851 
SCOT 
called the Forest, a still less proportion of the land is culti¬ 
vated; but new plantations supply the place of the na¬ 
tural woods. The hills, both in this county and in that of 
Peebles, are covered by numerous flocks of sheep, partly of 
the Tweedale, but chiefly by the Cheviot race. Great num¬ 
bers of cattle also are found in these districts. In Galloway, 
its excellent breed of cattle, and hardy race of sheep, are 
supported much better than formerly; and not only oats 
and barley, but wheat of good quality are raised in every 
part of the arable tracts. 
The third district is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, and, 
by means of a navigable canal, communicates with the 
German Sea. It includes the counties of Ayr, Renfrew, 
Lanark and Dumbarton. Notwithstanding the humidity 
of the elevation of its hills, agriculture is much attended to, 
and in many parts is carried on with great success, as the 
exertions of the farmers are stimulated by commerce and 
manufactures. Still, however, this district is more adapted 
to the rearing or fattening of live-stock, than to the raising 
of corn; and the best breeds of horses and of dairy cows 
are to be found in it. From the concurring causes of com¬ 
merce, manufactures and minerals, agriculture has flourished 
in an ungenial climate; and nearly one-half, or, more ac¬ 
curately, seven-fifteenths of the whole surface are under 
cultivation. With only one-thirteentli part of the extent, 
nearly one-fourth part of the population of Scotland is in¬ 
cluded in this division. 
In the fourth district are included the counties of Fife, 
Kinross, Clackmannan, Stirling, Perth and Forfar, or Angus. 
This district exhibits every variety of soil and surface, from 
the level and rich carses of Stirling, Falkirk and Gowrie, 
and the great valleys of Strathmore, Athol and Kethncss, to 
the lofty Grampians, which shelter a considerable propor¬ 
tion of the division from the northern-blasts. In the rich 
carses, and along the friths and sea-coast, it produces the 
best wheat, beans, barley and broad clover. And in some 
of the inland districts are raised excellent crops of turnips, 
beans, and oats. Its live-stock in general is of an excellent 
description. The towns of Dundee, Perth, Alloa, Dum. 
fermline, Stirling, St. Andrews, Clackmannan, Kinross, 
Forfar, Montrose, Brechin and a number of inferior vil¬ 
lages, contain two-fifths of its whole population. In this 
extensive district, Fifeshire is distinguished by its great 
variety of productions, and by its fisheries, its flax and linen 
manufactures, its coal-mines, lime-works and iron-stone, 
by its improved agriculture, and its breeds of cattle and 
horses. The small county of Kinross, ornamented by its 
lake, and abounding in coal and lime-stone, is considerably 
elevated above the level of the sea. Formerly it was not 
attractive to a stranger, but its aspect is now much improved. 
Clackmannan, of still more limited extent, but of greater 
fertility, is distinguished by a correct cultivation of the soil, 
and by the abundance of lime and coal. The half of its 
population resides in towns of very moderate extent. The 
county of Stirling includes every variety of soil, from the 
rich carses on the south bank of the Forth, to the barren 
rocks of Ben Lomond. In the parishes of Enrick and 
Strathblane, there are rich fields, cultivated by intelligent 
and enterprising farmers; and the scenery is much diversi¬ 
fied in all parts of the country. The very extensive county 
of Perth is equally remarkable for the most fertile, and the 
most barren soils, and exhibits the two extremes of correct 
and defective agriculture. In the carse of Gowrie, and 
the valley of St.rathearn, there are many opulent and enter¬ 
prising farmers, who cultivate successfully the most fertile 
soil in the kingdom In several of the smaller vales an im¬ 
proved cultivation is also general. But in the more remote 
highland glens, even where the land is naturally good, im¬ 
provements in agriculture are little known and less practised. 
In Forfarshire, along the sea-coast, and in the rich valley of 
Strathmore, the farmers have been long distinguished for 
their exertions; and in the inland parts of the county, shell- 
marie, obtained in abundance from the fresh-water lakes, 
has contributed very much to the improvement of the 
soil. 
