|
 Electric
Scotland's Weekly Email Newsletter
Dear
Friend
It's your
Electric Scotland newsletter meaning the weekend is nearly here :-)
You can view what's new this week on Electric Scotland at
http://www.electricscotland.com/rss/whatsnew.php and you
can unsubscribe to this newsletter by clicking on the link at the
foot of this newsletter. In the event the link is not clickable
simply copy and paste the link into your browser.
See our Calendar of Scottish Events around the world at
http://www.electricscotland.com/familytree/calendar_help.htm
CONTENTS
--------
Electric Scotland News
The Flag in the Wind
New Statistical Account of Scotland
Clan and Family Information
Poetry and Stories
Book of Scottish Story
The Concise Household Encyclopaedia
Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's
Stories
Social Life in Scotland
Robert Burns Lives!
The Writings of John Muir
Home and Farm Food Preservation
Parish Life in the North of Scotland
Poenamo (New Book)
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
Fallbrook Farm Update
Marbh-Rann
The Mc Intyre's 1805 - 1990
ELECTRIC SCOTLAND NEWS
----------------------
Time seems to be going by very fast these days. It seems like I've
just finished one newsletter when it's time to do another one.
On the subject of newsletters I was sorry to learn of Rampant
Scotland's webmaster having had a stroke and due to the pressure has
decided to cease doing his newsletter which I understand was very
popular. He's able to continue with his web site work and I'm sure
we all wish him all the best for a full recovery.
-----
Was interested to learn that the Labour Party was rather upset about
comments in last weeks "Flag in the Wind" about the Northern Ireland
article. The article seems to have been widely commented upon in
blogs and one Labour MP is demanding an explanation and statement
about it from the SNP. And so if you haven't been reading the Flag
you'll see what you've been missing :-)
-----
My thanks for those that got back to me on the "Kirkin' o' the
Tartan" church service.
-----
I was looking at our search statistics on Google and see that for
March to date we've had 24,890 searches using the Google site search
engine.
-----
Got a pdf file sent in to me about a study by the Urban Warfare
Analysis Center on Bayonets in Basra.
On 21 May 2004, Mahdi militiamen engaged a convoy consisting of
approximately 20 British troops from the Argyll and Sutherland
Highlanders 55 miles north of Basra. A squad from the Princess of
Wales regiment came to their assistance. What started as an attack
on a passing convoy ended with at least 35 militiamen dead and just
three British troops wounded. The militiamen engaged a force that
had restrictive rules of engagement prior to the incident that
prevented them from returning fire. What ensued was an example of
irregular warfare by coalition troops that achieved a tactical
victory over a numerically superior foe with considerable firepower.
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders are an infantry regiment of
the British Army
with a rich history. It is one of Scotland’s oldest fighting forces.
It is best known for forming the legendry “thin red line” at the
Battle of Balaklava in the Crimean War against Russia in 1854. It
later fought with distinction in World War I and World War II,
including intense jungle warfare in Malaya. After Iraq, it served in
Afghanistan before returning home in 2008.
The Bayonet Charge
The battle began when over 100 Mahdi army fighters ambushed two
unarmored vehicles
transporting around 20 Argylls on the isolated Route Six highway
near the southern city of Amarah.
Ensconced in trenches along the road, the militiamen fired mortars,
rocket propelled grenades, and machine gun rounds. The vehicles
stopped and British troops returned fire. The Mahdi barrage caused
enough damage to force the troops to exit the vehicles.
The soldiers quickly established a defensive perimeter and radioed
for reinforcements from the main British base at Amarah – Camp Abu
Naji. Reinforcements from the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment
assisted the Argyles in an offensive operation against the Mahdi
militiamen. When ammunition ran low among the British troops, the
decision was made to fix bayonets for a direct assault.
The British soldiers charged across 600 feet of open ground toward
enemy trenches.
They engaged in intense hand-to-hand fighting with the militiamen.
Despite being outnumbered and lacking ammunition, the Argylls and
Princess of Wales troops routed the enemy. The British troops killed
about 20 militiamen in the bayonet charge and between 28 and 35
overall.
Only three British soldiers were injured. This incident marked the
first time in 22 years that the British Army used bayonets in
action. The previous incident occurred during the Falklands War in
1982.
Why the Bayonet Charge Was a Tactical Success
The bayonet charge by British troops in Basra achieved tactical
success primarily because of psychological and cultural factors. It
also shows that superior firepower does not guarantee success by
either side. In this case, the value of surprise, countering enemy
expectations, and strict troop discipline were three deciding
characteristics of the bayonet charge.
Surprise as a Weapon
The Mahdi fighters likely expected the British convoy to continue
past the attack. Previous convoys of British vehicles had driven
through ambush fire. British military sources believe the militiamen
miscalculated the response of the convoy and expected the Scots to
flee.
Although the raid is a well-honed tactic practiced by jihadist and
Arab irregulars, the surprise raid has been an effective tool
against Arab armies, both regular and irregular. Irregular fighters
usually are not trained in the rigid discipline that professional
counterparts possess, and the surprise attack exploits this
weakness.
ABOUT THE STORIES
-----------------
Some of the stories in here are just parts of a larger story so do
check out the site for the full versions. You can always find the
link in our "What's New" section at the link at the top of this
newsletter or on our site menu.
THE FLAG IN THE WIND
--------------------
This weeks Flag is compiled by Richard Thomson in which he has two
main stories about the state of school buildings and the financial
mess we're in right now.
In Peter's cultural section you can find great poems and some of
them you can listen to in real audio. In fact Peter has now grown
his audio Scots language section to be the largest in the world. As
the Scots language was the official language of Scotland for several
centuries you will also find that many historical documents quote
many acts of Parliament and many other texts in that language and so
his resource is most valuable when you need to look up the meaning
of a word or phrase.
