420 hKSCKTPTIOX OF JURA. 



THE FOREST OF JURA. 



So common were red deer throughout Scotland, that there 

 are few, even of the Hebrides, in which their remains are 

 not to be found ; and in many of these islands, to this day, 

 they still exist in considerable numbers. Of the latter are 

 Jura, Mull, Skye, and the Long Island, which includes 

 Lewis, Harris, North and South Uist, and Benbecula. 



Whether Buchanan's derivation of the name Jura, from 

 the Gothic word Deira, a stag, be correct, we do not pre- 

 tend to say, but certain it is that in none of the Hebrides 

 (in proportion to the extent) are deer to be found in such 

 numbers. This island is computed to be about thirty- 

 five miles in length, averaging in breadth from five to eight 

 miles, and containing, perhaps, 100,000 acres ; the whole, 

 including the forest, belongs to Mr. Colin Campbell, with 

 the exception of two very considerable farms, probably 

 above 12,000 acres, which are the property of Mr. Mac 

 Neill the younger, of Colonsay. With the exception of a 

 few patches of arable land on the east coast, the island 

 consists of one mountainous range extending throughout 

 its whole length. By much the most lofty of this range 

 are the Paps of Jura, which are situated towards the 

 southern end of it. They are four in number, and rise from 

 the sea on the western side, which is rugged and precipi- 



