Page:EB1911 - Volume 08.djvu/973

 of whinstone, also used for docks and for fortifications; the causeway stones for the streets of Edinburgh are mainly procured from the quarries at Ratho; and a number of smaller quarries for the supply of road-material are scattered throughout the county. Owing no doubt to the growth of printing and publishing in the metropolis, the chief manufacturing industry in Midlothian is paper-making. Most of the mills are extensive and equipped with the most modern processes and have an enormous yearly output. The most important mills, some of them dating from the beginning of the 18th century, are situated on the North Esk between Penicuik and Musselburgh, and on the South Esk at Newbattle. At Balerno, Currie, Colinton and elsewhere on the Water of Leith there are several mills, as well as near Mid Calder and at Portobello. The ancient vat-mill called Peggy’s Mill, at Cramond, produces handmade papers. There are carpet factories on the Esk at Roslin and at Lasswade. The manufacture of gunpowder is also carried on at Roslin, the works being distributed in recesses on the Esk. Iron foundries exist at Dalkeith, Westfield, Loanhead, Penicuik, Millerhill and in the suburbs of Edinburgh; brick and tile works at Portobello, Millerhill, Newbattle, Bonnyrigg and Rosewell; and candle works at Dalkeith and Loanhead. Leather also is tanned at Edinburgh and Dalkeith. The shipping trade is concentrated at Leith and Granton, and Newhaven is still an important fishery centre, while there are also fleets at Fisherrow and Granton.

Population and Government.—The population in 1891 was 434,276, and in 1901 488,796, of whom 5765 spoke both Gaelic and English, and 75 Gaelic only. The chief towns, besides Edinburgh, the capital (pop. in 1901, 316,837), are Bonnyrigg (1924), Dalkeith (6812), Leith (77,439), Loanhead (3071), Musselburgh (11,711), Newton Grange (2406), Penicuik (3574), and West Calder (2652). The county forms a single parliamentary constituency, exclusive of Edinburgh city and Leith burghs. It has been divided by the county council into four county districts (Calder, Gala Water, Lasswade, Suburban) for the purposes of the Roads and Bridges Act 1878, and the Public Health Acts. The management of special districts formed for water supply, drainage and other sanitary purposes is entrusted to sub committees appointed by the respective district committees. The grant under the Local Taxation (Customs and Excise) Act is administered by the Technical Education Committee appointed by the Council; and, subject to the same authority, the Secondary Education Committee provides for the distribution of the grant under the Local Taxation (Scotland) Act. In respect of education the shire is under school-board jurisdiction.

History and Antiquities.—Cramond was once a Roman seaport, and various objects of Roman art and workmanship have been discovered in its vicinity and along the banks of the Almond. On several heights are remains of early military works—the most important being that on Dalmahoy Hill, Braidwood Castle in the parish of Penicuik, and Castle Greg on the Harburn estate in Mid Calder parish. Picts’ houses are found at Crichton Mains, at Borthwick Castle, near Middleton House and elsewhere, the first being especially interesting from the fact that some of the stones bear marks of Roman masonry. There are hut-circles and a fort on Kaimes Hill, near Ratho; a large tumulus, with three upright stones, at Old Liston; a smaller tumulus at Newbattle; a cistvaen or stone burial chest at Carlowrie; and standing stones at Lochend, at Comiston (the Caiy stone), and the “Cat Stane” near Kirkliston. Temple, on the South Esk, was at one time the chief seat of the Knights Templars in Scotland for whom David I. here built a church, now in ruins.

The history of the county is almost identical with that of the capital. Traces of Celtic occupation are obvious in such names as Inveresk, Almond, Leith, Dalry, Dalmahoy, Dalkeith and others; though most of the villages, hamlets and castles received their present designation from Saxon possessors. The termination ton is very frequent. Following upon the withdrawal of the Romans the land was the scene of intertribal strife, but it was in a measure subdued by the Saxons and passed under the rule of the Northumbrian kings, who held it till 1020, when the Lothians were handed over to the Scottish king, Malcolm II. The people of the Lothians, however, stipulated that they were to retain their manners and customs, and in this way the south-eastern lowlands became the centre from which Anglo-Saxon and Norman civilization gradually spread throughout Scotland, and hence, too, was assured the pre-eminence of Edinburgh. Within the county lie the battlefields of Roslin, where (in 1303) the English suffered three reverses in one day; Burghmuir, where the English were defeated by the earl of Moray in 1334; Pinkie near Inveresk, where (in 1547) the duke of Somerset inflicted heavy loss upon the Scots; and Rullion Green, on the eastern slopes of the Pentlands, where (in 1666) the Covenanters were routed by the royal troops under General Dalziel.

 EDISON, THOMAS ALVA (1847–&emsp;&emsp;), American inventor, was born on the 11th of February 1847, at Milan, Erie county, Ohio, of mixed Dutch and Scottish descent; but his parents moved to Port Huron, Michigan, when he was seven years old. At the age of twelve he became a train news-boy on the railway to Detroit, and managed to gratify his youthful interest in chemistry by performing experiments while travelling. At fifteen he became a telegraph operator, and was employed in many cities in the United States and Canada, but frequently neglected his duties in order to carry on studies and experiments in electrical science. Before he was twenty-one he had constructed an automatic repeater, by means of which a message could be transferred from one wire to another without the aid of an operator; and he had also directed his attention to the problem of duplex telegraphy, of which he later invented a successful system. In 1869 Edison came to New York city, and soon afterwards became connected with the Gold & Stock Company. He invented an improved printing telegraph for stock quotations, for which he received $40,000. He then established a laboratory and factory in Newark, N.J., for further experiments and for the manufacture of his inventions. In 1876 he removed to Menlo Park, and later to West Orange, N.J., where he continued his experiments. Since then his name has been prominently associated with all kinds of novelties in practical electricity. Among his principal inventions are his system of duplex telegraphy, which he later developed into quadruplex and sextuplex transmission; his carbon telephone transmitter; the microtasimeter, for the detection of small variations in temperature; the phonograph, which records and reproduces all manner of sounds; the cinematograph, which his improvements made practicable; and his method of preparing carbon filaments for the incandescent electric lamp. In 1878 Edison was made a chevalier of the Legion of Honour by the French government.

 EDMONTON, the capital city of the province of Alberta, Canada, which was constituted in 1905. Pop. (1901) 2652; (1906) 11,167. It is picturesquely situated on the north bank of the North Saskatchewan river in 113° 37′ W. and 53° 32′ N. It is on a high tableland which rises 200 ft. above the river, and overlooks the thickly wooded valley of the North Saskatchewan river—at this point a mile in width, the river itself being one-eighth of a mile wide. Directly opposite Edmonton on the south bank of the river stands Strathcona, a town with a population of 2927. The streets of Edmonton are wide and laid out in rectangular form. Its excellent drainage makes street grading an easy matter. In 1896 it was scarcely a village; in 1901 it assumed some importance, but three-quarters of the city were built between 1901 and 1906. Its choice as capital in 1905 gave it a great impetus. The buildings, largely of brick, give a substantial appearance to the place. The public school buildings, high school and Alberta College are attractive. The church buildings, many in number, include several architecturally beautiful. Three well planned and commodious hospital