ROXBURGHSHIRE. 



the fame ipace, is the boundary with Berwickshire ; the 

 Allan, a paitoral rivulet ; and the Eden, which takes its 

 rife in Berwickshire, but runs a confiderable way along the 

 fkirts, and through the lower diftrict of this county. 

 Ettrick, alfo a boundary of Selkirkshire for two miles, falls 

 into the Tweed on the fouth. Teviot rifes in the weftern 

 part of the county, in a very elevated diftrift, and defcends 

 at firit from the mountains with a rapid courfe ; but it after- 

 wards flows with many delightful windings through a fuc- 

 ceffion of rich, extenfive, and well cultivated vallies, till it 

 lofes itfelf in the Tweed between Roxburgh cattle and Kelfo, 

 one of the moft enchanting fpots which can be well ima- 

 gined. The Ale and Borthwick are the northern branches 

 of Teviot. Both of them have their fources- in Selkirk- 

 mire, and in fome places bound that county and Roxburgh- 

 shire. On the fouth the Teviot is augmented by the Ox- 

 nam, the Jed, and the Kale. The two lad ifl'ue from the 

 border hills. The Kale frequently overflows the greater 

 part of an expanded and valuable plain, adorned by clumps 

 of trees ; while the Jed, rufhing along a rocky channel, 

 through narrow and thick wooded vales, wafhes the bottom 

 of fcveral high precipices, winds round the town of Jed- 

 burgh, and terminates another, and Hill more extenfive 

 plain, called Crailinghaughs, through the centre of which 

 the Oxnam finds its way to Teviot. Nearer to its fource, 

 the lalt-mentioned river receives the Rule, the Slittridge, 

 and the Allan, all of which rife on the confines of Liddef- 

 dale. In the number and value of its trees, Rule may vie 

 with " Silvan Jed," though not in wild and pittureiquc 

 fcenery. Slittridge is not without the beauties of green 

 hills, natural wood, and hollow vales. Southern Allan, 

 like the ftream of the fame name north of Tweed, flows 

 entirely through fheep-walks. Bowmont, alio a paitoral 

 river, has its fource in the fouth-calt diftriit of the county, 

 and after a rapid courfe of nine or ten miles, enters England. 

 Bat of all the waters in Roxburghshire, none are more in- 

 debted to nature, or might be more improved by art, than 

 Hermitage, which rifes in the fouthern declivity of the 

 fame ridge, whence the Allan and the Sin. ridge iffue in 

 different directions, and tumbling over a bottom of rough, 

 fhapelefs ftones, amidft green hills, whofe bafes are gene- 

 rally fkirted with copfe-wood, loies itfelf in the Liddel, and 

 imparts its natural ornament to that larger itream which is 

 celebrated by Armltrong in the following ftrains : 



*' Such the ftream 



On whofe Arcadian banks I firll drew breath, 

 Liddel, till now, except in Doric lays, 

 Tun'd to her murmurs by her love-lick fwains, 

 Unknown in fong ; tho' not a purer ftream 

 Through meads more flowery, more romantic groves, 

 Rolls towards the weftern main. Hail facred flood ! 

 May ftill thy hofpitable fwains be bleft 

 In rural innocence ; thy mountains kill 

 Teem with the fleecy race ; thy tuneful woods 

 For ever flourifh ; and thy vales look gay 

 With painted meadows, and the golden grain." 



There are; no lakes of any great extent in this county, 

 but there are fcveral pre-eminent for the beauty of their 

 fcenery, and the abundant fupply of fine perch and pike 

 which they contain. Alcmuir-loch, which ranks firit 

 among the Roxburghshire lakes, is fomewhat more than 

 two miles in circumference. Trouts of various fizes and 

 flavour abound in all the rivers, and the Tweed and Teviot, 

 but particularly the former, arc crowded witli grille and 

 falmon. 



