SELKIRKSHIRE, a county of Scotland, situated between 55° 21 and 55° 42' north latitude, and between 2° 48' and 3° 20' west longitude from Greenwich. It has Mid-Lothian, or the county of Edinburgh, on the north; Roxburghshire on the east and south-east; Dumfriesshire on the south; and Peeblesshire, or Tweeddale, on the west; the line which separates it from these counties being on all sides, but especially the south, exceedingly irregular. Its area has been computed very differently; but, according to the latest authorities, it appears that its extreme length is thirty miles, its extreme breadth twenty, and it is calculated to contain 264½ square miles, nearly equal to 169,280 English acres. It includes only two entire parishes, Yarrow 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, Inverleithen, Peebles, Roberten, 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 greywacke, 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, being caused by the Ettrick and Yarrow running nearly parallel, and at no very great distance from each other; but where the Y arrow and Tweed diverge, the valleys increase in magnitude, as they are then drained by larger streams. Several of the hills are above 2300 feet in height, such as Windlestraw Law, 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 lowest land is 280 feet, and the sites of many of the houses are from 600 to 1000 feet and upwards, above the level of the sea.

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[7:20:85] below Galashiels; the Cador, 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, in which their name is lost, and which then becomes the boundary with that county; the Ale, which rises in the north-east, and soon after passes into Roxburghshire; and also the Borthwick, which washes the north-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. Both have been celebrated in song, and have given their names to some plaintive melodies of great beauty and feeling. 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, and is three miles long, having its banks partly covered with cop-

pice-wood, is the finest piece of water in the south of Scot-and. 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, till it loses its name in the Tweed. 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 the great distance at which it lies from markets where coal and lime are to be had. It is fortunate, however, that in the lakes and mosses there is a great deal of marl, which serves as excellent manure for the arable land in their vicinity. The arable land lies on an elevation of from 280 to 800 feet, and does not much exceed one twentieth of the whole county. It is light, dry, and easily cultivated; and it produces wheat, oats, barley or bear, 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. The rotation in crops is generally on the five-shift system of husbandry; although, near the towns, where land is high and manure can be easily had, the four-shift is too often followed. This has increased the disease of the turnip crop, called fingers-and-toes, and has proved very injurious to the red clover.

The average rent of land is, on the arable farms, from one pound four shillings to three pounds an acre; and on the pastoral farms from two shillings and sixpence to five shillings and sixpence an acre. The grazing of an ox or cow throughout the year is about five pounds. In Ettrick it is from two pounds to two pounds five shillings; and that of a sheep is from four shillings and sixpence to six shillings and sixpence. The wages paid to farm-servants and shepherds are nearly the same as in Roxburghshire. The following summary of the produce and value of the parishes of Selkirk, Galashiels, Yarrow, and Ettrick, as stated in the New Statistical Account of Scotland, will more fully explain the value of the county.
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The leases of the farms on the Buccleuch estates are for nine years; but this is almost no drawback, as the occupiers are rarely removed. On other estates the leases run generally for nineteen years.

The rest of the county is almost exclusively occupied by sheep, which are now, for the most part, of the Cheviot breed, though not often pure, and scarcely in any instance equal to those of Roxburghshire. The black-faced or forest breed are better adapted for the greater part of the pasturage than the Cheviots; but their wool is coarse, and not well adapted for manufacture. Yet it is generally allowed, that if proper care were taken to cross the ewes with Cheviot rams, and never allow them to recross, a stock of sheep suitable to the range of pasture, and with improved wool, would soon increase, and take the place of the present breed. The number of sheep usually in pasture amounts to 55,000, of which 3000 or 4000 are of the black-faced, 4000 Leicesters, and the remainder Cheviots. The cows are mostly of the short-horned, or of the Ayrshire breeds. Small farmers and feuars prefer the latter, as being more easily brought up, and affording more milk. Highland stots have been introduced, within these few years, to pasture among the sheep, as it has been found that from the complete draining of the district, the overflow of succulent grasses is such, that without a mixture of cattle with the sheep, the grass is totally lost. The greater number of cattle a farmer keeps on his pasture, according to its extent, from May to the middle of August, the more sheep he is able to feed during winter. The valued rent of the county is L.80,307. 15s. 6d. Scotch, and the real rent of the lands and houses in 1812 was L.4l,162. 10s. sterling. The annual value of real property, as assessed in April 1815, was L.43,584. Two fifths of the whole property are held under entail. The principal proprietors are the Duke of Buccleuch, who possesses about one half of the extent, and about one third of the rental; the Earl of Traquair, Lords Elibank and Napier, Johnston of Alva, with fifteen other proprietors, whose lands stand valued in the cess-books from L.1000 to L.2000 Scotch.

Selkirk, the county town, and the town of Galashiels, contain nearly all that part of the population which is not employed in agriculture. A considerable portion of the wool of the county finds a ready market at Galashiels. An inkle-work and some tanneries are the only other branches carried on for sale out of the county; so that its exports consist chiefly of raw produce, of which its sheep and wool are by far the most considerable articles.

(See Douglas’ Survey of Selkirkshire; the New Statistical Account of Scotland, No. 1; and the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, No. 18.)

Selkirkshire returns a member to parliament. The population in 1811, 1821, and 1831, are shown in the following table.[7:20:86] Population of Selkirkshire.
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