K I D 



450 ' 



K I L 



Kin(!.nt 38, and the longitude of GO , and joins the mountains 



of Meshed. In passing from Seistan to Herat, and thence 



a ' to Yezd, Capt. Christie found that the country was 



W- r A_r mountainous, diversified with tolerably cultivated plains. 



Some of the mountains were very lofty ; and at Okul, 



half way between Ferrah and Herat, an immense range 



was seen to the east. 



Rivets. The Oxus, which is the chief river in the province, 



rises in the mountains of Pameer, and is said to form a 

 junction with the Jaxartes, before it throws itself into the 

 Caspian. The Oxus is described as navigable for more 

 than 200 miles, in which distance there are many fer- 

 ries, with from 8 to 10 boats each. The cultivated 

 lands extend only about three or four miles from the 

 river. The Tedzen, or the ancient Ochus, is next in 

 size to the Oxus. It seems to have its origin near Se- 

 raks, and, after receiving many tributary streams, and 

 particularly the Meshed river, it falls .into the Caspian 

 in North Lat. 38 41'. Herat, or.Herirood, (anciently 

 the Aries,) rises a little to the north of Herat, and run- 

 ning southerly, is lost in the sands between that city 

 and the lake of Zerrah. The Murgab, anciently the 

 Margus, issues from the mountains of Goor, and is al- 

 so said to be swallowed up in the sands near Herat. 

 The Ester, anciently Siderius, which is navigable for a 

 short distance, is a considerable river, and gives its 

 name to the province of Asterabad, where it flows into 

 the Caspian. 



The capital of the Persian division of Khorassan is 

 Meshed ; and Herat is the capital of the Afghan part 

 of it. See HERAT and MESHED; and Macdonald Kin- 

 neir's Geog. Mem. of the Persian Empire, for a fuller 

 account of the province. 



KIANG-NAIS. See CHINA, Vol. VI. p. 212. 

 KIANG-SI. See CHINA, Vol. VI. p. 214. 

 KIDDERMINSTER, anciently Chideominster, is a 

 market-town of England, in the county of Worcester. 

 It is divided into two unequal parts by the river Stour. 

 The town consists chiefly of two good streets, one of 

 which runs parallel to the canal, and the road from 

 Bewdly to Birmingham runs through the other, which 

 is nearly a mile in length. The houses in the last street 

 are the best ; but both of them are well paved, and 

 cleanly kept. The houses are, in many places, cut out 

 of the solid rock. The church is a handsome Gothic 

 structure, standing on a very commanding situation on 

 the brow of a knoll, at the end of a street. The tower 

 is uncommonly fine, the windows have a rich tracery ; 

 and externally, it is in excellent order. At the east end 

 of the church is a handsome Gothic chapel, which is now 

 converted into a free school. There are here no fewer 

 than eight charity schools for boys and girls, to which 

 several Sunday schools have lately been added. There 

 are at Kidderminster 12 alms-houses, a dispensary, and 

 25 friendly societies. The town-hall stands in the cen- 

 tre of the market-place, and performs the several func- 

 tions of a council room, a market house, and a prison. 



Kidderminster has long been celebrated for its manu- 

 factures. It was once famous for linsey woolseys, then 

 for friezes, and afterwards for tammies and flowered 

 stuffs; but the carpet trade was not introduced till 

 1735 ; and in 174-9, the woollen carpets with a cut pile 

 were begun. About 44 years ago, there were here 

 1700 silk and worsted looms, 250 carpet looms, and 

 about 5000 persons occupied in preparing the materi- 

 The silk and worsted looms have been reduced to 

 700, while the carpet looms have increased to 1000. 

 The Staffordshire canal passes through this town in its 



progress to Stourport. The government of the town is Kulnoy 



in the hands of a recorder, a bailiff, and the justices ; II 



and the corporation consists* -of 12 aldermen, and 25 Kilda, St. 



common council men. There are three reading socie- """"Y''"' 

 ties at Kidderminster. 



In 1811, the population of this town was, 



Inhabited houses 1546 



Families 1737 



Do. employed in trade and manufactures 156'9 



Males 3848 



Females 4190 



Total population 8038 



See the Beauties of England and Wales, vol xv. 



KIDNEY. See ANATOMY, Vol. I. p. 837, and also 

 PHYSIOLOGY. 



KIDWELLY is a town of South Wales, in Caer- 

 marthenshire. It stands on both sides of the lesser 

 Gwendraeth, which is crossed by a handsome stone 

 bridge. The new township stands on the east bank of . 



the river, and the old township on the west bank. The 

 town was formerly surrounded with a wall, one of the 

 gates of which is now standing. It once had a flou- 

 rishing trade ; but from the obstruction to the naviga- 

 tion of the river by a sand bank, its commerce has 

 long been trifling. Engineers have, however, been em- ' 

 ployed, with every prospect of success, upon a new 

 plan, for improving its harbour. Some iron and tin 

 manufactories have been carried on here ; and the 

 neighbouring country abounds in coal and iron ore. 

 The parish church, which is a plain structure, stands 

 in New Kidwelly. The castle, which occupies a bold 

 rocky eminence on the west side of the river, has a grand 

 and imposing appearance, and the remains are in a very 

 perfect state. In 1811, the parish contained 329 houses, 

 389 families, and 1441 inhabitants. See the Beauties 

 of England and Wales, vol. xviii. p. 369. 



KIEL, is a town of Denmark, in the duchy of Hoi- 

 stein, situated at the bottom of a bay of the same name, 

 which forms a convenient harbour, resembling that of 

 Palermo. The town contains three churches, an uni- 

 versity, founded in 1650, and a college, established in 

 1768. In 1785, when Mr. Coxe visited Kiel, there 

 were 24 professors in the university, and about 300 

 students. The town is well built ; and the castle, which 

 is finely situated, has an observatory. The buildings, 

 and the collections of the university, the hospital of St. 

 George, and the manufactories of the place, are well de- 

 serving of being visited. Kiel is one of the most com- 

 mercial places of Holstein. The trade has been much 

 facilitated, by the junction of the two seas, across the 

 duchy of Holstein, by the canal of Kiel and the river 

 Eyder, which passes by Rendsburgh, and falls into the 

 German Ocean at Tonningen. This canal was begun 

 in 1777, and was nearly finished in 1785.. It will be 

 able to navigate merchantmen of 120 tons burden. ' 



The promenade on the ramparts, and the promenades 

 of Schlossgarten, Dorfgarten, and the road of Viburg, 

 are beautiful, and well frequented. Population of the 

 town 7000. See Cox's Travels in Poland, &c. vol. v. 

 p. 239- 



KIEF. SeeKIOF. 



KILDA, ST. The name given to one of the western 

 islands of Scotland, is situated about twenty leagues 

 westward of North Uist. Its exact position has not 

 been ascertained ; but its latitude is about 57!, and its 

 longitude somewhat more than 8. The natives call 

 it Herst, and it is also called Hirta. It is not easy to 



