Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland

ABERDEENSHIRE
ABERDEENSHIRE
Farm servants' wages are about double what they
were 50 years ago. Feeing markets, believed to have
an injurious effect on the morals of the agricultural
labourers, are being superseded by a well-organised
system of local registration offices.
Orchards cover 11 acres, market gardens 411, nur-
sery grounds 136; and altogether there are 108,858
acres of woods and plantations within the shire. About
175,000 acres are disposed in deer forests. A great
deal of land in the upper part of the Dee Valley, pre-
viously under the plough, or used as sheep pasture, has
been converted, during the last 50 years, into deer forest.
Large portions of Braemar, Glentanner, and Mortlach
are still covered with natural wood. ' The mountains
there seem to be divided by a dark sea of firs, whose
uniformity of hue and appearance affords inexpressible
solemnity to the scene, and carries back the mind to
those primeval ages when the axe had not invaded the
boundless region of the forest.' The Scotch pine is very
generally distributed, and flourishes up to 1500 feet
above sea-level, as also does the larch. Birch, alder, pop-
lar and other trees likewise abound (Trans. Highland
and Agricultural Society). Grouse, black game, the
hedgehog, the otter, the badger, the stoat, the polecat, and
the wild-cat are indigenous. Salmon used to be very plenti-
ful in the Dee and the Don, but, of late years, have greatly
decreased. About 20,000 salmon and 40,000 grilses, in-
clusive of those taken by stake nets, and at the beach
adjacent to the river's mouth, are still in an average
season captured in the Dee. The yellow trout of the
Dee are both few and small. A small variety of salmon
is got in Loch Callater, and excellent red trout in
Loch Brothacan. So many as 3000 salmon and grilses
were caught in a single week of July 1849 at the mouth of
the river Don. Salmon, sea-trout, yellow trout, and a
few pike are got in the Don. Pearls are found in the
Ythan ; and the large pearl in the crown of Scotland is
believed to have been found at the influx of Kelly Water to
the Ythan. Salmon, sea-trout, and finnocks, in consider-
able numbers, ascend the Ythan. Salmon ascend also the
Ugie ; finnocks abound near that river's mouth ; and burn-
trout are plentiful in its upper reaches and affluents.
Tench, carp, and Loch Leven trout are in an artificial lake
of about 50 acres at Pitfour. Red trout, yellow trout,
and some perch are in Loch Strathbeg. Herrings, cod,
ling, hake, whiting, haddock, hallibut, turbot, sole, and
skate abound in the sea along the coast; and are
caught in great quantities by fishermen at and near the
stations of Aberdeen, Peterhead, and Fraserburgh.
The manufactures of Aberdeenshire figure principally
in Aberdeen and its immediate neighbourhood, but are
shared by some other towns and by numerous villages.
The woollen trade, in the various departments of tweeds,
carpets, winceys, and shawls, has either risen, or is rising
to great prominence ; but is seated principally in Aberdeen
and its near vicinity, and has been noticed in our article
on Aberdeen. The linen trade, as to both yarn and cloth,
has figured largely in the county since about 1745 ; and
is seated chiefly at Aberdeen, Peterhead, and Huntly.
The cotton trade employed 1448 hands in 1841, but has
declined. Paper-making is carried on more extensively
in Aberdeenshire than in any other Scottish county ex-
cepting that of Edinburgh. One firm alone has a very
large mill for writing-paper at Stoneywood, another mill
for envelopes at what is called the Union Paper- works, a
third for coarse papers at Woodside; employs upwards
of 2000 persons; ana turns out between 60 and 70 tons of
paper, cards, and cardboard, and about 6,000,000 en-
velopes every week. Rope-making, comb-making, boot
and shoe making, iron-founding, machine-making, ship-
building, and various other crafts, likewise employ very
many hands. The leather trade proper makes little figure
within the county, but elsewhere is largely upheld by
constant supplies of hides to the Aberdeen market.
The number of cattle killed for export of dead meat
from Aberdeen is so great, that the hides sold annually
at that port amount to an average of considerably
more than 40,000. The commerce of tho county is
given under its two head ports, Aberdeen and Peter-
22
head. The tolls were abolished at "Whitsunday 1866;
the roads have since been managed by trusts, and are
being kept in repair by means of an assessment. The
railways are the Caledonian and the Great North of
Scotland; and, with the sections of the latter, the
Aberdeen and Banff, the Inverurie and Old Meldrum,
the Alford Valley, the Formartine and Buchan, and the
Deeside, they are separately noticed.
