Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 9.djvu/160

 150 F I F F I F was restricted. The brilliancy and fair light scale of his tints is constantly remarkable, combined with a free use of gilding ; this conduces materially to that celestial character which so pre-eminently distinguishes his pictured visions of the divine persons, the hierarchy of heaven, and the glory of the redeemed. (w. M. R.) FIFE. See FLUTE. FIFE, a maritime county of Scotland, is situated between 56 1 and 56 27 N. lat., and 2 35 and 3 40 W. long., and is bounded on the N. by the Firth of Tay, on the E. by the German Ocean, on the S. of the Firth of Forth, and on the W. by parts of Kinross, Perth, and Clackmannan. Its greatest length from east to west is about 42 miles, and its greatest breadth from north to south about 18 miles; its average length is about 36 miles, and its average breadth 14 miles. The area comprises 513 square miles, or 328,427 imperial acres. The physical aspect of Fife is redeemed from tameness by the picturesqueness and variety of its maritime scenery. With the exception of the &quot; Howe of Fife,&quot; and a portion bordering on the east coast line, its surface is pleasantly un dulating. A ridge of high ground, commencing with the Lomond Hills, runs in the middle of the county from west to east, advancing to near St Andrews in its northern part, and terminating with Kellie Law in the south. Between the Lomonds and a spur of the Ochils lies the somewhat ex tensive plain called the &quot;Howe of Fife&quot;; and to the south of the Lomonds there is another stretch of low ground run ning westwards to the south of Kinross, presenting, however, greater variety of surface than the plain on the north side of the Lomonds, and interrupted by Saline Hill, Knock Hill, the Hill of Beath, the Cullalo Hills, and other smaller eminences. Further east the land slopes on all sides from the central range towards the sea, but generally with con siderable alternations of hill and dale, the large number of wooded knolls presenting in many places a rather picturesque appearance. The most western part of the northern shore is level and marshy, but as the Firth of Tay widens the coast becomes bold and rocky until the village of Tayport is reached. Between Tayport and St Andrews there is an almost unbroken and pretty wide expanse of downs, after which tho coast line is abruptly, elevated, presenting a jagged and precipitous wall of rocks whose ridges here and there run out into the sea. Between Fife- ness and Burntisland low and sandy stretches, bending often so as to form small bays, are separated from each other by a shore more or less rocky, and occasionally rising iuto steep and lofty cliffs. The southern coast to the west of Burntisland is wooded in many cases to the water s edge, and gradually the characteristics of river scenery become more marked. The highest summits in the county are West Lomond Hill (1713 feet), East Lomond Hill (1471), Knock Hill (1189), Saline Hill (1178), and Largo Law (965). The only streams that aspire to the name of rivers are the Eden, which, formed of affluents rising in the Lomonds and in the country to the north and west of that range, flows north-east by Strathmiglo, Kiugskettle, and Cupar, and after a course of about 20 miles falls into St Andrews Bay; and the Leveu, which, issuing from Loch Leven in Kinross-shire, flows eastward through a pleasant strath by Leslie, Balgonie, Balfour, and Cameron Bridge, and about 14 miles from its source empties itself into the Firth of Forth at the town of Leven. The presence of mill-dams and manufactories have rendered both the Eden and Leven almost worthless for salmon fishing, but in these rivers, as well as in the other larger streams not polluted by the water of coal-pits, the trout-fishing is excellent. The largest lochs are Lindores Loch (about 70 acres), Loch Fitty (about 50), Lochgelly (about 50), and Kilconquhar Loch (about 40). Several, such as those of Rossie and Lochore, have been drained, and valuable crops are now raised on their beds. Geology and Minerals. The rocks of the southern half of Fife with the exception of a small portion lying to the east of a line drawn between St Andrews on the north and Anstruther on the south, and another narrow portion lying between Limekilns and Kinghorn belong chiefly to the coal formation of geologists. This formation is, however, interrupted by the trap rocks which extend through the central part of the county from Saline to near St Andrews, and by other masses of trap of igneous origin which pene trate especially into the eastern portion of the coal-field, causing innumerable faults and dykes, and elevating the strata by a succession of steps towards the north. The valley of the Eden and a part of the county between St Andrews and Anstruther is occupied chiefly by the upper strata of the Old Red Sandstone ; and in the north-eastern part of the county there is a continuation of the porphyry formation of the Ochils. The Lomonds and the other larger hills are composed of trap, and are capped with green stone and amygdaloid. Fife is the third largest coal-producing county in Scotland, being excelled in this respect by Lanark and Ayr. The earliest record regarding the working of coal in Scotland is a charter granted at the end of the 12th century by the proprietor of Carriden to the monks of Ilolyrood of one- tenth of his coal-works at Carriden. The coal basin is connected under the Forth with that of Mid-Lothian. It may be roughly divided into the coal-fields of Dunfermline and Wemyss or Dysart. In the Dunfermline district, which includes Halbeath, Lochgelly, and Kelty, the principal house-coals are obtained. At Wemyss and Methil gas-coal of the best quality is largely produced; and out of some seams ink-stands, picture-frames, and various other articles of ornament are manufactured. Coal is also wrought at various places in the north-eastern district of the basin as at Ceres, Radernie, Falfield, and Largoward. 1 Beds of ironstone, limestone, sandstone, and shale lie in many places contiguous to the coal-beds. Blackband ironstone is worked at Lochgelly and at Oakley, and has also been worked at Denhead near St Andrews. At the two former places there are large smelting furnaces, and vessels are built at Inverkeithing and Kiughorn of home-made iron, Oil shale from the same measure as at Broxburn and West Calder is worked near Burntisland, and at Airdrie near Crail. Limestone is found in nearly all directions in the coal basin; and in the north-eastern part, instead of lying around the outcrop of the coal strata, it occurs at intervals in the midst of the coal measures. The maritime limestone reaches considerable thickness at Kirkcaldy, and resumes the character of mountain limestone at Charleston. The principal limestone quarries are those at Charleston, those near Burntisland, and others in the parish of Cults near Cupar. Freestone of a superior quality is quarried at Strathmiglo, Burntisland, and Dunfermline. Whinstone of great hardness and durability is obtained in nearly every district, and is much used for building pur poses. Lead has been worked in the Lomond Hills, and copper and zinc are also said to have been met with in various places. Marl is found, but is not much used for agricultural purposes. The number of persons employed in connexion with the various minerals is upwards of 6000. Fossiliferous fish have been found in great abund ance and variety at Dura Den near Cupar, and llrachiopoda and minute Entomostraca are met with throughout the maritime limestone. 2 The most common vegetable im- 1 Further particulars regarding the Fife coal-field will be found in the article COAL. 2 A &quot;Catalogue of the Brachiopoda of Fife and the Lotlii.ins&quot; is con tained in the Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society for 1877.