126 S H E T 
east of the Orkneys. The nearest part of the continent of 
Europe is Bergen in Norway, from which they lie 44 leagues 
west. The southern promontory of the Mainland (as the 
largest of the Shetland islands is termed), lies in 59. 48|. of 
north latitude, and the northern extremity of Unst, the most 
remote of them all, in the latitude of 60. 52. north. The 
meridian of London passes through this last island. The 
islands belonging to this division are about 86 in number, 
of which 40 are inhabited, and the others small holms or 
rocky islets, used only for pasturage. The principal inha¬ 
bited islands are the Mainland, Yell, Unst, Whalsay, Bres- 
say, Burray, House, Trondray, Fetlar, Papa Stour, Mickle 
and Little Rhoe, Skerries, Noss, &c., with the small islands 
of Foula and Fair Isle, which lie in the strait between the 
clusters of Orkney and Shetland. The climate of these 
islands cannot be said to be agreeable. The longest day in 
the island of Unst, is 18 hours and 35 minutes; and, of 
consequence, the shortest day is 5 hours and 25 minutes. 
The weather is humid and variable, though by no means 
hurtful to the health of those who have been accustomed to 
it. In the months of February and March, cold northerly 
and easterly winds generally prevail, and there is hardly the 
smallest appearance of spring till the end of April, and little 
genial warmth sooner than the middle of June. In autumn, 
the weather, four years in five, is extremely uncertain; and 
winter generally commences about the middle of October, 
and may be said to occupy six months in the year. Snow, 
however, seldom lies long, nor is frost ever very intense. 
The changes are sudden, the winds tempestuous, and the 
rains heavy. The sea swells and rages in such a manner, 
that for five or six months their ports are almost inaccessible, 
and of course, during that space, the people have very little 
communication with the rest of the world. That gloomy 
season, however, as in other countries in high northern lati¬ 
tudes, is frequently enlivened by the corruscations of the 
aurora borealis. In favourable seasons, the harvest is all 
over in September, though that does not often happen. At 
other times, the harvest is not finished before the middle of 
November; in which case, that part of the crop then abroad 
is often so much damaged, that it does not afford wholesome 
food either for man or beast. This, however, is sometimes 
the case in other districts of the British isles, as well as in 
Shetland, Seed-time commences at different times in different 
parts of the country, but commonly begins about the middle 
of March ; though, in some districts, through prejudice, the 
farmers will not sow oats till the middle of April. It is earliest 
in the parishes of Tingwall and Dunrossness, where the sur¬ 
face is dry, and a good deal of the land incumbent on a lime¬ 
stone bottom. In such a high latitude as that of Shetland, 
the seed process, however, should always commence as early 
as possible, taking advantage of the dry weather as soon as 
March sets in. In these islands there is great diversity of 
soil; often deep moss on a bottom of sand, and sometimes 
the moss or peat is only a foot thick on a bed of clay. Those 
tracks which have been longest under cultivation, chiefly 
consist of a mixture of clay and small stones. The general 
appearance is a scene of ruggedness and sterility. Some 
patches of miserably cultivated soil relieve the eye of a tra¬ 
veller; but no tree nor shrub is to be seen. The western 
parts are peculiarly wild, dreary and desolate; consisting of 
grey rocks, stagnant marshes and pools, broken and pre¬ 
cipitous coasts, excavated into vast natural arches and deep 
caverns. There are, it is computed, 25,000 English acres 
of arable land, and about 23,000 of good meadow and pas¬ 
ture in Shetland. There are sometimes, for miles together, 
pleasant flat spots, very fertile both in pasture and corn. A 
greater proportion of the country might easily be cultivated; 
but agriculture is here at a very low ebb, and is generally 
neglected for the fishery. The implements of husbandry 
are of the rudest construction, the farm-houses for the most 
part wretched hovels, and the roads in general are footpaths. 
