Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/630

612 resident. The total rental of the corporation s property is now about 10,800. Since the Municipal Reform Act, 1835, the borough has been governed by six aldermen and eighteen councillors; and in 1842 &quot;the power of life and death &quot; wr s removed from the Quarter Sessions to the Newcastle Assizes. The custom of specially men tioning Berwick-on-Tweed after Wales, though abandoned in Acts of Parliament, is still retained in certain proclama tions. The title of &quot; county in itself &quot; also helps to recall its ancient history. It is the seat of a Poor Law Union, and the rateable value of the borough (1875) is 53,195. Berwick has sent two members to the English parliament since the reign of Mary. The registered electors number 1285, of whom 368 may vote as freemen, about 200 being doubly qualified. Population in 1871, 8731, or, including the conjoined townships (Tweedmouth, 2809, and Spittal, 1742), 13,282.

1em 1em  BERWICKSHIRE, a maritime county of Scotland, forming its S.E. extremity, bounded N.E. by the German Ocean, N. by Haddington, W. by Midlothian, S.W. by Roxburgh, S. by the Tweed, which separates it from Northumberland, and S.E. by the liberties of the town of Berwick. Its greatest length from E. to W. is 31^ miles ; its greatest breadth 19?; area about 464 square miles, or 297,161 acres. It is naturally divided into three districts, Lauderdale, or the valley of the Leader, in the W. ; Lammermuir, the upland district occupied by the hills of that name, in the N.; and the Merse (probably a corruption of &quot;March or borderland), the largest district, occupying the S.E. of the county. The Lammermuirs are a range of round-backed hills, whose average height is about 1000 feet, while the highest summit, Sayrs Law, reaches 1753 feet. From these hills the Merse stretches to the S. and E., and is a comparatively level tract of country, traversed, however, from N.W. to S.E. by distinct parallel ridges. The coast line is lofty, rocky, and precipitous, broken by ravines, and not accessible, except at Eyemouth harbour, for small vessels, and at one or two other places for fishing-boats St Abb s Head, a peninsular promontory with a light house upon it, rises to nearly 300 feet. The Eye is the only river of the county which falls into the sea. The others the Leader, the Eden, the Leet, and the Whiteadder with its tributaries, the Blackadder and the Dye all flow into the Tweed. Of these the largest and most important is the Whiteadder, which has its source on the East-Lothian side of the Lammermuirs, and, following a sinuous course of 35 miles, falls into the Tweed within the &quot; Bounds &quot; of Berwick. The climate of Berwickshire is chiefly influenced by its maritime position. The winter is seldom severe in the lowland districts ; but spring is generally a trying season on account of the east winds, which often continue into summer. Drainage has remedied the former excessive humidity, and the climate is now excellent, in relation both to the health of the inhabitants and to the growth of vegetation. Berwickshire, geologically, consists of Silurian rocks in the hilly region, Devonian or Old Red Sandstone in the south west, and carboniferous limestone in the Merse. Large masses of porphyritic and trap rock occasionally occur, of which St Abb s Head is an example. The sea-cliff to the north-west of the mouth of the Eye is formed of con glomerate or pudding-stone. There is an interesting and somewhat famous geological appearance at a point called Siccar, near Cockburnspath, where the sea has laid open very plainly the junction of the primary and secondary strata. The soils of Berwickshire are extremely various. On the same farm a great diversity may be found. Along the rivers is a deep rich loam, resting on gravel or clay, chiefly the former. The less valuable clay soil of the Merse has been much improved by the effective system of drainage which is everywhere carried out. The more sandy and gravelly soils are suitable for the turnip crops, which are a marked agricultural feature of the county. To these soils the landlords and tenants of Berwickshire have applied themselves with such intelligence, mutual good-will, liberality, and spirit, that the county now stands in the first rank in regard to agriculture. The farms are large, and are commonly held by a nineteen years lease. Nowhere is farming conducted more scientifically or with better success. According to the agricultural returns for 1874, the total acreage under all kinds of crops, bare fallow, and grass, 