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 ^'-T^ I
 
 TOUIR 
 
 THROUGH SOME OF THE 
 
 ISLANDS 
 
 OF 
 
 ORKNEY AND SHETLAND, 
 
 WITH A VIEW CHIEFLY TO 
 
 OBJECTS OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
 
 EOT INCLUDING ALSO 
 
 OCCASIONAL REMARKS ON THE STATE OF THE 
 
 INHABITANTS, THEIR HUSBANDRY, 
 
 AND FISHERIES, 
 
 BY 
 
 PATRICK NEILL, A.M. 
 
 SECRETARY TO THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY 
 OF EDIKBURGH. 
 
 WITH 
 
 AN APPEXDIX, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 OBSERVATIONS, POilTICALAND ECONOM tCAL, ON THE SHETLAND 
 
 ISLANDS ; A SKETCH OF THEIR MINERALOGY, &C. &C. 
 
 PRINTED FOR A. CONSTABLE AND COMPANY, 
 AND JOHN MURRAY, LONDON. 
 
 1806.
 
 Neill & Co. Printers, 1 
 Edinburgh. \
 
 VA 
 PREFACE. ^J^%^ I 
 
 THEfoUoxving journal of a Tour through some 
 of the Orkney and Shetland Islands^ originally appear- 
 ed in the Scots Magazine. It was drawn up, as it 
 suited my convenience, from time to time, arid insert- 
 ed in successive Numbers of that periodical work, 
 from November 1804 to July 1805. This will partly 
 account for some defects of arrangement, and j or some 
 repetitions, which might easily have been avoided, had 
 the whole been zvritten at once. 
 
 In reprinting, I have embraced the opportunity of 
 introducing a few verbal corrections ; but I have not 
 materially altered any statement formerly made, with- 
 out eapf^essly announcing the alteration. 
 
 The objects which I principally attended to, were 
 those connected with the study^of Natural History, 
 (and an apology is perhaps due to the reader for the 
 number of technical terms appropriate to that science, 
 which occur in the folloidng pages) ; hut it was almost 
 impossible not to take some notice of the state of the In- 
 habitants of the Islands. The freedom of my remarks, 
 however, on the urfortunatt coridition of the common 
 
 b people
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 people in Shetland, has brought upon me the censure of 
 certain of the landholders ; which tliey hctce, "oerij un- 
 necessarily, vented in unmeaning scurrility, through 
 the medium both of newspapers and of Grub-street 
 pamphlets. 
 
 The mere republication of the xvhole Tour will, to 
 the Public in general, be sufficient for my indication. 
 Nothing, I trust, will be perceived in it, but the can- 
 did obsei'vatiojis of a stranger on what he really saw ; 
 and I cannot surely be condemned for depicting the 
 wretchedness of the Shetlanders, — " quee ipse miser- 
 " lima vidi," — when my only object proves to be the 
 melioj^atioji of their condition. 
 
 The greater part of the Shetland tenants appeared 
 to me to be sunk into a state of the most abject poverty 
 and misery. I found them even without bread ; with- 
 out any kind of food, in short, but Jish and cabbage ; 
 — living, in many cases, under the same roof with their 
 cattle, and scarcely in cleaner apartments ; — their 
 Utile agricultural concerns entirely Jieglected, owing 
 to the men being obliged to be absent during summer 
 at the ling and tusk fishery. 
 
 The reader zdll probably be not a little suiprised to 
 learn, that these tenants, acting at one time as far- 
 mers^ and at another as fshers, after enduring, in 
 
 the
 
 PREFACE. Vll 
 
 the latter cctf)acity, for many xveeks the greatest pri- 
 vations, and encountering stormy seas in their open 
 boats, are not allowed to carry their dear-bought car- 
 goes to the best market, but are compelled to deliver the 
 whole into the storehouses of their landlords, at stipu- 
 lated rates, beloiv the market lvalue ! This statement 
 is amply supported, by the E.vtracts subjoined in the 
 Appendi.v, and indeed it has never been controverted : 
 this alone would justify me for not having formed a 
 very favourable opinion of the system of management 
 adopted by the Shetland lairds. I shall only further 
 state, that so slender are the advantages, if any, ac- 
 cruing to the tenants from this fishery, that it is, in 
 general, an object of aversion to them ; insomuch, that 
 their agreements with their lairds are accompanied 
 with an obligation to fsh, under the implied, but xcell- 
 nnderstood penalties, of dismissal, and consequent star- 
 vation, or of heavy and arbitrary fines. 
 
 During my excursions through the Islands, T oc- 
 casionally took 7iotes; and from these tJiefolloiving jour- 
 nal teas compiled: but as I then entertained no thoughts 
 of publication, my notes were very short and incom- 
 plete. Indeed, I certainly zvould 7iot have appeared 
 before the public at all, had I not hoped that the con- 
 sequences of the discussion miglit eventually be benefi- 
 cial to the remote and neglected inhabitants of Shetland. 
 It is my earnest wish that their condition should be 
 
 scrupulously
 
 Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 scrupulously inquired into hy some of our public-spirited 
 and patriotic characters ; satisfied as I a7?i, that from 
 ingenuous investigation, and public discussion, a change 
 will result, favourable not only to the emancipation a?td 
 happiness of the poor people, but ultimately to the pros* 
 perity of the landholders themselves. 
 
 In the Appendi.v, there 'will be found some valuable 
 remarks on the Shetland Islands, and on the means of 
 improving them, hy Sir Alexander Seton of Pres- 
 ton, whom the author had the pleasure of accompanying 
 as a felloic-traveller through several of those dreary 
 wastes in 1 804. The mineralogist will find some in- 
 teresting information respecting the mineral produc- 
 tions of Shetland, hy Dr T raili. of Tirlet in Orkney. 
 — ^ — A list of Plants indigenous to Orkney, supplemen- 
 tary to the catalogue contained in Dr Barry's Hi- 
 story, and some remarks on the Birds found in the 
 Islands, zvill perhaps interest or amuse the naturalist. 
 
 . In the Notes, are contained some remarks on the im- 
 portance of the Herring fshery ; and a particular ac- 
 count of the droves of small Whales which were, last 
 year, stranded on the shores of Unst in Shetland. 
 
 P. N. 
 
 Wth Nov. 1806. 
 
 CON-
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 ORKNEY. 
 
 Pages. 
 Town of Kirkwall ; Cathedral of St Magnus *, rui- 
 nous palaces •, want of Markets, Pier, &c. - 3 ^o 9 
 Environs of Kirkwall ; Quanternefs, Scalpa, - 9 — la 
 State of Agriculture in Orkney j black oats, - 13 — 16 
 
 (Alfo p. 205. & p. 210.) 
 Diftrift of Deernefs j willows, - - - - 17 & 213 
 Port of Stromnefs ; Druidical circle at Stennis, - 18, 19 
 Ifland of Shapinfa 5 ClifFdale ; mirkles, - - 21 
 
 ■ Stronfa ; Brough Head ; bed of Ihells, - 22 — 28 
 
 Kelp-manufa6lure in Orkney, kinds of fea-weed 
 
 ufed ; reverberatory furnaces, &.c. - - 28 — 32 
 
 (Alfo p. 206 — 208.) 
 Ifland of Sanda ; ifolated mafs of gn&ifs ; Heclabir ; 
 
 Stove ; want of fuel, &c. - - ^3 — 37 
 
 Eda •, a heathy ifland, - - - - 38 
 
 Wefl:ra ; Cafl;le of Noltland ; fand-flood ; 39 — 41 
 
 Papa Wefl;ra; eider-ducks j cod-bank, &c. 41 — 44 
 
 Roufay •, variety of plants there, - - 45 
 
 Aikernefs ; want of winter- fodder, - - 47 Sc 210 
 
 Ifland of Hoy ^ Dwarfy-ltoxit j Wart-hill jjly-goofe, 48 — 54 
 
 General
 
 S: CONTENTS. 
 
 General Remarks on Orkney, Pages. 
 
 Trees wanting, but might be cultivated, - 54 ^o 57 
 
 (Alfo p. 179, & p. 211 — 213-) 
 
 Sheep, — Goats, &c. 5^ 
 
 Game and Wild-duck, - - - - - 59 
 
 Molucca Beans, 60 & 213 
 
 Fiflieries of Orkney •■, kinds of fifli caught in the 
 
 Orkney Seas ; hoes^fillocks, cod, herring, - 61 — 64 
 
 (Alfo p.-209.) 
 Obftacles to improvements in Orkney, - - 65 
 
 Defencelefs Hate of Kirkwall and Stromnefs, - (iS 
 
 SHETLAND. 
 
 Town of Lerwick ; Fort Charlotte ; ftraw-plait- 
 
 ing, &c. 68—79 
 
 Ifland of Br aflay •, plants, minerals, - - - 71 
 
 Yell ; plants forming the paflure there, - 74 
 
 Unfl, the mofl remote of the iflands, - 75 — 80 
 
 Nofs J Cradle of Nofs ; HangclifF, &c. 81—84 
 
 (Alfo p. 105, 106.) 
 
 Scalloway, formerly the chief town of Shetland, 85 — 87 
 
 Vale of Scalloway, finell diftridl in the iflands, - 88 
 
 Fair Ifle i Skua-gulls, &c. - - - - 90 
 
 General Remarks on Shetland. 
 
 Tea, the favourite beverage of the poor, - - 91 
 
 Piltocks or coalfifli, their chief food, - - 9a &. 208 
 Light-houfes wanted in Shetland, and a regular 
 
 Packet, i - 94 & 229 
 
 Jufticcs of the Peace greatly needed, - 95 ^ ^°7 
 
 State of the common people, - - - 96 — 104 
 
 Their poverty and dependance, - - 97 &, 126 
 
 Hints for the improvement of their condition, - 102 
 
 SUP-
 
 CONTENTS. XI 
 
 Pages. 
 
 SUPPLEMENT, 105^0113 
 
 Profits of landlord and tenant, - - ic8 — 110 
 
 Whale-fiihing exaction, _ _ _ ixi — 112 
 
 (Alfo p. 127, 128.) 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. I. Letter to the Editor of the Scots Magazine, 
 
 Jan. 1806, with additional Notes, 115 — 119 
 
 IL Anfwers to anonymous ftridures on the 
 
 Tour, &c. with Notes, - - 120 — 141 
 
 Partition of wrecks in Shetland, - 130 — 132 
 in. Extracts refpeding Shetland, from GifFard 
 of Bufla, Campbell, Knox, Bath Papers, 
 Statiilical Account, &c. - - 141 — 156 
 IV. On the Mineralogy of Shetland, by Dr 
 
 Traill, - - - - - 157 — 172 
 V. On the ftate of Shetland, and the means 
 of improving it, by Sir Alexander 
 
 Seton, 173— 181 
 
 VI. Lift of Plants in Orkney, fupplementary 
 
 to Dr Barry's Catalogue, - - 182 — 193 
 
 VII. Lift of popular names of Birds in Orkney, 194 — 204 
 
 NOTES, - _ . - _ _ _ 205 — 230 
 
 On the herring-fifliery, _ . _ 214 — 320 
 
 Account of fmall whales in Shetland, - 221 — 228 
 
 Letter from the Rev. Mr Savile, Sec. - - 232 
 
 Notice of a fecond anonymous pamphlet, - 235 — 239 
 
 TOUR
 
 TOUR 
 
 THROUGH SOME OF THE 
 
 OJRKNEY AND SHETLAND ISLANDS. 
 
 (Scots Magazine f Nov, 1804.) 
 
 WE embarked at Leith, on the evening of the 
 17th of July 1804, in a floop bound for 
 Thurfo. On the 2Cth we anchored in Scrabfter Road, 
 oppoiite to the town of Thurfo. Sir John Sinclair's 
 houfe firft attrads notice, being (ituated on the Bay. 
 It has a bare appearance, from the total want of 
 trees. Earl Harold's tomb, a neat modern monu- 
 ment, erected by Sir John, has a pidurefque eiFed; 
 from fome llations near the town. Under the au- 
 fpiccs of this gentleman, a new town has lately been 
 laid out ; and about a dozen of handfome houfes 
 are already eredied. x\ very neat new bridge adds 
 much to the beauty as well as conveniency of the 
 place. This happened to be a market-day in Thur- 
 fo, and we faw the Highlanders from the high parts 
 of Caithnefs and from Sutherland, dancing Xht fling 
 
 A tQ
 
 S ORKNEY. 
 
 to the mulic oF the bagpipe in the open ftreet. 
 A good deal of falmon is caught in Thurfo harbour 
 at the mouth of the river. In 1744, the greateft 
 draught ever heard of, perhaps, was made here ; 
 two thoufand five hundred and fixty falmon being 
 caught at one haul, as certified in 1792 *, by three 
 perfons who were perfonally prefent or aflifted at 
 the draught in 1744- — By land, Thurfo is fomewhat 
 more than 290 miles N. from Edinburgh. 
 
 Next morning, at 5 o'clock, we left Thurfo in an 
 open boat, to crofs the Pentland Frith to Orkney. 
 On leaving Thurfo Bay, off Holburn Head, we paf- 
 fed feveral large infulated mafles of rock, the bafes of 
 which are wafhed by an almoft perpetually furious 
 tide, while their tops are covered by hundreds of 
 gulls and auks. In the Pentland Frith there was a 
 heavy dead fwell, as it is termed, our boat mount- 
 ing and finking with the waves, without the leail 
 fpray. So large w^ere the waves, that every time 
 one intervened, we lofl: fight of land, and of a 
 floop which was then in the Frith. After reach- 
 ing Cantick Head, we eroded the entrance of 
 the Long Hope, a moft capacious and fafe natural 
 harbour. We pafled the iflands of Fotal and Cava. 
 In the narrow founds here, we faw ranny boats 
 engaged in the fifliery of dogs or hoes, as they are 
 here called, (f. e. piked dog-fifli, fqualus acanthias,) 
 from the livers of which they extradl oil, and the 
 bodies of which they dry for winter food The 
 fifiiers remark, that the dog-fifli are found in fliof^ls 
 only at change or full moon ; it is highly probable 
 
 that 
 
 * Stat. Ace. of bcodand, vol. xjc. p. 594.
 
 ORKNEY. 3 
 
 that the ftrong tides which prevail in the Pentland 
 Frith at thefe periods may force thofe fifties into 
 fheltered places for a time. At mid-day we failed 
 up the Orkney mediterranean, called Scalpa Flow : 
 here we got light of the Cathedral of St Magnus in 
 Kirkwall. As we approached the fliore, 1 could not 
 help remarking the uncommon peilucidity of the 
 water, and the immenfe length to which fucus filum 
 (here called r^^-^z/;) had grown in one feafon ; it 
 was already about twenty feet long: its flow and 
 regular undulations with the limpid tide, had a fine 
 effed. We landed at Scalpa, about a mile and a half 
 from Kirkwall, which is fituated on the oppofite fea. 
 It is high water at Scalpa an hour fooner than at 
 the ftiore of Kirkwall ; this is owing to the former 
 place being more immediately expofed to the prefs 
 of the Atlantic waters. 
 
 The town of Kirkwall confifls principally of one 
 long ftreet, near an Englifti mile in length. In molt 
 places it is narrow and dirty ; near the Cathedral 
 it becomes fpacious and clean. The houies are 
 very generally placed in the Danifti way, with their 
 gables to the ftreet. They are chiefly built of 
 fandftone-flag, which naturally fplitting into flat 
 fquare pieces, faves both drefling and mortar. The 
 mortar is almoft wholly clay, a little lime being em- 
 ployed for the outfide of the wall only. Some of the 
 houfes lately built, are in the modern ftyle, and 
 have an elegant appearance. The principal public 
 buildings in Kirkwall are the Cathedral, and the 
 Bifliop's and Earl's Palaces, 
 
 The
 
 4 ORKNEY. 
 
 The Cathedral of St Magnus, tht)Ugh part of it 
 was built fo long ago as 1140, is flill entire. An 
 addition made to it, in the 16th century, by Bilhop 
 Reid, has deftroyed its proportions : it is now much 
 too long for- its breadth. The day after that on 
 which we reached Kirkwall being Sunday, we had an 
 opportunity of viewing the interior. Only the eaft- 
 ern half of the Cathedral is at prefent occupied as 
 the parifh-church. The effedl of the church-mufic 
 was grand : the lofty and vaulted roof re-echoed the 
 melody of the pfalm, and " fwell'd the note of 
 *• praife !" Fourteen lofty pillars on each fide, 
 fupport the arched roof: each pillar is about 15 
 feet in circumference. The length of the Cathedral 
 is confiderably more than 200 feet : its breadth 
 more than 50. The height of the roof, we were in- 
 formed, is 70 feet ; of the fteeple, 130 feet. A rofe 
 window, on the fouth gable of the crofs, of a fine 
 appearance, has lately been renewed and ornament- 
 ed, through the tafte and care of the fenior clergy- 
 man, Mr Yule. Principal Gordon remarks *, that the 
 Cathedral of St Magnus, like molt cathedrals in 
 Scotland, reminded him of the loca Jenta fitu of 
 Virgil : the JttuSy however, with which the roof, the 
 Walls, and the pillars of St Magnus are covered, is 
 •no common produdion, but one which will interell 
 the botanift : it is the rare byfllis reruginofa of 
 Linnaius. This bylTas alfo invefls the walls and 
 pillars of Roflin Chapel, near Edinburgh, where it 
 was obferved a few years ago by Dr Smith of the 
 
 Linnean 
 
 * Traus. Antiq. Soc Edin. vol. i.
 
 ORKNEY. 
 
 Linnean Society, for the firft time fifice the days of 
 Dilleniiis. From a fmall balcony-walk arouDci the 
 fteeple, there is a noble profpedl both of the fouth- 
 ern and northern feas and the iflands. There 
 are three bells in the fteeple, which are calculated 
 to make a good chime, if they were well rung. At 
 the eafh end of the Cathedral, near the altar, we faw 
 the white marble grave-ftone of Haco, king of Nor- 
 way. It is on a level with the floor, and partly co- 
 vered by one of the pews. This Haco died in 1263. 
 
 The BiJhop''s Palace is lituated clofe by the Ca- . 
 thedral : it is entirely in ruins, with the exception 
 of a tower at the north end. This tower is a hand- 
 fome ftrudure, the work of Bifhop Reid, — whofe 
 effigies, rudely executed, and much defaced by time, 
 ftill appears in a niche fronting the ftreet. 
 
 The Manfe, or parfonage-houfe, an old building, 
 immediately adjoins the fouth end of the Bifhop's 
 Palace. Over the door appear the following dog- 
 gerel leonines : 
 
 " Omnia terrena, per vices funt aliena : 
 
 *♦ Nunc mea, tunc hujus •, poft mortem nefcio cujus." 
 
 The EarVs Palace fronts the Bidiop's. It is 
 alfo ruinous, but not fo much decayed as the other. 
 It is about 2CO years old. The large hall is about 
 60 feet long, by 20 broad: it is lighted by ibur 
 fpacious windows, divided in the Gothic ftyle, and 
 with balconies in front. The arcb of the great 
 chimney in this ball befpeaks no common proficien- 
 cy in building : the large ftones are contrived fo to 
 lock into each other, as that the mantel-piece is, be- 
 low,
 
 6 ORKNEY. 
 
 low, perfedlly horizontal. On each fide of this 
 mantel-piece, the difguftful vanity and bad tafte 
 of the owner has blazoned his initials, P. E. O., 
 •* Patrick, Earl of Orkney." There is an infcrip- 
 tion over the outer door, which is now illegible. 
 What was formerly the palace-garden is now rent- 
 ed in fmall patches, or hundreds (as much ground 
 as will raife loo cabbages), by the town's people, 
 who plant it with kitchen-ftuffs. 
 
 On the weft fide of the main ftreet, fronting the 
 Cathedral, or a little to the eaftward of it, are the 
 fliattered remains of the Cajlle of Kirkwall^ which 
 appears to have been once a place of fome ftrength. 
 
 About the middle of the town, alfo on the weft 
 iide of the ftreet, ftands the gate leading to the old 
 Biftiop's-houfe, having over it the arms of Biftiops 
 Stewart, Maxwell, and Reid. It was in this houfe 
 that James V. flept, in his vifit to Orkney in 1540. 
 
 Over the gate of one of the oldeft private dwell- 
 ing-houfes in Kirkwall, we obferved the following 
 infcription: " Patrie et pofteris. — Nifi Dominus 
 *' cuftodierit, fruftra femen noftrum ferviet ipfi. 
 " Anno falutis 1574." 
 
 A little to the north of the ftiore of Kirkwall, 
 may be feen the remains of Oliver Cromwell's Fort. 
 A 6 or 8 pounder ftill lies here, but rufted and 
 honeycombed to a miferable degree. 
 
 The ftraw-plaiting manufadlory in Kirkwall em- 
 ploys about 150 girls, who are paid i d. per yard, 
 and will gain from 10 d. to 1 s.dd. a-day. From 
 30 to 40 fit at work in the fame room ; and it is, per- 
 haps, very queftionable, if fuch crowded eftablifti- 
 
 ments
 
 ORKNEY. 7 
 
 ments be favourable either to the health, or to the 
 morals and future profpeds of young fen:\ales. 
 
 At the back of the town, on the weft fide, there 
 is an extenfive falt-water marfh, called the Oyce of 
 Kirkwally which becomes a fine fheet of water at 
 every flood of the tide. It is then called the Little 
 Sea, and is highly ornamental, as well as ufeful to 
 the place. 
 
 Flocks of ftarlings are to be feen perched on every 
 wall and chimney. top about Kirkwall, being as 
 plentiful as fparrows are at Edinburgh. Fifty-feven 
 ftarlings have here been killed by one fiiot. 
 
 In all the gardens which we had an opportunity 
 of feeing at Kirkwall, artichokes were growing wdth 
 uncommon luxuriance. Cabbage and cauliflower 
 were alfo in high perfection. As a proof of the 
 mildnefs of the climate here, I may mention that, 
 in one garden, I obferved the following plants in 
 blow : fweet marjoram, mignionette, loofeftrife, 
 polemonium repens, after corymbofus, and fome 
 others -, and feveral plants of tobacco above two feet 
 high, raifed this feafon from feed fown in the open 
 border. In feveral of the gardens there are trees 
 twenty or thirty feet high, generally afli or plane. 
 
 Since the introdud:ion of the kelp-manufadure 
 in Orkney, a great change has taken place in the 
 ftate of fociety in Kirkwall, Country gentlemen 
 have thus acquired from their bleak eftates, fums of 
 money, great beyond all former experience. This 
 has gradually induced many of them to abandon, 
 efpecially during winter, their lonely and dreary ha- 
 bitations in the ifles, and to draw together in Kirk- 
 wall,
 
 ORKNEY. 
 
 wall, where they may not only enjoy fociety, but 
 can command better education for their children. 
 In drefs and polite behaviour, the fupevior clafs of 
 inhabitants in Kirkwall equal thofe of the fouth : 
 in hofpitality they even excel. During winter, 
 there are dancing aflemblies and card aflemblies, al- 
 ternately, every week. During the two winters 
 lafl paft, popular ledureson chemiftry were deliver- 
 ed twice a-week by a medical gentleman of the 
 place *, and the profits generoufly given to the poor. 
 
 In the populous and rifmg town of Kirkwall, it 
 furprifed us to learn that there were no public mar- 
 kets, for butchers-meat, filh, poultry, or other ar- 
 ticles. While the feas around are teeming with ii(h, 
 it is really prepofterous that there fliould be no 
 fifh-market, no place where the country fifher might 
 quickly difpofe of his cargo. The magiftrate who 
 lliall fird cftablifh public markets in Kirkwall, will 
 long be held in efleem by the community at large. 
 The prefent (laughter-houfe of Kirkwall is a nui- 
 fance, being fituatedhard by the main flreet, in paf- 
 fing which the inhabitants muft often be alTailed by 
 effluvia from the putrid blood. If new fliambles be 
 erecled, it is to be hoped that the magiftrates will 
 take care to place them a few hundred feet farther 
 to the weft, where the Little Sea will walh away all 
 impurities twice every 24 hours. 
 
 Although Kirkwall is a place of confiderable 
 trade, yet there is no quay at the harbour I no, not 
 fo much as a little pier at which a boat may land ! 
 
 PafTengers 
 
 * Dr Thomas Stewart Traill, now of Liverpool.
 
 ORKNEY. 9 
 
 Paflengers from the adjacent illands mull either 
 leap into the fea, or be carried afliore on men's 
 fhoulders I It is to be hoped that fo great a defi- 
 ciency will not long be overlooked. 
 
 {Scots Mag. Dec. 1 804.) 
 
 Among the public buildings of Kirkwall, we mud 
 not forget to rank the New Churchy a large meet- 
 ing-houfe, fo called, belonging to the clafs of Anti- 
 burgher Seceders. It is a fpacious church ; and the 
 preacher * being popular, the audience feldom falls 
 fliort of a thoufand. This is the only place of wor- 
 lliip in Kirkwall, belides the eftablilhed church. 
 
 We fhall now briefly take a furvey of the en- 
 virons of Kirkwall. 
 
 Between two and three miles N. W. from the town, 
 at a place called ^lanternefs, a large fubterraneous 
 building was fome time ago difcovered. It is vul- 
 garly c2L\\tA?i Peebles hoiife ; but it differs materi- 
 ally in ftrudture from the other ruinous buildings in 
 Orkney which have got the name of Pechts' houfes. 
 It has more the appearance of having been intended 
 as a cemetery. I'he entrance is long and narrow ; 
 and leads into a lobby, (if it may be fo called), which 
 is about fifteen feet long, by five broad. On each 
 fide of this lobby are two fmall chambers ; and 
 there is alfo a fmall chamber at each end of it. In 
 one of thefe laft, a complete human ikeleton was 
 lately found. We faw fome of the bones : they are 
 of a fmall lize, apparently belonging to a boy or a 
 
 B woman. 
 
 * Mr Broadfoot.
 
 10 ORKNEY. 
 
 woman. This building appears to have been con- 
 ftruded before the properties of the arch were un- 
 derftood in Orkney ; for the roof is formed, merely 
 by a gradual approximation of the ftones from the 
 oppofite walls. — In returning from Quanternefs to- 
 wards Kirkwall, the town and its lofty Cathedral 
 are feen in the mod advantageous point of view. 
 
 The houfe oi Corje, belonging to Captain Gibfon, 
 poflefles perhaps the moil pleafant fituation in the 
 vicinity of Kirkwall. It flands on the brow of a 
 green hill, commanding a profped both of the louth- 
 crn and northern feas, and overlooking the town of 
 Kirkwall. Here the traveller from the fouth-weft 
 of Pomona, firll catches a view of the Cathedral of 
 St Magnus : and there can be little doubt that in 
 former days a crojs had here been ereded, where 
 the devout pilgrim might kneel in gratitude for the 
 welcome fight of the houfe of God : the name Corfe 
 encourages this fuppofition. 
 
 Scnipa is a charming bay, about an Englifh mile 
 fouth from Kirkwall. Its banks offer, in fine weath- 
 er, the moll inviting walks to the inhabitants of the 
 town. A rivulet here falls into the fea, and at- 
 trads great quantities of fea-trout of a large fize, 
 which are difregarded by the Orcadians with fool- 
 ilh fupinenefs. About the middle of Augull lail 
 (1804), a ftioal of herrings y6'^ into Scalpa Bay : we 
 could even fee them from the lliore, and could hear 
 the rippling noife which they occafioned. Yet on- 
 ly a fingle boat from Kirkwall was fent to this rich 
 harved, and that boat was not provided with a fuit- 
 able net. Two boats, however, came from Thurfo 
 
 HI
 
 ORKNEY. ]1 
 
 in Caithncfs, more than thirty miles drftaht, to fhare 
 in the fpoil. When we vilited lome of the cottages 
 in the adjacent parifhes of Orfir and of Holme, we 
 found the poor inhabitants ftarving for want, while 
 the Tea, at their doors, was thus teeming with ne- 
 glected food. The cottagers, however, are not able 
 to purchafe nets. How honourable would it be, 
 were the gentlemen and merchants of Kirkwall to 
 unite in procuring a {lore of herring-nets, fo as to 
 be readv to avail themfelves of the occafional and 
 temporary vifits of the Ihoals, and thus to furnifh in 
 plenty to the poor, a cheap, a palatable, and a whole- 
 fome article of diet I 
 
 About Scalpa, the fhort-eared owl, (ftrix brachy- 
 otos), is not uncommon, during the fummer months. 
 A tame racoon, (urfus lotor), a native of the Weft 
 Indies, plays about the meadows of Scalpa during 
 the fame period ; a proof, if any were neceffary, of 
 the general mildnefs of that feafon in Orkney. 
 
 Having been informed, that a Dr Sutherland of 
 Orkney, (long ago deceafed), a pupil of the great 
 Boerhaave, was in the frequent practice of reforting 
 to a fmall glen, called the Giiills of Scalpa, to gather 
 limples which he difpenfed in his medical pradlice ; 
 curiofity led me carefully to examine the fpot. Vale- 
 rian (Valeriana officinalis), and wild angelica (angeli- 
 ca fylveftris), were common ; as were alfo eye-bright 
 (euphrafia officinalis), and lady's-finger, or kidney- 
 vetch, (anthyllis vulneraria). Purging-flax (linum 
 catharticum), and ladies-fmock (cardamine praten- 
 fis), were fparingly fcattered. One or two plants 
 of orchis latifolia appeared. In a marfli grew plen- 
 ty
 
 12 ORKNEY. 
 
 ty of the bog-bean, or marfli-trefoil (menyanthes 
 trifoliata), and on the rocks by the fea, a few plants 
 of Scots-lovage (ligufticum Scoticum). In an old 
 garden at Kirkwall, I obferved a large bed of biftort 
 (polygonum biftorta) ; a remnant, I prefume, of 
 the Doctor's difpenfatory. Mofl of the gardens 
 are provided with elecampane (inula helenium), — a 
 deco6lion of the root of which, is a frequent ingre- 
 dient in Orkney ale. 
 
 The only properly made road in Orkney, is that 
 which leads from Kirkwall to the parifh of Holme, 
 (or, as it is generally pronounced, Ham), being the 
 road which the poft-boy purfues, on foot, with the 
 mail for the fouth=^. There is, indeed, a kind of 
 road between Kirkwall and Stromnefs : but to ren- 
 der it palTable during winter, three or four fingle- 
 arch bridges, over as many rivulets, together with 
 one large bridge, over the outlet of the lake of Sten- 
 nis, would be necelTary. A very few hundred pounds, 
 however, judicioully laid out, would greatly improve 
 the communication between the capital of Orkney 
 and its principal fea-port. Were Government fully a- 
 ware of the ftate of Orkney ; did they know, that many 
 parents are unable, through want of employment, 
 duly to feed or to clothe their children, — children, 
 many of whom would, in a few years, add to the 
 ftrength of the Britifli Navy ; they would not heii- 
 
 tate 
 
 * Formerly Kirkwall had only one mail in die week. Since 
 Auguft 1 804, however, there have'been two arrivals and two 
 departures every week, when the ftate of PentlanJ Frith admits.
 
 ORKNEY. 13 
 
 tate to furnifli them with fome fuch public employ- 
 ment *. 
 
 Agriculture, &-c. — The parifli of Holme, to which 
 we fliall at prefent confine our attention, appears to 
 be in as high a ftate of cultivation as any diftrid: 
 which we had an opportunity of feeing in Orkney. 
 But, throughout Orkney, the ftate of agriculture is 
 indeed very low. The fa6t is, that in Orkney, at 
 this day, the landholders pay attention to nothing- 
 but the manufadure of kelp: agricuhure is quite a 
 fecondary confideration f : the fiftieries, too, are ut- 
 terly negleded. Such being the cafe, the reader 
 will not, we believe, conclude we are prophefying, 
 if we fay, that kelp will be the ruin of Orkney. A 
 failure in the demand for kelp, would make Ork- 
 ney poor indeed. 
 
 In moft places, the ground is not ploughed, but 
 fcratched merely. Alternate crops of oats and big 
 are taken for many fucceffive years. The foil, thus 
 fcourged, is able to produce its fcanty crop, only by 
 means of quantities of rotten fea-ware which are 
 annually firewed on it. The kind of oat, here cul- 
 tivated, 
 
 * The aft of the 43d of the King, ordering money to be if- 
 fued from the Treafury towards the making of roads and build- 
 ing of bridges in the Highlands of Scotland, will foon extend 
 its beneficial influence over the counties of Rofs, Caithnefs, and 
 Sutherland ; but it is doubtful if the i-emote Orkneys come with- 
 in the compafs of the ad. When the commiffioners, however, 
 Ihall report on the roads and bridges neceffary in Caithnefs and 
 Sutherland, it is to be hoped they will extend their views 
 acrofs the Pentland Frith. 
 
 f See Notes in Appendix Note A.
 
 J 4 oRK:^JEr. 
 
 tivated, is a different fpecies from the common oat 
 of the fouth of Scotland. The Orkney oat is the 
 Avena ftrigofa of LinniEUs ; the Lothian oat is the 
 Avena fitiva. Thef former is known, in Orkney 
 and in Shetland by the name of black oats, (fomc- 
 x\mt^ grey oats), and is eafily diftinguifiied by its 
 numerous awns, and by the circumftance of the 
 heads all hanging in one diredion '*. It withftands 
 the fadden blafts from the ocean much better than 
 the white oats. Mixed with the black oat, in 
 many fields we favv abundance of the tall hy- 
 grometric oat, avena fatua. A variety of A. fativa, 
 called the Red Oat, is alfo cultivated, but is liable 
 to fhake: the Potato Oat, being an earlier kind, 
 might be found preferable. The Orkney big is 
 a variety of the common hordeum vulgare, called 
 bear in Scotland. The fields are generally much 
 infefted with weeds, and with thofe weeds efpecially 
 
 which 
 
 * Each floret of the black oat, has two fliovt awns from the 
 end, and one very long crooked awn from the back ; and a-; 
 the florets grow in pairs, there thus appear together, in the black 
 oat, four fliort awns and two long crooked awns, where there 
 appears only one ftraight awn in the common white oat. Ano- 
 ther very obvious diftincflion is this, that, in the white oat, the 
 panicle or head is diffufe, and the grains or feeds Iiang on every 
 fide : in the black oat, however, the panicle is compad, and the 
 grains or feeds are fecundate, or hang all in one dire£lion. AVe 
 obferved that this kind of black oat, is cultivated alfo at Thur- 
 fo in Caithnefs, and receives there the fame defignation : we be- 
 lieve, indeed, that it is the moft common oat in the more north- 
 ern counties of Scotland. A ftraggling fpecimen of the avena 
 ilrigofa, may fometimes be obferved in the oat fields around 
 Edinburgh.
 
 ORKNEY. 15 
 
 which indicate a poor foil and negligent hufbandry. 
 Spurry (fpergula arvenfis) ; fmall buglofs (lycopfis 
 ai'venfis) ; and corn marigold * (chryfanthemum fe- 
 getum), are the moft numerous and noxious. There 
 is no wheat raifed in Orkney. 
 
 Turnip hufbandry has of late been introduced by 
 a few, and found very advantageous. A Swedifli 
 gentleman of extenlive information ftrongly recom- 
 mended, in our hearing, the colrahbie, or turnip 
 cabbage, (braflica oleracea, var. caulo rap:c, of Lin- 
 naeus,) as excellently adapted to the climate and foil 
 of Orkney and Shetland, — as calculated to remain 
 through the winter, — as very productive, and as be- 
 ing equally fuited for culinary purpofes, and for 
 winter-food to cattle. A few feeds were at this 
 time diflributed by him in Orkney. There can be no 
 doubt that it will ripen its feeds in the mild cli- 
 mate of thofe ifiands : And all the cabbage tribe, we 
 know, agree well with a maritime fituation. The 
 fame gentleman alfo recommended the culture, in 
 thefe countries, of the tall plant Jerufalem artichokef, 
 (fo named from the root polTcffing foraewhat of the 
 flavour of artichokes,) as an excellent and fuitable 
 winter vegetable. Winter-food for cattle is a prin- 
 cipal 
 
 * This is the plant known in the fouthern counties of Scot- 
 land by the name of Gules, or Guilds, and for the extirpation of 
 which, feveral afts appear in the old Scottifh code. It has been 
 v/ell remarked that this plant flees from cultivation, and that 
 the true way to extirpate it, is to manure, to fummer- fallow, 
 and to plough. It is nowfcarcely to be feen in the neighbour- 
 hood of Edinburgh. 
 
 f Helianthus tuberofus.
 
