10 ON THE AGRICULTURE OF THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 



west of Scotland. The system, however, is not by any means 

 intact in the county. In almost all the Dunfermline and a con- 

 siderable portion of the Kirkcaldy district it abounds pretty 

 exclusively. Here the coal formation is extensive and very 

 rich, and affords a valuable contribution to the coal supply of 

 our country, while it makes the west of Fife one of the busiest 

 centres in the " Land o' Cakes." Ironstone is abundant in 

 several parts of the county, and is extensively quarried at 

 Oakley and other M^orks in the Dunfermline district. Lead was 

 at one time quarried out of the Lomond hills. 



With the exception of a narrow band running from Dunferm- 

 line to Dunino, near St Andrews, the eastern and northern por- 

 tions of the county are almost entirely destitute of coal. On the 

 high lands in the parishes of Cameron, Ceres, Kettle, and Falkland, 

 and along arid^e in the direction of Dunfermline, the carboniferous 

 limestone exists in great quantities, and is worked extensively. 

 The soil on the section of the county north of the valley of the 

 Eden lies on those felspathic igneous traps that are so often 

 connected with the Old Pied Sandstone. This formation, how- 

 ever, does not exist to any great extent, being confined chiefly 

 to the valley of the Eden, where the upper or yellow group 

 abounds. Freestone of considerable value is quarried at various 

 points. Dura Den — a romantic ravine in the neighbourhood of 

 Cupar — is peculiarly rich in those fish fossils so characteristic 

 of the Old Eed, and has engaged the pen of many of our most 

 talented geologists who have paid it a visit hammer in hand, 

 eager to possess some of its fossilised treasures. With all this 

 variety of rocks and formations throughout the county, the soil 

 of the various districts necessarily differs considerably, the 

 character of the soil Ijeing generally dependent upon the chemi- 

 cal condition of the rocks that underlie it. In a few hollows 

 on the north-west alluvial accimiulations form the soil, but with 

 these exceptions the soil of the different districts corresponds 

 pretty closely to the underlying rocks. Thus in the section of 

 the county north of the Eden the soil is quick and fertile, the 

 trap rocks which abound there being rich in those " inorganic 

 substances which are essential to the healthy sustenance of 

 plants." Nowhere north of the Eden is there great depth of 

 soil, neither is it very strong, but it is kindly, very productive, 

 and specially suited for the cultivation of grass. True to the 

 characteristics of the trap districts, the scenery and surface 

 north of the Eden presents great diversity — numerous irregular 

 mounds and many waving valleys. The soil that overlies the 

 Carboniferous system is generally composed of cold retentive 

 clays and decomposed bituminous shales, and is seldom fertile 

 or easily cultivated. This rule still holds good in several parts 

 of Fife; but the advanced system of farming — the extensive 



