Topographical dictionary of Scotland > Volume 1

GI G H
GILC
the sea rushes with considerable fury. The shore of
the island of Cara is rocky and steep, except towards
the north-east ; and at its southern extremity is a pre-
cipitous rock, 117 feet high, called the Mull of Cara,
thronged by sea-fowl, and the resort, too, of the hawk.
Around this coast also, as well as that of the other
islands, mackerel, sea-perch, lythe, rock-cod, and many
other fish are found • and cod, ling, and large haddocks
may be obtained on the banks, two or three miles dis-
tant. Some rocky portions of the surface of Gigha are
covered with various species of lichen, of which those
named parmelia, sticta-ramalina, and lecanora are much
esteemed as valuable dyes ; and the juniper, which is
abundant and prolific upon the eastern coast, supplies
in the summer and autumn quantities of berries, here
used in order to flavour whisky. Many tracts are
clothed with stunted heath ; but the surface is in dif-
ferent places pleasingly diversified with knolls and hil-
locks, profusely ornamented with musk roses. On the
coast is found the ulva-latissima, used as a pickle, as
well as the different kinds of Carigean moss.
The soil is a rich loam, containing in some parts an
admixture of sand, clay, and moss ; it is tolerably fer-
tile, and produces good crops of bear, oats, potatoes,
and turnips. The land is particularly adapted to the
growth of the last, but, in consequence of the demand
for seed-potatoes, especially for Ireland, more attention
is paid to the cultivation of these than the turnips. A
small part of the arable land is still under the old sys-
tem of husbandry, the larger property only being sub-
ject to the rotation of crops ; the farms are to some
extent inclosed and subdivided, but the buildings require
further improvement. There is a corn-mill, to which a
new road was lately formed at a cost of £250 ; the mill
itself has been repaired, and among other improvements
that have been found of general advantage is the drain-
ing of the Mill-dam loch, affording an opportunity to
the people to obtain from it turf for fuel. A few sheep
are reared, of the Cheviot breed, and many from other
places are wintered here ; about 1000 hogs, also, are
annually brought, at the close of autumn, from Jura
and other contiguous parts, to be tended at the rate of
2s. 6d. each for five months. The rateable annual
value of Gigha and Cara is £2091. The strata of
the parish comprise mica-slate, felspar-slate, quartz,
and hornblende, with chlorite-slate, crossed in many
places at right angles by basaltic dykes ; and boulders
of hornblende are frequently seen both on, and a little
below, the surface, measuring two and three feet in
diameter. Traces of copper are observable in Gigha,
and of iron-ore at the south end of Cara. The planta-
tions, which are but few, consist of oak, ash, larch,
plane, Scotch fir, and pineaster, the last being less
affected by the sea air and storms than any of the other
kinds.
The population exhibit more of the maritime than of
the agricultural character ; the young men generally
become sailors, and a large proportion of the rest are
engaged in fishing for cod and ling for several months,
beginning about Candlemas. Upwards of twenty boats,
carrying four men each, are engaged in this pursuit ;
they proceed to the banks already referred to, north-
west and south-west of the parish, and usually take as
many fish as enable them, after a plentiful supply for
their own families, to dispose of about fifty tons. These,
4? 2
when cured, are sold at Glasgow, Greenock, and Camp-
belltown, at from £10 to £14 per ton. Besides the
fishing-boats and twenty of smaller size, a vessel of
thirty tons and another of fourteen are employed in
carrying agricultural produce to market ; they convey
annually, on the average, S00 tons of potatoes, 400
quarters of bear, and 150 quarters of oats, besides black-
cattle, horses, sheep, and pigs, and a considerable por-
tion of dairy produce. Coal, lime, and other articles
are imported ; and vessels of large burthen visit the
parish from Ireland, England, and the Clyde, for pota-
toes, and sometimes for cod and ling. A steam-boat,
running between Loch Tarbert and Islay, passes Gigha
three times weekly in summer, and once in winter; there
is also a ferry from each of the properties to Tayinloan,
a hamlet on the Mainland, where is the receiving-house
for letters. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the
presbytery of Cantyre and synod of Argyll, and the
patronage belongs to the Duke of Argyll; the minister's
stipend is £266, with a manse, and a glebe valued at
£10 per annum. The church was built about the year
17S0, and is in tolerable repair. The parochial school
affords instruction in English and Gaelic, and Latin is
also taught, with all the usual branches ; the master
has a salary of £25. 13., with a house, and about £14 fees.
At the distance of a mile from the present church may
be seen the walls of the former edifice, with a stone
font, standing in the midst of the burial-ground. About
the centre of Gigha is Dun-Cliijie, formerly, as is tradi-
tionally reported, a strong fortification occupied by
Keefie, the King of Lochlin's son, who, it is said, was
killed here by Diarmid, one of the heroes of Fingal.
GIGHA ISLE, in the parish of Barra, county of
Inverness. It is one of the Hebrides, and lies north-
east of Barra island, having Ottervore bay on the west :
the isle is of small extent, and is inhabited.
GIGULUM ISLE, in the parish of Gigha and Cara,
district of Cantyre, county of Argyll. This is a small
uninhabited islet, situated between the islands of Gigha
and Cara ; and in the sound between Gigulum and
Gigha is good anchorage ground for large vessels, as is
more particularly noticed in the article on ths parish, i
GILCOMSTON, a district, and lately an ecclesiastical
parish, in the parish of Old Machar, city, district, and
county of Aberdeen; containing 5194 inhabitants.
This place, which forms part of the northern suburbs
of the city, is pleasantly situated on a gentle acclivity,
and near a rivulet which in its course turns some mills.
The streets are irregularly formed, apparently without
any regard to uniformity of plan ; and the houses "are
generally indifferently built, of mean appearance, and
chiefly inhabited by labourers employed in agriculture
and in the several manufactories in the neighbourhood.
A distillery of whisky was established in 1750, by a
joint stock company, at the mill of Gilcomston ; but,
for want of sufficient encouragement, it was in a few
years discontinued, and a public brewery was subse-
quently established on the premises. To the west of
the town is the celebrated chalybeate called the Well
of Spaw; and the environs abound with picturesque
scenery. The district was separated from the parish of
Old Machar by act of the General Assembly, in 1834,
and was, for a short time, for ecclesiastical purposes, a
parish of itself; it comprised about 600 acres of tole-
rably fertile land, in good cultivation. The church,