 16 ORKNEY. 
 
 cipal want in Orkney : in that bleak feafon, frequent- 
 ly, the cow of the cottager muft prowl along the 
 Ihore, and pick a fcanty fublilltnce from among the 
 fea-weeds thrown in by the tide. 
 
 The tall oatgrafs^ (holcus avenaceus, or avenaela- 
 tior,) grows naturally in every part of Orkney. It 
 would flourifli on the poorefl foil, and would never fail 
 to be an abundant crop. Yet it has never been cul- 
 tivated for hay in Orkney. Large crops of it are 
 every year raifed in Sweden ; and as the cattle there 
 eat it greedily during winter, there can be no doubt 
 that the half-ftarved hearts of Orkney would find it 
 a rich feaft during the fame period. This fiirely 
 dcferves the attention of fome Orkney improver. 
 
 In different little inlets or bays near Carnefs 
 Point, oppoiite to the illand of Shapinfa, I found fe- 
 veral fhells not common on the more fouthern fhores 
 of Britain. Venus Erycina was among them ; alfo 
 Venus Paphia. Trochus zizyphinus was in great 
 abundance : but the common trochus of the fouth 
 of Scotland, T. umbilicaris, was rare. Cyprasa pe- 
 diculus, or John o^Groat''s biicky, is found on all the 
 fliores of Orkney. 
 
 On the 25th of July we rode nine or ten miles into 
 the country fouth-eaft from Kirkwall, to a peninfu- 
 lar diftri(ft named Deernefs. On our way, and not 
 far from Kirkwall, we remarked a variety of Car- 
 duus lanceolatus with pure white flowers. At this 
 feafon the country was feen to the very bell advan- 
 tage, being in its highefl: ftate of verdure. Yet it 
 
 every
 
 ORKNEY. 17 
 
 every where appeared to us, poor and fleril ; and 
 the total want of trees or (hrubs gave it an inde- 
 fcribably naked appearance. Several fpecies of wil- 
 lows, (falix arbufcula, prunifolia, and cinerea), 
 were indeed here and there fcattered ; but wefcarce 
 ever obferved any of them above two feet in height. 
 Common mug wort * far overtopped them. The 
 diflridl of Deevnefs isconnedted with the mainland 
 only by a narrow and fandy ifthmiis. At this neck 
 of land may be feen the remains of feveral P€cbts\ 
 houfes ; and clofe by thefe, grows thalic^rum minus 
 (leiFer rue- weed) in great plenty. 
 
 In a moid meadow, called Keygar's Meadow, near 
 Capt. Richan's houfe of Brebufter, Deernefs, we ob-. 
 ferved abundance of anagallis tenella (bog piraper- 
 nell) ; a plant which did not again prefent itfelf to 
 us in any other part of Orkney. A fmall lake here 
 was nearly filled with potamogeton marinum. 
 
 At Deernefs we favv'very ftrong ropes, calculated 
 for different purpofes in hufbandry, made of the 
 ilioots of the crowberry-heath (empetrum nigrum). 
 The ropes for hanging the cafeys or balkets over the 
 horfes' backs, were made of the fibrous roots of fea- 
 reed (arund,o arenaria).^ Tethers and bridle-reins 
 were wrouglit of long meac^ow gVailes, fuch as hol- 
 cus lanatus, which" rfraites here, receive the name of 
 pounce, OT puns. 
 
 The Bay of FirthJ in D^fdy'S^oiiftd, about three 
 or four miles Avell from 'Kirkwall, affords excellent 
 
 "ti 
 
 'Q: '' " *" oyfters. 
 
 * Artemifia vulgaris ; in Orkney called Grey Bukvand 1 he 
 
 fops of the ftiilks of thib plaat, are ufed, by the common people, 
 i« place of hops.
 
 18 ORKNEY. 
 
 oyfters, larger far than the fined pandofes of Prefton- 
 pans or Edinburgh. The oyfters are not dredged 
 for, the ground being very foul, but are gathered on 
 the ledges of the rocks at ebb-tide, with a pair of long 
 tongs. Perfons may be hired to fetch them to Kirk- 
 wall, at the rate of from i,s^ to -i, j, dd, li hundred. 
 
 Stromnefs is fituated on the fame illand with Kirk- 
 wall, and about twelve miles fouth-weft from that 
 town. On our way to it, we ftopped at the Lake of 
 Stennis (or Stenhoufe,) to view fome truly curious 
 and interefling remains of antiquity called the 
 Standing Stones of Stennis. Thefe ftanding ftones 
 Cor ftones fet on end,) are arranged in the form of a 
 large circle, and a fmaller fernicircle. We firft view- 
 ed the latter, which perhaps had originally been a 
 complete circle : in that cafe, it muft have been loo 
 feet in diameter, the curvature of the femicircle that 
 remains meafuring fomewhat more than 150 feet. 
 Some of the ftones of this femicircle are truly maf,- 
 five, rifing about eighteen feet above the ground. 
 At a little diftance ftands a folitary ftone of great 
 fize, having, about two or three feet from the ground, 
 a round perforation in it. This round hole, it has 
 been fuppofed, was intended for tying the facrifices 
 offered at this rude, but magnificent temple, in 
 times of Druidifni. The common people ftill attach 
 a good deal of veneration to it j if a lover and his 
 niiftrefs join hands through it, this (we are told) is 
 confidered as the fign of a vow of the moft^facred 
 kind : it is called the promife of Odin. The more 
 fuperftitious of the natives alfo are of opinion, that 
 if, when they are young, they pafs their head through 
 
 this
 
 ORKNEY^ . 19 
 
 this hole, they will never fhake with palfy in their 
 old age. — The lake of Stennis is here divided into 
 two by a kind of caufeway or range of ftepping- 
 ftones, which leads to the large circle. This circle 
 had originally conlifted of about fixty huge flones : 
 about fourteen of thefe are flill complete, and Hand 
 On end ; feveral more lie proftrate on the ground. 
 This circle is exadly geometrical : it is about 300 
 feet in diameter ; confequently about 940 feet in cir- 
 cumference. It ii completely furrounded by a ditch 
 thirty feet wide, and generally about twelve feet 
 deep. This ditch had formerly been filled with wa- 
 ter ; and to fill it again would be no very laborious 
 undertaking, the great lake of Stennis being, as al- 
 ready mentioned, in the immediate vicinity. The 
 whole ftones are covered, in the upper part, with the 
 fined fpecimens of lichen calicaris, of uncommon 
 length, — giving the livelieft refemblance of hoary 
 locks hanging over their aged fhoulders. Many of 
 thefe fpecimens were in complete fructification, or 
 full of faucers. On a fragment of one of the ftones, 
 which I broke off, were the following lichens in fine 
 ftate, L. fulphureus, pulicaris, and ater. The ftones 
 are offandftone with numerous fmall fpecks of mica. 
 They appear to have been dug from quarries on 
 the fouth fide of the lake. 
 
 Stromnefs is the principal port in Orkney ; the 
 refort of the whale-fifliing veflels, and of the Hud- 
 fon's Bay fleets. Many foreign veflels alfo touch" 
 at Stromnefs. The harbour is capacious and fafe. 
 The town is rapidly increafing ; but unfortunately 
 no regularity is obferved in placing the houfes : 
 
 the
 
 20 ORKNEY. 
 
 the main ftreet runs zig-zag in the mo.ft whimfical 
 manner, and is in feveral places fo narrowed by pro- 
 jeding buildings, that no kind of cart can be driven 
 along it. Stromnefs was formerly cramped by its 
 fuppofed fuperior, the borough-town of Kirkwall ; 
 but the independence of Stromnefs on Kirkwall was 
 finally declared by a judgment of the Houfe of 
 Lords in 1758. The houfes are in general dated 
 with flabs of fliiftofe clay found in the neighbour- 
 hood. 
 
 The mineralogical appearances in the neighbour- 
 hood of Stromneis have been well defcribed by Pro- 
 feflbr Jamefon, in his Mineralogy of the Scottifh 
 Ifles. Here the only primary rocks in Orkney make 
 their appearance. The jundtion of the p,rimary and 
 fecqndary rocks is feen near Stromnefs, at the upper 
 mill of Cairfton, at a lin about twenty yards above 
 the mill. Between the town and the clergyman's 
 7nanfe I faw a good deal of cornpaSl barytcs *, in 
 pretty large malTes : it was generally ftudded with 
 bits of galena. The common foliated barytes is alfo 
 found in the neighbourhood. 
 
 Shaphifa, 
 
 * Having reduced a piece of this compaft barytes to a coarfe 
 powder, I mixed it with powdered charcoal, and fubjeaed it, in 
 a crucil.le, to a red heat for feveral hours. Upon afterwards 
 adding boiiing-hot water, I obtained a folution, which, on cool- 
 ing, prefented fome^ fine flaky cryftallizations. Upon adding 
 muriatic acid to this, folution, a quantity of fulphuretted hy- 
 drogen gas was evolved, proving the native combination to be 
 a fulphpte, and the flaky cryflals to have been fulphuret, or per- 
 haps rather hydro-fulphuret, of barytes. I thus obtained a fo- 
 lution of muriate of barytes, capable of detefting the prefence of 
 the fmalielt portion of fulphuric acid in water.
 
 ORKNEY. 21 
 
 (Scuts Mag. Jan. 1805.; 
 
 Shapmfa. — From Kirkwall we pafled, (29th July), 
 in a fmall boat, to the ifland of Shapinfa, which is 
 lituated about three miles to the northward. El- 
 wick Bay, where we landed, is a fecure natural har- 
 bour. Here we were delighted to fee fomething like 
 a hamlet of comfortable cottages. In its immediate 
 vicinity ftands Cliffdale^Houfe, the feat of the late 
 Colonel Balfour. This gentleman greatly improved 
 his property in this ifland : he made ClifFdale his 
 principal refidence ; ornamented it with a com- 
 pletely-fiirnifhed garden, and erected the iirft and 
 only grecnhoufe and ftove in Orkney. Near the 
 centre of the ifland we faw a tumulus called the 
 Wart o^ the Ward; and, at fome diflance from it, 
 the JiandiTig Jlojie of Shapinfa, a huge unfliapen mafs, 
 completely invefted with lichens. At the eaft end 
 of the ifland fome whinftone appears, inclining to 
 the bafaltic form *. Limeftone is alfo found, but 
 not of rich quality. Tho: hill-groiuid, or common, 
 of Shapinfa, is covered with falix argentea, orfilver- 
 leaved creeping- willow, which lies proftrate on the 
 earth : its catkins Were now burfting, and made the 
 ground appear as if ftrewcd with tufts of cotton. 
 On the fliore I faw abundance of fucus efculentus, 
 (F. teres of Dr Goodenough). This large fea-weed 
 is winged at the bafe (to fpeak botanically) with 
 flat fvvord-lhaped leafits : thefe leafits are known in 
 
 Orkney 
 
 * Defcribed in Profeffor Jamefon's Mineralogy of the Scat- 
 tiili Ifles. Rock-oil occurs in it.
 
 22 ORKNEY. 
 
 Orkney by the name of mirkles, and are frequently 
 eaten, as well as the mid-rib of the principal leaf. 
 We viewed Shapinfa church, which is in (hameful 
 difrepair. After fpending the night at the hofpita- 
 ble manfe of Dr Barry, the clergyman of the ifland, 
 (who, we are happy to fay, is about to publifh a 
 general hiftory of Orkney *,) we next day crofTed 
 to the ifland of 
 
 Stronfa. — The day was nearly calm : we fet out 
 with the gentleft breeze : the tides, however, in 
 Stronfa Frith, run with fuch velocity as conftantly 
 to produce a turbulent fea : in one part, near a pro- 
 montory called Rothesholm Head, (pronounced i?loM- 
 fom Head), the tides were running counter to each 
 other, and, by their coUifion, occalioned an appear- 
 ance like the boiling of a great caldron. Our boat 
 was tofled and Ihaken in a moil difagreeable man- 
 ner : fuch a piece of rough fea is, in Orkney, deno- 
 minated a rojl : it was curious to fee the billows 
 here riling into foam, while all around was compa- 
 ratively tranquil and ferene. In this frith we faw 
 a good many dunter-geefe, or eider-ducks, (anas 
 molliflima), and great numbers oi toiJls-\y or Green- 
 land doves, (colymbus grylle). 
 
 Upon 
 
 * JJdit. Note This Hiftory has been fince publifhed In i vol. 
 
 4to, and very well received. — But alas ! the worthy author is 
 no more. He died in fummer 1805, foon after the publication 
 of his work. 
 
 f Tei/le is the Nor^vegian name of this bird. See Pennant, 
 Brit. Zool. in loco.
 
 ORKNEY. 23 
 
 - Upon the fhores of Stronfa I iirfl: faw the fmall 
 inclofures for railing cabbage-plants cdlled planty- 
 cruies. They are merely little fquare penns, or bughts^ 
 inclofedby a dry-ftone wall : black mould, or more 
 frequently a mixture of clay and allies, is laid on the 
 inclofed area, and here cabbage-plants are raifed, 
 to be fet out in the fpring. Thefe planty-cruies 
 are always fituated on the flatteft part of the ihore,. 
 clofe by the fea, where the froft is bell avoided, 
 . In traverfing the hill-grounds of Stronfa, I was 
 aftonifhed at the vail flocks of golden plovers, (or, as 
 they are termed in Oxkwzy^ grey plovers')^ which our 
 approach occalionally diilurbed and put upon the 
 wing : they really feemed to darken the air. 
 
 . In many of the inland parts of Stronfa, the paf- 
 ture conlitls almoll wholly of viviparous fefcue grafs 
 (felluca vivipara). On the fliores, again, it frequent- 
 ly conlills entirely of the fea- plantain grafles (a nar- 
 row-leaved variety of plantago maritima, with P. 
 coronopus). Thefe, having a faltifh flavour, form 
 an acceptable pafture to fheep, who bite clofe : but 
 they are fo dwarfilh, and fo clofely matted on the 
 ground, that horfes and cattle cannot browfe on 
 them. It is generally remarked in Orkney, that 
 fheep fed on fuch paftures, fatten more quickly, and 
 afford the bell mutton. In one diltrid; of Stronfa, 
 I obferved feveral acres covered with the common 
 yellow flag, or feg, (iris pfeudacorus,) of which a 
 very coarfe kind of hay is here made. 
 
 On the ifl: of Augull we failed from Airie, the 
 feat of MilTes Fea, along the rocky fliores of Stronfa, 
 to the Brough Head, a mural promontory, which 
 
 piclents
 
 24 ORKNEY. 
 
 prefcnts its folid front to the rage of the German 
 Ocean. There are many caverns here into which a 
 boat may enter in calm weather. Thefe caves, and 
 their unknown recefles, are the habitation of the fcal, 
 ox felcbiey and the fca-otter. We rowed pretty far 
 into one of them : a gentleman of our party hap- 
 pening at this time to fire off his piece, we were 
 aftoniflicd at the loud and reiterated reverberations 
 of the report : it was indeed tremendous, refembling 
 the firing off of a whole battery of great guns. All 
 along the rocky fhore here, our ears were dinned 
 with the call of the wild pigeon, the loud fliriek of 
 the chaldrick^ or fea-pie *, and the fhrill fcream of 
 the pickctarnie, or fea-i'wallow -{-. 
 
 On all the ledges of the rocks we obferved many 
 nefts oi fcarfs or fliags ;}:, with a couple of young 
 in each neft. The corvorant, or greatj'^^ir/'j), keeps 
 jiofleflion of the lofty rocks at Brough Head, where 
 our boatmen amufed themfelves with dragging 
 down fome of the half-fledged young with their 
 boat-hooks. Thefe they eftcemed very good food ; 
 and we were told, that it is not an uncommon prac- 
 tice to bury them for four and twenty hours in the 
 
 earth, 
 
 * Hs:inatopus oftralegus ; fometimes called oyfter-catclier. 
 
 f Sterna hirundo. 
 
 X Pelecanus graculus. This was the variety which is defti- 
 tute of a creft, and which Mr Pennant mentions his having feen 
 in the Hebrides. Br. Zool. vol. ii. p. 6ii. In the Frith oi 
 Forth it is called the Scart. 
 
 II Pelecanus carbo. In the Frith of Forth, this bird is alfo 
 called a Scart. Scarf is a nearer approach to the Norwegian 
 •name, fcarv. — Pennant.
 
 ORKNEY. 25 
 
 (caitli, which is faid to render them more tender, 
 and to abftrad: in a great meafure the fidiy tafte. 
 Soup then made with them is accounted not much 
 inferior to hare-foup, and is thought to refemble it 
 in flavour. 
 
 'the Brough is a large ifolated mafs of rock, 
 which feems to have been disjoined from the ifland 
 by fome violent convulfion. Its fummit was at this 
 time rendered quite white by the flowers of fcurvy- 
 grafs, — cochlearia oflicinalis, mixed with C. Danica, 
 which lafl: is the moft: common fpecies in Orkney. 
 It is the refort and nurfery of hundreds o( fcaurieSf 
 or herring. gulls, (larus fufcus). I believe the Ork- 
 ney n-dme fcaurie, is applied to this gull only while 
 it is young and fpecklcd ; and it lofes its fpeckled 
 appearance after the firfl: year. 
 
 A little way from the Brough, we faw the prodi- 
 gious effecfls of a late winter dorm : many great 
 ftones, one of them of feveral tons weight, had been 
 tofl^'ed up a precipice twenty or thirty feet high, and 
 laid fairly on the green fward. The Brough is di- , 
 redly expofed to the fury of the German Ocean, 
 which is terribly agitated by eafl; winds. 
 
 There is a common faying in Stronfa, that ** he 
 ** who eats of the dulfe of Guiodin, and drinks of 
 " the wells of Kildingie, will efcape all maladies 
 *' except black death." Guiodin is a rocky creek, 
 fituated near the farm of Kerbufl:er. The name is 
 fuppofed to mean the geu * or creek of Odin. I 
 
 D had 
 
 * Ceu appears to correfpond to the Foe of the Shetlanders. 
 Befides this creei of Odin, we have, in Stronfa, places called 
 
 Odnefs
 
 2S ORKNEY. 
 
 had the curiofity to examine what this falutiferoua 
 dulfe might be ; and found it to be the common 
 fucus palmatus. I Ijkewife vifited the wells of 
 Kildingie, and found them to be weak chalybeates. 
 Thefe wells, or fprings, are fituated in the Mill Bay, 
 on the edge of the Links of Houton. 
 
 At Lamb Head are feveral of the tumuli called 
 Pechts'' houfes, confiding of a very thick circular 
 wall, inclofing a fmall area, with little oblong 
 chambers within the body of the wall itfelf 
 
 About two miles fouth from Lamb Head, in the 
 middle of a rapid tideway, there is a flat holm, or fmall 
 uninhabited and barren ifland, called Aulkerry. One 
 fhould fuppofe that fuch a fpot would be of very lit- 
 tle value ; yet its low rocky fhores, and fituation in a 
 tideway render it very productive in fea-wccds of the 
 beft quality for the manufadlure of kelp, (for currents 
 are univerfallv admitted to favour both the luxuri- 
 ance of thefe plants, and their richnefs in alkaline 
 falts) ; fo that this defolate fpot yields perhaps more 
 to the proprietor than a farm of fome hundred acres, 
 in the beft of the iflands. 
 
 It has been thought that there is no limcftone in 
 Stronfa*. Between the Nefs of Odnefs and Ker- 
 bufter, however, there is a large bed of limeftone, 
 the inclined bafe of which is wailied by the fea. It 
 is of a bluifh colour, but not very rich, containing 
 probably not ^o per cent, of lime ; in fome places, 
 
 however, 
 
 Odnefs and Tornef, meaning probably the nc/fes or points of Odin 
 and of Thor, — the great Scandinavian deities after whom two 
 of the days of our week [Wcdnes day and Tkurs day) have been 
 named. 
 
 * Mineralogy of the Scottllh Jfles, vol. ii. p, 236.
 
 ORKNEY. S7 
 
 however, it is traverfed by broad veins of calcareous 
 fpar. This bed of limeltone lies between flrata 
 of coarfe fandftone-flag, with which it is in imme- 
 diate contadt both above and below, though mark- 
 ed by a well-defined line. 
 
 Upon the north-eail fhore of Stronfa, near the 
 Nefs of Odnefs, there is a very large bed of (hells, 
 which, I was aifared, was thrown up by the 
 fea in the courfe of a fingle ftormy night about 
 twenty years ago. The fhore here is very rocky, 
 and the people fay, that, till that event, it was a ra- 
 rity to find on it any kind of fhell. Upon examin- 
 ing the bed, I found that a great proportion of the 
 (hells conlifted of fingle valves of the area glyci- 
 meris, of uncommon fize, twice the fize of Pen- 
 nant's figure of the fliell. Befides the area, I 
 picked up many water-worn and broken fpecimens 
 of oftrea maxima. Neither of thefe kinds is to be 
 found recent on the beach. From this Ihell-bank 
 the farmers around might derive feveral hundred 
 cart-loads of broken fhells to lay upon their ftiff or 
 clayey lands. Thefe fhells would probably be near- 
 Jy as e(Kcacious as quicklime, which ftill, even after 
 it has loft part of its caufticity by abforbing 
 carbonic acid, a6ls as a manure : but the farm- 
 ers are at prefent prejudiced againft the ufe of 
 them. 
 
 At Kerbufter, I obferved laid out to dry, at a 
 cottage-door, a large colledtion of the flowering-tops 
 of the dwarfy milfoil (achillea millefolia), which 
 grows on the dry commons, and which is here 
 known by the oddly-corrupted name of ineal-and- 
 
 folic.
 
 28 ORKNEY. 
 
 foUe, Thefe flowering tops they infufe and drink 
 as tea, — this beverage being held in high repute for 
 difpelling melancholy. 
 
 Before leaving Stronfa, we paid a vifit to White- 
 hall *, formerly the feat of Mr James Fea, the 
 gentleman who, as we were informed, firft intro- 
 duced the manufadure of kelp into Orkney. Mr 
 Fea went to England in perfon with the firft cargo, 
 and fold it at Newcaftle. This was in the year 1722* 
 It is proper, however, to remark, that the poflibili- 
 ty of making kelp in Orkney was known near thirty 
 years before that period ; for Dr James Wallace, in 
 his account of Orkney, dated in 1693, ^^^ vvrites : 
 " There is plenty of that tangle growing on the 
 *' rocks, of which, in other places, is made kelp for 
 " making of foap." 
 
 No fitter place can occur for the introduction of 
 a few remarks on the kelp-manufadure in Orkney. 
 
 Kelp is manufactured from all the larger fea- 
 weeds. The moft abundant kelp- plant is perhaps 
 the fea- weed called yellow tang (fucus nodofus) : 
 next to it, the black tang (F. veficulofus) : then the 
 prickly tang (F. ferratus). On deep fhores, as at the 
 
 fea- holms 
 
 * Over the door of the houfe of Whitehall are the initials, P. F. 
 (Patrick Fea), B. T. (Barbara Traill), and the date 1671. Fea 
 and Traill are two of the oldeft furnames in Orkney. Fea, in- 
 deed, is a Norwegian name. The defcendants of Patrick Fea 
 are ftill landholders in Stronfa. Traill is a very common name, 
 in Orkney. The Traills are faid to be defcended from a young- 
 er fon of the Traills of Blebo in Fife, who had migrated north- 
 ward Traill of Holland, or Papa Wellra, is the moft ancient 
 of the iiame in Orkney.
 
 ORKNEY. 59 
 
 fea-holms of Aiilkerry, near Stronfa, and of Roufk- 
 holm, near Weftra, great quantities of red-ware 
 or fea-girdles (F. digitatus) are colleded with long 
 hooks at low water. Fucus efculentus (badderhcks) 
 is likewife employed ; together with F. facchari- 
 nus, (fea-belts), though this lad is not much 
 efteemed, as it is found to become bleached and 
 faltlefs from expofure to the flighted fliower of 
 rain. The narrow thong-fhaped fea-weed, fucus 
 loreus, (here called drew), is abundant on fome 
 rocky fhores, as at Tuquoy in Weftra, where 
 many tons of kelp are, every fecond year, manufac- 
 tured folely from it. This plant, in the firft year of 
 its growth, covers the rocks with the appearance of 
 fmall brown muftirooms. There is ftill another fea- 
 weed called catgut (fucus filum), which here grows 
 to an uncommon length, — often thirty or forty feet, 
 and which is accounted excellent for making kelp 
 fuited to the manufadlure of foap, the natives remark- 
 ing that it falls fmall in burning, and wafhes like foap. 
 When the fea-weeds are fomewhat dry, they are 
 burnt by degrees, in what is termed a kelp-furnace, 
 but which is generally nothing eife than a round 
 hole dug in the earth *. When the furnace is nearly 
 
 filled 
 
 * I had frequent occafion to remark, that the old kelp-fur- 
 naces, that had been dlfufed for a year or two, were over- 
 grown with the mofs called Funaria hygrometrica, (mnium hy- 
 grometricum), and that this mofs was fcarce to be feen in any 
 other fituation in Orkney. Indeed, it may be remarked of this 
 mofs, that it delights to grow upon afhes, or on fpots where any 
 kind of Incineration had previoufly been going on. Thefe 
 circumftances are curious, as inferring st diflemlnation, by 
 
 means
 
 30 ORKNEY. 
 
 filled with the remains of the burnt fea-vveeds, the 
 whole is brifkly agitated with a rake or hook, till ic 
 be compared, or become of a Ihining glutinous con- 
 fidence like melted iron : it is then allowed to cool^ 
 and is afterwards placed in ftorehoufes for exporta- 
 tion. 
 
 Kelp is at beft a very impure carbonate of foda*, 
 being conftantly mixed with a portion of the ful- 
 phate and muriate, and frequently the fulphuret, 
 and always containing a quantity of charcoal. But 
 it is evident that, by the carelefs procefs above de- 
 fcribed, it muft be fubjedled to many foreign and 
 adventitious impurities, — to fand, fhells, ftones, and 
 to quantities of vegetable mould, which muft of ne- 
 ceffity feparate from the fides and bottom of the 
 furnace by means of the heat, and adhere to the 
 kelp when in a liquid flate. 
 
 Very often the prickly tang (fucus ferratus) is al- 
 moft wholly covered with the little circular fhells 
 
 of 
 
 means of the atmofphere, of the truly impalpable feeds of mofles, 
 more nnlverfal than can v/ell be conceived. In former times, 
 they would have been admitted as undoubted inftances of equi- 
 vocal generation. 
 
 * It has often been ftated (Trans. Highl. Soc vol. i. p, lo.. 
 Stat. Ace Scot. vol. xvii. p. 240.) that kelp is the vegetable alkali ; 
 but although it is procured from marine vegetables, and al- 
 though a fmall portion of potafh is generally pref(?nt, kelp .is 
 neverthclefs to be confrdered as the mineral alkali, the fame 
 that may, by an expenfive procefs, be obtained from pure fea- 
 water. It is not yet determined what efFeft the procefs of 
 vegetation has, either in feparating the muriatic acid from 
 the foda, or in difpofing it to feparate on the application of 
 heat : yet, that it has fome effeft, is beyond doubt. See Notes 
 in Appendix — Note B.
 
 ORKNEY. o\ 
 
 of the ferpula fpirorbis : fuch tan^ fhoiild be rejed- 
 ed from the furnace, and referved for manure. 
 
 Until ftone-built furnaces be introduced, and 
 until greater care be employed in forting and 
 cleaning the fea-weed, kelp will not be manufac- 
 tured in Orkney, of that deiirable degree of purity, 
 which would not only enhance the value and the 
 price, but fuperfede in a great meafure the impor- 
 tation of barilla. 
 
 It may not be improper here to remark, that the 
 weed which grows on large flat rocks (hould never 
 be very clofely cut, but that a fufficiency fhould al- 
 ways be left for lafhing the rocks with the undula- 
 tions of the tide. Owing to the negled of this rule, 
 fome very fine tan^ rocks, at Rapnefs, in Weftra, have 
 become covered with a /caw or fcurf (or, in other 
 words, the little bernacle flicll, lepas balanus) which 
 utterly hinders the vegetation of the tan^, and 
 which it is very difncult to remove. Rocks which 
 are covered by the fea only at flood-tide, are par- 
 ticularly liable to become fcurfy. 
 
 At the holm of RoufKholm, already mentioned, 
 Capt. Richan, the proprietor, has ereded feveral 
 reverberatory furnaces after the plan of Col. Ful- 
 larton's in Ayrfliire, for drying and burning the 
 great tangle ov red-ware during winter, — both what 
 is toffed afliore by ftorms, and what is cut by his 
 tenants at ebb-tide in moderate weather. The kelp 
 manufactured in thefe furnaces is purer than the com- 
 mon kelp, and fells for a proportionably higher price. 
 The want of coals is a difcouraging circumilance, 
 which will probably prevent the general employ- 
 ment
 
 ^2 Orkney; 
 
 ment of thefe furnaces in Orkney, — peat- fuel being 
 thought not to anfwer well : by perfeverance, how- 
 ever, the operators would doubtlefs acquire greater 
 dexterity in ufing the peat-fuel. 
 
 In Orkney, every confideration is facrificed to 
 kelp. Agriculture is now very much and very ge- 
 nerally negleded. Lefs grain is raifed than was 
 raifed thirty years ago. Should a cheap procefs for 
 extracting the foda from fea- water happen to be dif- 
 covered, or ihould the market for kelp, on any other 
 account, unexpededly fail, the landholders of Ork- 
 ney will find, when too late, the great imprudence 
 of thus negledling the cultivation and improvement 
 of their lands. 
 
 Kelp-making alfo occafions the almoil total negled: 
 of the fiflieries. From the illand of Stronfa we one 
 day obferved twenty or thirty whales, bounding and 
 dafliing along, at the diftance only of a mile, or lit- 
 tle more, from the fhore ; great flocks of gannets and 
 other fea- fowls were alfo there: thefe appearances 
 were certain indications of herring : yet no notice 
 was taken of this llioal. Cod-fifli and haddocks 
 were at the fame time, abundant ; and when the poor 
 natives did take fome boat-loads of thefe, they had 
 no fait to cure them ; they merely dried them in the 
 fun, without one particle of fait. 
 
 Between 2000 and 3000 tons of kelp are annual- 
 ly manufadured in Orkney. The price paid at 
 Leith, Newcaltle, &c. varies from L. 7 to L. 10 per 
 ton of 21 cvvt. Fifty years ago, the price feldom 
 exceeded L. i per ton. 
 
 Laft
 
 ORKNEY. 63 
 
 {Scots Mag. Fek 1805.) 
 
 Laft winter, (1803-4), a very large mafl was drift- 
 ed afliore by a fouth wind, upon the fouth end of 
 the ifland of Stronfa. This maft was found to be 
 marked as belonging to the York, — one of our 
 men-of-war of 64 guns, which had unfortunately 
 foundered in thefe turbulent northern feas. When 
 the maft was firft found, it was complete and unin- 
 jured ; and, being a new one, (dated near the 
 foot, ** 1800"), muft have been of confiderable va- 
 lue. The ignorant, but avaricious natives, however, 
 had laboured night and day, till they fucceeded in 
 cutting it into three divifions : and in this mangled 
 ftate we faw it lying on the ftrand at this time 
 (Auguft 1804). It appears that the main obje(5l of 
 this foolifh labour, was to get at two of the great 
 iron-hoops with which the beams compofing the 
 maft were bound together. 
 
 From Stronfa we palTed (3d Aug.) to the ifland 
 of 
 
 Sanda. — We landed on the point of Elfnefs. 
 Here we obferved much fine pafture-land ruined by 
 the deftrudive pradice of paring off the turf. In 
 Sanda this is chiefly done for fuel, there being no 
 peat in the ifland. In other parts of Orkney, the 
 fward is peeled off, in order to fwell the compoft 
 dunghil. Whatever be the motive, it is a pradice 
 ruinous to the face of the country, and which ought 
 
 E to
 
 34? ORKNEY. 
 
 to be prevented. Sanda is the flattell of all the 
 Orkney iflands. When we landed at Elfnefs, it 
 happened to be ebb-tide, and we walked dry- (hod 
 acrofs a fandy bay, containing perhaps eighty acres, 
 which is covered by the fea, (though with no great 
 depth of water), at every flood of the tide. As the 
 fea enters by a very narrow pafTage, the whole of 
 this bay might be gained, and converted into paf- 
 ture-land, if it were thought worth the expence. 
 
 This night (3d Auguft) there was a great deal 
 of very vivid lightning and loud thunder, accom- 
 panied with torrents of rain. Every flafli of light- 
 ning made the fea appear like a vaft flieet of flame. 
 Next morning we found ourfelves enveloped in an 
 uncommonly denfe mifl;* : at eight o'clock, infl;ead 
 of bright day, we had fcarcely " darknefs vifiblef." 
 
 We vifited the houfe of Scarr, the feat of Mr 
 Traill of Weftove, who refides on his property, and 
 is engaged in inclofing, draining, and other im.- 
 provements. Here we were happy to find a mofl: 
 extenfive and well-chofen library, which muft be a 
 
 fource 
 
 * During this thick fog, as I afterwards learned from the 
 captain himfelf, an Irifh veffel, laden with deals, unfortunately 
 flruck the rocks of Fair Ifle, and went to pieces. The crew, 
 and moft part of the cargo, were faved, the wreck happening 
 elofe in fhore. The cargo, however, muft lie at Fair Ifie till 
 next fummer, it being impoflible for any velTel to anchor at fo 
 expofed and tempeftuous a place after Auguft. Fair Ifle lies 
 about half-way between Orkney and Shetland. 
 
 t Milton.
 
 ORKNEY. 3^ 
 
 fource of great pleafure to an enlightened mind, 
 during the dreary months of winter, in this lonely 
 infular fituation. 
 
 In a meadow, near a place called Saville, about 
 half a mile from the church of Burnefs, Mr Traill 
 fhewed us a large moorjlone, or ifolated mafs of pri- 
 mary rock. The whole ifland of Sanda is compofed 
 of fecondary rocks, — fandftone, fand (lone- flag, and 
 limeftone. The folitary exception in queflion feems 
 to be a mafs of gneifs. We endeavoured to eflimate 
 the grofs weight of the mafs, and calculated it to 
 be about 14 tons. This rnoorjloiie we confider as 
 one of the mod uncommon mineralogical appearan- 
 ces in Orkney ; the neareft primary rocks being at 
 Stromnefs, which is above' thirty miles diftant, and 
 feveral rapid friths intervening. 
 
 All the pailure-grounds of Sanda abound with 
 the field gentian (gentiana campeftris) ; and fome 
 of them are adorned with the beautiful bird's-eye 
 prijnrofe (primula farinofa), accounted a rare plant 
 in many parts of the Briti(h dominions*. 
 
 We vifited the rock of Heclabir, which the na- 
 tives account very curious. We had been taught, 
 indeed, that it was volcanic, or at lead, " calcined 
 " by fire f ;" but we foon found, that its only vol- 
 canic refemblance confided in the fimilarity of its 
 
 name 
 
 * Jddlt. Note — Perhaps this Orkney primrofe may prove a 
 diftind fpecies. 
 
 t Stat. Account of Scotland, vol. vii. p. 459.
 
 S6 ORKNEY. 
 
 name * to that of the great volcano in Iceland :— 
 for the rock of Heclabir is nothing elfe than a brec- 
 cia, mod of the component pieces of which are 
 rounded and water-worn nodules of fandftone. 
 The pieces are of different fizes, from balls of 3, 5, 
 or lo lbs, weight, to fuch as are of the fize of fpar- 
 rows eggs. A few quartz and calcareous nodules 
 are interfperfed. 
 
