748 ORKNEY 
fpring, fummer, and harveft, months; but, during the reft 
of the year, northerly winds are moft frequent. Calms fel- 
dom occur for any length of time; and the winds, from 
whatever quarter they blow, or in whatever feafon, are 
fcarcely ever tempeftuous, though often loud and ftrong : 
a circumftance which contributes greatly to the falubrity 
of the atmofphere. Rains fall here in confiderable quan¬ 
tity, and more on the weftern than on the eaftern coaft. 
Snows are neither frequent nor of long duration ; but 
they come w'ith uncommon violence, and generally from 
the north-weft and fouth-eaft quarters of the heavens. 
One peculiarity with refpeCt to this fubjeCt is, that fnow' 
and hail are very prevalent for about a fortnight in the 
month of June. They are accompanied by a ftrong pierc¬ 
ing wind from the north, which, deftroying the buds 
and their blofloms, checks the progrefs of vegetation, and 
clothes the fields with the appearance of approaching 
winter. The caufe of this extreme and feemingly-unna- 
tural cold, is the difiolving of the immenfe fields of ice, 
in the Northern Ocean, happening at this feafon, and the 
confequent abforption of heat, occafioned by the change 
of that body from the folid to the fluid ftate. About fifty 
years ago, five inhabitants were thrown into great alarm 
by the fall of what was termed black fnow, during this 
period. The phenomenon, however, was foon afterwards 
explained, and their fears allayed, by an account of an 
■> eruption of Mount Hecla in Iceland having taken place 
on the day previous, which, no doubt, was'the fource 
whence the fnow derived its unufual hue. Thofe who 
may be inclined to doubt this view of the faff, on account 
of the diftance, will do well to confult BufFon, who dif- 
tinCtly ftates, that, in fotne of the eruptions of Mount 
Artna, or Vefuvius, the allies have-been carried by the 
winds to the fhores of Egypt. 
Another ftriking peculiarity in the climate of thefe 
ifiands, is, that thunder and lightning, the ufual concomi¬ 
tants of hot and iultry w'eather, are feldom obferved here 
in fummer ; but, in direft contradiction to the apparently- 
general law of nature, are common in winter. 
From the proximity of thefe iflands to the north pole, 
the days here in fummer are of extreme length, but thofe 
of winter are fnort in proportion. The long abfence of 
the fun, however, throughout this feafon, is in fome 
meafure compenfated by the great luftre of the moon, 
during her periods of fhining, and by the fcarcely lefs 
tranfcendent brilliancy of the aurora-borealis, which 
arifes almoft every unclouded night in the harveft, win¬ 
ter, and fpring, months, and is of incalculable advantage 
to the navigation of thofe feas, which are perilous only 
when want of light renders it impoflible for the feamen to 
afcertain the pofition of their numerous rocks, or to enter 
one of the excellent harbours with wdiich almoft every 
ifland abounds. 
Landed property in Orkney is held in a variety of 
forms, which may, however, be generally reduced to 
three : crown-lands, church-lands, and udal-lands. The 
firft were anciently the private property of the earls, but 
came in the courle of time to be feued out, or granted 
in perpetuity to vaflals, who are bound to pay for ever the 
old rents. The church-lands are thofe which formerly 
belonged to the bifnops and clergy, and which are now 
held by individuals, whofe anceftors had obtained them 
in feu or perpetuity, for payment in kind of the original 
rents. The udal-lands are thofe pofleffed without any 
written charters. This tenure occurs alfo in Shetland, 
and in the town of Lochmaben. Hence it would appear, 
that the feudal fyftem had never fully penetrated to thefe 
iflands. The udallers, however, are comparatively few 
in number : fome of them pay a trifling rent to the crown 
or church, but many pay to neither. 
The great irregularity of form difcernible in thefe 
iflands, renders it almoft impoflible to compute the num¬ 
ber of lquare miles, or of acres, they may contain. An 
attempt to effect this objeCt has been made, how'ever, by 
Templeman ; according to whom, the whole group coin- 
ISLANDS. 
prifes 384,000 Englifh acres, of which only 24,000 are 
arable, and 60,000 laid down in pafture. The remainder 
is occupied by heath and mofs, and by houfes, walls, 
roads, water, &c. 