For example in this issue he has up...
argie-bargie: dispute
blaud: batter; deface; defame; blow; downpour
corp-lifter: body-snatcher
dozent: bewildered; stupefies; impotent
lunt: kindle; blaze; smoke a pipe
preen: pin
Dinna scaud yir mou wi ither fowk's kail: Don't poke your nose into
other peoples business - it will only end up hurting you.
Quhen fra this warld to Christ we wend
Oure wretchit short lyfe man haif ane end;
Changit fra pane and miserie
To lestand gloir eternallie.
frae 'Scottish Funeral Hymns' o the 16th centurie
and all those words, phrases and wee poems all have links to listen
to.
Also in this weeks issue his wife Marilyn has recorded the song...
The Land o' the Leal
by Carolina Oliphant, Lady Nairne
Daughter of a Perthshire Jacobite, Carolina Oliphant (1766-1845)
married William Nairne and called herself 'Mrs Bogan of Bogan' to
write her songs, many of which are still widely popular today,
including 'Caller Herrin', 'Willye no come back again?' and 'The
Auld Hoose'.
I'm wearin' awa', John,
Like snaw-wreaths in thaw,
John, I'm wearin' awa'
To the land o' the leal.
There's nae sorrow there, John,
There's neither cauld nor care, John The day is aye fair
In the land o' the leal.
Our bonnie bairn's there, John,
She was baith gude and fair,
John, And, oh! we grudged her sair
To the land o' the leal.
But sorrow's sel' wears past, John,
And joy is comin' fast, John,
The joy that's aye to last
In the land o' the leal.
Sae dear's that joy was bough, John,
Sae free the battle fought, John,
That sinfu' man e'er brought,
To the land o' the leal.
Oh! dry your glist'nin' e'e, John,
My saul langs to be free, John,
And angels beckon me
To the land o' the leal.
Oh! haud ye leal an' true, John,
Your day it,s wearin, thro', John,
And I'll welcome you
To the land o' the leal.
Now fare ye weel, my ain John,
This warld's cares are vain, John,
We'll meet, and we'll be fain,
In the land o' the leal.
And you can listen to this at
http://www.scotsindependent.org/features/scots/TheLando.rm
You can read the Flag, listen to the Scots Language, enjoy the Scots
Wit and lots more at
http://www.scotsindependent.org
Christina McKelvie MSP's Weekly diary is available at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/mckelvie/090326.htm
New Statistical Account of Scotland
-----------------------------------
Being accounts of the Parishes of Scotland produced in 1845.
This week have added the Parish of Glasford to the Lanark volume.
Extent and Boundaries.—THE parish of Glasford is about eight miles
in length. Its figure, as laid down in the map, resembles a
sand-glass, three miles and three-quarters at its broadest extreme,
two miles in the opposite end, and about one-half mile in the
middle. It contains in all eleven square miles, or 5598 Scots acres.
It is bounded on the north-west by East Kilbride and Blantyre;
north, by hamilton; south, by Avondale ; and cast, by Stonehouse.
Topographical Appearances.—The parish is separated into two grand
divisions,—the moors and the dales; the latter of which comprehend a
beautiful strath of land, that runs along the lower part of the
parish, and is bounded on the one side by the Avon. The aspect of
the parish presents in some places a gradual rise, but nothing that
can be termed mountainous. The district of the moors is in many
parts bleak and barren. Owing to its high position the air is keen,
but the climate is considered healthy. The soil may be reckoned of
three kinds, moss, clay, and light loam.
You can read this account at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/statistical/glasford.htm
All the other Parishes we have up so far can be found at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/statistical/
Clan and Family Information
---------------------------
Got in the Clan Leslie Australia Newsletter which can be viewed at
http://www.electricscotland.com/familytree/newsletters/leslie/index.htm
Poetry and Stories
------------------
John sent in another poem, "Past and Present" at
http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/doggerel308.htm
And of course more articles in our Article Service from Donna and
others at
http://www.electricscotland.com/article
Book of Scottish Story
----------------------
Our thanks to John Henderson for sending this in for us.
This week have added a new story...
The Court Cave: a Legendary Tale of Fife
This is a 3 part story and the first part starts...
A few years before the pride of Scotland had been prostrated by
English bows and bills, on the disastrous day of Flodden, the
holding of Balmeny, in the county of Fife, was possessed by Walter
Colville, then considerably advanced in years. Walter Colville had
acquired this small estate by the usual title to possession in the
days in which he lived. When a mere stripling, he had followed the
latest Earl of Douglas, when the banner of the bloody heart floated
defiance to the Royal Stuart. But the wavering conduct of Earl James
lost him at Abercorn the bravest of his adherents, and Walter
Colville did not disdain to follow the example of the Knight of
Cadzow. He was rewarded with the hand of the heiress of Balmeny,
then a ward of Colville of East Wemyss. That baron could not of
course hesitate to bestow her on one who brought the king’s command
to that effect; and in the brief wooing space of a summer day,
Walter saw and loved the lands which were to reward his loyal
valour, and wooed and wedded the maiden by law appended to the
enjoyment of them. The marriage proved fruitful; for six bold sons
sprung up in rapid succession around his table, and one "fair May ”
being added at a considerable interval after, Walter felt, so far as
his iron nature could feel, the pure and holy joys of parental love,
as his eye lighted on the stalwart frames and glowing aspects of his
boys, and on the mild blue eyes and blooming features of the young
Edith, who, like a fair pearl set in a carcanet of jaspers, received
an added lustre from her singleness. But alas for the stability of
human happiness!
The truth of the deep-seated belief that the instrument of our
prosperity shall also be that of our decay, was mournfully displayed
in the house of Walter Colville. By the sword had he cut his way to
the station and wealth he now enjoyed ; by the sword was his
habitation rendered desolate, and his gray hairs whitened even
before their time. On the field of Bannockburn—once the scene of a
more glorious combat—three of his sons paid with their lives for
their adherence to the royal cause. Two more perished with Sir
Andrew Wood, when Steven Bull was forced to strike to the "Floure
and Yellow Carvell." The last, regardless of entreaties and
commands, followed the fortunes of the "White Rose of York," when
Perkin Warbeck, as history malignantly continues to style the last
Plantagenet, carried his fair wire and luckless cause to Ireland;
and there young Colville found an untimely fate and bloody grave
near Dublin.
