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NUMBER XLIII.

PARISH OF GLASSERTON.

(COUNTY OF WIGTON.-PRESBYTERY OF WIGTON.AND SYNOD OF GALLOWAY.)

From communications obligingly procured for this work, by the Rev. DR DAVIDSON of Whithorn, from ROBERT HAWTHORN STEWART Efq; of Phyfgill, MATTHEW CAMPBELL, Efq; and other Gentlemen.

Extent and Boundaries.

HE parish of Glafferton lies in the prefbytery and fhire

THERE

of Wigton, and in the fynod of Galloway. At its eaft and north-eaft confines, this parish is bounded by the parishes of Whithorn, Sorbie, and Kirkinner; on the weft and north-west by the bay of Luce, and the parish of Mochrum; on the fouth and fouth-eaft by the fame bay, and the parish of Whithorn. It measures, in length, from its fouthern to its northern extremity, about feven miles and five furlongs; at its greatest breadth two miles and seven furlongs; where it is narroweft, not more than a mile and a half.

Surface and Afpect.-In its natural afpect the furface of the ground is rugged, unequal, and hilly. Towards the north, it rifes to an elevation fomewhat higher than the level of its fouthern parts. The hills are rocky, and, for the most part,

covered

covered with heath. The lower tracts lying among them are marthy. The foil is ufually loam, gravel, peat-earth, or clay. Granite and fchiftus compofe, for the most part, the strata of the rocks. Yet, beds of that mixture of carbonated lime and clay, which is known by the name of marl, have been here and there difcovered; and the marl has been dug for manure, till the pits are now nearly exhaufted. The fea beach exhibits no fuch diversity of the exuviae of marine animals, as might prove very interefting to the lover of conchology. The ordinary indigenous graffes form the common fward of the pasture-grounds. At the fea-fhore, the rocks rife over the waters, with a bold, abrupt, beetling termination of the land. Little native unplanted wood is to be seen within the parish. Furze and wild fhrubs are more pientiful. The general courfe and temperature of the weather are variable, but mild. The genial influence of spring is com monly felt here, as around all these western coafts, fomewhat earlier in the year than in the interior parts, or on the east. ern fide of the kingdom. Frofts are rarely intense or long continued: Snow feldom accumulates to a great depth, or lies long upon the ground. Some small streams, and many fprings, ferve to water the parish; but it is neither bounded nor interfected by any great river. Upon the rock within the fea-mark, at a place called Monreith, there grows a confiderable abundance of thofe manure plants, which are frequently burnt for the fake of the kelp or alkali of their ashes; but little of that fpecies which are employed in agriculture, as a rich manure, is to be leen on this part of the coaft.

Wild Animals-The fox, the weafel, the otter, the hare, the moufe, the mole, are almoft the only fpecies of wild four footed animals now remaining in this parish. The adder is the only formidable reptile. The wild fowls are numerous,

being of the fea partly, partly of the land. A great diverfity of fea fishes are found on the coaft. Trouts and other common fmall fishes are taken in the ftreams of freth water.

Inhabitants.-The number of the inhabitants of the parish of Glafferton was in the year 1755, 809, and may be, at prefent, about 900 fouls. Of thefe 151 are refident on the eftate of Caftle Stewart.

Heritors.-Sir William Maxwell of Monreith, the heirs of the late Admiral Keith Stewart, the Earl of Galloway, Robert Hawthorn Stewart, Efq; of Phyfgill, and

Stewart, Efq; of Castle Stewart, are the principal heritors. Mr Hawthorn Stewart of Phyfgill is the chief refident heri

tor,

Farmers. The greater part of the inhabitants are usually employed in the labours of husbandry, as farmers, housefervants, cottagers hired by the year, or day-labourers.

10 s. an acre.

