PARISH OF EAGLESHAM.
PRESBITERY OF GLASGOW, SYNOD OF GLASCOWAND AYR.
THE REV. WILLIAM COLVILLE, MINISTER
1.-TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL HISTORY.
Name.-THE name of this parish is a compound of the Celtic eagles, a church, and the Saxon ham, which signifies a hamlet or village. In an act, James VI. 1609, for "uniting certain kirkis in Annandail," we have the "kirkis of Hoddome, Eaglischame, and Lus,' designed as forming one parish; the place of the kirk to he at Hoddom. There are also several other places in
Scotland with the Celtic appellation Eaglis; as Eaglis-carno, formerly belonging to Lord
Spynie, and Eaglis-magirdel in Aberdeenshire. The popular voice gives a different version of the origin of the name. In traditionary lore, it is asserted that before the village was built, which gives name to this parish, there were several woods in it, particularly one of great extent on the banks of the river, an English mile south of the village. This wood and the rocks in the neighbourhood were much frequented by eagles; and as they often pereled on the holm, or low ground upon which the village was afterwards built, it was hence called
Eaglesholm, or Eaglesham. This statement is utterly unfounded, and evidently proceeds on a vulgar mistake. The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos,) named by the Gael Solair dhubh, is the only individual of the genuine eagle species that inhabits these isles, and its places ofresort are not lowland woods, but remote mountainous districts.
Boundaries and Extent-The parish of Eaglesham is nearly a square, being about 6 miles in a direction from north to south, and 5 1/2 miles from east to west. It is bounded on the east by the White Cart, which separated. it from the parishes of East Kilbride and Carmunnock; on the north, by Mearns or Barn water, which separate it from Mearns and the lands of
Humbie; on the west, by the parish of Fenwick; and on the south, by the parish of Loudon.
It is situated in the south-east corner of the county of Renfrew, and contains about 23 square miles, and 15,503 standard imperial acres. The whole district is somewhat elevated.
In approaching it from, the north or by the road from Glasgow, a high blue ridge, is seen running nearly east and west, but the true axis of elevation is nearly north-west and southcast, which gives the whole district a flexure or gentle slope to the north-east. The highest hills in the parish are Balagich, Dunwan, Mires, and Blackwood, which vary in height from
1000 to, 1200 feet. The highest part of the village is about 800 feet above the sea. level ; the best arable lands from 500 to 800. With the exception of Misty Law in Lochwinnoch, the above are the hinffiest hills in the county. Meteoroloqy.-The above elevations indicate a climate of considerable severity, especially in the winter months, in a latitude so high as that of Scotland. The prevalence of peat mosses, of the worst and most irreclaimable description, also serves to deteriorate the naturally inclement atmosphere, and to render it more inhospitable. In the summer season, however, Eaglesham forms a delightful place of

residence ; and in some of the lower grounds, and near the town, and on the banks of the principal streams, both the soil and climate are equal to any in the county for salubrity, fertility, and health. The piece of ground on which the village is built is full of springs, and yields abundance of the best of water. But from the same cause the site of the houses is cold and damp, where pains are not taken to get rid of the superfluous moisture. A great deal of rain-falls in the course of the year,-on an average,29.65 inches,-and from the exposed position of the parish the winds are very damp and cold. Frosts often set in early in autumn and continue late in spring. The ploughing season usually begins about the middle of March, and the seed is commonly sown. about the second week of April. The prevailing distempers are such as arise out of the peculiarities of soil and climate, such as influenza, rheumatism, consumption, &c. Fevers are not common, and measles are generally mild.
Small-pox has. returned with fearful frequency, but, with abated symptoms, as in other placer. The crisis is generally observed to take place a day or two earlier than. in, the ancient and more virulent forms of the disease. The P0esent disease is generally if not always much easher, and seldom proves fatal. The Kilpatrick bills are here universally regarded as forming one of the most striking indices of the weather. When the appear near, a change is expected, when remote the weather is always dry.
Hydrography.-This parish, with the parishes of Mearns and Neilston, contains the chief water heads of the rivulets which supply the Cart, the great trough of the lower parts of
Renfrewshire, Dear Paisley. The Cart itself rises in the moors of Eaglesbarn and East
Kilbride, and is supplied by five or six small tributaries running into it, all pursuing a northeast direction. The course of the Cart is nearly north, till it arrives at Catheart and Langside, where it pursues a westerly course towards Paisley, and at that town it again takes a direction directly north, before losing itself in the Clyde. This is termed the White Cart. The
Black Cart comes from the west of the county, and joins the White Cart at Inchirman Bridge, shortly before it joins the Clyde. The Earnwater is a considerable stream on the north-west of the parish, falling into the Cari at a house termed St Helena; as it stands on a sort of island formed by the junction of the two waters, and a mill lead that joins them together. The
Kevoch burn, near the centre of the parish, is also a considerable stream. The parish abounds everywhere in excellent springs. Two of these are mineral. One at Murizie hill, on the south side of the parish, is slightly.laxative; the other, at Bonninton, on the north side, has long been famous for the cure of muirill in cattle. The most striking feature in the hydrography of this parish is the great extent of ground covered by reservoirs for the supply of the mills at Eaglesham, Busby, Fenwick, &c. Upwards of 237 acres are thus permanently inundated. There `re no less than three lochs at Picket Law; a fourth on the lands of
Dunwan, Greenfield, Brachead, and Holeball; a fifth on the lands of Dunwan, Blackwood, and Blackwood Hill; and a sixth at Binend. The extent of ground covered by each is as follows

