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On the Wild Pigeons of the coast of Berwickshire. 

 By James Hardy. 



The Pigeons harboured in the sea-side caverns, or that breed in the 

 fissures of the rock-bound coast of Berwickshire are generally regarded as 

 hybrids between the native Columba livia, and their domestic variety, the 

 tame pigeon ; or as descended from elopers from the pigeon-house who 

 prefer a vagrant life. Although the majority of the birds wear the wild 

 dress, a considerable number betray their origin by the livery of domes- 

 ticity, in white, piebald, sandy, and other parti-colours. In a slight inquiry 

 into the sources of this hybridisation, and continued renovation of stock, 

 the attention paid to pigeon-breeding in the olden times may be outlined. 



The Hon. Daines Barrington in his " Observations on the Statutes," 

 London, 1775, note, p. 209, says : " One cannot read any account of 

 particular religious houses, without observing a pigeon-house was a 

 necessary article of expense upon all their estates." We fail to ascertain 

 any regulations about pigeon-houses in the Border Monasteries. Unlike 

 England, where Hartlib (Legacy of Husbandry) calculated that in his time 

 there were 26,000 dove-houses in England, the Scottish record of these 

 accessories to domestic economy is meagre. Mr Cosmo Innes has re- 

 marked one grant of pigeons and dove-cots--"cum Columbia etcolumbariis" — 

 before 1478, in the Bishopric of Moray.* In the 6th Parliament of James 

 IV, 4th March, 1503, it was necessary to pass an act " anent policie to 

 be halden in the cuntrie," "that everilk Lorde and Laird, make them to 

 have Parkes with Deare, stanks, cunningares, dowcattes, orchardes, hedges, 

 and plant at the least, ane aicker of wodde."f Thefts of " Dowes furth of 

 Dowcates," were strictly punished : James I., Pari. 2, c. 33 ; James III., 

 Pari. 10, c. 60; James IV., Pari. 6, c. 69, etc. Breakers of Dowcats, by 

 Scots Law were fined £10 Scots for the first fault and £20 for the second ; 

 and for the third and obduracy " he may be hanged to death." When 

 children were the culprits, the fathers or masters were to pay 13s 4d for 

 " ilk time of trespas," or " else sail deliver the said childe to the Judge, to 

 be leisched, scourged and dung for his fault. "X 



In recent times the names of places and fields in the agricultural district 

 on the coaat have considerably changed, so that the site of old pigeon - 

 houses cannot be readily ascertained. Dove-cot-hall (Dowcat ha'), a 

 shepherd's house, between Cockburnspath and the site of Cockburnspath 

 Townhead, perhaps belonged to what was once called the " Nather 

 Maynes" of Cockburnspath, formerly the property of the Nicholsons. It 

 is "Dove-coat hill" in Armstrong's Map of Berwickshire of 1771. 



In the farm map of Redheugh, the Dove-cot shot, 29 acres, lies between 

 the sites of the old farms of Fala-bank and Windilaw, portions of 



* Scotch Legal Antiquities, p. 45. 

 t Skene's Laws and Acts of Parliament, fol. 93 b. 



X Regiam Majestatem, Edit., 1609. The Forest Lawes, fol. 139 b., chap. 

 3., Nos. 5 and 7. 



