R O S S - S HI R E. 



TO. insula which includes the old county of Cromarty and 



* "V""' lYrrintosh is another division, which is part of the 

 Mackenzie country. 



The two counties contain 37 parishes. 



Mountains. The mountains in this county are for the most 

 part in groups, and some are detached. Many of 

 them reach a considerable elevation, but their heights 

 are not exactly known. There are several mountains 

 on the west coast, which appear to equal it in height, 

 but Ben Wyves, or Nish, (the Mountain of Mist) is es- 

 teemed the highest. It is the most remarkable on the 

 east coast, and is about 3600 feet high. Its shape is 

 round-backed, and it is placed between two lower 

 mountains, and, viewed from the south, they have the 

 appearance of supporters or wings. It is very precipi- 

 tous on all sides but the south ; but it is inferior in 

 picturesque beauty to the mountains on the west, the 

 outlines of which are finely varied. Almost the whole 

 west coast abounds in magnificent scenery. That of 

 Loch Carron, Lochalsh, and Loch Duich, is not sur- 

 passed, and scarcely equalled by any scenery in Scot- 

 land. There are some mountain scenery in the in- 

 terior very picturesque, and we have seldom seen a 

 finer outline than that which is seen from Coul, the 

 seat of Sir G. S. Mackenzie, Bart, where the low coun- 

 try ends and the highlands begin. 



llivers. The principal rivers on the east side of the coun- 



ty are the Conon, which flows into the Cromarty 

 Firth, and the Oikel and the Carron flowing into the 

 Dornoch Firth. The largest river on the west coast 

 is the Ewe, which has a short course from Loch Maree. 

 The Conon, and its principal branch the Ranay or 

 BJack Water, form some falls of considerable height 

 and beauty. The stream called Altgrad, which flows 

 into the Cromarty firth near Balcomy, has worn down 

 a conglomerate rock to a great depth, for an extent of 

 nearly two miles. The cleft is very narrow, and so 

 deep that the water can be seen only at a few places. 

 Some of the western rivers flow through deep cre- 

 vices. 



Lake*. The largest lake in Ross-shire is Loch Maree, 



extending 12 miles in length. It is of unequal 

 breadth, and when broadest is crowded with islands. 

 Loch Tannish is the next in size, placed in the centre 

 of the county, and in the midst of bleak scenery. There 

 are numerous lakes of moderate dimensions, and some 

 of them very prettily situated amidst rock and wood. 



Woods. The natural forests, which were once extensive, 

 have disappeared almost entirely, excepting the birch 

 and some oaks in different parts of the county. 

 The birch is fast disappearing, on account of the 

 demand for herring barrel staves. But when the 

 birch is cut close to the ground in the months of May 

 and June, it throws out fine shoots and grows as cop- 

 pice. The remains of fir woods are extensive, and we 

 have yet remaining the trunks of oaks of immense 

 size. The rivers and some lakes contain the remains 

 of very large trees. Plantations are very extensive, 

 and additions are made to them every year. 



Climate. The climate is very unsteady, so that the horti- 

 culturist meets with frequent disappointments. The 

 west coast is subject to much rain. In general, 

 garden produce is about a fortnight later than it 

 is near Edinburgh; but harvest not so much. It 

 has been doubted by many that the climate has be- 

 come worse than it was ; but that such is the case is 

 quite true. Of late years the winters have been open, 

 and the summers late and colder than before, as has 

 been proved by the degree of ripeness acquired by 



7 



471 



certain fruits, an well as by the thermometer. Th 

 indications of this instrument, however, cannot be so 

 well relied on, .if the mean temperature only be at- 

 t.-uded to; for in the northern part of Scotland, even 

 in seasons that are bad, there may be some weeks of 

 very hot weather, while the reft of the year is cold 

 and dark. It i- the want of sunshine that renders a 

 climate inferior in regard to agriculture ; and sudden 

 transitions from heat to cold render ours unfavourable, 

 while the mean temperature may appear nearly steady; 

 and thus has arisen a deception that has caused the 

 deterioration of the climate during the last thirty years 

 to be disputed. Besides what has already been stated, 

 the winters have become very mild and open ; and 

 this h.-.s its influence on account of mean temperature. 

 The fact is, that summer heat has been less, both in 

 amount and duration, since the year 1800, although 

 some few seasons have been favourable ; and this holds 

 true for the climate of Great Britain. 



The portion of this large county capable of cul- SL 

 tivation is very small. The arable lands extend 

 along the eastern coast, and are found in patches of 

 small extent here and there on the western. The 

 whole mountainous interior is heath, moss, and rock ; 

 but the whole of it affords excellent pasturage for 

 sheep and black cattle. A great proportion of the low 

 land of Eastern Ross, and a small proportion of the 

 land near Dingwall is loamy clay which is not so 

 heavy as the carse lands in the south, but equally pro- 

 ductive. The rest is light soil of various quality. 

 The whole is in the finest state of cultivation. 



The mineralogy of this county is little known, Mineral*, 

 though it presents geological features of high in- 

 terest. Many of the straths present the diluvium in 

 terraces; and similar terraces are to be found along 

 the sea coast, affording ample scope for exercise in 

 those speculations which have become so interesting 

 since the publication of Professor Buckland's work. A 

 remarkable variety of gneiss occurs in the county, 

 enormous blocks of which are found, along with other 

 varieties, scattered over the secondary country ; and it 

 is so remarkable in its appearance and structure as to 

 admit of its being traced to the rock from whence it 

 was broken. This has been done, and the distance to 

 which blocks containing a thousand cubic feet and up- 

 wards have been carried, has been ascertained to be in 

 a straight line no less than forty miles. We trust that 

 the investigation of the diluvium in this quarter will 

 lead to important conclusions, such as will settle many 

 of the points now in dispute among philosophers. 



The strata in which the bituminous coal of Suther- 

 landshire is found, stretch south and west, and are 

 seen at low water to the north of the entrance of 

 Cromarty firth, and towards Rosemarkie. Only one 

 bed of the coal has been seen, about four inches thick. 

 On each side of the entrance of Cromarty firth, a mass 

 of primitive rocks of small extent rises in a singular 

 manner, the gneiss being mixed with veins of granite 

 and quartz, so as almost to render it uncertain which 

 has been the invading rock. Along the coast towards 

 Fortrose, veins of beautiful white compact felspar are 

 seen, so much resembling marble as to deceive till 

 they are touched by the hammer. The separation of 

 the'secondary from the primitive country, is in a line 

 extending from near the hill of Struy to the Dornoch 

 firth, nearly south west. Bituminous limestone occurs 

 in the sandstone near Geanies, and at Cromarty. The 

 bed near the latter place is seen most distinctly on 

 the north side of the firth eastward from the Torry* 



