KA1RFOKD. 



FALKLAND ISLANDS. 



called Birket-el-Garaq, which hu one or two hamlet* ou its bank*. 

 A null stream from the ILihr-Ynnuuf nun into it. The road-track 

 at the caravan* to the smaller oasis paaan through this place. 



(Dncription di tkyyptt; Belzoni ; Wilkinson, Topography of Tkcktt; 

 Jlatrlbool of Eyypt.) 



KAIItKoKD. [OLorcnrauBiRB.] 



FAITH, ST., HOKSHAM, Norfolk, Tillage, and the scat of a 

 Pour-taw Union, in the parish of Hormham St. Faith, ami hundred of 

 Taverham, is situated 52" 42' N. lat, 1' 17' W. long., distant 4 miles 

 N. from Norwich, and 112 miles N.E. by N. from London. The 

 population of the consolidated parish of Honham St Faith and 

 Newton St. Faith in 1851 was 1211, inclusive of 123 inmates of the 

 Union workhouse. The living is a perpetual curacy in the arch- 

 deaconry and diocese of Norwich. St. Faith Poor-Law Union contains 

 30 parishes, with an area of 47,651 acres, and a population in 1851 

 of 11,891. 



FAKKNHAM. [NORFOLK.] 



FALAISK. [CALVADOS.] 



FALKIXUHAM. [l.ixcoLXsniRE.1 



FALKIRK, Stirlingshire, Scotland, a market-town and parlia- 

 mentary burgh, in the parish of Falkirk, is situated on rising ground, 



Forth, in 56' 1' N. lat., 3 4' W. long., 



the right bank of the river Forth 



distant 12 miles S. by E. from Stirling, 24 miles W. by N. from 

 Edinburgh by road, and 254 miles by the Edinburgh and Glasgow 

 railway. The population of the burgh in 1S51 was 8752. It is 

 governed by a provost and 11 councillors, three of whom are bailies; 

 and jointly with Airdrie, Hamilton, Lanark, and Linlithgow, returns 

 one member to the Imperial Parliament. 



Falkirk is in a wealthy and populous district, in the midst of 

 collieries and manufactories, and is the chief town in the eastern part 

 of Stirlingshire. The town consists chiefly of one street, called the 

 High-street, which is upwards of half a mile long. The town-house 

 is situated in the middle of this street. The pariah church, a recently 

 erected building, has a fine steeple 130 feet in height. Besides the 

 parish church, there are chapels for Free Church and United Presby- 

 terians, Independents, and Roman Catholics. On each side of the 

 High-street narrow streets of old houses branch off, one of which 

 extends upwards of a mile towards Carron, passing through the 

 Tillages of Bainsford and Orahamstown. Falkirk is lighted with gas. 



The iron-works at Carron, 2 miles N. from Falkirk, are the largest 

 in Scotland. The Falkirk iron-works ore also extensive, and besides 

 these, there is a small foundry on the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal. 

 There are manufactories of pyroligneous acid, of naphtha, and of potass 

 and alum. Coal is extensively wrought in the neighbourhood. There 

 are three tanneries. The ordinary market-days are Thursday and 

 Saturday. The Falkirk ' tryst.*,' or cattle fairs, are held three times a 

 Tear, when block cattle, principally for the English markets, sheep and 

 hones, are sold in very large numbers. These have long been the 

 largest cattle-markets in Scotland. Two excellent school-houses and 

 residences for teachers were erected a few years since. There ore a 

 savings bank, a school of arts, and a horticultural society. 



Falkirk was formerly a burgh of barony, held of the family of 

 Livingstone till the attainder, in 1715, of the earl of Linlithgow and 

 Callander, by whose forfeiture his superiority vested in the crown. A 

 part of the Roman wall, known by the name of ' Graham's Dyke,' 

 still exists in the neighbourhood. 



(NmXatiitKal Account of Scotland; Communication from Faltirt.) 



FALKLAND ISLANDS, a colonial settlement belonging to Great 

 Britain, situated between 51 and 53 S. lat, 67 and 62 W. long., 

 about 300 miles E. from the entrance to the Strait of Magollmens. 

 They form a group of islands in the Southern Atlantic, consisting of 

 two principal islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, with a con- 

 siderable number of smaller islands clustered around them and in 

 the strait between them. East Falkland is about 90 miles long, and 

 on average 40 miles wide ; West Falkland is about 80 miles long, with 

 a mean width of about 25 miles. They are separated from each other 

 by Falkland Sound. The smaller islands, about 200 in number, vary 

 considerably, from 16 mile* in length and 8 miles in width, to mere 

 islttsof half a mile in diameter. East Falkland is computed to con- 

 tain 3000 square miles; West Falkland is estimated at 2000 square 

 mile*. If the adjacent inlands are added, the whole group may be 

 estimated to contain about 6000 square miles. 



*><*. The coast-line is very irregular, and the whole group 



fa deeply indented by sounds, bay*, harbours, creeks, and inleU. 



ialkland and some small islands near it, there are high 



precipitous cliffs in a few place* exposed to the western seas ; but 



r place* are low, especially the southern portions of East 



Falkland. 



Kurfact and Soil. Very little is known of Wort Falkland, and it 

 is entirely uninhabited. It is said to possess a finer climate than 

 East Falkland ; and it has several excellent harbours. At certain 

 Masons it is visited by whalers and sealers (chiefly Americans), and by 

 vessels in quest of guano. The average height of it appears to be 

 greater than that of East Falkland, though the hi^hcHt hills seem to 

 be in the hut-mentioned inland. A chain f high hill*, called the 

 Wickham Height*, runs acron East Falkland in a due east and west 

 direction from Port William to Port 8ucx on Falkland Sound. 

