620 



SCOTLAND. 



Statistics. 



Geology. 



Primary 

 rocks. 



Granite. 



CHAP. II. 

 NATURAL HISTORY, GEOLOGY, MINERALOGY. 



IN that which is commonly called natural history, in- 

 cluding the departments of zoology, in all its branches, 

 and botany, there is little or nothing, in its nature in 

 Scotland, so far differing from that of the rest of Bri- 

 tain as to require a separate detail ; and we shall here 

 therefore refer to our article on ENGLAND, where that 

 subject has been already generally treated. It is in 

 the branch of geology and mineralogy alone that the 

 distinction is real and important ; and therefore we 

 shall here occupy the space which we have to bestow 

 on this subject, with a sketch of the geology and mi- 

 neralogy of Scotland: an extensive subject, which might 

 well occupy a volume. 



The account already given of the physical geography 

 may be considered as the basis of this subject, and there- 

 fore we have already cut short a large portion of this 

 article in that particular one to which we may now refer. 

 It only remains to describe the general places and con- 

 nections of the several rocks which are found ; and, we 

 believe, that the best method will be to enumerate them 

 according to their geological places and esteemed or- 

 der of superposition. We shall, therefore, commence 

 with granite, and proceed upwards to the superficial 

 strata. We must also premise, that as the subject of 

 coal has already been amply treated in our article on 

 that subject, we shall here omit that important branch 

 of the present enquiry. 



Granite is found in distinct and distant parts of Scot- 

 land ; but the most extensive tract is in Aberdeenshire. 

 Here it forms the great mountain mass of Cairngorm, 

 Ben Avon, and the associated mountains on both sides 

 of the Dee ; ramifying also into Inverness-shire and 

 Perthshire. Over some considerable tracts it is con- 

 tinuous ; but in others it is interrupted in that respect 

 by patches more or less extensive, of the schistose rocks 

 which are superincumbent on the mass. When it va- 

 nishes, it is accompanied by veins penetrating the ad- 

 joining rocks ; and of these, the examples in Glen Tilt 

 are celebrated in the history of Scottish geology, as hav- 

 ing attracted the attention of many of its geologists. 

 The arguments and views drawn from these are well 

 known to the cultivators of this science ; and being fo- 

 reign to a sketch of local or topographic geology, we 

 shall pass them over. 



From this great centre, the granite is found extending 

 through all the lower parts of Aberdeenshire, even to 

 Peterhead, and further north, till it is cut off by the 

 superincumbent slate, and other rocks which follow it 

 in this direction. To the south of Banff it reappears 

 in another considerable tract, and is there cut off again 

 -and terminated by the western mountains of this coun- 

 ty. It would be impossible to detail the boundaries of 

 the granite in Aberdeenshire, and the relative spaces 

 occupied by the other rocks intermixed with it, for 

 want of sufficient political or local boundaries and 

 names ; but it may be safely estimated, that one half 

 the country eastward consists of this rock, irregularly 

 intermixed with the gneiss, slate, and other substances 

 which lie over it. Here also we must remark, that it 

 occupies the lowest levels as well as the loftiest moun- 

 tains, being found even on the sea shore, at Peterhead, 

 and elsewhere. 

 In the neighbourhood of Aberdeen it is extensively 



quarried both for home consumption and exportation ; Statistics. 

 and it is properly esteemed to be one of the most valu- w-y**. 

 able kinds in the market for its beauty and durability. Geology. 

 That it was not used for Waterloo bridge instead of the 

 far less durable Cornish stone, has been a frequent cause 

 of regret. 



Proceeding northward, the next tract of granite lies 

 on the east coast of Sutherland, occupying a space of 

 about eighteen miles on the shore, or near it, and reach*, 

 ing into the interior country to a point indefinable for 

 want of proper marks and references. This tract is en 

 tirely hilly, though not high, and is tolerably uninter- 

 rupted as far as it extends, though re-appearing again in 

 the interior in a few insulated outstanding patches. It 

 is nowhere wrought. 



The next granite to the north must be sought in the 

 Orkney and Shetland islands, where it is very scattered, 

 and seldom of any great extent. In Orkney in parti- 

 cular, the appearances are extremely minute, being con- 

 fined to a small spot near Stromness, and another at no 

 great distance from it in one of the neighbouring 

 islands. In the Shetland islands, Foula presents an 

 equally insignificant patch on its eastern shore ; but on 

 the main islands the appearances are more extensive. 

 Here it chiefly occupies the western side of the Main, 

 land, reaching in an interrupted manner, or in two dis- 

 tinct regions, from the north to the south of its widest 

 portion. Ronas Hill, the principal eminence, is formed 

 ot granite. The other appearances are so scattered, as 

 to be nearly undefinable in words; but we are less 

 anxious to detail the exact geology of the Shetland 

 islands, as we can refer to a very accurate and detailed 

 paper drawn up by Dr. Hibbert in the Edinburgh Phi- 

 losophical Journal, and accompanied by a map, as well 

 as to his more extensive and complete work on those 

 islands. 



In the western Highlands, on the mainland, the 

 appearances of granite are so scanty and scattered, that 

 we are unable to point out the unmarked and un- 

 known places where they exist, and shall here there- 

 fore name only one mass in Kintail, near Loch Duich, 

 because we can refer to a mark for it. In the islands 

 of the same coast, the only mass of this rock is that 

 which forms the Ross, or western promontory of Mull, 

 already noticed for its commercial facilities ; a mass 

 which extends also to a little island at some distance 

 from the shore. The granite which was formei-ly no- 

 ticed as found in Harris, is only a vein. On this 

 shore, however, we ought also to indicate a small 

 tract which lies in the neighbourhood of Strontian. 



This brings us to Fort William, whence we may re- 

 turn eastward through Perthshire. The granite of 

 Fort William forms the base of Ben Nevis ; and, after 

 some interruption, it reappears in the moor of Ran- 

 noch, and again in Cruachan and the surrounding 

 mountains, which forms another of its most consider- 

 able appearances in Scotland. From the moor of 

 Rannoch, it appears at various places, till, in a certain 

 sense, it may be conceived to join with the great mass 

 of Aberdeenshire, though the exact points of appear- 

 ance, and the limits, are not defineable without a geo- 

 logical map. 



Excepting a small portion near Comrie, Arran pre- 

 sents the only remaining granite to the northward, 

 forming its well known group of mountains ; but as 

 we have already referred to Dr. Hibbert's accurate 

 work for the Shetland islands, so we shall here refer 

 for all the nicer details of Arran to that of Mr. 

 Headrick, a similar pattern of minute accuracy ; as. 



