ON THE AGRICULTUKE OF THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 8 



of 1020 feet, and commands a magnificent view of the Firth of 

 Forth and the city of Edinburgh. The Lomonds lie at the 

 north-west of the county, and impart to the scenery around them 

 an asj^ect which contrasts strikingly with the landscape along 

 the seaboard. Seated on the higliest eminence of these hills on a 

 clear day, and provided with a powerful binocular field-glass, 

 one can command a most exquisite view. At our feet lies the 

 historical Kingdom of Fife spread out like a magnificent carpet, 

 while away in the distance the prospect is grand in the extreme. 

 Southwards we see the low winding ranges of the Pentlands and 

 the Lammermuirs, and the richly cultivated Lothians ; to phe 

 west lies, dimly shrouded, the lofty Ben Lomond; to the north, 

 the rugged range of the Grampians; and, turning to the east, the 

 prospect softens down to the blue haze of the German Ocean. 

 The smaller objects of attraction in this wide range are far too 

 many to be enumerated, but, in a word, it may be said that the 

 prospect is one of the finest to be had anywhere in Scotland; and 

 what country can boast of grander prospect than the 



" Land of brown heath and shaggy wood" ? 



There are no very large plantations, the wood being pleasantly 

 strewed over the whole county in thriving clumps, diversi- 

 fying the scenery and lending a lustre to the charm of the 

 landscape. The county has no less than 85 miles of a coast 

 line, considerable portions of which are bold and rocky, and 

 indented here and there by miniature bays. ]>etweeu Wemyss 

 and the " East Neuk" a pretty large stretch is low and sandy, and 

 parts of it strewed with massive pieces of rock; Avhile on the east 

 it is irregular and very rocky, and on the north-east plain and 

 sandy. 



There are only two rivers worthy the name — the Eden, which 

 rises in the parish of Arngask, and after a quiet winding course 

 of about 24 miles, empties itself into St Andrew's Bay ; and the 

 Leven, which has a course of only 12 miles, rising in Loch Leven, 

 in the parish of Portmoak, and falling into the Firth of Forth at 

 Leven. The next largest stream is the Orr — a slow muddy 

 stream winding from the Saline hills easterly to Dysart. There 

 are several very small streamlets throughout the county, the 

 most of which are tributaries of the Eden, the Leven, or the Orr. 

 The Eden and the Leven at one time were valuable salmon rivers, 

 but now mill-dams and manufactories disturb the fish and make 

 the rivers almost worthless in this respect. The trout -fishing, 

 however, is excellent on nearly all the waters, as also in several 

 of the lochs. There is a number of lochs in the county, but the 

 majority of them are very small, the principal ones being Lindores 

 — about four miles in circumference ; Lochgelly, about three 

 miles in circumference; and Kilconquhar, about two miles in 