Acres.
1. Picket Law and Kirkton reservoirs, 26
Roods.
3
Falls.
6
2. Dunwan, Greenfield, &creservoir, 64
3. Dunwan, Blackwood, &c. reservoir, 96
4. Binend Loch,
Total,
50
237
3
0
0
2
36
31
7
0
These measurements do not contain the portion belonging to the Marquis of Hastings.
Geoloqy and Mineralogy.-This parish constitutes a section of that great body of trap or greenstone, which extends through a large portion of the county of Ayr, or from near Ardrossan on the south to
Kernpoch Point on the north. On the west it encroaches on the sea'only at three points, viz. Largs, the Clock Lighthouse, and Kempoch Point. It is nearly cut off by the coal formations at Castle
Semple, and again between Head of Side and Neilston After which it 'extends into the Mearns and
Eaglesham, running eastward into the county of Lanark, and embracing a large portion of the parishes of Carmunnock, East kilbride, and Avondale. The trap is mostly of that species termed in the west of Scotland rotten-whin. In every quarter of the parish, however, there are quarries of a fine. strong greenstone. . About the village of Eaglesham,the trap is associated in some places with porphyritic claystone of considerable thickness. In a quarry by the roadside leading to Glasgow, a greenstone rock of a crag-like form, once attained a considerable elevation, but it is now almost entirely cut away. It is very curious for the number of extraneous minerals which it contains, such as jasper, calcedony, blue quartz, calcareous spar, and compact felspar; the latter often beautifully crystallized. The trap rocks form the highest lands, not of this parish only, but also of the neighbouring parishes. On the east side of'the parish a sort of tufaceous conglomerate, of volcanic origin, termed by Ure -the Osmond stone, occurs in great rocky masses. It may be seen to great advantage at Craigend, on the Cart, at a waterfall six or eight feet high. The water here runs entirely upon it. It is of a curious grayish-greenish colour, and sometimes contains rolled masses of porphyritic greenstone. Between the waterfall and Millhouse the Osmond fines off, and nothing but a fine-grained basalAic trap, much water-worn, is to be seen in the bed of the Cart. At Millhouse the
Osmond is again of great thickness, and forms a coarse conglomerate. The Torburn and Thriepland burn join at Millhouse dam, after which their combined waters form the White Cart. A singular dike of trap runs through the Osmond stone d little below the Mill its direction is cast and south-west.
The Osmond forms great precipices half a-mile below Millhouse, and at Craigenfeich it attains a perpendicular height of thirty or forty feet. The rocks are generally hardest on the surface, and softer below. They are for the most part perfectly amorphous, but occasionally they seem to be imperfectly stratified, and even assume a regular dip. In this district they lie above a blue basalt to the south, and on compact limestone to the north. The pores and crevices are, in some specimens, filled with matter, and in others with Calcareous spar, -and sometimes with zeolite. In some instances they are also filled with a white steatite, and in the parish of Eaglesham, in particular, a great quantity of heavy spar is inter.. spersed in it. This mineral occurs about Balagich-hill, two miles west of the village. It shines in the dark after having been whitened in the fire. Besides barytes, the presence of talcose, earth, or a kind of Capstone, is also another peculiar feature in the structure of

the Osmond stone. This talce is soft and soapy, and may be exit into any shape. With borax and soda it melts into a greenish slag. Besides these there is also found zeolite, and also sili. ceous and calcareous earths in the form of spars. These are all imbedded in the Osmond stone, with the exception of the barytes, which in many instances has large masses of the Osmond contained or isolated in it. The Osmond being of a volcanic nat ture stands a great beat without being either fused or broken. Oil this account it was in former times in great request for the soles of bakers' ovens, and for making up fire-lilaces in kitchens, and where a constant heat is required. All the stones, however, not being of equal density, have not the same capacity for receiving and retaining heat. On this account. the stone ouLrbt to be very carefully selected, for if precautionary measures are not thus adoph ed, soine of the bread will be burned before the rest is half-prepared.
A little below Craigenfeicb, at Allerton farm, limestone is seen in the bed of the Cart, and seems to dip in below the Osmond stone at an angle of 400 west, nr in by the village of Eaglesham. A litt'le belowa band of ironstone crosses the water, which dips about 80 north. At Allerton the lime in many places is lying almost on its edge, indicating an extensive trouble. After disappearing for some time it appears again a quarter of a mile above Nethercraig bridge. A little below the bridge, it dips at an angle of 1O south. There is also in the same locality a bed of pipe-clay (Arqilla leucargilla) with a similar dip. The whin comes in again at Hole, and at the bridge on the road between Eaglesharn and East Kilbride. With these exceptions, which are entirely on the eastern limits of the parish, the whole range of it may be said to be composed of alternations of elaystone, greenstone. and wacke.
In the same associated group, but not in this parish, iron and manganese are found in very small proportional and also copper ore in a greenstone dike at Kaime. Beautiful specimens of red foliated stilbite, needlestone, chabasite, analcime, and other minerals,of the same family, are frequentlyfound in the whin rocks on the Cart. These rocks are entirely surrounded by the coal formations except to the west, where they come in contact with the old red sandstone, near the sea shore.
Although the soil of the district reposes entirely on trap, yet it varies considerably, and is far from being of equal quality. The soil produced by trap rocks is generally reckoned secondary only to alluvium; but unfortunately that soil in this parish, is only to be found in the more elevated districts, where the trap has been upheaved from the action of fire, and therefore attains an elevation very unfavourable to cultivation in a northern climate. Indeed, these igneous effusions are seldom less than 500 or 600 feet above the level of the sea, and of course we seldom have an opportunity in this country of trying the virtues of a trap soil'-in a truly favourable situation, or under the most advantageous circumstances. Much of it occupies the summits or bleak sloping acclivities of hilly ranges, such as Balagich, Dunwau, Mires, and Blackwood; and others, although more favourably situated, are still too high for cultivation. These heights, by the operation of natural laws, draw clouds and moisture, and are exposed to every surly blast that blows. These, and such like causes, with all their necessary disadvantages, are felt to operate more, or less throughout the greater part of the parish. The higher or western parts consist chiefly of dry heath, or of deep peat mosses, with a number of fine green bills, mixed with them, with a great deal of natural meadow everywhere interspersed. The tenants in thispart of the parish plough little. Their great dependence is on their sheep, and the rearing of cattle. The lower part of the parish, lying along the banks of the Cart, and to the west of the river, is a light soil, above a rotten whinstone rock, and, when allowed to rest four years, produces two excellent crops of corn, with a very light manure of lime or dung. As the trap rocks where gre'enstone abounds decompose slowly, the soil in. many places is far too shallow for