The royal burghs are Aberdeen, Inverurie, and Kin-
tore ; a principal town and parliamentary burgh is
Peterhead; and other towns and principal villages are —
Huntly, Fraserburgh, Turriff, Old Meldrum, Old Deer,
Ta'rland, Stewartfield, St Combs, Boddam, Rosehearty,
Inverallochy, Cairnbulg, Ellon, Newburgh, Colliston,
New Pitsligo, Banchory, Aboyne, Ballater, Castleton
of Braemar, Cuminestown, Newbyth, Fyvie, Insch,
Rhynie, Lumsden, Alford, Kemnay, Auchmill, Bank-;
head, Burnhaven, Buchanhaven, Broadsea, Garmond,
Gordon Place, Longside, Mintlaw, Aberdour, New Deer,
Strichen, and Woodend. The chief seats are — Balmoral
Castle, Abergeldie Castle, Huntly Lodge, Aboyne Castle,
Slains Castle, Keith Hall, Mar Lodge, Skene House,
Dalgety Castle, Dunecht House, Haddo House, Philorth
Castle, Castle-Forbes, Logie-Elphinstone, Westhall, Cri-
monmogate, Newe, Edinglassie, Fintray House, Craigie-
var Castle, Monymusk, Hatton House, Pitmedden House,
Finzean, Invercauld, Ballogie, Castle Fraser, Countess-
wells, Clunie, Learney, Drum, Grandholm, Haughton,
Ward House, White Haugh, Leith Hall, Mount-Stuart,
Rothie, Fyvie House, Rayne, Manar, Freefield, Warthill,
Pitcaple, Meldrum, Auchnacoy, Ellon House, Brucklay
Castle, Tillyfour, and Pitlurg.
The county is governed (1891) by a lord-lieutenant,
a vice-lieutenant, 58 deputy-lieutenants, a sheriff, 2
sheriffs-substitute, 3 honorary sheriffs-substitute, and
334 magistrates ; and is divided, for administration,
into the districts of Braemar, Deeside, Aberdeen, Alford,
Huntly, Turriff, Garioch, Ellon, Deer, and New Machar.
Besides the courts held at Aberdeen, a sheriff court is
held at Peterhead on every Friday, and sheriff small debt
circuit courts are held at Huntly and Turriff once every
3 months. The County Council is composed of sixty
elected members and five representatives of royal and
parliamentary burghs (Peterhead, three; Inverurie and
Kintore, one each). There are seven committees of the
Council — the Finance Committee, the County Road
Board, the County Valuation Committee, the Public
Health Committee, the Bills Committee, the Executive
Committee under the Contagious Diseases (Animals)
Acts, and the General Purposes Committee. The con-
vener and vice-convener are members of all committees.
The Standing Joint-Committee of County is partly
elected by the County Council and partly by the Com-
missioners of Supply, while the Aberdeen District Board
of Lunacy is elected partly by the County Council and
partly by the Town Council. The prispns are the new
Prison of Aberdeen, and the police cells of Peterhead,
Huntly, and Fraserburgh, all three legalised in 1874 for
periods not exceeding 3 days. The police force in 1891,
exclusive of that for Aberdeen burgh, comprised 97 men;
and the salary of the chief constable was £440. The
annual value of real property in 1815 was £325,218; in
1843, £605,802; in 1888, £929,884, including £48,728
for railways, and in 1891, £814,887, and of railways,
etc., £57,972. The county, exclusive of the burghs,
sont 1 member to parliament prior to the Reform Act
of 1867; but by that Act it was constituted into two
divisions, eastern and western, each sending 1 member.
The constituency in 1891, of the eastern division, was
1 1,803; of the western division, 10,027. The population
in 1801 was 121,065; in 1811, 133,871; in 1821, 155,049;
in 1831, 177,657; in 1841, 192,387; in 1851, 212,032;
in 1861, 221,569; in 1871, 244,603; in 1881, 267,990;
in 1891, 281,332, of whom 133,861 were males and
147,471 were females.
The registration county gives off parts of Banohory-
Tornan and Banchory-Devonick parishes to Kincardine-
shire, and takes in part of Drumoak parish from the
same county, and parts of Cabrach, Cairney, Gartly,