ROSS-SHIKE. 



348 



1, tfc, nifa of Eissbsth U was united to tb* SM of Cork. It now 

 htm, part of tb. utod dfaMMM of Cork. Cloyns, and Ho-. The 

 bsBtar 0000*1. of drB. arcbdeseon, praosntor, chancellor, ana 

 tTSTir wHk UTS pr.b,.d.ri. Tb. diooM. oonUin. 23 bsnefio*. 

 Tb. MtUdiml cbarch awl biahop'a rssidonc* ar* in Cork city. 



088 sod CKOMAKTY SHIRES, two counties in the north of 

 ru.ll.n1. to iniiu.;ely oouwoUd politically and geographically, that 

 il McsMtry to tiMt of thsm together. Rosi oompnhaud* a large 

 -i on tb* mainland, and include* th* Uland of L*wu. (HsiuUDB.] 

 i* oompossd of a number of d*Ucbsd portion*, either 

 _jsd smon( tb* inland part* of BOM or lying along iu border. 

 IUs* U boMdsdX. by Sutherland. E. by th. North Sea. S. and S.E. 

 by IntsrnM. ibirs. and W. by the W*.torn Ocsan ; it lie. between 

 IT' S'sad W N. 1st, 3* 55' and 4' 5S' W. lone. The two counties 

 include stv.ral uuall uUnd*. the Summer Wands, Martiu, Eilan- 

 fTMrarfl. Loafs, tb* Croulin Hw>. Ac., off the western coast. 

 Uwis it to tb. north wo.t of the mainland part of the county : the 

 Hhtinrr to iu nsarwt point aero*, the Minch ia about 25 mile*. Lewu 

 U * mil.* lonx from north to south, from the northern promontory, 

 cslbd tb* Butt of the Lewi*, to the border of Harris; aud 31 miles 

 broad from *st to we*t : it* ooait-line U very irregular. The islands 

 of Burners and Scarps lie close to Lewi* on the western sid.>. The 

 Shiaiit Isle* are a group of iiuall ialand* or rocks between Lewis and 

 tb. Main, but much nearer Lewis, The southern portion of Lewis, 

 called Harris, belong, to Invernr**-*hire. The area of the united 

 countie. u 3151 square miles, or 2,016,375 statute acres. The two 

 countie* unite in returning one member to Parliament They fui u 

 on* tbsriffdom. The population of tho united counties in 1841 was 

 78.M5; in 1851 it wa* 82,707. 



Swfact, Coat- Line, and Itlondt. A general description of the 

 district, of which Ross aud Cromarty form a part, U given uuder 

 Ouvr BBITAIX : ' Scotland, north aud west of Glenmore.' It i* 

 .ufficUnt her* to notice that, except the two peninsulas formed by 

 tb* three frith* Dornoch, Cromarty, and Moray, aud the parts imme- 

 diately adjao.nt to them, it consi*U of mountains irregularly grouped, 

 with deep intervening glen* or ravines. Ben Wy vis is 3720 feet above 

 tb* level of the sea ; Kea Cloch, near Little Loch Broom, 3600 feet ; 

 Ben Deng, one of the Ben More Hills, near the head of Loch Broom, 

 3551 fret ; Ben Lair, near Loch Mares, 3000 feet ; Ben Attow, ou the 

 border of Rocs-ahir* and Inverness-shire, i* said to be nearly 4000 feet. 

 Dornoch Frith i* about 10 miles across at its entrance between Tarbet 

 Ness and Brora. Moray Frith has been already described. [MOUAY 

 FBITH.] 



The principal inlet* on the western or Atlantic coast are, Loch 

 Enard, at the north-west extremity of the two counties ; Loch Broom, 

 Little Loch Broom, Loch Greinord, Loch Ewe, Loch Gairloch, Loch 

 Torridon, Loch Carron, with Loch Kishorn, which is a branch of it; 

 and Loch Alh, with its branches. Loch Ling and Loch Duich. Loch 

 Broom and Loch Carron extend about 15 miles inland, but are both 

 narrow. Loch Greinord is about 4 miles across at the mouth. 



