Gazetteer of Scotland

LOR
v/ith great taste. Population in 1801,
1607.
LORN orLORNE ; a district in
Argyllshire, about 30 miles in length,
and 9 in breadth, bounded on the E.
by Braidalbin; on the S. by Loch E-
tive, which separates it from Knap-
dale ; on the W. by the ocean and the
.sound of Mull ; and on the N, by
Lochaber and Moidart. It is also
parted into two subdivisions, called
North Mud and South Lorn; but
these distinctions are imaginary, none
of the limits being distinctly marked.
This district, watered by many lakes
and rivers, on the banks of which there
is much arable land, is the most plea-
sant and fertile district in Argyllshire.
It was formerly the seat of the Pictish
government, when the city of Berego-
xiium existed ; and here was the royal
castle of Dunstaffuage, the chief resi-
dence of the Scotish kings prior to
the conquest of the Picts by Kenneth
II. (l r Llc Beregonium and Dun-
staffnage.) In the whole district
are found numerous religious edifices,
both druidical and Christian ; and
there are the remains of many ancient
powers and fortified places. Lome
gives £he title of Marquis to the eld-
est son of the Duke of Argyll.
LOS8IE ; a river in Morayshire,
whi rh takes its rise in the parish of
Edenkeillie, and, gliding through Dal-
)is, and by the royal borough of El-
gin, falls into the sea at the town of
Lossiemouth, 05 miles from its source.
It is too small to be navigable beyond
its mouth, and its bed is too sandy to
be favourable for salmon, yet several
dozen of salmon have been taken in a
season at its mouth. It abounds with
excellent red spotted trout, some of
which have been taken weighing 4 lbs.
LOSSIEMOUTH; a village in
Morayshire, in the parish of Drainy,
situated at the mouth of the river
Lossie. It is a sea port town, belong-
ing to the town of Elgin, from which
it is distant 6 or 7 mi'es. Except a
sloop and several fishing boats*, no
vessels belong to this place ; but from
40 to 50 vessels, on an avera.ee, an-
nually enter the' harbour, which has
fceeh made convenient to receive ves-
sels of 80 tons burden. Lossiemouth
contains nearly 200 inhabitants.
LOTH ;. a parish in the county of i
Sutherland, extending along the coast i
LOU
of the Moray Frith 14 miles in length^
and from \ to ■£ of a mile in breadth.
It is watered by the rivers Loth and
Helmsdale, which fall into the ocean
at this place. The arable soil along
the coast is fertile ; but the system of
agriculture generally followed is by
no means calculated to make it pro-
duce the greatest crops: more inland
the surface becomes elevated, and the
hills are covered with a short black
heath. The coast is in some places
rocky ; in others a sandy beach, pos*
sessing several j»ood harbours where
small vessels may lie in safety. There
are several remains of Pictish build-
ings ; and a number of cairns on a
field are said to point out the place of
a bloody engagement between the
Caithness and Sutherland men. There
are quarries of limestone and freestone
on the shore, and some detached
blocks of a very hard and beautiful
granite. There are several small seams
of coal, and in the sea are rocks of
that mineral, which are accessible at
low water. Population in 1801, 1374.
LOTH ; a small river in Slither-
landshire, which rises in the inferior
of the county, and, after a course of
1.5 or 16 miles, falls into the ocean in
the parish of the same name. It is
very rapid, and rises very suddenly
after rain, often laying the whole dis-r
trict of Glenloth underwater. It falls
into the sea by a channel cut through
a rock 20 feet high, by the order of
Lady Jane Gordon, Countess of Su-
therland, during the minority of h^r
son, by which. useful work many acres
of low land have been recovered from
its channel.
LOTHIAN ; an extensive and fer-
tile district, now divided into 3 shires,
viz. East Lothian or Haddingtonshire;
Mid-Lothian or Edinburghshire ; and
West-Lothian or Linlithgowshire.
Lothian gives the title of Marquis to
the noble family of Kerr.
LOTHOSCAIR, named by Bu-
chanan Molachascair ■; a small island
of Argyllshire, in Loch Linnhe, near
which is a safe harbour for vessels of
any burden.
LOUDON 5 a parish in Ayrshire,
in the bailiewick of Cunningham, a-
about 9 miles in length, and from 3 to
7 in breadth, containing 10,000 acres,
of which 7500 are arable. The soil
in general is a deep loam, much itt£