172 OBKNEY. 



from ten to twelve miles in width, and " confronting " 

 (as Mr. Balfour, their latest historian, remarks), within a 

 few hours' sail, the mouths of the Baltic and the Elbe ; 

 indented with fine harbours, easily made as impregnable 

 as any in Northern Europe, and never boomed like them 

 by half a year of ice ; with a soil of more than ordinary 

 fertility ; and a sea-loving people, hardy, intelligent, and 

 enterprising Orkney was well adapted to become the 

 vanguard of northern civilization and commerce." 



The Orkney Islands are upwards of sixty in number, 

 containing from 400,000 to 500,000 acres, and a popu- 

 lation of 32,416, according to the census of 1861. 

 Twenty-five are inhabited, and to these only 'the name of 

 island is generally giVin. Tx&st sot inhabited, and used 

 only for pasture, arc <%!]* ksfas. 



The general appearance of the group is flat, and to 

 some extent tame. The only very high hill is Hoy Head, 

 which is upwards of 1,300 feet above the level of the 

 sea. 



No trees meet the eye. You must look for them 

 in some sheltered spot under the protecting care of a 

 large building. In some of the islands attempts are being 

 made to foster them, but with little prospect of success ; 

 in others again there is not as much wood growing as 

 would make a walking-stick. 



Orkney must have undergone a most remarkable 

 change in respect to climate, for in the mosses trunks ol 

 very large trees are found; and I have seen many deer's 

 horns that have been dug up, proving that in some pre- 