Thus bereft of so many goodly objects of his secret pride, the heart
of Walter Colville naturally sought to compensate the losses which
it had sustained in an increased exercise of affection towards his
daughter. The beauties of infancy had now been succeeded by those of
ripening maidenhood. The exuberant laugh, which had so often cheered
his hours of care or toil, while she was yet a child, had given
place to a smile still more endearing to his time-stricken feelings;
face and form had been matured into their most captivating
proportions, and nothing remained of the blue-eyed, fair-haired
child, that had once clung round his knee, save the artless openness
of her disposition, and the unsullied purity of her heart. Yet,
strange to tell, the very intensity of his affection was the source
of bitter sorrow to her who was its object, and his misdirected
desire to secure her happiness, threatened to blench, with the
paleness of secret sorrow, the cheek it was his dearest wish to deck
with an ever-during smile of happiness.
The rest of this story can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/books/story/story82a.htm
The other stories can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/books/story/index.htm
The Concise Household Encyclopaedia
-----------------------------------
Added another four pages on Contract Bridge, Contusion,
Convalescence, Convolvulus, Convulsions, Cony, Cook, Cookers: Gas,
Electric and Oil, Cooker, Cookie, Cooking Box, Cooling, Coop.
You can read about these at
http://www.electricscotland.com/household/c.htm
Children's Rhymes. Children's Games, Children' s Songs, Children's
Stories
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Book for Bairns and Big Folk by Robert Ford (1904).
The pages we have up this week are...
Children's Songs and Ballads
Katie Beardie
The MiIler's Dochter
Hap and Row
How Dan, Dilly Dow
Crowdie
Whistle, whistle, Auld Wife
The Three Little Pigs
Here is "Katie Beardie" for you to read here...
Katie Beardie had a coo,
Black and white about the mou';
Wasna that a dentie coo?
Dance, Katie Beardie!
Katie Beardie had a hen,
Cackled but an' cackled ben
Wasna that a dentie hen?
Dance, Katie Beardie!
Katie Beardie had a cock
That could spin a gude tow rock;
Wasna that a dentie cock?
Dance, Katie Beardie!
Katie Beardie had a grice,
It could skate upon the ice
Wasna that a dentie grice?
Dance, Katie Beardie!
Katie Beardie had a wean,
That was a' her lovin ain;
Wasna that a dentie wean?
Dance, Katie Beardie!
Yet, there is tolerable proof extant that the above dates from at
least the beginning of the seventeenth century. "Katherine Beardie,"
anyway, is the name affixed to an air in a manuscript musical
collection which belonged to the Scottish poet, Sir William Mure, of
Rowallan, written, presumably, between the years 1612 and 1628. The
same tune, under the name of "Kette Bairdie," also appears in a
similar collection which belonged to Sir John Skene of Hallvards,
supposed to have been written about 1629. Further, so well did Sir
Walter Scott know that this was a popular dance during the reign of
King James VI., as Mr. Dawnev points out, that he introduces it in
the Fortunes of Nigel, with this difference, that it is there called
''Chrichty Bairdie." a name not precisely identical with that here
given; but as Kit is a diminutive of Christopher, it is not
difficult to perceive how the two came to be confounded. Old as it
certainly is---and older by a deal it may he than these presents
indicate —it maintains yet the charm of youth—delighting all with
its lightly tripping numbers.
You can read the other pages at
http://www.electricscotland.com/kids/bairns/index.htm
Social Life in Scotland
-----------------------
From Early to Recent Times by Rev. Charles Rogers in 3 volumes
(1884)
I now have up this week the second chapter from Volume II...
Chapter XI.
The Ecclesiastical
Here is how the chapter starts...
WHEN worship in the grove and upon the hill-top had ceased, and the
religious rites of the rock-basin had passed away, the earlier
inhabitants conducted their religious solemnities upon the shores of
estuaries, by the margins of lakes, at wells, and upon river-banks.
The apostle of Cumbria, St Ninian, had his cave or cell on the
shores of the Solway, near which in 397 he reared the "candida
casa," or church of Whithorn. His ministrations among the southern
Picts were followed by those of Kentigern or St Mungo, who planted
his mission on the Clyde. Palladius, consecrated in 431, laboured
among the northern Picts from the isles of Orkney to the Tay. The
next great apostle, St Columba, eclipsed by his ministry of untiring
zeal the labours of his predecessors.
Columba began his mission in 563 by planting his headquarters at
Iona, so called from the words Innis-nan Duidneach, the isle of
Druids. For there the worshippers of Baal conducted a great school
and possessed a principal seat. At the lapse of another century St
Cuthbert began his devoted pastorate on the south-eastern border.
As the Druids had received their appellative from worshipping in the
groves, so the apostles of the new faith were named Ceal de,
pronounced Kilde, that is, worshippers of God. Every Christian
missionary became known as a Culdee.
In the wake of the converts at Iona arose monasteries at Abernethy,
Lochleven, and Dunkeld, and in the tenth century at Brechin. Lesser
Culdee settlements were planted at Glasgow, Dunfermline, Dunblane,
Muthill, Scone, Culross, Melrose, Abercorn, Inchcolm, Aberlady, and
Coldingham; likewise in northern parts at Mortlach and Monymusk.
With each monastery were connected twelve brethren, who chose a
thirteenth as abbot or chief.
