1 1 83 



STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. 



Pakt IV 



|wrnt\-f»ve |>cr rnil U-yond wbat EU I* produced fttttfl the 



two bram Im inuncel] pursued on the mm amu oi equal 

 land. 



In the hlU district, the lamb an dmscIj oocnpiad ai bned- 



ing sheep firms ; taking ad\.mtigc oi -ill the nivourahle piacai 



, susceptible of cultivation, i.-r nJatna ■> little gram to 



miin.lv tin* t'.i imr\ family, mi inii. and bones; to afford 



i -i ii 1 1 1 in i in- straw during ** briar, by which dung 



b produced; t«> appb that dung t «» raise turnips, to carr* on 



their aheap rtw k nurlnaj winter . and ( filial ^ , t" produce crops 



i.ii t -r Knra rra * -• ' i haj indi sa j pastures) and to 



the irie.it amdiomtton of jktiu.hu nt gr.is.s lands. 



In the ncbdibourbood of loam and til aejet, various small 

 pwiciiinii bod Nroca three loss or less, t.. twenty oc more, 

 ara mm on leases of v ari o us endvnmcej but mostly fix ihon 

 psrlods bo vUlamm who keep one os two bursas* which thej 

 chiefly occupy m i< ding materia s for mad maker-. 

 the other i uiajrers, lime, or any mcb employment as ma; 

 The gnat maai of the land throughout the count? is let in 

 burins of every ■ Ti,l > <■" sfce,tron i* 1 in 50 ■ res, up to 1000 

 or more, to tenant* on leases of fixed endurame, mostly for 

 huh t.i n years. 



I h. . h mi tea of farmers in a lam din itry must 



be various ; but thereof Bexwicashlra areverj renerallj moat 

 respectable md Intelligent, and their success has been de- 

 aervedly proportional. The? have almost universally risen 

 complete!] above the oner itfve dan In know! dg . e du cation, 

 .-md tnasmers. asshnitanng in evorj respei t to th i baxacterof 

 country gentlemen. In even oorner of the county they are 

 to u- stVn t aming on extensive and costiy Improvements, bi 

 draining, enclosing, liming, and marling ; and b> careful and 

 judti loui Improvements "t their live stoi k, sheep, cattle, and 

 even horses, with all the eagerness ami Lntellig m e of i m ) 

 mercial speculators. They trust to the certain profits of future 

 \ears to reimburse their large expenditures with reasonable 

 profit, which they are enabled to do through the sufficiencg of 



the I capitals, and the security of their li BseS. The former is 



derived from their own successful end Intelligent industry, or 

 that of their tathers; the latter from the good sense ol the 

 landlords, in seeing their own urtereats most materially inter- 

 woven in the security and success of their tenant -. 



4. Implements. 



No waggons or wheel ploughs, and, though drilling turnips 

 Ls univers.il, only one or two sorts of drills in Use. Few imple- 

 ments, and those of a simple construction, suffice for the best 

 practicians in every art. 



5. Enclosing. 



The cultivatable lands are universally enclosed, and subdi- 

 vided into regular fields, generally by hedges; but sometimes 

 I. stone wain. In the mountain district, the farms are neither 

 enclosed nor mbdhided. The boundaries of each farm are 

 indicated by landmarks, and round each farmery there are 

 gener.il'> two or three small fields for convenience or cultiva- 

 tion. Trees very generally planted in hedge-rows; hedges al- 

 ways Cut with a bill in the wedge shape; never clipped and 

 rounded, or broader at top than bottom; the sure means of 

 hindering the production of side shoots, and in time producing 

 naked places and gaps in that part of the hedge. 

 (>. Arabic Land. 



Ample details of the turnip culture in drills is given. 



7. Orchards. Ji 'oods. 



None of the former worth notice. Some native copies and 

 woods, and artificial plantations, but not much woodiuessj ex- 

 cepting round gentlemen's seats. 



8. Improvements. 



In this county were begun about 17~0, vhen Swmton of 

 B w in ton drained, marled, and completely enclosed his whole 



r-t itr\ Nearly about the same time, Hume of Ecclea effected 

 tdmllar bnpTovonients. lJoth of Uieae gentlemen wareactuated 

 by the example and aconatntance of Cocttmrn, of Ornilston. 