 From Heclabir we went to the old houfe of 
 Stove, finely fituated at the head of a fandy bay. 
 The whole of this bay is one continued cockle-bed ; 
 and, we were told that in times of dearth, it is no 
 uncommon thing to fee fome dozens of the half- 
 famiflied inhabitants digging the cockles at ebb-tide. 
 This, at bed, is but a miferable fare, and it is pain- 
 ful to reflcd:, that the fea all around is at the fame 
 time fwarming with negleded fhoals of delicious 
 and wholefome filh ; — haddock, ikate, cod, coal-fifh, 
 and fometimes herring, which are left to be the prey 
 of thoufands of gulls, corvorants, and folan geefe. 
 How precious to the natives would be the eftablifh- 
 ment on each of the Orkney iflands, of one or two 
 fithing families, with proper boats, nets, and lines, 
 to profecute with effedt the different branches of 
 the fifhery I 
 
 Over the outer gate of the houfe of Stove is this 
 jnfcription : " Soli Deo gloria. Septem proavi haec 
 
 •' nobis 
 
 * Ifecla (in Norwegian, I prefume) is faid to mean hea/t/j. 
 In Unft, in Shetland, there is a fpring called Hiclaburn, ac- 
 counted very falubrious by the common people. Account of 
 Unft, Stat. Ace. vol. v. p. 185.
 
 ORKNEY. 37 
 
 <* nobis reliquerunt. J. F. (Jacobus Fea), B. T, 
 *' (Barbara Traill), 1671." The^Q feptem proavi 
 were all diredl afcendants ; all of the fame name, 
 James Fea, and holders of the fame property and 
 title, Cleilron. This ancient family, however, is 
 now nearly extindl : the eftate has become the pro- 
 perty of Mr Laing the hiilorian. At a little di- 
 llance from the houfe, ftands a very neat little chapel, 
 where, about fifty years ago, the epifcopal worfhip 
 was performed. Over the door is this infcription : 
 " Keep thy foot when thou goeft into the houfe of 
 *' God." — This handfome little chapel will foon be 
 no more, being apparently conlidered as a legiti- 
 mate quarry by the tenants and cottars around. As 
 the family burying place, however, it ought to re- 
 main inviolate. 
 
 Sanda is accounted the granary of Orkney. The 
 foil is light and fandy, the bottom dry. I never 
 faw finer fields of oats than thole of Sanda at this 
 time : they were all of the^rey or black kinds, how- 
 ever. The fliores are in general flat, fo that the 
 fpray is never dafiied over the face of the country, 
 as is often the cafe in moft of the other iflands. 
 
 Sanda is equally produdive in kelp. It is gene- 
 rally reckoned, that nearly a fourth part of the whole 
 kelp made in Orkney is manufaclured in this ifland. 
 The fea-weed here, it is remarked, grows more 
 quickly than in many other fituations. In moft 
 parts of Sanda it is fhorn every year : in other 
 ^flands it does not admit cutting oftener than every 
 fecond year ; in fome places, not oftener than every 
 third year. The kelp of Sanda is generally account- 
 ed
 
 3S ORKNEY. 
 
 ed of excellent quality. The tides around this 
 ifland flow and ebb with the velocity of a rapid 
 river: and to this circumftance is perhaps to be 
 afcribed both the quick growth of the fea-weed, 
 and its richnefs in alkali. 
 
 This fine ifland, however, labours under a con- 
 iiderable difadvantage, — the want of fuel. There 
 is no peat-mofs in it. Peat abounds, however, in 
 the neighbouring ifland of £da, from whence the 
 inhabitants of Sanda are fupplied. The poorer clafs, 
 ■who cannot import a fufficiency of peats, have re- 
 courfe to various fliifts. They peel off the grally 
 fward for fuel, — a mofl: deftrudive and deteftable 
 pradiice : they gather alfo cow-dung and dry it 
 for this purpofe : and laftly they dry the large 
 llalksof /'^<i-'i«;^r^ (fucus digitatus), and burn them. 
 In fevere winters, however, with all thefe expe- 
 dients, they muft be miferably diftreflTed for firing. 
 
 6th Auguft. We croflTed Sanda Sound, a rough 
 frith, and failed up Calf Sound, £da. 
 
 Eda is a moffy ifland ; a great part of it confifting 
 of barren marfliy heaths. Juncus uliginofus* here 
 covers whole acres ; and the pretty little plant ra- 
 diola millegrana, or all-feed, is every where ftrewed. 
 In pafling acrofs the ifland, we faw at fome diftance 
 the gxt'dtjione ofSeter, — a huge flag, rifing about fix- 
 teen feet upright in the midfl: of a moor. Some lit- 
 tle fait, of very indiflferent quality, is ftill f manu- 
 
 fadured 
 
 * Litde bulbous rufli. 
 
 f Eda was noted for the manufafture of fait, as early as the 
 middle of the 17th century. — Brand.
 
 ORKNEY. o9 
 
 faclured on the fliores of Eda, where fuel is plenti* 
 ful. It could be fold for 6 d. or S d. a bufhel, but 
 the duty is i j. 6 d. on the bulhel. This however 
 is, no doubt, often evaded. Indeed, the fait is fo 
 impure, being made in fmall vefTels on their com- 
 mon cottage-fire, that its trifling value bears no 
 rcafonable proportion to fo heavy an impoft. The 
 cottars who manufadure it, exchange it with their 
 neighbours for meal and other commodities. 
 
 From Eda we crolTed in the evening Ferfnefs 
 Sound, to Rapnefs in 
 
 Wejlra. — Here we firft faw a favourite fupper 
 difli of the Orcadians '^-—fillocks y that had been jull 
 taken from the fea. Sillocks are the fry of the coal- 
 filh *, and they fwarm about the fhores of Orkney 
 in myriads. The rocky fhores of Rapnefs pre- 
 fent many rugged precipices and deep caverns. 
 On the rocks here, we faw the Scots lovage (liguf- 
 ticum Scoticum) growing in great plenty. 
 
 Near the houfe of Clet, a feat of Mr Stewart of 
 Brough, we were gratified to fee a confiderable field 
 of flax of very tolerable quality. The foreign weed 
 called gold of pie a Jure f was, however, rather com- 
 mon among it. The blaw-wort, or blue-bottle f, 
 which appears in our wheat fields in the fouth, 
 here Ihevved its flowers among the flax. Between 
 
 the 
 
 * Gadus carbonarius. After the firft year, the ftUock be- 
 comes a i ooth : it is next called a coothin or cuMn ; and whea 
 full grown, the fame hih ib called -Ji/et&e. See Notes in Ap- 
 pendix. — N.)te C. 
 
 t Alyifum fativum. % Centaurea Cyanus.
 
 40 Orkney; 
 
 the houfe of Clet and the new church, I faw much 
 of the beautiful bird's-eye primrofe^ already men- 
 tioned as growing in Sanda. 
 
 In Weftra there is a natural harbour called 
 Piero-wall. Here are ftill the remains of a village ; 
 for fome fhipping-trade was formerly carried on at 
 this place. Now, however, that trade has vaniflied. 
 Probably a confiderable portion of it was of the con- 
 traband kind. 
 
 From Piero-wall a beautiful fmooth grafly lawn 
 extends upwards, with a gentle afcent, to a grand 
 ruinous edifice, called the Cajlle of Noltland. The 
 walls are lofty, and, when contralled with the hum- 
 ble cottages around, give the caftle a majeftic ap- 
 pearance. It is curious, that a belief ftill prevails 
 among the common people (who can have no fource 
 of information but tradition) that this vaft houfe 
 "Was built by orders of Mary, Queen of Scots, as a 
 place of refuge to Bothwell. Of the date of its 
 eredion, however, no traditional hint is afforded ; 
 and it is not very conliftent with the charader of 
 the unfortunate Queen to fuppofe that ftie forefaw 
 or expeded the difaftrous fate of her lover, and pre- 
 pared for him a refuge againft the day of calamity. 
 Bothwell, however, may have ordered this caftle to 
 be built for himfelf. He was created Duke of Ork- 
 ney in fummer 1566 ; and to Orkney he retired 
 from the vengeance of the Confederate Lords in the 
 fummer of the fubfequent year. I confefs, how- 
 ever, I would conlider the caftle of Noltland as a 
 building of confiderably more ancient date than the 
 
 days
 
 ORKNEY. 41 
 
 days of Mary and Bothwell. * It appears never to 
 have been finilhed according to the original plan ; 
 hut to have been mutilated and disfigured by fome 
 lefs potent lord, who had patched up to himfelf a 
 dwelling in it, and ftuck up his armorial bearings, 
 which remain to this day a monument of his pride 
 and poverty. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of the caftle, much havoc 
 has been produced by the blowing of the fands. 
 No meafures are employed for puttinga period to this 
 kind of devaftation. Were ihefea-reed (arundo are- 
 naria) every where fown or planted, (and it is a com- 
 mon weed at Piero-wall in the neighbourhood), the 
 ravages of the fand-flood would foon be bounded. 
 
 From Weftra we croffed a narrow found to 
 
 Papa lVe/fra,—3. beautiful little illand, and the^ 
 moft northerly of all the Orkneys. Never did our 
 eyes behold richer tradls of natural- clover, red and 
 white f, than in this illand. The foil is good, and 
 was at this time clothed with abundant crops of 
 oats, bear, and potatoes. On one fide, Papa Weft- 
 ra is expofed to the fvvell of the Atlantic Ocean, 
 
 F which 
 
 * .Addit. Note. — This conjeifture has fince been verified by the 
 publication (In the appendix to Dr Barry's Hiftory of Orkney) 
 of a Latin Defcription of Orkn:y dated 1529, from a MS. in the 
 Advocates Library. In that defcnption it is fald, '* Eft ia 
 " Weftray excellentifTima arx five caftellum, fednondum adhuc 
 *' [1529] completa." 
 
 t Trifolium medium ; T. alpeftre of LIghtfoot ; known in 
 Orkney and In various other parts of Scotland, by the whimfi- 
 cal name of Red Curkloddy : and Trifolium repens, called fFhite, 
 CurhlodJy.
 
 42 ORKNEY. 
 
 which in winter-florms dafhes the fpray entirely 
 acrofs the ifland. On the other i^de it is proteded 
 from the rage of the German Ocean, by z. holm or 
 ijlet, the habitation of innumerable fea-fowls. We 
 vifited this holm ; and though it was now the 8th 
 of Auguft, we found in their nefts the young of the 
 toijl or Greenland dove ; of the herring- gull, called 
 Jcauries ; and of the picketarnie*. The dunter^ or 
 eider-duck, breeds here in great abundance ; and its 
 reft is twice robbed in the courfe of the ftofon, by 
 the people, for the fake of the eider down -\. The 
 auk X and razor-bill || alfo make their nefts on this 
 holm, as well as the corvorant and fhag. On one 
 point we faw near a dozen of feals baiking them- 
 felves in the fun. Both the common feal (Phoca 
 vitulina), and the great feal (Phoca barbata), are 
 natives here. 
 
 On 
 
 * Sterna hirundo. The name Fichetarnie is a clofe imitation 
 of the call of the bird. In Shetland it is called the R'tppoch. 
 
 -j- /iddit. — This is the bird of which Buchanan, in the clofe 
 of the firft book of his Hiftory, has given an account, under 
 the name of Colca or Colk. " In hac infula (Sulefkerry) rarum, 
 *' et aliis regionibus ignotum genos avis confpicitur : colcam 
 ** vocant, magnitudine pauio infra anferem. Ea vere fmgulis 
 " annis eo adventat, pullosque exclufos eoufque educat, dum 
 " ipfi fihi profpicere poflint. — Illud quoque eis eft fingulare, 
 ** quod earum penna; caulem non habent ; fed levi, ct cui nihil 
 '< prorfiis duri adeft, pluma totum corpus velut lanugine vefti- 
 *' unt." This account, it may be remarked, has been copied by 
 Buchanan from Donald Monro's Defcription of the Weftern 
 Ifles, 1549, — a curious little traft, republiflied by Meflrs Con- 
 ftable and Co. Edin. 1 805. 
 
 X Alca pica. || Alca torda.
 
 ORKNEY. 4^ 
 
 On the margins of the lakes and marfhes in this 
 ifland, we faw many birds of the phalarope genus, 
 which the inhabitants very appropriately name half- 
 webs. We fhot the tringa lobata, or grey phala- 
 rope. 
 
 This ifland is excellently adapted for the carry- 
 ing on of the white fifhery, a fine cod bank being 
 fituated about two Englifh miles only off the Moul- 
 head of Papa Weftra. But this field of induftry, 
 and fource of wealth, is at prefent entirely negledted. 
 Every cottar, indeed, fiOies for his own family ; but 
 his tackle is fuited only to the catching of rock-jijhy 
 or fuch as remain near to the fhore. While we were 
 in Papa Weftra, we were fortunate enough to find 
 among the cargo of one of thefe filhing-boats, a 
 moft beautiful fifh, the Ballan Wrafle of Pennant*, 
 the Bergil of the Orcadians. It was then frefh from 
 the fea ; its back (hone with brilliant red ; its fides 
 were barred with orange and refplendent gold co- 
 lours. Although we carefully preferved its fkin, 
 the beauty of the colours has nearly vanifhed. From 
 the tip of the nofe to the extremity of the tail, it 
 meafures i8 inches; and it is about 6 inches in 
 depth. The natives account it very good eating. 
 
 The whole ifland of Papa Weftra belongs to one 
 proprietor, who refides in it, in the midft of many 
 contented, though poor, cottars, whofe happinefs, 
 we believe, it is his ftudy to promote, and with 
 whom he mingles with the moft perfcd familiarity.' 
 In this fequeftered fpot, the total want of competi- 
 tion 
 
 * 
 
 Labrus balanus of Dr Shaw's Zoology.
 
 44 ORKNEY. , 
 
 tioH feems, however, to flied a languor over all the 
 motions of the inhabitants. In their work, they ex- 
 hibit a dulnefs and flownefs which form a perfedl con- 
 trail with the adlivity of moft fervants in the fouth. 
 The alarm of war hath never difturbed the repofe 
 of the inhabitants of Papa Weftra : they fpeak of 
 it as a thing at a vaft diftance, with which they 
 have little or no concern. For many weeks during 
 winter, they have no intercourfe with Kirkwall, the 
 jpoft town, and confequently hear nothing of the 
 great tranfadions of the nation. 
 
 We left Papa Weftra with regret, as, we believe, 
 every vifitant muft do. 
 
 (Scots Mag. March 1805.) 
 
 From Tuquoy in Weftra, we fet out, on the 
 evening of the 9th of Auguft (1804), for the 
 illand of Roufay. We foon found that our boatmen 
 were very unlkilful, and unable duly to trim the 
 boat *. We were therefore tofled about for feveral 
 hours, in a tumultuous frith, and overtaken by a 
 dark, rainy, and fqually night. Before midnight, 
 however, we reached the fhores of Roufay in fafe- 
 ty, though wet with fpray and rain, almoft as if we 
 
 had 
 
 * The ferries of Orkney are under no regulation. Often the 
 boats, and ftili oftener the boatmen, are of the worft kind. Yet 
 they charge on a ftranuer very high fares. Indeed they exer- 
 cife very generally a low cunning ; if they difcover that their 
 employer is unacqu tinted with the cuftomary dues, they rife in 
 thor demand, telling k;erhaps abundance of footfiing lies, t# 
 make their extortion leis unpalatable.
 
 ORKNEY. 45 
 
 had been drenched in the fea. The manfe was the 
 only place of refuge within our reach. We were 
 thus compelled to trefpafs on the repofe of the fa- 
 mily, but were received with the kindeft hofpitality. 
 
 Roufay (or, as it is fpelled by the old writers^ 
 Kewes-oy') is a very hilly ifland. It abounds with 
 red grous, or moor fowly being covered with pretty 
 long heath, of all the three kinds * that are indige- 
 nous to Scotland. Along the courfe of Trumbland 
 Burn in this ifland, and efpecially at a lin, or little 
 waterfal, near the fea, 1 was agreeably furprifed to 
 find a conliderable variety of native fhrubs and 
 plants, rather of the more ornamental kind. Among 
 others were honeyfuckle or woodbine, (lonicerape- 
 riclymenum) ; apple-rofe, (rofa villofa) ; bramble, 
 (rubus fruticofus) ; French- willow or rofebay wil- 
 low-herb, (epilobium anguftifolium) ; ftrawberry, 
 (fragaria vefca;) wild angelica, (angelica fylveftris) ; 
 and great wild valerian, (Valeriana officinalis). A 
 coUedion and intermixture of thefe in one fpot, 
 feemed, in fo bare a country as Orkney, peculiarly 
 grateful, — to an eye, efpecially, accuftomed to the 
 vegetable variety of the fouth, and tired with the 
 uniformity of the heath-covered hills of Roufay. 
 The honeyfuckle and apple-rofe, indeed, we fcarce 
 remember to have found native in any other litua- 
 tion in Orkney. 
 
 On the fhores of Roufay, a good deal of fponge 
 
 may 
 
 * Erica vulgaris, common heather ; E. cinerea, bell heather ; and 
 E. tetralir, rlnze heather. 
 
 1
 
 4^ DRKNEYk 
 
 may be picked from among the rejcdlamenta ; not, 
 however, the officinal fponge,but a kind that is lefs bi- 
 bulous and lefe flexible, viz. fpongia palmata of Ellis, 
 with occafionally great quantities of fpongia oculata. 
 
 Mr Paterfon, the clergyma.j, has an exadl lift of 
 the name and furname of every perfon in his widely- 
 extended parifli, which is one of the moft laborious 
 charges in Orkney, conlilling of four iflands, Rou- 
 fay, Eglilhay, Weir, and Enhallow. By far the 
 moft prevalent furnames in this lift are Craigie, 
 Morwick, and Mainland. 
 
 In the Loch of Knitching, which occupies a hol- 
 low near the top of the high hill of Knitching, in 
 the vicinity of the manfe, I obferved an aquatic 
 plant, apparently a fparganium ; but although the 
 plant is abundant, I could not find it in flower. Its 
 leaves float on the furface of the water, in the man- 
 ner of poa fluitans. It differs from fparganium na- 
 tans, in having narrower, coarfer, and longer leaves. 
 Any naturalift who may happen to vifit Roufay, at 
 a diflferent feafon of the year, may find it w^orth 
 while to examine this plant. The Loch of Knitch- 
 ing, it may be remarked, abounds with the black 
 mofs trout, which is a variety of the common falmo 
 fario. Trumbland Burn, formerly mentioned, is the 
 outlet of this lake. 
 
 On the afternoon of the nth Auguft we left Rou- 
 fay, and, croffing Enhallow Sound, landed at Aiker- 
 nefs^j in the Mainland of Orkney. Here we faw 
 many rich fields of grey oats and bigg, and were 
 
 very 
 
 * See Notes in Appendix — Note D.
 
 ORKNEY. 47 
 
 very well pleafed to. remark fome attempts at 
 the culture of rje-grafs and Dutch clover. The pro- 
 curing of a flore of proper food for his cattle, is, how- 
 ever, a confideration that has fcarce any influence 
 with an Orkney farmer. Any thing is thought 
 good enough for the fiaigs and the Jlirks ; by the 
 former of which names, year-old horfes are diftin- 
 guifhed, and by the latter, young oxen. The Loch 
 of Aikernefs has been nearly drained with the view 
 of getting at the luxuriant but coarfe aquatic gralTes 
 with which it abounds. I ftiuil perhaps fcarcely 
 gain credit when I fay, that great quantities of ca- 
 rex ampullacea *, and of typha latifolia f , with a 
 fmall proportion of holcus lanutus J, were here care- 
 fully gathered and dried, and denominated meadow 
 hay. None but the half-llarved beafts of Orkney 
 would eat fuch fodder. It is to be mentioned with 
 regret, that though feveral of the fweeteft and beft 
 pallure-gralTes are natives of all the iflands, (for ex- 
 ample, FelUica duriufcula, F. rubra, F. elatior ; Poa 
 trivialis, P. pratenfis ; and Alopecurus pratenfis ; yet 
 no attempt has hitherto been made to cultivate 
 any of them. 
 
 There is a fpacious old manfion-houfe at Aiker- 
 nefs, which is rapidly going* to decay. The whole 
 dillrid is the property of Lord Armadale. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Aikernefs-houfe, is the 
 . . manfe 
 
 - * Beaked Seg, or llender- beaked bladder carex. The leaves 
 are very rough, both on the edges and the keel ; and the ftraw 
 or ftalk is three cornered, and fo fharp, as frequently to cut the 
 fingers in attempting to pluck it. 
 
 f Great cat's-tail, or reed-mace. 
 
 X Meadow foft grafs ; not one of the befl pafture-graffes.
 
 48 ORKNEY. 
 
 manfe of Mr Duguid, minifter of the united parifhes 
 of Evie and Kendall, who has rendered incalculable 
 fervice to this diftricl of Orkney, by introducing in 
 his own family, and promoting with his own hand 
 among his parifhioners, the vaccine inoculation, — a 
 preventive of fmall-pox — that terrible fcourge, which 
 ufed formerly to defolate v.'hole parifhes of Orkney. 
 
 Hoy, — (which was the laft of the iflands of Ork- 
 ney that we vifited), is fituated to the fouth-vveft 
 of the Mainland or Pomona, and contains by far the 
 loftieft hills in Orkney. On the 15th of Auguft we 
 took a fmall boat from Stromnefs, and in lefs than 
 half an hour landed in Hoy. On the fhore, between 
 the manfe and the church, we faw a vein of kid- 
 ney-form iron-ore, which has been partially work- 
 ed, and which appears rich enough to deferve fur- 
 ther attention. On the beach are fcattered many 
 nodules of haematites. Galena, with abundance of 
 heavy-fpar, (fulphate of barytes), are found in feve- 
 ral places of this iiland. We walked towards the 
 Keam meadow, which is a beautiful flat, at the foot 
 of the high rocks, near the north- weft end of Hoy, 
 poflefling a fine echo, and looking dired'y upon the 
 Atlantic : the fhades of night, however, overtook us, 
 and without the worthy clergyman for our guide, 
 we fiiould fcarce have made our way through the 
 tracklefs fields and commons to our home. At a little 
 townlhip we called for the moft a6live rackman or 
 bird hunter of the ifland, and engaged him to go a 
 Tyr^- catching next morning. The lyre* or fhearwater 
 
 (procellaria 
 
 * Lvra of Sir Robert Sibbald's Prodromus*
 
 ORKNEY. 49 
 
 (procellariapuffinus) breeds only in the precipitous 
 headlands of Hoy, and in one or two fimiiar places 
 in the illand of Eda. The rockman, at this time, 
 caught only two young ones. The young are very 
 fat, and much relifhed by the natives. 
 
 The i6th Auguft we fpent in examining the huge 
 and towering bill of Hoy, and in traverfing the 
 mofly valleys at its bafe. 
 
 We firft vilited the far-famed Bwarfy-Jlone, the 
 fuppofed refidence of a hermit in former days ; but 
 it fell unfpeakably fhort of our expedations. A 
 large mafs of fandftone has tumbled from the neigh- 
 bouring lofty cliff; and in this mafs fome idle fellow 
 hasamufed himfelfby cutting two holes, or cells, fuf- 
 ficient to admit a littie perfon to crawl into them. 
 Thefe cells are very awkwardly cut : they are in no 
 degree fquared ; the one is a faint imitation of aclofe 
 bed ; but it is little more than four feet long, and is 
 full of inequalities : the other is intended as a cham- 
 ber ; but a perfon can fcarce lit upright in it, except 
 he put his head out at the chimney, — a large round 
 opening, which mud have completely expofed the 
 fuppofed hermit, even while in bed, to the mercy of 
 the Itorm. The door, or exterior aperture in the 
 fide, is little more than two feet high, and as much 
 in width. In Ihort, the Dwarfy-llone of Hoy, the 
 fame of which has been refounded in every account 
 of Orkney, ancient or modern*, is quite an inferioref- 
 
 G fort 
 
 * To give the reader ibme idea of the marvellous defcrip- 
 tions which have been given of it, I may mention, that although 
 the excavated chamber would fcarce contain two children of ten 
 years of age, and the bed would certainly very much cramp 
 
 them
 
 50 ORKNEY. 
 
 fort to that at Giliiierton ^, near Edinburgh, where 
 ufmithy, with a forge, &c. is very neatly cut out in 
 a foird Amdflone rock. In my opinion, the mafs 
 of ftone itfelf, which is a coarfe grit, is more admi- 
 rable than the holes which have been cut in it : it is 
 about 30 feet long, by 16 broad, and 7 thick : it muft 
 have fallen with a tremendous cralh, yet, inftead of 
 being (hivered, it is, except where hollowed by art, 
 quite folid. In fome places it is covered with licheq 
 faxatilis f, which we found bearing faucers (the fruc- 
 tification) an inch in diameter. Some moifl; banks 
 not iar from the Dwavfy-ftone were at this time 
 gilded with the flowers of faxifraga aizoides, or 
 yellow mountain- faxifrage. 
 
 We 
 
 them for want of room, Martin (in the Appendix to hisHiftory 
 of the Ifles, &c.) gravely tells us, that *i the common tradition 
 is, that a. giant and his 'wife made this their place of retreat." 
 
 * Accurately defcribed in the Account of the Parifh of LiQ- 
 berton, in the ift vol. of Tranf. Antiq. Soc. Edin. 
 
 f Throughout the north of Scotland called Skinra-w. This 
 
 lichen (mixed with L. omphalodes, or crojlil), is fometimes ufed 
 
 for dyeing. Prepared with dale houfehold-ley, it gives a reddiih- 
 
 brown colour. Lichen parietinus, thus prepared, gives a dirty 
 
 orange yellow. Corkir, or, as it is now called, cudbear, ( L. tar- 
 
 tareus, mixed with L. calcareus), is gathered in harveft ; dried, 
 
 and reduced to a coarfe powder ; then fteeped for three weeks 
 
 in the liquid already mentioned ; it is afterwards formed into 
 
 balls, and when boiled with woollen-yarn communicates a fine 
 
 purple-red. It does not however dye flax-yarn, or the vegetable 
 
 fibre. Alum is the mordant generally employed. But none 
 
 cf the lichens are now much ufed in Orkney — L. calcareus, 
 
 if pure, and if treated with liquid ammonia, gives nearly a crim- 
 
 fon colour, though fugitive.
 
 ORKNEY. -51 
 
 We next proceeded down the valley of Rackwick, 
 by the margin of a rivulet which isikirled with dvvarf- 
 ifli willows, (falices arbiifcula and prunifolia), and a 
 few very Itunted birches and hazels. In this valley I 
 was much gratified to find Hypericum elodes, Af^r/S* 
 St John's wort, which is rather a rare plant. 
 
 We could not help admiring the local pofition of 
 the townfnip of Rackwick, fituated in the extremity 
 of the valley, clofed in on two fides by very lofty 
 precipices of fandftone, but opening with a fine bay 
 towards the wefl:ern entrance of the Pentland Frith, 
 fo that every veflel which pafi^es the Frith mull ne- 
 ceflarily come into view. The inacceflible crags 
 here, are the habitation of the ern (falco albicilla), 
 and the black eagle (falco fulvus), — which reign 
 with " favage majefty," among' the defolate cliffs 
 and noifelefs valleys of Hoy. — The people here are 
 very poor. We entered what promifed to be one of 
 the bell cottages in Rackwick ; but fl;ill it appeared 
 to us miferable in the extreme. 
 
 We now direded our fteps to the Wart-hill of 
 Hoy, the fummit of which is the pinnacle of Orkney, 
 being about 1600 feet above the level of the fea. 
 On the fide of this mountain I picked up the Lyco- 
 podium annotinum, or WeUh clubmofs, — a rarity to 
 a lowland botanill, but which feems to be common 
 to the moift fides of the high mountains of Scotland 
 with thofe of Wales. Four other fpecies of club- 
 mofs were common here ; Lycopodium alpinum, 
 clavatum, felago, and felaginoides. In the courfe of 
 afcending, wepafled whole acres of Scirpus pauciflo- 
 rus or chocolate-headed clubrufii. As we approach- 
 ed
 
 52 ORKNEY. 
 
 ed the top, we found the ground covered with the 
 trailing fhoots of Arbutus alpina, or mountain ftraw- 
 berry tree. The very fummit afforded us abundant 
 fpecimens of lichen frigidus in full frudification. 
 A thick chilly mifl here enveloped us, and hid all 
 nature from our view. As the day had been hi- 
 therto clear, and was rather windy, we trufted 
 that we were only overtaken by a cloud which 
 had been attraded by the heights. Our con- 
 jecture was right. In about ten minutes the mid 
 became thinner : fea and land began to appear be- 
 low : as the cloud pafTed off, they feemed to emerge, 
 as it were, from a chaos, and we were almoll tempted 
 to think that we were witneffes of a kind of creation. 
 The fun was flill Qiining bright on the adjacent 
 fcattered iflands, and had continued to do fo while 
 we were wrapped in the cloud. Th-e profpcft 
 from this point is truly exlenfive. One may almofl 
 fancy that he is looking down on a vaft expanded 
 map of the Orkney Iflands. In the dillance on the 
 fouth, are feen the high mountairis of Caithnefs and 
 Sutherland. Towards the north-weft, the eye is loft 
 on theboundlefs Atlantic -, but it is agreeably reliev- 
 ed by white fails ever and anon appearingon the verge 
 of the horizon, and making towards the high land 
 of Hoy, which is one of the eariieft land-marks of 
 the mariner, in approaching from the north-weft. 
 
 In flieltered fpots among the rocks of Hoy, a few 
 Hunted flioots of the mountain-afti (pyrus aucuparia) 
 make theirappearance. The juniper-bulh is here very 
 common. The black-berried heath (empetrum ni- 
 grum), and the blaeberry bulli (vaccinium myrtil- 
 
 lus).
 
 ORKNEY. 53 
 
 ius), are alfo abundant. The berries of thefe two 
 laft are gathered by the common people and carried 
 to Stromnefs, whence they are often fentas prefents 
 to Kirkwall and other places. The berries of the 
 arbutus are feldom got in any confiderable quantity. 
 
 On the fides of Hoy hill we obferved feveral 
 fmall briilly hogs digging with great keennefs. On 
 examination we found, that it was the tuberous root 
 of tormentil (tormentilla officinalis^ which they 
 were in fearch of; an4 which, being plentiful here, 
 forms, together with the roots of ruflies, their 
 principal food. The root of tormentil is fre- 
 quently gathered by the natives for the purpofe of 
 tanning ; and not without reafon, it having been 
 lately afcertained that it contains a larger propor- 
 tion of the tanning principle than any other ailrin- 
 gent wood or bark. 
 
 Befides the birds already mentioned, the fliort- 
 eared owl * is very common on Hoy hills, during 
 the fummer months. The folan-goofa or gannet, 
 the emmer-goofe f , and the taminorie or puffin if, are 
 numerous in the feas around. The Jly-goojc or 
 lliieldrake || is common on the fandy parts of the 
 
 beach. 
 
 * Strix brachyotos, formerly mentioned, p. 1 1. 
 
 f Embcr-goofe, Colymbus immer. The name Em)ner-^ooJc 
 is alfo given to a larger and more beautiful fowl, die Northern 
 Diver or Lomen (Colymbus glacialis), which liowever vlfits Ork- 
 ney only in the winter; whereas the true evmer fpends die 
 whole year, and probably breeds in Orkney, though its nell or 
 young have not been difcovered by the inhabitants. 
 
 J Alca ardlica. jj Anas tadorna.
 
 54 ORK.NEY. 
 
 beach, making its nefl: generally in a rabbit bur- 
 row. It has got the name of Sly-goofe from the 
 arts which the natives find it to employ to decoy 
 them from the neighbourhootl of its nefl : it fre- 
 quently feigns lamenefs, and waddles away with 
 one wing trailing on the ground, thus inducing a 
 purfuit of itfelf, till, judging its young to be fafe 
 from difcovery, it fuddenly takes flight, and leaves 
 the outwitted Orcadian gaping with furprize. 
 
 In fhort, Hoy will be found to be the moil inte- 
 refting dillrid of Orkney, either to the botanill or 
 the ornithologift ; and well deferving the attention 
 of any naturalift that may hereafter have an oppor- 
 tunity, leifurely to examine it^ at different feafons 
 of the year. 
 
 {^Scots Mag. April 1805.) 
 
 Having finifhed the journal of my progrefs 
 through the principal iflands of Orkney, I fliall (be- 
 fore proceeding to Shetland) add a i^w general and 
 defultory remarks applicable to the whole. 
 
 Trees. — At prefent,the whole face of Orkney is 
 bare of trees. That this was not formerly the cafe 
 is abundantly evident, from infpedlion of the peat 
 mofles," in every diftritfl where thefe have been laid 
 open by the digging of peats for fuel. — I never fail- 
 ed to find in fuch places, pieces of the bark, fre- 
 quently little branches, of the hirch-tree (betula al- 
 ba). The bark is generally more perfedl than the 
 timber. In fome fpecimens the thin filvery laminae 
 of the outer (kin are eafily feparable. The birch
 
 ORKNEY. 55 
 
 muft therefore, at fome former period, have been 
 very abundant : it feeras, however, now to be near- 
 ly extinct.— In a mofs belonging to Captain Rich- 
 an, in the pariQi of Deernefs, whole bufliels of 
 hazel-nuts are occafionally dug up, the exterior be- 
 ing of a black colour, but firm in texture ; the ker- 
 nels, however, entirely wafted. Of the hazel-tree 
 (corylus avellana) which muft alfo have abounded 
 in former times, we have already recorded the ex- 
 piring remains in Hoy illand. — Trunks and cones 
 of the common Scotch-fir (pinus fylveftris), I was 
 told by Captain Richan, the proprietor, have alfo 
 been found in the mofs of Deernefs \ together with. 
 cones and branches of the pitch-pine or lilver-fir 
 (pinus picea), the twigs of v^hich arc remarkable 
 for burning with a bright flame. I am aware that 
 twigs of any kind of wood taken from fome peat- 
 mofles, burn with as brilliant a flame as thofe of the 
 pitch-pine; and that this has, with much proba- 
 bility, been thought* to depend, not on the 
 prefence of the natural rcfin, but en a partial con- 
 verfion of the twig into a bituminous fubftance. 
 The exiftence of two kinds of pine in the Orkney 
 moffes, however, is proved by the occurrence of two 
 kinds of cones; one fmall and round, belonging to 
 the Scotch-fir; the other oblong, and having reflexed 
 fcales, charaderiftic of the cones of the pitch-pine. 
 The Scotch-fir is now totally extind: in Orkney. 
 The pitch-pine has once been indigenous to thofe 
 iflands, and probably to the northern extremity of 
 
 the 
 
 * Parkinfon's *' Organic Remains cf a former world."
 
 SG ORKNEY. 
 
 the continent of Scotland : it is now extin«5l in the 
 Britifli dominions , but it is ftill native in Norway, 
 where it covers the rocky coafts down to the water's 
 edge. — The mount ain-ajh or roan-tree exifts, but 
 barely exifts, in Hoy, at this day. — Several fpecics 
 of the willow tribe are natives of different iflands. 
 I pretty generally met with the following : Salix 
 arbufctila, falix prunifolia, and falix aquatica. But 
 they feldom exceeded four or five feet in height, 
 even in the mod favourable fituations. Probably 
 they are cut for hoops, ftakes, &c. and are thus pre- 
 vented from attaining that height which they would 
 otherwife acquire. Salix argentea and falix repens, 
 both creeping along the ground, can fcarce be men- 
 tioned among trees. — In gardens in the town of 
 Kirkwall ie,\QXd\ plane-trees^ aJJj &c. being fheltered 
 by the furrounding houfes, have reached the height 
 of twenty or thirty feet. 
 
 We were often told in Orkney, " Trees will not 
 grow here : the climate and foil are very unfa- 
 vourable : the fpray is utterly deftrudive: at- 
 tempts have been made and have uniformly fail- 
 ed." The circumftance of the fliores of Norway 
 being thickly w^ooded is fufficient evidence that 
 there can be nothing in the climate or the foil of 
 Orkney, to prevent the growing of trees * : and we 
 
 deny 
 
 * Buchanan fecms to have been aware of this. His words 
 are : " Nulki iifijiiam arbor, ac ne frutex quidem praetcr eiicam ; 
 nee Id lam cocli ant foil vitio, quam incolentium ignavia, quod 
 lacile oftcnditur ex arborum radicibus quae in plurlbus lociS 
 eruuntur." HJi. lib. i. ad fin.
 
