TRANSACTIONS OP SECTION E. 661 



2. The Andover Region : the Geographical Aspect of its Present Conditions. 



By 0. G. S. Crawford. 



Introduction. — Eeason for choice of title ; the two points of view ; evolution 

 in time and distribution in space ; a proposal to reconcile them. 



1. Physical Features. — (a) Land forms; (6) drainage system; both the result 

 of geological structure. 



2. Natural Vegetation. — Gradual replacement by artificial vegetation ; survivals 

 of the old order; to grasp the significance of any epoch, past or present, the 

 precise limits of forest, cultivation, and waste must be known and visualised. 



3. Industries. — Outcome of the geology and vegetation ; (a) agriculture, or 

 artificial vegetation; (b) livestock; (c) building materials ; (d) road materials. 



4. Settlements.- — Their distribution determined by need of sustenance for man 

 and beast. 



5. Communications. — Character directly influenced by physical features and 

 vegetation. 



Conclusion. — The reaction of man upon his natural surroundings. 



3. A Regional Survey of Edinburgh — Sheet 32. By James Cossar. 



The region represented on Sheet 32 of the one-inch map of the Ordnance 

 Survey of Scotland embraces practically the whole of Midlothian, about two- 

 thirds of the county of Linlithgow, and about seventeen square miles of Fife. 

 The most important physical feature is the range of the Pentland Hills, which 

 rises a few miles to the south-west of Edinburgh, extends across the region for a 

 distance of twelve miles into the adjoining county of Lanark, where it is cut off 

 from the southern uplands by the valley of the Clyde. Besides exerting an impor- 

 tant influence upon the climate, the vegetation, and industrial activities of the 

 region, the Pentlands divide the low-lying area into two well-marked districts : to 

 the east there extends a gently undulating plain, rising from the coast and only 

 reaching an elevation of 500 feet at a distance of eight miles from the sea, 

 traversed by the well-wooded and picturesque gorge of the River Esk, and 

 gradually becoming merged in the lower slopes of the Pentlands and the Moorfoot 

 Hills ; to the north and north-west another plain, greater in extent but diversified 

 by a number of hills and ridges, generally with an east-to-west direction — 

 e.g., Mons Hill, Arthur's Seat, Dalmahoy Hill. These hills and ridges are of 

 volcanic origin, and their appearance at the surface is the result of the prolonged 

 period of denudation that followed the Carboniferous Age, and especially during 

 the glacial epoch, and have profoundly affected the historical and commercial 

 relations of the region — e.g., the building of the Forth Bridge. The passing of 

 the ice-sheet across the region has exerted a profound influence not only upon 

 the configuration, but also upon its economic development. As a result of the 

 action of the ice great numbers of boulders were transported to the region, some- 

 times from a considerable distance ; a remarkable example is in the Comiston 

 sandpit near Edinburgh. Deposits of glacial sand and gravel are widespread 

 and have frequently served to furnish a water-supply, as well as for building 

 purposes. The deposits of boulder clay, sometimes attaining a depth of 100 feet, 

 have exerted an important influence upon the fertility of the region, and have 

 also given rise to the manufacture of bricks, tiles, and pottery — e.g., at Porto- 

 bello and at Bo'ness. The effect of the ice-sheet upon the topography is well 

 seen in the crag and tail whereon the city of Edinburgh first took its rise and in 

 the series of parallel ridges along which the new town has extended. The effect 

 of the ice is also to be traced along the channel of the Forth. 



The drainage system of the region throws considerable light upon its physical 

 history and offers further evidence of the influence of the ice-sheet throughout 

 the area. In several cases — e.g., the Water of Leith and the Braid Burn — the 

 present streams have reinstated themselves in their pre-glacial courses by cutting 

 a channel down through the boulder clay, which filled them as a result of the 

 passing of the ice-sheet. A remarkable series of dry valleys extends from near 

 the valley of the North Esk at Rosslynlee through Carrington parish. The 

 largest of these is about three miles in length, and runs parallel to the 600-foot 



