400 Dr Francis Douglas on an Ancient Scottish Shield. 



being that the latter sucks the eggs of the Lark. I have 

 seen nothing of this personally. The Goldfinch, which used 

 to be plentiful here, I have not seen for many years ; and the 

 Bullfinch, also once frequent, I now see very rarely. Up to 

 about sixty years ago, a pair of Peregrine Falcons bred 

 annually on the rocks opposite the southern extremity of this 

 farm ; and a pair of Ravens continued to do so until 1825, 

 when I assisted in taking their full-fledged brood, and they 

 have never bred there since. I have, however, occasionally 

 seen both of these birds of prey here, although not very 

 recently. The Water Rail I have seen four or five times in 

 my life ; the last instance being this winter. The Quail 

 visits us at wide intervals ; only once have I known it at all 

 seasons. John Wilson. 



On an Ancient Scottish Shield. By Francis Douglas, M.D. 



On the 19th of March, 1870, an ancient brass shield was 

 turned up by the plough, in the immediate vicinity of Yetholm. 

 The place was a piece of ground which had in former days 

 been a bog or lake, and had been drained by the great sluice 

 or cut from Yetholm Loch towards the river Bowmont. Thus 

 in the course of years the land had become gradually drier ; 

 and the shield, which must for centuries have been imbedded 

 in the soil, had come nearer to the surface. It was slightly 

 injured near its outer circumference by the coulter of the 

 plough. The shield itself consisted of a thin disk of brass, 

 quite circular, and 22J inches in diameter. There was a 

 stronger and more convex centre, about 5 inches in diameter; 

 behind which was a brass handle. The ornamentation was 

 of the simplest description, and consisted of 27 rings, between 

 which were small elevated dots. The rim was somewhat 

 thicker than the body of the shield. It is probable, that 

 either some leather or wood structure had originally existed to 

 strengthen the very flimsy protection, which a thin plate of 

 brass would otherwise have presented to a sharp pointed arrow 

 or cutting blade. Two similar shields were several years ago 

 found in the same locality, and are now exhibited in the Royal 

 Antiquarian Society's Museum in Edinburgh. Through the 

 kind influence of his Grace the Duke of Roxburgh, the shield 

 recently discovered was presented by the Lords of the Treasury 

 to the Museum of the Tweedside Physical and Antiquarian 

 Society in Kelso, and it now occupies a prominent place 

 among the local antiquities of the district. 



