264 .

ON THE RURAL ECONOMY

mer cannot be had, the latter is rarely deficient. In theshires of Roxburgh and Berwick, there are hardly any coalmines; but the inhabitants on the south-east side of thesecounties, are supplied from the adjoining county of Northum-berland. Considerable quantities of coal are also broughtinto Berwickshire by the port of Eyemouth, and from thecounty of Edinburgh , for the inhabitants in the north-west-ern district; while in the upland districts, though they bumsome coal, yet peat is the prevailing fuel. Very little coalbeing wrought in the county of Dumfries, the inhabitantsalong the coast are supplied either from Cumberland, or byimportation at the ports of Dumfries and Annan, while the* people in the interior of the country use nothing but peat.Selkirkshire being entirely destitute of coal, the little quanti-ty that is used is brought chiefly from Mid-Lothian, whilethe great mass of the population use peat exclusively. Gal-loway is also nearly destitute of coal; the far greater pro-portion of what is used there, being imported from theopposite coast of England, or brought round from Ayrshire,peat forming the principal article for fuel for all the inhabi-tants of the upland aud interior districts of the county.

In the counties of Ayr, Renfrew, Lanark, Dunbarton,Stirling , Clackmannan, Kinross, Fife, and the three Lothians,coal is wrought in the greatest abundance, which, besidessupplying the inhabitants, is exported to a very great amount-,yet, although coal is there so very plentiful, many of the in-habitants, in the moorland parts of these counties, are obliged,from the badness of the roads, and the distance of carriage,to confine themselves almost exclusively to the use of peat,particularly in the high districts of the counties of Ayr andLanark. Peebles-shire also produces a quantity of coal, buta great part of its inhabitants rely upon peat for their winter-fuel. With the exception of a small quantity wrought nearCampbelton in Argyleshire, all the other counties of Scot-land , (Sutherland alone excepted), are entirely destitute of