BERWICK

BERWICK, a county of Scotland; bounded by the river Tweed on the south; by East Lothian on the north; by the German ocean on the east; and on the west by the counties of Roxburgh, Peebles and Mid-Lothian. Its extent in length may be stated at 34 miles, and its breadth 19. This county is nominally divided into three districts, viz. Lauderdale, Lammermuir, and Merse or March. The first is that opening or valley in the Lammermuir hills, through which the river Leader runs. Lammermuir comprehends the ridge of hills which separate this county from East-Lothian, extending from the head of Leader water to the sea, below the town of Berwick. The Merse or March includes that fertile and populous plain, stretching from the hills, along the banks of the Tweed. Berwickshire contains one royal borough, viz. Lauder, and several large towns and villages, as Dunse, Coldstream, Coldingham, Ayton, and Eyemouth. The chief rivers are the Tweed, the Leader, the Eye, the

Whittadder, and Blackadder. The two roads to London pass through the county. In the Merse the state of agriculture is excellent; and, though so late as 60 years ago, the greater part was barren and uncultivated, it is now mostly enclosed and improved. The county of Berwick exports from the ports of Berwick and Eyemouth, above 80,000 holls of victual; and the same quantity is annually carried to the weekly markets of Edinburgh, Dalkeith, Haddington, and Dunbar. There is plenty of marl in the county; but the farmers prefer lime as the most profitable, though at the distance of 18 or 20 miles. The minerals in this district hitherto discovered, are few, and these are by no means valuable. Coal has been found only in small quantities near Eyemouth. There is plenty of free-stone fit for building, and both rock and shell marl are found in different places. Copper has been wrought in the neighbourhood of Lauder; and some years ago, a mine of the same metal was discovered in the parish of Buncle. The parish of Mordington contains ironstone, but of too small value to render it an object of manufacture. The rocks which compose the Lammermuir hills, are chiefly schistus, with alternate strata of sandstone. At Eyemouth is a rock of the species called puddingstone, in the pieces of which it is not uncommon to find fragments of porphyry, granite, and even limestone. Near the Whittadder, in the parish of Chirnside, is a species of gypsum, which has been of great use as a manure. The celebrated mineral well, called Dunse Spa, which is somewhat similar to Tunbridge, is situated about a mile from the town of Dunse. The rivers contain trout, and salmon; of which last a great quantity is annually exported from Berwick to London. From the situation of this county, on the border of England, it was necessary that it should be strongly fortified; accordingly, there are numerous strong castles and fortified places in almost every parish in the county. The following is the population of the county of Berwick according to the parishes, taken at two periods, from the Statistical History of Scotland.