Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/727

 SCOTLAND 701 Banff it was 16'4 per cent. Notwithstanding the smallness of its population, Scotland has produced an array of names eminent in litera- ture and science which scarcely any other na- tion can boast of surpassing. The agriculture of Scotland has attained to a high pitch of ex- cellence, and in many parts of the country is conducted with a skill and energy not surpassed anywhere in the world. The climate is in many respects unfavorable to agriculture, its chief defects being the low summer tempera- ture, the lateness of the spring, the occasional prevalence of N. E. winds and fogs, and heavy rain in the latter part of summer, which often causes great damage to the crops, and a cold, wet harvest. Still, the Lothians, the carses of Stirling, Falkirk, and Gowrie, the Mearns, Clydesdale, and Strathearn, large portions of Fifeshire, Strathmore, Annandale, Nithsdale, Kyle, Cunningham, and of the low grounds along the Moray and Cromarty friths, are so well tilled and productive that they bear com- parison with the best lands in England. The whole system of cultivation in them is gener- ally very perfect. The grain is usually sown by the drill, and much of the crop is reaped and all of it threshed by machinery. In the rich and level plains of the Lothians and Stir- lingshire, where the climate is comparatively dry, the land is worth more in crop than as pasture, and the following is the common rota- tion: 1, oats; 2, beans or potatoes; 3, wheat; 4, turnips ; 5, wheat or barley ; 6, grass. In these districts guano and other light manures are liberally applied to the crops. In the high- er and more moist districts a different system prevails; the land lies longer under pasture, the following being the rotation of a six years' course: 1, oats; 2, turnips; 3, oats or barley; 4, 5, and 6, grass. Bearing and feeding of cat- tle are carried on to a large extent in these districts, as the most profitable way of consu- ming the grass and green crops. In the moun- tains, heaths and natural grasses occupy the soil, affording a scanty herbage for sheep or cat- tle. Much care has been taken and great skill shown in improving the breeds of stock and in distributing them over the most eligible pas- ture lands. The black-faced highland sheep is kept in the wildest and stormiest mountain region of the north, as best suited to with- stand the climate. The Cheviot breed is lit- tle inferior in the same respect, and has been largely introduced into the north. These an- imals are exposed to great hardships during snow storms, and usually receive no other food than what they find on the hills. In 1871 the total number of acres under all kinds of crops, bare fallow, and grass, was 4,516,090. The number of live stock was as follows: horses used solely for agriculture, 174,434; cattle, 1,070,107; sheep, 6,882,747; pigs, 195,- 642. The mineral wealth of Scotland con- sists chiefly of coal and iron. In 1870 there were 411 collieries at work in the counties of Lanark, Ayr, Fife, Clackmannan, Haddington, Edinburgh, Linlithgow, Stirling, Dumbarton, Renfrew, Dumfries, Peebles, and Perth, the aggregate product of which was 14,934,558 tons of coal. In the same year the iron works, mostly in Lanark and Ayr, produced 1,206,000 tons of pig iron. There were also in 1870 six lead mines in Argyle, Kirkcudbright, Lanark, and Dumfries, which yielded 2,390 tons of lead and 5,680 oz. of silver. Granite is large- ly quarried and exported from Aberdeen, Pe- terhead, and the coast of Mull. The fisheries constitute a very important branch of Scottish industry. Before the export of salmon to England grew to be considerable, in some parts of the country domestic servants were accus- tomed to stipulate that they should not be compelled to eat it more than two or three times a week. The fishery is now chiefly in the Tweed, Forth, Tay, Dee, Don, Findhorn, Spey, Ness, and other rivers on the E. coast. The herring fishery has long been important. In 1870 the total product of this fishery was 928,613 bbls., of which 833,160 were cured. In the same year the cod and ling fisheries yielded 227,224 cwt. The herring, cod, and ling fisheries in 1870 employed 14,935 boats, of the aggregate tonnage of 103,946. The whole number of persons engaged in these fisheries was 89,790. The total value of the boats, nets, and lines employed was 953,814. The linen manufacture was the earliest and once the most important branch of the manu- facturing industry of Scotland. Its principal seats are in the counties of Fife, Forfar, and Perth. In 1870 there were 191 factories, with 330,599 spindles, and 17,419 power looms ; hands employed, 49,917, of whom 13,555 were males and 36,362 females. In recent years the cotton manufacture has excelled that of linen in extent and value. It is carried on chiefly in the counties of Lanark and Renfrew, and it all centres in or is dependent upon the city of Glasgow. In 1870 there were 98 cotton factories, with 1,487,871 spindles and 25,903 power looms, employing 30,960 hands, of whom 5,148 were males and 25,812 females. The woollen manufacture, though less consid- erable than either the linen or the cotton, is more widely diffused, being carried on in 27 of the 33 counties, but most largely in Aber- deen, Ayr, Clackmannan, Dumfries, Lanark, Peebles, Perth, Renfrew, Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Stirling. The cloth made is chiefly coarse. In 1870 there were 218 factories, with 469,- 524 spindles and 10,543 power looms, employ- ing 23,000 hands, of whom 8,515 were males and 14,485 females. In the same year there were 28 worsted factories, with 71,556 spin- dles and 1,201 power looms, employing 5,968 hands, of whom 2,605 were males and 8,363 females. There were also four silk factories in Paisley and Glasgow, with 12,643 spindles and 243 power looms ; and 2 hemp, 48 jute, 3 hosiery, and 5 hair factories. Whiskey and ale are manufactured to a large extent. In the year ending in March, 1871, 14,501,983