FEATURES OF THE ORKNEY ISLES. 3 



The mountainous, or rather hilly, portion of these islands (for 

 nowhere, except perhaps in Hoy, do the hills attain to the dignity 

 of mountains), is included in the western side of the group. By 

 taking Hoy, the west side of the Mainland, as far as Scapa and 

 Kirkwall, Rousay and the north and west of Westray, we include 

 nearly all the land of any considerable altitude, except perhaps the 

 Ward Hill of Eday. The greatest height of all these is attained 

 by the Ward Hill in Hoy, which rises to 1564 feet. 



In former times it would appear that all, or nearly all, the 

 islands were covered with heather, as, even in the most highly 

 cultivated districts, little patches of this plant are still to be found. 

 At the present time, however, the heather is fast disappearing 

 before the rapid strides of agriculture, and it is now chiefly con- 

 fined to Hoy and North Walls, the central and more hilly dis- 

 tricts of the Mainland, Eousay, parts of Eday, and of Westray. 



Another cause for the rapid disappearance of the heather is 

 a habit the natives have of stripping the ground with a sharp 

 spade; the part thus taken off being used either for roofing or 

 for fuel. The roots being thus destroyed, the skinned part rarely 

 recovers ; an unsightly practice, which we wonder the proprietors 

 allow. 



A great impetus was given to Orcadian agriculture about 1832, 

 when kelp-burning became unremunerative, and steam communica- 

 tion with the south commenced. Since then the reclamation of 

 the waste land has gone on to the present time, and now the 

 advance-guard of fields may be seen well up some of the lower 

 hills, the surrounding walls showing by their whiteness their new 

 appearing. 



And thus the Grouse, Golden Plover, Short-eared Owl, and 

 other birds, interesting alike to the sportsman and naturalist, are 

 gradually getting crowded out. The draining of the moors drives 

 out the Snipe, once so extremely numerous, while the unnumbered, 

 so-called, shepherds' dogs most happy misnomer together with 

 the cats, are sadly reducing the breeding stock of such birds 

 as Lapwings, Eing Dotterels, etc., which once swarmed. Many 

 Orcadian gentlemen have noticed these facts to us, and regretted 



