CHAP. iv. TREES IN CAITHNESS. 23 



blown away. The thatched roofs of the cottages are 

 held down by strong straw ropes with heavy stones 

 hanging at their ends; otherwise the roofs would be 

 blown away, as well as the cottages themselves. 



It is scarcely possible to grow a tree in the northern 

 part of the county. Hedges are almost unknown. Instead 

 of hedges, the fields are separated from each other by 

 Caithness flags set on end. To one accustomed to the 

 beautiful woods and hedgerows of the south, the cheer- 

 lessness of Caithness scenery may well be imagined. 

 Kobert Chambers said of the county " The appearance 

 of Caithness is frightful, and productive of melancholy 

 feelings." " It is only a great morass," says another 

 writer ; " the climate is unfavourable ; the stormy 

 winds are always blowing across it; mists suddenly 

 come on, and the air is always damp." 



A desperate effort has been made to grow trees at 

 Barrogill Castle, within sight of the Pentland Firth. A 

 wood surrounds the east side of the castle. The trees 

 .are planted thick, and they are protected by a high wall. 

 But at the point at which the wall ends, the tops of the 

 trees are sharply cut away as if by a scythe. They are 

 chilled and eaten down by the sea-drift. 



The best wood in the northern part of the county is 

 at Castlehill, where the imported trees are protected by 

 rising grounds on all sides. The only tree that thrives 

 in Caithness is the common bourtree or elder. The 

 trembling poplar, the white birch, and the hazel, are 

 also occasionally found in sheltered places. 



But though the county of Caithness is for the most 

 3 



