258
ON THE RUftAL ECONOMY
tures, than to see such colonies of hardy and industrious pea-santry, as may be found in the Carses of Gowrie and Falkirk ,and in the counties of East Lothian, Roxburgh , ard Ber-wick.” And as they are inferior to none in their corporalpowers, it evidently appears, from the following remark, that,in a moral point of view, they rank among the very first classof labourers; for “ any neglect in so essential a duty as thatof educating their children, is held to be so scandalous, thathardly an instance of it is known. Boys and girls are inva-riably taught to read, and before their leaving school, theBible is made perfectly familiar to them
In the preceding pages, a brief statement having beengiven, of the mode of living among the labouring classes indifferent districts of the kingdom, the following Table, col-lected from the different County Reports, and the StatisticalAccount of Scotland, will shew the prices of the necessariesof life, in the several counties, at the dates of the respectiveauthorities.