Henry II e, Lord K dmes, w as one of the early improver* 



of this count) about 1746, at Kaunas* now lle-sborough. About 

 1750, the ardour oi enclosing and Improving the land spread 

 j among the Berwickshire pToprietota. 



Paring and burning, Irrigation and embanking, not practised 

 or requir- d. 



9 Live Stock. 



The cattle of IJerwickshire areso much mixed by rrossing, 

 as scarce]* to admit of any particular description, t'pon the 

 whole, the? are short homed, thin hided, and kindly feedirs, 

 anil have been much Improved by crosses, with bulls of the 

 Teetwater b re ed , which is the Una chfeflj admired in this 

 district. Generally speaking the oxen are not carried on to 



anv age, and Ihej BR never worked. They are well fed from 

 their youth up, and are generally fed off for market in their 



fourth year, very few Teaching mre yean old, Cows, on th« 

 contrary, arc generally old before they are ftd off', Great 

 numbers of smaller cattle are bred upon the lower hills, and 

 are disposed of to graziers in the low country for reeding, 

 either on trr ss or turnips, or by ■ succession of both ; and 

 many Highland cattle of various descriptions are bought in 

 yearly for consuming straw, or for feeding on turnips during 

 winter, ami on grass m spring and summer. 



The sheep bred in Berwickshire are of several kinds. In the 

 most exposed of the Lammennuir and Lauderdale hills, the 

 Bocks are mostly of the black faced, or Tweeddale kind, and 

 are there exclusively kept fin* breeding. In the cultivated 

 tract the new Leicester breed, in a great variety of degrees of 

 perfection, now universally prevails ; and it is believed thai no 

 other known breed, in the peculiar circumstances of this 

 county, could be so profitable to the farmer. They require, 

 howev e r, alwavs to nave abundance of food, and easily pro- 

 cured ; for, l-eing short-legged, heavy-bodied, and carrying 

 a great weight or wool, they are unable to ondereo much 

 fatigue or hardship, and do not thrive unless plentifully sup- 

 plied at all seasons. This supply the agricultural system of 

 the district amply affords, and is indeed admirably calculated 

 for providing. On some of the best interior hills, and upon the 

 higher exterior lands, verging on Lammermuirand Lauderdale, 

 called the moor-edges, the Cheviot breed, or long sheen, are 

 kept. An intermediate breed between the cheviot and Lei- 

 cester, usually called ha'f-lired sheep', is very prevalent upon 

 the best of these situations. As a singular circuit stance, the 

 reporter records the case of a ewe of this county, which pro- 

 duced eleven lambs in three succeeding seasons. 



Horses, as in East Lothian, brought from the west of Scot- 

 land. 



10. Rural Economy. 



Farm servants managed as in East Lothian, and, indeed, 

 almost every where in the low country of Scotland. 



11. Political Economy. 



Commerce chiefly grain, woo!, and salmon; scarcely any 

 manufactures, excepting the paper-mills. The salmon fishery, 

 including Berwick bounds and the English side of the river, 

 employs about seven t> small boats, and nearly 300 fishermen. 

 All their fish are sold to a very respectabl fraternity of traders 

 in Berwick, named coopers, from tneir former business of mak- 

 ing kits, and boiling the fi--h, whi h is now entirely discon- 

 tinued. By them the salmon are packed in ice, and sent to 

 London, to l.e disposed of by factors on commission. This em- 

 ployment of ice was first essayed by Messrs. Richardson, of 

 rerth, on the suggestion of George Dempster, of Dunnichen, 

 Esq. who had accidentally read that such a practice was not 

 unusual in China. 



