New-York tribune., 1907-12-15
PERTHSHIRE MOORS.
n Modern Version of the Fair MnA
and Warring Clans.
Perth. Decemhe-

DcCencer
Scotland has had as many capitals as the Fat,
Maid of Perth had admirers. Forteviot one =,
the oldest of them. is now marked by two or
three diIapidated cottages. with a railway STA
ton at which the sowest trains running into
Perth would not stop II Duppin Castle wers
not near by. Kenneth McAlpin. who held his
Pictish court there. may have carried the Des-
tiny Stone to Scone. few miles north. and hav.
built residence there: and many kings were
crowned there before and after Edward seized
the sacred relic with the Scottish regaa and
deposited it In Westminster Abbey, where II ia
inclosed in the Coronation Chair. Monastery.
royal palace and parliament house followed one
another at scone. but hardly vestge of the
ancient glory OF the capital remains Lord
Mansfelds modern residence be seen across
the Tay from the North Inch tramway runs
to q somnolent littlc suburb. and a market eros,
is a memorial Of the Coronation Stone which
pous Scots in the Middle Ages used to identity
with Jacobs pillow in the vision Of angels
Perth, itself near to Scone and Forteviot,
was also capital. but nearly every vestige Of
antiquity has been swept away from its mean
old fashioned streets. Monasteries palaces,
Gowrie House and parliament hall have gone
and the river promenade is cluttered with mod
ern structures. ST. Johns. where the signal was
given for marring destroying half the churches
restoration; there is one ancient hospital and
the House of the Fair Maid has been patched
UP on the edge of the famous fitting ground OF
the clans as the most important historical relic
Of the town 1t Is difficult to identify the
site Of the monastery near by where one OF the
greatest Of the Perthshire kings was treacher-
ously butchered.
The traditions and glories Of the Pictish and
Scottish kingdoms may be said to have beaten
themselves out as the rival clans exterminatsd
themselves in the fitting ground in front of the
Fair Maids House. The North and South Inches
remain neglected and unirnproved pleasure
grounds, with three isolated monuments and
uninspiring prospects OF penitentiaries and
courses The glamour of royal and historical as
sociations has gone. and the empty land is left
as q reniniscence of departed glory: and that IS
a parable of the fortunes Of modern Scotland.
The hulk Of the land in the north is mountain
ous and heavily tiInbered. and is worthless for
farming operations After generations Of royal
| intrigue. the clashing OF the clans and the TO
| nance OF border raids and Highland strife.
| Scotland is the realm Of great landholders and
| Is used mainly as their sporting country With
| a stricter law of entail north Of the Tweed than
| there is In England and Wales, the chief landed
estates have been kept together One-fourth ot
the entire area of Scotland is owned by fourteen
|
sutherland and the Duke of BuccIeuch head the
lis, with their enormous estates. and when the
| smaller holdings are added at least one-third
| of the Highlands and Lowlands is found to be
| the pleasure ground Of the peerage-
| The great hunting county OF Perthshire IS
| owned mainly by a few titled families There
| is the ancestral domain Of the Duke OF Athoi
around Blair Castle and Dunkeld. with noun
tain ranges and deer forests stretching far
mort Inward There is the vast tract Of the Bread
albane CampbelIs. with Taymouth Castle as the
| marquis's splendid country seat There are the
| Menteith estates OF the Duke Of Montrose and
| many other famous holdings There are beauti-
full Highland tracts Of moor and woodland as
empty of serious industry and life as The North
Inch where the clans once had their deadly
| combat and the gentry of the kingdom have
| their pastime there for half the year. II IL oe
| an easy explanation of the interninable war
fare of the oldtime chiefs and clans that there
/ was no other occupation possible in so noun
| famous and barren country. IL will be an
equally plausible theory that Perthshire has De-
come a shooting ground because It is worthless
| for other purposes than spOrt-the stalking
| of deer. grouse and partridge drives and pheas-
| ant shooting on large scale Such agriculturo
| as there is cannot be made remunerative under
| the most favorable conditions. and the broad
II
| glens are valueless except for the annual
| slaughter of bird life with markmanship more or
less scientific and social entertainments more IN
Wig -ating for men than fascinating for wo1nen-
| In kingdom of ruined agricultural resources
| desoated by free trade economics sport attains
| TO the dignity of an industry. When a fox 70
| killed at sight by interloper instead OF be-
| ing left TO give a run 10 the hounds. with us
| risk of being worried and harrted to deato'
| there are loud outcries in defence OF sport as
| one of the compensations for the decline OF
| farming. The expenditures two hundre'
| packs are footed up until millions are reached
and with the breeding and keeping OF huntEs
horses and the employment OF kennel and Stao''
men there is established industry with'U'
| which rural England would be utterly impover-
ished SpOrtSmen are now writing ABOUT lH'
breaking up of the Ormond Hunt through u'
| wiles of political agitators disaster TO ne
land. as the dispersal of the Curraghmore paS'
was in County Waterford years ago They ale
elastic caIculators when they take up their pen
ellis with clean states and readily prove ulNs
a good pack in a hunting county is worth sow
600 a year 10 the people of the district III iH'
dental expenditures Shooting IS less ooFio1
agricultural industry, or at least So
tute for il. than fox hunting. because theie
fewer dogs and no horses to be cared I0l'
there are game preserves TO be "a'cieu
country houses to be maintained. and the eh'e'
tanment of guests on large scale nhPi
necessity for a working staff of depenoeH'
the expenditure OF great deaI vi
Sportsmen usually convince themselves.
their radical critics. that they are 'e
friends of the depressed and hopeless asrie..
uraI classes and that the protection OF "
hunting and shooting by law will De Oh III III