The farmers hold their poffeffions, for the most part, by leases, varying in duration commonly from the term of three to 19, or 21 years. For the green low arable lands of the parish, the yearly rent varies, at an average, from 8 s. to il The heath covered moors affording, at an average, not more than from 2 s. 6 d. to 7 s. an acre of yearly rent. The farms differ in extent, and in the fum of the annual rent to the landlord, fome yielding not more than 201. or 30 1. while others pay between 2001. and 3001. a-year.

Black Cattle. In the rural oeconomy of the farmers in the parish of Glafferton, the first object is, the breeding and feeding of black cattle. Thefe are commonly of the well known Galloway race, not without fome occafional inter

mixture

mixture of the Irish and English breeds.

loway race is preferred to all others. reared. For the first eight months of

But the pure Gal
The calves are all

its life, the calf is

ufually left to fuck its mother's milk. After attaining the full age of one year, it obtains the name of a stirk, and is fold to the cattle dealers at the average price of 2 1. 10 s. or 31. At the age of three years, the bullocks and heifers of this parish, are fold often at the rate of 7 1. or 8 1. a-head. The common price for well grown and well fed oxen, at the age of four years, is from 9 1. to 111. each. Old cows, when it is no longer eligible to keep them for producing calves and giving milk, are fold at the price of 8 1. or 101. each, to be fattened for the butcher. The green or heathy pafture of the fields; cut grafs while it is ftill green and unwithered; potatoes and turnips, ftraw and hay, are the feveral forts of food with which thefe cattle are nourished. They are here and there wintered in fheds, and cow-houses, as well to preferve them from fuffering by the inclemency of the season, as that the refuse of their forage and litter, mixed with their dung, may accumulate for manure to the ground under tillage. As much of the milk is confumed by the calves, the quantity of the butter and cheese annually made is smaller in proportion to the number of the milk-cows, than in the parishes of Ayrshire.

Agriculture. Tillage for the production of grains and bulbous rooted vegetables, is, in its importance, the fecond ob ject of attention, and fource of profit, to the farmers of this parish. Lime imported from Whitehaven; marl dug from thofe pits which are now nearly exhaufted; dung; and compofts of dung, earth, and lime, are the manures employed to fertilize the foil. From one fifth to one third part of the arable ground of every farm is annually plowed; the re

maining

maining four-fifths, or two thirds, preferved for grafs. The tillage of every year is ufually commenced in October and November. The chain plough has been tried; but the common old Scottish plough is generally preferred to every other model, as being the best adapted to the nature of the country. The plough is usually drawn by two horfes, and the ploughmen are, to a reasonable degree, alert and skilful. Oats and bear, or barley, are the grains chiefly cultivated. Seed-time is from about the beginning of March to the beginning of May. Potatoes have long been skilfully and fuccessfully cultivated here. The culture of turnips, being recommended by the example and fuccefs of fome of the principal landholders, begins to enter every year more and more into the ordinary agriculture of this parish. Corn, for feed, has been occafionally imported hither, from the most distant parts of Scotland, and even England; and it has been found highly advantageous, to make very frequent changes of corn for feed; Atill bringing the new feed corn from a foil as oppofite as poffible in its nature, to the foil on which the feed is to be fown. The season for cutting down and gathering in the corn, is usually from the 20th day of Auguft, to the 15th of October. Inftances have occurred, in which barley has yielded, of increase, 12 times the quantity of the feed; bear, an increase équal to 10 times the quantity of feed; and oats, 8 feeds. Tartarian oats having been tried here, has been known to yield an increase equal to fourteen times the quantity of the feed employed. The ordinary rotation of crops is, upon a field newly broken up, three fucceffive white crops; with the laft of thefe, grafs-feeds, to afford a fufficient fward for hay or pasture, on the fourth and fubfequent years; and then the field is left to rest for 6, 7, or 9 years, undisturbed by the plough. Both corn and barley are carefully weeded in fumThe corn cut down in harvest, is put up to dry for VOL. XVII.

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