K I L 



455 



K I N 



Troon Point, by his Grace the Duke of Portland. This 

 enlightened nobleman has connected the Troon harbour 

 with the town of Kilmarnock, by a railway of ten miles 

 in length, which not only affords an easy and expedi- 

 tions conveyance for the coals from his estates, but 

 promises one day to be highly beneficial to the town in 

 a commercial point of view. 



The appearance of the town is, in general, mean ; the 

 greater part of the houses being roofed with straw ; a 

 great proportion of them consisting of only one story ; 

 and many of the streets being narrow, and ill arranged. 

 Great improvements, however, hare lately been made, 

 under the provisions of an act obtained for that purpose. 

 Many commodious and elegant houses have been built ; 

 and such an alteration has been made upon the appear- 

 ance of the place, that, in those parts which are adja- 

 cent to the cross, it may bear a comparison with most 

 other towns of the same magnitude. Among the late 

 improvements of the town, imy be mentioned a hand- 

 some town-hall, and an elegant and commodious read- 

 ing-room. The butcher market also deserves to be 

 mentioned as an improvement, which is built upon an 

 arch thrown across the river. A handsome academy 

 ha* lately been erected here, which is furnished with 

 teachers in Latin, French, English, and the various 

 branches of mercantile education. 



Kilmarnock is a borough of barony, and is governed 

 by two bailies and a town council. Its original supe- 

 riors were the noble family of Boyd, who possessed ex- 

 tensive estate* in the vicinity of the town, and in the 

 neighbouring country. To this family it gave the title 

 of earls of Kilmarnock, which was forfeited in the re- 

 bellion of 1745. The superiority of the town, with a 

 considerable part of the property which belonged to 

 this family, is now possessed by the Duke of Portland, 

 in right of the duchess. There are two churches in 

 this town, one of which is a collegiate charge, and four 

 or five meeting-housef, belonging to different denomi- 

 nation* of JiseoaUn. The population in December 

 1816, was 10,244. 



As Kilmarnock is an inland town, its inhabitants must 

 derive their subsistence chiefly from manufactures, va- 

 rious branches of which accordingly are here carried on 

 to a considerable extent. Many of the inhabitants are 

 employed in the weaving of cotton ; but as there are 

 scarcely any in this place who manufacture on their own 

 account, the weavers are, for the most part, supplied 

 with work by different manufacturers in Paisley and 

 Glasgow. There is an establishment for calico- print- 

 ing in the town of considerable extent, at which a 

 food deal of work is done. The chief manufactures 

 of Kilraantock, however, are those of leather and wool. 

 Here are two tan-works, one of which is extensive, 

 and at which a large quantity of leather is tanned and 

 prepared. A great quantity of shoes are made, chief- 

 Ir for exportation to the American market ; and during 

 the late war, the army contractors were furnished with 

 considerable proportion of their shoes from this town. 

 Here are everal spinning mills, which are all employ- 

 ed in the manufacture of woollen yarn. A great num- 

 ber of Scotch bonnets were formerly made here ; but 

 this manufacture is now on the decline. Another wool- 

 len fabric, which was formerly made in great quantity, 

 and which is still made to a considerable extent, is a 

 kind of striped night-cap, which takes its name from 

 Kilmarnock. Here also is fabricated a small quantity 

 of coarse woollen cloth. But the most important branch 

 of the woollen manufacture which u here carried on, 



Kilmar- 

 nock 



I 



Kincardine- 

 shire. 



and indeed the principal fabric of the town, are car- 

 pets. These, till of late, were made chiefly for expor- 

 tation, and were considered of an inferior quality. But 

 the general stagnation of trade, tlrove the manufac- 

 turers into the home market ; and they have now made 

 such improvements in their modes of cleaning and dye- 

 ing, that they are able to compete with any other ma- 

 nufacturers in the kingdom. A great improvement has 

 lately been made in the manufacture of carpets by an 

 inhabitant of this place, who, by the invention of an 

 ingenious machine, has greatly diminished the expence 

 of weaving, and, at the same time, considerably impro- 

 ved the fabric. 



It would exceed the limits, as well as violate the or- 

 der of our work, to give a particular description of this 

 useful machine, which appears to us capable of being 

 extended to damask work, and various other branches 

 of the weaving art. It is sufficient to state in this place, 

 that one-fourth of the figure to be cast up, is formed 

 by wires upon the surface of a barrel or cylinder, which 

 is moved by the treddles, and which, by means of small 

 levers connected with the harness, determines the 

 threads of the warp, which are to be drawn or lifted by 

 each tread of the workman. This machine enables the 

 weaver to dispense with the assistance of the draw-boy, 

 who was formerly an inseparable attendant of every car- 

 .pet loom ; and it saves all the tacks, or lashes used in 

 throwing up the figure, which often amounted to 40,000 

 yards, and five-sixths of the time consumed in chang- 

 ing the pattern, which frequently amounted to a fort- 

 night. The inventor, whose name is Thomas Morton, 

 has already made upwards of 180 of these engines, 

 which are all employed in the carpet manufactories of 

 Kilmarnock, Stirling, Bannockburn, and Glasgow. 



In the vicinity of this town, there are about 120 acres 

 of nursery grounds, which not only supply the adjacent 

 country with plants and shrubs, but furnish a great 

 quantity for exportation. 



K1LSYTH, BATTLE or. See BHITAIX, vol. iv. p. 

 5S8. 



KINCARDINESHfRE, or THE MEAR.VS, is situ- Boundaries 

 ated on the east coast of Scotland, between 56* 43', "><> extent. 

 and 57* 5' of North Lat. and between 1* 47' and 2* 30' 

 of \Vet I-ong from Greenwich. It is bounded on the 

 east by the German Ocean, for the space of nearly 35 

 miles ; on the north, by the river Dee and part of 

 Abcrdeenshire ; and on the west and south by the coun- 

 ty of Forfar, from which it is separated, almost titrough 

 the whole boundary line, by the river of North Esk. 

 It is of a triangular form, extending 32 miles in length 

 from south west to north-east, and 24 miles as its great- 

 est breadth from north to south ; and comprehends an 

 area of about 380 square miles, or more accurately of 

 243,444 English acres. 



This county, being much diversified in regard to Climate, 

 surface, altitude, and exposure, discovers a consider- 

 able difference of climate in its different districts. The 

 vicinity of the Grampians, (which even in summer are 

 never entirely free from snow, ) the great proportion of 

 its marshy and unreclaimed grounds, and the deficien- 

 cy of hedges and plantations, arc all unfavourable cir- 

 cumstances, which probably render the climate colder 

 upon the whole, than the latitude should give reason to 

 expect. The district situated on the north side of the 

 Dee, though the most northerly division, is considered 

 as the most temperate, in consequence of its exposure 

 to the south, and its shelter from the north ; while the 

 tract on the north side of that river is much colder and . 



