Cart, however, runs along its western boundary, the banks of which being high and craggy, and thickly wooded, are in some parts very picturesque and beautiful. On this stream is situated the village of Busby, containing a population of nearly 1000, mainly supported by a printfield and cotton-mill. A small portion of this

village, within which is the printfield, belongs quoad civilia to the parish of Kilbride, but is annexed quoad sacra to Carmunnock. The other, and by far the greater portion of it, within which is the cotton-mill, is in the parish of Mearns.

Geology and Mineralogy.—The parish presents but few remarkable geological features. Whin or trap-rocks prevail throughout the district. In the estate of Cathkin, which is nearly onethird of the parish, almost all below the surface is solid whin, and indeed, the same may be stated of a considerable portion of the remainder. On the same estate there are two fine specimens of basalts. Throughout the parish there are several quarries of decomposed trap much used for farm and parish roads. There is also a quarry of freestone of considerable extent, the stone roughly granulated, but of a very firm texture. A few seams of coal are to be found in the parish, but only one of them has hitherto been wrought, and that very partially. The coal was of an inferior quality, and chiefly used for the burning of lime in the neighbouring parish of Kilbride. My own impression is, however, that good coal, to a small extent, exists in the parish, forming, in a few instances, the cropping out of some of the seams that constitute the great coal basin of the Clyde. Limestone and ironstone are also to be met with, both of them of the first quality. Though the former has not yet been wrought, I am informed that a bed of it was nearly contracted for last year; and a bed of the latter was, about the same time, wrought to a small extent for trial, and may soon attract the notice of persons interested. They are both in the estate of Castlemilk. The general direction of the strata of the parish is from south-west to north-east, and they have almost uniformly their dip or declinature towards the Clyde.

Soil. There is no great variety of soil. Generally speaking, it may be said to consist either of a free earthy mould, averaging seven inches in depth, on the surface of the whin rock mentioned as so common, or of a wet clayey soil on a retentive bottom, the latter yielding excellent crops when well drained and generously manured, but occasionally so mixed with sand as to render it naturally poor and unproductive.

II. CIVIL HISTORY.

"During the reign of William the Lion, the territory or manor of Cormanock was possessed by Henry, the son of Anselm, who took from it the local appellation of Henry of Cormanock. He appears as a witness to a number of charters of William the Lion, in which he is called, Henricus de Cormanoc.' Before the year 1189, this Henry, for the salvation of the souls of his father and mother, granted, in perpetual alms, to the abbot and monks of Paisley, the Church of Cormanock, with half a carucate of land in the same manor, and common of pasture, and all other easements; and he directed, that when he and his wife, Johanna, died, their bodies, with a third part of their goods, should go to the same monastery. The church, &c. continued to belong to the monks of Paisley till the Reformation.”—“ In 1587, the patronage and tithes of the church of Carmanock, which were then held by Lord Claud Hamilton, as Commendator of Paisley, for life, were granted to him and his heirs, together with the other property of the monks of Paisley; and upon his death in 1621, they were inherited by his grandson, James Earl of Abercorn. In 1653, the patronage and tithes of Carmunnock passed, with the Lordship of Paisley, from the Earl of Abercorn, to Sir William Cochran of Cowden, who was created Lord Cochran in 1647, and Earl of Dundonald in 1669. In the following century, the patronage of the church of Carmunnock was acquired by Stuart of Castlemilk," (Chalmers' Caledonia.) The patronage still remains with the descendants of the last mentioned family, the present proprieter of Castlemilk, and patron of the parish, James Stirling Stirling, grand-nephew of the late Lady Stuart, being a minor.

Land-owners.-There are in all sixteen heritors, but only two of any considerable extent, viz. the above-mentioned James Stirling Stirling of Castlemilk, whose property extends to more than the half, and Humphry Ewing M'Lae, Esq. of Cathkin, who is in possession of nearly one-third of the parish. With three exceptions, the remaining 14 are feuars, who at different times have purchased a piece of ground from Castlemilk.

Parochial Registers.-Before the year 1640, a registration o marriages and births began to be kept; but several parts of the register, from decay and other accidental causes, cannot now be read. There is an entire register both of marriages and births from 1765, and the different parochial records are now kept with great accuracy and neatness.

Antiquities. In the estate of Castlemilk, there are the remains of a Roman military road, and also of a Roman camp. In the same property, and also in the estate of Cathkin, several pieces of ancient armour, with camp utensils, have been dug up; and many tumuli have been met with, in which, when opened, urns formed of clay and rudely carved were found. The urns, when exposed to the air, went all to dust, except one, which was vitrified, and is still to be seen. In one or two instances, they contained a quantity of human bones mixed with earth. The sepulchral cairns, most of which are now destroyed, were in a straight line, and stood on bases of from 6 to 12 falls. Some of them were 6 feet high, and 6 falls on the top, and one of them, part of which is still standing, might measure from 14 to 15 feet in height. When deepening a ditch on the march between Cathkin and Castlemilk, about seven or eight years ago, the bottom of a boat was discovered, 10 feet long and 2 feet broad, all of black oak. There are no marks of iron about it, but strong wooden nails.

