three gentlemen were born in this parish, and have left a memorial worthy of record.

Price of Labour and Provifions, &c.-Servants wages have rifen a third within thele few years. Female fervants who got 20 s. per half year now get 30 s. or more; male fervants, who formerly got L. 2, or L. 2:10:0 per half year, now get L. 3:30, or L. 3:10: 0; fome get L. 4. A day-labourer's wages is 6 d. with, and 10 d. or I s. without victuals. The price of poultry is pretty reasonable; butcher meat is 24d. per lb. when plentiful; when scarce, it rifes confiderably. There is no market nearer than Stranraer. The ale-houfes in this parish were numerous till of late; but the new regu lation of licensing the houses of persons of a fair character, it is to be hoped, will be attended with the happiest confequences. There are three of thete houfes licensed in this parish.

Mifcellaneous Obfervations.-There is plenty of whin-stone in the parish. The flate quarries are thought valuable, if properly wrought. A good deal of the flate is fent to market. There are several caves, curiofities of their kind; in one of them there is a petrifying water, which drops from the roof. In another on the eastern fhore, according to tra dition, a hermit lived. The fuel here is peat and turf; and these are scarce, as much of the moor ground has been converted into arable land. The winter is generally moderate. The air is reckoned very wholefome. More flax is raised than formerly; and the ground is proper for it. A lint-mill erected in the parish would be a farther encouragement. The farmers bring their lime from Whitehaven or Ireland, and pay I s. 2 d. per Carlisle bufhel, which is three Winchester bufhels. The truftees are making every exertion to put the

high

high-roads in good order. The fund arifes from every houfe holder, except the poor, paying 1 s. 8 d. a year, and every farm 15 s. for the 100 pounds Scots valuation. Plantations of trees do not thrive well here; the keen air blowing from the fea checking their growth.

NUM

NUMBER XX.

PARISH OF TINWALD.

By the Rev. Mr JAMES LAURIE.

Name, Situation, Extent, Soil, a

INWALD, supposed to be derived from the Gaelic,

TINW

and fignifying the harbour, or from the Saxon, the bouse in a wood, is fituated in the county, fynod, and prefby tery of Dumfries. Trailflat, probably too of Gaelic extrac tion, and fignifying a floping wet fide, was joined to Tinwald in 1650. The form of these united parishes is nearly an oblong of about 6 miles by 4: 1 he parish of Kirkmahoe is the boundary on the north and north-weft; Dumfries and Fortherwald on the fouth and fouth-weft; Kirkmichael and Lochmaben on the eaft and fouth eaft. The water of Ae separates the parish from Kirkmichael. It is a pleasant stream, abounding in trout, and fea-fish in their feafon. It falls into Annan a little above Lochmaben. The parifh is feparated from Kirkmahoe and Dumfries on the weft, and fouth-weft by a small stream called Lochar, which, about a quarter of a mile below this, enters into an extensive mofs, called Lochar Mofs, 11 or 12 miles in length, and in fome places 3 in breadth. It fupplies the inhabitants of Dumfries, and the furrounding neighbourhood, with fuel. There was a scheme, about 30 years ago, to cut a canal from Solway Frith to

Lochar

Lochar-bridge at the head of this mofs. There is only a fall l'he estimate of the expence

of 14 feet from it to the fea.

Befides the benefit arifing

is faid to have been L. 10,000. from a communication with the fea, the greatest part of this extenfive morafs would have been rendered arable, or fine meadow ground. In its prefent ftate, indeed, there are į confiderable tracts of excellent meadow along the banks of rivulets which run into it from the high grounds on all fides. There are likewise several good farms in different places on the higher parts of the mofs, on both fides of Lochar, which divides it nearly into two equal parts. There is a tradition, univerfally credited, that the tide flowed up this whole tract above the highest bridge in the neighbourhood. In the bottom of the mols fea-mud is found; and the banks are evidently composed of fea-fand. A few years ago, a canoe of confiderable fize, and in perfect prefervation, was found by a farmer, when digging peats, 4 or 5 feet below the surface, about 4 miles above the prefent flood-mark; but it was deftroyed before any Antiquarians had heard of it. Near the fame part of the mofs, and about the fame depth, a gentle man found a veffel of mixed metal, containing about an Englifh quart, fuppofed by fome to be a Roman modius, and by others to be of much greater antiquity, as the Phoenicians, according to tradition, traded with the natives for tin, several hundred years before the Romans had discovered the island, The veffel is still preferv d. Antiquities of various kinds are found in every part of this mofs where peats are dug, even near its head, fuch as anchors, oars, &c.; fo that there is no doubt of its having been navigable near a mile above the highest bridge, and fully 12 miles above the present flood mark. Near the manse there is a narrow gut, between two fandy hillocks, called Collyveat, supposed to be a corruption of Collin's boat, where it is thought there was a ferry, which

indeed would be very neceffary, on the fuppofition of the tide flowing there. Lochar, after a courfe of 11 or 12 miles below this, falls into the Solway Frith. It abounds with pike. The most of this parish is arable. The fouthern part is much more fertile than that which lies towards the north and eaft; and the harveft, in general, is three or four weeks earlier. The fouthern part is of a deep dry loamy foil, and produces wheat, barley, and oats, of the beft quality. The north-east part produces all these, though of an inferior quality, the foil being moftly wet, and lying on a bed of till. A gentle rifing ridge, running from north to fouth, divides the united parish.

Air and Distempers.-The air, in general, is dry, and reckoned healthy. There have been no prevalent distempers during these last 30 years. The measles are fometimes fatal, especially to adults; but they feldom appear above once in 10 or 12 years. The fmall-pox was justly dreaded about 20 years ago; but, as innoculation is now generally adopted, that disease is become lefs fatal.

Agriculture, Sheep, &c.-Agriculture was in a very imperfect ftate previous to 1762. Potatoes of a proper kind, and the planting of them with the plough in drill rows, was introduced after this period, as well as the cultivation of clover and rye-grafs. Lime and manure were unknown, except on a few acres of what is called croft-land, which was never out of crop. Every farm, except grafs ones, of between L 30 and L. 40 of yearly rent, may be stated as raifing 2 acres of wheat, 4 of barley, about 14 or 15 of oats, and 2 of potatoes. Rye is not much cultivated here, as it is thought to be a robbing crop., The raifing of turnip is found to be beneficial, and has increased greatly within these two years. The farVOL. I.

X

mers