ON THE AGEICULTUEE OF THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 5 



Tay, as far as the river Braan, was inhabited by the Horestii, 

 a Celtic race, and was designated Eoss, meaning a peninsula. 

 The peninsula was partly divided about 450 years ago, but it 

 was not till 1685 that the county of Fife was reduced to its 

 present size. At the time of the Homan invasion the Celts Avere 

 driven from their peninsular domain, and after the Eomans came 

 the Picts, who united with the Scots about the middle of the 

 ninth century. In 881, and in several subsequent years, the 

 Danes invaded the county and troubled the inhabitants dread- 

 fully. Down till 1424 the Thanes of Macduff held sway over 

 the greater portion of ancient Fife, but on the execution of their 

 last chief, Murdoc, their estates were confiscated to the Crown, 

 and Falkland Palace, the residence of the Thanes, became the 

 property and abode of the kings of Scotland. Since then the 

 social atmosphere of Fife has been comparatively clear and tran- 

 quil, while enterprise and enlightenment have all along been the 

 order of the day. It is worthy of mention that Malcolm Can- 

 more, David I., Malcolm the Maiden, Alexander III., Eobert 

 Bruce, his Queen Elizabeth and nephew Eandolph, Annabella, 

 Queen of Eobert III., and Eobert Duke of Albany w^ere buried 

 in the Abbey of Dunfermline, an antiquated ruin, founded by 

 Malcolm III. about 1070. In digging for the foundation of the 

 new parish church in 1818 the tomb of Eobert Bruce was dis- 

 covered, and his skeleton found wrapt in lead. 



The county sends one member to Parliament, the present re- 

 presentative being Sir Eobert Anstruther, Bart, of Balcaskie; 

 while Cupar, St Andrews, East and West Anstruther, Pitten- 

 weem, Kilrenny, and Crail have one member — Mr Edward EUice; 

 and Kirkcaldy, Dysart, Kinghorn, and Burntisland another — Sir 

 George Campbell. Dunfermline and Inverkeithing are conjoined 

 with the Stirling District of Burghs ; and by the Eeform Act of 

 1868 the Universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh were coni- 

 l)ined into one constituency, their present representative being 

 Dr Lyon Playfair. The county is divided into two districts, an 

 eastern and western, for judicial purposes, and each division is 

 under the jurisdiction of a sheriff-substitute. For civil purposes 

 it is divided into four districts, viz., Cupar, St Andrews, Kirk- 

 caldy, and Dunfermline. 



The railway system now extends to nearly every district of the 

 county, while the ferry-boats at Burntisland and Tayport bring 

 the county into close connection with the principal centres of trade 

 and commerce in Scotland. The expenditure on railways within 

 the county during the past ten or twelve years has been very great, 

 and if once the branch — now in process of construction — from 

 Dunfermline to Inverkeithing and Queensferry were opened, the 

 system will be almost complete. In the matter of roads also the 

 county is well accommodated. 