The little fields of the inhabitants are, however, tolerably 
fertile, even under the worst practice of husbandry. In the 
kitchen gardens, red cabbage, savoys, leeks, with artichokes, 
L A N ' D. 
thrive exceedingly. In the whole country there is scarce the 
vestige of a tree, and hardly any shrubs, except juniper; 
but it is probable that the country was formerly overgrown 
with woods, as roots of large trees have been, and still are, 
dug up in many parts; and in some, and those too almost 
inaccessible places, the mountain ash is still found growing 
wild. That this defect, viz., the want of wood, does not 
arise entirely either from the soil or climate, appears from 
several late experiments; some gentlemen having raised ash, 
maple, horse-chesnuts, &c„ in their gardens on the Main¬ 
land. There is plenty of peat and turf for fuel. Great 
numbers of horses are bred in Shetland, though they are of 
very small size, the ordinary height being from nine to ten 
hands, whilst the largest do not exceed eleven hands. These 
little animals, however, are full of spirit, and bear fatigue 
much better in proportion to their size, than larger horses, 
and evidently proceed from the Norway horse, though re¬ 
duced in size, perhaps in some degree, by scanty fare. The 
cattle of Shetland are also of a small size, though in point 
of shape perhaps inferior to the west Highland cattle only, 
of all our native breeds. When fat, some of the cows will 
weigh from two to three hundred weight, and the oxen from 
three hundred weight to four; though the common run be 
much lighter. The quantity of milk which these little cows 
yield is inconsiderable, not exceeding one and a half Scots 
pints, or three English quarts, per day, at the utmost, on 
the common pastures of the country, though on good pas¬ 
ture they give twice that quantity and more. The Shetland 
sheep is the ovis cauda brevi common to Norway, Sweden 
and Russia, and which, till within the last forty years, was 
the only breed of sheep of the interior Highlands of Scot¬ 
land. It is still found there, and in several other districts of 
Scotland, in small flocks. The number of sheep in all the 
Shetland islands, is calculated to be between 70,000 and 
80,000, though this is probably considerably above the real 
number at present. If the wool of the present breed of Shet¬ 
land sheep ever prove of much value, it will probably be 
when attached to the skin of the animal, and that dressed as 
a species of fur; for the quantity is very small, even for the 
small carcase of the animal; and, though some of it be fine, 
it is of a quality unfit for any general purpose of manufac¬ 
ture, and the price low in manufacturing districts, or it is 
rather almost unsaleable there. The breed is debased by 
almost every possible means of maltreatment, instead of 
being carefully improved; and it is wonderful that the wool, 
which is only partially coarse and hairy, has not become 
long ago as shaggy as the coat of a Welsh goat. Of game, 
there is neither grouse nor partridge, but the corn-rail is fre¬ 
quently heard; and there are multitudes of the aquatic birds, 
such as snipe, plover, curlew, duck, swan, goose, heron; 
also wild pigeons. The birds of prey are eagles (extremely 
destructive to the lambs), hawks, ravens and crows. The 
lakes, which generally have a pretty direct communication 
with the sea, afford trout and flounder; the surrounding 
ocean a vast variety of fish, and which are well attended to 
by the inhabitants. All the islands are well supplied with 
water. They have indeed no rivers, but many pleasant 
rivulets, which are sufficient to drive their corn-mills, and 
contain a few trout and salmon. The inhabitants are a 
hardy, robust and laborious race, and hospitable to stran¬ 
gers. They have few manufactures. They make a coarse 
cloth for their own use, and a little linen; they likewise 
export great quantities of stockings wrought upon wires, 
manufactured from their own wool; some of which are so 
fine, that they equal silk in price, and can be drawn 
through a finger ring. Their chief trade is to Leith, Lon¬ 
don, Dublin and Barcelona, but they also deal some little 
by barter with the Dutch fishermen who visit their islands. 
They export annually 1000 tons of cod, tusk and ling, and 
500 tons of kelp, and about 5000/. worth of stockings' and 
mittens. Their whole exports may be estimated at 35,000/. 
They have ten vessels of 768 tons, navigated by 53 men. 
Granite, freestone and limestone are abundant, as well as a 
beautiful and comparatively rare kind of stone, named dial- 
