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eft part of the fecond, viz. the light foil, are the fmall English plough; in part of the fecond, and adjoining part of the third, they ufe the Scotch plough with the English mould board, or ploughs compofed partly on the model of the old Scotch, and partly on that of the English; and in the remaining part of the third, the Scotch plough only is ufed. Each of these ploughs feems, well adapted for the nature of the foil in the district where they are used. The English plough is certainly the best; but it can only work properly in land that is free from ftones. The Scotch plough, when properly made, is doubtlefs the fitteft for ftrong land; and, laftly, the plough compofed of the two, is the moft proper for land that is compofed of the two kinds above mentioned; and these are the nature of the different foils in which the feveral kinds of ploughs are used. The ploughs are commonly drawn by two ftrong horfes, and one man both holds the plough and drives the horses, with a pair of long reins. When stiff land is to be broken up from grafs, three, or fometimes four horfes are yoked into a plough of the fame construction, but of a stronger make.

Produce. The vegetable produce of this parish has already been specified, under the article Divifion of land. With refpect to animal productions, it is principally distinguished for a breed of black cattle, for which the county of Dúmfries in general, and the neighbouring counties of the stewartry and the county of Galloway are alfo famous. They are very profitable for fattening, and many thousands of them are annually fold, and fent into England. They are handfome, of a middle fize, and weigh well for their height. When fat for the butcher, the four quarters weigh at an average 36ftones of 16 pounds; but feveral of them amount to 60 or 70 ftones. The number of black cattle in the whole parish amounts to about 1200. The fheep, which are kept in the hilly part of the parish, are the common Scotch fheep, white on the body, but black on the face and legs; they are very hardy, and their wool is ftrong and fhaggy, but coarfe. In the low cultivated districts, there are two kinds of English fheep, the one long bodied and long legged, introduced into this country by Culley; they are commonly known by the name of Muggs: the other is VOL. I.

Y y

alfo long bodied, but broad backed and fhort legged, introduced by Bakewell. They are both all white, body, face, and legs Both of them have much finer wool, and a lar ger quantity of it, than the Scotch fheep. Bakewell's kind have the finest short wool. From an experiment lately tried, a cross between the two breeds feems to answer well viz. the ram of the Culley, the ewe of the Bakewell breed. In this cultivated district and mild climate, the English aré preferred to the Scotch fheep, on account of the greater quantity, and finer quality of the wool; their being lefs hurtful to the hedges; and their greater weight when fold to the butcher. The whole number of theep in the parish, amounts at prefent only to about 1000.

The produce of the district is, on the whole, much greater than fufficient for the confumption of the inhabitants. About two thirds of the whole is carried to markets out of the parifh, viz. a confiderable quantity of butter, milk, veal, mutton, beef, wheat, oat-meal, and barley to Dumfries; a large quantity of wheat and barley to Whitehaven and Liverpool; of oats to Greenock; and a great number of young black cattle and fheep to the towns in the neighbour

hood.

There are hares, and fome foxes, and all the fowls which are natives of the fouth parts of Scotland. The migratory birds are, the fwallow and the cuckow. During the whole year, the fea gulls, commonly called, in this parifh, fea maws, occafionally come from the Solway Frith to this part of the country; their arrival feldom fails of being followed by a high wind and heavy rain, from the fouthweft, within twenty-four hours; and they return to the Frith again as foon as the storm begins to abate.

Roads and Bridges. The roads were originally made by the ftatute labour; but in that way they were neither half 'made nor half kept in repair. Several years ago, an act of parliament was obtained for this county, converting the ftatute labour into money, to be paid by the occupiers of land, at a rate not exceeding 12 s. in the 100 merks of Scotch valuation, and a certain fum to be paid by the poffeffors of houfes in towns and villages. In fome districts of the county, where making the roads is expenfive, the occupiers of land have been affeffed to the ultimum; but in

this, and fome others, the affeffment has never been more than 6 s. for each 100 merks. The converfion money is very well laid out in this parish. The roads are put and kept in as good repair as the fum collected can poffibly do; but as the roads are extenfive, and as there is a thoroughfair through the parish, from a large and populous furrounding country, to the markets at Dumfries, this fum is too fmall to keep the roads in fufficient repair; and it would probably be cheaper in the end, to lay on the full affeffment of 12 s. for a few years, till all the roads are completely finished, and then to reduce the affeffment to 4 s. which would be fufficient for keeping them in repair. Left the prefent tenants fhould be aggrieved by paying 12 s. while their fucceffors, who would enjoy the benefit of good roads, pay only 4 s. the landlords fhould pay the additional 6s. and receive it afterwards from the fubfequent tenants at 2 s. a year, till the landlords be reimbursed. A great turnpike road is now making between Carlisle and Glasgow, which runs through the parish. It will be completely finished in this county before, or about the beginning of May next. The tolls upon it are moderate, and will be fully fufficient for making and repairing it. This road, like all other turnpikes under proper management, must be highly advantageous to the country. The bridges in the parifh are good. The only large one in it was originally built, and is ftill kept in repair by the county of Dumfries, and stewartry of Galloway, as it is built over the Cluden, which is the march between the two counties. The fmaller ones, being all within the parish, were built, and are kept in repair by the parish.

