SCOTLAND. 









maximum in January ; whilst in Braemar, for. the 

 same period, there were never fewer than fourteen 

 nights of frost in January, and in that month, in 

 1860, there were twenty-five. But it is to be 

 feared that the winter climate of Scotland, indeed 

 of all Great Britain, presents but a choice of two 

 evils cold or damp. The east coast is dry and 

 cold ; the west is damp and comparatively mild ; 

 where dryness and warmth are both required, 

 southern latitudes and far south too must be 

 sought. The questionable superiority of the Eng- 

 lish as compared with the Scotch climate in 

 winter and early spring, becomes unquestionable 

 as the season advances. In spring, at least during 

 the intervals when the northerly and easterly 

 winds suspend their fury, the southern half of 

 England is very much warmer than Scotland 

 generally ; moreover, its skies are brighter, and 

 its sun more powerful facts of importance to 

 the ripening of crops. The superiority of south 

 over north goes on increasing till July, when the 

 mean temperature of London is 64, that of Edin- 

 burgh 59. At Cambridge this superiority begins 

 to diminish, and may be said to disappear at 

 Newcastle. The southern advantage is main- 

 tained during September and October, but is lost 

 in November, during which month the 'isothermal ' 

 of 43 runs through Wigtownshire, Birmingham, 

 and Oxford. Very curious fluctuations, however, 

 occur in the relative summer temperatures of 

 England by which is meant England south of 

 Cambridge and those of the Lowlands of Scot- 

 land. Thus, in 1857, the mean summer tempera- 

 ture of England was 64-3, while in Scotland it 

 was only 56-9 ; England being thus warmer by 

 7.4 ; and the English July of that year was 10 

 warmer than the Scotch. In the following year, 

 however, the southern summer was but i -8 above 

 the northern ; and in July of that year the means 

 were respectively 57-6 and 57-3, or practically the 

 same. From data such as these, it is found that 

 while the summers of Scotland are less warm 

 than those of England, they are less fluctuating. 

 Hence, in cold, backward seasons, the damage 

 sustained by crops may be expected to be pro- 

 portionally greater in England than in Scotland. 

 The Scotch climate, it appears, is on the whole 

 better suited for the cultivation of turnips than 

 that of England, though it is not so in every 

 respect. The greater rainfall during July and 

 August in Scotland is advantageous to the root, 

 but its autumnal growth continues longer in the 

 south. 



The Journal of the Scottish Meteorological 

 Society, No. 31, gives a map shewing the annual 

 rainfall at 290 places in Scotland, on an average 

 of fifty-seven years viz. from 1815 to 1871. It 

 shews a great variety in the climates of Scotland 

 as regards rainfall. At Edinburgh, the annual 

 fall is little over 24 inches, while at Glencroe 

 it is 128-50 inches on an average of 6 years. 

 The whole of the west coast of Scotland, from 

 the Firth of Clyde to the extreme north-west, 

 including the Hebrides, is wet as compared 

 with the east coast, and with England generally. 

 Towards Glasgow the rainfall begins to diminish ; 

 being 62 inches at Greenock and Gourock, while 

 at Glasgow it is but 43. Higher up the valley of 

 the Clyde, it diminishes still further ; falling to 28 

 inches near Uddingston ; 'thus presenting,' says Mr 

 Buchan (Journal, No. 31, p. 179), 'an almost exact 



counterpart of the rainfall of the more level parts 

 of Fifeshire, and many other eastern districts.' 

 For a summer residence it is desirable to choose 

 a place whose mean summer temperature does 

 not exceed 60; the returns of the Registrar-general 

 shewing that above this point there is an increase 

 in the mortality rates, chiefly from diarrhoea and 

 similar complaints. Deeside, Mr Buchan con- 

 siders to possess one of the healthiest summer 

 climates of our island. He also especially adverts 

 favourably to Upper Strathearn, Innerleithen, and 

 Moffat. 



The plants and animals of the country are, gen- 

 erally speaking, specifically the same as those of 

 England, but have a somewhat more boreal char- 

 acter, as might be expected from the higher latitude 

 and altitude of the land. The common cultivated 

 grains are grown profitably, and to great extent, 

 in the Lowlands ; but oats, and a coarse variety 

 of barley (bigg), are the only cereals grown in the 

 Highlands and islands. The stag, roe, and wild- 

 cat are thoroughly ferce natures on the north- 

 ern hills ; game-birds as the partridge, grouse, 

 ptarmigan, woodcock, blackcock are peculiarly 

 abundant in the same localities. Scotland pos- 

 sesses fewer species of fresh-water fish, but has 

 the salmon and trout in greater abundance than 

 England, and also many of the marine animals, 

 cetacea, herring, cod, and other white fish. Pil- 

 chard and white-bait are scarcely known on the 

 Scotch coast 



PEOPLE POPULATION. 



The population of Scotland is readily divisible 

 into two great sections the Lowlanders or Scotch 

 proper, and the Highlanders or Celts. The former, 

 like the English, are of the Teutonic race, but 

 consist of an admixture of Picts, Saxons, Danes, 

 and Scandinavians. They occupy the whole of 

 the Lowlands and the eastern coast-fringe of the 

 Highlands, speaking a variety or dialect of the 

 English language. They are described generally 

 as a tall, large-boned, and muscular race, with 

 features less round and soft than the modern 

 English, and with a larger and more elongated 

 cranium. The Highlanders, on the other hand, 

 are mainly of Celtic origin ; and though their 

 language is gradually giving way to that of the 

 Lowlanders, in other respects they retain all the 

 peculiarities of that race. 



The Scottish character exhibits a considerable 

 share of both energy and perseverance. It may 

 safely be said that a country with so many 

 physical disadvantages could never have been 

 brought into such a condition as respects rural 

 husbandry, nor, with all the advantage of the 

 English connection, been made so prosperous a 

 seat of both manufactures and commerce, if the 

 people had not been gifted in a high degree with 

 those qualities. A disposition to a frugal and 

 careful use of means is also conspicuous in the 

 Scotch. The poorest poor, at least in rural dis- 

 tricts, are in few instances of such improvident 

 habits as to lead to that destitution of furniture, 

 clothing, and tolerable house - accommodation, 

 which meets the eye almost everywhere in Ire- 

 land. Caution, foresight, and reflection may be 

 said to enter largely into the Scottish character. 

 Under the influence of these qualities, they are slow, 

 and sometimes cold in speech, and are therefore 



343 