 ORKNEY. 57 
 
 deny that the experiment has ever been fairly made. 
 In the firft place, it is not a fair trial to plant here 
 and there, as has hitherto been done, an ifolated 
 feedling tree ; large clumps ought to be planted to- 
 gether, fo that, as the trees rife in height, each may 
 afford flielter to another- In the fecond place, it is 
 not a fair trial to tranfplant feedling trees from the 
 rich and warm beds of the nuiferies at Edin- 
 burgh, to the comparatively poor and chilly foil of 
 the far northern Orkneys. It is evident that young 
 plants brought from Norway, — from a country 
 equally cold, and equally expofed to blafts and to 
 fpray, would have many more chances to fucceed* 
 The Pitch-pine or Silver-fir clothes the ftiores of 
 Norway to the very edge of the fea. This is the 
 principal kind of tree, the culture of which fliould 
 be attempted in Orkney ; and furely a fufficient 
 number of feedlings might, without much difficul- 
 ty, be tranfported from Norway. To this might be 
 added the Larch, and the Plane-tree *, both of which 
 grow very freely ; and the Birch and the Hazel, the 
 bark and branches of which are abundant in moft 
 of the peat-moffes. The Mountain- afh, too, is very 
 hardy, and, as we have feen, is fcarce yet extind: 
 in Orkney -{■. 
 
 Sheep. — The flieep are ftill allowed to run at large 
 over the whole country, being reftrained during 
 fummer only by the hill-dikes which protect the 
 arable land. When Ilieep are to be caught, they 
 
 H are 
 
 * In England called Greater Maple, or Sycamore. 
 
 f For fome additional remarks on the pracflicability of raif- 
 ing timber in Orkney and Shetland, fee Notes in Appendiy.— 
 Note E.
 
 58 ORKNEY. 
 
 are ftill, in moft places, hounded down by dogs, ig- 
 Head of being driven into folds, and feized by gent- 
 ler means. In many places, ftill, the wool, inftead 
 of being fliorn with fciffars, is forcibly torn from 
 their backs. During winter the flieep betake them- 
 felves to the Ihores to pick up the tender fea-weeds 
 caft up by the waves ; and many of them perifti in 
 this purfuit, being waftied away by fudden fwells 
 of the billows. It has long been remarked in Ork- 
 ney*, that if a man and a dog land upon fome of 
 the iflands in vor-t'ime, i. e. Spring, almoft all the 
 pregnant fheep take to running, and run till they 
 fall down dead. On inquiry, I found that this was 
 only in holms, where the flieep are very wild and 
 much frightened, not being accuftomed to fee either 
 men or dogs. 
 
 Although rocky eminences and cliffs, abounding 
 with tufts of the finefl grafs, but inacceffible to 
 fheep, are common in Orkney, I did not fee a fingle 
 ^oat in the whole country, — the only animal that 
 could get at fuch grafs. 
 
 Bees. — The honey-bee has fcarce ever been car- 
 ried into Orkney, or properly attended to. I have 
 no doubt, however, but it might fucceed. The 
 coltsfoot (tuffilago farfara) is too common, and 
 mufl be one of the earliell blooms in Orkney. 
 The creeping willow (falix repens) covers many 
 upland paftures, and its catkins muft alfo afford 
 an early banquet to the native bees. The fea- 
 gilliflower or thrift (ftatice armeria), well known 
 
 in 
 
 * Wallace, Brand, &c.
 
 oRKNr:?. 59 
 
 in Orkney by the name of Arby*, covers the fhores, 
 and is alfo a pretty early flower. To thefc fucceed 
 the grafs of ParnalTus (parnaffia palaftris), render- 
 ing many meadows wholly white ; the plantain 
 fliore-weed (littorella lacufl:ris), fringing the mar- 
 gin of every lake; and the marfh-trefoil or bogbean 
 (menyanthes trifoliata), occupying whole acres of 
 marfh grounds. In July the different kinds of 
 heaths, and the wild thyme (thymus ferpyllum), 
 put forth their flowers and offer abundant fources of 
 mellifluous food to the bufy tribes. The mofl: com- 
 mon wild bee in Orkney is the humble bee (apis 
 terrellris) ; but the brown bee (apis mufcorum) is 
 alfo a native. 
 
 Game. — ^^The only game found in Orkney is the 
 red grous or moorfowl^ which is particularly abun- 
 dant in the hilly iflands of Roufay and Hoy. I could 
 not learn that the white grous or ptarmigan, nas 
 ever been obferved. Partridges have never been feen 
 in Orkney. Hares are unknown, although rabbits 
 are very plentiful in mofl; of the iflands. The 
 fportfman, hovv^ever, will here never want employ* 
 ment. If he fhould fail for fome time to raife a pack 
 of grous, he will not pafs a marfli without ftarting 
 feveral wifps of fnipe : every pool will afford him 
 a chance of a team of ducks, — chiefly the wigeon, 
 golden-eye, mallard, and teal. The lakes and 
 downs are inhabited by wild geefe (bernacle, bean 
 
 and 
 
 * Formerly its thick tuberous roots, fllced and boiled with 
 milk, were highly prized in Orkney as a remedy in pulmonary 
 confumption.
 
 60 ORKNEY. 
 
 and brent goofe) in abundance. The air is often 
 darkened by the flocks of plovers. The curlieu, or 
 wbaaj), and the lapwing or peewit, are every where 
 common. It is almoft unneceflary to ftate, that an 
 excurfion in a boat along the fhores of fome of the 
 holms and lefs frequented illands, will afford the 
 fportfman a chance of many aquatic birds which 
 are rare on the fouthern fliores of Britain ; parti- 
 cularly, the eider-duck, the flieildrake, the ember- 
 goofe, the ardic gull, the fhear-water, &.c. For 
 thefe, as well as for the geefe, very long- barrelled 
 fowling-pieces, with flug-fhot, are required. 
 
 Molucca Beans.— Large exotic nuts or feeds, 
 which, in Orkney, are known by the name of Moluc- 
 ca Beans, are occafionally found among the rejeda- 
 menta of the fea, efpecially after weilerly winds. 
 I was prefented with two or three of them by my 
 friends in different illands. There are two kinds 
 commonly found : the larger (of which the fiflrermen 
 very generally make fnufi'- boxes) feem * to be feeds 
 from the great pod of the mimofa fcandens of the 
 Weft-Indies; the fmaller, feeds from the pod of the 
 dolichos urens, alfo a native of the fame region. It 
 is probable that the currents of the ocean, and parti- 
 cularly that great current which iflues from the 
 Gulf of Florida, and is hence denominated the Gulf 
 Stream, aid very much in tranfporting acrofs the 
 ipighty Atlantic thefe American products. — They 
 are generally quite frefli and entire, and afford an 
 
 additional 
 
 * According to Dr Wright,
 
 ORKNEY. 6rl 
 
 additional proof* how impervious to moiflure, and 
 how imperifhable nuts and feeds in general are -{-. 
 
 Fisheries. — A great proportion of the Orkney far- 
 mers are deprefTed by poverty. From this low ftate 
 it is almoft impoffible for them to raife therafelves, 
 on account of the fmallnefs of their farms ; moft of 
 them poiiefling only a few acres, and paying for their 
 farm perhaps from L. 3 to L. 8 of yearly rent. Such 
 men cannot poflibly have it in their power to fit 
 out large boats, or to purchafe long lines for the cod 
 and ling, or a train of nets for the herring fifliery ; 
 the expence of a long line and a train of herring 
 nets amounting, together, to about L. 30 Sterling. 
 The boats of the Orkney farmers are in general 
 miferable cobles^ between i and 2 tons burden : 
 whereas the cod and ling fifhery would require 
 boats of at lead 5 or 6 tons, with proper fails and 
 rigging. It is to be hoped that the patriotic exer- 
 tions of the Highland Society, and of the Society 
 for the Improvement of the Filberies, will foon ex- 
 tend their beneficial influence to the Orkneys. — To 
 give fome idea of the richnefs of this field of induf- 
 try, I fiiall here mention the principal fifhes that are 
 found in numbers around the Orkney iflands. 
 
 DogfiJJj (fqualus acanthias) are caught in vail 
 quantities with hand-lines, in July and Auguft, the 
 bait being a piece of the fmall grey fifti called coothy 
 or a piece of the dog-fifh itfelf. One man will fonie- 
 times catch 15 fcore in a day. There are twenty- 
 four 
 
 * See p. 55. 
 
 f See Notes in Appendix. — Note F.
 
 ^2 ORKN£Y. 
 
 four boats belonging to the parifh of Orphir alone, 
 engaged in this fifhery, with four or five men in 
 each boat*. Much oil is made from the livers- of 
 the dog-fifli, while the bodies are dried by the na- 
 tives, without fait, and ftored up againft winter. 
 Their taile is rather oily and heavy, but flill they 
 are not a defpicable food. Many of them are, 
 every winter, accidentally caught in the herring- nets 
 in the Frith of Forth ; but here they are, through 
 prejudice, negleded as food, and allowed to rot on 
 the dunghil. It was long ago well obferved by Mr 
 Knox, that if the name were changed from Dog-fJJj 
 to King-George-fip?, this groundlefs prejudice would 
 probably foon fubfide. 
 
 Sillocks, the fry of the coal-fidi, and cooths, the 
 coal-fifli when a year old, are taken, clofeby the fliorc, 
 in inconceivable numbers at the beginning of win- 
 ter. Much oil is alfo made from ih^it grey-fiJ7jj as 
 they are termed -j- : but this kind of oil is nearly ap- 
 propriated to the ufe of the inhabitants themfelves, 
 it bemg found to become rancid when kept for any 
 confiderable time, and being therefore not very fit 
 for exportation. 
 
 Cod j]fl) are common on different banks around 
 the Orkney iilands, efpecially off Stronfa, Weitra, 
 and Papa Weflra, in the north ; and Hoy and Walls 
 in the fouth. The little farmers of the parifh of 
 Walls, at the intervals they could fpare from their 
 labours on land, have been known to catch 40,000 
 
 fine 
 
 * Report of Orphir, by Mr Liddel, Stat. Ace. vol, xix. 
 f Appendix — Note C.
 
 ORKNEY. 63 
 
 fine cod, in one feafon, on the fliores of the Pentlanil 
 Frith *. Ling are fometimes taken ; but are lefs 
 common, and are generally meagre, in the Orkney 
 Teas. Tujk are rare in thofe feas, being truly a north- 
 ern fifh. 
 
 Haddocks are in general very abundant in moil: 
 of the large founds or friths. In Enhallovv Sound, 
 ftretching between Pomona and the iflands of Gair- 
 fey and Roufay, they were very plentiful laft feafon 
 (1804), in Auguft and September. 
 
 Thornbacks (raia clavata) are alfo caught pretty 
 generally and plentifully in the friths of Orkney, as 
 in Stronfa Frith. They are known by the name of 
 Ikate ; but few of the real Skate (raia batis) are 
 found. The thornbacks are dried by the people 
 without fait, and may be feen hanging about the 
 chimneys of the meaner cottages thickly covered 
 with duft. Ilolibut are frequently met with, of a 
 very large fize : but they are not much elleemed 
 by the poor, as they muft be eaten green, and can- 
 not be laid up in llore. Turbot are alfo caught, 
 though feldom in numbers. 
 
 The Ballan-wraje or bergil is found in the futn- 
 mer months. The Saury-pike^ ox ^/kipper ^^ fome- 
 times paiTes fouthward in flioals, in September, in 
 company with the herring. Mrtf;^^r<?/ are generally 
 found in confiderable numbers once a-year, preced- 
 ing 
 
 * Dr Barry's ftatiftical report of Kirkwall, Stat. Ace. vol. vii. 
 
 t Efox faurus, Lin. Trans, vol. vii. In the Frith of Forth, it 
 s called Gandannoch. It has uncommonly long flender jaws, fo 
 that its mouth refembles very much the bill of the aYofet.
 
 64 ORKI^EY. 
 
 ing the herrings ; and the Sea-pike accompanying 
 the mackerel. 
 
 Herrings generally come once a-year into Pent- 
 land Frith in vaft flioals, filling all the bays and 
 fheltered places. Lad September, (1804), a ihoal 
 occupied the whole of Scalpa Flow (the Orkney 
 Mediterranean, as it has been termed), for a con- 
 liderable time, and, as formerly remarked (p. 10.) was 
 almoft totally neglecled. The progrcfs of the flioals 
 is eafily obferved, by the fea being there fpotted 
 with hundreds, often thoufands of fowls, — gannets, 
 divers, corvorants, and gulls. 
 
 In the rivulets and lakes, Sea-trout* (falmo trut- 
 ta) of a large fize, are very abundant. I was in- 
 formed by an Orkney gentleman, that, in the courfe 
 of one flood-tide, he once caught with a net four- 
 teen dozen of large trouts, endeavouring to force 
 their way into the burn of Scalpa near Kirkwall. 
 Orkney offers many ftations, promifing to be equal- 
 ly produdive. Yet this fifliery of fea-trout is al- 
 moftquite difregarded. Salmon are frequently caught 
 in the feas around Orkney : and there can be no 
 doubt but they might annually betaken in confider- 
 able quantity at the outlet of the great lake of Sten- 
 nis, in the bay of Stromnefs. Large Eels are very 
 common in the frefh-water lakes : but the natives 
 defpife them, calling them water-ferpents. Confers 
 
 of 
 
 » Sometimes called red- trout, from its flefh becoming red on 
 t)eing boiled ; and fometimes 'wJnte-trout or •whitUng, from its 
 iKining filvery fcales. The year olds are called herlings in the 
 fbuih of Scotland ; and, it is believed._;fn«of^j in the north.
 
 f)RKNEY, 65 
 
 of a great fize are frequently caught in the friths ; 
 but thefe the fifhers efteem tolerable food. 
 
 Bars to improvement. — The principal obllacles to 
 the improvement of the Orkney iilands,are at prefent 
 the following : i. The fmallnefs of the farms. 2. The 
 want of leafes^ or the fhortnefs of thofe granted. 
 3. The want of iriclofures. 4. The total negleci 
 of herding; all the cattle, Iheep, hogs, geefe, &c. 
 being prepofteroully allowed to traverfe and poach 
 the arable land for one half of the year. 5. The 
 want of markets, where the fmall farmer or fiHi- 
 er may readily difpofe of his fuperfluous produce 
 to the higheft bidder. 6. The exclufive eagernefs 
 (hewn by the proprietors to increafe the quantity 
 of kelp manufactured on their fhores, to the negledl 
 of agriculture or the rearing of ilock. 7. The ig- 
 norance of the natives of the proper method of pro- 
 fecuting the fiilieries, and their inability through 
 poverty. To thefe may be added feveral circum- 
 ftances that may probably require parliamentary 
 inrerference ; fuch as, the almoft total want of roads : 
 — the heavy duties of various kinds paid to 
 Lord Dundas, as donatary of the Crown, and as 
 tackfman of the "biflioprick of Orkney: — the great 
 intermixture of property in many places, — and the 
 quantity of unimproved becaufe undivided common. 
 For remedying thefe two lail-mentioned evils, 
 indeed, the laws already enaded refpecting runrig 
 lands and commonties would prove fufficient, were 
 the whole proprietors infpired with the proper fpirit 
 to a(fl upon them *, and were the ftatute-labour duly 
 exaded, the communication between the different 
 
 I dillrida
 
 66 
 
 ORKNEY. 
 
 diftrids of the Mainlan might foon be confider- 
 ab^v facilitated. 
 
 Defence/efs- Jlate of Orkney. — I cannot take leave 
 of Orkney without remarking, that it is totally 
 dcfencelefs. The rapid tides and dangerous rocks 
 which Ikirt thefe iflands, together with their com- 
 parative poverty, may no doubt be confidered as 
 affording' ample fecurity againft foreign invafion. 
 But it will hardly be pleaded that it is confident 
 with found policy that towns of fuch magnitude 
 and confeqivence as Kirkwall and Stromnefs Ihould 
 be left, as at prefent, without the flightefl: means of 
 defence againlt the fudden and tranfient attack of an 
 enemy's cruifer or a privateer. The fagacious Crom- 
 well had lefs reafon to dread an attack upon Kirk- 
 wall, or a defection from his intereft there, than that 
 town now has to cxped a hoftile vifit from fome of 
 the enemy's crullers, (for Britifli armed veffels, 
 though frequently in Kirkwall Roads, are not al- 
 ways there) \ yet the remains of a fort reared by 
 Cromwell Hill exift in the neighbourhood, and one 
 of his rully cannon ftill lies on the rampart. — Go- 
 vernment feems, indeed, to have been fenfible of the 
 ncceflity of fome fliew, at leaft, of a place of (Irength : 
 feveral c.arronades having adlually been tranfmitted 
 to Kirkwall : but, ilrange to tell, thefe carronades 
 have never been mounted, but lie tolTcd about and 
 expofed on the beach, fome of them even within fea- 
 mark, and overwhelmed by every flood-tide I No 
 regular foldiers are quartered m Orkney : the mili- 
 tia does not extend to thefe iflands, which are judi- 
 cioufly excufed, as a more valuable nurfery for the 
 
 navy ;
 
 ORKNEY. 67 
 
 nf.vy : though many hearts are willing, no volun- 
 teer corps have been embodied in Orkney. Inter- 
 nally, therefore, Orkney is quite defenceiefs. The 
 people, however, as already obferved, are doubt- 
 lefs able and willing to defend t'hemfelves from any 
 fudden attack, wer^ the means fairly put in their 
 hands. 
 
 {Scots Mag. May 1805.) 
 
 ■^u^. 24. 1804. — An armed veffel in Kirkwall 
 Roads happening at this time to be ready to fail for 
 Shetland, and the captain underitanding, by .ny 
 friends, my defire to vifit that remote part of the 
 empire, kindly offered me a paffage^ 
 
 We weighed anchor in the afternoon, and got un- 
 der way with a gentle breeze. Next morning we. 
 were off Papa Weilra, and in fight of the he;ad- 
 land of that ifland, called the Moul Head. The fail- 
 ors being provided with ffrong lines, we here lay 
 /o, and 'fifhed for cod and haddock. So abundant 
 were thefe kinds of fifh in this place, that in an hour 
 our deck was flrevved with about fifty fine firm cod- 
 fifli, befides fome haddocks of a large fixe. This was: 
 not two miles diftant from Papa Weilra ; yet wei 
 faw no boat engaged in this rich fifliery I How fu- 
 pine is fuch conduct I— In the evening we paffed 
 North Ronaldfha light, which is very elevated ; the 
 tower rifing, I believe, about feventy feet. 
 
 SHETLAND. 
 
 Aug. 26. — Early in the morning I found that we 
 were off Nonefs Head in Shetland^, having had a fa- 
 vourable
 
 68 SHE! LAND. 
 
 y:)urable breeze through the night. The general 
 afped: of the country, as we coafted alcng towards 
 Lerw^ick, was hilly, bleak, and (leril. At 9, we an- 
 chored in BralTay Sound, oppcfite to Lerwick. It 
 being Sunday, the colours were difplayed from Fort 
 Cbfrlottie, a fortrefs fituated to the north of rhe 
 tow. J. We had fcarcely landed, when Tome of the 
 inhabitants alk.ed of me, whether we were direct 
 from Scotland P — a queftion that rather furprifed 
 rne, as feeming to imply that the Shetland iflands 
 the.nfelves did notconftitute a part of that country. 
 Ir, Lerwick there is only one eflablifhed church, 
 ai;d there are no difTenters. The church appeared 
 to be well attended, and the common people were 
 in general very neatly drelTed. 
 
 The town of Lerwick confiils of one principal 
 A:reet next the quay, with feveral lanes branching 
 ojQT. No regularity has been obferved, in former 
 times, in the pofition of the houfes, fom.e of which 
 projecl almoft quite acrofs the flreet. The general 
 appearance of the town has of late years been much 
 improved by feveral handi'ome houfes built in the 
 inodern ftjle. The town is computed to contaip 
 about icco inhabitants. Fort Charlotte is a great 
 ornament to it. Several large cannon command the 
 harbour and protect the town. Tliis fortrefs is faid 
 to have been originally erecled during the protec- 
 torate of Cromwell : it was completely repaired, 
 by order of Government, in 17S1, and named Fort 
 Charlotte, after our gracious Queen. At prefent 
 (1804), it is garrifoned by a part of the 6th Royal 
 g-arrifon Battalion. 
 
 Upon
 
 SHETLAND. G^ 
 
 Upon a little ifland, in the midft of a frelh-water 
 lake, about a mile weil from Lerwick, are fituated 
 the remains of a Pidifhfort, in a better ftate of pre- 
 fervation than moil others which we fa\v in Shet- 
 land. It confifts of a thick circular wall, inclofing 
 an area of about .thirty feet ia diameter. In the 
 wall itfelf, which is about twelve feet thick, are 
 feveral oblong recelTes or little chambers, ten or 
 tvTelve feet in length, by three in width. No kind 
 of cement or mortar appears to have been employed 
 in thefe rude ilrudiures. All around the banks of 
 this lake I found abundance of a dwarfifh variety of 
 Jaiione montana (hairy fheep's fcabious), both with 
 blue and with white flowers. This is by no means 
 a plant generally found in Scotland : but here it 
 grows abundantly on ail the dry turfs which form 
 around half-funk ftones, or which projed on grafly 
 banks. Upon this little lake, one of the officers from 
 Fort Charlotte, about this time, Ihot a truly north- 
 ern bird, the red-throated diver (colymbus fepten- 
 trionalis), which was politely prefented to me. The 
 Shetlanders name it the rain-goofe, its fhrill and 
 harfh call, as it flies along, being thought to pro- 
 gnofticate rain. The 3/*3r>^-throated diver is generally 
 feen in company with the red, and is perhaps the 
 female ? They breed in Shetland. 
 
 Near Fort Charlotte there is a quarry of very 
 hard landilone breccia, in which vail numbers of 
 large water-worn nodules of red granite, fome of 
 niem (as remarked by the quarriers) mod exa<5lly 
 relembling the common round Dutch cheefes, 
 are compactly imbedded. About half a mile 
 
 fouth
 
 70 SHETLAND. 
 
 fouth from Lerwick, below a projeding eminence 
 called the Knab *, at the entrancj? of BralTay 
 Sound, feveral thick ftrata of fandftone have been 
 expofed to view by the aftion of the fea. Imbed- 
 ded in the upper ftrata of this fandftone, I obfer- 
 ved a few fcattered nodules of the fame kind of gra- 
 nite. The lower ftrata are whiter, and 2iXt free- 
 JlonCy {i. e. may be hewn in any diredion), and 
 are therefore quarried for the ntw buildings in 
 Lerwick. On the grafly banks of the Knab, Scilla 
 verna (vernal fquill) grows in profufion. At this 
 time I gathered fome of the ripe feeds, which have 
 fince vegetated in one of the ftoves of the Botanic 
 Garden at Edinburgh. I alfo brought home fome 
 of the bulbs, which have grown freely. (April i^o^). 
 The vernal fquill is confidered as rather a rare plant 
 in Scotland. 
 
 The hills around Lerwick have a gloomy look 
 being but thinly clad with ftunted heath, and many 
 naked rocks appearing. The foil is avvet peat-turf, 
 unfavourable to th€ vegetation of the better kinds 
 of grafles, and yielding only a {ttw of the coarfer 
 forts, (fuch as nardus ftrida and feftuca vivipara), 
 mixed with carices and dwarfifti ruflies. There 
 are two chalybeate fprings in the neighbourhood of 
 the town ; one fomewhat ftronger than the other, 
 but neither highly impregnated. 
 
 At 
 
 . ^ ^ -.^ 
 
 * From Fort Charlotte to this point, called the Knab, Govern- 
 Tnent has caufed a road to be made, by means of which cannon 
 conld be brought hither in the courfe of a few minutes ; and 
 here they would efEedually command the fouthern entrance of 
 Eraflay Sound, at leaft agaiiift an enemy's cruifer or privateer
 
 SHETLAND. 7 
 
 1 
 
 At Lerwick there is a ftraw-plaiting manuFadory, 
 but not on fo extenfive a fcale as that at Kirkwall. 
 When we vifited it, more than fifty girls were at 
 work, in two rooms, which however were rather 
 crowded. They receive i d. per yard, and can 
 make, as we were told by the manager, from 12 to 
 16 or even 20 yards a-day. This manufadlory is 
 carried on by a London Company. Before its in- 
 trodudtion, there was no kind of manufadlure in 
 Lerwick, in which yotmg women could advantage- 
 oully exert their induftry, — the knitting of ftockings 
 being only a wafte of time. 
 
 Mackerel were at this time very common at Ler- 
 wick, and were fold very cheap. Eggs were brought 
 aboard to us in Lerwick Roads at 1 d. a-dozen ; but 
 they were very fmall, even the poultry partaking 
 of the diminutive fize of all the domeftic animals 
 of Shetland. 
 
 At Lerwick, and indeed throughout Shetland, 
 Dutch and Danifh, coins are more common than 
 Britifh. A Jlue?-, or ftiver, (a fmall piece of bafe 
 metal filvered over), pafles in circulation for one 
 penny -, the Danifli 6 (killing palTes for 5 d. &.c. 
 
 Aug, 27th — wevifitedBraffayifiand, which lies im- 
 mediately over againft Lerwick. All along the weft- 
 ern fliore of this ifland, fea-beet (beta maritima) grows 
 naturally in great plenty ; together with Danifh 
 fcurvy-grafs (cochlearia Danica.) Intermixed with 
 thefe, we obferved many ftrong items of wheat and 
 of white oats, which had fprung from feeds acciden- 
 tally call afliore. In a gentleman's garden here, too, 
 
 we
 
 72 SHETLAND. 
 
 ■we obferved that feveral ftiewy annuals had reacli- 
 ed perfection in the open border, particularly con- 
 volvulus tricolor (coloured bindweed), and crepis ru- 
 bra (red hawkweed). Jafione m'ontana and fcilla 
 verna are very common natives of this illand. Near 
 the church of BraiTay are fituated the quarries which 
 fupply the town of Lerwick with Dates. Thefe 
 quarries confifl of beds of laminar micaceous lliif- 
 tus*. Such Hates may make a very fecure roof; 
 but it mufl: alfo of neceffity be a ponderous one. 
 Great quanVities of black compadl peats are dug from 
 the molTes of Braflay, and fold to the inhabitants of 
 Lerwick. 
 
 This ifland forms the eaflern protedion of Braflay 
 Sound, the fafe and commodious harbour or road- 
 ftead of Lerwick, where, it is believed, the whole 
 Britilh Navy might ride in fafety. Braflay Sound is 
 the re fort, in time of peace, of feveral hundred 
 Dutch bulTes which annually rendezvous here, at 
 the beginning of June, preparatory to the herring 
 fifliery f . 
 
 On the 28th of Auguft w€ left Braflay Sound, in 
 a large open boat, for Unft, the mofl: northerly of 
 the Shetland iflands. In pafling out by the north 
 entrance of the found, the fite of the Unicorn roci^ 
 was pointed out to us ; but it was at this time co- 
 vered by the fea. When Bothwell was driven to 
 
 extremities, 
 
 I ■» ., I. ■ .., . „ i ■■,,■■■■ . ^111 ■ iMiii ■■ 11 ' ■■^ ■-.- — . — ■ 
 
 * ^dfUt. Note^ — This foflil would, I underftand, have been more 
 correiftly dcnomm-died ftitir/JIoneJI/ite. It has a very bright filvery 
 fliining furface, from numerous fmall unconneded fcales of mica. 
 
 f On the extent and importance of this fifliery, a few lOe^ 
 marks will be found in the Appendix. — Note G.
 
 SHETLAND. 73 
 
 extremities, he, as is well known, commenced 
 pirate. Kirkaldy of Grange was fent in purfuit of 
 him, in a velTcl called the Unicorn. While Kirk- 
 aldy entered BralTay Sound by the fouth, Bothwell 
 narrowly efcaped by failing out at the north en- 
 trance. Bothwell'b pilots, it is faid, had the cunning 
 to fail very clofe by a funk rock, with which they 
 w^ere familiar; thus leading their purfuers, who, in 
 the hurry of the chafe, would naturally follow their 
 track, to a hazard which adlually proved fatal to 
 them, and which enfurcd the efcape of the unhappy 
 fugitive. Since that day, this rock has received the 
 name oi the Unicorn. This tradition is uniform and 
 general, and may, I believe, be depended on. 
 
 While we fcudded along with a favourable breez,e, 
 our boat's crew amufed themfelves with catching 
 mackerel, which fvvim fader than any other fmall 
 fiih, and may therefore be caught while a veffel is 
 running at the rate of feven or eight knots (or miles) 
 ^an hour*. A pretty heavy weight is in fuch cir- 
 
 K cumftances 
 
 * In fkft mackerel are caught with mofl fuccefs in a breeze 
 of wind : they always fwim fall ; and being rather a fliy 
 fifh, the rapid motion of the bait is probably iifeful in deceiving 
 them and enticing them to hazard a bite. BefiJes, the mackerel 
 is proverbially fond of a gale : the fifhermen in the north of 
 Scotland have a foolifh rhapfody which begins thus : 
 
 " The herring loves the merry moon-light, 
 
 " And the mackerel likes the wind." 
 A moderately ftifF breeze is therefore fometimes termed a niac' 
 hrel-gale. Dr Johnfcn, in •verba, fuppofes that a mackerel-gale 
 means a " ftrong breeze, fuch as is defired to bring mackerel 
 " frefh to market :" but this, it is evident, cannot be the origin of 
 the phrafe, which is perfedly underftood, where no fuch motivff 
 can poffibly come into confideration.
 
 74 4HETLAND. 
 
 cumftances required to fink the lines to a proper 
 depth. The bait at firft employed, on this occa- 
 fion, was a bit of red woollen- cloth ! after which 
 the heart of the mackerel itfelf was preferred. 
 
 In the middle of the day we landed at GolTa- 
 burgh, in the illand of l^ell, and had fome of our 
 new-caught mackerel prepared for dinner. The 
 fields here were fo fmall in dimenfions, that they 
 appeared to us like little garden patches. Infl;ead 
 of a plough, a coarfe kind of awkward fpade is em- 
 ployed. As the men dig the fields with this fpade ; 
 the women and children, we were told, drag the 
 harrows I — As in Orkney, fo in Shetland, only the 
 grey and black oat is cultivated ; and it is here 
 mixed with a good deal of the wild oat with hy- 
 grometric awns, (a vena fatua). The white oat of the 
 fouth is fcarcely known. Bear, or bigg, is alfo rai- 
 fed here in confiderable quantity. We faw fome 
 promifing lazy-bed potatoes \ rather, however, too 
 clofely planted. During our fliort flay at this fpot, t 
 njadeahurriedvifittoaheathyeminencein the neigh- 
 bourhood. The ground was very wet and boggy, 
 which, Ibelieve, is the cafe with a great proportion of 
 the pafture ground of Yell. Mod of the little pools 
 fhewed a fcum of the oxide of iron ; and bog- iron- 
 ore, of different degrees of confiflence, is here a 
 common produdlion. Narthccium ofTifragum (baf- 
 tard afphodel) ; Pinguicula vulgaris (butterwort or 
 JJjeep-rot) ; and Pedicularis paluftris (marfh loufe- 
 wort), were indeed too common. Melica cosrulea 
 (purple melic) ; Nardus ftricla, (heath niatweed) ; 
 
 and
 
 SHETLAND. 75 
 
 and Feftuca vivipara (viviparous fneep's-fefcue), 
 were the principal grafles ; together with carices re- 
 curva, diftans, panicea, &c. and fome junci or rulh- 
 es. To a mixture of all thefe, when heath is abfent, 
 the natives give the name of luhho. The water- 
 worn ftones on the (bore were chiefly of micaceous 
 iliiftus, fometimes with the remairis of fmall garnets ; 
 with abeflus, ferpentine, &^c. 
 
 We reached Uje.a Sound, in the ifland of Unjl, 
 early in the evening. Mod of the rocks in this di- 
 Itricl of Unft are of the magnefian kind *. The fer- 
 pentine is finely variegated ; and its frefli fradure 
 polTelTes fuch luf^re, that the inhabitants call iljaf- 
 per. I'he exterior of the rocks, however, is of a 
 dull rufty hue, being altered or partly decornpollJ 
 by the action ©f the weather. Pieces of pure white 
 tleatite are frequently found on the Ihore : thefc, I 
 believe, the people call clemmil, and employ fur 
 drawing white lines on cloth or wood. — Chlorite, 
 imbedded in large mafies of quartz, is alfo very com- 
 mon on the Piiore. A littl^ way eaft from Uyer, 
 
 great 
 
 * The whole of the Shetland Iflands are much more intereft- 
 ingtothe mineralogill than thoi<e of Orkney. The few detached 
 notices here given, are extrafted from notes taken on the fpot. 
 For further information, efpecially with regard to the geognof- 
 tic fituation of the different minerals, I beg Icare to refer to 
 Profeflcr Jamefon's Mineralogical Dcfcription of thefe lllands, 
 1 vol. 8vo. 1798 ; republithed in 410. (1800), vol. ii. And 
 in addition to the interefting information conveyed by Pro- 
 feiTor Jamefcn, I am happy to be able to communicate, in 
 the Appendix, fome valuable mineralogical obfervations, by my 
 "fjriend Dr Traill cf Liverpool, who vifited the iflands i.T 1803.
 
 fS SHETLAND. 
 
 great rocks of micaceous fhiflus appear, which are 
 Ibrcetimes quarried for building, efpeeially for lin- 
 tel-flones. Here a rude pillar of this fliiitus, rifing 
 about twelve feet from the ground, has, in former 
 days, been erected, probably as a lanu-mark to 
 veiTels entering the harbour or roadliead of Uyea * , 
 In this remote and dreary country, we were fome- 
 •what furprifed to find feveral handfome modern 
 houfes, with fmall gardens, gravel- walks, £cc. in a 
 neat rtylc. The principal of t4iere is Belmont, the 
 feat of Mr Mowat of Garth. 
 
 The remote fuuation of the Shelland Illands, and 
 the little intercourfe they have, efpeeially during 
 winter, with the mother country, frequently render 
 the inhabitants Grangers for many weeks to the 
 greateft national occurrences. It has often been alle- 
 ged that the Revolution 1688 was not known in ?liet- 
 land for fix months after it happened. Thus Brand 
 (Defcription of Zetland. 1701) fiys: "The late Re- 
 volution, when his Highnefs the Prince of Orange, 
 ' our prefent King, was pleafed to come over to allert 
 ' our liberties, and deliver us from our fears, fall- 
 
 * ing out in the winter, it was May thereafter be- 
 
 * fore they heard any thing of it in Zetland ; and 
 
 * that, firft, they fay, from a fiQierman, whom 
 
 * fome would have had arraigned before them, and 
 
 * impeached of high treafon becaufe of his news." 
 Andtothefamepurpofe Martin (Appendix to Hidory 
 
 of 
 
 * JMt. Ai^f— Great numbers of fniall whales were lorced 
 afhore here in 1805; of which fomc account will be found 
 in the Notes in Appendix.— Note H.
 
 SHETLAND. 77 
 
 of the Iflcs, 1703), copying and improving upon 
 Brand, fays : *' Tiie Shetlanders had no account 
 *' of the Prince of Orange's late landing in Eng- 
 " land, coronation, &c. until a fidierman happened to 
 ** land in thefe ifles in May following ; and he was 
 *' not believed, but indufted for high treafon, for 
 ^* fpreading fuch news." But from an old letter in 
 poffcllion of Mr Mowat of Garth, it is proved, that 
 this common report is without foundation, or at 
 lead is greatly exaggerated : for it hence appears, 
 that before the 15th of December 168S, the report 
 of the Prince of Orange's landing in England had 
 accidentally reached Unft, the mod northerly of 
 the iilands, — though the fad of a Revolution having 
 been effecled, was not, probably, afcertained for 
 fome conliderable time after. Having, with Mr 
 Mowat's permifiion, copied part of this letter, I 
 fliall give the exadt words: " 15th Dec. 1688. — I 
 *' can give no account of news, fave only that the 
 " Ikipper of the wreckt fhip confirms the former re- 
 *' port of the Prince of Orange his landing in Eng- 
 *' land with an confiderable number of men, hot up- 
 ** on what pretence I cannot condidiend. (Signed) 
 " And. Mowat." (Addrefied) *' To the much 
 '' honoured George Cheyne otf Eflamonih." — The 
 Prince landed at Torbay on the 5th of November 
 1088. 
 
