Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/547

527 exported, they being mostly grazed a year or two and fed off ; and similar treatment is given to numerous short-horn yearlings and two-year-olds that are imported from Ireland. In 1876 the entire cattle in the county numbered 53,778 head, the sheep 493,020, the horses 7390, the pigs 14,413, these returns varying little from those of 1873, except as regards sheep, which amounted that year to 513,849. The sheep trade of Dumfriesshire, which is of com paratively recent origin, is now of great extent. Cheviots predominate, the frugal, black-faced breed still occupy ing the higher sheep walks, while half-bred lambs, the produce of Cheviot ewes crossed by Leicester or other long-wooled rams, are fattened on the richer pasture yielded by low-lying farms, supplemented by turnips in winter, and are thus made ready for the butcher when fifteen months old. For nearly a hundred years pig- feeding has occupied- a place in the rural economy of the county. A sum of 50,000 represented its annual trade in pork about sixty years ago. Influenced by large imports of bacon from America, the curing of carcases has of late decreased. In 1876 the number sold in the public markets of the county was under 8000, the value of which, allowing for those disposed off privately, would not exceed 45,000 ; a few years back the annual value ran from 70,000 to 75,000. As regards quality and flavour, the Dumfriesshire hams still maintain the high character they have long held in the English markets. Three leading highways, one in each valley, with numer ous branch roads, intersect the county. It possesses also ample railway communication, the Glasgow and South western line, completed in 1850, extending through Nithsdale and Lower Annandale, and, soon after passing Gretna Green (famous in days of yore for its matrimonial celebrations), crossing the little border river Sark ; and the Caledonian line, completed in 1849, traversing Mofiatdale and Upper Annandale, and also a portion of England as far as Carlisle. In a Parliamentary Blue Book (1874) the acreage of the county is given at 676,971, and its yearly value (1872) at 595,511, 17s., the owners numbering 4177, of whom 886 possessed more than one acre each, the value per acre being 17s. 7d. as compared with 20s. for all Scotland. From the valuation roll for 1876 we learn that the chief proprietor, the duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, owns 253,514 acres, yielding an annual revenue of 97,840. The names of other leading proprietors, with their extent of land and incomes from it, are Mr J. J. Hope Johnstone of Annandale, 64,079 acres, with a rental of 28,684; earl of Mansfield, 14,342 acres, 15,938; marquis of Queens- berry, 13,243, 13,982; Mrs Yilliers and Viscountess Cole of Closeburn, 13,560, 11,658 ; Sir John Heron Maxwell of Springkell, 13,391, 9023; Mr R. Jardine of Castlemilk, 17,064, 9339; Sir F. J. W. Johnstone of Westerhall, 7714, 7932; and Lord Herries, 5814, 6537. Population of county in 1861, 75,878; in 1871, 74,784. Dumfriesshire during the Roman occupation formed part of the province of Valentia, which lay between the walls of Hadrian and Antonine, the British tribes occupying it being termed the Selgovte. In course of time they were dispossessed by other Celts, the Scoto-Irish ; but the aboriginal Britons shared with the latter, and with the numerous Saxons and the few Normans of a later day, in being the progenitors of the existing inhabitants ; and 01 them lasting memorials remain in the names of rivers, mountains, and headlands, most of which are British, &quot;the nomenclature of the earliest colonists of the county thus remaining unchanged by the conflicts of race or the flight of ages.&quot; Down to the death ot David I., Nithsdale and some other portions of the district were still to a large extent Celtic in their people and institutions ; after that king s reign we begin to read of its historical families, some of whom are still its leading landowners of its Maxwells, Douglases, Kirkpatricks, Johnstones, Braces, Baliols, Comyns, Scotts, Carlyles, Jardines, Murrays, and Crichtons. Of all the primitive inhabitants numerous memorials still exist 527 in the form of druidical remains, British motes and camps, Roman roads and camps, Anglo-Saxon relics, the chief of the latter being the Runic monument at Ruthwell, which tells the story of the Cross in characters as old as the days of the Heptarchy. As the county is also replete with &quot; chiefless castles breathing stern fare wells,&quot; and other time-worn tokens of bye-gone ages, it presents a rich field for archaeological research. DUMFRIES, beautifully situated on the left bank of the Nith, about eight miles from the Solway Firth, is the capital of the county just described. The irregular yet decided progress of the town can be traced through the Middle Ages, and more recently till our own day, when it wears an attractive and flourishing aspect. A serious check was given to its prosperity by a visitation of cholera, which cut off more than 500 of its inhabitants in 1832. Since a copious supply of good water was obtained from a neighbouring loch, and other sanitary improvements were introduced, the salubrity of the burgh has been fairly established, and its size and tradepromoted also by its railway intercourse and the establishment of the tweed manufacture have greatly increased. Few Scotch pro vincial towns have gone forward with such a gigantic stride during the last thirty years, and its steps in advance have been especially remarkable during the latter half of that period, as shown chiefly by the bustle of its business streets, the formation of new thoroughfares, and the numerous suburban villas which now environ the old burgh proper. From time immemorial the town has possessed a great weekly cattle market, which, though reduced since 1848 by the establishment of competing markets, and the substitu tion of sheep for cattle on many surrounding farms, is still second to none on the north side of the border. The average number of cattle sold on the Sands during five years ending 1872 was nearly 14,000 yearly; in 1876 the number was 18,413, besides 6844 sold at the auction marts. Vast herds are also sent direct south from the railway station. A still larger trade is now done in sheep, the average number offered for sale during five years ending 1872 being 37,000, while 29,980 were sold at market in 1876, and 42,958 by auction. There is also a weekly market for pork, beginning in November and ending about the end of March. Among the special industries of Dumfries, clog-making and basket-making have long occupied an important place ; its traffic in timber has grown to be immense ; a hundred acres of nursery ground help to beautify the town, and supply material for an extensive trade in seeds, flowers, and other plants ; the conversion of skins into hides and leather gives labour to about 150 hands; while nearly the same number are engaged at iron works. More extensive than any of these is the hosiery manufacture, which, dating a century back, now gives employment to about 480 hands (including warehousemen), the goods produced ranking as the best in Scotland, and next to those of Hawick in extent. Prior to 1847, however, the prosperity of Dumfries de pended much on its position as the capital of a rich rural district, which it still is ; but soon after that date it began to bulk largely as a manufacturing town in connection with the tweed trade ; and to its development the growth of the burgh in size and opulence is principally due. The principal firm, that of Walter Scott and Sons, usually employs about 1400 workers, with 400 looms and 30,000 spindles. Nearly all the business traffic to and from Dumfries is now carried on by rail, the vessels belonging to the port numbering only two or three, and its revenue burdened by heavy interest on a sum borrowed to erect a large sea-dyke, which has been of little benefit is in sufficient to cover the expenditure. The origin of two places of worship in connection with the Established Church (St Mary s and Greyfriars ) is noticed below; a third, St Michael s, is a stately fabric