FLOW OP THE RIVER TEV1OT. 185 



trouts were scarcely covered in the small pools which remained, and 

 were easily captured by the hand. About 12, the flow of water began 

 to increase, and at 1 P. M. was so completely established that the river 

 assumed its ordinary size. The miller informed me that the supply in- 

 creased gradually, and did not come in a rush. The mills at Rox- 

 burgh, Heiton, and Sunlaws, situated from two to three miles above Max- 

 wellheugh, were similarly circumstanced. The following fact is curious. 

 At Ormiston, five miles from the mouth of the river, there is a cauld, facing 

 the north-east. Against this cauld, a keen cold wind blew directly, and 

 by the combined influences of the wind, and a tolerably intense frost, 

 a regular wall of ice, consisting chiefly of ice attached to the stones and 

 grew, was formed behind it across the river, which completely obstructed 

 the flow of the water over it, which consequently rose to the height of 

 nearly two feet in a pool above, nearly a mile in length. The mill at 

 Ormiston never ceased to revolve, as the miller broke the ice communicat- 

 ing with the sluice, and the ice collected against the cauld. Near mid-day, 

 partly by the enormous pressure a tergo, and partly by means of the solar 

 influence, this barrier gave way, and permitted the flow of the water 

 downwards. 



A mill at Nisbet, three miles higher than Ormiston, also stopped from 

 want of an adequate supply of water. 



At Minto, fourteen miles from Kelso, the river was observed in the 

 morning to be nearly dry. During the forenoon, there was a partial rise 

 above its usual level, which, however, soon subsided. 



I regret that I have not been able to investigate fully the particulars 

 respecting the state of the river at this point. 



At Hawick, six miles farther up, I am informed by a correspondent, 

 that, during the morning and forenoon, the mills were stopped for want 

 of their usual supply of water, and that near mirl-rlay the supply was 

 t M;iblished, and the mills again at work. For several miles above Ha- 

 wick, the river was remarkably small, and the same appearances were ob- 

 served in its tributaries. 



The bed of Rule water, near its junction with the Teviot opposite 

 Minto, was perfectly dry. Several mills upon this stream were obliged 

 to cease their operations for several hours ; but the mill highest on the 

 river, about a mile from its sluice, never was interrupted from any defi- 

 cient supply. My friend in Hawick mentions, that during a severe frost, 

 the river there is frequently as small as on the late occasion, that it excites 

 no surprise, and is universally attributed to frost. The thermometer, 

 during the night of the 26th, and morning of the 27th November, fell 

 rapidly to 27 F. The river Tweed at Kelso, was nearly frozen across, 

 and an immense quantity of grew, incompact ice, floated down through- 

 out the whole day. The wind was very high from the north-east. The 

 barometer 30'.5. 



