Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 1

BANFFSHIRE
boundary with Inverness and Elgin shires ; the Spey,
first for about 11 miles downward from the south-western
vicinity of the Aven's confluence to the vicinity of Ben
Aigan, next for about 3| miles from the vicinity of
Gordon Castle to the sea, forms the boundary with Elgin-
shire ; and merely artificial bines form most other parts
of the landward boundaries. The parish of St Fergus,
part of Old Deer, about half of Gartly, and the estate of
Straloch in New Machar, lie far apart from the rest of
the county, within separate environments of Aberdeen-
shire ; and, in what relates to judicial administration,
are under the jurisdiction of the sheriff of Aberdeen.
Even the main body of the county has an exceedingly
irregular outline, and is all but cut into detached sections.
Gamrie parish wants little more than J mile of being
entirely detached ; and, even over that J mile or so, is
separated from Banff parish by the river Deveron.
Twelve other parishes, and parts of three more, form
nearly an oblong of about 23 miles from E to W, by
about 12 from N to S ; and bounded N by the Moray
Firth. Keith parish, partly included in that oblong,
becomes for about 5 miles the only part of the main
body of the county ; and, at the narrowest part of these
5 miles, is only 3} miles wide. The rest of the county
extends south-south-westward from the W side of the
great oblong ; increases from a breadth of 5 miles at
the S end of Keith parish to a breadth of 15 miles at a
line 9 miles further S ; contracts to a breadth of only 3J
miles at a line 14 miles still further S ; and forms thence
a proximately triangular tract of 6i, 13, and 9 miles,
with the apex to the SW. The greatest length of the
whole county, exclusive of entirely detached districts,
is 59 miles south-westward from the mouth of the
Deveron to the south-western apex ; the greatest breadth
is 31 miles east-north-eastward, along the coast, from
the Spey in the vicinity of Gordon Castle to the NE ex-
tremity of Gamrie ; and the total area, inclusive of the
detached districts, is 686 square miles or 439,219 acres.
The old divisions of country comprehended in it are
Boyne, Enzie, Strathdeveron, Strathisla, Balvenie, Strath-
aven, and parts of Buchan and Moray.
The surface, in a general view, is very uneven, yet
ranges from alluvial flat to alpine mountain. Strips of
low land lie on parts of the coast, and along some of the
banks of the rivers, but are of no great aggregate extent.
Undulations, hills, and plateaux occupy the greater
part of the area even in the vicinity of the coast, and
specially throughout the centre. Ranges and masses of
mountain fill most of the SW, extend to the great Gram-
pian knot of the Cairngorms, and leave little space for
valley bottoms or any kind of arable grounds. From N
to S, and crosswise from W to E, the highest or more
conspicuous summits are the Hill of Stonyslacks (948
feet above sea-level), the Hill of Maud (900), the Bin of
Cullen (1050), Durn Hill (651), the Hill of Culbirnie
(512), the Hill of Alvah (578), Troup Hill (652), Mill-
stone Hill (987), Lug Hill (1028), Knock Hill (1409),
Meikle Balloch (1199), the Hill of Towie (1108), Ben
Aigan (1544), Meikle Conval (1S67), Ben Rinnes (2755),
the *Hills of Cromdale (2316), *Carn Mor (2636), *Cairn-
gorm (40S4), *Ben Macdhui (4296), and *Beinn a Bhuird
(3860), where the asterisks mark those summits that cul-
minate on the border of the shire. The chief rivers, besides
the Deveron and the Spey, are the Isla, running to the
Deveron ; the Aven and the Fiddich, running to the
Spey ; the Ailnach and the Livet, running to the Aven ;
and the Boyne, Cullen, and Tynet burns, running to the
sea. The only considerable lake is Loch Aven, em-
bosomed among the Cairngorm Mountains. Granite
rock prevails in the SW ; metamorphic rocks prevail in
the vicinity of the granite, and occur in other quarters ;
Silurian and Devonian rocks occur in the coast district ;
limestone, though not in one continuous bed, is found in
most districts, passes into marble in Keith, Mortlach,
and Fordyce parishes, and is associated with serpentine
at Portsoy ; and patches or traces of both the lias and
the chalk formations are on some parts of the coast.
