AYR AYTON. 



361 



that town and the village of Alloway. It is pointer 

 out to the notice of travellers by a sign-board anc 

 inscription. A monument has been erected to the 

 memory of the same gifted individual on a height 

 between the kirk and the bridge. It is built of pure 

 white stone, in the form of a Grecian temple, anc 

 within are some relics connected with the poet, anc 

 his portrait. The group, by Thorn, of Tarn o' Shan- 

 ter, Souter Johnny, &c. is intended to be placed here. 

 ATR, NEWTOX-UPON. While the burgh of Ayr ex- 

 tends along the south side of the river Ayr, this small 

 parish is situated on the north side of the same river. 

 It is a burgh of considerable consequence, having a 

 baronial jurisdiction, and governed by a magistracy 

 elected by freemen, but without parliamentary repre- 

 sentation. It is of very ancient erection, owing its 

 privileges to Robert Bruce; who, upon being attack- 

 ed by leprosy, came to reside in this place, and was 

 induced to establish a lazarhouse, and to confer con- 

 siderable favours on the town, and on the small vil- 

 lage of Priestwick, about two or three miles distant. 

 In Newton-upon-Ayr are a number of very good 

 houses. It has a tolerably good harbour, chiefly 

 occupied with the coal trade. From its situation on 

 the banks of the Ayr and the sea-coast, the soil is 

 mostly flat and sandy. Its extent is about three 

 miles in length and one and a half in breadth. In 

 1831 the population was 4020. 



AYRSHIRE, or AIRSHIRE; an extensive maritime 

 county on the western coast of the lowlands of 

 Scotland, bounded by Renfrewshire on the north, the 

 counties of* Dumfries and Lanark on the east; by 

 Wigton and the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright on the 

 south ; and by the Irish channel and the frith of 

 Clyde on the west. It used to be divided into the 

 three districts of Cunningham on the north, Kyle in 

 the centre, and Carrick on the south ; the latter of 

 which, although the least fertile, abounds most in 

 picturesque beauty. The soil varies considerably : 

 towards the sea- shore it is for the most part sandy, 

 with an occasional intermixture of rich loam. More 

 inland, it is composed of a large proportion of stiff 

 deep clay, which, when properly cultivated, is highly 

 productive. In some parts this clay is only superfi- 

 cially spread over a substratum of schistus and till, 

 and in a few places a gravely soil prevails. To- 

 wards the east the country is hilly, naked, and un- 

 fruitful, with the exception of patches of rude pas- 

 turage, and fern, and peat moss. Most of the rivers 

 in ttie south of Scotland rise from the ridge of which 

 the mountains in the district of Carrick, rising from 

 1000 to 2000 feet above the level of the sea, form a 

 part. Of these, the Ayr, the Doon, the Lugar, the 

 Stinchar, and the Girvan, intersect this county, and 

 discharge themselves into the Irish channel. In the 

 district of Kyle is Lake Doon, six miles in length, 

 from which issues the river of the same name. The 

 sea-coast, which is the most thickly interspersed with 

 towns and villages, possesses the six harbours of Ayr, 

 Irvine, Saltcoats, Ardrossan, Troone, and Dunure. 

 That of Troone has been much improved by the re- 

 cent construction of a pier, and is further benefited 

 by the formation of a rail-road to Kilmarnock. The 

 principal towns and villages are the royal burghs of 

 Ayr and Irvine, Kilmarnock, Old Cumnock, Salt- 

 coats, Tarbolton, Mauchline, Beith, Kilwinning, 

 Dairy, Catrine, Largs, Girvan^ and Ballantrae. On 

 the shores of Carries, are several remarkable caves, 

 and the stupendous rock of Ailsa rises nearly opposite 

 Girvan. Agriculture has been much advanced in 

 this county of late years, principally owing to the 

 establishment of the Douglas and Heron bank, 

 which, by affording temporary facilities to landed 

 proprietors, induced them to plant and improve their 

 estates, although in several instances with very fatal 



results to themselves, when that too sanguine specu- 

 lation failed. Roads were opened, and canals formed 

 by similar assistance, to the great benefit of the 

 county, however unfortunately tor individuals. Til- 

 lage is most productive near the coast, the interior 

 and mountainous parts being chiefly dedicated to the 

 rearing of cattle, which are produced in great num- 

 bers, and highly valued. This shire is also cele- 

 brated for the best cheese in Scotland, of which it 

 exports great quantities. The most important mine- 

 ral found in Ayrshire is coal, seams of which are dis- 

 covered in almost every parish, so that 100,000 tons 

 have been exported annually. It also abounds in 

 lime-stone, free-stone, iron-stone, and lead-ore, of 

 which the most considerable mines are in the parish 

 of New Cumnock. To the above must be added, 

 copper-ore, plumbago, barytes, crystal of zeolite, 

 gypsum, agates, and a kind of whet-stone, called 

 water-of-Ayr stone, much valued by cutlers. In 

 most of the lakes there is plenty of marl, and great 

 quantities of sea-weed are thrown ashore, which is 

 manufactured into kelp. The abundance of fuel in 

 the county renders it peculiarly adapted to manufac- 

 tures, and, accordingly, those of cotton, woollen, 

 thread, and muslin, are carried on to a great extent, 

 in addition to considerable iron-works at Muirkirk 

 and other places. The salmon fisheries, in which 

 species of fish most of the rivers abound, likewise 

 form a considerable source of profit to the different 

 landed proprietors, while the sea-coast abounds with 

 all kinds of white fish, and one or two companies are 

 formed in the town of Ayr for curing them. Ayr- 

 shire is the seat of many noted Scottish families, among 

 which may be enumerated the Kennedies, the Cun- 

 ninghams, the Cochranes, the Stewarts, the Mont- 

 ;omeries, the Boyds, the Blairs, the Boswells, the 

 )swalds, and the Campbells. The monuments of 

 antiquity are numerous, including cairns, encamp- 

 ments, Druidical circles, and the remains of various 

 castles, one of the most remarkable of which is that 

 of Kilbirnie, in the district of Cunningham, near a 

 beautiful lake. The following abstract will exhibit 

 a comparative view of the population of Ayrshire in 

 1811, 1821, and 1831: 



1811. 



In 1821 the population of Carrick (mounted to 25.536 ; of Cunningham to 

 63,506 ; and of Kyle to 56,066 ; total 145,108. 



AYTON, Sir Robert ; an elegant poet during the 

 reign of James VI., was born in Fifeshire, Scotland, 

 1570, and studied at St Andrews. He afterwards 

 resided for some time in France ; whence, in 1603, 

 le addressed an elegant panegyric in Latin verse to 

 cing James, on his accession to the crown of Eng- 

 and, which was printed at Paris the same year ; and 