7^ S& ROXBURGHSHIRE or TEVIOTDALE contains 448,000 acres, of which about three fifths are 

 in sheep pasture, and the remaining two fifths, are occasionally under the plough, except about 8000 acres 

 occupied in woods, pleasure-grounds, and the sites of towns and villages. The surface is exceedingly 

 irregular, being in some places ninety, and in others iXXX) feet above the level of the sea. The climate 

 is equally various, and excessive rains, winds, frosts, and even hail and snow are by no means uncommon 

 in spring and harvest. There is a good deal of moss and peat soil in detached portions over the county ; 

 but the general character of the district is, that the low or arable part consists chiefly of a light or turnip 

 soil, and the hilly division of dry green pastures. There is a good deal of high, wet, barren land ; hut this 

 is by no means the character of the county at large. Limestone abounds in most parts of the district, and 

 coal has been found, but is not worked. The agriculture of the arable lands is in all respects the same as 

 that of Berwickshire, and that of the pastures resembles the store farming of the latter county and East 

 Lothian. Dawson, of Krogden, belongs to this county, and may be looked on as one of the greatest im- 

 proven of British agriculture. (Douglas's Roxburghshire^ 17iH. Edin. Oaz. abridged, 18S9L) 



1. Property. 



General!] In i urge estates, and little rhange of proprietorship 

 has taken place for nunj years. The largest between 25,000/. 

 ami .V<,ik«i/. ■ pssor. 



S Implements. Arable Land. 



Fanners, the reporter states, were first made in this county 

 h« one R-'g<-r-v, a firmer, of a mechanical turn, nenr Hawick, 



In 1733, or at least before 1 7." 7, who i-, said either to hive seen 

 a model, or a description of one, which had been brought from 

 VorfA wi-i Robertson states {linm' Reel- 

 trctumt, p. 1 1 7 ■ > thai he hinusslf convened with an old farmer! 

 the lata Mr. Thomas Shielut, at Orothlll near ESdinbursrbi who 



with his own bands made the lirst vtnnowlng machine in 

 the Lothians* from a nmilel of one imported from Holland-" 



ArahU hind mrlo**d, partK by hedges and partly by walls of 

 loose stones, without mortar. 



HoMgaJos; with iwo horses, without a driver, w.is practised 



in OiU COUntJ before it was in anv other. It was taught bv 



Il.iwson, of Vrogden, who Introduced the drill culture, to 



James Mai «iouu'-d.f.irmeT,at Linton, to Tweeddale, alive at the 

 tiroeofmsutinfcup Doujgtasra rej*>rt : it spread rapidly afters srus 

 thiouiiii the county, and the ndafaboor lna ones <>f Northum- 

 berland, Berwickshire^ Best Lotnum v and Twoedchue. Potatoes 



first planted in large l>eds about 1754 ; in 176*, in drills In the 



fields. Tobacco, during the American war, was cultivated to 



durable extent In the liMghtKHirhood of Kelso and Jed- 



burirli, and m some other spots. Its produce « as so ioe.it, that 



thirteen acres si Crailins, fetched I0w> .it the low rate of four- 

 pence \h-t pound and would have brought more than three 



times as much, had not an Act of Parliament obliged the cul- 

 tivator to dispose of it to Government at that price. This 

 count] lost about 1500/. sterling by that Act, which passed 

 while" the tobacco was growing; yet it excited not so much 

 murmuring and clamour among the sufferers as have been 

 elsewhere repeatedly raised, with less reason, against other 

 Acts in no respect so arbitrary and oppressive. 



:>. Gardens and Orchards. 



Thrive better in the lower parts of this county than in tho>e 

 on the east coast. At Melrose, Jedburgh, and Kelso, are the 

 remans of orchards planted by the priests several centuries ago, 

 the pear-trees of which are very productive- Wonderful 

 stories are told of their fertility. A single tree of the Thorle 

 j>ear at Melrose has for these tittv years past vie'ded the interest 

 of the money paid for the garden where it stands, and for a 

 house let for seven pounds sterling vearly. Another tree there 

 has carried fruit to the amount of three pounds annually, at 

 an average for the same period. In the % ear 1793, two trees 

 there brought to perfection about fiO.OUO pears, which were 

 sold for eight guineas. These facts are well authenticated. 

 There are also several more recent orchards near the same 

 -md l'-li > acres of nurseries Of these one of the oldest 

 and largest in Scotland is that of Messrs. Dicksons, of Hawick- 



4. Woods and Plantations. 



To the extent of 5*290 acres; nearly two thirds artificial. 



A. Live Stock. 



Cattle, a mixed breed, as in Berwickshire. Sheep of the 

 Cheviot kmd said to be greatb improved by a cross with the 