LAND. 
The fifth district includes the counties of Kincardine, 
Aberdeen, Banff, Moray and Nairn, and contains a greater 
extent of sea-coast than any of the preceding divisions. Yet 
on the south-west, where it extends to the middle of the 
island, it is extremely mountainous; the Grampians stretch¬ 
ing from its boundary with Perthshire nearly to the sea at 
Aberdeen. By far the greatest part of the arable land is 
either in the maritime or midland parts, there being very 
little near the mountains. It is remarkable that the mari¬ 
time parts of Moray enjoy perhaps the best climate in Scot¬ 
land, and that for many centuries wheat has been cultivated 
there to great advantage. Wheat is also raised successfully 
in the maritime parts of Kincardine and Banffshire, and its 
cultivation is spreading rapidly in Aberdeenshire. The 
turnip husbandry and artificial grasses are to be met with 
over the principal part of this division in very great per¬ 
fection. But the most striking feature in its cultivation is 
the great expence at which barren land is improved, by 
trenching with the spade and mattock, which has been 
known to exceed a hundred pounds for a single acre. This 
district in general raises food for the support of its inhabit¬ 
ants, and in good seasons exports a considerable quantity 
of grain; but it is chiefly distinguished for the rearing of 
excellent cattle, of which it sends yearly great numbers to 
England. Owing to the large proportion covered by mount¬ 
ains, only four-eleventh parts of this district are as yet under 
cultivation. It is, however, much adorned by plantations, 
particularly near the houses of its proprietors, and its na¬ 
tural woods in Braemar are extensive and valuable. Kin¬ 
cardineshire, except that part of it which lies in Mar, is 
sheltered on the north by the Grampian mountains. This 
small county was early induced to attend to the cultivation 
of its soil, by the examples of the late Robert Barclay, Esq., 
of Ury, and a few others of its landed proprietors. Aber¬ 
deenshire, which seventy years ago brought most of its work 
oxen from Fife and the Lothians, has now taken the lead in 
the rearing of black cattle, and cultivates for that purpose 
sown grass and turnips in great perfection. Wheat and 
beans also are raised successfully in the heavy loams of 
Formater, and on the still heavier clays of Buchan. Banff¬ 
shire owed much to a distinguished character, the earl of 
Findlater and Seafield, who introduced an improved system 
of cultivation in that county, and encouraged his farmers 
to imitate his example. Not only near the sea-coast of the 
Bogue and the Eurie, where that improved system began, 
but in the more inland parts, a spirit of improvement has 
now become general, and has greatly altered the face of 
the country. 
In the sixth district are included the two extensive coun¬ 
ties of Argyle and Inverness, comprehending nearly one- 
fifth part of the whole surface of Scotland. About two- 
nineteenth parts of this district are cultivated, and produc¬ 
tive. Near Inverness, at Campbeltown, in Argyleshire, and 
in some other spots, wheat and turnips are successfully culti¬ 
vated, but in general the country is unfit for tillage, except 
on a small scale; its grazings, however, are extensive, and 
well adapted for the rearing of live-stock. It likewise con¬ 
tains a great extent of plantations, and the remnant of the 
Cocillmore, or great forest of Scotland. The black cattle 
of this district are in high estimation as excellent feeders. 
The hardy breed of Tweedale sheep, and in some instances 
those of Cheviot, occupy the hills. This division extends 
across the island; and the Caledonian canal is now carried 
directly through it, from the German Sea to the Atlantic 
Ocean, which it is to be hoped will carry industry and 
wealth into this remote district, and furnish the means of 
facilitating and enlarging the commerce of the other parts of 
the kingdom. 
The seventh district includes the counties of Cromarty, 
Ross, Sutherland and Caithness. It is in some respects 
superior to the former, though more northerly. East Ross, 
with a part of Cromarty, contains a considerable propor¬ 
tion of excellent soil: and both the wheat and turnip hus¬ 
bandry are carried on successfully. The eastern coast of 
Sutherland, and the plains of Caithness, are also good corn 
counties. 