Unconnected with the Roman see, the Culdees sedulously pursued their
unambitious labours. It was by a law of Adamnan, abbot of Iona,
passed in 697, that women were freed from the services and
severities of war. By the Culdees were formed shires or parishes,
the words originally being of like import. Parishes, which the
Culdees had indicated in the ninth, were fully constituted four
centuries later. To the Culdees also was due that literary activity
through which, prior to the twelfth century, ecclesiastical MSS.
were preserved and illuminated. Votaries of graceful art, designers
of elegantly sculptured tombs, and not destitute of science, they
cast light upon an age which without then had been uninteresting and
obscure.
In 825 the king of the Picts abandoned his capital at Abernethy on
the Tay, choosing as his residence the promontory, then named
Muckross, overlooking a bay upon the eastern shore. With the king
quitted Abernethy, the college of monks, who were there sustained by
his bounty, while for their use he reared a small convent, which to
his new capital brought the name of Kilrymont, or church at the
heather mount.
You can read lots more from this chapter at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/sociallife/chapter11.htm
You can get to the index page of the book at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/sociallife/index.htm
Robert Burns Lives!
-------------------
By Frank Shaw
This week Frank is featuring Dr Ross Roy...
In the first article he is telling us...
G. Ross Roy has done it again! He has published another masterful
book that will be used by scholars and laymen alike for years to
come. The new publication was compiled by Elizabeth A. Sudduth with
the assistance of Clayton Tarr. Sudduth is the head of Rare Books
and Special Collections Processing and Services for the Thomas
Cooper Library at the University of South Carolina and is very
experienced in this field of work and publishing. This catalogue
contains over 6,000 items on Burns. Written between the lines of
this book is the story of a book collector’s dream – to build one of
the world’s most significant libraries or collections on Robert
Burns. Mission accomplished!
You can read the rest of this review at
http://www.electricscotland.com/familytree/frank/burns_lives41.htm
In the second article G. Ross Roy is writing about "What Robert
Burns means to me" and this can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/familytree/frank/burns_lives42.htm
All other articles by Frank can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/familytree/frank/index.htm
The Writings of John Muir
-------------------------
This week have up...
A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf
Chapter IV. Camping among the Tombs
Chapter V. Through Florida Swamps and Forests
Chapter VI. Cedar Keys
Chapter VII. A Sojourn in Cuba
Chapter VIII. By a Crooked Route to California
Chapter IX. Twenty Hill Hollow
and that completes this volume.
We also have started on Volume II - My First Summer in the Sierra.
The first chapter is up, "Through the Foothills with a Flock of
Sheep" and here is how this account starts...
IN the great Central Valley of California there are only two seasons
— spring and summer. The spring begins with the first rainstorm,
which usually falls in November. In a few months the wonderful
flowery vegetation is in full bloom, and by the end of May it is
dead and dry and crisp, as if every plant had been roasted in an
oven.
Then the lolling, panting flocks and herds are driven to the high,
cool, green pastures of the Sierra. I was longing for the mountains
about this time, but money was scarce and I couldn't see how a bread
supply was to be kept up. While I was anxiously brooding on the
bread problem, so troublesome to wanderers, and trying to believe
that I might learn to live like the wild animals, gleaning
nourishment here and there from seeds, berries, etc., sauntering and
climbing in joyful independence of money or baggage, Mr. Delaney, a
sheep-owner, for whom I had worked a few weeks, called on me, and
offered to engage me to go with his shepherd and flock to the
headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers — the very region I had
most in mind. I was in the mood to accept work of any kind that
would take me into the mountains whose treasures I had tasted last
summer in the Yosemite region. The flock, he explained, would be
moved gradually higher through the successive forest belts as the
snow melted, stopping for a few weeks at the best places we came to.
These I thought would be good centers of observation from which I
might be able to make many telling excursions within a radius of
eight or ten miles of the camps to learn something of the plants,
animals, and rocks; for he assured me that I should be left
perfectly free to follow my studies.
I judged, however, that I was in no way the right man for the place,
and freely explained my shortcomings, confessing that I was wholly
unacquainted with the topography of the upper mountains, the streams
that would have to be crossed, and the wild sheep-eating animals,
etc.; in short that, what with bears, coyotes, rivers, canons, and
thorny, bewildering chaparral, I feared that half or more of his
flock would be lost. Fortunately these shortcomings seemed
insignificant to Mr. Delaney. The main thing, he said, was to have a
man about the camp whom he could trust to see that the shepherd did
his duty, and he assured me that the difficulties that seemed so
formidable at a distance would vanish as we went on; encouraging me
further by saying that the shepherd would do all the herding, that I
could study plants and rocks and scenery as much as I liked, and
that he would himself accompany us to the first main camp and make
occasional visits to our higher ones to replenish our store of
provisions and see how we prospered. Therefore I concluded to go,
though still fearing, when I saw the silly sheep bouncing one by one
through the narrow gate of the home corral to be counted, that of
the two thousand and fifty many would never return.
I was fortunate in getting a fine St. Bernard dog for a companion.
His master, a hunter with whom I was slightly acquainted, came to me
as soon as he heard that I was going to spend the summer in the
Sierra and begged me to take his favorite dog, Carlo, with me, for
he feared that if he were compelled to stay all summer on the plains
the fierce heat might be the death of him. "I think I can trust you
to be kind to him," he said, "and I am sure he will be good to you.
He knows all about the mountain animals, will guard the camp, assist
in managing the sheep, and in every way be found able and faithful."
Carlo knew we were talking about him, watched our faces, and
listened so attentively that I fancied he understood us. Calling him
by name, I asked him if he was willing to go with me. He looked me
in the face with eyes expressing wonderful intelligence, then turned
to his master, and after permission was given by a wave of the hand
toward me and a farewell patting caress, he quietly followed me as
if he perfectly understood all that had been said and had known me
always.
You can read the rest of this chapter at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/muir/vol2_chapter1.htm
The rest of the chapters can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/muir/index.htm
Home and Farm Food Preservation
-------------------------------
By William V. Cruess (1918)
Have added several more chapters to this book...
