Four Farthings

The major part of the Shire was divided into four quarters, known as the Farthings, which corresponded to the four points of the compass. Each had their own special characteristics: the Northfarthing was noted for its farms and moorland, the warmer Southfarthing for its Pipe-weed, and so on. The borders of the Farthings came together close to Bywater: three met at the Three Farthing Stone on the East Road, and the fourth, the Northfarthing, joined a few miles to the north.

The Four Farthings encompassed the lands of the Hobbits west of the River Brandywine. East of the river lay the Eastmarch of Buckland, which did not fall within the boundaries of any of the farthings. So, the expression 'Four Farthings' always refers to the original land founded by Marcho and Blanco, but not to Buckland, which was added to the Hobbit-lands more than seven hundred years later by Gorhendad Oldbuck.