there was hardly a mile of practicable road in the whole island; and it did not contain more than two or three small slated houses, and, perhaps, a dozen carts. But, in the interval, the island has been intersected by good roads; and the late Lord Macdonald is said to have expended £100,000 on the erection of buildings and other improvements on his estates! In consequence, the aspect of the country has been materially changed, its agriculture has been wonderfully improved; and the condition of its inhabitants, though still much depressed, is at present decidedly preferable to what it has ever been at any former period. (Parl. Paper, No. 175, Sess. 1828.) Turf is the common fuel of all the islands: in most places it is exceedingly abundant; but in Monk, Tiree, Cannay, and Icolmkill it is now procured with very great difficulty; a third part of the industry of the inhabitants being required to supply themselves with fuel. Their utmost efforts are, at times, insufficient; and the distress thence resulting is extremely severe. The Hebrides are estimated to have in all nearly 4,000 miles of sea-coast! They have, besides, many excellent harbours; the surrounding seas are well stocked with fish; and the inhabitants being familiarised to the sea, in passing from one island to another, it might be supposed that the fisheries would be in a flourishing condition; but, however it may be explained, this is very far indeed from being the case. Most of the fishing villages erected by public cooperation have totally failed; and the herring fishery, in particular, has greatly declined. Even the abolition of the salt duties has not contributed to improve the Hebridean fisheries to any thing like the extent that was anticipated. Stornaway in Lewis, Tobermory in Mull, Portnahaven in Islay, and Rothsay in Bute, are the principal fishing stations. The kelp manufacture was carried on to a very large extent on the shores of some of the islands during the late war, and formed a prolific source of wealth both to landlords and tacksmen; but the heavy fall in the price of kelp caused by the abolition of the duties on salt, and the reduction of those on barilla, have gone far to destroy the manufacture, which has shrunk within comparatively narrow limits. It may, however, be doubted whether the loss, though severely felt at first, will be in the end so great as is imagined. The close attention required by the kelp manufacture during the summer months was extremely unfavourable to all sorts of agricultural operations, which were uniformly neglected, and in a peculiarly backward state in the islands where the greatest quantity of kelp was made. The marine plants, so valuable as a manure, were mostly, also, employed in the manufacture of kelp; so that it not only withdrew the necessary labour from the land, but took away the principal means by which its fertility could be either maintained or increased. Limestone is found in several of the Hebrides; and large quantities are used in Islay, and exported from it. In the latter island, lead mines have been wrought for ages, but not with much spirit. Slates of good quality are quarried in Easdale and the adjacent islands, and are largely exported. Marble is found in Tiree and other places. Fingal's Cave, in Staffa, and its basaltic columns, are well known (antè, p. 267.). Manufactures, in the common acceptation of the term, are quite unknown: every family prepares its own articles of clothing. The women spin the wool and flax, and convert them into clothing. Every head of a family makes most of the utensils, implements, and furniture that they require. A few boat-builders, joiners, shoemakers, and tailors supply all the other articles wanted. In some places there are pretty good mills; but in others, corn is still principally ground by querns, or hand-mills. Trees do not grow well in the Hebrides, or only in a few sheltered spots, so that timber is scarce and dear, and considerable quantities are imported. The other imports are salt, iron, groceries, oatmeal, &c. The exports are principally black cattle, kelp, sheep, wool, cod and ling, herrings and fish-oil. The introduction of steam navigation has contributed more, perhaps, than any thing else to the improvement of the Hebrides, particularly the southern islands. They are now annually visited by great numbers of strangers; and the steam-packets create an extensive market for various articles for which they had formerly no demand, and furnish them with a ready means