The Land of the Hills and the Glens 



to rise. The renewal of the war with France had a most 

 far-reaching effect on the kelp market. At this time kelp 

 ash was used in two trades — namely, in the manufacture 

 of soap and glass. The one substance which rivalled kelp 

 was "barilla," the ash of a marine plant called "Salsola 

 soda," and this was imported in great quantities from Spain, 

 since it was of considerably more value than kelp ash. 

 But during the war above referred to the supply was uncer- 

 tain, and kelp secured the monopoly of the market. The effect 

 of this on the supply of the home product will be realised 

 when it is stated that the price obtained during the three 

 years 1807-9 was four times as great as that realised during 

 the decade 1791 — 1800. 



During the three years above mentioned (1807-9) the 

 great price of ^20 per ton was reached, and taking the 

 average of all ash produced in the Highlands a price of 

 ;^i6 per ton was secured. Estimating the total production 

 as 12,500 tons of ash — that is, roughly, no less than 250,000 

 tons of the wet weed — the sum of ;^2oo,ooo was realised 

 by the workers during these three years — truly an enormous 

 figure. Largely as a result of this great and profitable in- 

 dustry there ensued a marked increase of population in 

 those districts where kelp making was carried on. For 

 instance, the population of the northern and north-western 

 counties — Shetland, Orkney, Caithness, Sutherland, Ross 

 and Cromarty and Inverness — was 220,411 in 1795. By the 

 year 1831 the figure 287,903 was reached, an increase of 

 67,492 inhabitants in thirty-six years. The increase was not, 

 it is true, entirely due to the kelp industry, for the expansion 

 in potato cultivation was to a certain extent responsible, but 

 it is noteworthy, nevertheless. In the case of Lewis, Harris 

 and North and South Uist, where much more kelp was 

 burned than in the north and north-western counties, the 

 figures are much more remarkable, for between 1755 and 1831 

 the increase in the population was no less than 139 per cent., 

 the figure rising from 12,475 iti ^755 to 29,934 in 1831. 



176 