agricultural purposes, These whin rocks are everywhere full of cracks or fissures, and send out waters and copious springs in all directions. The consequence is, that bogs and deep mosses abound in all places adapted for the reception: and detention of water; and plants, favourable for the growth of peat-mosses, flourish in such localities with much luxuriance. In many of these bogs -and mosses the larger plants have been absorbed in the destructive profusion of the smaller, as in some climates the larger animals become the prey of insects. The prevailing trees are the remains of the birch, haze], and willow, and, occasionally, of the oak. The roots and stumps are most common, and have the appearance of yet remaining where they grew.
Zoology.-The zoology of the district is of course much the same as in neighbouring places; but a few peculiarities maybe mentioned. The Mustela ermina, or common ermine, often attains a great size in this parish and neighbourhood. I have seen a specimen from Balagich, where the body was upwards of twelve inches long. It had on it., winter clothing, and is of a pure white, except the tip of the tail, which is black. The Mustela putorius is also in some.places very destructive among poultry.
The squirrel, common enough in the neighbourhood, has not yet reached this locality. The common hare (Lepus ti?riidus) is in this district a remarkably swift powerful -animal, and often puts the best bone and muscle of the Clydesdale Coursing-Club to the full stretch. The parish of Eaglesham is a favourite coursing ground to the Earl of Eglinton, Lord of the Manor, the Marquis of D6uglas, and the other spirited and enterprising members of that far-famed club. To those who take delight in these sports, the Eaglesharn hare is an object worthy of pursuit, in comparison of the more luxu riant and less powerful animals on the lower grounds, which are generally overtaken by the unerring flight of their too savage pursuers before they have measured half the distance. The water-vole (Arvicola aquaticus), and the (Sorex fodiens), or water-shrew, are very common by the banks of the reservoirs.
There are abundance of grouse, (Lagopus Scoticus), in the higher parts of the parish. I have seen very fine specimens of the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), killed here, and on Mearns Moor.
The bobby, the kestril, and the merlin, are also not uncommon. The Circus cyaneus, or hen barrier, is very destructive in some places to game and poultry, but the hawk kind are very much thinned by gamekeepers. Great flights of the red-wing and fieldfare occur in winter. They have been seen as late as the latter end of April. The Podiceps rubicollis, or red-necked grebe, and the P. auritus or eared grebe, have been both shot in this parish. The teal and various species of aquatic birds are found on the reservoirs. Of reptiles, the Lacerta aqiuis, or nimble lizard, and the Vipera communis, are often seen in the moors. The latter of these bit a Tointer dog on the tongue, which soon caused his death. In the lakes that species of trout Salmo savelinus or torgoch, occurs. The Lady Anne trout of the Clyde and Avon, near Hamilton, were originally brought by Anne Duchess of Hamilton from a loch in this neighbourhood. They are of the above species. Various molluscous animals occur, but, as these are also common in neighbouring parishes, it is unnecessary here to record them. Botany.-
The parish produces no species of plants so rare as to require to be noticed, except in a very cursory manner. The Drosera rotundifolia is not uncommon in the peat-mosses. In the Cart the Conferva rivularis, fontinalis, et gelatinosa are found in several places, also Fontinalis antipyretica et minor.
Carex maritime is common on the moors, and a great many species are found by the marshes and the reservoirs. This parish is almost. entirely a pastoral cotintrv and therefore contains few plantations in proportion to its extent of surface. The following will give some idea of the chief groups of planting:

Acres.
Town lands of Eaglesham, 3
Roods.
2
Falls.
26
Kirkton lands,
Picket Law,
2
11
South Floors and Laigh Tofts, 1
19
3
3
1
1
21
0
8
15
The plantations are chiefly of fir of the common sorts, and are generally distributed in clumps on knolls not accessible to the plough. This parish might be laid out very profitably with belts of plantations. The first step to be taken would be to have nurseries either on part of the same land to be planted, or as near to the place as possible, and also upon the same sort of soil. People complain of treer not thriving in high climates; but this frequently arises from bringing the seed ot, young trees from more genial to less nial situations, and the consequence is, that a great many perish while yet in the state of very tender plants. As the soil tere is entirely formed of decomposed volcanic rocks, it produces in all dry si'tuations a soil more fitted for the Scotch fir and spruce, than for the silver fir, which ought never to be planted in hot, dry, or rocky situations, where it commonly loses the top shoots, and the under branches soon become ragged. The silver fir thrives well on--sour, heavy, obstinate clay; the Scots fir springs and flourishes upon the most barrela sand, where scarce anything but heath and furze will glow; the spruce requires a stronger soil, and in dry ground seldom makes any great progress, and is, therefore, unfitted for of the trap hills or eminences on which it is occasionally planted. The sort of fir wbich thrives best here is the larch, and many acres might be profitably covered with it, which are now.of little or no value to the proprietor. The great profit of planting these trees may be deduced from the consideration, that, supposing an acre of trees planted at eight feet apart to contain 680 trees,. and that each tree at fifty years growth should contain only 70 feet of wood, in that case 680 trees on an acre would contain 476,000 cubic feet of timber which, at 1s. a foot, would be L.2380. Hard-wood thrives well enough in the lower and more sheltered parts of the parish, but not in the higher.
II-CIVIL HISTORY. This parish was no doubt formerly part of the district of Mearns; a term which does not properly apply to a parish, but to a 111 district inhabited by herdsmen or dairy people;" and when the church was built, the village which gradually arose around it was termed Eagleshain or
Kirktown. The erection of that church must have been in very early times, when the Celtic language was still spok. en. The earliest authentic records of the parish are connected with the Stetiarts. This with other estates was granted by David I. to Walter, the son of Alan the first Steuart. Robert de
Montgomery first settled in Scotland with Alan Lord of Oswaldestre, and is believed to have been a grandson of Earl Roger, by a younger son, unknown to the genealogists, from the circumstance of the Castle of Alan at Oswestry being in the vicinity of Shrewsbury, and no other family of
Montgomery being then known in England. He obtained from the High Steward the manor of
Eaglesham, county of Renfrew, which is still possessed by the same family. These two distinguished individuals died. about 1 177. Fir two centuries Eaglesham was the chief estate of the Montgomery family. On the accession of the Stetiarts to the throne in 1371, the proprietor of Eaglesham became a tenant in capiteThis was in the time of John de Montgomeryo who added to, this estate the

