THE

PICTURESQUE TOURIST

OF

SCOTLAND.

ORIGIN OF THE NAME-EXTENT-GENERAL ASPECT-NATURAL DIVISIONS-MOUNTAINS--VALES-RIVERS-LAKES-MINERAL PRODUCE AND SPRINGS-CLIMATE-AGRICULTURE-ANIMAL KINGDOM-FISHERIES-MANUFACTURES-COMMERCE-INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

REVENUE-CONSTITUTION-RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS-UNIVERSITIES AND SCHOOLS-ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE-POPULATION.

SCOTLAND is the northern and smaller division of the Island of Great Britain. The origin of the term is involved in much obscurity. That part of the country which lies beyond the Firths of Forth and Clyde received from the Romans the appellation of Caledonia, and its inhabitants were denominated Caledonians. They were afterwards known by the name of Picts, and from them the country was for some centuries called Pictland. The term Scotland began to come into use, for the first time, in the eleventh century, and this name is supposed to have been derived from a colony of Scots, who had previously left Ireland, and planted themselves in Argyleshire and the West Highlands.

EXTENT. The longest line that can be drawn in Scotland, is from its most southerly point, the Mull of Galloway, in lat. 54° 38′ N., long. 4° 50′ W., to Dunnet Head, its most northerly point, in lat. 58° 40′ 30′′ N., long. 3° 29' W., or about 285 miles; but the longest line that can be drawn in about the same parallel of longitude, is from the

A

former point to Cape Wrath, in lat. 58° 36′ N., long. 4° 56′ W., a distance of 275 miles. The breadth is extremely various. From Buchanness point to the point of Ardnamurchan in Argyleshire, the distance is 160 miles; but from the bottom of Loch Broom to the Firth of Dornoch, it is only twenty-four miles. The whole coast is so much penetrated by arms of the sea, that there is only one spot throughout its whole circuit upwards of forty miles from the shore. The area of the mainland is computed at 25,520 square miles of land, and 494 of fresh water lakes; the islands are supposed to contain about 4080 square miles of land, and about 144 of water.

GENERAL ASPECT.-The surface of the country is distinguished for variety, and, compared with England, it is, generally speaking, rugged and mountainous. It is supposed, that estimating the whole extent of the country, exclusive of lakes, at 19,000,000 acres, scarcely so many as 6,000,000 are arable-that is, less than one-third; whereas in England, the proportion of arable land to the entire extent of the country exceeds three-fourths. With the exception of a few tracts of rich alluvial land along the courses of the great rivers, Scotland has no extensive tracts of level ground, the surface of the country being generally varied with hill and dale.

NATURAL DIVISIONS.-Scotland is naturally divided into Highlands and Lowlands. The former division comprehends, besides the Hebrides, the Orkney and Shetland islands, the counties of Argyle, Inverness, Nairn, Ross, Cromarty, Sutherland, and Caithness, with parts of Dumbarton, Stirling, Perth, Forfar, Kincardine, Aberdeen, Banff, and Moray or Elgin. The Highlands, again, are divided into two unequal portions, by the chain of lakes occupying the Glenmore-nan-albin, or "Great glen of Caledonia," stretching north-east and south-west across the island, from Inverness to Fort-William, now connected together, and forming the Caledonian Canal. The northern division of the Highlands is decidedly the more barren and unproductive of the two, though the other division contains the highest mountains. In the eastern parts of Ross and Cromarty there are

level tracts of considerable fertility. The Lowland division of the kingdom, though comparatively flat, comprises also a great deal of mountainous country.

MOUNTAINS. Of the Highland mountains, the most celebrated is the chain of the Grampians. It commences on the south side of Loch Etive in Argyleshire, and terminates between Stonehaven and the mouth of the Dee on the eastern coast. The most elevated part of this range lies at the head of the Dee. Ben Macdui, the highest mountain in Scotland, rises to the height of 4418 feet, and the adjoining mountains of Cairngorm, Cairntoul, and Ben Avon, are respectively 4050, 4245, and 3967 feet high. The other principal summits of the Grampian chain are, Schehallion, near the east end of Loch Rannoch, 3613 feet above the level of the sea; Ben Lawers, on the north side of Loch Tay, 3945; Ben More, at the head of Glendochart, 3818; Ben Lomond, on the side of Loch Lomond, 3191; and Ben Cruachan, at the head of Loch Awe, 3390. Ben Nevis, till recently reputed the highest of the British mountains, lies immediately to the east of Fort-William, being separated from the Grampians by the moor of Rannoch; it rises 4416 feet above the mean level of the sea,* and its circumference at the base is supposed to exceed twenty-four miles. To the south of the Grampians, and running parallel to them across the island, there is a chain of hills divided by the valleys of the Tay and Forth into three distinct portions, and bearing the names of the Sidlaw, Ochil, and Campsie hills. The low country between them and the Grampians is called the valley of Strathmore. In the Lowland division of the country, the Cheviots form the principal range. These hills are situated partly in England and partly in Scotland. They separate Northumberland from Roxburghshire, stretch through the latter county in a westerly direction, keeping to the north of Liddesdale, then bending north-west towards

