a county of Scotland, situated between 55° 2' and 56° 42' N. Lat., and between 2° 48' and 3° 20' W. Long. It has Mid-Lothian or Edinburghshire on the N.; Roxburghshire on the E. and S.E.; Dumfriesshire on the S.; and Peeblesshire, or Tweeddale, on the W.; the line which separates it from these counties being on all sides, but especially the south, exceedingly irregular. Its extreme length, from N.E. to S.W., is 28 miles; its extreme breadth 16, and its area 2643 square miles, equal to 169,280 English acres. It includes only three entire parishes, Yarrow, Kirkhope, and Ettrick—the parishes of Selkirk and Galashiels being partly in Roxburghshire. These may be said to form the county, although small parts of the parishes of Ashkirk, Innerleithen, Peebles, Roberton, and Stow, are also included in it.

This is almost entirely a pastoral district, and in many respects bears a resemblance to the higher parts of the contiguous county of Roxburgh. Like the latter county, the general declivity of the mountain range is from west-south-west to east-north-east, and all its streams discharge themselves into the Tweed. The rocks are of the transition series, and are chiefly graywacke, graywacke-slate, and clay-slate. On the borders of Peeblesshire extensive layers of porphyry, alternating with thin strata of slate and granite, are to be found. The hills are generally ridge-shaped, and rounded on the tops, with acclivities of from 10° to 30°. The secondary valleys are small, since the Ettrick and Yarrow run nearly parallel, and at no very great distance from each other; but where the Yarrow and Tweed diverge, the valleys increase in magnitude, as they are then drained by larger streams. Several of the hills are above 2000 feet in height—such as Windlestraw Law (2295), at the northern extremity of the county, on the confines of Mid-Lothian; Blackhouse Heights (2370); Minchmoor (2280), on the borders of Peeblesshire; and Ettrick-pen (2200), on the south-west boundary. The lower hills are for the most part green, and afford good pasturage for sheep; but heath prevails on many of the higher grounds, especially towards the south-west.

The rivers are—the Tweed, which crosses the north side of the county in its course from Peeblesshire on the west to Roxburghshire on the east; the Gala, which for some distance forms the boundary with Roxburghshire on the north-east, and falls into the Tweed, from the north, a little below Galashiels; the Cawdor, a very beautiful stream, which also joins the Tweed from the north; the Ettrick and Yarrow, which have their sources on the confines of the county of Dumfries, and, flowing north-east almost parallel to each other, join their streams above Selkirk, and afterwards, under the name of Ettrick, passing to the west of that town, and for a short distance along the boundary with Roxburghshire, enter the Tweed; the Ale, which rises in the south-east, and soon after passes into Roxburghshire; and also the Borthwick, which washes the south-eastern boundary. Next to the Tweed, the most considerable waters are the Ettrick and the Yarrow, which receive, in the first instance, nearly all the other streams that traverse this district. The scenery on the Yarrow is exceedingly romantic and delightful. Soon after its rise, it passes through two lakes, the Loch of the Lows and St Mary's Loch; the latter, which is separated from the former only by a narrow neck of level ground, is three miles long, having its banks partly covered with coppice-wood, and is the finest piece of water in the south of Scotland. From thence the Yarrow flows for eight or nine miles, through sheep-walks, without wood or cultivation; but afterwards the sides of the lofty hills in its course are covered with wood to a considerable height, and its valley is embellished with a variety of bushes and wild-flowers. Ettrick, the larger stream, has a wider and more cultivated valley; and a little before it receives the Yarrow, natural wood begins to appear on its banks. It afterwards flows for four miles through a rich tract, sheltered by plantations on the hills. From this river the whole district has been sometimes called Ettrick Forest; but the name of Forest here, as elsewhere, has long since ceased to denote the existence of extensive woodlands, of which, whatever may have been the case formerly, scarcely any traces now remain. Besides the two lakes we have mentioned, a great many smaller ones are scattered over the east and south-east quarters, of which the more considerable are Loch Alemoor, the principal source of the Ale, and Loch Oakermoor, noted for the vast quantity of marl which it contains.