The principal inlet* on the coast of Lewis are, Loch Bernera, Loch 

 Itoig, and Loch Resort on the west aide ; Loch Tua, Loch Luerbost, 

 Loch Shell, and Loch Seaforth on the east side. Lochs Beruera aud 

 Roig are branches of one inlet, 9 mile, across at the entrance, and 

 extending 9 mile* inland : iu the middle of it is the island of Bernera 

 (5 mile, long from east to west, and 3 miles wide), and a number 

 of smaller island*. The headland* of Lewis are, the Butt of Lewis ; 

 Tiompsn Head, at the extremity of the peninsula which forms the 

 sst aide of Loch Tua ; and Gallan Head, at the south side of Loch 

 Koig. Lewi* i* mountainous; the peaks form a range extending 

 north and south, with lateral brunches. The Barvas Hills, near the 

 centre of the island, are 780 feet high ; aud Suaneval, ou the western 

 aids, between Loch Roig and Loch Resort, 2700 feet 



Ujfdt^grapky and Cummunicaiiom. There are no large rivers. 



The Oikel ri*e* at the foot of Ben Mohr iu Sutherlandshire, and flows 



* mile* along the border of the county till it unites with a stream 



rom Loch Shin in Sutherlandshire. It then expands into a narrow 



Uke five milr. long, called the Kyle, which opens into Dornoch Frith 



i tUpsth Water and Carron Water are one stream 24 miles long, 



which join, the Kjlc- at it* lower end. Loch Monar, five miles lornr 



by on* mile broad, i* drained by a ttream which belongs to Inverneas- 



Irt, Loch Gl w, five miles long, and many other lakes, most of 



i vary small, are drained by itrram* flowing into the friths of the 



eastern coat Loch Maree, the largest fresh-water Uke in the counties 



ding 12 milr. in length, and 2 mile, or 2i miles across in tho 



broadest part, i* drained by the Ewe, which flows into Loch Ewe 



-.wS* abound* in lake. ; but they are all small, except Loch Laugavat' 



which .x tend* in length nearly 10 mile, from north to south, between 



Loch Seaforth and Loch Resort. 



Tb. two oountie. hsv. very few roads. The greater part of them, 



1 " : ' < . ' OB '!.. :,.- lid*, .:,..! !,-,,! ,,, 



inrrat places farther north. One lead* near the coast from Inver- 



MM, by KortroMs, Cromsrty. and Tain, to Dornocb, Wick, and Thurso 



tb* ocmmunicsUon being rn.de in veral place, by ferries over the 



tb*. Another road from Invernei* to Wick and Thurso 



M more inland, paving round the heads of Loch Beauly and the 



Cromarty, au.l through the town of Dingwall, which i* at 



tb. bamd of Cromarty Frith : it CTOMM into SutherlanoUhire by Bonar 



Bridge, which is thrown over the Kyle at the head of Dornoch Frith. 

 There are several roads communicating between these two. A road 

 from Dingwall leads across the county through Strathbrau to Louh 

 Carron, a distance of 49 miles, sending off various branches. The 

 road from Inverness to the Isle of Skye, with a branch to Loch Alah 

 and Loch Carron, run* through Rhiabuie and Glen Shiel, iu the 

 southern parts of the county of Ross; and that from Doruoch and 

 the east coast to Loch Assyut just passes through tho northern part 

 of the tame county. 



Soil and Agriculture. The arable land of the two counties ia almost 

 entirely confined to the eastern part, comprehending the two peuiu- 

 sulas the Black Isle, between Loch Beauly and Cromarty Frith ; uml 

 Easter Ross, between the Cromarty and Doruoch friths, together with 

 the comparatively low aud level tract immediately adjacent to these. 

 The central and western parts are rugged and mountainous, iuter- 

 spersed with lakes and narrow glens that afford pasture for sheep 

 aud black cattle. Within the last half century great improvement* 

 have been made in the system of agriculture. Besides the grain con- 

 sumed iu the counties, a large quantity is aummlly exported to 

 London, Leith, Liverpool, &c. ; aud a large portion is used iu the 

 manufacture of whisky, there being aeveral extensive distilleries. 



The soil in Black Isle is various, and much of it poor. The culti- 

 vated portion consists chiefly of clayey loam, good black mould, and 

 sandy loam. Iu Easter Ito.ss there is a considerable extent of clayey 

 loam and light sandy soil. Around Dingwall tho soil ia clayey. 

