| Description | Farming diary, no. 22.
17 March - 30 June 1896
Adam Gordon of the Haddoch dies; Old James Simpson visits; attends funeral of Adam Gordon Sr. of the Haddoch with Bella; attends a magic lantern lecture at the Church; commences sowing on 26 March; goes to meeting of Session in the Manse; the gray mare was ill, but she swiftly recovered after receiving some linseed oil and turpentine!; sells two stots to Mr Alsop for £32; attends Mrs Annand's funeral; the Bell cow claves twins; attends lantern lecture at Kemnay F.C. on South Africa; enjoys pleasant afternoon at Arneidly with Bella and Auntie; the Jamie cow calves; attends Miss Mathieson's funeral; buys a double-barrel gun at for 14/ at the Mill Farm displenish sale; goes to evening Church meeting; Andrew finishes the rolling for a season; attends Lauchentilly displenish sale; attends prayer meeting and Deacons' Court at the Church; goes to displenish sale at Bervie in Skene with Mr Reid of Roquharold; attends Mr and Mrs Govan's meeting; attends George Ross's funeral; Jamie and Andrew have to leave James Emslie's cart at Burnside of Kintore when a ring comes off one of its wheels, but they manage to recover the situation; Uncle John Lovie brings his niece Katie, being in poor health, to stay a short time; buys new suit from James Diack for £2..12..6; attends Church Assembly in Edinburgh; visits the 'principal places' of Edinburgh with Mr Anderson and also Stirling Castle; returns to Mosshead 'after being one week & two days from home'; the Maggie cow calves; keeps Johnnie at home from school to help with peats; commences to hoe turnips for the first time in the season; Katie Lovie returns home.
1 July - 30 September 1896
Mr Winchester, 'the Colporteur of Skene', visits; sells four queys to Mr Alsop for £57 and buys five stots from him for £61; reads from the Life of Dr Kidd; works on the road breaking stones; goes to Duncan's Sale in Aberdeen, visits Uncle Robert's and attends the corn market; Andrew's bike breaks down near Alford; assists with the steam thrashing mill at Roquharold with Willie and Johnnie; Willie attends the Haddo House Games; visits the Barrons at Bellabeg, Strathdon, with Bella; goes to Aldachuie and climbs nearby hill, gaining a very good view of Glenlivet; sells two swine at stock sale for £4..11 less two shillings for commission; Mr Strachan of John's Forest buys the gip mare for £5; they commence the harvest on 25 August; all except Bella and Willie attend a lantern lecture on the lights and shadows of London; buys a field of corn and fodder for £3 per acre; four calves are bad with foul in the foot; attends evangelistic meeting with Bella and Miss Rettie; takes clyack on 16 September; attends tent meeting in the village, but '[it] came to an abrupt conclusion owing to a hurricane of wind getting up like to blow down the tent'.
1 October - 31 December 1896
buys a shalt (Shetland pony) from Mr Henderson of Arneidly for £18..10; the ploughing starts on 12 October; Andrew, Johnnie and Mary attend a singing class; enjoys hearing Mr Watkins the evangelist; attends 'very good' lantern lecture on central Africa; attends prayer meeting and Deacons' Court; 'we could not have got a better day for thrashing'; finishes Life of Dr Kidd; has winter supper on 29 October; visits Mr Emslie at Pittarrow with Bella; attends displenish sale at the Hill of Crimond; attends thanksgiving for the harvest prayer meeting at Church; attends prayer meeting and Deacons' Court; hears Mr Whittle, an American evangelist, in Kemnay; sells Mr Alsop four cattle for £78 and receives two calver queys from him; engages man to work the horses for £13..10 at Inverurie feeing market; enjoys 'very pleasant' tea at the F.C. Manse with Bella; pays rent at Kemnay House and also poor rates and other expenses; attends displenish sale at Newbigging, Inverurie; the shalt throws off Andrew and hurts him; attends a lantern lecture on the Bay of Naples, but '[t]he gas went down & they did not manage to finish the lecture'; the farrier examines the Betty cow; reads pamphlet on the conversion of the Jews; the boys, Mary and others attend a 'Cinematograph entertainment' in Kemnay; sells four cattle to Mr Alsop for £62; buys a calver quey for £16.
1 January - 12 April 1897
Charlie and Andrew go to Aberdeen on New Year's Day; buys two stirks at Inverurie market for £16..10; the new quey calves; Johnnie collects the sustentation money; attends lantern lecture; Andrew's horse falls on ice while carting out dung and breaks both shafts of the cart; stormy snow showers and blizzards in January; attends prayer meeting and meeting of Session; hard frost in early February; attends prayer meeting and Deacons' Court; values John Cameron's turnip loss after damage caused by sheep; attends a cantata in the F.C. - 'an excellent entertainment'; sells Flora cow to Mr Alsop for £16..15; sells pig in Aberdeen for £2..6..6 less one shilling commission; the Janet cow calves; helps in the search for Mr Reid's lost bull - which is found by Mr Strachan of John's Forest; attends lantern lecture on Spain; attends a sale of horses at Raik Road, Aberdeen; collects the sustentation money and takes it to Mr McDonald; Johnnie gets an apprenticeship with Marshall & Company Preserved Provision Works at Spring Garden, Aberdeen; attends prayer meeting and meeting of Session; sells the Betty cow and Maggie cow to Mr Alsop for £24; George Mitchell has a bad night; Peter Dunbar's mare gives birth to two dead foals; attends displenish sale at Gowanlea; the Jenny cow calves; attends David Duncan's funeral; the mare foals; attends a missionary meeting in Mr Burnett's school; Bella sells her pig for £2..10; sows for the first time in the year on 9 April; Johnnie visits from Aberdeen with a bicycle. |