Drumlanrig Castle and the Douglases

2 2 EARLY HISTORY OF DURISDEER.
cascade, which measures nearly eleven feet of girth at the
base, and in Auchenaight wood there are two Scotch firs
of remarkable size. "Particulars of No. i — height, 64
feet; length of bole, n feet; girth of bole, 8 feet 6 inches ;
spread of branches, 48 feet; contents, 170 cubic feet;
altitude, about 320 feet above sea level. Particulars of
No. 2 — height, 50 feet; length of bole, 17 feet 6 inches,
girth of bole, 8 feet 10 inches; spread of branches, 51
feet; contents, 100 cubic feet; altitude above sea level,
300 feet." (Journal of Agriculture, 1865.)
Some of the yew-trees are still larger, one of them being
twelve feet and a half in girth; but these yews do not
grow from a single stem, shooting up with a number of
stems from the root. An oak, which grows on the edge
of what is known as the Gallows Flat, is probably the
oldest tree in Drumlanrig park. There are some old
beech-trees in the park, but though they may seem to
claim a greater age from their girth, the oak grows at a
much slower rate.
DRUMLANRIG ERIDGE.
This bridge is one of the oldest over the Nith, though
Dumfries Old Bridge may be of a still earlier date. There
is no tradition as to its building; it is shrouded in the
mist of ages. There are no documents to show at what
period it was erected. Possibly it may owe its origin to
the ecclesiastical authorities in olden times. Below it
there is the Priest's Pool, and Priest's Holm, showing that
they were close to it. The earliest notice of the bridge
is found in the MS. account of Durisdeer by Peter Rae,
who speaks of it thus : — " It has been constantly reported
that one of the priests of the chappell below Enoch town