77S 



AYSGAETH. 



AZOF. 



774 



invasion under Agricola, by the great tribe of the Damnii. At a later 

 period the descendants of the Scots, who came over from Ireland to 

 Cantire, and thence into Ayrshire, were mingled with the Damnii. In 

 the 8th century Kyle fell into the hands of the Saxon kings of 

 Northumberland. The 12th century was marked by the introduction 

 of colonists from England, with new customs and a new jurisprudence. 

 In the middle of the 13th century the Norwegians invaded this part of 

 Scotland; but in 1263 they were defeated and driven to their ships 

 by the king of Scotland, Alexander III. The decisive battle took 

 place at Largs in Cunningham. A great many Norman families then 

 settled in this part of Scotland, which was in fact the spoil of the 

 great Anglo-Norman invasion. Till recent times the names of the 

 families who held land in the district were nearly all Anglo-Norman, 

 and these names still prevail in the county. 



In the religious troubles which occurred in the time of Charles II. 

 and James II., the men of Ayrshire supported the Covenant with 

 much zeal, and suffered severely from their steady adherence to the 

 cause which they had embraced. They consequently rejoiced in the 

 Revolution of 1688, which overthrew the power of their persecutors. 

 In the moors, mosses, and fastnesses of Ayrshire are several monu- 

 ments to the memory of those who fell in the troubles, and especially 

 of Richard Cameron and some of his associates, who were killed after 

 a skirmish witha party of military in CharlesII.'stime. Thecharacter 

 of the people at the present day indicates their descent from the 

 zealous Presbyterians. They are remarkable for their regard for 

 religion, their decency, and good conduct. Burns's ' Cotter's Saturday 

 Night ' may be regarded as descriptive of the manners of many of 

 those in humble life. Their religious fervour has led them however 

 in some instances into irregularities and errors, as was shown by the 

 rise of the prophetess Mrs. Buchan towards the close of the last 

 century. Dissent has increased much in the populous towns and 

 villages. Besides the 49 charges of the Established Church, there are 

 upwards of 40 congregations of the Free Church, and about 40 con- 

 gregations of other Presbyterian Dissenters. There are a few Episco- 

 palians and Roman Catholics. 



The island of Little Cumbrae, about a mile in length and half a 

 mile in breadth, belongs to Ayrshire. There is in the south part of 

 the island an ancient castle, which was surprised and burnt by 

 Cromwell's soldiers. There are also several caves. The loftiest 

 eminence in this island is 780 feet high. There is a lighthouse upon 

 the island. Great Cumbrae is in Buteshire. 



Population, &e. The population of Ayrshire in 1841 was 164,356, 

 having more than doubled in 50 years, as in 1791 the numbers were 

 75,544. In 1851 the population was 189,858. In 1791 the annual 

 rental of the county was 159,6722., in 1843 it was520,828J. There 

 are in tho county 46 parishes, with 49 ministers of the Establishment. 

 The number of paupers in 1851 was 4506 ; of the casual poor 5701 : 

 in 1791 there were only 142. The amount expended in relief of the 

 poor in 1791 was 1967J., in 1851 it was 24,2312. The county 

 returns one member to the Imperial Parliament. The constituency 

 in 1S52 was 3860. 



(Chalmers's Caledonia; Sinclair's General Report of Scotland; 

 Colonel Fullarton'a General Report on the Agricultural Survey* ; Play- 

 fair's Deicription of Scotland; Seatttiet of Scotland; New Statittical 

 Acco"/'' /' Scotland, &c.) 



AYSOARTH. [YORKSHIRE.] 



AZANI. [AIZANI.] 



AZERBIJAN. [PERSIA.] 



AZINCOURT. [AoiKcouRT.] 



AZOF, SEA OF, is commonly considered as a part of the Black 

 Sea ; but being a close sea, united to the Black Sea by a narrow Htrait 

 of considerable length, and differing from it in many peculiar 

 features, it is rather to be considered as an independent piece of 

 water. 



This sea extends from the eastern shores of the Crimea in an east- 

 north-east direction to the embouchure of the Don. If the outlet of 

 the Don, and the most western creek formed by the Putrid Sea near 

 Perekop on the Isthmus of Crimea, are considered as its two 

 extremities, . it extends from west to east between 33 40' and 

 39 E. long. Ita whole length is upwards of 200 miles. From sovith 

 to north it extends from 45 26' to 47 20' N. lat., but its breadth 

 varies in different place*. The north-eastern portion of it is a long 

 bay, which may be called the Bay of Taganrog ; it extends in length 

 from the mouth of the Don to the low and sandy capes Dolgava and 

 Bielosoroiskaja, about 70 or 80 miles, with an average breadth of 

 scarcely 15 miles. The main body of the sen, which lies to the west- 

 south-west of thin bay, may extend to somewhat more than 100 miles 

 from east to we*t, with an average breadth of 80 miles from north to 

 south. This sett covers a surface of upwards of 14,000 square miles. 



