Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/888

Rh 854 BOSS Inverness-shire, and W. by the Atlantic. It comprehends 2,003,065 acres, of which only about 220,280 acres are included in Cromarty. Its length from east to west is 67 miles, and from north to south 58 miles. The area of the islands is 437,221 acres. Ross includes the northern part of Lewis (see vol. xiv. p. 492), and other ten islands of the Hebrides, of which eight only were inhabited in 1881 ^nine in 1871). The outline of Ross and Cromarty is very irregular, and both east and west coasts are much indented by bays and inland lochs, but except in the more inland recesses of these inlets the coast scenery is comparatively tame and uninteresting. The Moray Firth, an extension of Loch Beauly, separates the county from Nairn ; the northern shore of the peninsula of the Black Isle is washed by Cromarty Firth, including the Bay of Nigg and extending from Dingwall to the headlands known as the Sutors of Cromarty ; and the extreme northern coast is bounded by the Dornoch Firth, an extension of the river Oykel. On the west coast the inlets are for the most part long, narrow, and irregular, the principal being Loch Broom, Little Loch Broom, Lochs Gruinard, Ewe, Torridon, Carron, and Alsh. Surface and Geology. In the north-west of Ross the Archfean series of rocks, consisting of gneisses, schists, and other crystalline rocks, are well developed. Above them rest unconformably red conglomerates and sandstones of Cambrian age, rising into the picturesque mountains which form such a striking feature of the scenery of western Ross. Farther east they are overlaid uncou- formably by the quartzites and limestones belonging to the Lower Silurian division. Over these, by enormous terrestrial displace- ment, the Archaean and Cambrian rocks have been pushed, some- times for a horizontal distance of ten miles. New crystalline structures have been superinduced upon all the rocks affected by these movements, and the resulting crystalline schists may consist of what originally were Archaean, Cambrian, or Silurian rocks of ordinary types. In their present condition, however, these eastern schists are certainly later than the older part of the Silurian system. They cover by far the larger part of the two counties. Along the east coast they are unconformably covered by the Old Red Sand- stone formation. Rocks of Jurassic (Oolitic) age fringe the eastern shores. In the Black Isle peninsula they include a thin coal seam. Near the Sutors of Cromarty they abound in ammonites, belemnites, and other shells, and in the remains of various woods and ferns. Ironstone, chiefly in the form of bog iron ore, is found in considerable quantities. Of the various mineral springs the best known is that of Strathpeffer, characterized chiefly by sul- phuretted hydrogen gas and various salts. The surface consists principally of lofty mountain groups, intersected by comparatively narrow valleys, occupied partly by lakes and rivers ; but in the east there is a considerable extent of comparatively level ground. A large number of the mountains are over 3000 feet in height, the highest summits being Cam Eige (3877 feet) and Mam Soul (3862) on the borders of Inverness, while An Riabhachan, wholly within Ross, has a height of 3696 feet, and Sgurr Mor of 3657 feet. Ben Wyvis, remarkable for its immense isolated bulk, has a height of 3429 feet, and another well-known mountain, Ben Attow, attains 3383 feet. A mere fraction of the western district of Ross is under 1000 feet in height. The principal rivers are the Oykel, which, rising in Sutherland, forms for about 20 miles the boundary with Ross, from which near its mouth it receives the Carron ; the Conan, falling into Cromarty Firth ; and the Carron, flowing south-west into Loch Carron. Besides Loch Maree (area 7090 acres), which is dominated by the imposing mass of Ben Slioch (3217 feet) on the north, the principal freshwater lakes are Lochs F; ; nnich, Fuir, Luichart, and Glass ; but in addition to these there are over a dozen of considerable size, besides a large number of smaller ones. Soil and Agriculture. The most fertile part of the counties is the eastern district, especially that included in the peninsulas of the Black Isle and Easter Ross, the soil varying from a light sandy gravel to a rich deep loam. In this district agriculture is quite as advanced as in any other part of Scotland. In the valleys and along the shores of the western coast there are many patches ol good soil, but, partly on account of the excessive rainfall, tillage is not prosecuted with the same enterprise as in the eastern districts. On the higher grounds there is a large extent of good pasturage for aheep. According to the agricultural statistics for 1885 the total area in Ross and Cromarty under crops, bare fallow, and grass was 134,399 acres, of which 47,639 acres were under grain crops, 26,496 under green crops, 40,819 rotation grasses, 19,075 permanent pasture, and 370 fallow. The area under wheat has been gradually diminishing, being 9715 acres in 1857 and only 1185 in 1885, while that under barley on the other hand has in- creased from 6435 acres to 13,681, and that under oats from l<vJ. ; to 31,685. The area under potatoes has also doubled, in the earlier year