baronies of Eglinton and Ardrossan, by mardage, with Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Sir Hugh,
Eglinton, by Egidia, sister of Robert 11, King of Scotland. It was this same individual that, at the battle of Otterburn, 1388, took Harry llierey (Hotspur) prisoner with his own hand, and with the ransom or poind-money built the Castle of Punoon, or Poinon as the name indicates. His successor,
Sir Hugh Montgomery, was killed at Chevy-Chace by an English archer, who
"-had a bow bent in his hand
Made of a trusty tree,
An arrow of a cloth-yard long
Unto the head drew he.
Against Sir Hugh Montgomery
So right his hand he set,
The gray-goose wing that was thereon
In his heart-blood was wet."
The barony of Eaglesham has descended since through the Barons Montgomery and Earls of
Eglinton to the present day. Eaglesham comprehended 100 marks land of the old extent. The chief messuage was the Castle of Punoon, or, as it is sometimes written, Polnone or Polnoon, vulgularly pronounced Pownoon. This barony seems all along to have remained in the quiet possession of the
Eglinton family. In the Acts of Parliament published by the authority of Government, and in the
Rotuli Scotiæ, we do not find it mentioned till 1672, when Alexander, Eighth Earl of Eglinton, obtained an act of Parliament for a " yeirlie fair and weiklie mercat at the Kirktoun of Eagleshame."
The petition of the Earl to Parliament is given in full in the " Acts of the Parliament of Scotland," (Vol. viii. Appendix, p. 17,) where it is stated that the village was then " above six miles distant from any burgh royal, or from any other place where mercats or frie fairs are kept, and lying on the Kingis high way, is a most fit and convenient place for keeping mercats." The act grants " ane yierlie frie fair to be keepit within the kirktoun of Eglishame upon the twentie fourt day of Aprile yierlie, with ane weekly mercat to be kept thereat upon each Thursday, for buying and selling of all sort of merchandise, and other commodities necessar and useful for the country." The Earl and his successors are also farther appointed " to collect, uptake, and receive the tolls, customs, and dewties belonging to said yierlie fair, and weiklie mercat." This fair, with another for which there is no act of Parliament, is kept yearly in May or 24th April, O. S.; but the weekly market has been discontinued. The Earls of Eglinton have still a residence in the parish-Polnoon Lodge; but it is at present let out. Formerly the farms of Netherton, Polehall, Holemuir, and Maulauther, constituted an ancient property named Auchinhood, a possession of a branch of the Montgomery family, and till lately, belonging to John Montgomery of Wrae, Depute Secretary of North Britain. This estate is now re-united to the Eglinton property.
Eminent Characters.-The Rev. Robert Pollok, the author of the celebrated poem " the Course of
Time," was a native of his parish. His father, John Pollok (aged 82 years) is still alive. His mother was
Margaret Dickie, from the parish of Fenwick. Her ancestors had for many generations been proprietors of a property called Horsehill, in the above parish. The name of the former proprietors

was Gemmel, the last of whom, the grandmother of Mr Pollok, was a female who marrhed a person of the name of Dickie, of which marriage the mother of the bard was a daughter. This family suffered greatly during the persecution, and it was chiefly from the details of these sufferings, collected from the lips of his mother, that Mr Pollok was led to the composition of that very intdresting sketch, " The Persecuted Family." No trace of the period of Mr Pollok's birth is to be found in the parish records. It appears, however, that he was born in the year 1799, at Muirhouse, a farm of about 100 acres, scarcely three miles west of the village of Eaglesham, then and still in the possession of his father, John Pollok, a tenant of the Earl of Eglinton. He was baptized by Mr
Thomson, Antiburgber minister at Mearns. Mr Pollok obtained his early education at Langlee, at a school supplied by various teachers, who taught only for a stated period during the summer months, and returned in the Winter to college. He was also for some time at a school at Newton Mearns. At first, he seems to have had no idea of pursuing the clerical profession. For some time he assisted his father on the farm, but, finding the laborious duties of an " upland farmer" to be too arduous for his feeble constitution, be resigned the sickle and the plough, and went to reside at Barrhead with David
Young, a brother-in-law, for the purpose nf learning the carpenter trade ; but, after fabricating with his own hands a few chairs and other trifling, articles, he seems also to have sickened at the idea of sacrificing himself to the pursuit of a mere manual employment, and we accordingly find him next residing with his uncle, Mr David Dickie, at Fenwick, where he learned Latin and Greek under Mr
Fairlie, the present parish teacher. Mr Pollok afterwards studied at the University of Glasgow, where, after the usual curriculum, he took his degree of Master of Arts. He studied theology in the same city under Dr Dick, the Professor of Divinity for the United Secession Church. At this period he seems also to have attended the theological lectures of Professor MacGiII in the university. In the spring of 1827, he was admitted by the United Associate Presbytery of Edinburgh, a licentiate of the
Secession Church, along with his brother, who still remains a preacher, belonging to that body. Mr
Pollok preached, only once for Dr Brown of Rose Street Chapel, Edinburgh, and once or twice for Dr
Belfrage at Slateford. The fatal disease, consumption, which was soon to terminate his earthly ministrations, and all other labours, was now settling down upon him. He went for a short time to reside in Aberdeen, but without any sensible improvement of his health, and therefore soon returned to the hospitable abode of his friend Dr Belfrage. During Mr Pollok's residence at Slateford, he was visited by many distinguished individuals, and received the advice and friendly intercourse of
Dr Abercrombie of Edinburgh, and was also on intimate terms with the family of Dr Monro of the
University of Edinburgh, who then possessed the pleasant villa of Craig-Lockhart, in the vhcinity of
Slateford. But in spite of every effort on the part of his friends and medical advisers, the symptoms of the disease continued to advance, and at length it became evident that the only chance of saving a life so valuable was a residence in Italy. The city of Pisa, in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, was the place selected for his residence. In the month of August 1827, he left Scotland for the purpose of proceeding on his journey, accompanied by his sister, (now Mrs Gilmour, residing in the village of
Eaglesham,) from whom the author obtained most of the particulars here recorded. He proceeded first to Plymouth, and then took up his residence near to Southampton. Here the symptoms increased so rapidly, that it was found impossible to proceed farther. The ill-fated hard continued to linger on till 18th September 1827, when he expired in the arms of his sister. Mrs Gilmour speaks highly of the kindness of the Rev. Mr Wilson, Rector of a parish in the neighbourhood, and also of the attention paid to her brother by Mr Lloyd of Dublin. These gentlemen frequently cheered and consoled him, by their presence and conversation, and occasionally brought grapes and such other delicacies as were thought to be most agreeble. Mr Wilson conversed much with Mr Pollok on