 In the kitchen-gardens here, an uncommon kind 
 of artichoke is cultivated. It has numerous but 
 very fmall heads, fcarcely larger than thofe of 
 the common fpear-thidle. The inhabitants think it 
 
 more
 
 7S SHETLAND. 
 
 more hardy than the large-headed kind, and alfo iu- 
 perior in flavour. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Belmont I had an op- 
 portunity ot viewing a Shetland water-mill. it 
 was truly an awkward piece of machinery. The 
 wheel (a very trifling one) was placed horizontally 
 inftead of vertically ; confequently it could do but 
 little work. The millftone was of micaceous fliif- 
 tus *. 
 
 The gables of the cottages here, were at this f^a- 
 fon hung round with hundreds of fmall coalfifli, 
 called ^f/^oc/^J", flrung upon fp'its, and expofcd to dry, 
 without fult. The fiflies dried in this maiiner are 
 called /crn^-j'?/^. 
 
 Never was I more furprifcd or (hocked than t) 
 learn that there was no fchool in the whole ifland of 
 Unfl. f I The infUudion of hundreds of children is 
 thus in a great meafure negle(5l«d ; many of the pa- 
 rents being utterly incapable of commuriicating 
 even the knowledge of alphabetic letters to their 
 offspring. That an ifland of above twenty miles in 
 circumference, and containing about 20C0 inhabi- 
 tants^ 
 
 * JdJit. Note. — The wheel had about a dozen of fnia'.l float- 
 boards, placed in u (lanting diredlion, at an angle perhaps cf 
 40 decrees. The water flriking thefe boards, revolved the wheel. 
 An iron fpindle, paffing from this wheel, through the eye of the 
 under-millftone, was fixed in the upper; The millftones (blocks 
 of compaft micaceous fhiftus, found in the neighbourhood) were 
 about three feet in diameter- 
 
 + Addit. Note. — I am here to be underftood as fpeaking of ;i 
 reputable public or parochial fcliool. — See the ccnclufio'n. of the 
 paragraph,- and alfo Appendixj No. II. i.
 
 SHETLAND. 79 
 
 fants, (hould be deflitute of a parochial fchool, is to 
 me an inexplicable circumftance *. 
 
 Upon careful inquiry we learned that the Nor- 
 wegian language is now finally extindl in Unft, 
 where it fubfifted longer than in any of the other 
 iflands : for we were repeatedly allured, that, no 
 farther back than thirty years ago, there were " feve- 
 " ral old people that fpoke the Norns" i. e. the 
 Norfe, or Norwegian tongue. 
 
 Eagles, or erns, {falco abicilla, and falco ofTifra- 
 gus), refide on the hills and bold fea-precipices of 
 Unft. The taminorie or puffin, and lyre or fliear- 
 water, breed here. The cci/Ioo-^ (anas glacialis)— 
 named from its evening call, which refembles the 
 iound ca/Ioo, calloo, — arrives from the arctic regions 
 in autumn, and fpends the winter here. Great 
 flocks of wild fwans come at the fame time ; but 
 thcfe generally migrate farther fouth. 
 
 It 
 
 » JdJIt, Note. — Having, in July i8©ij, received fome further 
 information on this fubjed, I inierted the following note in the 
 Scots AJaga-zine/or jiuguji 1805 : " It was formerly mentioned, that 
 in the %\ hole ifland of Unft, which contains about 2000 inhabi- 
 tants, there was no public fchool. Since that part of thefe re- 
 marks was printed, the writer has learnt, that a fchool-houfe 
 is now building in the centre of that ifland = but that there has 
 been no proper fchool in Unft for a number of years paft is evi- 
 dent from this circumftance, that there are at this moment 
 about three hundred children in that ifland who never had an op. 
 
 tjortunlty of attending fchoul !" Unit fchool was opened for 
 
 the firft time in the end of November 1805- 
 
 t /Iddit. Note. — la Dr Barry's Hillory cf Orkney, lately pub- 
 lift-icd, the caJho is, by miftake, ftated to be the Anas acuta or 
 pintail duck, which is a much rarer bird.
 
 80 SHETLAND. 
 
 It is curious that the common houfe-moufe has 
 not yet found accefs to the ifland of Unft*. The 
 bat is quite unknown f. The untravelled natives 
 of Uyea I had never feen either frogs or toads, and 
 indeed had no idea of the appearance or nature of 
 thofe animals. 
 
 After fpending fome days in this extreme north- 
 ern ifland of the Britidi dominions, we again failed 
 to the fouthward. In the evening, after much tof- 
 fing with a contrary wind, we landed in Yell, at u 
 fine arm of the fea called Brough Voe. We viewed 
 the Pechts' Brough or little circular fort, which has 
 given name to the place. It is nearly of the fame 
 dimenfions and conftrudion with the many other 
 hroughs or pecbts-^oxts in Shetland, (one of which 
 has already been defcribed, p. 69). Thefe hroughs 
 feem to have been calculated to communicate by 
 fignals with each other ; the fite of one being uni- 
 formly feen from that of fome other. A gentleman of 
 our party here procured a kind of rude ftone-bafon, 
 which was, fome years ago, found among the rubbifli 
 in the Pechts-fort. It is fhaped like a large foup-difn, 
 or tureen, having two hollows for handles. Perhaps it 
 
 is 
 
 * 
 
 Mdlt. Note. — Should have been Uyea^ 
 
 f Addlt. Note.—Ur Pennant, in his Arflic Zoology, has, by 
 tniftake, mentioned the Bat as being found in Orkney and Shet- 
 land. 
 
 % Jddtt. Note Should have been t7"«7?.— See Appendix, 
 
 No. II. 2.
 
 SHETLANU. 81 
 
 is an old ftone qnern, or veflel in which grain ufcd 
 to be ground with a peftle *. 
 
 Early next morning (Sept. i.) we again fet fail, 
 and, wafted by a fair breeze, before mid-day reach- 
 ed Lerwick Roads, where we now found His Majef- 
 ty's frigate La Chiffonne lying at anchor. 
 
 {Scots Mag. June i8:>5.) 
 
 /^tb Sept. iZo^. — We walked acrofs BralTay Ifland, 
 and paid a vifit to Nofs, to view the far-famed cradle 
 ofNofs. This illand is (ituated to the eall of Braffay, 
 from which it is feparated by a narrow channel. The 
 tide was here running with conliderable violence and 
 velocity ; yet the only ferryboat we could procure was 
 a miferable Ikiff, which could not without difficulty 
 convey two palTengers at a time. The two boat- 
 men afforded us a remarkable inftance of flupid 
 apathy, which we were apt to afcribe to that ftate of 
 oppreffive degradation fo feelingly defcribed by 
 Pennant, Knox, and others f . We obferved that 
 one of the boatmen was not tugging at his oar half fo 
 bulily as the other, and confequently that the boat 
 was turning to the one tide : upon remonftrating 
 
 L with 
 
 * The fame gentleman was prefente J, while in Shetland, with 
 a kind of ftone knife, or cutting inftrument, which was found in 
 clearing away part of a Pechfs-houfe. This knife is formed of a 
 thin piece of fpotted greenifh fteatite, of confiderable induration. 
 Both it, and the ftone bafon, hav^ been depofited in the mufeum 
 of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 
 
 \ Ar(5lic Zoology, vol. i. ; View of the Britifli Empire, vol. i. ; 
 Bath Papers, vol. vi. ; Trans. Highl. Soc. vol. i.
 
 B9 SHETLAND. 
 
 with the fluggifh ferryman, — he, inftead of quick- 
 ening his motions, made a full paufe, and hung 
 on his oar gaping with furprize : the other, mean- 
 while, continued tugging away as hard as tver* 
 nor did he obferve what he was doing till he was 
 alarmed by the boat wheeling about, and almofl 
 completing a circle ; and all this in the midft of a 
 boiling current, and about equally diftant from ei- 
 ther fhore. 
 
 The ifland of Nofs is wholly the property of Mr 
 Mowat of Garth. It forms one large farm. Mr Cop- 
 land, the tenant, kindly offered to accompany us to 
 Nofs Head, where we might have a near view of the 
 holm, or iflet, to which accefs is had by the celebra- 
 ted cradle. This holm is lituated on the fouth-eall 
 lid'C of Nofs, and is immediately expofed to the 
 ocean. Although its fides are every where perfed:- 
 ly precipitous, its furface forms a pretty extenfive 
 flat, which is thickly covered with grafs. Mr Pen- 
 nant, has, in his ** Introdudion to the Ardic Zoo- 
 " logy," given a reprefentation of this holm ; but 
 it is by no means an accurate one. He has even 
 gone fo far wrong as to mention Orkney as the fite 
 of the Nofs holm, inftead of Shetland. In the de- 
 fcription, too, feveral things are miftaken or exag- 
 gerated. The height of the precipitous rock is great, 
 probably from i6o to 200 feet; but certainly Mr 
 Pennant more than doubles it, when he ftates it as 480 
 feet. The chafm over which the cradle is run, is 
 indeed, to ufe Mr Pennant's words, *' of matchlefs 
 *' horror ;" the fwelling billows of the ocean fre- 
 quently fwecping round the holm on both fides, and 
 
 meeting
 
 SHETLAND. 33 
 
 meeting each other with the mod tumultuous col- 
 lifion. The width of the chafm is more than a 
 hundred feet. The cradle is a kind of oblong box, 
 ftrong, and of very coarfe workmanftiip, having 
 two round holes at each end, through which the 
 cable is pafled by which the box is fufpended. Mr 
 Pennant is miftaken in thinking that the cradle 
 ferves only to enable the natives to get at the eggs 
 or young of the gulls ; had this been all the objed, 
 that machine (confidered as a very expenfive one in 
 Shetland) would never have been eredled. The 
 fad is, that they annually tranfport thither, in June, 
 by means of the cradle, a certain number of Iheep, 
 which they take out in November in excellent con- 
 dition. This kind of cradle has here been employ- 
 ed beyond the memory of man. It is accurately 
 defcribed in Brand's Account of Zetland, Edin. 
 17CI, and in' the Appendix to Martin's " Defcrip- 
 " tion of the Illands," &c. Lond. 1703. It is mount- 
 ed and difmounted twice a year, in order to fave 
 the rope or cable from the adion of the weather. 
 I had no opportunity at this feafon, therefore, of 
 feeing it ufed. 
 
 We now afcended the peak of Nofs, a lofty emi- 
 nence in the neighbourhood of the holm. Upon 
 charts this peak is named Hcmgcliff, — a name un- 
 known to the natives, and which, it is believed, was 
 firft impofed by Sir Jcfeph Banks, when on his voy_ 
 age to Iceland. It is perhaps more than twice th'e 
 height of Nofs holm, and yet from the fea to the 
 fummit, the rock is perfedly mural. At fomc points, 
 however, even the timid may advance without dif- 
 ficulty.
 
 84 SHETLAND. 
 
 ficulty fo as to fee the white foam of the waves be^ 
 low, — which here feemed diminutive and noifelefs, 
 but which we knew to be far otherwife. The fcarfs 
 or corvorants, which fat on the ledges of the rock 
 near the fea, appeared to us no larger than black- 
 birds. The many fucceffive fandftone ftrata compo- 
 fing the cliff, are here moil excellently feen. 
 
 Nofs illand is chiefly pafture, and in general good 
 pallure. Here we were piefented with the beft milk 
 and butter we had feen i'n Shetland. Mr Copland 
 complained that a prejudice exifted againit Shetland 
 butter, which prevented him from exporting it to 
 Leith and other ports of the fouth. This prejudice 
 arifes from table-huttGr being confounded with 
 ^f^'ay^'-butter, which however are two entirely di- 
 flind articles of Shetland produce. The prejudice is 
 quite unfounded ; for the table-huttGY of Nofs 
 illand would fland a comparifon with any butter 
 made in the Lothians. The milch-cows, however, 
 are here rather of a diminutive fize, and yield but a 
 fmall quantity of milk. Even in July and Auguft, 
 when the pafture is beft, they give only about 2 or 
 24- pints a day; while a good milch cow in the 
 fouthern counties of Scotland will give from 12 to 
 14 pints a-day. The tenant of Nofs pays L. 50 * 
 of rent for the whole iftand, and is allowed to exert 
 hirafelf in the fiftiing of tulk and ling for his own 
 behoof. This is a great improvement ; tenants 
 throughout Shetland being generally taken bound 
 to deliver their fifti to the landlord at a itipulated 
 
 rate, 
 ■> — ' ' ' ■ 
 
 ♦ Only L. 40, 5 s. Supplement, art. i.
 
 SHETLAND. 85 
 
 rate, below the market-value, and being abfolutely 
 prohibited from themfclvcs carrying them to the 
 beft market. Even the tenant of Nofs, however, has 
 not been able to procure a leafe of that duration 
 that would encourage him to make permanent im- 
 provements. Two or three years bound the leafe *. 
 
 ^th Sept. 1804. — We this day paid a vifit to Seal- 
 loway^ formerly the capital of Shetland, the feat of 
 juftice, and the occafional refidence of the Earls of 
 Orkney and Zetland. In going thither we refol- 
 ved, in order to fee the country, to pafs diredly 
 acrofs the hills weftward from Lerwick, inftead of 
 proceeding by the ufual track through Ting- 
 wall. The hills here are exceffively wet and 
 fwampy, and to travel but a few miles over them 
 becomes very fatiguing. We had frequently to 
 fetch circuits around flagnant pools or deceitful 
 niarfhes. We palled a large lake among the hills, 
 where we found foldiers from Fort Charlotte fifhing 
 for trout : the kind of trout caught here feems to be 
 the fea-trout (falmo trutta) : they are often got of a 
 large fize : they have probably forced their way up 
 the outlet of the lake when fwoln during feme very 
 rainy feafon, and have been afterwards unable to 
 make good their regrefs to the fea. At prefent, 
 there is no apparent communication of the lake with 
 the fea. 
 
 After wandering for feveral hours over the mofl 
 bleak and barren hills, which prcfented no botani- 
 cal 
 
 ♦ I afterwards found that 1 had committed a miltake wit'i 
 refined to this leafe. See Supplement, art. 2.
 
 85 SHETLAND. 
 
 cal rarity, but yielded only a few of the coarfer 
 plants that are commonly found in moift moors *, 
 we at length caught a diftant glance of the caftle of 
 Scalloway, at the bottom of a fine valley below us. 
 The callle ftands on the brink of an arm of the fca, 
 which being proteded from the rage of the ocean 
 by a number of little iflands, Burra, Tondra, Oxna, 
 Papa, and feveral holms, forms a fafe natural har- 
 bour. The town of Scalloway conlifts only of a 
 few fcattered houfes in the neighbourhood of the 
 caftle. Only one of thefe is genteel or in the mo- 
 dern ftyle : this is the houfe of Mr Scott of Scallo- 
 way. Around it is a neat garden, in which we 
 obferved feveral fmail fruit and timber trees, 
 and different lhrub«, all of which arc rare things 
 in this part of the world. The caftle of Scal- 
 loway (to borrow the words of Mr Giffard of Buf- 
 ta) f *• has been a very handlome tower- houfe, with 
 fine vaulted cellars and kitchen, with a well in it ; 
 a beautiful fpacious entry, with a turret upon each 
 corner, and large windows." It was built above 
 two centuries ago. The eredlion of fuch a build- 
 ing, in fo poor a country, mull have been attended 
 with the moft opprcffive exadions of fervices and 
 
 contributions. 
 
 * Eriophorum anguftifolium and E. vaginatum are very 
 common, and their leaves here formed a good deal of the green- 
 eft of the fward ; together with Narthecium offifragum, nardus 
 ftrida, feftuca vivipara, agroftis vulgaris, and fome others. 
 
 f Bibliotb. Brit, topograph. No. 38. — ^The defcription which 
 I formerly gave, in the Scots Magazine, was, I find, inaccurate : 
 I have therefore fubftituted Mr Giffard's.
 
 SHETLAND. 87 
 
 contributions. The memory of the founder Earl 
 Patrick Stewart, is, for this reafon, ftill held in de- 
 teftation by the natives. The whole edifice has 
 been long unroofed, and is now in a (late of irreme- 
 diable decay. The (lair feems to have been taken 
 away by the inhabitants of Scalloway when in 
 want of ftoncs for building. Had not the build- 
 ing been originally very ftrong, it could not fo 
 long have withftood the viciflitudes of a Shetland 
 climate. Over the main door is an infcription, the 
 firll part of which is ftill perfeftly legible, nnd fa- 
 vours not a little of the egotifm and vanity of the ( 
 founder, viz. *' Patricius, Orcadum et Zetlandiae 
 comes." The lower part of the infcription is near- 
 ly obliterated by the adion of the weather ; but 
 may thusbedecyphered : "Cujus fundamen faxum, 
 ** domus * ilia manebit : labilis, e contra, fi arena, 
 *' perit." During the time of the Commonwealth, 
 it was occupied as barracks by a party of Crom- ' 
 well's foldieri, to whom, it is faid, the inhabitants 
 were indebted for feverai improvements, particu- 
 larly the culture of cabbages. 
 
 There is no inn or public-houfe at Scalloway. 
 We eafily, however, procured eggs and milk, 
 but could get no bread of any kind : indeed, 
 throughout Shetland, at this time, bread was only 
 to be feen in the houfes of the more wealthy. Po- 
 tatoes, however, of good quality, were prefented as a 
 
 fubftitute ; 
 
 * The word domus is here enigmatical : hut whether it be un- 
 derftood of the caftle or the family, the folly of the founder is 
 the fame, both having equally vinillied away.
 
 ' c -■ (■-.. 
 
 88 SHETLAND. 
 
 fubftitute ; and we underllood that, in the diftridl 
 of Scalloway, they have generally an excellent and 
 an abundant crop of this ufeful root. 
 
 From Scalloway we proceeded, up a fine dry 
 valley to Tingwall. It feemed to be the beft 
 land, and was loaded with the richeft crops we 
 had feen in Shetland ; and the corns were now ready 
 for cutting. The whole valley has a bottom of rich 
 primitive limeftone, of a pale blue colour; none of 
 which, as far as we could learn, has ever been 
 wrought, though peat-fuel is here abundant. At 
 one place we obferved that a ditch having been dug, 
 had expofed a bed of good marl : this too, how- 
 ever, was utterly negleded. In the paftures in this 
 pleafant diftridt, there is a good deal of natural clo- 
 ver, both red and white (trifolium medium and tri- 
 folium repens) ; but thefe paftures are infefted, to 
 an uncommon degree, with the plant called fneeze- 
 wort, (achillea ptarmica) ; indeed I do not recol- 
 ledl ever to have feen clfewhere fuch quantities of 
 that plant growing in one place. Much, it may 
 eafily be believed, might be done to increafe the 
 fertility and value of the vale of Scalloway. Inftead 
 of granting leafes for a certain number of years, one 
 of the principal' proprietors choofes rather to ftipu- 
 late for one half of all that is produced on the 
 ground, without taking any part whatever in the 
 expence or management of feed or labour : — A 
 worfe plan, either for landlord or tenant, could 
 fcarce perhaps be devifed. The new church of 
 Tingwall is fituated near the head or north end of 
 a lake in this valley, and from fome points of view, 
 
 forms
 
 SHETLAND. 89 
 
 forms the termination of a very beautiful profpedt. 
 1'he name Tinjwall, it is believed, fignifies in Nor- 
 wegian, the place of the court ; and on inquiry, we 
 were told, that on a fmall green ifland in a frefh water 
 lake near the church, there is a mound furrounded 
 by large flones, on which, as tradition reports, juftice 
 was formerly adminillered, and which i\ill retains, 
 among the natives, the name of the law-ting. A 
 range of ftepping-ftoncs leading through the mod 
 {hallow part of the lake, to this green holm, remains 
 to this day : and thefe flones are of fuch fize 
 as to evince more than ordinary exertion and ex- 
 pence in placing them there. 
 
 In returning to Lerwick, we travelled along the 
 whole flretch of the only properly-made road in 
 Shetland, the joint work of Mr Rofs of Sound, and 
 of the late Mr Scott of Scott'Srhall. ., This road paf- 
 fes over a molfy hill between 200 and 300 feet above 
 the level of the fca. Even on the higheft part of 
 the hill, we obl'erved that the covering of the peat- 
 njofs is ten or twelve feet thick, the road being cut 
 through it. The peat-mofs is of a kind that is very 
 fpongy, and very retentive of water : for wherever it 
 has fallen down upon the road, it has formed a 
 miry fludge. 
 
 In afcending this hill, w^ "liad a profpet5l of the 
 eaflern boundary of Tingwall valley. It termi- 
 nates in an arm of the fea called Laxforth Voe. 
 The gentleman whom the writer of this account 
 had the pleafure to accompany- at this time, hap- 
 pening to underftand a gotKl deal of the Norwegian 
 language, inquired if falmon were ever caught there, 
 
 t'i , ''T'
 
 90 SHETLANBr 
 
 as lax, in that language, fignifies falmon ; and lie was 
 informed that they were more frequently found 
 there than any where elfe in Shetland. Laxforth, 
 or Lax-fiord, is therefore a lignificant name, and 
 means the Bay of Salmon. 
 
 After the 6th of September, it was too late in 
 the year to attempt to vifit other parts of Shetland 
 which we at firft had in view. At this feafon, fud- 
 den and violent gales are here to be expected, 
 which render travelling between the iftands both 
 difagreeable and dangerous, if not impradicable. In 
 returning to Orkney we met with a pretty hard gale, 
 which produced a mod tumultuous fea. We palTed 
 at no great diftance the lofty and precipitous Fair 
 Ifle, on which, it is generally believed, the Duke de 
 Medina Sidonia, in the flag-fhip of the Invincible 
 Armada, was wrecked in 1588, in attempting 
 to return to Spain by failing north round the 
 Orkneys. Many marine birds dill kept the fea, 
 tempeftuous as it was ; particularly razor-bills, 
 Ihearwaters, and, if we miftake not, fkua-gulls, 
 large brown birds*. We were detained two days 
 in the Orkneys, by a dreadful gale from the S. W. 
 
 Although, 
 
 * The Skua (Larus catarades), though fcarcely known in 
 the fouth of Britain, is doubtlefs a di{lin<ft fpecies. Its bill is 
 confiderably hooked at the point, and the upper mandible is 
 partly covered with a cere in the manner of the eagle. The 
 plumage is almoft wholly brown. It has very ftrong hooked 
 talons like the eagle, and it is a very bold bird. It grows to a 
 large fue, being inferior only to the Larus marinus, or great 
 black-backed gull. Its principal breeding-place is the ifland oi 
 Foulah ; but it breeds alfo in the Fair Ifle, and in one or two 
 'other places. The Shcilanders call it the Bonxie.
 
 SHETLAND. Pl 
 
 Although, after this, the wind had entirely ceafed, 
 we found that we had to encounter what the failors 
 termed a ** heavy head-fea," which had been " fet 
 •' down" by the preceding gale, and which produ- 
 ced a tumbling motion of the vefiel, very apt to 
 occafion naufea. A favourable breeze, however, 
 foon fprung up, and carried us forward in what fea- 
 men term *' great ftyle ;" fo that, on the evening 06 
 the fecond day after leaving Orkney, we pafled the 
 May lights at the mouth of the Frith of Forth, and 
 got fight of the new lig^ht-houfe on Inch Keith, which 
 had been recently finifhed, and appeared at this time 
 exceexlingly brilliant. 
 
 A few general remarks on Shetland, and efpc- 
 cially on the condition of the people, fhall next be 
 given ; and with thefe we fhall conclude. 
 
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON SHETLAND. 
 
 Tea. — The families of the Shetland cottars or lit- 
 tle farmers, however poor, are very partial to tea. 
 Happening to enter on a Sunday evening, a miferable 
 hootbie^ or cottage, about two miles from Lerwick, I 
 was furprized to obferve an earthen-ware tea-pot, of 
 fmall dimenfions, fimmering on a peat-fire ; — while 
 in this very cottage, they told me, they had not 
 tafted any kind of bread for tw^o months I Confi- 
 dering the indigeftible and poor quality of their 
 common food, (dried fifli, often femi-putrefcent, and 
 coarfc red cabbage), it is to be regretted that they are 
 
 not
 
 9Q SHETLAND. 
 
 not encouraged to fpend their fcanty pittance of money 
 on fome more fubftantial and nutritive delicacy. 
 
 -'.iPihocks. — Thefe are the coalfifh (gadus carbona- 
 rius) in the fecond year of its growth*. In fize 
 they feldom exceed a herring. They are caught in 
 myriads. In coafting along the different iflands, we 
 frequently obferved an old man, and perhaps one 
 or two boys, feated on a projeding rock, holding in 
 each hand a wand or fifhing-rod, and catching pil- 
 tocks as faft as they could bait their hooks. The bait 
 is limpets parboiled. The fiflier keeps a few in his 
 mouth, and baits his hook with one hand, aflifted by 
 his lips, by a fingle motion, with the greatefl: eafe 
 and rapidity. Now and then he fquirts out a quan- 
 tity of the oily matter of the chewed limpets upon 
 the furface of the water, this being thought to be 
 very attradlive to the young coalfifh. 
 
 In the courfe of the pafl year, when fcarc/ty pre- 
 vailed in Shetland to a moft diftrefsful degree, till 
 partly relieved by the bounty of Government, thefe 
 piltocks, or coalfifh, formed the principal food of 
 the poorer inhabitants. Even in September (1804), 
 "when in fome of the meanefl cottages, I inquired 
 what they generally had for breakfafl ? they an- 
 fwered, " Piltocks." What for dinner ? '* Piltocks 
 ** and cabbage." What for fupper ? " Piltocks." 
 Some of them declared they had not tafled oat- meal 
 or bread for five months. 
 
 * See Notes in Appendix.— Note C.
 
 SHETLAND. S3 
 
 'Shell-fifj. — On the flat fliores of the iflands, a va- 
 riety of edible (hell-fifh is found. Oyflers arc com- 
 mon in Bafl:a Voe, Yell: and befides cockles, muf- 
 fels, and rafor-fifh ox f pouts ^ they have abundance of 
 what are called culUocks ?inA fmurlins. The culleock 
 is the Tellina rhomboides ; and the fame name 
 feems to be fometimes applied alfo to the Venus 
 Erycina, and Madtra folida. T\\t fmurlin ov fmuthlin 
 is the Mya truncata, remarkable for a fhrivelled 
 leathery procefs at one end. Both thefe fhell-fifh 
 are highly rclifhed by the Shetlanders. 
 
 Grt7/z<?.— Moorfowl or grous, which are common in 
 Orkney, are not known in Shetland. The heath 
 here is probably too flunted to afford them that fhel- 
 ter which they require. 
 
 Trees. — There are none in Shetland *. Trunks 
 and branches, however, are found in the peat-moffes ; 
 and the remarks formerly made, p. 57. (and thofe 
 in Appendix, Note E.), on the practicability of 
 raifing wood in Orkney, are equally applicable to 
 Shetland. 
 
 Light- 
 
 * Shetlanders who have never been from home have no idea 
 of trees. Lately, a native, who had hitherto fpent his 
 days in his own ifland, having occafion to vifit Edinburgh, — 
 when trees were firfl; pointed out to him on the coaft of Fife, 
 faid they were very pretty ; " but," added he, with g^eat 
 iimplicity, " what kind of grafs is that on the top of them f" 
 — meaning the leaves ; for the term grafs or girfe is, in Shet- 
 land, applied to all herbs having green leaves.
 
 P4 SHETLAND. 
 
 Light-hovfes. — There are none in Shetland, al- 
 though they are greatly wanted. One light-houfc 
 upon the low rocks c^Wt^ tht Skerries of IVhalfey^ 
 would render fecure nearly the whole eajl coaft : — 
 while another on Pcipa Stour, would be equally ufe- 
 ^ul on the luejl coaft. Seafaring people, perfedly 
 experienced in the navigation of the Shetland Teas, 
 pointed out thefe places as the moft eligible. Were 
 thefe lights ereded, many ihipwrecks would doubt- 
 lefs be prevented ; and veflels would be enabled to 
 approach the iflands for (belter, in tbe darkeft night, 
 ^vithout dread. It (hould alfo be conlidered, that 
 they would prove of the greateil advantage to the 
 King's vefTcls, fome of which are almolt conftantly 
 cruifing between the Naze of Norway and ShetT 
 land. 
 
 Packet. — The irregularity of the communication 
 V'ith the fouth is exceedingly unfavourable to comr 
 merce. The Poft-oflice makes a bargain with fome 
 trading (loops to convey the Shetland mail ; but the , 
 fum given, it would feem, is not fufficient to induce 
 them to obferve regularity in the time of failing. 
 Sometimes the letters for two or three months 
 arrive at one and the fame moment : This ac- 
 tually happened when we were at Lerwick. As a 
 proof that the bufmefs of the Poft-office is confider- 
 ed merely as a fecondary objed by the proprietors 
 of thefe trading (loops, it may be mentioned, that 
 one of them failed from Aberdeen without carrying 
 the bag at all, — the conveyance of which ought, by 
 bargain, to have been her principal errand. Pofl- 
 
 office
 
 SHETLAND. 93 
 
 office packets ought therefore to be eftabliflied by a 
 new and more efficient contrad, either from Aber- 
 deen or from Leith (which lad would perhaps be pre- 
 ferable) direct for Lerwick in Shetland, and to fail 
 every fortnight. It is not improbable that merchants 
 in Leith and Lerwick would foon find it a pretty lu- 
 crative contrail. 
 
 Commijfwn of the Peace. — There are no Judices of 
 the Peace in Shetland, although, as we were told, 
 a commiffion lies ready for the gentlemen of that 
 country ; each having only to take the oaths, which 
 may be done at Kirkwall in Orkney, and to pay a 
 fmall fum (it is believed about 7 s. 6 d.) of clerk's 
 fees. There is not a magiflrate of any kind in Shet- 
 land except the SherifT-fubftitute. Were the prin- 
 cipal Shetland proprietors to qualify as Juftices of 
 the Peace, the bufinefs of the Sheriff-court would be 
 confiderably lightened, as very few of the Shetland 
 debts exceed L. 5 Sterling, to which amount a de- 
 cree of the Juftice of Peace Court is competent. It 
 may be added, that if a few of the refident landlords 
 were inverted with the powers of Juftices, incipient 
 culprits might fometimes be checked and reformed, 
 who, at prefent, in many places of thefe fcattered 
 iflands, muft be hardened in guilt by the profpecl of 
 impunity*. 
 
 Freehold. — None of the freeholders of Shetland 
 (if we may fo call them) having ever qualified, they 
 have never yet exercifed their franchife of voting for 
 
 a 
 
 • See Supplement, art. 3.
 
 g6. » SHETLAND, 
 
 a Member of Parliament ; which feems to be an un- 
 accountable circLimftance *. 
 
 State of the common people. — At firfl: view, it feems 
 to a ftranger, that the common people are here in- 
 volved in a ftate of more complete valTalage than is 
 perhaps known in any other part of the empire. 
 •' Inthefe diilant illands (fays Mr Pennant), the hand 
 of oppreilion reigns uncontrolled : The poor vafTals 
 (in defiance of laws dill kept in bondage) are com- 
 pelled to flave and hazard their lives in the capture, 
 to deliver their fifh to their lords, for a trifling fum, 
 who fell them to adventurers from different parts 
 at a high price*." In confirmation of this remark 
 of Mr Pennant, it has been ftated, that, after deduc- 
 ing the expence of falting and drying the fifli, the 
 landlords of Shetland at this day export them at a 
 profit (including the bounty from Government) of 
 about 400 per cent, f ! 
 
 ** They mujl fifii for their majlers,'''' hys, the in- 
 telligent Mr Menzies, minifter of Lerwick; — "they 
 mufl fifh for their mailers, who either give them a 
 fee entirely inadequate to their labour, and their 
 dangers, or take their fifli at a lower price than 
 others would give. It is true that, in years of 
 fcarcity, they mull depend on their landlords for the 
 means of fubfiilence, and are often deep in their 
 debt. But why not," (he adds with energy), " why 
 
 not 
 
 * See Appendix, No. II. 8. 
 
 f Introduaion to the Ardic Zoology, (3d edition) vol, I 
 art. Shetland. 
 
 % This is too high an eftimate. See Supplement, art. 4.
 
 SHETLAND, 97 
 
 not allow them to make the bed of their fituatioh ? 
 Why not let them have leafes upon reafonable terms, 
 and difpofe of their produce to thofe vvho will give 
 them the bell price ? Why not let them fiOi for 
 themfelves ? Why iTiould the laird have any claim 
 except for the flipulated rent * ?" 
 
 Before making any remarks on this apparently de- 
 plorable (late of dependance of the poor Shetlanders, 
 it is proper to premife, that the evil is not folely 
 to be afcribed to fome peculiarly rigorous or 
 tyrannical fpirit in the Shetland landlords ; but 
 arifes, in fome meafure, out of the nature of 
 things, — depending partly on the natural poverty 
 of the country, and partly on a variety of unfavour- 
 able circumdances in its civil regulation, of Danilh 
 origin. 
 
 Further, it mufl be confidered, that, in Shetland, 
 fome of the moll falutary laws of Britain are un- 
 known, or do not operate f, fo detached and over- 
 looked are ihefe iflands. 
 
 The tenantry look up to the Shetland landlord 
 from a (late, generally, of hopelefs poverty and ab- 
 ject dependance ; for if they arc not tenants at will, 
 they feldom hold leafes of more than two or three 
 years ; and they are often drowned in debt to their 
 lairds. 
 
 N It 
 
 * Stat. Ace. of Scot. vol. x. p. 197. 
 
 t The excellent herding-aci (as It is commonly called) Is laugh- 
 ed at. The a.5ts about inclofing, and about dividing runrig pro- 
 perty, are fcarcely known, at leaft they are not a<f\ed on. — See 
 Supplement, art. 5.
 
 9^! SHETLAND. 
 
 It is the landlord's intereft that his tenants fhould 
 be fed and fhould multiply ; he takes care, accord- 
 ingly, that, even in times of fcarcity, none Ihall 
 pcrifh for want, and he encourages marriage. But 
 in fome other points, the Shetland landlord's intereft 
 has been thought to run almolt diredlly counter to 
 that of the tenant -, and here his overwhelming in- 
 fluence mud fecure him fuccefs. For example, it 
 has been thought to be againft his intereft, that his 
 tenants ftiould attain in any degree that envied 
 ilate of independence which is the grand motive of 
 every defcription of tenants in the fouth of Scotland, 
 and which animates the exertions even of a 7/20/j- 
 /aird* in Stirlingftiire. Although, therefore, it is 
 by no means an avowed principle, it has been al- 
 leged to be a pradical one, with the Shetland land- 
 holders, to keep their tenants as poor and as depen- 
 dant as poflible. '* They muji fifli for their maf- 
 ters." Every tenant, or at leaft every cottar-tenant, 
 is expeded to fifti during fummer. And as a ftrik- 
 ing proof of the fubjedion in which the Shetland 
 cottars are held, I may mention as an undoubted fad, 
 that for every lad who goes to the Greenland whale- 
 fiftiery for the fummer, the cottar-family to which 
 he belongs muft pay to the Idndlord o?ie guinea of 
 fine. This is an exadion which the landlords who 
 pradlife it, may well wifti to flur over : but if the 
 fine be not levied avowedly on that ground, we have 
 been credibly informed that a guinea is always added 
 
 to 
 
 * A name given to the tenants in the great improved mofs of 
 Blair-Drummond.
 
 'SHETLAND. 99 
 
 to that year's rent, and that the reafon of the addi- 
 tion is perfedly underftood by both parties *. 
 
 It muft ever be kept in view, that the value of 
 Shetland cftates depends not fo much upon the 
 money-rents paid to the landlord (which in many 
 cafes have not been nominally raifed for a century 
 part), as upon the fifhings which their tenants are ob- 
 liged to carry on for them, which more than double 
 the land-rents. " The rents of this country (fays the 
 author of the Statiftical Report of DunrolTnefs) are 
 principally paid out of the fea. The tenants have 
 from their landlords, 3 d. for a ling, i d. for a cod, or 
 for a tu{k, St-c (this was in 1792), and thefe, when 
 falted and dried, will, in the Hamburgh market, yield 
 four or five times as much, befides debentures from 
 Government, Add to this, double or triple the 
 prime coft for goods brought back, and fold to the 
 people, viz. linen, tobacco, fpirits, hooks, lines," &c. 
 If this ftatement be corred, (and there is little rea- 
 fon to doubt but it is), it is evident that the pro- 
 fits of the Shetland landlords upon their fifhings 
 diudfi/hfrs, after deducing a l^Tge per centa^e for 
 expences, muft ftill be very great indeed. 
 
