Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/360

Rh ROSS AND CROMARTY. 318 ROSS AND CROMARTY geographers as Abona JEstuarium, Tain and Shand- wick harbours, Tarbetness Point, called by the ancients Alee liniiim, with a lighthouse, the Sutor rocks, near tho entrance into Cromarty Frith, and Fortrose, in the Moray Frith, called by the ancients Varar JEstuarium, and which is skirted by cliffs 300 feet high. The High- land districts to the W. and N. comprise the greater part of Ardmeanach, or the Black Isle, much of which is occupied by the broad and cheerless table-land of Mullbuy and Wester Ross, with the peaks of Ben- Wy vis, variously estimated at from 3,426 to 3,722 feet, towering above the other hills, which are grouped in Cyclopasan masses on a basis averaging about 1,500 feet above sea- level. This region is cleft in all directions by glens, gorges, and the beds of rapid mountain streams, which scarcely partake of the character of valleys ; but that portion of Wester Ross which lies on the N. side of the Conon and Orren is comparatively level, comprehending the low country between Contin and the burn of Clyne. The western coast line is rugged, and indented by a continuous series of sea-lochs, the principal of which are lochs Enard, Broom, Little Broom, Greinord, Ewe, Gair, Torridon, with its branches Ardheslag and Shieldag, Carron and Alsh, with its sub-lochs Euich and Ling. The fresh-water lakes are Maree, Tannich, Skinaskink, Valtie, Lurgan, Na-Shallag, Fuir, Monar, Luichart, Glass, and Moir, besides numerous minor lakes, all abounding in trout, and many of them fre- quented by wild fowl. The chief points along the western coast are the Kyle ferry to Skye, outside Loch Alsh ; Applecross Bay ; Ewe Loch, from which is a pas- sago of only 45 miles to Stornoway, in Lewis ; and the promontories, named Ru Rea, Ru Carnderg, and Ru More. There are numerous small islands off almost every point of the coast, and in several of the sea-lochs. The chief streams flowing eastward are the Carron and Oikell, to the head of the Dornoch Frith ; and the Al- ness, Aultgrand, Balnagowau, and Conan, to the Cro- marty Frith ; and the chief flowing westward are the Broom, Carron, and Ewe, to the head of the lochs of tho same name ; and the Shiel to the head of Loch Duich: all these streams abound in salmon and trout, and are much frequented by anglers. On the Raney river are several waterfalls, and in the bed of the Conon pearls have been found. The geological for- mation of the land on both coasts belongs to the Old Red sandstone, which is the substratum for 3 to 15 miles inland, and often rises into ridges no less than 3,000 feet above the sea-level ; but the Highland dis- trict of the interior is composed of igneous rocks, chiefly granite and granitic gneiss, which prevail in the Black Isle; gneiss in the central district, from Ben Wyvis, on the E., to the Sutherland border; and mica-slate in the rugged district of Gairloch ; some patches of quartz rock also occur near the Sutherland border, and granular limestone in the vicinity of Loch Reeshorn. In the Sutors of Cromarty, which consist chiefly of lias inter- mixed with sandstone and granite, Hugh Miller dis- covered the Pterichthys, or winged fish, the Osteolepis, and other rare fossils. Among the principal minerals are ironstone, which abounds in the W., and was for- merly worked ; copper in the primary limestone near Keeshorn ; traces of lead-ore near Loch Moree ; and pure bitumen in the shales of Strathpeffer. The soil of the greater part of the lowlands, comprising Easter Ross, Fearndonald, and part of Wester Ross, is a stiff clay, alternating with a sharp gravelly loam, and inter- spersed with considerable tracts of moorish land, part of which has recently been reclaimed. In the Black Isle much of the land is a poor loam, but in other parts a good black sandy mould, yielding fair crops of wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes. The soil of the uplands in the Highland district, and part of Wester Ross, is for the most part peaty or moorish, alternating with barren rock and sandy mould in the intersecting glens. The climate is moist and changeable, especially in the western districts, where the rainfall is much above the average; but the temperature is more