royal and parliamentary burgh of Scotland, in Dumfriesshire, near the left bank of the Nith, 27 miles N.W. of Dumfries, and 56 S.E. of Glasgow. It has one long principal street, neither very regular nor clean. The chief buildings are the town-hall, parish church, Free Church, 2 United Presbyterian, and a Reformed Presbyterian Church, several schools, &c. Weaving, muslin-sewing, and carpet-making are the chief employments of the people. The burgh is governed by a provost and nine councillors; and represented in Parliament by one member. Pop. (1851) of the parish, 4071; of the parliamentary burgh, 2381; of the town, 1884.

San Salvador, a state of Central America, lying between N. Lat. 13° 7' and 14° 24', W. Long. 87° 37' and 90° 2', bounded on the N. and E. by Honduras, S. by the Pacific, and W. by Guatemala. Its length is 165 miles, its mean breadth 69, and its area 11,392 square miles. There are two lines of water-parting in San Salvador, one extending from E. to W. parallel to the Pacific coast, separating the waters that flow directly into the Pacific from the affluents of the Lempa; and the other further inland, having a parallel direction, with the Sumpul and Torola on its N. side, and the Lempa (except for a short distance where it pierces through the chain) on the S. This watershed forms the chain of the Cordilleras, but consists rather of isolated hills, or groups of hills with their offshoots, than of a continuous range. Along the shore of the Pacific stretches a low tract of rich alluvial land, varying from 10 to 20 miles in breadth. Beyond this the ground rises abruptly to the height of 2000 feet, forming a broad table-land, above which tower many lofty volcanic peaks. From the highest portion, which forms the lower watershed of San Salvador and the southern edge of this plateau, to the chain of the Cordilleras, stretches the broad valley of the Lempa, about 100 miles in length, and from 20 to 30 across. The ground slopes very gradually from the south for some distance, and then descends abruptly to the proper valley of the river; on the other side it rises with a more uniform ascent, though broken and rugged, to the foot of the mountains that form the upper watershed of the country, and tower over it at a height of 6000 or 8000 feet. The Lempa rises in the N.W. of the state, and flows for the most part of its course towards the S.E., then turns suddenly to the S., and falls into the Pacific. The whole length of its course is 150 miles, but it is navigable only for 27 miles. The chief affluents of this river are the Sumpul, which forms the northern boundary of the state throughout its course, and the Torola, both from the left. Besides the Lempa, San Salvador is watered by the Rio Paza in the west, separating it from Guatemala, and by the San Miguel in the E. There are two lakes of some size in the country, that of Guija in the N.W., discharging its waters by the Quesalapa into the Lempa, and that of Ilopango, near the centre. The latter of these, as well as many others of inferior size, is of volcanic origin. Indeed the whole of the country is remarkable for its volcanic character, and for the number of burning mountains, both active and extinct, which it contains. A line of eleven great volcanoes extends along the crest of the table-land, between the shore and the Lempa. These are in their order, beginning at the N.W. extremity, Apeneca, Santa Anna, Izalco, San Salvador, San Vicente, Tecuna, Usulutan, Sacatecoloca, Chinameca, San Miguel, San Salvador, and Conchagua. Of these only Izalco and San Miguel are now active. The former has been entirely formed, since the discovery of the country, from the stones and ashes emitted by the crater, which first opened in 1770. Its height is now about 2500 feet. San Miguel is a cone about 6000 feet above the plain, its lower portion covered with dark green forests, and the lighter verdure of the meadows above them; its summit tinted by the dark brown scoriae and the silvery hue of the ashes from the crater, and surmounted by clouds of smoke ceaselessly rolling up from the interior. Probably no region in the world of equal extent contains so many volcanoes, or traces of volcanic action, as this little state, where for days the traveller's road lies over beds of lava and similar substances. A consequence of this is the great fertility of the soil, and the luxuriant vegetation that covers the mountains up to their very summits. The entire soil of San Salvador is either volcanic or alluvial. The ground of the latter sort has been gradually formed, in the lapse of ages, from the ashes and stones ejected by volcanoes now extinct. It occurs for the most part in small patches, scattered over different parts of the country; the most extensive tract of alluvial ground being in the district of Gotera, in the department of San Miguel. In other places, the action of volcanic forces is most strikingly apparent, from the confused assemblage of abrupt cliffs, deep ravines, mountains, valleys, and plains indiscriminately mixed together.