 It may be thought that there is no harm in the 
 landlord fupplying his tenants with clothes, linens, 
 and fuch things, and that it is even a favour to them 
 to do fo. Frequently it is a favour : But fome- 
 times it is far otherwifc. It fometimes proves the 
 gulf in which the poor terant is overwhelmed in 
 mifery. For the landlord gives to his tenant unli- 
 mited 
 
 * Sec Supplement, art. 6.
 
 |00 SHETLAND. 
 
 mited credit for fuch articles : the tenant, again, as 
 may naturally be expedted, indulges with lefs fcru- 
 ple the tafle of his family for clothing and finery : 
 meanwhile, the account imperceptibly fwells ; and 
 frequently the day of reckoning, alone, opens hisi 
 eyes to the flate of irretrievable ruin and depen- 
 dance, in which he has thus biind'y involved him- 
 felf*. 
 
 It may be proper to reipark, that where the land- 
 lord? themlelves are refident, and become contractors 
 with theij- tenants, the exhaufted cottar or filher gene- 
 rally obtains mercy : but where the landlords let in 
 leafe their fifheries, as is often done, to tnckfmen, 
 who are jnterefted to make all they can of the cot- 
 tar^ qx under-tenants, pitiiul is faid to be the ftate 
 of the poor fiflier and his family I 
 
 We were told of two recent innovations, which, if 
 really put in practice, favour (Irongly of deceit and 
 oppreffion. 
 
 I. The butter-debt, as it is called, is paid in 
 quantities called lifpounds. Formerly a lifpound 
 confifted only of about twelve:, or, at moft, fixteeu 
 pounds Dutch. By artifice it is faid now to be 
 raifed to about two-and-thirty pounds Dutch ; and 
 ilill the tenants muft pay the fame number of lif- 
 pounds I And a certain portion of butter, wool, or 
 other articles, it will be obferved, is not only gene- 
 rally paid as rentf but every where as teind and as 
 Juperior' s duty^. 
 
 2. Teind 
 
 * See StatiAical Report of Delting, by the Rev. John Mori- 
 ^on, vol. i. p. 3"85, et Jeq.
 
 SHETLAND. 101 
 
 2. Teind has always been exigible on the pro- 
 duce of the /^^a/fifliing, viz. ling, cod, and tuflc. 
 This baaffiiVing (as the word ban/, or diflant lea, 
 implies) is carried on at the dillunce of from 25 to 50 
 miles from land. Befides this fifliery, which can 
 only be practifed during fummer, the Shetland cot-. 
 tar or farmer has always been accuftomed to apply 
 himfelf, during winter, to the ihore-fifliery, where 
 ftUocks (the fry of the coalfiflij, and piltocks. (coal- 
 fifli a year old), with thornbacks, plaice,, &,c. are 
 caught. From the coalfifli fry, oil is procured to 
 fupply the cottage-lamp in that dreary feafon ; the 
 others are often the principal fqod of the inhabi- 
 tant?. Where a cottar has become fuperannuated and 
 unfit for the dirtant ling-fKliery, this fliore-fi filing i& 
 likewife his fummer employment, and he then 
 chiefly catches haddocks, and hoes, or piked dog-s 
 fifli. Will it be believed that, of late years, the Icf^ 
 fees of the teinds have endeavoured to extend their, 
 claims to this Ihore-fifliery ? — a burden which it can<^ 
 not bear, and from which, we were informed, \v\^ 
 veterate and immemorial pradlice ought raoft forci?* 
 bly to keep it free. The pretence, we underftand, is^ 
 that ling are fometimes caught in the fliore-fifhery ; 
 but although it cannot fail to happen, in thefc 
 northern feas, that while the grey-headed Shetland- 
 er is paddling along the fliore in his fkiff to colledl a 
 difh of podhys c^nd JlounderSy his bait will occafionaU 
 ly attrad the eye of a young ling or tufk, it is certain, 
 that all the ling, cod, or tufk, thus caught in a 
 year would not amount in value even to the fum it- 
 felf claimed for teind-duty I * 
 
 It 
 
 • See Appendix, No. II.
 
 102 SHETLAND. 
 
 It is evident that in Shetland matters are thus in 
 a bad train : but it were no eafy thing to point out 
 a general and fuitable remedy. In moft cafes the 
 tenants are fo poor, that, were the landlord, at once, 
 to withdraw his aid, and leave them to manage as 
 they beft could, many of them would probably pe- 
 rifh for want. For the landlord has, in moft places^ 
 not only to provide boats for the fifhery, but lines, 
 hooks, &.C. and gin or whilky, without a fmall ftock 
 of which the filliers could fcarce venture 30 or 40 
 miles to the main-fea in an open boat. He fur- 
 niflies the fifliers alfo, as already remarked, with 
 clothing ; and he fees to the aliment of their fami- 
 lies in their abfence. In a bad fcafon, when the 
 crops fail, the fifliermen and his family depend on 
 their laird for fubfiftence ; and in this way, alfo, a 
 debt is often incurred, from which thegainsof feveral 
 fucceffive years of profperity may not perhaps be 
 able to relieve him. It deferves therefore to be con- 
 iidered, that if the fifliers were to be entirely eman- 
 cipated from their prefent ftate, it would be but juft 
 that the nation fhould reimburfe the landlords the 
 fums thus, bond fide, expended in alimenting their 
 tenants in years of fcarcity. 
 
 The cottars, as formerly feen, are almoft tenants' 
 at will, or at beft have only a biennial or triennial 
 leafe. This is a great evil, eftedually preventing 
 any attempts at agricultural improvements ; but the 
 extreme poverty of the prefent little farmers of 
 Shetland, would, perhaps in many cafes, prevent 
 them from accepting a nineteen years leale, if put in 
 their option. 
 
 In
 
 SHETLAND* 103 
 
 In many places, as above obferved, the money-rents 
 ot'lhe land have not been raifed for a hundred years : 
 — this irrefiftibly proves what high profits the land- 
 lords mult be making on the refale of the fifli, the 
 oil, the butter, &.c. received from their tenants at 
 ftipulated prices. Were the fize of farms enlarged, 
 and leafes of nineteen years duration granted, the 
 whole lands of Shetland would doubtlefs give more 
 than double the prefent rents. But even in fuch 
 event, unlefs manufadurers were here and there, at 
 the fame time, eftabliflied, it is not improbable that 
 many of the prefent cottars would either flarve, or be 
 compelled to indent themfelves to America ! 
 • Were fome fifliing-viilages eftabliflied in Shet- 
 land, and were a few opulent Scots or Englifli com- 
 panies to open warehoufes there, where the natives 
 might difpofe of their fifli, either green or faked, 
 and where they might procure boats, lines, fait, &c. 
 us they wanted or could purchafe, the advantage 
 to the country would probably foon appear. The 
 landlords would then find it their intereft to invite 
 more fubftantial tenants, and to grant long leafes, in 
 order to have their lands improved and their rents in- 
 creafed. While one part of the natives would thus be 
 engaged in raifing crops and improving the breed of 
 fheep and cattle ; another would be employed, in fum- 
 mer, at the ling and tulk fifiiery, and in winter at the 
 piltock and fliore-fifliery •, and each would mutually 
 fupply the wants of the other. 
 
 It does not readily occur that an incrcafe of the 
 bounty on the filhery would be of advantage to 
 Shetland in general. 
 
 The
 
 104 SHETLAND. 
 
 The convcrfion of the teiiuls into money would 
 doubtlefs be of eflential advantage, both to the agri- 
 culture of the country and to its harmony, and would 
 remove a great bar to the beneficial influence of the 
 example and inrtruclions of the clergy *. 
 
 It would alfo be highly advantageous, to con- 
 vert into money-i\crling, the whole of the fupcrior's 
 debts, (fcatt, ivattle, and other exaclions of Danifli 
 origin), at prefent paid in oil, butter, and wool. 
 
 It mud be evident to the reader, that thefe re- 
 marks on the rtatc of the common people in Shcv- 
 land, and on the means of improving that llute, can 
 only be coiifiderd as curfory hints. Although no 
 opportunity was omitted of actjuiring information 
 on thefe topics, or of hearing oppofite opinions, on 
 the fpot ; yet candour requires us to fay, that our 
 (lay in the country was much too fliort to enable us 
 to fpeak with confidence on fo important a matter. 
 We know that dilTercnt pamphlets have been pu- 
 blilhed on the fubjed ; but we regret, that, owing 
 to their being out of print, we have had no opportu- 
 nity of availing ourfelves of the information they 
 may contain. Meantime wc trull that the redfkitudc 
 of our intentions, and the general and impartial na- 
 ture of our obfervations, will be admitted as a fuf- 
 ficient apology for any occafional warmth of expref- 
 fion ; admitted even by the Shetland lairds (Ihould 
 
 thefe 
 
 • Sec Appendix, No. 11- 9.
 
 SHETLAND. 105 
 
 thefe remarks ever come under their eye), though 
 their ideas of the freedom of animadvevfion may 
 perhaps be lefs expanded than thofe of their more 
 Joutherly countrymen. 
 
 Edikburoh, 7 P N 
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 (Publilhed in Scots Magazine for February 1806, buttranfmit- 
 tcd by the author for publication in the beginning of Not ember 
 preceding.) 
 
 Since my remarks on Shetland were pubhlhed, a 
 few inaccuracies have been pointed out to me, which 
 1 beg leave to correal : — Some of my obfervations 
 have, I find, been mifconftrued ; thefe I fhall endea- 
 vour to render more plain ; — And I fliall interweave 
 fome additional articles of information which have 
 lately come to my knowledge. 
 
 1. N'ofs IJland. — I formerly ilated, that the tenant 
 of Nofs pays L. 50 of rent for the whole ifland. I 
 am now informed that I lliould have And only 
 L. 40, 5 s. ; but this is evidently a matter of no im- 
 portance. 
 
 2. In fpeaking of the fame ifland, after exprcffing 
 my approbation of the "great improvement" of al- 
 lowing the tenant to profecute the filhery on his own 
 account, I have ftated, that " even the tenant of Nofs, 
 ** however, has not been able to procure a leafe of 
 *• that duration that would encourage him to make 
 " permanent improvements : and that two or three 
 *' years bound the leafe." 1 have fince been 
 
 O informed
 
 106 SHETLAND. 
 
 informed that I have here fallen into a mirtake ; 
 as the tenant of Nofs forms a noted exception 
 to the Shetland tenants in general, and holds a 
 leafe of the illand for his own litetimc, and two 
 years to his family after his death. This is better 
 than I formerly underftood : but I cannot help re- 
 marking, that if the period of the certain duration 
 of the leafe (after the expiry of its contingent fub- 
 fiftence by the principal lelTee's death) were extend- 
 ed only to ten or twelve years, there can be no 
 doubt that it would prove eventually more benefi- 
 cial both to landlord and tenant. The tenant v\ould 
 not probably fcruple to incur fome expence in im- 
 proving, if he forefaw that his heirs at lead would 
 reap fome of the advantage ; and indeed the land- 
 lord might, in that cafe, moft properly ftimulate the 
 tenant's exertions, by ftipulating for the erection of 
 inclofures, offices, &:c. 
 
 Very few Icafes of any confiderable duration are 
 to be found in the whole of Shetland. Two or 
 three years in general limit them. For moft of the 
 fmall farms, there are no written leafes. But this, 
 I am told, is, in many cafes, owing to the poor peo- 
 ple themfelves, who are terrified at pen and ink, 
 and often tell their lairds, in a whining ftyle, " They 
 •' will take the ground for the time ; God only 
 " knows if they will live to the year's end," &.c. 
 I am unable to trace this *' ftupid apathy," (for 
 fuch I mud flill call It), to any other caufe than the 
 date of hopelcfs poverty and irretrievable depend- 
 ance, in which, by a variety of unfavourable cir- 
 
 cumftances,
 
 SHETLAND. 107 
 
 cumftances, the great body of the Shetlanders are 
 certainly involved, 
 
 3. CommiJJion of the Peace. — I formerly remark- 
 ed, that there were no Juftices of the Peace in Shet-' 
 land. 1 am hapy to hear that two gentlemen 
 have lately qualified. At their tirll feffi )ns, above 
 a hundred delinquents, it is faid, were convened 
 before them, chiefly, however, for making malt in 
 private. It is believed that the Board of Excife ur- 
 ged this firft eftablifliment of Judices, as they found 
 that a quarter- feflions at Lerwick was indifpenfable 
 to the fupprcfnon of practices inimical to the Reve- 
 nue. It will be fortunate for Shetland if fiinilar 
 motives lliould fpeedily lead to the eftablifliment of 
 Juftices in the detached iflands, where there are at 
 prefent no kind of magiftrates, to give decreet for 
 trifling debts, to call for the ftatute-labour *, to 
 awe the turbulent, or curb the petty offender. It 
 was in this fenfe that I affirmed there was no magi- 
 ftrate in Shetland but the Sherifl:-fubftitute : and 1 
 was corred. 1 am aware that the Admiral and 
 CommifTaiy may alfo be accounted MugiJIrates, in 
 the extenfive meaning of the word ; but certainly 
 thefe judges, whofe jurifdidion is very limited, and 
 who hold their fittings in Lerwick, do not in any 
 degree fuperfede the necefTity of Juftices of the 
 Peace in the fcattered iflands of Shetland. 
 
 4. Profits of Landlord and Tenant on the fljljeries, 
 %^c. — In my remarks on the ftate of the common 
 
 people, 
 
 * This, it is to be hoped, well now fpeedily be done. As yA 
 
 t 
 
 there is only one made road in Shetland.
 
 108 SHETLAND. 
 
 people, after quoting a feverely chiding paflage 
 from Mr Pennant, it was ftatecl, that, after de- 
 ducing the expence of falting and drying, the land- 
 lords of 'Shetland, at this day, export their fifli at a 
 profit (including the bounty from Government) of 
 above 400 per cent^ It will be obferved, that I 
 was here narrating only what ** had been ftated." 
 For the arithmetical accuracy of Mr Pennant, Mr 
 Morrifon, or perhaps others, I am not anfwerable. 
 I myfelf am inclined to think, that, in general, the 
 profits of the landlords on their fifhers and fifli do 
 not nearly amount to the enormous per centagc 
 above mentioned. It has even been afhrmed to me 
 that " they have commonly only 20 per cent.'''' 
 This, however, is, I am convinced, running to the 
 oppofite extreme : their profits muft *' commonly" 
 be three times, in fome cafes fix times that amount. 
 I mufl here enter more into detail, and fpecify the 
 data on which I proceed. 1 fliall firft examine the 
 profits of the landlords, and then thofe of the 
 tenants. The taflc is, to me, irkfome, and I am 
 aware that it may feem invidious : but it is render- 
 ed necefTary by the condud: of fome of the landlords 
 of Shetland ; and I fliall flricliy abftain from pev- 
 fonal allufions. 
 
 It requires I underfland i\ cwt. of wet filh to 
 make i cwt. of dry. The hundred-weight of green 
 fifli coils 3 s. 6d. The whole expence of fplitting, 
 falting, drying, 8tc. does not exceed 2 s. Gd.per cwt. ; 
 the hundred-weight, therefore, of dry fiih cofls the 
 landlord, in all, 11 j^. 3 d. The fifli is fold at igs. or 
 7.0 s. per cwt. or at a profit of above yo per cent., be- 
 
 fides
 
 SHETLAND. 109 
 
 fides 3 /. per cwt. of Government bounty upon expor- 
 tation ; making, in all, a profit of nearly cent, per 
 cent. But I muft add, that the fifli is often fent, on 
 commilfion, for retail in the Leith or Edinburgh 
 market*, when it brings 2S s. or -^o s. per cwX., or 
 about i~)0 per cent, from which the expence of con- 
 veyance, &-C. is to be deducted. 
 
 The landlords havebelidcs a profit on boats, lines, 
 fails, &c. which does not, I believe, (on an average), 
 exceed 10 per cent. On fome articles it is probably 
 confiderably lefs ; and fome gentlemen, I have 
 been informed, furnifh hooks and lines to their te- 
 nants nearly at prime coft. — The lairds have a large 
 profit alfo, on every article of produce raifed by the 
 tenant's induftry, butter, wool, hides, oil, f &.c. 
 
 Let us now contrail with thefe various profits, (the 
 aggregate amount of which I fhall not pretend to 
 eftimate), the advantages which the tenant derives 
 from the fummer's filhings, as ftated by the Rev. 
 Mr Morriibn of Delting (Stat. Ace. vol. i. p. 389) ; 
 and declared to be accurate by the Rev. Mr Jack 
 of Northmavine (vol. xii. p. 360). — " How far the 
 '• people in general are benefited by the fiflieries," 
 fays Mr Morrifon, apparently with a fneer of 
 
 generous 
 
 * The fifh imported from Shetland into Leith, pays tithe to 
 tlae minifter of North Leith, amounting to about 5 /^r ffn/. or 
 the twentieth fifh ; — a moft ungracious tax, confidering that the 
 fifti had already paid tithe in Shetland. 
 
 f jiddit. Note' — Thefe profit^, though incidentally mentioned, 
 fhould not here be taken into account. The profits on the fifli- 
 eries only are in queftioot
 
 no SHETLAND. 
 
 generous indignation, *' will appear from the fol- 
 ** lowing ftatement." He ftates the total annual 
 expence of a lix-oared boat to be, on an average, 
 L. 19 : 5 : 10 ; and the total annual returns, only 
 L. 19: 10: 6 ; — Co that there remains of free pro- 
 fits the infignificant pittance only of 4J-. 8 d. Ster- 
 ling I which if it be divided among fix fliarers in a 
 boat, amounts to the fum of jiinepence fai'thing Ster- 
 ling to each man as the free profits of the fammer's 
 fifhing I But in the above calculation, wages are 
 included in the annual expence, and thefe are ave- 
 raged at L. I : 13:4 to each man for the feafon ; fo 
 that if the tenant himfelf be the fiflicr, as he gene- 
 rally is, this fum falls to be added to his g-^d. of fum- 
 mer gainings, making in all L. i : 14 : i^. "^'But, 
 «* (adds Mr Morrifon), the fiQiers carry many arti- 
 ** cles from their own houfes to the fifhing-ftations, 
 ** fuch as butter, milk, &c. on which no value is 
 " here put." — I obferve that the Rev. Mr Thorn* 
 fon, in his report of Walls and Sandnefs (Stat. Ace. 
 vol. XX. p. 103), makes the profit on a fix-oared 
 boat about L. 6 Sterling, or L. i to each man (ex- 
 clufive of wages). But I alfo obferve that he omits 
 to take into account the expence of the boat itfelf, 
 an expenfive and perifliable article. It coils above 
 L. 8, and if it be fuppofed to laft: about fix years, 
 the average annual expence on the article of boat 
 may be fiated at L. i, 7 j-. which mull be dedudted 
 from the alleged L. 6 of profits. — If I have mifun- 
 derfiood either Mr Thomfon or Mr Morrifon, I 
 fhall be happy to be correded. 
 
 5. R.unrig.
 
 SHETLAND. Ill 
 
 5. Rnnrig. — I formerly ftated, that the herding- 
 act and the act for dividing runrig property, have 
 been much negkcled in Shetland. 1 have fince 
 been aflTured that, in feme parts of the country, the 
 latter acl has been almoft completely carried into 
 effcdt. Thefe, however, are only pralfeworthy ex- 
 ceptions ; for it is unqueftionable, that runrig lands 
 are ftill to be found, in greater or fmaller quantities, 
 in almoft every corner of Shetland. [Though 
 there may be little in Unft, there is a great deal in 
 Yell.] 
 
 6. Whale-jiJIjing exadlion. — I formerly Hated (p. 98.) 
 that for every lad who goes to the Greenland or 
 Davis Straits whale-iiQiery for the fummer, the 
 cottar family to which he belongs mull pay to the 
 landlord one guinea of fine or of additional rent. 
 I have been challenged for making this ftatement 
 without having previoufly examined all the ** land- 
 " mails legers" of the country, (by which 1 pre- 
 fume, are meant the rental-books), I adhere to my 
 former ftatement ; and yet am ready to believe, 
 that, if the whole land-mails legers of the country 
 were examined, no trace of this exadion might be 
 found. This would not prove that the evil does 
 not exift, but only that, if it does exift, the land- 
 lords who pradlife it are not infenfible to its flagrant 
 injuftice. Thefe gentlemen n^iay perhaps deny that 
 it is either a fine *, or an exa6lion^ or an additional 
 
 rent. 
 
 * Fines, I muft obferve, appear to be avowedly cxavfteJ on 
 other occafions. The tenant is taken bound to deliver all his 
 
 produce
 
 1J2 SHETLAND. 
 
 rent. Let it, then, be called a bargai7i, to which 
 they furely cannot objedl. I give them the option 
 of the narne ; for the name will not alter the fpirit 
 of the tranfaclion. As an indubitable proof that it 
 does exill, and that it is not a private bargain with 
 the tenant, but an arbitrary and fluduating impofi- 
 tion, I have now to ftate, on the beil authority, that 
 advertifements were, lad fpring, (1805), affixed to 
 fome of the parifh-church doors of Shetland, in- 
 forming the poor Shetlanders belonging to particu- 
 lar eftates, that no permiffion would henceforth be 
 granted them to go to the whale-fifliery, under three 
 guineas, inltead of one I This didatorial method of 
 announcing a rife of price, is quite inconfiftent with 
 the notion of a previous fair bargain with a tenant. 
 It proves, on the contrary, the previous exiftence 
 of the fmalier exadion of one guinea, as I had for- 
 merly ftated. Such an advertifement, parted on the 
 church-doors, could only be direded to men wha 
 were coniidered as adfcript'i glebes, or, at leaft, as ab- 
 jedly and inevitably dependant. — Whether this ad- 
 vertifement be engrolTed in any of the ** land-mails- 
 '* legers" of Shetland, I know not: but its exift- 
 ence 
 
 produce to his landlord at a ftipulated low rate ; " and as he 
 " knows that he cannot obtaui the fame price from his mafter 
 " for the articles he has to difpofc of, that anotlier would give 
 " him, he is often tempted to trefpafs his contraft : and when 
 *' found out (which is mod frequently the cafe) he is Jined 
 " at difcret'ton, or has a fummons of removal immediately exeeu- 
 " ted againft him. This is fubverfive of every virtuous princj- 
 *• pie, and introduces a low cunning and chicanery in the tranf- 
 « a<5lions of the people." Stat. Ace. vol. xx. p. ti6.
 
 SHETLAND. 113 
 
 encc and authenticity will not, I am certain, be 
 called in queftion. It may be proper here to repeat 
 what I formerly hinted, that fcveral of the Shet- 
 land landlords have difdained, at all times, to make 
 the unequal bargain in queftion with their poor and 
 dependant tenantry. 
 
 To conclude : In my former remarks I rather 
 vindicated the landlords of Shetland from the un- 
 qualified charges of feverity and oppreffion brought 
 againft them by Mr Pennant, in his Introdudion to 
 the Ardlic Zoology ; by Tompfon, in Bath Pa- 
 pers, vol, vi. ; and by the writer in the ift volume 
 of the Tranfactions of the Highland Society. But 
 I cannot certainly agree to that unlimited approba- 
 tion, to which I underftand they lay claim, and 
 which they afTume (erroneoufly perhaps) as having 
 been awarded to them by the Committee of the 
 Houfe of Commons in 1785 : For I cannot help re- 
 marking, that the adl pafled next year (1786), for 
 eftablifhing the Society for improving the Scottifli 
 fiiheries, mentions the uj^w^ of public Jlores, where 
 the illanders might freely purchafe the implements 
 of fifhing, as one evil to be remedied; and that it 
 ftates the effence of the evil to be, that, in whole 
 diftrids, there were " only a few private ftores 
 " where fome articles are dealt out for the fiflieries, 
 *' on condition of fdling the Jijh to the owners of the 
 " flares at their own prices.''^ Is not this the exact 
 ftate of matters in Shetland at this day, and one 
 principal evil ftill to be remedied. 
 
 Edinburgh, 1 p AT 
 
 if Nov, 1805. j ^' 
 
 P APPEN-
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 NO. J. 
 
 Letter to the Editor of the Scots Magazine. 
 Published Jamiarii 1 yOG. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 IN your Magazine for December laft, there ap- 
 peared certain " ftridures,'' by a perfon ftyling 
 himlelf a Zetland Laridlord, on my " tour through 
 " fome ofthe Shetland illands." 
 
 Some grofs miftatements * in thefe " flriclures" re- 
 quire immediate contradidion. 
 
 I. 
 
 * ylddtt. — Thule, in a feparate pamphlet which he has pub- 
 lifhed on this fubjedl:, and of which I iliall immediately have occa- 
 fion to take particular notice, has laid that 1 Ihould not have 
 accufed him of " millatements," as liis affertions were " deduc- 
 tions from premifes.'' But I cannot allow that his affertions 
 were entitled to the name of " deduftions from premifes ;" 
 but, not to difpute about words, I affirm that his " dcdudions" 
 were, at any rate, erroneous, ralh, and abfurd. For exam- 
 ple, he fays, " If my conclufions are not valid, let P. N explain 
 fatisfadorily how the expreffion " flur over" crept into his pa- 
 per ; if he cannot do that, ht /lands conviSed." (p. 12). Now, I 
 cannot poffibly trace the flighted connexion between the pre- 
 mifes I;ore, and the conclnfion, which Thulc has emphatically 
 marked in Italics ; — I cannot perceive any thing extvaordin .ry 
 in my employing the phrafe " flur over," to exprefs the evafive 
 nature of the anfwers which 1 received, when in Shetland, to 
 my inquiries on a particular fubjcifl. I therefore naturally form- 
 ed the ccnclufion that this fame exprcffion " flur over" was 
 fomewhere to be found in the obnoxious pamphlet of Vindica- 
 tor, and that Thule meant, from the accidental circumllince of 
 my alfo hitting upon it, to infer my acquaintance with that 
 pamphlet, which I had exprefsly denied. But having very 
 
 lately
 
 l\6 APPENDIX. [no. I. 
 
 1. I am reprefented as the " partifan of a clergy- 
 man's affiftant near Edinburgh," who, it feems, is the 
 author of one of the pamphlets lately publiflied on 
 the ftate of Shetland. This gentleman, it appears, 
 did not choofe to give to his writings the fandion 
 of his name, but afTumed the title of Vindicator. 
 His effay, I find, has (whether with or without 
 reafon, I do not inquire) proved exceedingly ofFen- 
 Jive to fome of the Shetland landholders. But I 
 thus publicly declare, that I am no " partifan of 
 '* Vindicator ;" and that, fo far from being his par- 
 tifan, I do not even know the gentleman *. 
 
 2. Although I had, in the concluding paragraph 
 of my "tour," explicitly dated that I had not en- 
 joyed any opportunity of confulting the pamphlets 
 lately publilhed about Shetland, an ungracious at- 
 tempt is made to fhew, from fome trifling coinci- 
 dence in expreffion and opinion, (which I affirm to 
 be entirely fortuitous), that I mult, notwithftand- 
 ing my previous negative ftatement, either have per- 
 
 ufed 
 
 lately (7th September 1806), been favoured with a fight of 
 that pamphlet, I was not a little furprifed to finifh the perufal 
 of it without once meeting with the magic expreffion " flur over," 
 and without meeting with any clew by wliich I could follow 
 Thule in his above myftenous " dedudions from premifes." 
 
 * yldd'it. — In Thule's feparate publication, this " clergyman's 
 affiftant near Edinburgh" is metamorphofed into a *' Reverend 
 pallor in a Chapel of Eafe," who it is alleged is now alhamed of 
 his own pamphlet. This, I have no doubt, is the mere unwar- 
 ranted affertion of Thule, or perhaps one of his pretended 
 " dedudions from prtmifes." 1 have now (as already ftated) 
 read Vindicator, and I do not fee any reafon that author has to 
 blulh for his writings, as far efpecially as regards the general 
 queftion refpeding the ftate of Shetland. Some difagrceable 
 perlbnal hoftility is, no doubt, apparent ; but I Ihould fuppofe 
 that proportionate irritation had been given. I again repeat, 
 that 1 have no acquaintance nor connexion with Vindicator; 
 and Thule's laboured imputations of concert, are therefore 
 abundantly idle.
 
 NO. T.j LETTER. 117 
 
 ufed thefe trads, or that I muft have implicitly 
 jidopted what was dictated to me by Vindicator 
 or his abettors. This laft fuppofition is out of the 
 queftion. As to the former, it is not without feel- 
 ings of indignation and difdain, that I find myfelf 
 called upon to declare, a fecond time, that at the 
 date on which I tranfmitted the concluding packet 
 of my MS. for publication, (which was in the begin- 
 ning of July laft, 1805), I had read wowd* of the pam- 
 phlets in queftion ; — and I muft add, that hitherto I 
 have only been able to procure a perufal of the pub- 
 lications on one fide of the queftion, — not on that 
 factious fide, however, to which 1 am alleged, by 
 this Zetland Landlord, to be fo trufty an adherent, 
 but on the fide of that landlord himfelf and his 
 friends *. My remarks were drawn up from flight 
 
 notes 
 
 * Jlddit. — Thule had aflerted, (Scots Magazine for December 
 1805), that a pamphlet "was publi/hed'm 1799, under the form 
 (title)of Obfervations on the Zetland Iflands," &c. After fruitlefs 
 inquiry at the bookfellers of Edinburgh, who never heard of fuch 
 a p.imphlet, 1 at laft learnt from a private gentleman, that the 
 Obfervations in quellion, although printed, never were publilhed. 
 I was told, that the Secretary of the Society for propagating 
 Chriftian Knowledge, upon his return from officially vifiting the 
 Shetland Iflands in 1799, had laid before the Highland Society 
 fome remarks on the Hate of thofe iflands. The Society voted 
 their thanks for the comrpunication, and ordered it to be printed 
 as a conltituent part of one of the volumes of their Tranfuftions. 
 Some few copies of this paper having been handed abroad before 
 publication, fo vehement an outcry was raifeJ by fome Shetland 
 hiirds, (who, it may be prefumed, without any breach of charity, 
 felt fore), that the whole imprefllon was cancelled, or thrown 
 out. I can ftate on the beft authority, that the Society's 
 fole motive in thus fupprcffing the Obfervations, was to avoid the 
 necefTity of admitting an Anfwer, and thus allowing their Tranf- 
 aft'ons to become the medium of an odious paper-war. The 
 eflay on Zetland acflually publilhed in the 1 It volume of their 
 Tianfadtions, is equally fevere on the lairds as the fuppre/Fed 
 Obfervations — For, having lately procured a perufal of the 
 above unpubliflied trait, I mult fay that it appears to me to 
 
 coutaia
 
 11$ APPENDIX. [KO. r. 
 
 notes taken in Shetland, chiefly from converfations 
 with the little fifhing farmers, (who poffibly never 
 heard of Vindicator, nor of the literary campaigns, 
 in the fouth, of their own lairds). Thefe notes I 
 afterwards revifed (at the particular requtft of the 
 former editor* of the Scots Magazine), and compar- 
 ed with the accounts of Shetland publiflied in Arc- 
 tic Zoology, vol. i. ; in Bath Papers, vol. vi. ; in 
 the Tranfaclions of the Highland Society, vol. i.; 
 and in Sir John Sinclair's Statiftical volumes ; the 
 only fources of information to which 1 then had ac- 
 cefs. I know that fome gentlemen of the fame 
 pleafure-party in Shetland, did, while the veflel was 
 lying wind-bound in Lerwick Roads, borrow and 
 perufe various pamphlets on the ftate of that coun- 
 try ; but I fpent my time in traverfing the hills and 
 Ihorcs around Lerwick, and had no opportunity of 
 reading thofe pamphlets, (which were left at Ler- 
 wick). I heard, indeed, of the name Vindicator ; 
 and I heard his performance condemned. But I 
 never learned more of him, till the inventive facul- 
 ty of this Zetland landlord dubbed me his partifan. 
 From the fpecimen, however, which I myfelf have 
 now received of the candour of « Zetland Lafidhrd^ 
 I confefs that I am inclined to receive with extreme 
 caution his heavy charges againfl; Vindicator. 
 
 3. The Zetland Landlord, is pleafed to fay, that 
 immediately on feeing the Magazine for June lall 
 (which was publifhed on ift July), he *' wrote a 
 ** note to the Editor of the Scots Magazine," cor- 
 recting various millakes into which / had fallen, 
 
 and 
 
 contain fome valuable hints, and to be written in a very candid 
 though bold ftyle. A few miftakes may, no doubt, be detec- 
 ted ; with refpedt, for example, to the extent of furface in the 
 iflands, the cannons of Fort Charlotte, &c. ; but thefe are ble- 
 mifhes qUai incur ia fudit, and do not derogate from the general 
 merit of the tradt, fmce, on the leading topics, the author will 
 be found incontrovertibly corredt. 
 
 * Mr Steveqfon, now Librarian to the Treafury, Loadon.
 
 NO. I.] LETTER. 119 
 
 and warning me of the difficulty of the fubjecfl I had 
 propofed to treat, viz. the ftate of the common peo- 
 ple of Shetland. He then proceeds to affe6l to re- 
 gret that his friendly private cautions (which he 
 fays, were not intended for the public eye), had lit- 
 tle good effecl on me, &c. Now, all this feems very 
 flrange ; for the truth is, that 1 never faw thefe 
 kind and fecret warnings '^ till they appeared in 
 print in the IMagazinc for December laft, four 
 months after the publication of the laft of my re- 
 marks on Shetland. 
 
 I would be forry, after all, to accufe this anony- 
 mous Zetlander of intentional falfehood ; but I 
 nuid at leaft affirm, that he has fallen into the grof- 
 felt miftakes, and has indulged in perfonally injuri- 
 ous inlinuations with reprehenfible careleflhefs. 
 While he declines to undertake the refponfibility 
 which would attach to his name and character, 1 
 feel mylelf, in this iiUlance, called upon to follow 
 9 different line of condud. 
 
 1 am, Sir, 
 
 Your moil obedient fervant, 
 
 Patrick NeilL 
 Old Tijh Mcu het Clofc, 7 
 Edinburgh, fan. 7. i8c6. j 
 
 NO. II. 
 
 * Note by the Editor of the Scots Magazine The truth is, the 
 
 Editor immediately aiter receiving the letter, happened to learn 
 that Mr Ncill had had ibme communication with a Zetland land- 
 lord, and propoled making alterations in confequence. He na- 
 tnrally iuppoied that it muft have been with the fame gentle- 
 jnan, though it turns out to have been otherwife.
 
 120 APPENDIX. [no. 2. 
 
 No. II. 
 
 Amwers to Thules Strictures *, — Published in Scots 
 Magazine for February 1806. 
 
 SINCE the Supplement was prepared, fome very 
 fevere ftridures on my Tour have appeared in 
 
 the 
 
 * The republication (in this Appendix) of thefe Anjivers to 
 Thule's Stridures becomes nece/Tary, in confequence of fome re- 
 cent occurrences. Thule, it feems, had prepared a reply for in- 
 fertion in the Scots Magazine ; but the unreafonable violence of 
 his ftyle, the extraordinary prolixity of his paper, and hisfoolifh 
 accufations of combination between P. N. and the editor of that 
 Magazine, (which that editor muft have known and felt to be 
 Utterly gronndlefs), had prevented its infertion, without under- 
 going fome material abridgment and modification. Thule, it 
 appears, refufed either to abridge or corredl, or to fuffer thefe 
 operations to be done for him ; and preferred an appeal to the 
 Public in a feparate pamphlet. That pamphlet was intituled, 
 *' A Statement of fome late condudt of the Conduftors of the 
 •' Scots M;igazine, 1806. By Thule." The firft ten pages only, 
 I found, correfponded to the title : the remaining thirty pages 
 confiding of a very irkfome and very ill-natured Reply to my 
 Anfwers. 
 
 The firfl part of this pamphlet has already been treated 
 ■with fultable indignation and contempt by the Editor of the Scots 
 Magazine (July i8c6) ; and I fliall here fay only a very few 
 words on the charges in which I appear to be perfonally impli- 
 cated. 
 
