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 beneath the red sandstone of upper Carboniferous age. From a palaeontological point of view the Glencartholm volcanic zone is of special interest, as the calcareous shale associated with the tuffs has yielded a large number of new species of fishes, decapod crustaceans, phyllopods and scorpions. The Triassic rocks rest unconformably on all older formations within the county. In the tract along the Solway Firth they repose on the folded and eroded edges of the Carboniferous strata, and when traced westwards to the Dumfries basin they rest directly on the Silurian platform. They occur in five areas, (1) between Annan and the mouth of the Esk, (2) the Dumfries basin, (3) the Thornhill basin, (4) at Lochmaben and Corncockle Moor, (5) at Moffat. The strata consist of breccias, false-bedded sandstones and marls, the sandstones being extensively quarried for building purposes. In the sandstones of Corncockle Moor reptilian footprints have been obtained. In the Thornhill basin there is a thin zone of volcanic rocks at the base of this series which are evidently on the horizon of the lavas beneath the Mauchline sandstones in Ayrshire. In the Sanquhar basin there are small outliers of lavas probably of this age and several vents filled with agglomerate from which these igneous materials in the Thornhill basin may have been derived. There are several striking examples of basalt dikes of Tertiary age, one having been traced from the Lead Hills south-east by Moffat, across Eskdalemuir to the English border.

Climate and Industries.—The climate is mild, with a mean yearly temperature of 48° F. (January, 38·5°; July, 59·5°), and the average annual rainfall is 53 ins. Towards the middle of the 18th century farmers began to raise stock for the south, and a hundred years later 20,000 head of heavy cattle were sent annually to the English markets. The Galloways, which were the breed in vogue at first, have been to a large extent replaced by shorthorns and Ayrshire dairy cattle. Sheep breeding, of later origin, has attained to remarkable dimensions, the walks in the higher hilly country being given over to Cheviots, and the richer pasture of the low-lying farms being reserved for half-bred lambs, a cross of Cheviots and Leicesters or other long-woolled rams. Pig-feeding, once important, has declined before the imports of bacon from foreign countries. Horse-breeding is pursued on a considerable scale. Grain crops, of which oats are the principal, show a downward tendency. Arable farms range from 100 acres to 300 acres, and pastoral from 300 to 3000 acres.

In general the manufactures are only of local importance and mostly confined to Dumfries and a few of the larger towns. Langholm is famous for its tweeds; breweries and distilleries are found at Annan, Sanquhar and elsewhere; some shipping is carried on at Annan and Dumfries; and the salmon fisheries of the Nith and Annan and the Solway Firth are of value.

Communications.—The Glasgow & South-Western railway from Glasgow to Carlisle runs through Nithsdale, practically following the course of the river, and lower Annandale to the Border. The Caledonian railway runs through Annandale, throwing off at Beattock a small branch to Moffat, at Lockerbie a cross-country line to Dumfries, and at Kirtlebridge a line that ultimately crosses the Solway to Bowness. From Dumfries westwards there is communication with Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbright, Newton Stewart, Stranraer and Portpatrick. The North British railway sends a short line to Langholm from Riddings Junction in Cumberland, giving access to Carlisle and, by the Waverley route, to Edinburgh. There is also coach service between various points, as from Dumfries to New Abbey and Dalbeattie, and from Langholm to Eskdalemuir.

Population and Government.—The population in 1891 was 74,245, and in 1901, 72,571, when there were 176 persons who spoke Gaelic and English. The chief towns are Annan (pop. in 1901, 4309), Dumfries (14,444), Langholm (3142), Lockerbie (2358) and Moffat (2153). The county returns one member to parliament. Dumfries, the county town, Annan, Lochmaben and Sanquhar are royal burghs; Dumfries forms a sheriffdom with the shires of Kirkcudbright and Wigtown, and there is a resident sheriff-substitute at Dumfries, who sits also at Annan, Langholm and Lockerbie. The shire is under school-board jurisdiction, and some of the public schools earn grants for higher education. The county council and most of the borough councils give the bulk of the “residue” grant to the county committee on secondary education, which is thus enabled, besides assisting building schemes, to subsidize high schools, to provide bursaries and apparatus, and to carry on science and technical classes, embracing agriculture, dairying (at Kilmarnock Dairy school) and practical chemistry. There are academies at Dumfries, Annan, Moffat and other centres.

History.—The British tribe which inhabited this part of Scotland was called by the Romans Selgovae. They have left many signs of their presence, such as hill forts in the north, stone circles (as in Dunscore and Eskdalemuir), camps (Dryfesdale), tumuli and cairns (Closeburn), and sculptured stones (Dornock). The country around Moffat especially is rich in remains. At Holywood, near Dumfries, there stand the relic of the grove of sacred oaks from which the place derived its name, and a stone circle known locally as the Twelve Apostles. In the parish church of Ruthwell (pron. Rivvel: the “rood, or cross, well”) is preserved an ancient cross which tells in Runic characters the story of the Crucifixion. There are traces of the Roman roads which ran by Dalveen Pass into Clydesdale and up the Annan to Tweeddale, and at Birrens is one of the best-preserved examples of a Roman camp. Roman altars, urns and coins are found in many places. Upon the withdrawal of the Romans, the Selgovae were conquered by Scots from Ireland, who, however, fused with the natives. The Saxon conquest of Dumfriesshire does not seem to have been thorough, the people of Nithsdale and elsewhere maintaining their Celtic institutions up to the time of David I.

As a Border county Dumfriesshire was the scene of stirring deeds at various epochs, especially in the days of Robert Bruce. Edward I. besieged Carlaverock Castle, and the factions of Bruce (who was lord of Annandale), John Comyn and John Baliol were at constant feud. The Border clans, as haughty and hot-headed as the Gaels farther north, were always at strife. There is record of a bloody fight in Dryfesdale in 1593, when the Johnstones slew 700 Maxwells, and, overtaking the fugitives at Lockerbie, there massacred most of the remnant. These factions embroiled the dalesmen until the 18th century. The highlands of the shire afforded retreat to the persecuted Covenanters, who, at Sanquhar, published in 1680 their declaration against the king, anticipating the principles of the “glorious Revolution” by several years. Prince Charles Edward’s ambition left the shire comparatively untouched, for the Jacobite sentiment made little appeal to the people.

Dumfriesshire is inseparably connected with the name of Robert Burns, who farmed at Ellisland on the Nith for three years, and spent the last five years of his life at Dumfries. Thomas Carlyle was born at Ecclefechan, in a house still standing, and was buried beside his parents in the kirkyard of the old Secession church (now the United Free). His farm of Craigenputtock was left to Edinburgh University in order to found the John Welsh bursaries in classics and mathematics.

 DÜMICHEN, JOHANNES (1833–1894), German Egyptologist, was born near Grossglogau. He studied philology and theology in Berlin and Breslau. Subsequently he became a pupil of Lepsius and Brugsch, and devoted himself to the study of Egyptian inscriptions. He travelled widely in Egypt, and published his results in a number of important books. In 1872 he was chosen professor of Egyptology at Strassburg. The value of his work consists not only in the stores of material which he collected, but also in the success with which he dealt with many of the problems raised by the inscriptions.

Among his works are Bauurkunde des Tempels von Dendera (1865); Geographische Inschriften altägyptischer Denkmäler (4 vols., 1865–1885); Altägyptische Kalenderinschriften (1866); ''Altagypt. Tempelinschriften (2 vols., 1867); Historische Inschriften altagypt. Denkmaler (2 vols., 1867–1869); Baugeschichte und Beschreibung des Denderatempels (Strassburg, 1877); Die Oasen der libyschen''