The country is essentially an agricultural one, and well cultivated, the low land yielding tropical produce, and the upper regions the crops of northern climes. Indigo is the plant raised in the largest quantities. Sugar, cacao, coffee, and tobacco are also grown. Almost all the land is cultivated, very little remains unclaimed, and there are few large estates belonging to individuals. The rural population consists mostly of Indians, and the lands which they have been allowed to retain have tended to their encouragement in industrious habits. For the most part they live in villages, which stud the country in great numbers; going in the morning to and returning at night from their little patches of ground in the vicinity. Roads have been constructed throughout the most of the country. The mineral resources of San Salvador include the silver mines of Tabanco in the N.E. of the state, which are easily worked, and yield from 47 to 2537 oz. per ton; and the iron mines of Petapa in the W. It is also believed that extensive beds of coal exist throughout the valley of the Lempa. A certain part of the coast of San Salvador, about 50 miles in length by 20 or 25 in breadth, between La Libertad and Acajutla, is called the Balsam Coast, because it produces what is erroneously called the balsam of Peru. This is obtained from the juice of a tree; the whole region as far inland as the mountains being covered with dense forests occupied by Indians, who make their living by selling this balsam and planks of cedar-wood.

The seaports of the country are La Union, on the Gulf of Fonseca; Libertad and Acajutla further west, along the shore. Of these, the first only is properly a harbour, the others being merely open roadsteads. The number of vessels that entered and cleared in 1858 was 156 each way; tonnage, 55,163. In 1857 the total value of the exports was £260,820, being an increase of £3723 over the preceding year; and the imports amounted in value to £172,021, showing a decrease of £37,223. The value of the chief articles exported was:—Indigo, £230,751; sugar, £14,011; hides, £12,961; tobacco, £3,920; balsam, £1,437. Very few manufactures are carried on here, and these are chiefly articles for domestic use, such as coarse cotton cloth and hardware. The great majority of the people are Indians, belonging, in all probability, to the Nahual or Aztec race, who inhabited Mexico before the Spanish invasion. Their language is very similar to that San Salvador, spoken by the natives of Mexico, and they seem from the ancient traditions to have come from Nicaragua, which was occupied by an offshoot of the Nahual race. In most parts of the country they have become assimilated, more or less, to the Spaniards, and have adopted their manners, but in the Balsam Coast they have preserved the purity of their blood and language, as well as in some measure the mode of living of their ancestors. This part of the country is very difficult of access, being traversed only by intricate footpaths, and they have a great dislike to the intrusion of white men. In this district the ancient language is retained, which has almost entirely fallen out of use in other parts of the country. The towns in San Salvador are generally inhabited by white men and those of mixed blood (ladinos), the former being generally merchants or proprietors of estates (haciendas), and the latter employed in mechanical pursuits. The Indians in the villages and country districts are engaged in agricultural labour.

The government of the country is republican; the executive power is in the hands of a president, elected for two years; and the legislature consists of a chamber of twenty-five members. The army consists of 1000 regular troops, all infantry, and a militia of 4000 men, infantry, cavalry, and artillery. The public revenue in 1855 amounted in all to L.99,360; and in 1856 to L.105,520. The provisory seat of the government is Cojutepec; the former capital, San Salvador, having been destroyed by an earthquake on the night of the 16th of April 1854. It was a place of 25,000 inhabitants, and had a very picturesque and beautiful appearance, being planted in many parts with palm-trees and shaded with evergreens. The buildings were generally low, but there was a fine cathedral, a large university, and other handsome edifices. But the whole was destroyed in a few moments. It was the evening of Easter Sunday, about half-past nine, when the inhabitants were first warned of their danger by a slight shock, and at ten minutes to eleven the ground began to heave and tremble with such force that in ten seconds the entire city was a mass of ruins. Churches and houses fell with a tremendous crash to the ground; terror and dismay seized all the inhabitants that death had not overtaken; and a dense black cloud of dust hung over the whole scene. The loss of life, however, was afterwards ascertained to be less than was at first supposed.

The first European who invaded San Salvador was Alvarado, one of the officers under Cortez, in the conquest of Mexico. After having conquered the country now called Guatemala, he was informed of the existence of a powerful nation to the south-east, which he resolved also to conquer. He met with an obstinate resistance, but succeeded in penetrating as far as the capital, Cuscatlan, where, however, he only remained a few days. The country was then one of the best peopled in America, and contained many large towns as well built as those of Mexico. For a long time the inhabitants resisted the invaders; and it was only by the advantages of cavalry and fire-arms that the conquest was consummated. The country afterwards formed part of the general captaincy of Guatemala, and remained under the Spanish government till 1821, when, by a bloodless revolution, the province regained its independence. Until 1823 San Salvador, along with the other ports of the Spanish Guatemala, was united to Mexico; but in that year a confederation was formed by the five states of Guatemala, Honduras, San Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, under the name of the Confederation of Central America. This arrangement continued until 1840, after which the component parts of the confederation became entirely independent, as they have since continued to be. San Salvador is the best peopled, as well as the first in industry and commerce, of all the states of Central America, and indeed of all Spanish America; and the people are superior in intelligence, industry, and enterprise to those of the neighbouring countries. It is divided into six departments, as follows:

| Department | Population | |------------------|------------| | San Miguel | 80,000 | | San Vicente | 56,000 | | San Salvador | 80,000 | | Sonsonate | 75,000 | | La Paz | 28,000 | | Cuscatlan | 75,000 |

Total: 394,000

But more recent returns bring the entire population to 580,000.