 Thule mod feelingly complains of having been denominated a 
 Zetland Landlord., and zealoully denounces that '* calual mono- 
 ** poly (to ufe his own fublime language, p. 4.) of the mifcel- 
 ** laneous periodical prefs of Edinburgh," which cmld beltow on 
 him fuch a title. Among the motives which he conjures up, he 
 declares, that this denomination Z.etland Landlord, was intended 
 to " furnilh facilities for argument to the Editor's friend P. N. !" 
 I affure Thule, that I had no fhare whatever in dubbing him a 
 Zetland Landlord, and that, if the Editor thereby intended to fur- 
 nifh me with facilities for argument, he loft his pains, my under- 
 ftan' ing being too dull to perceive any poflible facility arifing to 
 ne from that denomination. On the contrary, I conceive, that 
 
 that
 
 NO. 2.] ANSWERS TO STRICTURES. 121 
 
 the Scots Magazine. Having already difclaimed 
 any fecret undcrllanding with former writers on the 
 ftate of Shetland, or any knowledge even of their 
 publications, I now proceed to a difpaffionate re- 
 view of fome of thefe Stri<5tures. I may obferve in 
 
 (^ the 
 
 the defignation /^ Zetland Landlord was calculated to operate 
 againd me, and to give more weight and importance to what 
 fhould be faid than the fignaturc THULE, which either 
 means nothing, or means '• darknefs or ohfcurity f ." It now ap- 
 pears that the Editor had, in a I'ubfeiiuent Number of the Scots 
 Maga2ine, intimated that Thule was iwt a Zetland Landlord ; but, 
 this alas ! was equally offenfive, and Thule now avows that he 
 IS a Zeiland Landlord, yet protells that he fliall not be called fo 
 with impunity ! 
 
 Thule next alleges, that the Conduflors of the Magazine 
 *' took an intereft in having an anlwer to him concerted before 
 " he appeared in print," p. 5. This muft be a miftake ; at leaft / 
 was nnt confulted on the occafion ; and yet I apprehend, I muft 
 have been ?ijtne quo non in the bufmefs. The fact is, 1 did not 
 fee Thule's paper till after its publication in the Magazine, 
 when all the world might have fecn it. 
 
 He farther alleges, that the '• Editor was my perfonal friend," 
 p. 6. This happniefs 1 did not enjoy. Thule himfelf could not 
 fail to have been confcious that no fuch intimacy exifted ; for 
 in that cafe, the miftake about Thule's MS. communication 
 could not pofflbly have occurred. 
 
 I beg the Reader's pardon for obtruding fo ludicrous a con- 
 troverly on his notice ; but the fe!f-conceit and folly of Thule 
 have led him to fill the firll part of his pamphlet with fuch tralh. 
 That my ov n language may not here appear too ftrong, I Ihall 
 merely mention, that in one place he prefumes to talk of the 
 " p'rfonal fiifely of the ptMi/Joers" (p. 2.) ; and, in another, works 
 himl'elf up to luch a frenzy of rage, that he declares, " the 
 " ('onduclors l\^an to t' cmblefor the coiifcquences !" (p. 5.) 
 
 With regard to the latter part of his pamphlet, much of it is 
 occupied by unmeaning and unnccclTary invective, and muft be 
 pafled over. Some parts contain unfair inferences, and pervcr- 
 lions of my meaning, and moft erroneous affertions. Tlicfe I 
 (liall endeavour to obviate, in additional foot-notes. In thcnaidft 
 of much refufe, I would not be undcrftood as denying that fome 
 ufeful information may be found in his paper. This 1 lliall alfo 
 endeavour to extraft, and to convey in my notes, giving Thule 
 due credit for fuch remarks. 
 
 f " TLIULK is a Phoenician word, fignifying dark or ob/ctirc." — CampbeU's 
 Political Survey, vol. i. p. 677.
 
 122 APPENDIX. [no. 2. 
 
 the entry, however, that it feems ftrange that a pro- 
 dudion teeming with palpable blunders (as Thule 
 is pleafed to affirm) and the moft glaring felf-con- 
 tradidlions, — from an obfcure and humble pen, — 
 fhould attracl the flighted attention : it feems *' paf- 
 fing ftrange" that it fliould call up cries of vengeance 
 even from the extremities of the earth, the Ultima 
 I'hule ; that it fhould be honoured, in fliort, with fo 
 laboured an invective, by way of refutation, from 
 the greatefl critics of Hethlandia I 
 
 I. Unjl School. — It is alleged that I had faid, that 
 " there is no fchool in Unft," and that I had 
 " quibbled myfelf into the miftatement." — The 
 quibbling is all on the fide of the Zetland critic. 
 He himielf admits that there is no parochial fchool ; 
 and it mufh be evident to any perfon who reads the 
 whole pafTage *, that I was fpeaking of eftablifhed 
 parochial fchools only, and not of uncertain and oc- 
 cafional fchools kept by perfons totally unqualified, 
 viz. illiterate old men and old women. — In a fubfe- 
 quent pafiage-j-, I fpeak of there having hitherto 
 been no ''public fchool" in Unfh ; but add, that at 
 lafl a fchooi-houfe is building '\.. 
 
 The 
 
 * Supra, p. 78, 79. f Supra, p. 79. Note. 
 
 X ^ddit. — The heat of controverfy on this fubjedl has led 
 Thule, in his pamphlet, to commit himfelf by making moft 
 unfeunded alTcrtions. He poikively afTens (p. 11.), that the 
 " perfons" who gave information to the Reverend author of 
 " Obfcrvations on Zetland", and to his defender Vindicator^ 
 bad '• ladly condefcended to inftil the fame ideas into P. N." 
 Upon inquiry who thofe perfons might be, I learnt that they 
 were two gentlemen of the firft refpeflability and charader in 
 Lerwick. T fliould have been proud to have received informa- 
 tion from thefe gentlemen ; but I never got the leaft afliftance 
 from either. Thule's unqualified aflertion, therefore, is utterly 
 
 froundlefs. It is curious that the additional intelligence which 
 received refpeding Unft fchool, and which Thule (p. 11.) 
 conceives had been furnifhed by fome of his confidential friends, 
 
 was.
 
 NO. 2.] ANSWERS TO STRICTURES. 12 
 
 Q 
 
 2. The author, forefecing that he muft yield my 
 pofition that there is no parochial fchool in Unft, 
 fearches out a more ferious blunder, and accufes me, 
 in the next place, of credulity in believing — what I 
 (Partiiriiint mantes, nafcltur ridiciihis ?niis) — that 
 there are no 7nice in Uni!:, triumphantly declaring 
 that thefe little creatures have not been wanting in 
 Unft *' during the memory of man." A contro- 
 verfy on fuch a fubjedt is mighty pleafant : it tends 
 to enliven one's fpirits in wading through grave dif- 
 quilitions on oppreflion and parochial fchools. But 
 I cannot yield even the point about the mice. I 
 have great authorities againlt Thule, though, for 
 the fake of the feline race of Unft (the parties chief- 
 ly interefted in this part of the difpute) I fliall not 
 be forry to find that my authorities are naught. 
 The Statiftical account of Unft bears to be " drawn 
 ** up from the communications of Thomas Mouat 
 ** Efq; of Garth and the Rev. J. Barclay;" that is, 
 the principal landholder and the clergyman of the 
 
 illand. 
 
 was really fent me by a gentleman in the North Ifles, whom 
 Thule would probably account an opponent. 
 
 Thule is pleafed to fay that " the inftitution of Unft fchool 
 *' took place on the nth of May 1803, nearly eighteen months 
 " before P. N. vifited the ifland." This is certainly an inftance 
 of quibbling : for it is an undoubted fad, that the foundation 
 ftone of the fchool-houfe was not laid till two years thereafter ; 
 and the fchool itfelf was taught for the firft time only in the 
 end of November 1805. 
 
 WHien the Secretary of the Society for propagating Chriftian 
 Knowlede;e vifited Shetland in 1799, only iwo of the live.'ve pa- 
 rifhes of wliich it confilh, poiTeiled parochial fchools. Owing 
 greatly to his commendable exertions and reprefentations, the 
 whole of thefe pariilies now enjoy that advantage. But that they 
 are little indebted for this blefling to Thule and his friends, moll 
 evidently appears from the ftyle in which he fpeaks of fuch 
 cftablifliments. He confiders the Shetlanders, as a people "pre- 
 " fcnted by ^dljianl Government, (thefe are his words, p. 12.) with 
 " an awhward fuljiitute for education,^' i. e. parifti-fchools !
 
 124 APPENDIX. [no. 2. 
 
 ifland. In this account, it is faid, " Rats, micej 
 " frogs, toads, and adders, are unknown here*." 
 
 Quoth Hudibras, " I fmell a rat -, 
 
 " La?idiord\, thou dofl prevaricate '•" 
 
 Butler. 
 
 3-1 
 
 * Statiftical Account of Scotland, vol. v. p. i iS. 
 
 Jddtt. — Thule fays, that there is an error here ; but 
 he palms It upon the editor of the Statiftical Account, alleging 
 that mere " force of habit" had led him to write mice after rats ! 
 *I am forry to demolifh this beautiful theory of the '• habi- 
 ** tual fequence" (as Thule elegantly terms it, p. 13.) of rats and 
 tntce; but 1 can now account for the miftake in a much more 
 fimple and natural way, viz. That through the chafing of the 
 paper and indiftindnefs of the handwriting of my original 
 notes, or perhaps through mere overfight, I had, in tran- 
 fcribing, written Un/I in place of Uyea, and Uyea in place of 
 Unjl: by making thefe words change places, the whole becomes 
 
 confiftent and corredl Uyea, I may obferve, is a fmall ifland 
 
 near Unft, in which not only no mice are found, but, if we may 
 give credit to the vulgar report, no mice can live. Hafl^:afiy is 
 an iflet in the fame predicament ; and we were told that the 
 common people fo firmly believe in the foil of thefe iflets 
 being antipathetical to mice, that they fetch bags of it in their 
 boats, and place fome of it in their cupboards, to guard their 
 ftores from the attacks of thofe vermin ! 
 
 f In the fame way that Thule has endeavoured to prove a 
 connexion between Fwdicator and P. N., it would be very eafy 
 for me to infer the privity oi Thule with the principal author of 
 the Statiftical Report of Unft, and of the Letter to the Highland 
 Society in i S02. 
 
 y/i/^/i/.— This pafTage has been bitterly complained of by 
 Thule. But to me it appears perfeiflly defenfible. Thule af- 
 firms, that he has proved (from fimilarity of expreflion, &c.) 
 a connexion between Vindicator and P. N. ; and yet no fuch 
 connexion exifts, or ever did exift. I here ftate, that, by ThaWs 
 method of inducftion, I could infer a connexion between him and 
 the author of the Letter to the Highland Society In 1802 ; and it now 
 appears that fuch inference would have been equally erroneous. 
 The faft is, that till the publication of Thule's pamphlet, I not 
 only believed in a connexion between thefe authors, but in their 
 identity. Immediately after feeing Thule's pamphlet, therefore, 
 I wrote the following letter, apologizing for my miftake, and it 
 was printed in the Scots Magazine for July 1S06. 
 
 <' To
 
 NO. 2.] ANSWERS TO STRICTURES. 125 
 
 3. I have next to expofe a perverfion of my mean- 
 ing, Co barefaced, that it mull tend greatly to im- 
 peach either Th ale's undcrftanding or his candour. 
 He alleges, and repeats his allegation, that P. N, 
 has faid that "it is for the Shetland landlords' in- 
 *' tereft that their tenants fliall be poor •," and he 
 quaintly, but ccrredly adds, that " nothing can be 
 *' more perfect in its kind than this." Now, the 
 truth is, that the very objed: of my paper was to 
 prove the erroneoufnefs of the fentiment here held 
 out as being my own. In proof of this, I have only 
 to refer the reader to the paffages in the paper it- 
 
 felf. 
 
 " To the Editor. — Sir, In an angry pamphlet, publiihcd die 
 other day, intituled, " Statement of feme late conduct of die 
 " Condudors of the Scots Magazine," it is alleged that I had, 
 in the Magazine for February laft, ♦' mentioned a gentlemen by 
 " name, a third party ; and had accufed him of matchlefs in- 
 " confiftency, of ignorance or folly, and of prevarication." I 
 beg leave to ftate, that the gentleman who is probably referred 
 to is only mentioned by name, as the joint author, alono- with 
 the clergyman of the parifli, of the Statiftical Account of Unft, 
 from which a quotation is made ; or as a fubfcriber, along with 
 four others (who are alfo named), to an advertifement in die pu- 
 blic prints. I muft further obferve, that the alleged charge of 
 prevarication muft only be fought for in a couplet which I bor- 
 rowed from Buder's HuMras^ in which the word /r^anirrt/f hap- 
 pens to occur ; and that I conceive I proved to demonftration 
 the inconfiflency oijive Shedand lairds, in faying Amen, in the 
 newfpapers, to an unqualified eulogy of Mr Pennant ; while that 
 author had, in his writings, been tenfold more fevere in his re- 
 marks than F. N. had been, whom their champion Thule has fo 
 violendy traduced. 
 
 " I readily acknowledge that I now find that I have guefled 
 wrong, in conjcduring that the gentleman referred to was con- 
 cerned in thofe papers that bore the fignature of Thule. I am 
 happy to be able to free him of the disgrace which muft attach 
 to any concern in fuch writings. While I regret the miilake, I 
 cannot help obferving, that the pcrfon who, by concealing him- 
 felf under fitftitious names, gives occafion to fuch mifconcep- 
 tions, ought to be the laft in the world to complain of thofe 
 whom he thus virtually milleads. I am, &c. 
 " J^''y^~Z- 'S06. P. N. 
 
 y*
 
 126 APPENDIX. [no. 2. 
 
 felf, {fuprd, p. 98). There, I uniformly fpeak, not of 
 what is for the landlords' intereft, but what " Z^aj 
 " been thought'''* to be fo ; of pradlical though not 
 avowed principles of the landholders themfelves. 
 Inftead of adopting the abfurd opinion afcribed to 
 me by Thule, I immediately afterwards fliew, that 
 it would be "for the Jandholders' intereft to invite 
 ** more fubftantial tenants, and to grant long Icafes," 
 (p. 103.) 
 
 4. I do not know what to think o^ThuWs next fen- 
 timent. He exultingly remarks, that the pooreft 
 Shetland tenants are more independent than fub- 
 ftantial tenants pofTeffed of (lock. But their inde- 
 pendence, he is pleafed to argue, lies in their po- 
 verty ; they have nothing to lofe, and (to ufe his 
 own words) ** being fifliers, they may become fail- 
 ** ors in a moment." This is miferable confolation, 
 furely, to a poor Shetland tenant, with a numerous 
 family I — When Thule thus argues, that the inde- 
 pendence of the tenantry confifts in their wretched- 
 nefs and poverty, he expofes more of the cloven 
 foot than his brethren will probably thank him 
 for *. 
 
 In a fubfequent paragraph of the ftridures, we 
 are told, that " the tenant in Shetland pays for his 
 " farm from one half to two thirds lefs rent than 
 *' the landlord could obtain from a tack/many 
 Now, what is a tackfman ? a perfon from whom 
 
 the 
 
 * yfdd'it. — In his pamphlet, (p. iS.) Thule has attempted to 
 evade the confequences of his own argument ; but in vain. 
 His original words are, indeed, that " the more frugal part of the 
 ** Zetland tenantry are independent; but (he adds) they are 
 " much more under the influence of their landlords" than ^'^ the 
 *' poorejl tenants," who may become failors in a moment. It is 
 clear as funlhiuc, that, in Thule's fecret but unavowed opinion, 
 thefe pooreft tenants are m'^re independent than the others ; and 
 that the criterion of their independence is, their extreme pover- 
 ty, and the power of becoming failors in a moment !
 
 NO. 2.] ANSWERS TO STRICTURES. ]27 
 
 the landlord receives a money- rent, and to whom 
 he has no more to Tay. The oppolition here ftated 
 by Thule himfelf, between a tenant and a tackfman^ 
 feems evidently to imply that the Shetland tenant 
 is a dependant creature of the landlord. 
 
 5. Wha]e-jy}jing cxaElion. — Thnle affures us that he 
 knows of " many hundreds of Shetland lads who 
 *' have often gone to Greenland, and have never 
 " been ////i^^." But does not T/.'?//^ fee, that his own 
 huiguage at the fame time implicitly admits that 
 other hundreds have gone to Greenland and have 
 he.tn fined for going? In my fupplement I have 
 called the exadtion a bargain ; but the Zetland 
 critic himfelf here rtyles it a fine. " A guinea (he 
 " fays) 1 fliould fuppofe a very fmall fine for a 
 " breach of padion, &c. I do not believe any thing 
 " fo fmall is accepted." — What right, I would alk, 
 has a Shetland landlord, more than a Lothian one, 
 thus ioftne his tenants at difcretion ? * 
 
 I 
 
 * yiddit — On the fubjcdl of this arbitrary exadion, Thule, in 
 his pamphlet, (p. ig.) lays, "_^I have formerly ftated, that I 
 " know many who have gone to Greenland, and have never 
 *' b.en fined : I now add, that I never knew an inftance of any 
 " one being fined." 1 his appears rather lurprizing, fucli fines 
 being common in moft parts of the country, Thule may poflfi- 
 bly, however, be ignorant of the ftate of Shetland in general ; 
 but it might be expected that he fhould know fomething of oc- 
 currences that take place on or near his own property ; (for, 
 notwithftanding his unmeaning outcry about being denomina- 
 ted a " Zetland Landlord," (p. i.), he is, if I be not greatly- 
 deceived, a very confiderable landholder in that country). Is it 
 really poffible that Thule does not know that the tackfman of 
 the eftate of Lunna, in fummer 1805, fumraarily intimated to 
 ihofe families from which the father or a fon went to the whale- 
 filhery, that *' they mud either pay ihree guineas of fine out of their 
 Giecnland wages, or need not think of returning again to their 
 farms !" I do not fay that thefe were the prccife words cm- 
 ployed by the tackiman ; hut they exprefs the fubftance of the 
 demand and threatening — On what fort of fubleafes niuft thefe 
 
 poor
 
 123 • APPENDIX, [no. 2. 
 
 ,1 have been informed, that this whale-fifhing ex- 
 action was never before expofed to the public, till 
 the publication of my remarks. If this be the cafe, 
 the language of Tbule, who fpeaks as if it had been 
 the fubjed of recently previous difcuffion, is to me 
 inexplicable *. 
 
 •* The generality of the Shetlandmen who have 
 " been at the whale- fifliery, do much" (according 
 to Thiile) " to corrupt the reft of their country- 
 ** men.*' Their ample wages doubtlefs enable them 
 
 to 
 
 poor people pofTefs their little farms under this tackfman ? Will 
 it not naturally be prefumed, that the tackfman muft have the 
 landlord's authority or connivance for adlng in this tyrannical 
 manner ? 
 
 In the next page, (p. 20.") Thulc, evidently vexed that he fhould 
 have at all admitted the exiftence of the fining fyllem, has ven- 
 tured to pretend that he was here fpeaking of tines impofed in 
 the Shcr'iff-court, not perceiving the evident incongruity of his 
 own language to fuch a pretence : for if the tenant be fined by 
 the Sheriff for a " breach of padion," by Avhich, as Thulc in- 
 forms us, his " fellow tenants" as well as the landlord are in- 
 jured, it is furely to be prefumed that that Magiftrate v^-ould do 
 juRice, and, inftead of giving the whole to the laird, would award 
 a due proportion of the fine, or rather damages, to the equally dif- 
 fering tenants. At all events, if the Sheriff be the awarder of 
 the fine or damages, it does not occur how the landlord can pof- 
 jfibly have any option whether he will " accept" or not, (unlefs by 
 appealing to a fuperior court, which is out of the queftion). In 
 Jhort, if Thule had been fpeaking of the Sheriff, inftead of fay- 
 rng, " I do not believe any thing fo fmall is accepted,'" he would 
 have f lid, " I do not believe any thing fo fmall is a'warded.'" — I 
 underftand that the late Sheriff-fubftitute, Mr Scott, gave his 
 decided opinion againji the whale-fifhing exaiTtion. 
 
 * yiddit. — This fiibjeift, I have fmce found, is {lightly touched 
 on, in Vindicator's Letter refpecting Shetland, printed 1803. 
 The following are his words : " How often are the Shetland 
 ** tenants warned to remove for allowing their fons to go to 
 " the Greenland filliing ! Indeed fome lairds oblige every young 
 ** man who goes to this fifhing, to pay out of his wages a 
 '* guinea for the indulgence. When this is agreed to, a father 
 ** may be allowed to remain I" (p. 50.)
 
 NO. 2.] ANSWERS TO STRICTURES. 129 
 
 to buy fmuggled gin, when it can be had in the 
 illands : but how the gin is brought thither, I can- 
 not divine, while the landlords (as !rZ>z//f informs us) 
 are lb fedulouily engaged in watching over '* the 
 •* morality of the people I" Honi Joit qui mal y 
 pcjife *. 
 
 6. lucre aje of the weight called Lifpound. — Thule is 
 pleafed repeatedly to allege, that I have " repre- 
 " Tented tenants as the fole perfons aggrieved" by 
 this increafe ; and he anxioufly ftates that the 
 ** proprietors whole lands pay teinds are principally 
 *' aggrieved." Now, the fa6t is, that my language 
 does not by any means neceffarily imply that tenants 
 are the fole perfons aggrieved ; for I have exprefsly 
 ftated, that the fame increafed weight which is de- 
 manded in the payment of reiit, is required in the 
 payment of teind, and of *' fuperior'' s duty^ It 
 really appears as if Thule had never confidered my 
 paper, but had criticifed it at random f . 
 
 R 7. Wrecks 
 
 * y^ddit — Thule does not feem to underftand the meaning of 
 introducing the *' motto of the garter" here, and thinks it far- 
 fetched. Vindicator fpeaks more plainly perhaps : " Smug- 
 *' gling has been carried on in Shetland to a great extent ; and 
 " to fay that the lairds have been chiefly concerned in the traf- 
 '* fie, is no vile flander, — ^it is a well-known truth. A very 
 *' few years ago, feveral of them were owners of fmuggling 
 " veflels, and feme of them ftill try the trade." (p. 25.) 
 
 f Atldit — In his pamphlet, Thule repeats his unwarranted 
 aflfertions, and feems even to argue that the landlords are the 
 only perfons aggrieved by the illegal increafe of the lifpound. 
 The tenant pays boat-tcind, in fifh ; fheep-teind, in wool and 
 lamb ; cow-teind, in butter ; and corn-teind, in butter and oil, 
 — the lifpound being now, in all cafes, taken at 32 lbs., inftead 
 of 16 lbs. as in former days. Is not this Increafe to tlie imme- 
 diate detriment of the tenant, not of the landlord ? But when I 
 flate that the landlord exads his rf/?/ m irW according to the 
 fame Increafed weights, it muft be evident that the ivhole hard- 
 Ihip of the increafe falls on the tenant. It might be worth while 
 to Inquire, if fome of the landlords them/elves did not lead the way 
 in raifing the lifpound from 16 to 32 lbs.
 
 130 ' APPENDIX. [no. 2. 
 
 7. Wrecks. — Jufticcsof the Peace in the different 
 iflands might not only greatly promote the improve- 
 ment of the country, by enforcing the ftatute-la- 
 bour, and thus gradually forming fome fort of roads ; 
 but they might fupprefs much of the immorality 
 that undeniably prevails in the iflands, for example, 
 the pilfering of wrecks. Both in Orkney and Shet- 
 land, wrecks are. by the vulgar, flillconlideredasGof/- 
 fends. But, in fome late cafes, even the lairds them- 
 felves have not kept clean hands. •' Thefe arc my 
 rocks I" faid a Shetland proprietor to an officer in 
 his Majefty's naval fervice, who interfered to pro- 
 te6l the cargo of a velTel which was wrecked on 
 them : — '^' Thefe are my rocks I" repeated the laird, 
 as if this circumilance gave him an undoubted right 
 to appropriate the cargo to himfelf. While the 
 landlord avov»'ed fuch fentiments, what could be ex- 
 pected of the poor tenantry ? The feamen from 
 the King's fhip had to beat off the people with 
 iticks, " juft as we beat off maldiicks (fulmars) 
 *' from tearing the blubber, \n\\\\q. fienching whales 
 ** in Greenland," faid one of the failors to me, who 
 had formerly been in that fervice. The morality of 
 Shetland is ftill very loofc with refpe6t to wrecks : 
 but ftriklng inflances of humanity and honefty in 
 particular landlords are on record ; and a great ma- 
 jority of the prefent landlords would, 1 believe, ex- 
 ert themfelves to relieve the fhipwrecked mariners, 
 and to fecure the property for the true owners : 
 what I argue is, that, were thefe gentlemen invefted 
 with the legal powers of Jullices, they would be 
 able more effectually to remove that greatcll re- 
 proach of a civilized country. 
 
 I believe that a very erroneous opinion generally 
 prevails in Orkney and Shetland, viz. That, in the 
 cafe of a wrecked cargo, if the owners do not ap- 
 pear to claim, within a year, the cargo may lawful- 
 ly be divided into three Iharcs ; one to the High 
 Admiral of thofe feas ; another to ih^ proprietor of 
 
 the
 
 NO. 2.] ANSWERS TO STRICTURES. 131 
 
 the ground (who has not, furely, a veftige of right) ; 
 and a third to the cottar-families who are fuppofed 
 to have aflifted in faving the cargo. This barbarous 
 notion is mod probably of " Danifli origin." If 
 ever a cafe occur, the landlords and their tenants 
 will doubtlefs be taught, that Eritifla Courts will 
 peremptorily refufe their fanclion to fuch lawlefs 
 feizure and partition of the property of others *. 
 
 8. On 
 
 * j-Jddit. Note. — I ihould have been happy il" Thule had left 
 my ftatemcnt on the iubjeft of wrecks unchallenged, as it would 
 have faved me the difagreeable ta<k of here recording, in jufti- 
 fication of the language I formerly held, a recent difgraceful cafe, 
 in which feveral Shetland lairds (according to my information) 
 were more or lefs implicated, and in which that laird is faid to 
 have been a leading party, who, on occafion of another wreck, 
 pleaded, " Thefe are my rocks." 
 
 In winter 1794-5, the Peggy and Jenny of Dundee, load- 
 ed with timber, tallow, wine and other goods, was wrecked on 
 the fouthern coaft of the Mainland of Shetland, and all hands 
 perifhed. Several of the dead bodies were found caft aftiore by 
 the tide, and were buried by the Shetlanders. No inveiligation, 
 as far as I have been able to learn, was made by the landholders 
 or gentry in the neighbourhood, to difcovcr to whom ihe pro- 
 perty belonged. This could very eafily have been afcertained. 
 It was given out however (as I have been told) that it was 
 Dutch or foreign property, and the ground-majlers and fahers 
 inftantly proceeded to appropriate and divide it. Inftead of ad- 
 vertifmg it in the newfpapers, methods of concealment, it is 
 faid, were reforted to. I would allt Thule, whether he has not 
 heard of one laird, who ivrote to hi!> faftor, to hide the fails of the 
 wreck in a miil-loft, that they might be out of fight? To any 
 laird, who fcrupled not to commit fuch inftru(51ions to writing, 
 the vice muft certainly have been familiar. 1 would farther aflc 
 Thule, whether he has not heard of another, who, having feized 
 fome barrels of tallow, had it melted and moulded into candles, 
 before the news of the wreck could reach the foulh of Scot- 
 land ? I would laftly afk him, whether he has not heard of a 
 third laird having difpatchcd a large boat loaded with barrels 
 of the tallow, to a diftant uninhabited holm or iilet, and order- 
 ed them there to be buried for a time : and of this fmgular 
 fort of funeral having been detedod by Captain Malcomfon and 
 a party of the Garrifon Battalion of Fort Charlotte ? In the 
 courfe of the following fummer, the proprietor, (Mr Watt of 
 Dundee), having received notice of the fate of his cargo, (ow- 
 «,ng chiefly, it is faid, to tlie fliarers in the fpoil having difputed 
 
 among
 
 132 APPENDIX. [no. 2. 
 
 8. On the impropriety of levying teind on the (hore- 
 fifliery, I am fortunate enough to meet with Thule's 
 approbation, though even here he cannot think of 
 allowing me this confolation, without branding me 
 with the inflammatory name of a " bawler about 
 opprefTion," and without declaring that it is the 
 " only paragraph in my whole paper in which my 
 information and my judgiuent are correct*." To 
 
 prove 
 
 imong themfelves), immediately repaired to Shetland to claim 
 it. Here, I have been told, he met with every poffible dil- 
 coiuagement. His having any interefl in the velFel wrecked, was 
 ftrcnuoufly denied. He was compelled to procure a magiltrate's 
 order, to raife even the dead out of their j^raves to be witnefles ; 
 and having; adually duf^ up the putrid corpfes, was able, from 
 marks on the linens of the drowned mariners, (who had been 
 buried in their common dre/Tes) to afcertain, to the latisfa«51ion of 
 the iherifF, his concern in the vcfTel ! — The conclufion is faid to 
 have been, that the Dundee merchant having inftituted a procefs, 
 received from the lairds concerned, between L. 2000 and L. 3000 
 Sterling to compromife the bufmefs. 
 
 Thule feems to argue that there can be little harm in allow- 
 ing the proprietor to have a (hare of unclaimed tvrecks, — cautiouf- 
 ly avoiding any notice of the faft that I ftated, That x Jingle 
 year is the longell period allowed in Shetland for claiming. I 
 muft add, that, if my information be corred, the ceremony of 
 advertifing has often been thought fupeifluous, and been dif- 
 penfed with- and I wowld afk Thule, whether he has not heard 
 that, on occafion of the above-mentioned wreck, fomeof the lairds, 
 iniiead of waiting for a year, were bufily employed, ihe very night 
 facceetling the fatal accident., in fecreting fome of the mod valuable 
 articles of the cargo ? 
 
 After learning thefc faifts, which are currently reported and 
 believed throughout Shetland, the reader will probably be of 
 opinion ihat I have gone as far as polfible, in praife of the pre- 
 fent landlords, when I ftated generally, that " 1 believe they 
 " would exert themfelves to relieve the (liipwrecked mariners, 
 •' and to fecuic the property for the true owners." 
 
 * jiddit. — Thule's candour and complaifancc in allowing the 
 juflnefs of my remarks in this fingle inlUnce, will lofe much of 
 their merit, when I inform the reader, 'which I do with plea- 
 furr), that the innovation in quellion has been fuccefifully refilled 
 by the poor old people, in the Court oi Seflion, during the pad 
 year ; and that I hule was evidently aware of this judgment of 
 the Supreme Court, while I was ignorant of it.
 
 NO. 2.] ANSWERS TO STRICTURES. 133 
 
 prove that this fweeping criticifm is nothing but 
 empty declamation, I beg leave to aflc him, ijl^ If 
 I am not corred: in the paragraph which treats of 
 treesy when I affirm that there are none in Shetland, 
 but that the circumilance of the fliores of Norway 
 being clothed with tall pines, Ihews that there 
 can be nothing in the climate of Shetland incompa- 
 tible with the growth of timber? idly^ If I am not 
 correct in my judgment, that one light-houfe on the 
 eaft, (at the Skerries of Whalfey), and another on 
 the well coull of Shetland, (at Papa .Stour), would 
 be of infinite advantage to the fliipping * ? 3^(>', I 
 would a(k, If I v\ as not correct in my information 
 when I Hated that there were no Juftices of the 
 Peace in Shetland ; and corred: in my judgment that 
 they would be ufcful in the fcattered iflands ? And, 
 ^thly^ \i I was not corredl in my information in fay- 
 ing that none of the gentlemen of Shetland had hi- 
 therto qualified as freeholders ; and correct in my 
 judgment in condemning their fupinenefs f ? 
 
 9. Teinds. — Tbide affirms that my propofal of con- 
 verting the teinds into money, would only tend to 
 " cheat the clergy of their livings." This, at lealt, 
 is proof to demonltration, that I cannot be in con- 
 cert with any of thofe clergy. Perhaps, I'bule 
 catches at the generality of my expreffion. I cer- 
 tainly did not mean that no payment in kind 
 fliould be made to the minifier himfelf, for the ufe 
 of his family. But it is well known that the mini- 
 flers of Shetland let their livings to the higheft bid- 
 der, 
 
 * See Note K. 
 
 •j- In the Statiftical Account of Scotland, vol. xx. p. loS., we 
 are tolJ, that " no valuation has ever taken place in Shetland." 
 This muft be one grand bar to the gentlemen of Shetland efta- 
 blifhing the exercife of their undoubted right of voting for a re- 
 prefentative in Parliament. Thule, however, takes no notice of 
 this circumftance, but informs us, that •• it is well known, that 
 " they have loftponed their claims only to the necefTity of yield- 
 " ing to the predominant influence in Scotland, fupported by 
 " the late prejudices agaiull reform." (p. 23).
 
 134 APPENDIX. [no. 2. 
 
 der, (and at prefent they cannot well do otherwife) ; 
 the lelTee again naturally tries to make the moll he 
 can of his bargain : and it is equally well known 
 that the tenants, belides their rent, pay corn-teind, 
 in oil and in butter, to the lefTee of the ftipends. A 
 fair converfion would furely be preferable to fuch 
 a fyftem. 
 
 10. So confident is Thule of a triumph, that he next 
 puts a firing of quellions in the moft dogmatical 
 ftyle : When or where 1 found the people of Shet- 
 land in a fl;ate of vaflalage ? What is meant by un- 
 favourable circumrtances, of Danifh origin ? &c. 
 and he tauntingly calls upon me to unfay my affer- 
 tions in my own words. That 1 am ready to ad- 
 mit and to correft my miftakes, appears, 1 think, 
 pretty plainly from the Supplement which I had 
 voluntarily prepared : but I will never agree to be 
 dragooned into a palinode didated by an infuriated 
 Xetlander. 
 
 On the contrary, I repeat, that the great bulk of 
 the people of Shetland are at this moment in a ftate 
 of vaffalage, in the popular fenfe of the word. 
 What is meant by a ftate of vaffalage ? Dr Johnfon 
 defines vajjalage to be tenure at willy dependance^ 
 &c. Are not the great body of Shetlanders tenants 
 at will? are they not therefore neceffarily depen- 
 dant ? 
 
 Again, I would afi<:, Are not the payments called 
 fcatt and wattle, of Danifli origin ? are they not 
 paid by the tenants to Lord Dundas, as donatary of 
 the Crown ? do not his Lordfiiip's fadors general- 
 ly exadl them in oil and in butter ? and is all this 
 not unfavourable to a poor filhing farmer? — See 
 Statiftical Account of Scotland, vol. i. p. 399. 
 
 11. 77;?//<? denies that the tenants receive ** unlimited 
 credit." Yet the truth is, that the circumftance of 
 unlimited credit being allowed by the landlords to 
 
 their 
 
 i
 
 KO. 2.] ANSWERS XO STRICTURES. 135 
 
 their tenants, is exprefsly ftated in the paper given 
 in to the Houfe of Commons on behalf of the Shet- 
 land lairds in 17S5 ; where it is candidly confefled. 
 that " this unlimited credit has been attended with 
 '* the bad effec'ls, of increafing luxury, diflipation, 
 *' and immorality *." 
 
 12. He objeds to my propofalof the divifion of em- 
 ployments in Shetland, infifting that an extenlive 
 market for the produce mull firit be acquired. I ac- 
 knowledge that I proceeded on the fuppofition that 
 fuch a market did exift : and I have yet to learn for 
 what article of Shetland produce a market is likely 
 to be wanting. There is a market for its ling and 
 tufk, and for its herring ; for its beef, its hides and 
 calf-fkins, its oil, and its greafe-butter : for the cop- 
 per-ore found in its bowels, and the kelp manufac- 
 tured on its ihores. The landlords have themfelves 
 informed me, that, even in the belt feafons, the agri- 
 cultural produce of the country is utterly inade- 
 quate to the demand of its own population ; and 
 that, in indifferent feafons, the produce cannot meet 
 above four or five months confumption. They have 
 proclaimed aloud the large fums which they an- 
 nually 
 
 * yIdcIii.Note. — In Thule's pamphlet, this extrad is denounced 
 as a ''fa/fe quotation, " and it is alleged that the word " unlimit- 
 *' ed" is interpolated. It will perhaps fcarce be credited, that 
 fuch bold alFertions fhould be quite groundlefs, or Ihould be 
 founded only in fophiftry : but the fad is, that the paper given 
 into the Houfe of Commons exprefsly Hates, that " Umlimited 
 " credit has been allowed to the tenants and fifhers ;" that though 
 it has fucceeded in promoting population and the fiflieries, it has 
 not bettered the ftate of the people ; for, (it is added), " this 
 ** credit has been attended with the bad efFei5ts of increafmg 
 " luxury, diffipation, and even immorality." I fubmit to my 
 readers whether the expreflion *' this credit" can be underftood 
 as applying to any other credit than the " unlimited credit" im- 
 mediately previoufly mentioned ; and I leave them to form their 
 own conclufions as to Thuie^s catidour as a difputant.
 
