COUNTIES OF EOSS AXD CROMARTY. 73 



nearly this height, and there are a few more from 1000 to 1600 

 feet ; but the largest extent of surface of the island is under 600 

 feet. The arable land, and tlie best pasture round the sea-shore, 

 seldom rises beyond 200 feet above the sea. Lewis is divided into 

 four parishes — Stornoway, Barvas, Lochs, and Uig. Stornoway is 

 the smallest in extent, containing only 67,650 acres, but it is by far 

 the most important of the four, embracing, as it does, not far 

 short of the half of the whole population of the island, and 

 standing equally near the same position in respect of rental. 

 Naturally, the land is divided into three sections. At the 

 north-eastern end there is a large extent of mostly flat land (the 

 highest hill here being 800 feet), with a considerable depth of 

 gravel under the moss and between it and the solid rock. This 

 section forms a triangle, the base of which is a line drawn from 

 Bayhead, Stornoway, across by the east end of the Barvas hills 

 to the mouth of the Arnal river on the west coast, the perpen- 

 dicular being a line from Arnal to the Butt of Lewes. The 

 town of Stornoway stands on the south corner of this triangle, 

 and the Butt of Lewis on the north corner. Lewis Castle and 

 grounds, so greatly admired by all, stand just outside the base 

 line where it started at Bayhead. The finest grazing and arable 

 land in the island is in this section ; and more than half of the 

 l)opulation live on it. The middle section of the island runs 

 from sea to sea, and lies between the two jDarallel lines from 

 Stornowav to Arnal on the one side, and from the northern 

 corner of Loch Erisort to the east corner of Loch Boag on the 

 other side. Much of this tract of land is also flat, but still it con- 

 tains a good deal of land with an undulating surface, and two 

 ranges of low hills, the highest peak of which is about lUUO feet* 

 The rock comes very close to the surface in some parts of this 

 section ; in others it is bare altogether, while in the hollows it is 

 covered with moss to a great depth. On the south edge of this 

 division stands the only inland crofter township in the island ; 

 and along the north side there is a large population from Cal- 

 larnich to Arnal. The west and south-western portion is very 

 rocky and hilly ; and here are the highest hills and wildest 

 scenery in the Lewis. There are also some large fresh water 

 lochs, as well as the extensive salt-water lochs ot Boag, Erisort, 

 Shell, and Seaforlh. On the west side of this section are a 

 number of rocky islands, large portions of the surface of which 

 are covered with the richest, natural -n-asses. Cattle and 

 sheep thrive better on these islands in winter than on any 

 other part of the Lewis. ()}>p()site this division, and between 

 Lewis and Skye, are the Shiant islands, on which are first-class 

 natural grasses, which winter several hundreds of Cheviot sheep 

 as well as any of the runs in the lower })arts of the county. 

 With the exception of these islands, and sonic other pieces of 



