56 ON THE AGKICULTURE OF 



mysterious towers in Scotland is at Aberoethy. Among the 

 more famous of the natives of Brechin are Gillies the Grecian 

 historian, and Thomas Guthrie, D.D. 



Forfar, the county town, has been a royal burgh since the 

 time of David I. It is situated in the fertile valley of Strath- 

 more, not far from the centre of the county, and has a population 

 of 11,031. Duncan Canmore had a castle here, in which he held 

 his first parliament, but no part of it can now be seen. It is said 

 to have been destroyed by King Eobert Bruce in 1307. Linen 

 and jute are the staple manufactures. The County Buildings, 

 and the Eeid Hall, presented to the town by Mr Peter Eeid of 

 " Eorfar Eock " fame, are elegant and substantial edifices. 



Of smaller towns and villages there is a large number. The 

 more important of these are Broughty Ferry, Coupar-Angus, 

 and Kirriemuir. Broughty Ferry, or Burgh Tay Ferry, lies on 

 the coast, 4 miles east of Dundee, and includes West Ferry in 

 the parish of Dundee. It is a favourite bathing resort, and has 

 a population of 5817. About a hundred years ago Broughty 

 Ferry consisted of only a few fishermen's huts. Its castle, built in 

 the fifteenth century, was held by the English from 1547 to 1550, 

 and was retaken along with the fort on the hill by the Scottish 

 allied army. Coupar-Angus, a tidy thriving town, stands in the 

 valley of Strathmore, partly in Forfarshire and partly in Perth- 

 shire. Its inhabitants, according to thy census of 1871, number 

 2149, and of these 303 reside in the Forfarshire portion. It has 

 linen factories, a tannery, farina works, and saw-mills, and im- 

 portant markets for the sale of farm stock and produce are held 

 at it. The ruins of an abbey, built in 1164 by Malcolm IV., 

 remain in the neighbourhood on the site of a Eoman camp. 

 Kirriemuir and Southmuir, with a population of 4000, stand on 

 a slope above the Gairie burn, about 16 miles north of Dundee. 

 They form a burgh of barony, and their linen w^orks employ a 

 large number of people. There is a public school in the town, 

 built in 1835 with £8000 bequeathed for the purpose by John 

 "Webster, writer and banker. 



Stonehaven is the county town of Kincardine. A burgh of 

 barony and a seapjort, with a population of over 3396, it stands 

 on a rocky bay at the mouth of the Carron, and at the extreme 

 northern end of the great valley known as Strathmore. Its 

 principal industries are tanneries, and wool, flour, and meal 

 mills, while herring and white fishing give employment to a 

 large number of its population. Only small vessels can enter 

 the harbour. About IJ mile along the coast to the south-west 

 of Stonehaven stands the famous Dunnottar Castle. The ruins 

 of this castle occu]3y about four acres on the summit of a rock 

 that rises almost perpendicularly out of the sea, and is almost 

 separated from the mainland by a narrow and deep chasm. In 



