262 Anniversary Address. 



care of which a Forester was appointed, who had certain 

 privileges bestowed on him. One of these privileges, as ex- 

 pressed in the royal charter, was " Meat and drink to the 

 Forester and his man, and horse meat when he shall come to 

 the house of the Lord Prior, (^. e. of Coldingham,) with a 

 robe fit for a gentleman, to wear when he attends the said 

 Lord Prior at Christmas yearly," A more substantial per- 

 quisite was given to the Forester, under the following clause, 

 ** A threave of oats from every husband land of the farms of 

 the said lordship of Coldingham ; for every waggon of wood, 

 4 pennies ; for every horse draught, 1 penny ; for every log 

 of oak drawn with oxen, 4 pennies, and wood hens due 

 according to custom." It happens that my wife inherits this 

 office of Forester, so that she and I have no small interest in 

 the privileges and perquisites belonging to it. Unfortunately, 

 as there is no longer now a Lord Prior to attend upon at 

 Christmas, we do not receive the annual present of a lobe ; — 

 and as the forest also has ceased to exist, we do not receive 

 the pennies payable for the various loads of trees which 

 might be drawn away by horses and oxen. But we still con- 

 tinue to receive the threave of oats for many a husband land 

 in the lordship. I may here mention, as a circumstance bear- 

 ing on the state of agriculture in this part of Berwick- 

 shire in early times, that the proprietors in the neighbour- 

 hood of this great forest had a right of taking wood for 

 what was called " harrow, barrow, soam and trolsie," — har- 

 row being the implement for cultivating their land, — ^barrow 

 a vehicle for carrying articles, — soam the shafts, and trolsie 

 some parts of the harness for oxen or horses. This informa- 

 tion was given to me by the late Mr. Bishop of Restonhill, 

 who had long lived in the east of Berwickshire and knew its 

 traditions well. 



Alnwick Meeting. — "A united meeting of the Berwick- 

 shire and Tyneside Naturalists' Clubs, was held at Alnwick, 

 on the 29th of August, 1861. The wish to cultivate good 

 fellowship among the members of the two clubs, and the 

 liberal grant of the Duke of Northumberland, in throwing 



