232 
ON THE Ni^TURAL HISTORY OF THE SOUTH OF SCOTLAND. 
wider in the former, and more wooded in the latter, although in all places there 
is scarcely any natural wood, and little cultivation, the unfavourable nature of 
the soil and the want of lime rendering the latter unprofitable. The same 
rounded hills present themselves, with the same smooth slopes, covered with 
green grass, intermixed with Heath and Fern. The rock, wherever it appears, 
exhibits the same characters, although en a low hill near Atterstane there is an 
extensive quarry of clay-slate, scarcely distinguishable from that of Luss, Dun- 
keld, and Foudland, but softer, more fissile, and much less durable. 
Excepting the beautiful curve of the river at Nedpath Castle, and the wooded 
nook there, nothing of any interest occurs along the Tweed until we arrive at 
Peebles. Here the valley is wider, better cultivated, and partially adorned with 
plantations. The river flows with a uniform current of considerable rapidity, 
preserving nearly the same breadth, but hardly anywhere remarkable for the 
beauty of its marginal scenery. The enclosing mountains, though lower than 
those in the upper part of Tweeddale, are of considerable elevation, uniform in 
aspect, with gentle and unbroken slopes, and sinuous outline. The very little 
natural wood that occurs always consists of Coryllus avellana^ Mespilus oxya- 
cantha^ Fraxinus excelsior^ Alnus glutinosa^ Quercus rohur^ and JJlmus mon- 
tana^ with the Sloe, and a few Willows. 
At Innerleithen the scenery is not destitute of beauty, there being a fine val¬ 
ley, bounded by high hills, and partially covered with plantations. From thence 
to Whitebanklee, the valley is narrow, more destitute of wood, and less culti¬ 
vated. The rock protrudes more frequently, affording opportunities of examining 
the geological nature of the district, although still nothing is to be seen but grey- 
wacke and slate. Tolerable clay-slate is quarried in two places, one on the south, 
side of the river, above Innerleithen, the other below Caberston. 
The grey-wacke is usually small-grained, of a bluish-grey colour, and consist¬ 
ing of quartz of various tints, felspar, and calcareous spar, with occasional frag¬ 
ments of clay-slate. It is intersected by small veins or threads of calcareous spar 
and quartz. Sometimes, but rarely, it is large-grained, in which case the quartz 
fragments predominate, and are usually coloured red, resembling jasper. When 
very small-grained, it becomes slaty, and usually of a blueish-grey colour; and 
when still finer in the grain, it presents the appearance of roofing-slate, which 
can be slit into sufficiently thin plates. The common tint of the roofing-slate 
is bluish-grey, sometimes greenish, and occasionally purplish or reddish. The 
strata are generally very much inclined, but in a few places I found them nearly 
hotizontal. Grey-wacke, grey-wacke-slate, clay-slate, and slate-clay or shale, 
often alternate repeatedly in strata varying from an inch or less to a foot or 
more; but when the rock is grey-wacke alone, the stratification is often obscure, 
and the mass resembles trap in appearance. The slate and shale strata are often 
