ROSS. SHIRE. 



within fea-mark, and is therefore inter regalia. In the parilh 

 of Kincardine ilands one of the loftieil mountains in Rofs- 

 fhire, called Carnchuinaig, on which flones have been found 

 perfi-ftly fimilar to thofe known by the name of Cairn- 

 gorums. 



Knockirny, another hill on the borders of the fame 

 parifh, produces excellent marble, both white and parti- 

 coloured. The other loftieil mountains in Rofsfhire are, 

 Tulloch-Ard, in the diftridt of Kintail ; Bcn-Uaifh, in the 

 parifh of Kiltearn ; and Scuilm-a-bharra, in the parifh of 

 Kincardine. That of Tulloch-Ard claims particular at- 

 tention on account of its importance in remote times. 

 " Like the temple of Janus of ancient Rome, it indicated 

 peace or war ; for when war commenced, a barrel of burn- 

 ing tar, on the higheft peak, was the fignal ; and in twenty- 

 four hours all the tenants and vafTals of Seaforth appeared 

 at the cattle of St. Donan, armed pro arts et focis. This 

 mountain is the crelt of Seaforth's arms." 



Lochs and Rivers. — The ealtern coalt of the united 

 counties of RoTs and Cromarty is warned by three large 

 arms of the fea, the Dornoch, Cromarty, and Murray friths. 



On the weftern coaft there are eight arms of the fea, 

 ftretching for many miles up the country. Thefe are, 

 loch Broom, Little loch Broom, loch Greinord, loch 

 Ew, loch Torbidon, loch Carron, loch Daich, and the 

 Gairloch ; all of them the ufual refort of valt fhoals of her- 

 rings. Gairloch has likewife been celebrated, during feveral 

 centuries, for the cod-fifhing. One proprietor, only, fends 

 on an average 40,000 fifh of this kind to market annually. 

 The principal frefh-water lakes are loch Maree, and loch 

 Tannich, the former about fifteen miles long, and the latter 

 feven ; belides which there are above twenty lels conliderable 

 lakes, and a great number of fmall ones. Thefe abound 

 with fine trout and pike, and in fome are charrs. In loch 

 Maree is found that fpecies of trout called the gizzard 

 trout. This loch is adorned with twenty-four fmall iflands, 

 planted with fir-trees, and other kinds of wood. The 

 largelt rivers on the weftern coalt are the Ew, the Carron, 

 and the Broom, which fall into the refpective lochs of the 

 fame names. The firft-mentioned of thefe is frequented by 

 prodigious numbers of falmoti, and is perhaps the belt 

 angling ftream in Britain. Salmon are likewife plentiful in 

 the Carron, and at Ullapool. On the eaftern coalt the chief 

 rivers are the Conan, the (eall) Carron, the Alnefs, and 

 the Oikel. The Conan and Alnefs fall into the Cromarty 

 frith, which alfo receives feveral minor ltreams. The 

 Carron empties itfclf into the Dornoch frith, as docs like- 

 wife the Oikel, which forms the boundary between the 

 counties of Rofs and Sutherland. The falmon fifheries 

 on all thefe rivers are very productive. The river Beaulie, 

 which flows into the Murray frith, is the boundary of the 

 county for feveral miles on the Inverncfsfliire fide. 



There is a variety of fulphureous and chalybeate fprings in 

 Rofsfhire. The fpring at Strathpeffer, which is fulphureous, 

 is moll remarkable, on account of the very great refort of 

 Highlanders and ft rangers to drink its waters from a 

 beliel in their medicinal qualities for the cure of cutam 

 diforders, and of barrennefs in women. 



State of Property The value of land in thefe counties, as 



in molt parts of Great Britain, has valtly increaled within the 

 lalt twenty years. Numerous farms, whic h, .it the commence- 

 ment of that period, were rented at little more than 200A 

 per annum, have been leafed liner l8oj, as high as Soo/. or 

 1000/.; and their monied price, when thry have been 

 brought to market, has held a proportional elevation. 

