236 Amnversary Address. 



The Secretary in the minutes of this Kelso meeting, has 

 taken notice of the old terraces, which are so well seen in 

 Floors parkland on one of which the castle stands; mentioning 

 that they are confirmatory of the views some time ago ex- 

 pressed by myself, that the river Tweed had formerly flowed 

 at levels much higher than at present. I may be allowed 

 here to explain, that I conceive there is evidence of a lake 

 having once existed in this part, the north bank of which is 

 indicated by the steep cliff, (about 60 feet above the river,) 

 running not only through Floors park, but also along the 

 north side of the town of Kelso, under the race course, and 

 reaching the river at the toll near Henderside park. At this 

 last mentioned place, the lake probably had its outlet. Gradu- 

 ally, the channel for the outlet wore down, and the lake then 

 became drained. If these views be correct, Roxburgh castle 

 is on a tongue of land which originally projected into the 

 lake. 



I may add, that there appear evidences of a similar lake, 

 in a lower part of the Tweed, — viz., between Wark Castle 

 and Coldstream Bridge, at which last mentioned place it dis- 

 charged itself. Both the north and the south banks of this 

 lake are indicated by a cliff" about 40 feet high, the base of 

 which is from %0 to 30 feet above the river. There are cuts 

 in this cliff", through which small streams had flowed into the 

 lake, and in some instances, the deltas of these streams are 

 still discernible at the foot of the cliff". On the southern 

 cliff"s, a terrace occurs at several places, about two thirds 

 from the top of the cliff, which seems to indicate, that the 

 lake had stood at that level long enough to allow of the 

 formation of a beach. I would invite attention to two large 

 angular boulders of clinkstone porphyry, lying close beside 

 each other, near the base of the south cliff. They have 

 apparently formed originally one block, which had weighed 

 above four tons. This boulder, being not at all rounded, 

 could not have travelled far ; and we know that the same rock 

 occurs in situ among the Cheviots, about six or seven miles 

 to the S. W. 