being only 4471, while in 1885 it was 8982. The area under turnips has increased from 12,228 to 16,557 and that under rota- tion grasses from 20,869 to 40,819. Horses, principally half-breeds between the old "garrous" and Clydesdales, numbered 7365 in 1885, of which 5874 were used solely for purposes of agriculture ; cattle numbered 42,976, of which 17,811 were cows and heifers in milk or in calf, and 17,561 under two years old. They are principally the native Highland breed or crosses. Sheep in 1885 numbered 309, 590, of which 213,522 were one year old and above. Besides black-faced, crosses with Leicesters and crosses between Leicesters and Cheviots are not uncommon. There is still in Ross and Cromarty a con- siderable extent of native woodland, the trees being principally firs, oaks, ash, and alder. The area under woods in 1881 was 43,201 es. The red and roe deer have free scope on the extensive mountain regions, the area under deer forests being 719,305 acres. Foxes, badgers, wild cats, alpine hares, and other wild animals abound. The usual varieties of winged game are plentiful. The golden eagle and osprey are both common, as well as many other bird* of prey. Waterfowl of all kinds abound in the extensive sea lochs, and the rivers and inland lochs are specially abundant in trout and salmon. The pearl mussel is found in the bed of the river Conan. According to the latest Landowners' Return, 2043 proprietor's possessed 1,971,682 acres in the county of Ross, of a gross annual value of 269,342. The owners of less than one acre numbered 1719. The following owned more than 100,000 acres: Sir James Matheson, 406,070; Alex. Matheson, 220,433; Sir Kenneth S. Mackenzie, 164,680 ; the duchess of Sutherland, 149,879 ; and Sir C. W. A. Ross, 110,445. For Cromarty separately the Return gives 231 owners, possessing 18,206 acres, of 11, 966 annual value. Manufactures and Trade. With the exception of distillation, there are no important manufactures within the counties, although home-made woollen cloth is woven in the country districts. The counties depend chiefly on their agriculture and their fishing, which within recent years has greatly developed through improved means of communication with the south. Stornoway and the west coast have regular communication by steamers with Glasgow, and on the east coast a steamer leaves Cromarty and Iiivorgordon for Aberdeen and Leith once a week. Fish, cattle, and sheep are the principal exports. The Highland Railway skirts the Firth of Cromarty by Dingwall and Tain to Bonar Bridge, a branch passing from Ding- wall south-westwards to Strome Ferry, whence there is communi- cation with Skye by steamer. Salmon fishing is extensively carried on in the bays and mouths of the rivers, nnd the deep-sea fishings for herring, and for cod and other large fish, are among the most important in Scotland. They include the districts of Cromarty on the east coast, of Stornoway in Lewis, of Loch Broom and part of Loch Carron on the west coast, the remainder of the Loch Carron district being in Inverness-shire. The Broad Bay of Stornoway is famed for its flounders. Administration and Pojmlation. The two counties of Ross and Cromarty form one sherilFdom, and return one member to parlia- ment. The burghs of Cromarty, Dingwall, Fortrose, and Tain are included in the Wick district of burghs, which returns one member. From 56,318 in 1801 the population of Ross and Cromarty had increased in 1841 to 78,685, and in 1871 to 80,955 ; in 1881 it was 78,547 (37,027 males and 41,520 females), of whom 56,086 were Gaelic-speaking. It is the fourth most thinly populated county in Scotland, the number of persons to the square mile being 25. The island population amounted to 23,960, of whom 23,149 were in Lewis. The town and village population amounted to 28,665, and the rural to 49,882. The police burghs arc Cromarty (population 1352), Dingwall, which is also a royal burgh (1921), Fortrose (869), Invergordon (1092), Stornoway (2627), and Tain (1742). There are thirty-one entire parishes, and parts of two others. History and Antiquities. Ross proper, possessed by the Rosses, originally only included the district adjoining the Dornoch and Moray Firths. The first who bore the title of earl of Ross was Malcolm Macbeth, upon whom it was bestowed by Malcolm IV. After his rebellion in 1179 there was a period of chronic insur- rection. By Alexander II. the earldom was bestowed on Fearchar Mac an t-Sagairt (the son of the priest), who being abbot of Apple- cross had already possession of the western district. William, fourth earl, was present with his clan at the battle of Bannockburn. The earldom reverted to the crown in 1424, and James I. restored it to the heiress of the line, the mother of Alexander, Lord of the Isles (see HEBRIDES, vol. xi. 607). The lands of the earldom were in 1481 conferred on Prince James, second son of James III., who in 1478 had been created duke of Ross. Ross was constituted a county in 1661, but the sheriffdom of Cromarty is of more ancient date. At Invercarron Montrose was totally defeated by Colonel Strachan, 27th April 1650 ; and at Glenshiel, llth June 1718, General Wight- man defeated the Jacobites. So-called Druidical circles and cairns are very common. Among ancient sculptured stones may be men-