FLOW OF THE RIYER TEVIOT, 185 



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 increased gradually, and did not come in a rush. The miUs 

 at Eoxburgh, Heiton, and Sunlaws, situated from two to three miles 

 above Maxwellheugh, 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 regidar 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 communicating with the sluice, and the ice 

 coUeeted 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 mid-day the supply 

 was established, and the mills again at work. For several miles above 

 Hawick, the river was remarkably small, and the same appearances 

 were observed 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 imiversally attributed to frost. The thermo- 

 meter, 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 

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

 east. The barometer 30°. 5. 



The drying up and cessation of the current of rivers, is not a new 

 occurrence in the south of Scotland. The same thing has been 

 frequently observed and recorded during the last century, and has 

 happened, I find from inquiry, several times since the commencement 