spiritual matters, and seemed to take a deep interest in him. Mr Pollok, during his illness, as may be supposed, exhibited every symptom of being a devout and sincere Christian. He was buried in the parish of Millbrook, Southampton, according to the English ritual. His mother died two years before, aged sixty-six. Of a writer so popular,and so justly admired as a poet, it is unnecessary to say more than that he holds an eminent olace as a man of genius among the many eminent characters which his native country has produced. But at present it is our duty not so much to applaud hi genius, as to state a few statistical facts-all that can be expected in a limited report. His brother, the Rev. John
Pllok, is now engaged in preparing memoirs of the poet, to be published in two volumes; the first volume to contain a life, and the second, letters, piosthumous poems, and other writings. Mrs
Gilmour states that the "Course of Time" emenated from the exuberant fancy of her brother in about two years; and also that the poet, about the period of its publication, destroyed all his more crude and early productions.
Land-Owners.-Besides the Earl of Eglinton, who is proprietor of nearly the whole of the parish, there are four small propietors, who hold farms or landed properties to a limited extent. These are,
1. Millhall, about one mile south-east of the village. It consists of about ten acres of very fertile land.
This small estate was formerly the property of John Mather, who acquired it by marrying Mary, daughter of Robert Dunlop of Millhall. It now belongs to Ludovie Gavin, Esq.
2. Boreland, about half a mile from thre village of Eablesham, was bought upwards of 170 years ago from family of the name of Anderson, and now belongs to William Brown, Esq. The estaten consists of about 40 acres of very good land.
3. West Muirhouse, the property of William Gilmuir, Esq. consists of about 250 acres of moorish land, partly cultivated, and partly in natural meadow, and unreclaimed heather moss.
4. East Muirhouse, belonging to James Mather, Esq. consists also of 250 acres of similar land to the above. Both this and the former property were purchased, 1742, from Mure of Caldwell. The following facts as to properties within the parish are from authentic sources:
ESTATES ENGLISH ACRES VALUED RENT REAL RENT
1. Eglinton estate,
2. Millhall,
14,953 L. 2,979
10
3. Boreland, 40
4. West Muirhouse, 250
53
20
5. East Muirhouse, 250 20
-_______ ______________ _____________
13 0 L. 9,100
28
13 6 100
0 0 80
0 0 50
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
15,503 L. 3,074 2 6 L. 9,350 0 0
Parochial Registers.-There are, at present, nine volumes in possession of the parish schoolmaster, some of them not very regularly kept. The earliest date is 13th April 1651.

Antiquities.-The ruins of the Polnon are still visible on the banks of the Cart, a few miles from its source. It presents little now to the eye of the spectator, except a few smooth, knolls of rubbish, and of the obvious inequalities occasioned by the sites of the old foundations, covered entirely with a thick sward of short matted grass. If the estimates of the genealogists may be depended on, upwards of five hundred successions of the seasons have worn down this once famots and venerated pile to its present curtailed and almost imperceptible dimensions, or almost total obliteration from the face of nature, but not from the recorded pages of the historian and antiquary.
The spot is still rich in classical recollections, and the chivalrous associations and exploits of former ages. We can scarcely look on the dreary region where this ancient fortalice once stood, the terror and stern protection of the district, without recollecting the Stewarts of Scotland, the
Montgomeries, Otterburn, Hotspur, and Chevy Chace, where one of its most adventurous lords fell by the too unerring and blood-thirsty shaft of a southern archer. The Castle of Polnoon has now nothing left to record its ancient fame but the recollections of the past ; otherwise it has nothing to recommend it to the attention of the stranger. The illiterate now despise or overlook it.
III.-POPULATION. The return of the population made to Dr Webster in 1755 was 1103. In 1791, the number was only 1,000, of whom about 300 were under six years of age, and 700 six years old and upwards. At that period, the baptisms were on an average, 25 per annum, and the marriages, 9 or
10. In 1801, the population was 1176 ; in 1811, ten years after, 1424; and in 1821 it had increased to
1927, of whom 932 were males, and 995 fem`les. There were then 239 houses in the parish, which leaves about eight individuals to each house. In 1831, the population amounted to 2372, which is chiefly to be attributed to the cotton-works erected in the village and at Millhall. It is supposed that at next census there will be a decrease of inhabitants or, at least, that they will not have increased much since 1831. The results of the several Government returns is as follows:
Years. Houses. Families. Males. Females. Total.
1801, 178 260 558 558 1176
1811, 219 292 696 728 1424
1821, 227
1831, 242
384 932
424 1177
995 1927
1195 2372
The average of births in seven years is 71, of marriages, 16.
Number of families in 1831, 424
chiefly engaged in agriculture, trade, manufacture, or handicrafts
87
302
The increase since 1791 is 1372. In 1801, the number of inhabitants to each house in the parish was, on an average, 6. At the present time, it is 8, which is entirely owing to the establishment of manufactures. At present, the town of Eaglesham contains about 1750 inhabitants, namely, 879 males, and 871 females, of whom 845 live on the north side of the town, and 905 on the south side.
In the country part of the parish, there are 622 souls, namely, 300 on the north side, and 322 on the south side. The population in the country has fallen off from the enlargement of farms, and the de-

