 in houses which can be easily moved from one place to another all over tho grass parks. In this way they required less feeding and less attention, they pick up trrubs and insects which would damage the grass and clover, and they manure the land in a way which is not obnoxious to the cattle. In most of the Ayrshire dairy farms high-pressure water is laid on, and wherever they are anywhere near tho main transmission lines they have electric light; their byres airl dairies arc inspected regularly, and I have noticed since I returned that the Scottish farmers, like the English.-have decided to put the dairying industry under one control.

"Forestry has always been an important industry in Scotland, but during the war, when* outside supplies of timber were practically cut off, the supplies of standing timber were'severely cut into and many plantations .which were not quite mature were sacrificed. Since the war much has been done .by the- Forestry Commission to replant these forests, and extensive new plantations .have been made in the valleys of the Dee, Tay, Spey, etc., and these are thriving well. There are many fine avenues of large beech trees which line the roads and provide much appreciated shade from strong sunshine, and are an advantage both to the roads and the people who use them, especially cyclists and trampers. By the newer roads leading from the cities trees have been planted, and it is evident that road engineers appreciate tho value and beauty of trees.

Veneration of Famous Men. "It is evident everywhere that the Scottish people have a great respect and veneration for the men who have made her famous in battle song,' and story, and other walks of life. During the summer and autumn, at any rate, there is a conetant stream of visitors to tho Scott and Burns country, and throughout the year there is a constant stream of visitors through the national war memorial in Edinburgh Castle. It is the most complete, the most artistic, and finest finished war memorial in the world. Iso one could enter and pass through witnout a-feeling of awe and wonder and pride to think that eo many had died to keep their country free from the invader. The workmanship is so good, and it reminds one of some of the famous cathedrals hundreds of years ago. The martyrs who died for conscience sake are iiot forgotten, and wherever anyone perished throughout Ayrshire or Galloway there are monuments, but probably the beet and most elaborate is in the cemetery in Stirling. "In August all roads lead to the north, and the hotels in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness, and most other towns were crowded. In fact, we had often difficulty in netting accommodation, ine castles and large houses were all occupied, and the country certainly did look good. The hills were purple heather, and the woods and deciduous trees which ehaded the rivers were most attractive. It would be difficult to estimate what the shooting, fishing and golf are to Scotland.

Tarholton ana Mauchline. "Scotland is sometimes referred to as the Land of Burns, but Ayrshire and the southern counties have a special claim on him I should know something about the poet, for I wa<s born in the parish of Tarbolton and went to school in Mauchline. I know his haunts, both in Tarbolton and Mauchline, well; the house 'in which he was made a Mason, and so on. I have also heard my grandfather speak of people who knew him and some of the characters he mentioned in his poems. "In the corner the the field in which he turned up the mouse and cut down the daisy, where the Kilmarnock Road meets the Tarbolton one, and on the hill above Mauchline there is the finest monument that could be erected to anyone with the sentiments of Burns. There is a tower from the top of which one can get a "splendid view of Ayrshire, 4rran, and the country, round. You can trace the wooded -course of the river Ayr from the Braes ' 'of Ballochmyle right down to the sea."