The ufual grains cultivated in the Orkneys are grey oats, 
and bigg or bear; and thefe in alternate crops, without 
intermiflion. Fallowing is very fparingly praCtifed by the 
larger farmers, but not at all by the fmaller ones. A few 
acres of turnips are fown annually; and, from the abun¬ 
dance of the produce, the ground and climate would feem 
to be peculiarly adapted to that crop. The manure in or¬ 
dinary ufe, is fea-weed. Lime and marl, though fuffi- 
ciently abundant, and eafy of accefs, are fcarcely ever 
ufed; and even the dung of animals is negleCted, in com¬ 
panion of their favourite fea-weed. Draining isacuftom 
totally unknown. In fhort, neither the fcience nor the 
praftice of agriculture is yet underftood in this part of 
the Britifh empire. The inftruments made ufe of here 
for agricultural purpofes", are lamentably deficient. The 
fame plough, which was formerly univerfal, is ftill com¬ 
mon : it has only one Hilt, without either wreft or mould- 
board; and its other parts are joined in fuch a form, that 
it does not poflefs a fingle quality to recommend it but 
its fimplicity, and the low price at which it can be pur- 
chafed. This awkward tool is drawn by three or four 
fmall horfes abreaft, with the driver moving backwards 
before them. The harrows are very fmall and light, and 
often have wooden teeth, even where the foil is ftrcngeft. 
The roller is little known, being ufed only by a few of 
the great farmers. 
The quadrupeds of thefe iflands»are the horfe, the ox, 
the flieep, the hog, the dog, the cat, the otter-, the flirevv- 
moufe, the role-moufe, the field-moufe, the Norwegian 
rat, the rabbit, and the feal. The horfe is precifely fimi- 
lar in appearance and qualities to that of the northern 
highlands of Scotland. The ox is of a very lingular breed, 
and altogether different from any kind known in other 
parts of Great Britain : it is of a very diminutive lize, 
but ftrong and hardy, and is fuppoled to have originally 
come from the Scandinavian fhores. The Iheep is like- 
wife a peculiar breed, and, from fome features in its cha¬ 
racter, appears to be fprung from the fame ftock with that 
of Iceland, the Ferroes, and Shetland. They are reared 
entirely in a wild ftate, being never houled ; and they are 
expofed, while lambs, to the rapacity of eagles and ravens. 
“ About midfummer (fays Mr. Low) there is a particular 
day publiflied for rowing, as it is called; when all the men 
in the parifti, attended with their dogs, turn out, and 
drive the whole flock, without any preparation of wafti- 
ing, into narrow pens, and from thence, I may fay, to the 
place of execution, where the w’ool is torn (notlhorn) off 
their backs, an operation which brings the whole blood 
into their Ikin, and is not only difgufting, but, if the fea¬ 
fon proves harlh, is the caufe of great deftruCtion. But, 
however cruel it may feem, it is almoft the only notice 
that is taken of thefe ufeful animals, by their unfeeling 
mafters, till that time twelvemonth.” In former times, 
the management of the flieep-flocks appears to have been 
regulated by legifiative enactments, and formed an im¬ 
portant feature in the public police of thefe iflands. In 
fpite of the harfh ufage which they experience, many of 
the Orkney flieep bring two, and fome of them three, 
lambs at a time. The mutton is here in general but or¬ 
dinary, owing to the flieep feeding much on fea-ware, to 
procure which, thefe creatures (how a wonderful fagacity; 
for, no fooner has the tide of ebb begun to run, but they, 
though at a great diftance, immediately betake themfelves 
full fpeed, one and all, to the fliore, where they continue 
till it begins to flow, when they as regularly retire. The 
circumftance of pregnant ewes, which are put into the 
uninhabited holms, or fmall iflands, that they may breed 
in greater quiet, dying fuddenly on the appearance of a 
man and a dog, is a Angular faCt in the natural hiftory of 
the flieep, which Mr. Low has entirely overlooked ; but, 
if our recollection be accurate, it is diftinCtly aflerted in 
lome 
