sect. 17. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 2 



ther altogether incapable of tillage, or incapable 

 of being brought under the plough with any acU 

 vantage. The most remarkable tract of this 

 kind extends from the western limits of the 

 county, along the north side of the parishes of 

 Saline, Dunfermline and Beith, and from thence 

 by Lochgelly, and along the north side of the 

 parishes of Dysart and Wemyss, till it approach-* 

 es nearly to the mouth of the Leven. In short, 

 the high exposure of this large division, its al- 

 most total want of shelter, the heathy and bar-r 

 ren moors it contains, and the scanty crops it 

 produces, render its general aspect bleak and for- 

 bidding ; and indicate the propriety of applying 

 it chiefly to the purpose of breeding and rearing 

 cattle, for which it is much better calculated, 

 than for raising crops of corn. 



But though the quality of the foil be, in ge- 

 neral, inferior, and in many places extremely 

 bad, there are many spots of land in this divi- 

 sion, and these of considerable extent, where the 

 soil is excellent, and abundantly, productive. 

 Amongst these may be mentioned the lands on 

 the east, near the shore, some grounds along the 

 north of Largo-law, a considerable proportion 

 of the parish of Ceres, especially in the hollow 

 around the parish church, and towards the west ; 

 the lands about Kennoway, and on the south 

 side of the parish, towards Markinch ; the south 

 bank of the Leven, from the east as far as Leslie,, 

 and the north bank, which lies mostly on a whin 

 rock bottom, as far as Auchmuir bridge : part 

 of Balingry, Kinglassie and Auchtertool ; and 

 many other farms and detached spots irregularly 

 scattered over this district. 

 D 



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