Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/679

657 EDINBURGH 657 mineral wealth of the county. The Carboniferous Lime stone series consists of strata of white and grey sandstones, shales, fire-clays, coal, and encrinal limestone, one section being known as the &quot; Edge coals &quot;from the almost vertical displacement of the beds. The strata of the Millstone Grit are not very extensive only appearing in a narrow band round the central part of the Dalkeith coal-field, and in a limited area to the south of Penicuik. The history of the igneous rocks which are sporadically distributed through the county is still matter of dispute, the main question debated being whether the volcanic activity which has left its traces took place exclusively in the Carboniferous period, or broke out again later. The spot round which the discussion has principally been maintained is Arthur s Seat, which is the centre of the intrusive movement, although considerable masses of intrusive basaltic rocks make their appearance in many other localities. Diorite is the principal rock of Corstorphine Hill, and occurs also to the west of Ratho. Marks of glacial action may be observed at Corstorphine, Granton, Arthur s Seat, and on the Pentland Hills ; and large beds of boulder-clay aro present in the lower districts. Boulders of distant transport are rather rare, but a few apparently from the Ochils or even the Grampians may be discovered. 1 The cultivated condition of the county is incompatible with a varied or remarkable fauna ; but the botanist finds a rich harvest of smaller plants. Arthur s Seat and the Queen s Park, in spite of their proximity to the city, yield a considerable number of very rare specimens. Details may be sought in Professor Balfour s Flora of Edinburgh. The climate naturally differs in different districts, accord ing to elevation and distance from the sea. From obser vations made at Inveresk, 90 feet above the sea -level, which may be taken as fairly representative, the annual mean of the barometer has only once fallen as low as 29 68 in the twenty-one years from 1855 to 1875, and usually ex ceeds 29 85. The maximum cold ranged from zero in 1860 to 22 in 1872 ; the maximum heat from 73 in 1862 to 88 in 1868 and 1873 ; and the mean annual temperature from 44 in 1855 to 48 2 in 1868. The average temperature of the six summer months beginning with April reached 55-8 in 1868, and sank to 51 6 in 1872. The annual rainfall varied from 16-50 inches in 1870 to 32 89 in 1862 ; and the number of fair days from 162 in 1872 to 247 in 1869. The greatest rainfall takes place in August at Edinburgh, Meadowfield, and Bonnington; but in January in the Pentlands. According to observations made at Inveresk over a period of 15 years, the wind blew from the N. 31 days, N.E. 40, E. 22, S.E. 24, S. 51, S.W. 119, W. 56, and N.VV. 24. The N.E. and E. winds prevail in March and April, and especially in the neighbourhood of the city are remarkable for their cold and blighting character. Snow seldom lies long except in the uplands ; but night frosts occur even as late as the beginning of June, severe enough to destroy the young shoots of the seedling trees in the nursery grounds. 2 On the shores of the Firth, along the Almond and Esk, and in some of the richer flats the grain 1 See Fleming s Lithology of Edinburgh ; Hugh Miller, Edinburgh and its Neighbourhood; Maclaren, Sketch of the Geology of Fife and the Lothians ; Arch. Geikie, The Geology of Edinburgh and its Neighbour hood, 1871 ; Sheet No. 32 of the one-inch Geol. Survey Map, with the accompanying memoir ; and several other papers in the Transac tions of the Edinburgh Geological Society. a The mildness of the winter is well illustrated by the fact that Mr M Nab of the Royal Botanic Gardens reported 138 species of flowers in bloom on New Year s Day 1874, of which 35 were winter or spring flowers, and 103 summer or autumn flowers. The Galanthus nivalis, or co-nmon snowdrop, blossoms, according to an average of 20 years, on the 25th of January, the Hepatica triloba on the 31st, and the Rhododendron nobleanu:n on the 25th of .February. crops ripen early; two miles nearer the hills and 200 feet higher the harvest is ten days later; and at. an elevation of 600 feet another week at least intervenes. The total area in cereals in 1876 was 38,189 acres. The quantity of wheat grown is gradually diminishing, occupying in 1876 only 4456 acres in contrast to 10,123 in 1856. The average produce in the more fertile districts is 31 bushels per acre, in the poorer districts from 24 to 25 bushels. The roots of the plant are in some seasons attacked severely by the larvaj of the crane-fly (Tipula, olcracea), and the ears sometimes suffer from the wheat- midge. Of other cereals there were in