genial than on the eastern coast, neither being as hot in summer, nor as cold in winter, as in the lowlands. The spring is hack- ward, and the heat in July and August often oppixs- sive, exceeding the highest temperature experienced in the S. of England. The prevailing winds blow from the W. and S.W., and occasionally in winter from the N.W. or the N.E., when they frequently bring heavy snowstorms. The whole of the surface appears origi- nally to have been covered by the great Caledonian forest, of which some copses of oak, birch, and Scotch firs still remain, but was almost entirely disafforested in the Middle Ages, to the great detriment of the coun- try. The present woods have been mostly planted since the early part of the last century. The total extent of wood reported in the two counties of Ross and Cro- marty in the agricultural returns for 1855 was 26,675 imperial acres. The wild deer, eagle, and hawk, are still to be seen in the mountains, and the fox, badger, and game of all kinds are abundant. Peat is used for fuel, both coals and wood being scarce and dear. The valued rental, according to the old Scotch valuation of 1674, was 75,043, but the real rental under the new valuation Act was, in 1860-1, 180,177. The estates are in general large, but the farms in the lowlands small. The landed property of Ross-shiro was distri- buted in 1854 amongst 69 proprietors, and the total number of proprietors of all kinds on the rolls was 1,117 in Ross-shire and 7 in Cromarty. In the cham- paign country to the E. the farms are surrounded with gardens and hedgerows, and have good out-buildings and cottages attached ; but the people in the Highland districts are still very poor, and much of the land waste. So great have been agricultural improvements in the lowlands since the commencement of the present cen- tury that Easter Ross may contrast favourably with any other agricultural district of Great Britain. The estimated gross produce of the chief crops was, in 1855, 233,018 bushels of wheat, 204,417 of barley, 493,042 of oats, 6,167 of here, 21,834 of beans and pease, and 163,834 tons of turnips, and 20,876 tons of potatoes. A little barley, oats, and potatoes are grown in the more sheltered spots in the Highlands, but the greater por- tion of the surface is devoted to sheep farming, and the great farmers of the W. keep considerable numbers of black cattle on such parts of their farms as are not well adapted for sheep. The Highland and Ayrshire cattle are the favourite breeds, and improved varieties of horses and pigs are kept. The salmon and herring fisheries on the E. coast are productive, but the fisheries of the W. have recently declined. The only manufac- tures of any importance are the woollen and hemp, which employ about 600 hands. The principal exports are black cattle, sheep, wool, grain, and fish ; and the imports coal, lime, and general merchandise. A small number of vessels are engaged In the coasting trade, and steam-vessels regularly visit the bays and sea-lochs. The Inverness and Perth and Inverness and Aberdeen Junction railway has recently been continued from In- verness by way of Beauley and Dingwall to Tain, and so by Meikle Ferry to Bonar Bridge. The roads, which have recently been much improved and extended, tra- verse the county in various directions. The chief are the Edinburgh road, which enters the county from In- verness, and continues northward, through the Black Isle and Easter Ross, to Cromarty ; another line also leads northward through Wester Ross, Fearndonald, and part of Easter Ross, by way of Dingwall and Al- ness, to the Dornoch Frith, and so into Sutherlandshire ; while several other lines cross the county from E. to W., following the river valleys and straths. The only towns in Ross and Cromarty having a population above 1,708 are Dingwall, Cromarty, Fortrose, Tain, and Stornoway, the first four being market towns. Dingwall is the capital and election town of both shires, and a royal burgh. Cromarty is the county town of the shire to which it gives name, and was formerly a royal burgh, but re- signed its charter, and is now only a municipal burgh. Tain, Fortrose, and Rosemarkie are royal burghs, but the two last are united to form one municipal burgh Stornoway is a burgh of barony. The other towns and