of conveying others to Glasgow, Greenock, &c. The Hebrides are divided into 31 parishes. Bute and Arran form together the county known by the name of Buteshire, which returns 1 member to parliament. The other islands are attached to the counties of Argyle, Inverness, and Ross. There is a good deal of Scandinavian blood in the Hebrideans; but the Gaelic is, notwithstanding, the prevailing language, and many of the inhabitants are ignorant of English. There used to be a great deficiency of churches, and there is still a great deficiency of schools. There are no poor rates in the islands, and no public beggars. The Catholic religion prevails in some parts. For further particulars, see the valuable Agricultural Survey of the Hebrides, by James M'Donald, A. M.; Anderson's Highlands, &c. There is an excellent account of the Outer Hebrides, by William Macgillivray, A. M., in the eleventh number of the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. Orkney and Shetland Islands.-These most probably the Thule of the ancients lie in two groups, to the north of Scotland, and form between them a county, which returns a member to parliament. The Orkneys (Orcades), the most southerly, are separated from the county of Caithness by the Pentland Frith, about 6 miles broad. They are comprised between the parallels of 58° 44′ and 59° 24′ north lat., and 2° 25′ and 3° 20′ west long. There are about a dozen principal islands; Pomona, or the mainland, being decidedly the largest. But, including the smaller islands (provincially, holms) and islets, the total number is estimated at about 67, of which about 40 are uninhabited. They are supposed to comprise an area of about 281,600 acres, and had, in 1831, a population of 28,847. The Shetland, or Zetland, Isles, the most northerly group (perhaps the Ultima Thule of the ancients), are separated from the Orkneys by a channel 48 miles across, and lie principally between the parallels of 59° 52′ and 60° 50′ north lat. and 30′ and 1° 40′ west long. Including islets, they are supposed to exceed 100 in number; but the Mainland, or principal island, is a good deal more extensive than all the others put together. Between 30 and 40 are inhabited. They are about twice as extensive as the Orkneys; their total area being estimated at 563,200 acres. In 1831 they had a population of 29,392. The aspect of these islands is pretty similar; but the Shetland group is the more rugged, wet, and barren of the two. They are generally fenced, particularly on the western side, with high, black, precipitous cliffs, against which the sea, when vexed by storms, dashes with astonishing fury. They are destitute of high mountains, the altitude of Mount Rona in Shetland, the highest, not exceeding 919 feet. Their general appearance is that of dreary, heathy wastes, interspersed with rocks, varied, sometimes, with swamps and lakes, and in a few places with beds of movable sand. In some parts, however, particularly in Orkney, the land is abundantly fertile, producing good crops of corn and luxuriant herbage. Some of the islets, or holms, appear like gigantic pillars, rising perpendicularly from the sea: these are the resort of vast numbers of sea-fowl; and, in the breeding season, hunting for eggs and young birds forms one of the principal and most dangerous employments of the natives. Climate similar to that of the Outer Hebrides, except that the days are a little longer in summer and shorter in winter. During the latter, the aurora borealis is uncommonly brilliant. The cultivated lands bear but a very small proportion to the others, being supposed not to exceed 25,000 acres in Orkney, and 22,000 in Shetland. Farms generally very small; few having more than 10 acres of arable land, and many not nearly so much. Agriculture is considered, particularly in Shetland, of subordinate importance, and, though a good deal improved, is still very backward. In Shetland most part of the ground is turned over with the spade; but in Orkney ploughs are in pretty general use. Oats and bere, or bigg (hordeum hexastichon), are the only white crops cultivated; and, except on a few improved farms, they follow each other alternately so long as the land will bear any thing, which it does for a very long time when well manured with sea-weed. The barley of Orkney is a great deal more abundant and of a much better quality than could have been anticipated; and, besides supplying the home demand, considerable quantities are exported. Potatoes are cultivated in