1801.] 
The Southern Suburbs are much lefs 
regular in arrangement, than the oppofite 
New Town. The accefs to them is prin- 
cipally by Bridge-ftreet, compofed of the 
North Bridge that pdffes acrofs the evacu- 
ated bafon of the North Loch, and the 
South Bridge which, in the fame line of 
dire&tion, covers the Cowgate. At its 
northern extremity, this {treet has direétiy 
in front the’ Regifter-cflice, one of the . 
moft beautiful and ufeful edifices in Scot- 
land. On the fides af the South Bridge, 
and at one end of the North Bridge, are a 
number of very rich and elegant fhops. 
The College and the Infirmary ftand op- 
-pofite to one-another, at the fouthérn end 
of Bridge-ftreet. Thhe ftreet terminates, 
at this end, in that which is named Nicol- 
fon’s-ftreet ; and the two together, viewed 
i their common line of direétion, have 
an admirably fine effect to the eye. 
Weltward, by the Parliament-fquare and 
the Lawn-market,a fimilar line of commu- 
nication by bridges begins to be opened. 
There has been,for many years,a rude com- 
munication between the New and the Old 
Town, by an earthen mound.—To perfec 
this branch of the improvements of Edin- 
burgh, the crofs-itreets fhould, in general, 
be made twice or thrice as fpacious, and 
not above ‘one-third as numerous as they 
are at prefent ; and all the lower parts of 
the declivities fhould be abandoned to the 
ufe of gardens, warehoufes and manufac- 
tories. It would bea pleafant and falu- 
tary thing,,if a living ftream of fre/b 
water might be conducted, in a clear 
channel,, along that which is now the 
middle of the ftreet of the Cowgate. 
The Southern Suburbs, thus commu- 
nicating with the Old and New Town, 
confift of Laurifton, Watfon’s Hofpital, 
George’s-fquare, Park-place, Buccleugh- 
place, Briftol-ftreet, Potter-row, Nichol- 
fon’s-ftreet, Richmond, Pleafance, and 
Crofs-caufeway, &c. &c. George’s-{quare 
is one of the molt elegant and agreeable 
places of refidence in either this or any 
_ other town or city I have feen. Park- 
place is likewife occupied, as is alfo a 
part of Nicholfon’s-ftreet, by genteel fa- 
milies. The reft of thefe fuburbs are, in 
great part, inhabited by labourers, inferior 
tradefmen and ftudents. The houles of 
the poorer people in general, even in the 
modern-built parts of Edinburgh, have 
not at all the lightneis and cheartul clean- 
linefs of the inug brick-houfes which 
are reared for dwellings to perfons ot 
the fame -clafs in ‘London and _ its 
Vicinity, 
(To be continued.) 
Observations on the Caufes of Scarcity. 
407 | 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
HE following remarks, the refult of 
practical knowledge and accurate 
obfervation, may demonftrate the caufe of 
the late fcarcity, and of the abfurdity of 
fuppofing that the price of corn has been 
kept up by farmers, millers, mealmen, 
of 
rf. The unfavourablenefs of the feafons 
for feveral years paft has doubtlefsly con- 
tributed to the fearcity; for in the lJaft 
nine years, the produce of the land has 
not exceeded that of /evew in the nine pre- 
ceding years. This may more fully ap- 
pear, by the following obfervations on the 
ftate of the feafons and crops, from the 
year 3792 to the prefent time. 
1792 was exceedingly rainy from the 
beginning, continuing through the harveft — 
until April 1793. The land, in many 
places, did not produce half a crop, and 
much of that was damaged. A great 
quantity of land could not-be fown to 
wheat in the autumn. 
1793. January, February and March 
wet 3 nearly one-third of the land, in many 
places, could not be fown to Lent grain, 
and much of that fown produced but little, 
through the unfavourable feed-time and 
the drought in,the fummer 5 but a great 
quantity of land was fown to wheat in the 
autumn. 
1794. March was again exceedingly 
wet, fothat a confiderable quantity of the 
land intended for Lent corn could not be 
fown, and a great deal of that which was 
fown produced but little. The peas and 
vetches were almoft totally deftroyed by 
the blight or blaft, in the latter end of 
May. Part of the fummer was dry, and 
the wheat looked well until near the har- 
velt, but yielded little more than one-third 
of the quantity expected... 
1795. A fevere winter and great floods ; 
very rainy in March and during the hay- 
harveft; fome frofts in June did confidera- 
bledamage. . Wheat was-at.a very high 
price, the old ftock being nearly exhaulted 
by the time of harveft. The creps of corn 
were pretty good and harvefied well, but 
the autumn being very dry, the quantity 
of wheat fown was confiderably lels than 
ufual. 
1796. Acoldand dry fpring ; the crops 
of coin were in moft places good and har- 
vefted well, and the autumn was a good - 
feed-time for wheat. 
1797. The winter was mild and wet ;_ 
a great quantity of wheat was dettroyed 
by the wire-worm, &c. Rainy in the 
{pring and in the latier part of the fum- | 
Gy mera 