barley 10,123 acres in 1856, and 11,982 in 1876 (the return varying from 42 to 48 bushels); and in oats 23,121 in 1865, and 21,311 in 1876. Beans declined from 802 acres in 1866 to 467 in 1876. The area of sown grasses has greatly extended, being 26,907 acres in 1866, and in 1876, 31,869. The grass-seed is usually put in with the barley crops. Near the city sewage-farming has been carried on to a remarkable extent. The Craigentinny meadows between the city and the sea, compris ing 200 acres, have been under sewage cultivation for upwards of 30 years. The produce, now consisting principally of natural grasses, is sold at from 16 to 28 per acre, and the whole realizes from 3000 to 4000 per annum. About 80 acres are under similar treatment at Lochend, 70 acres at Dairy, and 16 at the Grange. The total produce of the whole area under irri gation is estimated at 6000. The acreage of turnips in 1856 was 14,517, in 1876, 13,342. About 16 or 18 tons of swedes, or 22 or 23 tons of common turnips, is considered a good crop for first-rate land. Potatoes liold much the same position as in former years, though the demand for them is not so great. A con siderable quantity is despatched to England for seed purposes, while the seed required in the county is obtained from Perth, Lanark, or the neighbouring counties. The number of cattle was in 1862, 13,013, in 1876, 18,661. In the neighbourhood of Edinburgh especially, dairying forms a very important industry : the number of milch cows in the county is probably 11,000 or 12,000, of which 1800 or 2000 are kept in the town or suburbs, and supply about half of the milk necessary for the local con sumption. Sheep are returned as 113,479 in 1866, and 168,565 in 1876. Very few horses are bred in the county, but several cf the studs are of excellent character. The Clydesdale blood pre dominates. Pigs form a very small item in the list of stock ; and the poultry yard is of distinct importance only in the farms in the neighbourhood of the city. The crop rotations vary considerably in different districts. Oats, potatoes, wheat, turnips, barley, and hay or pasture is a common order ; Avhile a five-course shift of oats, potatoes and turnips, barley or wheat, hay, pasture, or a six-course shift (oats, beans, wheat, turnips, barley, grass), is used elsewhere. The average size of farms is 131 acres. According to the returns, out of a total of 1012 holdings 477 did not exceed 50 acres, 116 lay between 50 and 100, 294 were over 100 and under 300, 75 were from 300 to 500, and only 50 were more than 500. Leases of nineteen years are common ; the change of proprietor is as frequent as that of the tenants, and in some cases the same tenant has con tinued to hold a farm under six or eight successive landlords. The average value of the arable land is calculated at from 40 to 55 shillings the acre ; that of the upland pastures at from 10 to 15 shillings. The whole of the county has been drained more or less thoroughly, and some portions twice over. Tiles and small stones began to be laid about 1830, with a distance between the drains of about 36 feet ; and since 1845 deeper drains, with pipes and collars, have been put into the intermediate furrows. Great improvements have been effected not only in the farm-houses and steadings since 1835, but also in the cottages for the labourers, which now for the most part contain a sitting-room and two or even three bedrooms. Steam thrashing-machines and grinding mills are not uncommon. The reaping-machine has been generally adopted within the last 20 years, except for very difficult ground, or where the crop has been laid by wind or rain. The assistance of the steam plough has hitherto been very partially obtained. The nursery grounds of Mid-Lothian are more extensive than those of any other county of Scotland ; and in the variety and quantity of their productions they are equal to any in Britain. To orchards proper there are devoted about 72 acres ; and no less than 775 acres, mainly in the vicinity of the city, are devoted to market gardening. Further details on the whole subject of Mid-Lothian agriculture may be found in Thomas Fan-all s paper in Trans, of Highland and Agricultural Society, 1877. It appears from the Owners and Heritages Return, 1872-73, that the county, exclusive of Edinburgh and Leith, was divided among 3237 owners, holding land the yearly value of which amounted to .581, 603. Of the owners 78 per cent, possessed less than 1 acre, and the average value per acre over all was 2, 11s. 3d. There were 9 proprietors holding upwards of 5000 acres, viz., Earl of Rosebery (Dalmeny), 15,568 ; Sir G. D. Clerk (Penicuik), 12,696 ; Robert Dundas (Arniston), 10,184 ; the Stair family (Oxenfoord), 9609 ; Heirs of Alex. Mitchell (Stow), 9038 ; Karl VII. 83