Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1935-11-21
Morgan County Thursday

| from finely ground oats.
Dinner comprises three courses
The soup course, without which a
| Scotch dinner would be incomplete.
| In this course various kinds of
soups are used, such as beef, to-
| mato, split pea and other vegeta-
bles, but by far the most popular is
the famed Scotch barley broth, a
delicious beef soup thickened with
barley. The main course of the din
ner consists chiefly of beef dishes
such as roast. kidney stew, pot pie,
ETC., pork being rarely used on the
table, as most of the pork has to be
imported, and some people do not
eat it, thinking it an unclean meat
These United States seem to be the
only country where pork is a pop
ular form Of meat. Usually once a
week the beef dish is replaced by
chicken, pheasant or some other
kind Of fowl. Boiled or roasted po-
tatoes and one other vegetable is
served with the meat The third
course consists of steamed pud-
ding such as English plum, suet,
tapioca or a jelly dessert. Pie is un-
known in Scotland, and l believe
that this delectable dish is strictly
American in it's origin and it's use.
To me the most interesting of all
meals is the six o'clock high
tea,'' for at this repast the table is
laden with all sorts of delicious lit
tie cakes, including a fruit cake
called "the queens cake sand
wich cake, spice, orange, and al
most every conceivable kind of cake,
English buns, hot cross buns,
scones, and of course the customary
cup of tea. There is usually first
course at this meal in which cold
meat, omelette, or plate of "fin-
nan haddie" (favorite Scotch dish)
is served. 1t is this course that con-
stitutes "high tea"
Game hunting is quite a popular
sport in Scotland, the game being
deer, hare, rabbit, partridge, grouse
and pheasant There is an abund-
ance of squirrels, but they are not
considered food fit to eat, because
they belong to the rodent family.
The Scotch folk cannot understand
why we Americans would eat an an
imal so closely related to the rat
family. Scotland is overrun by rab-
bits, and they are considered the
greatest pest as they live on the
most important crop the turnip.
Speaking Of pests, the crow is an
other form of pest. for it destroys
the potato crop and also the oats
at planting time
System OF Operating Farms
l.
cerning the system by which farms
are operated. The land is mostly
owned by wealthy landowners who
place men called 'factors" or over
seers over estates, sometimes COM
prising 500 farms or more. This
factor looks after the rents, repair
of buildings and fences, hiring, dis
missing undesirable renters and
looking after the leases. The farms
are leased for 19 years. Mr.. Chris
ties father was factor" for
many years. and through my asso-
citation with him l have had the
privilege of cleaning a little knowl-
edge of farm life in Scotland.
The Long Days
Last, but not least of my lasting
impressions of that Bonnie Land.
is the length of the summer day.
During the first few weeks of our
sojourn in Scotland the days were
% hours long, the sun setting at IL
o'clock and the "gloaming" or twi-
light lasting until one o'clock, when
it became partially dark for two
hours. Farmers often worked in
the fields until midnight, and it
was quite possible for us to sit in
our homes and read without artifi-
cial light, until nearly midnight. 1t
seemed almost uncanny. The days
shortened noticeably after the first
three weeks, and at. the time we
returned home the sun was setting
at 9 p. M, and the lovely hours of
cleaning were soon to come to an
end for the summer of 1885.