PEEBLES-SHIRE, or TWEEDDALE

PEEBLES-SHIRE, or TWEEDDALE, a county in Scotland, situate between 55° 24' and 55° 50' north latitude, and between 2° 45' and 3° 28' west longitude from Greenwich. It is bounded on the north by Mid-Lothian or Edinburghshire; on the east by the county of Selkirk; on the south by Dumfries-shire; and on the west by Lanarkshire. Its greatest extent from north to south is about 30 miles, and its greatest breadth from east to west about 22; the contents being 229,778 English acres; of which only about a tenth part is fit for cultivation. It is divided into sixteen parishes, twelve of which form the presbytery of Peebles, and four belong to that of Biggar, all under the synod of Lothian and Tweeddale.

The surface of this county is hilly, and towards the south mountainous, several of the high grounds in that quarter, such as Hartfield, Harstane, Broadlaw, and Dollarlaw, being from 2800 to nearly 3000 feet above the level of the sea. The general elevation of the pasture lands is about 1200 feet; yet, with few exceptions, the hills are covered with green herbage, heath being almost confined to a few of the highest ridges on the south-east. On the banks of its streams are many pleasant and fertile spots; but from the want of wood, the general appearance is naked and uninteresting, except about the seats of the proprietors, where considerable plantations have been made, extending in all to more than 2000 acres. The soil of the cultivated land, lying chiefly on the sides of the lower hills and the banks of the streams, is, for the most part, a light loam, with clay, moss, and moor, on the high grounds. Coal and limestone abound in the parishes of Linton and Newlands, on the north side of the county, and in the latter, ironstone; in the same quarter red and white sandstone is wrought for sale, and the parish of Stobo, on the Tweed, has long furnished a good kind of slate, much of which is carried to the adjacent counties. The river Tweed, from which this district is often called Tweeddale, rises from a well of the same name, in the parish of Tweedsmuir in the south-western extremity of the county, about 1500 feet above the level of the sea, and flowing first north-east and then east, dividing the county into two nearly equal parts, passes into Selkirkshire at Gatehaup-burn, after a winding course of about 36 miles. The Annan and the Clyde have their source in the same quarter. Of the other streams, here called waters, the most considerable are Biggar, Lyne, Peebles or Eddlestone, Leithan, Mannor, and Quair, which fall into the Tweed; and the North and South Esks, which pursue their course into Mid-Lothian. The lakes or lochs are St Mary's, Waterloch, and Slipperfield. These, as well as the rivulets, abound in the common fresh-water fish, and most of the streams are occasionally frequented by salmon; but salmon are not found in such numbers, even in the Tweed within the bounds of this county, as to afford a fishery that will pay rent.

The climate of Peebles-shire, owing to its elevation and want of shelter, is perhaps more rigorous than that of the other southern counties of Scotland. Cold easterly winds prevail in spring, which greatly retard vegetation; and frosts often occur in summer,

which injure the potatoe and other crops; while the winters are frequently so severe as to destroy turnips, and the snow lies so deep and so long as to occasion great loss among the flocks.

Peebles-shire, in 1811, was divided into about 80 estates, many of them large, but not valuable in proportion. The valuation of the whole is L. 51,937, 13s. 10d. Scots; and the real rent, as assessed to the property-tax that year, was, for the lands, L. 57,382 Sterling, and for the houses L. 2568. Two-thirds of the estates are valued under L. 500 Scots; a sum which may indicate pretty nearly their present yearly value in Sterling money, and little less than two-thirds of the whole is entailed. In the same year the number of freeholders entitled to vote in the election of a member for the county was 39. Many of the proprietors, among whom, there were lately five noblemen, have seats distinguished either for their antiquity or their beauty; but the Earl of Traquair is the only nobleman who now resides in the county. Of the other seats the most considerable are Darnhall, Lord Elibank; Drummelzier, Hay; Magbiehill, Montgomery; Neidpath Castle, the heirs of the late Duke of Queensberry; and Whim, Montgomery.

As this is almost exclusively a pastoral country, the farms are in general large, most of them from 1000 to 4000 acres. On the arable land they are small, the greater number below 100 acres. These are in general held on leases for 19 years, as in other parts of Scotland. Taking the extent and rental as before stated, the average would be nearly 5s. the English acre. This is chiefly derived from live stock, especially sheep, of which there may be about 120,000. Most of these are still of the black-faced heath variety, sometimes called Tweeddale sheep, from the name of the county, or Linton sheep, from the name of a village on the north side of the district, where great fairs are held for the sale of them. The Cheviot breed, however, which bears a much more valuable fleece, has established itself on many of the lower hills. The crops are the same as in other parts of Scotland, except that wheat is cultivated only upon a very small scale. A variety of oat, called the red oat, and sometimes the Magbiehill oat, from its being first cultivated here on that estate, is well adapted to high and exposed situations; both because it ripens earlier than the common kind, and is less liable to be beat out by wind, while on good land it is found to be highly productive.

Peebles, a royal burgh, containing, in 1811, about 2200 inhabitants, is the only town in the county. The villages are Linton, Skirling, Eddlestone, Broughton,—at all of which fairs are held, chiefly for the sale of live stock, and for the hiring of servants,—and Innerleithen, where a woollen manufactory has been established. There is no other manufacture within the county, if we except that of stockings, carpets, and flannels, all upon a small scale, carried on in the town of Peebles, where there is also an extensive brewery. Peebles-shire, therefore, has little to offer in exchange for the commodities which it requires but its raw produce; chiefly sheep and wool.

The county sends one member to Parliament, and

the town of Peebles joins with Selkirk, Lanark, and Linlithgow, in electing another for the Scottish burghs. The following abstract shows the popu-

lation in 1801 and 1811.—See the general works quoted under the former Scottish counties, and Findlater's View of the Agriculture of Peebles.