all the islands, and form an important part of the food of the people. Turnips have, also, been planted, and have succeeded very well. At present no trees can be made to grow, and hardly a shrub is to be met with; which is the more singular, as the trunks of large trees are not unfrequently found imbedded in moss and sand, both in Orkney and Shetland. The hardy, spirited little horses, known by the name of Shelties, are bred in Shetland, and are exported in considerable numbers. The stock kept in the islands is estimated at from 10,000 to 12,000: they are never housed, nor receive any food, except what they gather for themselves. Some of them are exceedingly well-proportioned, active, and strong for their size. The horses of Orkney are in inferior estimation. Cattle very small, sometimes not weighing more than from 35 to 40 lbs. a quarter: they are shaggy, and not well shaped; but they are hardy, feed easily, and, when fattened, their beef is fine and tender. The stock in both islands is supposed to amount to about 45,000 head. The native sheep are of the small dun-faced breed; they yield short wool, which, though generally soft and fine, is sometimes as hairy as that of a goat. Recently the black-faced and Cheviot breeds, and even pure merinos, have been introduced into Orkney with considerable success. The stock in both groups of islands is believed to exceed 135,000. A small breed of swine is very abundant: they roam at large, and are not a little destructive. Rabbits are abundant in both islands, but particularly in the Orkneys; as many as 36,000 skins having been exported in a single season from the port of Stromness. Fowls are plentiful, and large quantities of eggs are exported from Orkney. The fisheries, however, in Orkney, as well as Shetland, are the grand object of pursuit. The islands are periodically visited by vast shoals of herrings ; while the surrounding bays and seas are uniformly well supplied with cod and other species of white fish. Divitiæ eis sunt a mari, ab omni parte summa piscandi commoditate objecta. —(Buch., lib. i. § 50.) Brassay Sound, in Shetland, has always been one of the principal stations of the Dutch herring fishers; but the fishery there is now principally carried on by the islanders. During the 13 years ending with 1833, the exports of herrings from the Orkneys about doubled; having amounted in the latter to about 34,000 barrels ; whereas in 1820 they only amounted to 17,989. During the year ending 5th of April, 1834, 36,855 barrels of herrings, and about 18,000 cwts. of cod, were cured in Shetland: but last season the herring take was much more considerable. About 100,000 lobsters are supposed to be annually shipped from the Orkneys for London. Vessels from British ports, bound for the northern whale fishery, mostly touch at Orkney or Shetland, and, besides taking on board supplies of provisions, usually complete their crews with seamen belonging to the islands, whom they put on shore on their way back. Rye straw grown in Orkney has been found peculiarly well fitted to serve as a substitute for the straw used in Italian plait; and the manufacture of this straw into plait has been carried on for several years to a considerable extent, and with pretty good success. Kelp, though comparatively unprofitable, continues to be extensively produced. Woollen stockings and gloves, sometimes of extraordinary fineness, are exported from Shetland. Messrs. Anderson, in their valuable work on the Highlands, give the following account of the Sums received in Orkney, in 1833, from Farm Produce, Manufactures, Fisheries, &c. Bere, or bigg, 5,178 bolls, at 15s. per boll of 6 bushels, or 20s. per White oats, 1,515 bolls, at 12s. ditto of ditto, or 168. per quarter Oatmeal, 40 bolls, at 14s. per boll of 140 lb. imperial Horses, cows, and oxen, 954. 1 quarter horses, at 91; 3 quarter cows at 31. Ditto, not entered at custom-house, about 246 at ditto Eggs sent to Leith, 50 tons, 100 dozen per cwt., 100,000 dozen at 6d. Sheep and swine, 40 of each, at 17. Butter, about 2,000l.; hides, about 7007. Rabbit skins, more than 2,000 dozen, at 5s. 6d. per dozen £ s. d. Straw manufacture, including rent, cutting, planting, &c. Herrings, 34,000 barrels, at 10s. per barrel Cod, fished by about 40 sloops of 30 tons, 14 tons each, at 131. per ton Lobsters, caught by 432 men, in 216 boats Total 1,800 7,500 0 1,500 0 0 £60,114 0 We regret we have no similar account for Shetland; but we believe the sums received by its inhabitants do