 Mount Usburne, near Port Sussex, u 2300 feet above the sea ; the 



other hills vary in height from 800 to 2000 feet They consist chiefly 

 of quartz rock, which is extremely rugged at the summits, where it 

 sometimes assumes the moat wild and fantastic forms. The country 

 north of the Wickham Heights has a hilly surface, and at several 

 places these hills rise to some hundred feet above the general ] v. !. 

 That portion of the island which lies south of the Wickham Hills 

 may be considered as a level plain, gently declining towards the 

 southern shores. In some part* of the island the bottoms of the 

 valleys ore covered by great angular fragments of quartz rock. The 

 blocks vary in size from that of a man's chest to ten or twenty times 

 as large. They do not occur in irregular masses, but are spread out 

 in level sheets or great streams. These streams of atones vary from 

 100 feet to a mile in width. 



A view of the country from one of the heights is extremely dismal. 

 Moorland and black bog extend as far as eye con discern, intersected 

 by numerous streams and pools of yellowish-brown water. The toil 

 is generally peat, from 1 foot to 10 feet in depth, and below it is a 

 stiff clay. In some part* however there are considerable tracts of 

 dry gravelly land, without peat The peaty land produced the heaviest 

 growth of grass, but the cattle seem to prefer feeding on the shorter 

 grass of the gravelly soils. 



In all cases where the peaty soil has become mingled with the sub- 

 soil, as in the bottoms of many of the valleys, by the sides of the 

 streams, and almost always at the mouths of the streams, the soil is 

 of the richest quality, and the grasses are remarkably thick and 

 verdant This kind of soil abounds south of the Wickham Heights. 



Sivcrt and Lakct. There are few riven. The San Carlos is the 

 largest It winds very much, and is only about 30 miles in length, 

 and navigable for boats about 8 miles from its mouth. There are 

 however numerous springs and rivulet*, and also many fresh-water 

 lakes or ponds, varying in size from 30 yards to 3 or 4 miles in 

 circumference. 



Climate. The climate resembles that of England, but is more 

 equable ; the summers are not so hot and the winters not so cold. 

 The mean temperature of the year is about 47 Four. The summer 

 temperature ranges between 45 and 70 Fahr. ; the winter I* 

 30 and 50 Fahr. The ice in winter seldom exceeds half an inch in 

 thickness, and the snow is rarely more than ankle deep, and remains 

 a very short time upon the lower lands. Occasionally snow-storms of 

 great severity are experienced, in which many cattle ore destroyed. 

 Light passing showers ore frequent, but a day of constant rain seldom 

 occurs. The prevalent direction of the wind is west, shifting between 

 north-west and south-west Easterly winds ore very rare. Northerly 

 winds are more frequent, and they bring gloomy damp weather. The 

 westerly winds commonly commence at nine o'clock, blow with a 

 force frequently bordering on a gale through the day, and die away 

 about four or five o'clock in the afternoon. The nights are generally 

 calm, and the contrast of the bright and still mornings and calm 

 evenings with the stormy mid-day is very striking. 



Productions. There are no trees in these islands ; but there are 

 three or four different kinds of bushes. The grasses, which at 

 present are the most important production, are generally lung and 

 coarse, but they possess very nourishing qualities. One of them, 

 called Tussac, has especially attracted the attention of naturalists and 

 graziers. It is a gigantic sedgy gross of the genus Cam, and covers 

 the great mosses. It is becoming scarce, in consequence of the great 

 numbers of cattle which have fed upon it Another grass of very 

 nutritious quality, the Amndo alojiccurtu, in distributed over the 

 country, and the wild cattle freely use it Turnips and the common 

 vegetables grown in England grow exceedingly well in sheltered 

 situations. In 1850 there were 10 acres of ground laid out in garden 

 cultivation ; in 1851 there were 18 acres so laid out. Barley and oats 

 have been cultivated successfully. The soil is not favourable to the 

 production of wheat. 



There are few indigenous animals. The only quadruped is the 

 warrah, or wolf-fox, a peculiar species confined to this archipelago. 

 It is about the size of an English hound, but slender, with long legs. 

 The other animals which are found in a wild state have been brought 

 there with the intention of being left, or remained when the European 

 settlements were broken up. The most important are the wild cattle, 

 the number of which in East Falkland is estimated at fro;, 

 40,000. A small breed of wild horses is found ou East Falklan.l, 

 north of Wickham Heights. Mr. Lafone landed a large number of 

 tame horses from Patagonia. Some were subsequently imported f'n'iu 

 Rio Negro ; these are serviceable, sure-footed beasts, said to be worth 

 from 81. to 12A each. Sheep thrive, but the quantity of pasture 

 suitable for them is not large, and their number docs not exceed 

 3000. Within the last two or three yean a considerable extent of 

 land has bceu inclosed for the grazing and domestication of sheep and 

 cattle. Wild hogs abound on one of the inlands. Rabbits ore found 

 in large numbers on the island generally. The peat, which occurs 

 almost everywhere in the low grounds, affords excellent fuel, Hair- 

 seals and fur-seals were formerly abundant about these islands, but 

 they have decreased in number. Black whales are numerous in the 

 sea west of West Falkland, where many American and French vessels 

 are employed in taking them. The supply of n.h is abundant, and 

 there are plenty of swans, gcc*e, duck*, and other wild fowl. 



Commerce. The commerce ia small. The imports consist of timber, 