Chapter VII - Fruit Juices
26. Fruits for Juice
27. Crushing
28. Heating before Pressing
29. Pressing
30. Clearing the Juice
31. Bottling and Canning
32. Pasteurization of Fruit Juices
Chapter VIII - Fruit and other Sirups
33. Sources of Sirups
34. Clearing the Juice
35. Deacidification
36. Concentration
37. Storing the Sirup
Chapter IX - Jellies and Marmalades
38. Fruits for Jelly
39. Preparing and Cooking the Fruit
40. Expressing and Clearing the Juice
41. Testing for Pectin
42. Testing for Acid
43. Addition of Sugar
44. Sheeting Test for Jelling Point
45. Thermometer Test
46. Hydrometer Test for Jelling Point
47. Meaning of Thermometer and Hydrometer Tests
48. Pouring and Cooling the Jelly
49. Coating with Paraffin
50. Sterilization of Jellies
51. Jellies without Cooking
52. Jelly Stocks
53. Crystallization of Jellies
54. Marmalades
Chapter X - Fruit James, Butters and Pastes
55. Jams
56. Fruit Butters
57. Fruit Pastes
Chapter XI - Fruit Preserves and Candied Fruits
58. Preserves
59. Candied Fruits
Chapter XII - Fruit Drying
60. Fruit Drying—Importance of the Industry
61. Gathering the Fruit
62. Transfer to the Dry Yard
63. Cutting and Peeling
64. Dipping Fruits before Drying
65. Sulphuring Fruits before Drying
66. Trays for Sun Drying
67. Sun Drying
68. Artificial Evaporation
69. Sweating
70. Processing and Packing
Chapter XIII - Vegetable Drying
71. Vegetables for Drying
72. Preparation
73. Blanching
74. Sulphuring
75. Sun Drying
76. Artificial Drying
77. Processing Sun Dried Vegetables
78. Packing and Storing Dried Vegetables
The Vegetable Drying chapter starts...
Many surplus vegetables can be dried and thus made available for use
throughout the year. The methods are similar to those used for
fruits. In regions of dry summers, sun drying may be used; under
other conditions, artificial evaporation must be resorted to.
Vegetables contain from 80% to 95% water; drying, therefore,
decreases the weight from five to twentyfold.
71. Vegetables for Drying. Certain vegetables give very good
products when dried; others do not lend themselves well to this
method of preservation or are more satisfactory when preserved in
some other way, e. g., by salting or fermentation, etc. Corn, green
peas, green string beans, potatoes, turnips, carrots, onions, and
tomatoes may be dried very satisfactorily. Artichokes, asparagus,
cucumbers, cabbage, sweet peppers, and cauliflower do not dry well,
and give better results when preserved by salting or fermentation.
72. Preparation. The vegetables should be clean and of good quality.
Root vegetables should be washed thoroughly.
Potatoes must be peeled. Vegetable peelers are available for this
purpose, for the peeling of all root vegetables. These machines vary
from small kitchen sizes to large power driven peelers of several
tons' daily capacity. Turnips, carrots, parsnips, and onions are
best peeled without parboiling. Beets are parboiled for fifteen or
twenty minutes, after which the skin may be slipped off easily.
Other vegetables are prepared as for cooking for the table.
The rest of this chapter can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/food/preservation/chapter13.htm
All the other chapters can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/food/preservation/index.htm
Parish Life in the North of Scotland
------------------------------------
By Rev. Donald Sage A.M. (1899)
More chapters up this week and we now have...
Editor's Preface
Author's Preface
Chapter I - The Minister of Lochcarron and his times
Chapter II - The Minister of Lochcarron - continued
Chapter III - Alexander Sage; His early days. The Reay Country
Chapter IV - Alexander Sage in Dirlot, and his Caithness
Contemporaries
Chapter V - Alexander Sage: His Settlement at Lildonan. The
Presbytery of Dornoch
Chapter VI - The Topography of Kildonan
Chapter VII - Donald Sage; His Childhood
Chapter VIII - Boyhood
Chapter IX - School-Boy Days at Dornoch
Chapter X - Home and College Life
Chapter XI - Aberdeen Professors. Northern Notabilities
Chapter XII - Aberdeen and Edinburgh; Divinity Halls
Here is how Chapter IX starts...
1801-1803.
MY brother impresses himself strongly on my reminiscences of this
particular period of my life. I was warmly attached to him. Our
fishing expeditions together on "the burn" to its very source, and
along the bank of the river, and on one occasion to Loch Ascaig; our
excursions also to Coille-an-Loist, Coill'-Chil-Mer,
Cnoc-an-Eireannaich, Suidh-an-fhir-bhig, Cnoe-an-t'sholuis-leathad,
and Allochdarry for blae-berries and cloud-berries, all now recall
to my remembrance my brother's intercourse and affection. It was
about the beginning of November, 1801, I think, that we went
together to the school at Dornoch. In the previous October some riot
on the heights of Kildonan demanded the presence of the
under-Sheriff of the county, to inquire into the particulars. The
gentleman who then held office as under-Sheriff was Mr. Hugh
MacCulloch of Dornoch, better known as an eminent Christian than as
a magistrate or lawyer. His father, a respectable burgess of Dornoch,
was one of the bailies of that burgh. His son Hugh, after receiving
the rudiments of his education at his native town, studied law in
Edinburgh. When a boy at school a remarkable event in his life took
place.
He had gone with one or two other youths of his own age to bathe. It
was at that part of the Dornoch firth to the south of the town,
called "the cockle ebb." Having gone into the water he attempted to
swim, and, getting beyond his depth, sank to the bottom. His
companions immediately gave the alarm, when two or three men engaged
in work hard by plunged into the sea for his recovery. But he had
been so long in the water that, when taken out, he was to all
appearance lifeless. By judicious treatment, however, suspended
animation was restored. This narrative I received from his own lips,
and he further added that, if God were to give him his choice of
deaths, he would choose drowning, for, he said, he felt as he was in
the act of sinking, and when the waters were rushing in at his mouth
and nostrils, as if he were falling into a gentle sleep. That
choice, in the inscrutable providence of God, was given him, for
about four miles above that spot, on that identical firth, he was,
with many others, drowned at the Meikle-ferry, an occurrence
hereafter to be noticed. The year of his appointment as
Sheriff-Substitute of Sutherland I do not know. His character as a
judge was ordinary.