Climate — In a county of fuch extent as Roxburghlhire, 



the climate mutt of courfe be extremely various. In pro- 

 portion to the elevation of the ground, the air is more moilt 

 and sharp. The warmeit and dryeft months of the year 

 are July and Auguft, but prodigious thunder fhowers are 

 very frequent. In September and October the weather 

 admits of every poffible variation. It is often ferene and 

 plealarft ; but exceflive rains, winds, and froits, and even 

 hail and fnow, are by no means uncommon ; and frequently 

 do incredible damage to the crops. November i? nearly of 

 the fame complexion ; and what fecms lingular, in Decem- 

 ber the weather in general is moderate and uniform. Froft 

 and fnow are feldom fevere or of long duration before 

 Chriitmas. January and February are the months when 

 inow is mofl common, and froft moft intenfe. With fome 

 fhort interruptions they very frequently remain till dif- 

 fipated by the fun in March. Cold eaiterly winds prevail 

 much in April and May, and often even in June, either 

 bringing conftant rain for a fucceffion of days, or exhaling 

 moilture fo rapidly from the earth, as to itint the tender 

 ltalks both of corn and grafs. But thefe affertions, though 

 generally true, are at times reverted. After an open aid 

 loft winter, great quantities of fnow have fallen in March, 

 April, and May. In other years April has been wonder- 

 fully mild, May and June the warmeit, July and Augult 

 the wettelt, and September and October the molt fettled 

 months. 



Soil. — In the pafture diltrift of Roxburghshire the foil 

 is dry, wet, or heathy. To the eaftward of Jed Water, 

 the hills are chiefly compofed of red granite, and covered 

 with a rich fward of fweet grafs : there is very little heath : 

 the marfhes are few and not extenfive, and are interfected 

 by numerous drains. To the welt of Jed Water, including 

 Liddefdale, the dry foil either refts upon lime-Hone or 

 gravel. In this diftrict are many modes and much fenny 

 land ; likewife a large traft of ilrong clayey foil, lying on 

 a cold tilth, or hard clay, which is impervious to water. 1 1 

 the arable divifion of the county the toil is partly light and 

 partly heavy. The light confifts ot a rich loam, or mix- 

 ture of loam and fand, of loam and gravel, of fand, or 

 gravel and clay, in every various proportion. The heavy 

 foil is chiefly clay of different depths and degrees of Itiff- 

 nefs or mixtures, where clay prevails placed on tilth, or other 

 matter retentive of water. In very few fpots this furface 

 lies on a dry bottom ; and not unfrequently different and 

 oppofite foils are ftrangely blended in the fame field. The 

 light foil, however, is in general formed on low and level 

 lands, near the beds of rivers, and their branches, and alfo 

 on feveral eminences of confiderable extent, efpecially in the 

 parishes of Linton, Crailing, Anerum, Maxton, and Mel- 

 rofe. The heavy foil rarely appears in the vallies, and 

 chiefly occupies the higher grounds. The largeft tract of 

 it lies immediately fouth of Eildon Hills, including nearly 

 the whole parishes of Minto, Lilliefleaf, and Bowden, a 

 portion of Melrofe, St. Bofwell, Anerum, Maxton, and 

 Roxburgh parishes. It comprehends iu all about 10,000 

 acres, of which at lealt one half is (hallow, cold, and un- 

 kindly, difficult to labour and uncertain in its produce ; on 

 which many acres of it have been planted with trees. In 

 the other half there is much rich and fertile land, which bears 

 luxuriant crops both of corn and grais, and not a little of 

 a middle nature between thefe extremes. In the parishes 

 alfo north of the Tweed, the heavy foil is rather molt pre- 

 valent, and is, in general, of a- good quality. Another 

 confiderable portion of it runs along the higher grounds 

 fouth of the Tweed, in the parifhes of Spronltoun, Kello, 

 Roxburgh, and Exford, and there are detached fields of it 

 in ether parts of the diltrict. In the boiom, or deeply in- 

 2 , dented 



