The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

SOUTHERN SCOTLAND. 311
Under the fifty-sixth degree of latitude thej' secure crops far more abundant than
those obtained from the fertile lands on the Mediterranean, which are 900
miles nearer to the equator. Human labour and ingenuity have succeeded in
acclimatizing plants which hardly appeared to be suited to the soil and climate of
Scotland. About the middle of the eighteenth century a patch of wheat was
pointed out near Edinburgh as a curiosity, whilst now that cereal grows in abun-
dance as far north as the Moray Firth. And yet it appears as if the climate had
become colder, for it is no longer possible to cultivate the poppy or tobacco, as was
done in the beginning of the centurj'. Several varieties of apples, pears, and
prunes, formerly in high repute, no longer arrive at maturity, and the Horticultural
Societies have ceased offering prizes for these productions, because it is no longer
possible to grow them in the open air. The manufacturing triumphs of Scotland have
been quite equal to those achieved in agricidture, and it is on Scottish soil that
Glasgow, the foremost manufacturing town of the United Kingdom, has arisen,
with a population greater than that of either Manchester, Leeds, or Birmingham.
Scotland, through her numerous emigrants who live in London and the other
great towns, has also largely contributed towards the prosperity of England.
The hawkers in the English manufacturing districts are usually known as
" Scotchmen." The Scotch colonists in New Zealand and Canada are amono-st
the most active and industrious, and the young Lowlanders who go out to
India as Government officials are far more numerous in ijroportion than those from
England.
The love of education for its own sake, and not merely as a means to an end,
is far more widely spread in Scotland than in England. The lectures at the
universities are attended with a zeal which the students of Oxford or Cambridge
seldom exhibit. It is by no means rare to meet pupils in elementary schools
who are passionately fond of study, and the humble homes of artisans and
labourers frequently contain a select library which would do credit to a wealthy
English tradesman. At the same time there are not wanting young men who
accelerate their studies in order that they may secure the certificates which form
their passport to lucrative employment. They work hard, no doubt, but they
strive not after knowledge, but for material gain. The students of Edin-
burgh have little time to devote to those exercises of strength and skill which
are so highly cultivated at Oxford and Cambridge.* By a curious contrast, these
Scotchmen, so practical and full of common sense, have an extraordinary love for the
supernatural. They delight in stories of terror and of ghosts. Though clever
architects of their own fortunes, they are yet fatalists, and the religious sects
of which most of them are members defend with singular fervour the doctrine
of predestination. Thousands amongst the peasants, dressed in clerical black,
are veritable theologians, and know how to discuss the articles of their faith
with a great luxury of Scripture texts. As Emerson says, they allow their
dialectics to carry them to the extremes of insanity. In no other country of
the world is the Sabbath observed with such rigour as in Scotland. On that day
* Demogcot et Montucci, " De I'Enseignement superieur en Anglcterrc ct en Ecosso."