His administration of justice was free indeed from all sorts of
corruption, but it was defective in regard to clear views of civil
and criminal law. Sheriff MacCulloch, however, shone as a man of
ardent and enlightened piety. Saving impressions by divine truth and
divine agency had been made upon his mind at an early age, and he
advanced in the Christian life under the training, and in the
fellowship, of the most eminent Christians and evangelical ministers
in the four northern counties. On the evening of his arrival at
Kildonan from the heights of the parish, on the occasion alluded to,
he was drenched almost to the skin, as it had rained heavily through
the day; he especially required dry stockings, and he preferred
putting them on at the kitchen fireside. I was directed to attend
him thither; bringing with me everything that was necessary to make
him comfortable. Whilst thus engaged he took particular notice of
me, and asked me many questions about my progress in learning,
particularly in Latin. He was much pleased with my answers, and said
that, if my father would send my brother and me to school at Dornoch,
he would keep us for three months in his own house. He repeated the
same thing to my father next day at parting, assuring him that the
parochial teacher at Dornoch was resorted to as a teacher of ability
and success. The proposal was entertained, and preparations were
made for us to go thither in the beginning of November.
The morning of the day of our departure from under the paternal
roof, to attend a public school, at last dawned upon us. My brother
and I had slept but little that night. After breakfasting by
candlelight, we found our modes of conveyance ready for us at the
entry-door. My father mounted his good black horse Toby, a purchase
he had lately made from Captain Sackville Sutherland of Uppat, while
my brother and I were lifted to the backs of two garrons employed as
work-horses on the farm. We set forward, and both my sisters
accompanied us to the ford on the burn, close by the churchyard,
whence, after a few tears shed at the prospect of our first
separation, we proceeded on our journey accompanied by a man on
foot. We crossed the Crask, and stopped for refreshment at an inn
below Kintradwell, in the parish of Loth, called Wilk-house, which
stood close by the shore.
This Highland hostelry, with its host Robert Gordon and his
bustling, talkative wife, were closely associated with my early
years, comprehending those of my attendance at school and college.
The parlour, the general rendezvous for all comers of every sort and
size, had two windows, one in front and another in the gable, and
the floor of the room had, according to the prevailing code of
cleanliness, about half an inch of sand upon it in lieu of
carpeting. As we alighted before the door we were received by Robert
`'Wilk-house," or "Rob tighe na faochaig," as he was usually called,
with many bows indicative of welcome, whilst his bustling helpmeet
repeated the same protestations of welcome on our crossing the
threshold. We dined heartily on cold meat, eggs, new cheese, and
milk. "Tam," our attendant, was not forgotten; his pedestrian
exercise had given him a keen appetite, and it was abundantly
satisfied. In the evening we came to the manse of Clyne. Mr. Walter
Ross and his kind wife received us with great cordiality. Mrs. Ross
was a very genteel, lady-like person, breathing good-will and
kindness. To her friends by the ties of affection, amity, or blood,
her love and kindness gushed to overflowing. Her father was a
Captain John Sutherland, who, at the time of his daughter's
marriage, was tacksman of Clynelisb, within a quarter of a mile due
south of the manse of Clyne. After the expiry of his lease he went
to reside at Dornoch, and the farm was at the time I speak of in the
possession of Mr. Hugh Houston, sometime merchant at Brora, and the
brother of Mr. Lewis Houston of Easter-Helmisdale, whom I have
named. Mr. Ross had by his wife a son and a daughter; the daughter
died in infancy; the son, William Baillie, was of the same age with
myself, and is, at the time I write (August 1842) a physician of
repute in Tain.
You can read the rest of this chapter at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/parishlife/chapter9.htm
The other chapters can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/parishlife/index.htm
Poenamo
-------
Sketches of the early days of New Zealand, Romance and Reality of
Antipodean life in the infancy of a New Colony by John Logan
Campbell (1881)
Delighted to find this book as books about New Zealand in the early
days are not easy to find.
He writes to his children...
To My Children
I DO not sit down to pen these memoirs under the vain delusion that
the small events of my small life are worthy of record.
But I think when I have passed away you ought not to be in ignorance
of your father's life, nor' be placed in the position of having to
ask some stranger about those days and myself when allusion is made
to events of a long-ago past in which it fell to my lot to act a
somewhat prominent part.
A simple narrative of my own writing seems to me the most natural
and fitting source from which you should become acquainted with all
I have passed through in the early days of the first colonisation of
the country which has become the land of my adoption and will be
your own future home.
To that far-distant land you are as yet strangers. Born in the sunny
clinic of fair Italy, you have yet to learn that there is a far-away
land even more fair, with a still more sunny sky, and a still more
genial climate.
After many, many years spent in that land, and having reaped the
reward of my early struggles there, I am now taking a long decade of
holidays and wandering with you o'er many lands, amongst the fairest
cities and finest scenery of the old world, before we finally take
our rest in our own home in the new world of the Great South Land.
I commence these my reminiscences, strange to say, in the "land of
the mountain and the flood," in my "ain kintrie," whilst sitting on
banks of the Dee, the Braemar moorlands around me. In all
likelihood, ere the last page is written I shall be once again in
the far-away land where the scenes I am about to depict took
place—scenes which can never occur there again, for civilisation has
replaced the reign of savagedom which prevailed in the days of the
pioneer settlers.
And life then was of a primitive simplicity which call me again, for
now the iron road commences to span the land, and its very
aborigines of the present day can no longer speak correctly their
own language as spoken by their fathers two score years ago, so
rapidly has that short epoch in history of the colony changed all
things.
