670 



SCOTLAND. 



dant in England, scarcely appears in Scotland. The general bearing of the different mountain 

 ranges, is from northeast to southwest. 



10. Minerals, Quarries, &,c. Lead, iron, and coal, are the most abundant minerals. The 

 lead mines are in the southern parts. Coal is very plentiful, and it is supposed the laigest un- 

 touched bed of coal in Europe, is in the south of Scotland. Antimony and copper, in small 

 quantities, also occur. Cobalt is now afforded by a mine which formerly yielded silver. 



11. Face of the Country. Two thirds of the country are mountainous. It is generally con- 

 sidered as divided into two parts ; the mountainous region, called the Highlands, in the north- 

 ern and central part ; and the comparatively level country in the south, called the Lowlands. 

 In the north, the mountains present nothing to view, but heath and rock, with innumerable lakes 

 and pools, darkened by the shade thrown from enormous precipices ; the whole forming a land- 

 scape wild and desolate beyond conception. In the central parts, the aspect of the mountains 

 is less forbidding. In the south, is every kind of rural variety, hills, vales, and cultivated plains. 



POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



1. Divisions. Scotland is divided into 33 counties* or shires. These are subdivided into 

 984 parishes. 



2. Canals. The Caledonian Canal extends from Inverness to Fort William, uniting the 

 Moray Firth with the Atlantic. Its length is 59 miles, including several lakes, through which 

 it passes ; the artificial navigation is 22 miles. This canal is 100 feet wide at the surface, 50 

 feet at the bottom, and 20 feet deep, being passable by 32 gun frigates. At one place, is an 

 ascent of 94 feet by 13 locks, and a descent of 90 feet by 12, called Neptune's staircase. 

 This canal cost nearly a million sterling. The receipts afforded by it, do not pay for keeping 

 it in repair. Since its construction, upwards of a million of forest trees have been planted 

 along its borders. The Forth and Clyde Canal unites the river Carron, running into the Forth, 

 with the Clyde, at Glasgow. It is 35 miles long, and has 39 locks. Its width, at the surface, 

 is 56 feet, and its depth 8 feet. It has 15 aqueducts over roads, streams, &c. This canal 

 was begun in 1777, and finished in 1790, at an expense of above £200,000 sterling. The 

 Union Canal is a branch of this work, extending to Port Hopeton, near Edinburgh. The 

 JMonkland Canal extends from the Forth and Clyde canal to Monkland, and is used for the 

 transportation of coal and limestone to Glasgow. The Crinan Canal crosses the peninsula of 

 Kintyre. The Jlndrossan Canal, from that place to Glasgow, is not yet completed. 



3. Cities and Toions. Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, stands upon the southern shore 

 of the Firth of Forth, a mile and a half from the sea. Its situation is remarkably picturesque. 

 It occupies three high ridges of land, and is surrounded on all sides, except the north, by na- 

 ked, craggy rocks. The middle ridge is the highest, and on either side is a deep ravine. The 



more ancient part of the city occupies the 

 two southern ridges. High street runs 

 along the middle eminence, in nearly a 

 straight direction, for about a mile, and 

 exhibits a very grand prospect. With the 

 exception of the principal avenues, the 

 other streets of what is called the Old 

 Town, are only narrow, dirty lanes, 

 among houses, some of them 10 and 11 

 stories high. The New Town presents 

 quite a different aspect. It is built on the 

 northern ridge, and its streets and squares 

 are not surpassed, in regularity and ele- 

 gance, in any part of the world. It com- 

 municates with the old town by a bridge, 

 and an immense mound of earth crossing 

 St. Jlnthor,y^s Chapel. ^^^^ i^^j^ , ,,^,i^g between them. 



On the slope of Arthur's seai, toward the East, may still be seen the ruins of the ancient chapel 

 and hermitage of St. Anthony, mentioned in Scott's tale of the Heart of Midlothian. 



* JS'orthern. — Orkney Islands, Caithness, Sullierland, Sovthern. — Linlitlijcrow, Edinburgh, Haddington, Ber- 

 Ross, Cromarty, Inverness. rvicU, Renfrew, Ayr, Wigton, Lanark, Peebles. Selkirk 



Midland. — Argyle, Bute, Nairn, Elgin, BanfF, Aber- !!oxV ur^, Dumfries, Kirkcudbright 

 deen, Kincardine, Forfar, Perth, Fife, Kinross, Clackman- 

 nan, Stirling, Dumharion 