crease of cottars. In the town, the principal increase has arisen,as already stated, from the establishment of manufactures. There are about six families of independent fortune, and four proprietors of land of the yearly value of L. 50 and upwards. The number of families, as above, is
424, which is about 5 1/2 to each family.
The number of illegitimate births during the last three yearswas 3.
The most popular games are curling and quoits. For the former of these sports, the parish affords every encouragement, from the great number of lochs which it contains, besides streams and meadows.
Smuggling was at one period very common, but is now at an end. Poaching still prevails to a considerable extent, not among the rural population, where the greatest facilities occur and the temptations are greatest, but chiefly among stragglers from the village, who are bad sitters at the loom, or pursue no regular or creditable employment.
IV.-INDUSTRY.
Agriculture.-The parish rises to the west, and gently declines to the north-east, and, of course, has not a good exposure. The highdr districts consist partly of hill, bent, and flow-moss, with meadows and green hills interspersed. Along the Cart and banks of the principal streams there is a light soil reposing on trap rocks. The surface of the parish contains 15,503 acres and 37 falls, of which 14,953 acres and 37 falls belong to the Earl of Eglinton, and 550 acres are distributed among four other proprietors. The Earl of Eglinton's portion is thus divided in Scots acres:-
A. R. F.
Pasture, meadow, moors, and roads, 7614
Reservoirs and lakes, 237
0
2
Arable land and houses,
Plantations, &c.
3970
34
0
2
Scots acres,
------------
11,856 2 2
27
0
37
18
The distribution of lands in English acres throughout the parish may be thus stated:
Arable i. e. in tillage or cultivated grasses, 6100 acres.
Natural pasture and meadow, 3980
Moss an moor, little susceptible of cultivation, 5368
Plantations, hedges, &c. 60
English acres,
-----
15,503
About 70 acres and 22 falls English are in the possession of the villagers. Part of it is let as a farm at the annual rental of L. 16 Sterling; but the villagers retain the right of casting peat and turf, and use the ground between the two rows of houses for bleaching. It will be seen from the above statements that a considerable portion of the parish is not arable, but consists of natural pasture, meadows, and mosses. A great deal of that sort of moss which Dr Anderson terms heath-mould, but which the farmers here term hill-moss, prevails in the upper, and especially in the western parts of the parish.

It is an incrustation of moss, frequently only a few inches in thickness, which grows over the dry trap rocks, in hilly ground, and on sandy or gravelly soil, where water easily percolates, and where the declivity is such as to facilitate its escape from the surface. There are several thousand acres of this sort of moss in the parish, all of which is more or less susceptible of improvement although much of it, from being inaccessible to the plough, could not be permanently cultivated. At present, besides the common moss plantEr which go to the production of that sort of soil, the only plants which it carries with unsparing profusion are, the Calluna vulgaris, or common ling, and the Erica tetralix and cinerea, or cross-leaved, and fine-leaved heath, with a few junci, carices, &c. A much more improvable soil is found in the bentmoss, which is chiefly found on the sides and skirts of hills and reclining lands, or as a margin to the flow mosses. It is from this soil that peat for fuel is cut. Those deep beds of moss earth, abounding with moisture, termed, as above, flow-moss, are not so common here, owing to the nature of the subsoil and foundation rock, neither of which are favourable for the retention of moisture. In the lower parts of the parish the soil is mostly a thin earth, sometimes on a gravelly but mostly on a dry whinnx bottom.
The following table will give an idea of the amount of arable land in a majority of the different farms on the Eglinton estate, with the average number of cows and horses on each farm. The moor and meadow ground is also given. It may be here stated hat the town lands of E`glesham contain 51 acres, 2 roods, and 11 falls Scots, all arable, and 1 rood, 18 falls moor, &c., and that 100 cows and 24 horses are kept by the villagers.
Arable land Moss, mea Average Average cows kept. horses kept. Names of Farms. and houses. dow, &c.
A. R. F. A. R. F.
Kirkton lands, 165 1 10 6 1 22
Lowhill, 46 2 37 7 2 1
Highhill, 25 3 27 5 0 38
Picketlaw, 57 1 15 0 1 24
32 5
10 2
8 2
0 0
Comerings, 48 1 26 0 0 0
Upper Boreland, 78 3 33 18 3 31
East Tofts, 73 3 22 29 1 26
West Tofts, 21 0 23 18 2 13
0 0
14 2
12 2
6 1
Bonyton, 78 2 9 19 3 23 18 3
Bogside, 63 3 28 3 0 26 10 2
North Floors, 82 1 2 0 3 15 14 3
Ross Mill, near Windhill, 109 3 11 8 2 39 18 3

South Floors and Laigh Tofts, 84 0 35 15 3 18 22 3
Crosslees and part of Boreland, 101 2 32 3 2 27 20 3
Brakenrig. &c. 140 1 6 4 0 17 24 4
Laigh Boreland, 89 1 25 5 0 35 8 2
Holehouse, 64 3 21 7 2 13 16 2
South Kirklands, 69 1 5 4 2 32 16 2
Walkers, &c. 73 2 18 0 0 0 15 3
Mains, 52 0 18 4 2 29 10 2
Stepend, 30 3 18 3 0 30 8 2
Polnoon, 52 0 16 4 0 37 10 2
Broadflat, 34 2 19 6 1 9 8 2
Woodhouse, 58 0 10 4 3 24 14 2
Park, 54 1 32 25 3 36 14 2
Netherton, 71 3 9 41 1 16 18 2
Over Enoch, 108 1 29 78 2 18 24 3
West Ardoch, 80 0 0 33 0 14 18 2
East Ardoch, 107 3 31 73 0 8 24 3
Mid and Nether Enoch, 44 2 1 16 1 25 14 2
Damhead, 21 3 14 4 1 6 6 1
Nethercraig, 87 1 6 4 0 31 18 3
North High Craig, 95 2 25 3 3 2 16 3
West and South High Craig, 50 0 20 1 1 28 8 1
East High Craig, 53 3 36 7 3 39 12 2
Temples, 71 2 17 11 1 1 14 2
Stonebyres, 118 1 34 23 3 11 24 3
Upper Threepland, 93 1 2 757 1 38 14 2
Nether Threepland, 59 2 35 17 3 24 14 2