Antiquities.-There are no other remains of antiquity than the Druidical temple already mentioned, and two old houfes built in the tower fafhion. There is one large heap of fmall ftones, a part of which was opened several years ago, and fome human bones faid to have been found in it. The Abbey of Holywood ftood in the fite of a part of the prefent church-yard. About half of the head of the crofs of this abbey was ftanding in the year 1779, when it ferved for the parish church. Thefe remains, however, were then pulled down, and the materials used in part for building the prefent new church. The veftiges of the

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old abbey are fufficiently evident, the church-yard; and the adjoining farm retains the name of Abbey. The prefent church has two fine toned bells, taken out of the old building; one of which by an infcription and date on it, appears to have been confecrated by the Abbot John Wrich, in the year 1154. From undoubted records, this abbey belonged to the monks of the order of Premontre, which was inftituted in the diocefe of Loon in France, in the year 1120, and was fo called, because, as the monks fay, the place was "divina revelatione praemonstratum."

Etymology of Names of Places.-The names of places in this parish feem to be derived partly from the Gaelic, and partly from the English, and fome from the Danish. The names derived from the English are either expreffive of the particular fituation of the places, or of the proprietor to whom they originally belonged. Thus Broomrig, fituated on a ridge that produces much broom; Gooliehill, fituated on a rifing ground, producing much gool §; Mofsfide, fituated on the fide of a mofs; Stepford fituated at a ford in the Cluden, where foot paffengers crofs the water on stepping stones, that have been placed there time immemorial; Morinton, the town of Morine; Stewarton, the town of Stewart, &c.; Holm, derived from the Danish, in which language holm fignifies an island. From the Gaelic are most probably derived Speddock, Barfreggan, Glengaber, Glengaur, MWhinnick, &c. Killness feems to be compounded of two languages, cella, the Latin for a chapel or cell, and ness, or naes, the Danish for a promontory, or head land, (it may alfo be derived from the Latin nafus) Killness fignifying the chapel or cell on the promontory: the place fo called is the field where the Druidical temple above mentioned ftands, and it is prominent into the river Cluden.

Eminent Men Natives of the Parifb.-Holywood has produced no men of eminence, in learning or fcience, except Mr. Charles Irvine furgeon. He was a younger fon of the late William Irvine of Gribton, Efq. and the perfon who, feveral years ago, difcovered the method of rendering falt water fresh, for which he was rewarded by goverment with a grant of five thousand pounds.

§ Gool Dr Johnfon fays, is a weed with a yellow flower, which grows among the corn, on light lands, in wet seasons, about Lammas. It is the wild marygold.

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Mifcellaneous Obfervations.-The harvefts of 1782, and 1783, were very late, efpecially that of 1782. Before the corn was all cut in this part of the country, there were intense frofts and heavy fnows. On the 2d of November 1782, in particular, a very heavy fall of fnow covered the corn fo deep, and lay fo long, that they could not be cut for feveral days after. Though the harvest was uncommonly late in this parish in thefe two years, and though the lateft of the corn in it was hurt by the froft, yet the harvest here was earlier than in any other part of Scotland; and the greatest part of the corn was ripened before the frofts came on. Under all these untoward circumftances, the crops of thefe years were, however, uncommonly good, as - is the cafe, not only this year, but alfo in all late years, owing to the peculiar drynefs and earlinefs of the foil and climate of this parish. The general scarcity of meal in Scotland during these two years, and the great demand for feed corn from thofe counties where the frolt had destroyed the crops, greatly increased, as is well remembered, the price of meal and oats all over Scotland. At that time the farmers of this parifh had large quantities of both, especially of feed corn, to fell; and they cleared by it in those two years, more than they ever did in any other two years. The price of oat meal was then 2 s. 6 d. the ftone of 17 pounds; higher than was ever known before or fince. In this parish, the heritors and farmers, by a voluntary contribution, collected into two ftorehouses, one at each extremity of the parish, all the meal they could, and diftributed it among the poor labourers and artificers at 2 s. a stone, until it fell in the markets to that price; and by thus lofing 6 d. a ftone in the meal which they fold, they were the happy means of preferving their poor parishioners from the general calamity of the country.

That this extract might not be imperfect, and to prevent it from being divided between this and the fucceeding volume, we have been obliged to extend this number beyond its ufual limits.

As it was found that what remains to be faid on the corn laws could not have been comprised in one number, it was judged expedient to defer it till the commencement of next volume, that those who purchase either might not find it imperfect. What goes before, forms a distinct article of itself, which is only flightly connected with that which will follow.