396 Meetings of Berwickshire Naturalists' Club, by J. Hardy. 



sanitary herbs flourish beside the ruins ; wormwood, mugwort, 

 Good Henry,, hemlock, mallows, corn poppies, &c. Another 

 open square faces the east, near what had been a very thick- 

 walled house, constructed for defence, which constituted a farm- 

 house in the memory of people still alive ; and farther on, at 

 the opposite side, are the traces of the fort or peel, now marked 

 by a bush of elder. A very crooked lane forms the communica- 

 tion on this quarter, with the Wooler turnpike. The old houses 

 were constructed very roughly of large porphyritic stones, 

 gathered from the ground, or the adjacent hill-sides; one con- 

 spicuous red variety, very prevalent, came from the east side of 

 Humbleheugh, as the hill is locally named. Excepting the Earl 

 of Durham, only three or four freeholders remain ; the most con- 

 siderable owner being called "the laird." It appears from the 

 Northumberland Poll Book that in 1747-8, 10 freeholders voted 

 for Humbleton; in 1774, 6 ; and in 1826, 7. The farm stead- 

 ings have been combined and removed to a more commodious 

 situation ; work was not to be obtained for labourers or small 

 tradesmen, who were the principal occupants, hence house pro- 

 perty was not remunerative ; and in the end the larger pro- 

 prietors swallowed up the lesser. I have been favoured with the 

 sight of the title-deeds of one of these freeholds, of dates May, 

 1727, and September, 1768, which shews the character of these 

 holdings. It is described as a house or .tenement and freehold, 

 situate and built at the east end of Humbleton ; and also that 

 headland called Bell's Headland ; and all those three buts of land 

 and a small headland, and a little parcel of meadow-ground, 

 which "lie in a field called Margaret's Hole, in Humbleton 

 aforesaid." It belonged then to "William M'Dowell, or M'Dougall, 

 of the city of London, tailor, and was occupied by his son, George, 

 a weaver, at an annual quittance of 5 shillings. There is a pro- 

 viso annexed, which is curious at the present age, that George 

 consented to forego all claims on his father's personal effects, in 

 consideration that his father had freely given him, " one happing 

 and one coverlid, one feather and down ticken bed, two pillows, 

 one bolster, one pair of blankets, one pair linen sheets, and one 

 great chest," as his portion of the family goods. 



Leaving this English Auburn, the company crossed the pasture 

 by the road leading to the hill-top, noting the traces of ancient 

 camps, tombs, old earthen walls, and the existing remains of the 