 Landlords, trailing to ignorant furviyors, whin about to 

 let their lands, generally put a vaW on them, which expe- 



rience has woefully (hewn to be far beyond their intrinfic 

 worth. Hence diftrefs arofe among the farmers, even when 

 food was at its higheft pitch, and moft of them were confe- 

 quently compelled to throw up their leafes, or to obtain a 

 conliderable reduftion of rent. 



Molt of the eltates in Rofs and Cromarty fhires are held 

 directly under the crown, vice the earls and bifhops of Rofs. 

 The few duties formerly paid to the earls and bifhops are 

 now levied for the government ; avid being payable chiefly 

 in kind, convertible at the fair price of corn, they have be- 

 come a very heavy burthen on the eltates from which they 

 are taken. Until lately almolt every extenfive proprietor 

 committed the management of his ellate to a faftor, but the 

 evils of this practice have at length begun to operate a 

 cure. " There can be no doubt," obferves fir George Mac- 

 kenzie, in his " General View of the Agriculture" of thefc 

 counties, " but that the crowded population of the High- 

 lands, and their confequent flow improvement, mult be attri- 

 buted, in a great meafure, to the extenfive power given to 

 factors." The late faftor of the proprietor of Lochalfh. 

 by his injudicious conduft, involved his employer in numerous 

 litigations with the miniiler of the parifh, and with his 

 tenants, fome of which have been depending for upwards 

 of nine years. The principal landholders are the heirs of 

 the late lord Seaforth, Mr. Innes of Lochalfh, fir Hugh 

 Monro of Fowlis caftle, fir Alexander Munro of Novar 

 houle, fir Hedtor Mackenzie of Conanfide, fir Roderick 

 Mackenzie of Rofehaugh, fir Charles Rofs of Balnagown 

 caftle, and Alexander Rofs, cfq. of Cromarty houfe. This 

 manlion is by far the molt elegant, and the bell laid out 

 building of any ia this part of the united kingdom, but the 

 pleafurc-grounds have been much neglected. 



Agriculture. — The proprietors of the eallern di drift of 

 thefe counties are very fpirited in improving, and follow 

 every fpecies of good hufbandry prattifed in the fouth. 

 Farmers of the fuperior clafs begin to imitate their example ; 

 but the fmaller tenants are far behind. The ufual grains 

 cultivated on the arable lands are bear, oats, potatoes, 

 peafe and beans, and, along the fhore, wheat. Every ro- 

 tation cuftomary in the fouth has been tried ; but the want 

 of markets within the county has induced many to lay then 

 firm-; down with grata. The gfaffes generally iown, both 

 for hay and pafturage, are red and white clover, with a mix- 

 ture of rye-grafs and rib-grals. The ordinary rotation 

 praciifed by the fmall tenants, and which they have uni- 

 formly purfued for centuries, is bear, or bigg, with manure, 

 followed by two crops of oats, or fometimes peafe, and 

 always a quantity of potatoes ; on which root their families 

 are chiefly maintained during nine months of the year. The 

 gentlemen, and more extenfive farmers, life lime, marie, and 

 fhclly-fand, as manure. The fmaller tenants make a com- 

 polt at the rate of one load of dung to three of earth, which 

 they depofit for fome time in pits, and then fpread in Fe- 

 bruary on the- Hubble land. The manure is then ploughed 

 down, and another ploughing is given towards the end of 

 April, when they low their bear, or bigg. The (lielly-fand 

 on the well coalt is reckoned .1 very valuable manure ; it 

 lalts from twelve to fifteen years, and has the effect of con- 

 verting ,1 light brown inlipid foil into rich black loam. The 

 ii/.e of farms here is various. The native farmers occupy 

 from fevvn to thirty-feven acres of arable laud ; and, in fome 

 inilances, have fmall grazings contiguous to their arable 

 field 1 : but, for the moft parti the hones and cattle employed 

 in the labour of the farms are lent, as loon as feed-time is 

 over, to graze during lunuiKi on I line hill pallure, for 

 which five or fix (hillings /^r head are paid. The gentle- 

 men, and better Ion of farmei s, poffefs from 300 to 800 

 , 1 • acres, 



