Topographical dictionary of Scotland > Volume 1

BYTH
CABR
Gaelic church in Rothesay is dependent upon North
Bute, the clergyman officiating there being the assistant
of its minister. The members of the Free Church have
a place of worship ; and a parochial school is situated,
but rather inconveniently, at Etterick, and supported by
a salary from the marquess, and by the fees.
BUTESHIRE, a county, on the western coast of
Scotland, consisting of the isles of Bute, Arran, Inch-
Marnock, and Great and Little Cumbray, in the Firth
of Clyde ; separated on the north from Argyllshire by
the straits called the Kyles of Bute, and on the west,
from the peninsula of Cantyre, by Kilbrannan Sound.
It lies between 55° 26' and 55° 56' (N. Lat.), and 4° 54'
and 5° 23' (W. Long.), and comprises an area of
about 257 square miles, or 164,480 acres ; 3067 inhabited
houses, and 97 uninhabited; with a population of
15,740, of whom 7155 are males, and S5S5 females.
The island of Bute, at a very early period, became the
property of Sir John Stuart, a son of Robert II., and
was confirmed to him by his brother, Robert III., and is
still the property of his descendant, the Marquess of
Bute ; that of Arran was granted by James III. to Sir
James Hamilton, whose descendant, the Earl of Arran,
was regent of Scotland during the minority of Mary,
Queen of Scots, and it now is the property of the Duke
of Hamilton. The civil business of the county is trans-
acted at the royal burgh of Rothesay, which is the only
town ; and under the act of the 2nd of William IV.,
the county returns a member to the imperial parlia-
ment.
The surface is various : the island of Bute, in the
central parts, is diversified with hills affording excellent
pasturage, and with valleys of rich arable land in excel-
lent cultivation ; Arran is rugged and mountainous, in-
terspersed w 7 ith glens of moss, through which several
streams, descending from the heights, flow into the
sea. The highest of the mountains in Arran, is Goat-
Fell, which has an elevation of 3500 feet above the sea ;
and from its summit is an extensive view, embracing
England, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. In both islands
there are numerous lakes ; and the coasts are indented
with fine bays, of which the chief in Bute are, Kilchat-
tan, Rothesay, and Kames, on the east, and Dungoil,
Stravannan, Scalpsie, St. Ninian's, and Etterick, on the
west ; the bays in Arran are, Lamlash, which is acces-
sible in every wind, Whiting, and Brodick, on the east,
and Druimadoun and Machry, on the west. Opposite
to St. Ninian's bay, is the island of Inch-Marnock ; and
at the entrance of Lamlash bay, is the Holy Island.
Freestone, limestone, slate, and an inferior kind of coal,
are the prevailing substrata ; and near the shore, are
some beds of coral and shells of great thickness. The
rateable annual value of the county is £30,9/6. The
chief seats are, Brodick Castle, at the head of the bay of
that name ; and Mount Stuart, situated on an accli-
vity opposite to the entrance of the Clyde. The island
gives the title of Marquess to the ancient family of
Stuart.
BUTTERGASK, a village, in the late quoad sacra
parish of Ardoch, parish of Dunblane, county of
Perth ; containing 65 inhabitants. It. is situated in
the eastern part of the parish, on a stream tributary to
the Allan, and a short distance from the roab between
Auchterarder and Dunblane.
BYTH, NEW.— See Newbyth.
163
CABRACH, a parish, partly in the district of Al-
ford, county of Aberdeen, but chiefly in the county
of Banff, 12 miles (W.) from Clatt ; containing 827
inhabitants. This parish, which is about twelve miles
in length, from north to south, and four in breadth,
from east to west, is covered to a considerable extent
with moss and fir, and derives its name from certain
Gaelic terms signifying " the timber moss." The por-
tion in the county of Aberdeen consists of a deep exca-
vation in the form of a basin, surrounded by hills ;
and that in Banffshire of winding valleys, skirted on
each side by lofty eminences, and stretching along the
course of the Blackwater and Doveran streams. The
surface is exceedingly rugged, and the entire district
bleak, wild, and mountainous, spread over, to a great
extent, with tracts of peat-moss, affording an inexhaus-
tible supply of fuel ; large moors abounding with grouse,
partridges, hares, and almost every kind of game ; and
waste land incapable of cultivation ; the parts under
tillage bearing a very small proportion to the aggregate
number of acres. Green crops, and grass for hay,
thrive better than grain ; oats and bear, which are
chiefly sown, seldom coming to maturity in the higher
district except in fine seasons. The inhabitants, how-
ever, engage in agricultural pursuits with great spirit,
having introduced most of the improvements of thesouth-
ern parts ; the cattle are the black native breed, large
numbers of which are reared, with many sheep, and
some of the former are sent to the markets in the south,
in a lean condition, for sale, as well as to the surround-
ing districts. A considerable extent of waste has been
brought under tillage within the present century, and
inclosures of various kinds are in progress ; but the
bad state of the roads, and the want of sufficient capital
for their repair or enlargement, render agricultural im-
provement difficult. The rateable annual value of the
parish is £1632 for the Banffshire portion, and £830
for the Aberdeenshire portion. The district abounds
with limestone ; and a small grey slate is occasionally
dug up, and used chiefly for building,' within the loca-
lity. The mountain streams supply abundance of trout ;
the Doveran, which rises here in several heads, contains
excellent salmon, and in addition to the game upon the
moors, the forests of Glen-fiddich and Blackwater are
well stocked with fine deer. There were till lately two
establishments for the distillation of malt spirits, pro-
ducing annually 10,000 gallons. An annual market is
held on the Thursday after the third Tuesday in July
(O. S.), and another on the Monday before the second
Tuesday in October (O. S.), chiefly for the sale of black-
cattle bred here. The parish is in the presbytery of
Alford and synod of Aberdeen, and in the patronage of
the Duke of Richmond; the stipend is £158. 6. 7-, of
which nearly half is received from the exchequer ; there
is a manse, built in 1802, with about 2S acres of glebe,
valued at £10 per annum. The church is a plain edifice,
erected about 1786. The parochial schoolmaster re-
ceives a salary of £32. 2., with a few pounds derived
from fees ; and another school has a small endowment
from the Duke of Richmond. On the farm of Shenwell,
Y2