Drumduff, 2 3 15 427 1 9 6 1
------------------------ ---- --
Scots acres, 2705 2 12 697 3 0 557 88
In addition to the above forty farms, there are in the parish twenty-two besides,of which one contains 214 acres,of arable land, another 116, a third 105, one 99, another 93 also one 94 acres.
Some are as low as one or two acres, and from that up to 56. The cows kept on these twenty-two additional farms are 350, and the horses 40. In the whole parish there are 1057 cows,besides young stock, which may amount to 300 more. There are 152 horses besides those rearing; in all about
200. In 1791, the number of horses was 120, and of cows 756. There are about 4000 old sheep in the parish, besides a proportional number of Young ones. The horses increase in the spring when the ploughing begins in March; but the smaller farmers sometimes join two and two to make up the number of horses necessary for ploughing their lands, which, in the language of the country, is termed marrowing. The Glasgow market supplies those who purchase in spring, or beginning of the working season, and sell again when the labour is over. In the higher parts of the parish, however, the tenants plough little. Their great dependence, as formerly stated, is on sheep, and the rearing of cattle. In the lower part of the parish, where the soil is drier, and the climate more favourable, when the land is allowed to lie four years, it produces two excellent crops of oats, with a very sligbt application of lime or manure, and Gdnerally repays the labour of the farmer. The farmers in that quarter only plough a fourth part of their arable ground, and oats is the principal grain they raise.
Ever since Glasgow has risen to its present importance, the great dependence of the farmers in this quarter, as in Kilbride, and the neigbbouring parishes, is on their milk, butter, and cheese, particularly on their buttermilk, which, with the butter, is driven into the Glasgow market, once or twice, or oftener a week. On this account they have few horses, but a great many cows, all of the
Ayrshire breed, but, owing to the soil and climate, not of the largest size. In the beginning of winter they are fed chiefly on oat straw ; but, in the latter end of winter, and till the pasture springs up, with hay, and a little grain or oats once a day. Milch cows are generally set a bowing at from L.8 to L.
9. The rate of grazing a cow about the village is L.5, but less farther up the county; a sheep is about
5s. The rent of arable land varies from L. 5 to 10s. per acre per annum. Some of the lower parts of the parish let at L. 2 per acre, as Millhall and Borland. A great deal lets at L. 10 and 15s. per acre.
Ploughmen are hired at from L. 9 to L.10 for six months, or from L. 18 to L. 20 per annum, with board and washing; female servants at from L. 6 to L. 9 and L. 10 per annum. In 1791, the fees of menservants were from L. 6, to L. 9, and of female servants from L. 2, 10s. to L. 4, 1Os. per annum. The number of farmers at the same period was 63; at present the number is nearly the same. The general duration of leases is nineteen years. A good deal has of late been done by way of improving or reclaiming waste lands, particularly about Threepland, the Ardochs, Kevochs, Greenfields,
Kirktonmuirs, Lochcraig, Binning, &c. A great many of the farmhouses have been recently rebuilt, and are on greatly improved plans; the old ones, however, are very bad. The great obstacle to improvement on the part of the tenants is want of capital, and perhaps the proprietors of large estates, generally, do not give the encouragement required. As this property is at present situated, the Earl of Eglinton has no blame to be attached to him on that score.

Produce.-The average gross amount of raw produce raised in the parish, as nearly as can be ascertained :
3000 bolls of oats for meal, at L. 1 per boll, L.3000 0 0
2000 for other purposes, 2000 0 0
Dairy produce from 1000 cows,
All other produce,
9000 0 0
6000 0 0
L.20,000 0 0
In this estimate the young stock and sheep are not included, and several other items, which may raise the whole L. 1000 or L. 2000, but as the author has no precise data to proceed upon, he cannot form an exact estimate.
Manufactures.-There are two cotton-mills in the parish, one at Eaglesham, and one at Millhall on a much smaller scale. The mill at Eaglesham village belongs to the firm of Maclean and Brodie,
Glasgow. It contains 15,312 spindles, and spins yarns from No. 50 to No. 60. The machinery is driven by a magnificent water-wheel of iron forty-five feet in diameter; and of fifty horse power. It was planned by the late James Dunlop, Esq., and was manufactured by Murdoch and Aikin, engineers, Glasgow. About 740 cubic feet of water fall on the wheel per minute, and yet it is so artfully introduced and carried away, that no water is seen within the walls where the wheel is erected. The following is the number of hands employed.
Males. Females.
Below 13 years of age, 16 12 at 13 do. do.
14 do. do.
16 do. do.
18 do. do.
20 do. do.
Above 20 do. do.
12 19
10 11
8 16
5 12
2 5
34 38
87 113
This mill was built at different periods, and has once or twice been burnt down. It is confined entirely to mule-spinning. There is no throstle-spinning nor power-looms. The mill at Millhall contains 620 spindles, and employs 64 bands, 24 of whom are males. The Water-wheel is twentyfour horse power. The work belongs to Ludovick Gavin, Esq., and is employed chiefly in spinning sbuttle,cord for power-looms, and candle-wicks. A considerable quantity of wad for the use of the hnfirmary is also manufactured, of the most approved sort. Persons ought to be aware of that purchased in the shops with a glazed surface, strengthened by glue, as it is manufactured with-