 Turuips are grown equal in quality to those of more southern counties. 

 The crops are clean, aud for the most part rich. The houses of the prin- 

 cipal farmers are commodious, and the cottages of the peasantry are 

 iu general good. 



Cheviot sheep, and the best breeds of cattle from the West High- 

 lands and from Ayrshire, have been introduced. Considerable attention 

 has also been paid to the breed of horses. The native breed ot cuttle 

 ia hardy aud compact, adapted to the climate. 



The western side of the county, where it has not been thrown into 

 large sheep-farms, is occupied by a poor class of tenants. They have 

 some arable land, iu which potatoes, barley, ami oats are raised ; but 

 the country generally is au open waste. The houses of the peasantry 

 are very poor; some are built of turf, others with stone, with or 

 without mortar, aud have a roof of turf with heather or fern above 

 it They have no chimneys ; the fire of peat or turf beiug kindled 

 against the wall, or on a stone in the centre of the room, tie smoke 

 escapes as it can, by roof, door, or windows, which lost hava wooden 

 shutters. Along the coast the peasantry are much engaged iu the 

 herring fishery. 



There are stone-quarries in some parts of the two counties, but their 

 products are comparatively unimportant. Limestone is wrought, but 

 there is no coal. The herring-fishery is carried on along the eastern 

 shore, and the salmon-fishery in the rivers aud actuaries of the coast. 



Divisions, Towns, &c. The two counties are divided into 33 parishes, 

 two of which extend into the adjacent counties. The parishes are 

 within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the synod of Ross. There are 

 four royal burghs, namely, CBOMABIT, FORIBOSE, Dingwall, and Taiu ; 

 and oue burgh of barony, Stornoway, iu Lewis. 



Dint/wall, a royal burgh and market-town, and the county town of 

 the united counties, lies at the south-western extremity of Cromarty 

 Frith, 23 miles N.W. from Inverness by a circuitous road, and 166 

 miles N.W. from Edinburgh. The population of the burgh in 1851 

 was 1990. The town is governed by a provost aud 14 councillors, two 

 of whom are bailies, and unites with Cromarty, Doruoch, Kirkwall, 

 Tain, and Wick iu the return of one member to Parliament. Diugwall 

 was made a royal burgh by Alexander II. in 1227. Some traces remain 

 of the ancient castlu of the earls of Ross. The church is a commodious 

 building ; near it is a pyramidal obelisk 57 feet high, and 6 feut square 

 at the base, erected ou a large artificial mound by a former earl of 

 Cromarty to mark out the burial-place of himself and his family. 

 The town-house, a curious old building with a spire, is near the centre 

 of the town; and there are besides, a Free church, an Episcopal 

 chapel, aud a small jail. A short canal from the frith enables vessels 

 to come quite up to the town. 



Tain, a royal burgh and market-town, lies ou the southern 

 shore of Doruoch Frith, 47 miles N. from Inverness by tho road. 

 The population of the burgh in 1851 was 2049. The burgh is governed 

 by a provost and 14 councillors, two of whom are bailies; aud unites 

 with Cromarty, Doruoch, Dingwall, Kirkwall, ami Wick iu the return 

 of one member to Parliament. Taiu had its earliest charter from 

 James VI. It was early celebrated for a chapel of St. Duthac, bishop 

 of Ross, which hail right of sanctuary. The town is irregularly 

 built, but the streets have been improved of late years, and new uud 

 bandsome houses erected. There are a large parish church, a Free 

 church, aud a chapel for United Presbyterians ; a handsome 

 academy, erected by subscription iu 1813; a parochial and a burgh 

 school; a reading- and news-room ; a good towu-house ; aud a prison. 

 The ruins of St. Duthac's chapel, east of the town, arc of grauite, aud 

 are remarkable for the strength and simplicity of their architecture. 

 A church, also dedicated to St Duthac, aud uow deserted, stands in 

 the ceutre of the town. Tho ruins of an old prison tower with five 

 spire* are in tho town. There are an iron-foundry, a carding-mill, aud 

 a dye-work. Salmon-fishing is carried on in the frith. 