I intend to divide these memoirs into two periods. The first period
will refer almost entirely to myself and the native people amongst
whom I was thrown after leaving the parental roof and starting for
myself in the race of life. It will bring the period of it to the
point when I changed the whole current of my life, making its stream
thereafter flow in a new channel, when I joined the pioneer band who
saw the birth and earliest years of the infant capital of a new
colony born to the Crown of England.
The second period will deal more historically of the colony when my
own individuality will have become merged in the increased
population and advancement of the young settlement.
When I have brought my memoirs down to a date that you yourselves
can take up the thread of my life and your own from your own
memories—then I shall lay aside my pen.
It may be that you will not read what I intend to set down here
until I shall have passed away and been gathered alongside of my
brother pioneers, who have now almost all paid the last debt of
Nature, leaving me in marked solitude, to be almost the only
remaining link that binds the long ago past with the present time,
and who can tell you...
END.
Here is a short biography of his life...
CAMPBELL, Sir John Logan
(1817–1912).
Auckland pioneer and benefactor.
John Logan Campbell was born at Edinburgh on 3 November 1817. His
father was Dr John Campbell (1784–1867), son of Sir James Campbell,
of Aberu-chill and Kilbryde, and his mother was Catherine née Logan
(1788–1865). It seems that it was because of parental pressure
rather than of a love for medicine that John Logan went to Edinburgh
University, where he graduated M.D. and F.R.C.S. Determined to see
something of the world, he sought a commission as medical officer in
the East India Company; but as opportunities for settlement were
offering in Australia, he decided to emigrate there, and sailed in
the Palmyra as ship's doctor on 3 July 1839, arriving in Australia
later that year.
After spending some time in the Bathurst and Lachlan districts,
Campbell decided against settling in Australia, and sailed for New
Zealand in the Lady Lilford, arriving at Coromandel on 13 April
1840. Here he was met by William Webster, an American trader, and by
William Brown whom he had first met on the Palmyra. Hearing of the
Government's decision to establish the capital at the Waitemata,
Campbell and Brown conceived the plan of buying up land, forming a
township, and selling it off. Accordingly they visited the Waitemata,
but the natives refused to sell them any suitable land. Brown,
however, purchased the island of Motukorea (now Browns Island),
where on 13 August 1840 he and Campbell took up residence, remaining
there until after the founding of the capital. Quick to see
possibilities in the new capital, they decided to set up as
merchants and commission agents; on 21 December 1840, therefore,
they “came to town”, pitched their tent near the beach at Commercial
Bay (the foot of the present Shortland Street) and began business.
In due course they built business premises in Shortland Crescent,
and in O'Connell Street built the “Acacia Cottage” which now stands
in Cornwall Park.
In 1843 they erected a brick building next to their business
premises, and this they let to Gibson and Mitchell who were in
partnership with them, though the businesses were carried on under
different names. This partnership enabled Brown and Campbell to
obtain the necessary capital to develop the business. Campbell soon
realised the country's need for exports, and saw the implication for
their own business. He therefore set about obtaining goods suitable
for export, and in 1844 the firm purchased the barque Bolina. On 20
December 1844 the flag was hoisted on Point Britomart to mark the
departure of Auckland's first cargo to be sent by direct ship to
England – kauri spars, manganese, and copper ore. Brown sailed with
the ship, returning to Auckland in 1847. By this time the firm was
well established and flourishing, the business side being left
mainly to Campbell and Mitchell, for Gibson was in Scotland, while
Brown, on his return, became immersed in politics. In June 1848
Campbell left for Scotland, returning in 1850. Hoping to profit from
the California gold rush, he immediately set out for San Francisco
with a cargo of potatoes, onions, etc., returning with a huge
profit.
Although deeply interested in political and other public matters,
Campbell, during these first 10 years, did not take such an active
part in public affairs, as he did later, preferring to devote his
energies to the business. He was, however, president of the
Mechanics' Institute in 1846, was one of the group who founded the
Auckland Savings Bank in 1846, became the local director of the new
Auckland branch of the Union Bank of Australia in 1847, and was
associated with Brown in the Southern Cross newspaper founded in
1843; but he refused FitzRoy's offer of a seat in the Legislative
Council, having no taste, either then or later, for a political
life.
After his return from overseas, Campbell moved to “Logan Bank”, the
house he had built in Jermyn Street in 1842. In May 1855 the
partnership with Gibson and Mitchell ceased. Brown at this time was
Superintendent of the province but, when family reasons compelled
him to leave New Zealand, he resigned. Campbell was asked to stand
against Whitaker, which he did very reluctantly. He defeated
Whitaker, but was Superintendent for only 10 months until September
1856, when he resigned to go to Europe. On 25 February 1858, he
married Emma, daughter of Cracroft Wilson, at Meerut, India,
returning with her to join his parents in Naples, where on 22
December 1858 their first child, Ida, was born. In 1859 he returned
to Auckland and in 1860 was elected unopposed for Auckland Suburbs,
but resigned before his departure for Europe in 1861. The next 10
years were spent in Europe, mainly in Italy. On 15 May 1861 a child,
Cicily, was born, but died on 20 November 1861. On 26 May 1864,
twins were born, John Logan (who died on 5 February 1867) and
Winifred. In December 1870 the family left for New Zealand, and the
rest of Campbell's life was closely bound up with the city of
Auckland. In 1876 Campbell's wife and daughters went to England for
his daughters' education, but in 1880, Ida, his elder daughter,
died. The Campbells from then on lived in Auckland at “Kilbryde”,
the house he had built on Campbell Point.