The Russians call it Mor<S Anmvskoe (the Baa of Ar.of ) ; among the 

 Romans it was known by the name of Pains M;potis, who derived this 

 name from the Greeks, by whom it was denominated Limne Maietis, 

 or Maiotis, that is, the Lake Mseotis. This name is more appropriate 

 than that of sea ; for this sheet of water is strictly speaking only a 

 shallow lake. In the centre, where the depth is greatest, in a few 

 places it is "4 fathoms, but on an average only between 6 and 7 

 fathoms deep ; and this depth continues to the Strait of Yenikalo', by 

 which it is united with the Black Sea. Towards all the other shores 



its depth decreases to 5, and in a few places to 4 4 fathoms. The 

 Bay of Taganrog is much shallower : at its entrance the depth of 

 water does not exceed 5 fathoms, and it decreases rapidly towards the 

 east, so that opposite the town of Taganrog it is not more than 2 

 fathoms, and near the mouth of the Don only 4 feet. No vessel 

 drawing more than 12 feet can navigate this bay, and even those of 

 less draught are obliged to take in their cargoes at a distance of 4 

 or 5 miles from Taganrog. With north-easterly winds there is not a 

 depth of more than 2 or 3 feet for about a mile and a hnlf, so that 

 carts are drawn that distance by horses in order to load the lighters, 

 which cannot approach nearer the shore. With strong south-westerly 

 winds the depth is much increased. In spite of such disadvantages 

 the commerce of this sea is not inconsiderable, it being the only 

 channel by which the inhabitants of the eastern provinces of 

 southern Russia are able to convey their products to the great 

 markets of the world and by which they can obtain thoae of other 

 countries. 



The shallowness of this sea was well known to the Greeks, and it 

 was the prevailing opinion in the time of Aristotle that it was 

 rapidly filling up by the earthy matter brought down by the rivers 

 which run into it. The same opinion has been maintained by Dr. 

 Clarke, who, repeating Strabo's words, says that it may not be 

 unreasonable to conclude that both the Black Sea and the Sea of 

 Azof, by the diminution their waters hourly sustain, will at some 

 future period become a series of marsh lands intersected only by 

 the courses and junction of the rivers flowing in them. It may 

 perhaps be needless to add that this prophecy is as far as ever from 

 its accomplishment. (Aristotle ' Meteorologica,' i. 14 ; Polybius 

 'Hist.' iv. 42.) 



The bottom of the sea is partly swampy, but mostly sandy. Its 

 waters are drinkable, but have always a disagreeable flavour ; after 

 south-westerly winds have prevailed for a time the water becomes 

 brackish by being mixed with the water of the Black Sea, which then 

 enters through the Strait of Yenikale'. The Sea of Azof is usually 

 frozen every year from November to the beginning of March. This 

 is partly to be attributed to the floating ice which descends the Don, 

 but still more to the shallowness of the sea and to the freshness of 

 ita water. 



There is an abundance of fish in this sea. The most important 

 fisheries are along the southern coast, between Cape Dolgava and the 

 Strait of Yenikale', where great numbers of sturgeons and sterlets 

 (Sturio Rnthenw) are taken, and great quantities of caviar and isinglass 

 are prepared. The belugas (Slurio Huso) also abound here as well as in 

 the Strait of Yenikale', but they are generally not so large, nor in such 

 numbers, as in the Caspian Sea, near Astrakhan. Near the mouth of 

 the Don a small kind of Cyprinn Ballerus, called by the natives Singa, 

 is caught. These fish are so numerous that from 40,000 to 70.000 are 

 often taken in one net. They are sent into the interior, and con- 

 sumed during the frequent abstinence-days of the Greek Church. 



The most western part of the Sea of Azof, which waa named the 

 Putrid Sea by the Greeks, and by the Russians Siwash, is separated 

 from the main expanse of its waters by a narrow sandy stripe of low 

 land, with a narrow opening at the northern extremity by which the 

 Siwash receives, when the wind is easterly, the waters of the Sea of 

 Azof. At other times it consists of swarnps and quagmires, equally 

 impassable to men and animals. The noxious exhalations which rise 

 from the Siwash render the adjacent eountiy for several miles 

 unhealthy and nearly uninhabitable. 



The strait which unites the Sea of Azof with the Black Sea was 

 called b^ the Greeks the Cimmerian Bosporus, and is now commonly 

 named the Strait of Yeuikald, from a small fortress built on its northern 

 entrance ; it is sometimes also called the Strait of Kami, from a once 

 rich and flourishing town, which stood at some distance from its 

 southern entrance, on the shores of the Peninsula of Crimea. This 

 strait is about lOJ miles long, and at the narrowest parts nearly 4 

 miles broad ; but the navigable channel does not exceed a mile. Ita 

 entrances are shallow and extremely intricate, with a depth of water 

 seldom exceeding twelve feet. On each side it is lined'by low sandy 

 hills, and is frequently frozen over. The water is always brackish. 



To the north of the Sea of Azof extends the desert which is known 

 under the name of the Steppe of Nogai, and which continues farther 

 to the east under the denomination of the Steppe of the Cossacks, 

 until it reaches the Desert, which extends from the foot of the 

 Caucasus to the Ural, and farther eastward to the Altai Mountains. 

 The immediate shores of the sea on the north in all their extent, and 

 on the south up to Cape Dolgava, are commonly formed by a narrow 

 and low belt of sand, and even capes Fedolowa, Visarinawa, Berdiau- 

 skaia, Bielosoroiskaja, and Dolgava are low and sandy; but, behind 

 this low strip the higher shores rise from 30 to 40 feet, and are 

 composed of calcareous and marly strata. Sometimes they advance 

 close upon the sea, as in the case of the cliffs on which the towns of 

 Taganrog and Azof stand. The coaat from the south of Dolgava to 

 the Strait of Yenikald exhibits a different character. Though the 

 interior of the country presents the same monotonous aspect as the 

 other steppes, the low shores are here much broader, and extend 

 some miles into the interior. They are marshy, and sometimes a part 

 of them is covered by tho water of the sea. Along this marshy tract 

 the sea is very productive of fish, and the coast is lined with the huts 