This county is deficient in coal, limestone, and sandstone, and it lies under the same disadvantages as Roxburghshire, from its great distance from markets where coal and lime are to be had. The arable land lies at an elevation of from 280 to 800 feet, and does not much exceed one-tenth of the whole county. It is light, dry, and easily cultivated; and it produces wheat, oats, barley or bere, turnips, and potatoes. Wheat is regularly grown in the lower parts of the county, and even in the higher it has been raised at the height of 700 feet, yielding a good return; and it may be said that agriculture is as well understood and followed out in this as in any other of the Scotch counties. Many improvements in the mode of cultivation and the farming implements have been introduced into Selkirkshire. The houses of the tenants are now better than formerly, and the general condition of the people has been ameliorated.

The total extent of country under a rotation of crops in 1857 was 14,441 acres; of which 261 acres were occupied by wheat, 949 by barley, 4162 by oats, 29 by beans and peas, 75 by vetches or tares, 2625 by turnips, 222 by potatoes, 30 by rape, 65 by fallow land, and 6012 by grass and hay. The county is, however, on account of the dampness of the climate, more suited for pasture than for agriculture. The cattle are, for the most part, of the Teeswater and Highland breeds. Many of the sheep are black-faced, especially in the upper regions; but Cheviots and Leicesters have been introduced into the county. There were, in 1857, 763 horses, 2449 cattle, 145,732 sheep, and 474 swine—in all, 149,418 live stock in Selkirkshire. The lochs and rivers abound in various kinds of fish; pike, perch, and trout being obtained in the former, and salmon, trout, barbel, &c., in the latter. The only manufactures of the county are concentrated in Galashiels and Selkirk. Woolen fabrics are the articles principally made in both of these places. Until a comparatively late period, the county suffered many inconveniences from the want of roads; but it is now well provided for in this respect. The road from Edinburgh to Carlisle traverses the county for 11 miles; another from Glasgow to Kelso and Berwick crosses the northern portion; and others lead up the vale of Ettrick and Yarrow to Moffat. The Hawick line of the North British Railway runs for a short distance along the border of Selkirkshire; and has a station at Galashiels, from which there is a branch to Selkirk. The whole number of places of worship in Selkirkshire, according to the census of 1851, was 15; of which, 10 contained 3413 sittings. Of the former, 5 belonged to the Established Church, 5 to the Free Church, 2 to the United Presbyterians, 1 to the Independents, 1 to the Glassites, and 1 to the Evangelical Union. The number of public schools at the same date was 15, and of private schools 9. The number of proprietors in the county is 498; and the valuation of rental for 1857–58 was £61,028. One member is returned to Parliament, by a constituency amounting in 1858 to 861.

The country now occupied by Selkirkshire formed, in the earliest historical period, a part of the territory of the Gadeni. It was occupied by the Romans during their possession of our island; and after their departure was overrun by the Anglo-Saxons. At that time, however, it was covered with dense forests, and had few settled inhabitants. Very few remains of the Roman or Saxon times have been preserved in Selkirkshire. When the southern part of Scotland was given up by the Anglo-Saxon kings of England, Selkirk was frequently a residence of the Scottish monarchs; and the county was formed probably about the reign of Alexander II. In the fifteenth century it belonged principally to the Douglas family. The largest proprietor now is the Duke of Buccleuch, to whom about two-thirds of it belong. The principal seats in the county are—Thirlestane, belonging to Lord Napier; Ashestiel, once the residence of Sir Walter Scott, now belonging to Sir James Russell; and Borthwickbrae, to A. E. Lockhart, Esq., M.P. There are several old castles, the chief being that of Newark, near Selkirk, the scene of the Lay of the Last Minstrel. The most distinguished natives of Selkirkshire have been Muargo Park, the African traveller, and James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd. Pop. of the county, (1801) 5388; (1811) 5889; (1821) 6637; (1831) 6833; (1841) 7990; (1851) 9797.