In 1897 the firm, which had some time earlier entered the brewing
business, became amalgamated with Ehrenfried Brothers, prominent
brewers. Brown had relinquished his interest in the firm in 1874,
and the name now became Campbell and Ehrenfried. It is impossible to
list the many business and other concerns with which Campbell was
associated as chairman, director, trustee, president, or secretary,
but in the years following his return to Auckland in 1871, he became
one of the most prominent figures in the commercial life of the
city. In addition, he was deeply interested in educational and
cultural matters. He was, for instance, responsible for the
establishment of a School of Design, which he maintained for 11
years until the founding of the Elam School of Art.
His gifts to the city are too numerous to list here, but he gave
generously to such institutions as children's homes and St. John
Ambulance – in fact, any organisation which was of benefit to the
citizens of Auckland had his practical sympathy. His greatest gift,
however, was that of the magnificent Cornwall Park. Originally
purchased in 1845 by Thomas Henry, it was bought by Brown and
Campbell in 1853. In 1901, when the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and
York visited New Zealand, Campbell was made Mayor to receive them
and to present the citizens' address of welcome. He had intended to
bequeath the park to the city, but it seemed to him a fitting
opportunity to present it to “the people of New Zealand” through the
hands of their Royal Highnesses. Campbell's own name for it had been
Corinth Park, but in honour of the royal visitors, he changed it to
Cornwall Park. Campbell was knighted in 1902 and died at “Kilbryde”
on 22 June 1912 in his ninety-fifth year.
From being the very junior partner of a firm which eked out a
precarious living on the shores of the infant capital, John Logan
Campbell became one of Auckland's best known and respected citizens.
Although always known as “Dr Campbell”, he concerned himself little
with medicine, a profession which held no attractions for him and
which, as a calling, he considered much inferior to “business”.
Thus, after a particularly profitable deal, he wrote in this vein to
his father: “What a botheration lot of pulses one would require to
feel – tongues to look at and prescriptions to write before the fees
would come up to the above sum, and as for a poor devil of a
dentist, he would require to slay at least 310 teeth …”. Although
neither he nor Brown had had any business training, the firm was
soon established on a sound footing, due in great measure to
Campbell's keen and farseeing mind. Money was to him, however, only
a means to an end, and when circumstances allowed, he set about
satisfying his life-long desire for travel, making several trips
overseas, and spending 10 years in what he called a “holiday” in
Europe. He did not believe in bequeathing large sums of money to
descendants, and thought money should be used and not hoarded. When
he finally settled in Auckland, he devoted himself to his business
and to the city, and became one of Auckland's greatest benefactors,
and its most prominent figure.
A statue was erected to him in his lifetime; the obelisk on One Tree
Hill was built at his request, and his grave is beside it; but we do
not need these reminders to keep his memory green. Institutions he
founded still exist; cultural, educational, and charitable
organisations still benefit from the generosity of John Logan
Campbell, the man who has been called the “Father of Auckland”.
We now have the first few chapters up which can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nz/poenamo/index.htm
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
-----------------------------
The April issue is now available. Beth's Newfangled Family Tree is
filled with articles about things Scottish - from events in the USA
to famous Orkadians and inside information on travel. You'll find
articles of interest to genealogists and news of the Scots Clan
organizations as well as Flowers of the Forest. This publication is
one where you can read about the latest goings on of your friends in
the Scottish community and the interesting things they are doing,
the honors they've won and what's happening in their lives.
Here is the front page story to read here...
Scots of the World Unite!
In a unique initiative Trees4Scotland has teamed up with The
Gathering 2009 to plant a new woodland in Scotland’s central
Highlands – and they need your support!
Not only will this fantastic project become a living monument to The
Clan Gathering and a legacy of the Year of Homecoming but it will
also help to enhance Scotland’s natural landscape and help in the
fight against global warming! With trees from only £10 it could not
be easier to get involved and anyone planting 5 trees or more will
get their name placed up on the onsite honours board.
Angus Crabbie of Trees4Scotland says, “Our ultimate aim is for every
visitor to Scotland take a positive action and plant a tree. So far
we have been massively encouraged by the support that we have
received – especially from the many Clan groups and societies in all
parts of the world.”
All of the trees planted will be native varieties such as oak,
birch, ash and rowan as this project aims to restore part of
Scotland’s landscape back to its natural woodland state. This in
turn will encourage the regeneration of wildlife habits, and have
the additional benefit of combating climate change.
For further information please visit
http://www.teaghlachwood.com
or Contact: Angus Crabbie, Trees4Scotland Email:
gus@trees4scotland.com
You can read this issue at
http://www.electricscotland.com/bnft
Fallbrook Farm Update
---------------------
Another update from this heritage project in which they tell us...
As promised in our last update, we are telling you about our Aunt
Rachel Schwann-McKay. She is the last person still living who
actually lived on the farm with the patriarch Donald McKay. Elders
such as Wilma and Alma Sinclair lived on neighboring farms and you
will soon here of their stories. Mmes. Keir, Gegghie and Gates
maintained the heritage of Fallbrook until its last gasp. They will
be sharing their memories as well. We shall begin with a text
written by our resident historian, Joan. Along with a formal
presentation made by John and Irene Keir to Halton Hills Municipal
Council on December 7, 2007, it was these efforts following up on
intensive lobbying done by the McKay family which turned the tide
against demolition.
You can read this story and other information at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/canada/fallbrook18.htm
Marbh-Rann
----------
These are two Gaelic poems by Dhomhnull Ruadh Mac-an-t-Saoir and if
there is anyone out there who could translate these poems into
English I'd love to hear from you :-)
You can see these at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/articles/marbh_rann.htm
The Mc Intyre's 1805 - 1990
---------------------------
This is a book that was handed into me at my home. A local McIntyre
has published a book about his line of McIntyre's from Glen Noe in
Scotland who had emigrated to Canada and obviously some of them also
spread over the world. I've scanned it into a pdf file so you can
read it as well. It is a 15Mb download but you can pick it up from
the MacIntyre page or directly at
http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/m/macintyre/mcintyres_canada1.pdf
And that's it for now and hope you all have a good weekend :-)
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com
OUR NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES
-----------------------
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