The late proprietress of Castlemilk, Lady Anne Stuart, is supposed to have been in her day the most direct descendant of the royal line of that name, and in the House of Castlemilk, one of the most beautiful residences in this part of the country, the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots is said to have lodged the night before the battle of Langside. An old thorn tree is pointed out as near the spot where, on the following day, she witnessed the discomfiture of her army; but perhaps a more likely situation is a rock on the top of Cathkin-hill, which still goes by the name of the Queen's Seat.

I may add to these notices, that, a few years ago, on taking down the old offices belonging to one of the Castlemilk farm-houses, a number of silver coins were found, of the reigns of Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I. and II. They were wrapped up in what appeared to be an old stocking, and concealed in one of the walls. There can be little doubt, from the history of Scotland in connexion with the date of the coins, that they had been hid as a precaution against plunder.

Recent Events. In 1819-20, memorable for a foolish rising against the government of the country, on the part of a number of deluded persons, especially in the West of Scotland, the top of Cathkin hill in this parish was selected as the place of rendezvous for a general assault upon Glasgow. The subjoined account of this absurd enterprise is extracted from the Glasgow Herald of the 10th

April 1820,-a newspaper which, in addition to its general respectability and extensive circulation, has always been remarkably accurate in its local intelligence. "Wednesday night last, (5th April 1820,) was the period fixed for a simultaneous attack upon the city by the Radicals. Cathkin Braes, about five miles south, was the site chosen for their encampment. The Strathaven division, between 20 and 30, with such arms as they could seize or collect, arrived there at the appointed time; but, instead of the many thousands expected to be encamped, they did not meet with a single individual to welcome them; and on that wet boisterous and dreary night, were necessitated to seek refuge in the woods. The Radicals, at last finding that they had been imposed upon by a delegate who had summoned them to the meeting, next day, between one and two o'clock, left their lonely and comfortless abode, threw away their arms and dispersed. Some of them went into a house occupied by a labourer, in which there were none but women at the time, and requested a few potatoes then boiling, which they fell upon like as many hungry dogs. Nothing could exceed their wretched and alarmed appearance.

"About a dozen of the Strathaven Radicals, who had been at Cathkin Braes, were, on their return home, apprehended by the armed tenantry of Strathaven parish, and carried prisoners to Hamilton, where they underwent an examination before the Sheriff. Nearly a dozen of Radicals, armed with pikes and pistols, visited two public-houses in New Cathcart, about twelve o'clock on Tuesday night, on a search for arms, but they did not find any. There was scarcely a village, however small, within twenty miles round, in which the Radical address was not posted up, and in most of them there were preparations made to obey the call expected from Glasgow."

I am happy to add to this Account, that though then, as now, there were what are called "Radical opinions," in the village of Carmunnock, yet I am not aware of preparations being here at any period made for deeds of violence.

III. POPULATION.

There has been a gradual increase in the population of the parish, as will be seen by the following statement.

The above is the population of the parish quoad civilia. By

adding the districts annexed quoad sacra, the present population may be nearly 1000. It is deserving of notice, that, in taking up the Government census in 1831, the proportion of males and females was exactly equal, there being of each sex 346.

Yearly average of births for the last seven years,

deaths,
marriages,

Number of illegitimate births in the parish during the last three years, 4 Proprietors of Land.—There are six proprietors of land of the yearly value of L. 50 and upwards.

Character of the People. The people in general are decent in their morals; sober, honest, and industrious; and there is no instance of any individual from the parish having been tried for a capital crime. In bearing this general testimony, it is not to be expected that we are free from the injurious influence of publichouses, the fruitful source of vice and misery throughout Scotland. I may add, however, that in few parishes is there a more general regard paid to divine ordinances, or a greater proportion of serious and devout individuals. The beneficial effects of what is usually called the "Cambuslang Work," 1742, no doubt partially extended to this and other neighbouring parishes, and it is a place that, for nearly 150 years, has never wanted a Gospel ministry. The people have been much distinguished also for warm affection and respectful kindness towards their pastors. It is said that the practice of family worship was at one time kept up in every household. Though the good habit is still prevalent, I am sorry I cannot give the parish so enviable a distinction at the present day.

IV. INDUSTRY.

Agriculture.—The parish contains about 2810 acres Scotch. Of these, 2400 are arable, and under a regular system of cultivation. 250 are under wood, almost all of which has been planted, and about 106 are constantly in pasture. The remainder are occupied with roads, &c. During the time of the present proprietor of Cathkin, there were in one square on the hills above 20 acres of waste land; besides 6 or 7 acres of moss in such a state as to render it dangerous to pass over them. The whole of these have now been brought in, and the acres that were previously moss are now considered the best ground belonging to the farm in which they are situated. They require less manure than any other part of the farm, and are particularly adapted for carrots, turnips, and potatoes. There is no undivided common in the parish.

Rent of Land.-The average rent of arable land is from