| Description | Farming diary, no. 7.
This medium-sized volume has a worn brown cover with a black design, featuring birds, a floral branch, and containing the word 'Manuscripts', on the front The diary's dates are written on a white sticker in the middle of the front cover. The volume is faintly lined and the writing is generally neat and legible (although the writer sometimes crams in the words which end an entry when he comes to the bottom of a page), but the punctuation is sporadic. Scots words and idioms appear often in the text.
Most diary entries discuss routine agricultural work such as ploughing, sowing, caring for horses and livestock, harrowing, drag-harrowing, winnowing, raising drills, thrashing, casting peats, hoeing turnips, harvesting, cutting, driving out dung, wisping straw, transporting crops, and maintaining and repairing equipment and facilities. They conclude with a summary of the day's weather. On Sundays Mr Mathieson usually worships at Church along with his wife Bella. Friends and relatives sometimes come to Balmuir for a visit.
The action of the diary is limited to areas in and around Balmuir, Mr Mathieson's farm: Balmuir, Cadenhead's Park, Corskie, Skene, Echt, Inverurie, Cairnton, Castle Fraser, Cluny, Waterton, Kintore, Affloch, Chalmer's Hill, Aberdeen, Gight, Dunecht, Old Rain (Rayne), Blair of Chapel, Bervie.
Some notable events from this diary: cow calves at Balmuir; calls at Dr Henry; the two Miss Brodies visit; buys new cow from George Pirie; the new cow calves; very fine days in April; Jane Aitken keeps house at Balmuir on Communion Sabbath; works with James Cadenhead; goes to Aberdeen with others for Tom's marriage; gets horses shod at smithy; thunder and rain in May; visits Colin Valentine in Affloch; showers of hail in June; James Allan marries; attends James Wilson's 'splendid' marriage; uses 'bobing John' for sowing; Miss Smith is wed; has pleasant evening at Mr Collier's; visits Aberdeen for Cattle Show, misses his returning bus, so gets a lift home from Mr Mowat; Mother and Mary visit Balmuir; enjoys piano music at Mr Collier's with Bella and Mary; uses reaping machine; attends Laurance Fair at Old Rayne with Davie, his horse, having stopped at Blair of Chapel on the way; Davie is sold at the market for £55; yokes a new mare to the cart; gets new boots; very tired on Sabbath; Mr and Mrs Collier visit Balmuir; cold and stormy in October; gets a dance on clyack night; collects James Duthie Jr's wedding furniture from Aberdeen; gets doctor for Bella as she is unwell; at 3.10am on Tuesday 8 November, Bella gives birth to a daughter (a fact noted without further comment); ill with rheumatism; gets baby daughter registered; summer-like day in November; has boots repaired at Bogentorie; finds Colin Valentine's dog at Corskie; has baby daughter Isa baptised on Sunday 1 January 1882; attends Mrs Leith's 'fireside Ball'; is released from work early on Auld Yule day; damaging hurricane in early January; dances a lot at Corskie ball; receives letter from Manatobia; attends concert given by the Choir of the Free West Church, Aberdeen - 'the best singing I ever heard'.
Some Scots words and idioms used in the volume: yoking, neepreet, burn (stream), lowsed, lowsing time, feering, grubber, feeing market, drouth, redd up, kail, hacket, causeyed, dockens, quey, cole, midden, byre, feeding cattle, stooks, take clyack, dyke, leading (with carts), piece (snack), fause houses, drouth, hole (dig up from the ground), rib (plough alternate furrows), easins, eddered, Meikle Friday, feering, lum. |