Building-stones are quarried from several kinds of rock ;
slates are quarried in Boharnr, Keith, and Banff parishes ;
BANFFSHIRE
marble was long worked into monuments, mantelpieces,
and toys at Portsoy ; laminated marble, found in the
bed of the Fiddich, is formed into whetstones and hones ;
lias clay is worked into bricks and tiles ; and rock-crystals
and topazes are gathered on the Cairngorms. The
climate varies in the different districts, being good along
the coast, somewhat late on the uplands.
Agricultural and stock statistics are reserved for the
Introduction, but it may here be stated that the pro-
portion of cultivated land to the total area is about 37
per cent., while the proportion of cultivated land in all
Scotland is only about 22 per cent. The arable soil, in
a general view, may be described as of three kinds.
That of the low flat lands on the banks of waters, where
not mixed with alluvial sand, is a stiff deep clay ; that
on the sides of valleys, or the skirts of hills, is commonly
a deep black loam incumbent on rock ; and that on the
acclivities of hills, on plateaux, or on other comparatively
high parts, is either a deep black loam incumbent on
rock, or a mixture of moss and gravel on a red, tilly, re-
tentive bottom. A large aggregate of previously waste
land was reclaimed for cultivation in the years from 1854
till 1881. The reclamation was effected chiefly in the
parishes of Alvah, Boyndie, Fordyce, Rathven, Botriph-
nie, Boharm, Aberlour, and Inveraven. Wheat grows
best in the Enzie district, but is not suited to most parts
of the county ; barley grows well in both the lower and
the central parishes ; oats (the chief crop) are best suited
to the glens of the upper districts ; and turnips grow
well in all parts. Oats sometimes do not reach maturity
in the higher districts ; and, in their best state there,
they give an yield often under 40 lbs. per bushel, and
sometimes as low as 30 lbs. ; but in the other localities,
in ordinary seasons, they yield from 42 to 47 lbs. per
bushel. Turnips are sometimes reluctant to braird on
some of the heavier soils ; and they give an yield, on the
best fields, of from 20 to 25, or occasionally even 30 tons
per acre. Considerable improvements have of late years
been made in the courses of rotation, in the use of im-
plements, in the selection and application of manures,
and in the mutual adaptation of the arable and pastoral
husbandries, but drainage is still defective.
Attention is given more to live stock than to cropping.
The great majority of all the cattle, and about eight-
tenths of the cows, are cross-breeds. The Aberdeenshire,
the Galloway, and the Ayrshire breeds, together with
some individuals of the English breeds, were introduced
at early periods of the era of agricultural improvement ;
but they have rarely been preserved in a pure or un-
crossed state. Three fine herds of pure shorthorns, how-
ever, and also three fine herds of pure very fine polled
cattle, are within the county, and have produced several
first-prize specimens at the Highland and Agricultural
Society's great annual shows. The farmers usually seek
improvement of their own stocks by crossing with im-
ported breeds ; and some of them give main attention to
the dairy, others to feeding and fattening for exporta-
tion. Sheep command comparatively far less attention
than cattle. Southdowns are reared at Gordon Castle,
hut are elsewhere almost unknown. Leicesters form
several good flocks in the lower districts. Cheviots
occur in some places, but do not form any large breeding
flocks. The native black-faced breed is the most common ;
and it forms large flocks in the uplands, particularly
in Glenlivet and Strathaven. Formerly a somewhat
inferior breed, they now are very considerably improved.
Most of the breeding mares are crosses, while many of
the stallions are Clydesdale ; and the results are animals
more weighty, spirited, and enduring than those which
formerly prevailed. The breed of pigs also was much
improved during the last 35 or 40 years.
Farms are generally let on leases of 19 years ; and
none are now open to public competition, by advertise-
ment or otherwise, except when tenants become in-
competent or retire. The practice of turning several
small farms into one was frequent till 1850, but had
ceased for several years prior to 1871. The farms in
1870, each not exceeding 5 acres in extent, were 1045 ;
each from 5 to 20 acres, 1325 ; each from 20 to 50 acres,
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