8 PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE ORKNEY ISLES. 



The Orkneys are divided into three groups, South, West, and 

 North. All the islands lying to the south of the Mainland, of which 

 Burray, South Ronaldsay, Hoy and Walls (these two being one 

 island), Flotta and Grsemsay are the principal ones, are included 

 in the South Isles. The West Isles include Gairsay, Viera, Egilsay 

 and Rousay; while the North Isles comprise Stronsay, Sanday, 

 Eday, North Ronaldsay, Westray, and Papa Westray. 



Pomona, the largest of the group, is not known to the inhabi- 

 tants of the islands by any other title than that of the Mainland, 

 and we wish our readers to understand that this meaning of the 

 word holds good through all the text unless it is specially men- 

 tioned to the contrary. 



It can easily be understood that a description of such well- 

 known, and for the most part, highly cultivated, islands as the 

 Orkneys, which are, or were, yearly visited by crowds of tourists, 

 cannot prove of nearly the same interest as the wild outlying and 

 scarcely visited islands of the Outer Hebrides. For one person 

 who has visited North Ronay, Mingulay, etc., there are a hundred 

 who have seen most of the Orkneys, and to describe the former is 

 almost like writing a chapter on a newly found country, while 

 Orkney has its guide-books, and, from its unrivalled archaeological 

 remains, has been explored from end to end. 



In its rock scenery, however, Orkney comes well to the front, 

 and few of the principal islands are without some picturesque bit 

 of coast-line. There are few people who have not heard of the Old 

 Man of Hoy, and many of our readers will have seen the magnifi- 

 cent rocks of that island. Less known is the rock scenery of Rousay, 

 Westray, and Papa Westray, which, though by no means equalling 

 the best that Hoy can produce, are still worthy of notice, teeming, 

 as most of them do in the summer, with bird life of many kinds. 



Bearing this in view, we have not considered it necessary to go 

 into details of each island at any great length, excepting when 

 particular interest attaches thereto. We have given our own 

 experience of them, more from an ornithological point of view than 

 any other, for more details referring our readers to Mr. Tudor's 

 exhaustive work. 