not differ materially from those received by their neighbours in Orkney. The shipping of the islands is considerable. In 1832, there belonged to the Orkneys 78 ships, carrying 3,918 tons and 319 men; and there belonged at the same time to Shetland 101 ships, carrying 3,880 tons and 775 men. The people of these remote islands being of Scandinavian, and not Celtic, origin, neither the Gaelic dress nor language has ever prevailed amongst them. All of them now speak English; but, of old, Norse was the prevalent language. The cottages of the poorer ranks are, in general, miserable hovels, affording accommodation in winter to cows and fowls as well as to the family. Owing to the scarcity or exhaustion of the moss, the want of fuel is in some islands very severely felt. On the whole, however, the inhabitants are decidedly better off than those of the Outer Hebrides; being comparatively industrious, civilised, well clothed, and well fed. Kirkwall, in Orkney, and Lerwick, in Shetland, the only towns of consequence in the islands, had, in 1831, the former a population of 3,065, and the latter of 2,750. The society in both is good, and the inhabitants hospitable. Shetland, and some parts of Orkney, suffer much from the exaction of tithes they are not only charged upon the produce of the land, but on that of the fisheries; and, being generally farmed, they are rigidly collected, are productive of much irritation, and are a formidable obstacle to improvement. Seeing the good effects that have resulted every where else in Scotland from the abolition of tithes, it is singular that they have not been commuted here. The feu duties payable to the Crown, or, rather, to its donatory, Lord Dundas, have also contributed materially to check improvement. Marl, though neglected, is common in Orkney. Lead ore, also, has been met with; and limestone is of frequent occurrence. These islands are divided into 40 parishes. The gross rental of the land of Orkney amounted, in 1810, to 9,495/.; and that of Shetland, to 6,7417. Annual value of real property, in 1815, 20,9301.* Name. CHAPTER III.-IRELAND. SECT. I. Name and Extent. Face of the Country. It is believed, by many, that the Phoenicians visited Ireland; but, however this may be, it is mentioned by Aristotle and Strabo, by the name of Ierne, derived, most probably, from the native name Erin. Cæsar, Tacitus, and Pliny call it Hibernia; and Pomponius Mela, and some manuscripts of Ptolemy, Juverna. — (Cellarii, Notitia Orbis Antiqui, tom. i. p. 440.) About the period of the withdrawal of the Romans from Britain, the Scoti, or Scotch, began to be distinguished as one of the principal Irish tribes; and the country seems to have then received from them the name Scotia, or Scotland. This appellation was applied to it by the monkish writers, till the eleventh century, when the term Scotia was transferred to the northern parts of Great Britain, by means of a colony of Scotch, from Ireland, which established itself in the West Highlands. The old name of Hibernia began then to be revived; and, at a later period, it gave way to the Gothic term Ireland, supposed by some to be a modification of the native name, Erin, or land of the west. - (Camden's Britannia, Gibson's ed., vol. ii. p. 1310; Pinkerton's Geography, ed. 1802, vol. i. p. 210.) Situation. Ireland lies to the west of Great Britain, between the parallels of 51° 25′ and 55° 23′' north latitude, and of 6° and 11° west longitude. Its figure approaches to that of a rhomboid; and, though it is in various places, particularly on the west coast, deeply indented by the sea, it is decidedly more compact than Great Britain. The Atlantic surrounds it every where except on its eastern shores, which are separated from Britain by the Irish sea; or, rather, by St. George's Channel, the Irish Sea, and the North Channel. The first, or St. George's Channel, includes that portion For farther information as to the Orkney Islands, see (exclusive of Messrs. Anderson's work, already referred to) Wallace's Description of the Orkney Islands, 8vo. Lond. 1700; Barry's History of Orkney, 4to. Edinburgh, 1805; and Sheriff's Agricultural Survey of Orkney, 8vo. Edinburgh. As to the Shetland Islands, see Edmonston's View of Zetland, 2 vols. 8vo. Edinburgh, 1809; Hibbert's Description of the Shetland Islands, 4to. Edinburgh, 1822; and Sheriff's Agricultural Survey of Shetland, 8vo. Edinburgh, 1814. Various tracts and works have been published on the fisheries and antiquities of the islands. |