arsenic to preserve it from insects, and often proves hurtful when applied to open wounds. These works are all under the new factory arrangements. There is also a corn-mill in the village with three pair of stones. It grinds 3000 bolls per annum, at the following prices, 10s. for oatmeal; Is. 6d. for barley; and Is. 6d. for peare. No sucken, but tenants bound to grind there at the above prices.
V.-PAROCHIAL ECONOMY. The only town in the parish is Eaglesham. In 1672, in the reign of Charles
11. it had a weekly fair and market established by act of Parliament, as formerly mentioned. In
1796, Alexander, tenth Earl of Eglinton begun a new town upon a very exterisive and elegant plan. It consists of two rows of elegantly built houses, all of freestone, with a large space between, laid out in fine green fields, interspersed with trees, with a fine gurgling streamlet running down the middle.
The rows of hnuses at the top or west end are 100 yards apart, and those at the bottom or east end,
250 yards. The village is in all two furlongs and thirty falls in length. Towards the bigher end, and on the rivulet, the cotton millstands which was in the course of being built when last Account of the parish was written. The feus or tacks are for 999 years, at the moderate rate of 3d. per fall, or L. 2
Sterling per Scots acre. Each house has a rood ofground for a'garden. The villagers have, besides, 70 acres and 22 falls of ground free of rent, of which 3 acres, 2 roods, and 26 falls, are covered with wood, and I rood, and 18 falls are in waste or meadows. This is let out at an annual rentaJ of about
L. 16, with which sum and some other small perquisites, a committee or body of directors are annually chosen for the management of the affairs of the 6wnship. A baron-bailie also resides on the demesne. Besides cotton spinning, there are about 400 weavers in the village.' About 1790, there were 63 'Silk-looms' at work in Eaaglesham;, in a few years after they sunk down to 88; and at present that branch of trade is extinct, and has been entirely replaced by the weaving of cotton goods, the materials for which are furnished by the Glasgow and Paisley manufacturers. The village is about nine miles from Glasgow, eleven from Paisley, and twelve from Hamilton. There is a twohorse coach to Glasgow every Wednesday and Saturday, from the head of Main Street, Gorbals.
There are also a carriers to Glasgow on the same days. The village has also a postoffice and daily post. There are about seven miles of parish roads, and seven of turnpike. The bridges on the great thoroughfares are all good. So far back as the end of last century, the enclosure of farms had been begun, and now nearly the whole of the lower part of the parish is well fenced.
Ecclesiastical State.--The parish church is situated on the south side of the village, near the middle of it. It is of an octagonal form, very compact, and well fitted up within. It was built in 1790, and contains 550 sittings. The lower part, containing 350 sittings, has never been divided, but, by the kindness of the Noble Earl, is not rented, and is left free to the villagers. The liberality of the Eglinton family in this respect ought to be publicly recorded as an example worthy of imitation. The manse was built in 1832, at an expense of about L.1200, and is very elegant and commodious. The glebd consists of 7 1/2 acres, and is let at L.25 per annum. The stipend is 17 cbalders, half meal, and half barley, with L. 10 for communion elements. There is also a congregation belonging to the United
Associate Synod. The church was built in 1782, and contains 480 sittings. The congregation is collected Dot only from this parish but also from Kilbride, Carmunnock, and Fenwick. The present incumbent, the Rev. William Carswell, was ordained in 1827. There isalso a congregation belonging to the Reformed Presbyterian Church. The meetinghouse was built about 1825, and contains about
400 sittings. The present incumbent, the Rev. Robert Winning, A. M. was ordained in 1826. Divine service is remarkably well attended

The patronage of the chtrch of Eaglesbam has belonged to the Eglinton family from the middle of the twelfth century. Thomas de Arthurlie, perhaps a relation'a wallace, was rector of Eaglesham,
1388. In 1429, the parish church was constituted a prebend of the Cathedral of Glasirow. It was taxed L.3 yearly for the use of the diocesan church. In Bagimont's Roll it is taxed at L.10, 13s. 4d., which, being a tenth of the estimated spiritual revenues, the whole would-be L.106, l3s., 4d. At the
Reformation the parsonage of Eaglesham produced 14 chalders, I3 1/2 bolls, which were let for
L.186, 13s. 4d. yearly. A small Popish chapel was used for the parish church before 1790. in the Established Church, and, by the faithful and diligent ministrations of their present pastor, the congregation is steadily increasing. The communicants are on an average 250.From causes already alluded to, but, perhaps, principally from the ungodly jealousies of patties, the number of the communicants in the Becession church cannot be ascertained. No list was taken for the Church
Commission; but the population, according to the best and most careful estimates, is about equally divided among Churchmenand. Dissenters. Among the latter is included Roman Catholics,
Episcopalians, and all sectarians whatsoever, and also those who attend no place of worship. Mr
Carswell's stipend is L.110 per annum; and Mr Winning's about L.60. The average annual collections in the parish church for religious and charitable purposes is about L. 12.
Education.-There are three schools besides the parish school. Mr Smellie, the parochial teacher, has lately got a very able and popular assistant, who has raised the present number of scholars to about
80, and his pupils are still increasing. At another school 90 children are taught, of whom 20 or 30 belong to the cotton factory; at a third 15; and at the fourth about 9; in all 184 scholars. The salary of the parochial schoolmaster is L. 30 per annum with about, L. 7 of perquisites. The branches taught, with the prices, are for reading, Ss. per quarter; for writing, 3s. 6d.; for arithmetic, 4s.; for
Latin, 5s. A new schoolhouse was lately erected, capable of containing 150 scholars.
Literature._There is a small library in the village containing about 240 volumes. The entry money is
3s. and the annual contribution also 3s.
Friendly Societies.-There is in the parish what is termed a "Penny Society," from that small sum being paid at stated periods, for which a fund is procured for the sick, at the rate of 5s. or 6s. per week. There is also a burial society.
Poor.-The average number receiving parochial aid is about 30, at 6s. per mouth each. The annual sum collected is about L. 140, of which sum the heritors and tenants pay L. 120, and L. 20 is obtained from the collections at the parish church. The assessment is entirely voluntary.
Fairs.-There is one as already stated, on 24th April 0. S. at which there is generally a cattle-show, and another on the last Thursday of August, established by use and wont, at which the feuars have a procession, which generally terminates with a horse race for a Kilmarnock bonnet.
Alehouses.-There are 15 public-houses in the parish. They are rather on the decrease.
Fuel.-Coals are brought from a considerable distance, namely, from Glasgow, Wellshot, and
Hamilton. They are laid down at 7s. for 12 cwt. March 1840.