*The height of Ben Nevis, as here given, was obtained by Mr. David Stevenson, civil engineer, from careful barometric observations made simultaneously on the top of Ben Nevis and at Corpach Loch on 15th August 1844, and the calculations were made by Mr. William Swan, teacher of mathematics, Edinburgh.

the junction of the counties of Roxburgh, Selkirk and Dumfries, they unite with the Lowther Hills. This extensive group, which, near the above-mentioned junction, has Ettrick water for its eastern boundary, spreads over the southern portion of the counties of Selkirk, Peebles, and Lanark, and the north of Dumfries-shire, and in the west of the latter county joins the ridges, which, passing through Kirkcudbrightshire, Wigtonshire, and the south of Ayrshire, terminate at Loch Ryan in the Irish Channel. Of these hills the highest lie on the confines of the counties of Dumfries, Peebles, Lanark, and Selkirk; Broadlaw, in the parish of Tweedsmuir, the most elevated mountain in the south of Scotland, is 2741 feet above the level of the sea; Hartfell, contiguous to Broadlaw, is 2635 feet above the level of the sea, and several of the neighbouring hills rise to the height of about 2000 feet.

VALES.-The most important level tracts in Scotland are, the Carse of Stirling and Falkirk, which occupies the country on both sides the Forth, from Borrowstounness on the south, and Kincardine on the north, westward to Gartmore; the tract between Dundee and Perth, bounded by the Sidlaw hills on the north, and the Tay on the south, denominated the Carse of Gowrie; the Merse of Berwickshire, extending from Leader water along the Tweed to Berwick; and the valley of Strathmore, which comprises a considerable portion of the counties of Perth and Angus, stretching from Methven in the former to the vicinity of Laurencekirk in Kincardineshire, and from thence, under the name of the How of the Mearns, to within a short distance of Stonehaven. Besides these, there are several smaller straths, such as Teviotdale in Roxburghshire, Tynedale in East-Lothian, and the How of Fife.

RIVERS. The principal rivers of Scotland are, the Tweed, the Forth, the Tay, the Spey, and the Clyde. The Tweed rises in Tweedsmuir about six miles from Moffat. It runs first north-east to Peebles, then east, with a little inclination to the south, to Melrose; it next passes Kelso and Coldstream, and pursuing a north-easterly direction, falls into the sea at Berwick. During the latter part of its course, the

Tweed forms the boundary between England and Scotland. The descent from its source to Peebles is 1000 feet, and thence to Berwick about 500 feet more. Including windings, its length is reckoned at rather more than 100 miles. Its principal tributaries are, the Ettrick, which it receives near Selkirk; the Gala a little above, and the Leader a little below Melrose; the Teviot at Kelso; the Till at Tillmouth; and the Adder near Berwick. The salmon fisheries at Berwick are very productive. The extent of country drained by the Tweed is 1687 square miles.

The Forth rises on the east side of Ben Lomond, and runs in an easterly direction, with many windings, till it unites with the Firth of Forth at Kincardine. Its most important tributary is the Teith, which it receives a short way above Stirling. It drains 793 square miles.

The Tay conveys to the sea a greater quantity of water than any other river in Britain. It has its source in the western extremity of Perthshire, in the district of Breadalbane, on the frontiers of Lorn in Argyleshire. At first it receives the name of the Fillan. After a winding course of eight or nine miles it spreads itself out into Loch Dochart, and, under the appellation of the Dochart, flows in an easterly direction through the vale of Glendochart, at the eastern extremity of which, having previously received the waters of the Lochy, it expands into the beautiful long narrow lake, called Loch Tay. Issuing thence, it speedily receives a great augmentation by the river Lyon, and running north and east at Logierait, about eight miles above Dunkeld, it is joined by the Tummel. It now takes a direction more towards the south, to Dunkeld, where, on its right bank, it receives the beautiful river Bran. On leaving Dunkeld, it runs east to Kinclaven, and after receiving a considerable augmentation to the volume of its waters by the accession of the Isla, the Shochie, and the Almond, it flows in a southwesterly course to Perth. At the foot of the vale of Strathearn, it receives on its right bank its last great tributary, the Earn, and gradually expanding its waters, it flows in a north-easterly direction past Newburgh, where it assumes the appearance of a Firth or estuary. Ten miles from the