 136* APPENMX. [no. 2. 
 
 nually difburfe in importing grain for the aliment of 
 their tenants : And yet I am now coolly told, that 
 a market would be wanting for any additional Shet- 
 land produce. Is Thule ferioully afraid that, under 
 a different courfe of management, Shetland would 
 become too produciive, and would overftock the 
 market ? 
 
 13. Villages. — Thule'' s chief objedlion to the efla- 
 blifhmentofvillages, is, that the inhabitants might feel 
 difficulty in procuring fuel. But the large iflands 
 are every where interfeded by z'oes^ or winding 
 gulfs and bays ; and villages fituated on the banks 
 of thefe, would, by means of boats, have an eafy 
 communication with an extent of peat-mofs, which 
 would not be exhaufted in ages. 
 
 14. Rents. — Thule explicitly admits that the Shet- 
 land landlords *' do not allow the tenants a price for 
 " their fifh equal to their full value :" and the reafon 
 affigned for this condudt is, tha' " the rents are excef- 
 " lively below the real value of the lands." But 
 this apology lofes much of its plauhbility, when we 
 learn, that, though the rents have not been nominal- 
 ly raifcd for a long period of time, they have in rea- 
 lity been raifed : for that, though the tenant pays 
 only the fame number of lifpounds, the lifpound, in- 
 ftead of being valued by the laird at 5 s. as former- 
 ly, is now valued at 16 s., that is, while the tenant 
 pays only the fame number of lifpounds as formerly, 
 the landlord now takes more than three times the 
 quantity of produce he formerly took. 
 
 15. Let us now hear the leading improvement pro- 
 pofed by Thule himfelf. " All the money-rents in 
 " Shetland (he fays) ought to be abolilhed, and 
 ** thefe made payable wholly in the mofl common 
 *' produdions of the country." One would think 
 it a conclufion clear as funfliine, that fuch a plan 
 
 would
 
 NO. 2.3 ANSWERS TO STRICTURES. 137 
 
 weuld completely fetter the tenant in the manage- 
 ment of his farm. By what ftandard, further, would 
 the value of the produdlions be afcertained ? for 
 even Thule would not, furely, propofe that the land- 
 lord fhould be the fole valuator, or that the tenant 
 fhould derive no advantage from ft* rife in the mar- 
 ket. — What fecurity would the tenant have that his 
 laird would give him a proportionably higher price 
 according to the goodnefs in quality of his pro- 
 duce ? and without this fpur, what motive would 
 the tenant have to improve, by care and fkill, the 
 various procefTes through which the articles of his 
 produce muft pafs before being ready for mar- 
 ket *." 
 
 16. The landlords, we are told, " are the exporters 
 ** of the produce of their own eftates.'* They are not, 
 it would appear however, compelled to be fo ; for 
 they complain bitterly of what they cd\\ yaggers, i. e. 
 pedlars, who furreptitioully pafs through the iflands, 
 and, by giving a much higher price than the lairds, 
 obtain the belt articles of produce from the little 
 farmer^ I It is evident that l.he{e yaggers mufl; find 
 their profit in this traffic ; and it is equally evident 
 that yaggers of n higher order, or travelling mer- 
 chants, would regularly vifit Shetland, and re- 
 lieve the lairds of the trouble of exporting the 
 produce of their own eflates, if thefe lairds did not 
 
 S llipulate 
 
 * Addit. — In his pamphlet, Thule confidently ftates, that 
 where rents are paid in kind, *' no valuation whatever is re- 
 " quired." But it appears felf-evident that, as payment in kind 
 muft occafionally be impracticable, any ftipulation for the an- 
 nual delivery into the landlord's ftorehoufe, of fpecific quanti- 
 ties of particular articles of produce, muft of neceffity be in fome 
 meafure conditional : A valuation or converfion is therefore re- 
 quifite : In Shetland, owing to the uncertainty of the fifhery in 
 fmall open boats, and the precarioufnefs of the harvcfts, it would 
 be indifpenfable.
 
 13S APPENDIX. [no. 2. 
 
 itfpulate with their tenants for the delivery, into 
 their own (lores, of their produce of every kind. 
 , To crown all, we are told that the " landlords' 
 '•^ profit on thefidiing is about 16 per cent.^'' Credat 
 Jadaus apella. 
 
 Thule has thought fit, as an appendix to his flric- 
 tures, to exhibit a firing of abfurdities, alleged to 
 have been publilhcd as difcoveries in political eco- 
 nomy, by thofe wliom he accounts his adverfaries. 
 Thofe that are afcribed to me, are one and all of 
 them unfounded (as 1 have Ihevvn in the courfe of 
 the preceding review) ; they are the inventions of 
 TJmWs own, prolific brain, to which he has feen fit 
 to foift in my initials. It is not my bufinefs to de- 
 fend Vindicator ; and Thule may plume himfelf on a 
 vi6lory in his abfence from the field. Mr Menzies, 
 the worthy clergyman of Lerwick, is indeed llight- 
 ly known to me ; but I never converfed with him 
 on thefe fubjects, and 1 am confident he can anfwer 
 for himfelf =^. 
 
 Tbule 
 
 * Note. — Vindicator and Mr Men/.ies werf alfo attacked in the 
 papers figned Thuh ; and i was ridiculoufly accufed of having 
 entered into a conlpiracy with them. I have not the pUafure 
 even to know Vindicator, and have only very lately feen his pub- 
 lication. 
 
 In the concluiion of his virulent and inconfirtent pamphlet, 
 Thulc fays, " Some of the pleafure-party, I underftand, claim 
 *' all the honour of having made the remarks, leaving to P. N, 
 *' only what is to be obtained from having his name put to 
 " them." Sir Alexander Seton was the only gentleman who 
 took notes, or to whom Thule could have reference ; and on 
 pointing out the above pafTage to him, he wrote me as follows : 
 " Pnjlon, Septemher ii. 1806. — The infmuation, as far as re- 
 gards me, mufl be abfolutely f;ilfe. Your views and mine 
 
 were direded to different objefls. Mine were particularly turn- 
 ed to the antiquities of the iflands ; now and then to rural eco- 
 nomy, and the charader of the people. Your attention was di- 
 reded to different objeds, with which I was lefs intimate, bo- 
 tany, natural hiftory, mineralogy, the fifhery, and fome few 
 ftriftui-es on economics, which laft may certainly have been a 
 
 fubjedt
 
 NO. 2.] ANSWERS TO STRICTURES. 139 
 
 Thule has faid, that, befides Vindicator and P. A^., 
 he has not feen " any publication that mentions 
 ** the mode of managing in Shetland, in terms of de- 
 ** cided difapprobation." But this feems to imply-* 
 only the limited extent of 'Thiile''s reading : For I 
 am well entitled to retort the converfe on TJmle, and 
 to fay, that befides TCbulCy and '■'■A Friend to 'Zetland,'''* 
 I have feen no publication that decidedly approves 
 of the Shetland management, though, of late, I 
 have endeavoured to acquaint myfelf with every 
 book that touches on the fubjedl. i know that Mr 
 White, in his prize eifay on the Scots Fifheries, 
 gives the Shetland landlords credit for producing 
 well-cured fifh ; but this praife he would equally 
 have bellowed, had they employed Negro-Haves, 
 inilead of fifhing farmers, in the catching and curing 
 of the fifli. 
 
 I beg the reader's particular attention to the con- 
 clulion of the letter addreffed by the Shetland land- 
 lords to the Highland Society in 1802. It is con- 
 cluded with an ardent apoftrophe to the fliades of 
 Campbell and Pennant : " O Campbell ! Pen- 
 " nant I friends of human kind I had your foft 
 " pencils depicted our country and us, how pleafing 
 " a contrafl: would have been produced I Where 
 ** you could not approve, you would mildly have 
 " marked our errors, and by the fuavity of your re- 
 *' buke, allured us from them. You would have 
 *' concluded, that even Shetland was the work of 
 •* God I" This letter was publicly avowed, (in 
 name of '* many more"), by " Thomas Bolt, John 
 Mouat, Gideon Gilford of Bnrta, Robert Robertfon 
 of GoiTaburgh, and Thomas Mouat of Garth," five 
 of the principal landholders in Shetland. It fo hap- 
 pens that Mr Pennant has given his opinion of Shet- 
 land 
 
 fubjeft of converfation between us during our excurfions. 
 That we lliould coincide in opinion is little wonderful, fince the 
 
 remarks were of themfelves fo obvious 1 fhall never forget thg 
 
 agreeable time that we p-afled together in Hialtland," &c.
 
 it 
 It 
 it 
 
 140 APPENDIX. [no. 2, 
 
 land and of Shetland lairds, of their coiuitry and of 
 them; and I Ihall lay it before the reader in Mr 
 Pennant's own words: ** In thefe diftant iflands the 
 hand of oppreffion reigns uncontrolled. The 
 poor vaflals, in defiance of laws flill kept in bon- 
 dage, are compelled to (lave, and hazard iheir 
 lives in the capture, to deliver their fifli to their 
 lords for a trifling fum, who fell them to adven- 
 turers from different parts at a high price." (Arc- 
 tic Zoology, 3d edition, vol. i. article Schetland). 
 [For Dr Campbell's opinion of the ftate of Shet- 
 land, fee No. ill. of this Appendix, art. 2,] 
 
 After experiencing the harfhnefs and feverity of 
 Thule's criticifms, 1 confefs that I am not difplea- 
 fed thus to catch this whole holl of Shetland land- 
 lords in the toil. They are evidently reduced to 
 this dilemma : They mull either admit that Mr 
 Pennant, whofe candour and gentlenefs they have fo 
 highly extolled, is lefs candid and more harfh than 
 P. N. whom their champion has fo violently tradu- 
 ced : or, they mud admit, that they united their 
 pens in apoilrophizing an author whom they never 
 read : By the former alternative, I involve them in 
 matchlefs inconfiftency ; by the latter, I convidt them 
 of ignorance or folly *. 
 
 The 
 
 * Jddlt. — It is ttated by Thule, in his pamphlet, that the 
 above paragraph is not to be found in the J\th edition of the Arftic 
 Zoology. I have only feen the firft three editions, and in all of 
 them the paragraph appears. Poffibly, if Fhule examine more 
 carefully, he may find the paffage ; for it is not likely, if Mr Pen- 
 nant became fenfible of the ccnfure being unfounded, that he 
 v/ould have refted fiitisfied with merely dropping it from his 
 book, leavinj^ it quite uncontradidted ; — the candour for which 
 Thule's friends have juttly celebrated, him, would furely have 
 led him exprefsly to obviate and coniradid it. — It is farther 
 ftated by Thule, with a kind of triumph, that " Mr Pennjint 
 "never was in Shetland." But the Rev. Mr Low was in Shet- 
 land, and well acquainted with it ; and from his Notes on 
 Shetland, preferved in Gough's edition of Britannia, it pretty 
 plainly appears th;it Mr Pennant, in this inftance, refled his 
 cenfure chiefly on Mr Low's authority.
 
 NO. 2.] ANSWERS TO STRICTURES. 141 
 
 The feverity of Thule's animadverfions has not, I 
 truft, made me appear to lofe temper, though it may 
 juftify fome little warmth of reply. I affiire this 
 champion of the Shetland landholders, that my re- 
 marks had no objedt in view but the unimpeachable 
 one of improving the fituation of the natives. Con- 
 fcious of upright intentions, I fhall never be influ- 
 enced by his unmeaning invedtive, timidly to aban- 
 don my ftatements or opinions ; and I would remind 
 him, that to declaim and to vilify, is a different thing 
 from difproving or refuting. 
 
 Edinburgh, 1 
 "jtb Feb. i8o6.j 
 
 P.N. 
 
 NO. III. 
 
 E.vtracts respecting Shetland, from various woi^ks of 
 authority* 
 
 I. From Mr Giffard of Bulla's Account of Zetland, 
 [1733.] Cough's edit, of Camden's " Britannia," 
 1789, vol. iii. p. 741. 
 
 " The landlords generally take the wrong way 
 for encouraging the tenants to improve the lands ; 
 for it is the common pradice with many of them, if 
 they fee the tenant thrivingy and by his induftry 
 becoming richer than his neighbour, he muft be 
 warned to remove, unlefs he will pay more rent 
 
 yearly. 
 
 * Having, in the courfe of the preceding pages, made feveral 
 references to works not in very general circulation, or which 
 might not, a priori, be expecH-ed to touch on Shetland, I have judg- 
 ed that it might prove fatisfadory to the reader to lee the particu- 
 lar pafTages referred to. They will convince him that I an^i 
 not altogether fingular in my unfavourable opinion of Shetland 
 management, and will probably incline him to believe that 
 «here muft. be fome foundation for that unfavourable opinion.
 
 142 APPENDIX. NO. 3.] 
 
 yearly, or a large entry for a fhort tack ; and vifhen 
 that tack is out, he is again where he was, and mud 
 pay a new entry, or remove. This makes many 
 tenants carelefs, nay even averfe to remove ; where- 
 as, were thofe tenants that are frugal and induftri- 
 ous, encouraged by lon^ tacks^ and entitled to the 
 benefit of their own improvements during the im- 
 prover's life, without any augmentation of the rent, 
 the landlord, after the improver's death, might fet 
 that land to another for a greater rent than it for- 
 merly paid, and might give the next tenant the fame 
 encouragement to improve." 
 
 2. From Dr CampbeWi Political Survey of Great Bri- 
 tain^ 4to. vol. i. art. Shetland IJl and s. [1774.] 
 
 ** The Shetlanders might, with a little attention, 
 bring more of their country into cultivation ; bat 
 the people are fo much addicted to their fiihery, 
 and feel fo little neceflity of having recourfe to 
 this method for fubfiftence, that they are content, 
 how ftrange foever that may feem to us, to let four 
 parts in five of their land remain in aftate of nature. 
 This is not a greater misfortune to the commons of 
 Shetland, who work hard, and fare yet harder, than 
 to the community ; for if their lands were improv- 
 ed, and the people in general lived better, they 
 muft become thereby more ufeful to the public. 
 
 *' To facilitate their fifliery, magazines fliould 
 be ereded, to fupply them with all things requifite 
 for that employment, without refpecl of perfons, at 
 equal and at the loweft rates ; and means mull be 
 likewife found, to enable them gradually to procure 
 larger boats. 
 
 " The people of the Shetland Ifles are our fub- 
 jeds, and as well affeded as any fubjeds can be, 
 which aflfords them a juft claim to our protedlion 
 and alfifl:ance. That they have not either wealth 
 or rich commodities to attract notice, is alike their 
 misfortune and ours. But if, even in this ftate, 
 
 they
 
 NO. 3.] EXTRACTS, ON SHETLAND. " 143 
 
 they fliould be fo fortunate as to draw the at- 
 tention of Government, there is no room at all to 
 doubt they would, in a very fliort fpace, emerge 
 from this unhappy /ituation, to the common benefit 
 of themfelves and the mother country.'* 
 
 3. From Penna?it^s IntrodiiSlion to the ArSlic Xoology, 
 4to. vol. i. p. 38. (Third edition, 1792.) 
 
 " Cod, ling and torfk: furnifli cargoes to other 
 adventurers. I wiih I could fpeak with the fame 
 fatisfaclion of this as of the free filliery of the her- 
 ring : but in thefe dirtant iflands the hand of op- 
 pre(Jion reigns uncontrolled. The poor vaflals (in 
 defiance of lavvsy?/// /(:<f/>^ /Vz bondage) are compelled 
 to Jlave, and hazard their lives in the capture, to 
 deliver their fifli to their lords for a trifling fum, 
 who fell them to adventurers from different parts 
 at a high price." 
 
 4. Fro7nK?iox''s View of the Britijh Empire, 8vo. vol. i. 
 p. 335. art. Shetland Fijhery. [1784.] (Referred 
 \ofupra, p. 81.) 
 
 " As the North Seas are boundlefs, the fifh inex- 
 hauftible, and the demands unlimited, a fifiiery 
 might be eftablifiied to the extent of fome thoufand 
 tons annually, not foiely by the natives, who are in a 
 flate offervitude, and in the utmojl indigence, but by 
 adventurers from the whole eaftern coail of Scot- 
 land, and the Orkneys." 
 
 5. From a Letter (dated nth Odober 1784) by a Mer- 
 chant Company at Greenock to Mr Knox, atid pub- 
 liJJjed by that gentleman. 
 
 " The ling, tufk and cod fifhery on the coafts of 
 Shetland and the Hebrides, appears to us to labour 
 under the greateit hardQiips, and to be the molt ne- 
 
 glefted
 
 144 APPENDIX. [no. 3. 
 
 gledled by Government of any of the Scots fifheries. 
 There are annually caught on the coaft of Shetland, 
 from 800 to 1000 tons of thofe fifh, the greateft part 
 ling. They are taken by the inhabitants in fmall 
 boats, in a tempeftuous lea, at the hazard of their 
 lives ; and no fooner do they bring them on Ihore, 
 than the filh are taken from them by their landlords 
 or their fubftitutes-, at fuch a price as they choofe to 
 give. 
 
 " We are of opinion, that if the poor inhabitants 
 of Shetland were relieved from their prefentj^/t;?- 
 tude to their landlords, and allowed to cure and fell 
 their own fifh to the merchants, a much greater 
 number of fifli would be caught, the merchants fup- 
 plied at a cheaper rate, and the fifhermen properly 
 recompenfed for their induftry. At prefent they are 
 in ^Jlate ofjlauery to enrich their landlords. 
 
 ** It may be argued by interefted people, that the 
 fifhermen in Shetland are fo very poor that they can- 
 not purchafe fait and the other necefTaries for catch- 
 ing and curing filh. This argument we readily ad- 
 mit ; as, in their prefent ftate, they can hardly earn 
 a fcanty fubfiftence ; but were they allowed to dif- 
 pofe of their filh to the bed advantage, the intending 
 purchafers would fupply them with every neceflary, 
 to be paid for in fifh next feafon." 
 
 6. From Tranfaciions of the Highland Society, vol. i. 
 p. 275. — ** On the (late of the Fifheries of Zetland, 
 1786 : By a native." (Referred to,fupra, pp. 81. 
 and 113). 
 
 *' In order to increafe the number of fiftiermen in 
 thefe iflands, the arable lands have been divided into 
 very fmall pofleflions ; the occupiers of which are 
 bound to fell their fifh, to their refpedive landhold- 
 ers, at about 3 J". 6 d.per cwt. of frelh fifh. Thefe fifli 
 are afterwards cured at the expence of the landlords ; 
 <Uid by them fold to the different merchants who in- 
 cline
 
 NO. 3%} EXTRACTS, ON SHETLAND." 146 
 
 cline to export them, at about 17 j-. or 18 j. per cvvt% 
 exclufive of the debenture allowed by Government. 
 " At the clofe of the feafon, accounts are fet- 
 tled. From the tenant's fhare of the fummer's fiQi- 
 ing, his land-rent, and the articles furnifhed him, 
 are deduded ; and the balance, (if there be any), 
 is applied to the extinction of old debts, if any re- 
 main. If all be clear on that fcore, which feldom 
 happens, the balance is given in cafh. 
 
 " The landholders, finding their fmall incomes 
 infufficient to enable them to indulge their propen- 
 iity to fhow and hofpitality, at firft imagined that, 
 by raifing the land-rent upon the tenants, and exact- 
 ing more rigoroufly the fervices which their tenants 
 owed them, they might not only be extricated from 
 their difficulties, but enabled to profecute the line 
 of condud: they fo much relillied. This alfo prov- 
 ing fallacious, they at laft adopted a fyftem which, 
 inftead of anfwering the end propofed, has been the 
 mean of bringing upon their pofterity, and the coun- 
 try in general, all the miferies which have followed. 
 I allude to that molt unjuftifiable and moil deltruc- 
 tive of all trades, the fmuggling of foreign fl^irits. 
 
 " The landholders, in order to fupport that rank 
 to which they have been early accuflomed, are 
 obliged not only rigoroujly to exa6l their rents from 
 the tenants, but alio a great number oi petty JefSiceSy 
 introduced in the days ai tyranny 2Lnd. opprejjion, and 
 confirmed by long and inveterate cuftom *. — The 
 
 T tenants. 
 
 * According to the beft information I have been able to pro- 
 cure, the following are the principal public burdens, payments, 
 &c. to which Shetland tenants are fubje<5ted. They pay, i. Scatt, 
 or the old Danifi land tax, from 5 </. to iid. on each merk-land, 
 generally payable in butter and oil, to Lord Dundas. 2. Their 
 proportion of the Britijlo land-tax to King George. 3. Land- 
 mail's, — a payment which I do not find explained in books. 
 4. They pay IVitt/e, an ancient Popifh tax, to the donee of the 
 Crown. 5. Ox'tnoney and Sheep-money^ an arbitrary tax of 3 d. on 
 
 each
 
 ^M6 APPENDIX. . [no. 3. 
 
 tenants, groaning under a load of debt, which they 
 defpair of ever being able to extinguilh, and unable 
 to refift that paffion for gaiety which is fo prevalent, 
 chufe rather to foothe their cares and labours, by 
 yielding to that deftrudlive impulfe, than to apply 
 their dear-bought gain to the payment of debts 
 which they imagine their utmoft efforts can never 
 liquidate." — " In addition to this, the tenants hold 
 their polTcffions, not only without writing, but at 
 the pleajure of their landlords. It is not therefore 
 wonderful that they fhould bellow no great pains 
 upon the cultivation of the gound, when they can 
 hardly promife themfelves the poffeffion for a ifingle 
 year. In order to put a period to xh'is JlaiiJIj de- 
 pendance of the tenants upon their landlords, it will 
 be neceffary to enlarge their pofTeffions ; to allow 
 them long leafes ; and wholly to put an end to the 
 
 many 
 
 each reeh or chimney, impofed by the Earls of Orknqr Jn the 
 feyenteenth century, alfo paid to the donee. 6. Umloth-duty, or 
 Biftiop's rents. 7. Corn-ieind, or tithe, one-half to the' patron, 
 and the other half to the parifli-minifter. This corn-leind is paid 
 in greafe-butter and oil, at 32 lbs. to the 'nf pound,— \o the lofs of 
 the tenant, not of the landlord. Befides tliis, they pay, 8, Boat- 
 ieind, in fi{h ; 9. Sheep-teind, in wool and lambs ; and, 10. Cow- 
 teind, in table-butter. 11. 'I'hey mult give three days fervice to the 
 clergyman of the parifh. 12. Alfo three days fervice to their 
 mailers or lairds, or a day's fervice of one perfon for each acre. 
 
 13. A pair of poultry for every merk-land, to their landlords. 
 
 14. The fchool -penny , a trifling fiim on every merk-land. 15, A 
 haivk-hen to the King's falconer. 
 
 I cannot help remarking, that it fesms prepofterous to exaft 
 from the Shethmders both the Danip} and the BrU'ifj land-tax. 
 The payment of ivattle, I mud alfo obferve, ought to have ccafed 
 upon the abolition of the rite, (the diftribution of holy water), 
 for the performance of which, it is generally believed, it was ori- 
 ginally levied. The payment of ox-money and Jheep-money ought 
 to have fallen with the decline of the arbitrary barons who im- 
 pofed It. The hawk-hen is a payment not more abfurd than 
 nuattle, or than ox-money ; yet, as falconry is now fallen into utter 
 defuetude, this tax, 1 underftand, is likely foon to be entirely 
 abandoned. A very few years ago, however, it was regularly 
 let in leafe to the higheft bidder.
 
 NO. 3.] EXTRACTS, ON SHETLAND. 147 
 
 many petty fervices, atprefent exacted from them, 
 which are fo inimical to the intereft of both par- 
 ties." 
 
 7. From the Bath Society'' s Papers, vol. vi. p. 277. et 
 feq. •' On Shetland,'''' by J. Tompfon. [1792.] (Re- 
 ferred to, fupra, pp. 81. 113). 
 
 " The landholders of Shetland let their lands from 
 year to year, on condition of fome perfonal fervices, 
 and all their prodiidt at a fmall price in the option of 
 the buyers, who are often tackfmen, and rent the peo- 
 ple's fervices at about L. 500 for forty or fifty boats 
 with fix men each. The people are faid tobe indolent; 
 the reafon of which is, that the landholders, by a bar- 
 barous policy, and by a variety of means, contrive 
 to bring them into debt, to prevent their leaving the 
 country; and they delpairing of independence, be- 
 come hopeleis and indolent. Few of the people can 
 either write or number ; .for .the fame policy pre- 
 vents good fchools being kept. 
 
 *' The caufes of the decreafe of fiieep in Shetland 
 are many. — i. The landholders fubdivide their 
 lands fo often for the purpofe of getting a number of 
 filhers — (fix acres is a large farm) — that ftw te- 
 nants are rich enough to purchafe fiieep ; wherefore 
 the mafter gives them fome in fteelbow, that is, the 
 tenant keeps them, and the tenant has the half of 
 all the produd : but as he never claims the dead, the 
 tenants, urged by hunger and difpirited by oppref- 
 iion, often ^^w/^ Iheep dead by accidents unknown. 
 2. The mafter receives part of his rent, and the par- 
 fon his tithes, in lambs; and the people, to prevent 
 a true account, never gather them from the hills,' 
 nor tend them, but mark them, and let them run. 
 Some are ftolen. 3. As tenants feldom receive' 
 money from thefe mo7iopQlizing viajlers, they are 
 forced to fell their ftock privately, to purchafe ne- 
 ceflaries. 4. From a fliort-fightednefs peculiar to 
 this people, they feldom look beyond the enjoy- 
 ments of the day. — Caufe : As foon as afarmer is 
 
 thrivincr.
 
 148 APPENDIX. [no. 5, 
 
 thriving, he gets a warning to remove, and mufl buy 
 his peace by a fum of money proportioned to his 
 circumftances." 
 
 8. Fro7n Profejfor JamefoTi's Outline of the Mineralogy 
 of the Shetland IJlands, 8vo. p. 17. [1798]. 
 
 " The fifheries of this country have been often 
 the fubjed: of difcuffion ; but the (late of the lower 
 order has hardly touched the heart of the traveller. 
 It is foreign to my prefent purpofe, but worthy of 
 an abler pen, to fet in a proper point of view, the 
 wiferies and the deplorable flat e of our countrymen 
 in that quarter. 
 
 But Oh \ what crowds, in every land, 
 
 Are wretched and forlorn ; 
 Tliro' weary life, this lefTon learn. 
 
 That man was made to mourn. 
 
 Burns.** 
 
 9. From Sir John Sinclair"*! Statistical Account 
 0/ Scotland, 8vo. Edin. V. Y. * 
 
 (i.) From the Rev Mr Morifon^ s Account of Belting: 
 Vol. i. p. 385. etfeq. [1791]. 
 
 " Improvements by lime, or any other means, are 
 feldom attempted here ; for this obvious reafon, that 
 
 the 
 
 * The Minifters of the different parifhes of Shetland rauft 
 evidently pofTefs the very bed means of knowing the effeds of 
 the prefent Zetland fyftem on the bulk of the people ; they muft 
 be the moft impartial judges that can be referred to, and per- 
 haps alfo the perfons beft qualified to point out the mo(t rational 
 and practicable means of reform and improvement. I have, 
 therefore, made rather copious extrads from moft of the Sta- 
 tiftical Reports furnifhed by the clergy to Sir John Sinclair 
 fome years ago. The minifters of Shetland, it will be found, 
 almoft unanimoufly difapprove, in fome refpeds, of the fyftem of 
 management adopted by the landlords of that country. Moft 
 of them agree in the means of improvement recommended ; and 
 I am not without hopes, that the concentrating of information 
 
 on
 
 NO. 3.] EXTRACTS, ON SHETLAND. l4§ 
 
 the tenants have no leafes : they confider themfelves 
 as the tenants of a day, and have neither inclination 
 nor fpirit to attempt any effectual improvement of 
 the grounds they poffefs ; thinking, and with juft- 
 nefs, that another may reap the benefit of all the 
 endeavours they might ufe to meliorate their 
 farms. 
 
 " When the lands are let in leafe, or, as it is here 
 called, tack, the tackfman commonly pays rent and 
 half-rent, and, in many inftances, double the ufual 
 rents, for the profits of fifhing. 
 
 ** The general poverty of the inhabitants ; their 
 being obliged to be from home during the fifliing- 
 feafon ; the fmallnefs of their farms, and the precari- 
 ous tenure by which they hold them, all confpire to 
 keep them in ajlate of indigence. Every man, from 
 the age of 18 to 70, mujl attend the fifhing from the 
 ift June to the 14th Auguft. None are left at home 
 but a wife, with perhaps a number of young children, 
 who require all her attention. Every thing in the 
 farming line mufl confequently go to wreck. 
 
 *' The inhabitants have not been long compelled 
 by their landlords to profecute the ling fifliery ; but 
 fince the proprietors thought proper to employ their 
 tenants in that line, it has become an objed; to have 
 as many men as poflible on their grounds. This cir- 
 cumflance has induced them to fplit the farms, and 
 make them fo fmall, that there are now, in many in-, 
 fiances, four families on a farm which was pofTefTed 
 
 twenty or thirty years ago, by one *. 
 
 " No 
 
 on this topic, which has hitherto been fcattered through many 
 volumes, may eventually be ufeful. — It will amufe the reader 
 to learn, that in a pamphlet publifhed on behalf of the Shetland 
 lairds in 1805, it is alleged, that " ten out of twelve'^ of the mi- 
 nifters of Shetland approve of the prefent Zetland fyftem ! 
 
 * /Iddlt. — In a *' Letter by a Zetland Landholder to the 
 " Highland Society, 1802," a pamphlet which I have feen 
 fmce my remarks were firft printed, it is ftated, that the popu- 
 lation
 
 150 APPENDIX. [no. 3. 
 
 " No proper divijion of the wajle -lands or commons 
 has yet taken place, nor perhaps ever will. For this 
 reafon, the fheep and cattle of different proprietors 
 mull occafionally encroach on each other's proper- 
 ty : no herds attend to prevent thefe encroach- 
 ments. 
 
 " The people are rather expenfive and luxuri- 
 ous, for their circumilances. This may be afcribed 
 to many cauies ; one in particular is, that their land- 
 majlers give them unlimited credit. — Whatever they 
 want, or think they want, is furnifhed from the 
 booth or flore-houfe of the proprietors, or bought 
 from the fhops of Lerwick. When the day of ac- 
 count comes, it very often happens that the gainings 
 of the year cannot nearly pay for the expence." 
 
 (2.) From the Rev. Mr Dijhington^ s Account of Mid 
 and South Tell. Vol. ii. p. 572. [1792.] 
 
 " The rents, as paid by the tenants, give a very 
 inadequate view of the landlords' income. For al- 
 though it may be true that the lands are let by the 
 proprietor or tackfman below their real value, it is 
 
 invariably 
 
 lation of Zetland has increafed, in the laft 40 years, 4000 fouls ; 
 ind it is argued that this difproves the charge of oppreffion, as 
 oppreffion would have checked population. But the fubdivifion 
 of the farms, the breaking them down to mere Ihreds and 
 patches, as here defcribed by Mr Morifon, (and the fame faft 
 is teftified by all the other clergy of Shetland, in their ftatiftical 
 reports), fufficiently accounts for the increafe of population, and 
 is not inconfiftent with the charge of oppreffion. In the Zetland 
 Landholder's " Letter," it is Hated with the air of a conclufive 
 argument againft larger farms. That Shetland contains at pre- 
 fent 4000 families ; but that if the farms were as large as Mr 
 Copland's of Nofs Ifland, there would not be 90 families in the 
 country ! But it is to be prefumed that the author means 
 qo farmers' families ; for he cannot furely doubt that the farmers' 
 fervants would have families, as in the fouth ; neither can he 
 doubt that the profeffional f/hers would have families ; nor that 
 mani/faaiirers, net-workcrs, rope-makers, ihip and boat builders, 
 would all have families !
 
 NO. 3.] EXTRACTS, ON SHETLAND. 151 
 
 invariably on this condition^ That the tenant or fiftir- 
 ing-farmer fhall deliver to his land-mafter, or order, 
 every article that he can raife (fifh, oil, butter, &.C.) 
 at a certain fixed price ; by the fale of which, the 
 landlord more than doubles his rent» 
 
 " The people being poor, and not enjoying the 
 benefit of long leafes, until thefe obftacles be remo- 
 ved, it is not to be imagined that any remarkable ex- 
 ertions will take place among them, in cultivating 
 the ground." 
 
 (3.) From the Account of Unji, drawn up from the 
 communications of Thomas Mouat, Efq. of Garth, 
 and the Rev. James Barclay. Vol. v. p, 197. [1793}. 
 
 ** Before the fifliery became an objed of fuch ge- 
 neral attention, agriculture was in a more thriving 
 ftate. The farms have been fince fubdivided into 
 fmallcr portions, and the number of ploughs has de- 
 cree, fed. 
 
 " The rents remain, nominally^ nearly the fame 
 as they were 200 years ago. But thefe being paid 
 in fifli, in oil, in butter, the landlords continue to 
 receive thefe articles nearly at the ancient prices ; 
 but they fell them at advanced rates, proportionate 
 to the increafe of wealth, of induflry, of population, 
 and of luxury throughout Europe ; and thus in 
 reality enjoy an augmentation of income as well as 
 the proprietors of lands in other parts of the Britifli 
 dominions. 
 
 •' The butter, it is alfo to be obferved, is deliver- 
 ed to the landlord in certain cafes by the lifpound. 
 This weight confiited originally of only 12 Scotch 
 or Dutch lbs. By various arts^ however, and differ- 
 ent imperfedl agreements, it has been gradually rai- 
 fed to 30 lbs. The fame number of lifpounds Hill 
 continue to be claimed by the landlord for his 
 graffum-rent, and by the proprietor of the teinds 
 and Crown-rents, for what is payable to him in but- 
 ter,
 
 152 APPENDIX. [no. 3, 
 
 ter, notwithftanding fo great an augmentation in the 
 value of the lifpound. This circumftance has ope- 
 rated very confiderably to increafe the value of the 
 landholders. Complaints have, indeed, been made 
 of the injuftice with which the proprietors of the 
 teinds and Crown-rents have availed themfelves of 
 
 It." 
 
 (4.) From the Rev. Mr MilPs Account ofDunroJfnefs. 
 \iol. vii. pp. 397, 398. [1793]. 
 
 " The rents of this country are chiefly paid out 
 of the fea. The tenants have from their landlords, 
 3 d. allowed for their ling, i d. for a cod or tufk, and 
 ~d. for a fethe (coal-fifli) ; and thefe when failed 
 and dried, will, in the Hamburgh market, yield four 
 or five times as much, befides debentures from Go- 
 vernment. Add to this, double or triple the prime 
 colt for goods brought back and fold to the people, 
 viz. linen, tobacco, fpirits, hooks, lines, &.c. 
 
 ** A great improvement on the ftate of this coun- 
 try would be a better divifion of the fmall farms, 
 which are parcelled out in difcontiguous plots and 
 runrig, here termed rig and rendal ; even the moil 
 inconfiderable merk-lands lying fcattered in feveral 
 patches intermixed with patches poffefled by other 
 people." 
 
 (5.) From the Rev. Mr Barclay'' s Account of Aithfting 
 and Sanjiing. Vol. vii. p. 583. 593. [1793.] 
 
 *' Each tenant receives his poffeffion from the 
 landlord, on condition of putting out the lixth fhare 
 of a boat to the ling-fifhing, and delivering the wet 
 lifh to him or his tackfman at 3 x. 6 d. per quintal or 
 cwt., and his oil at 10 d. or i s. per cann : So that 
 the real rent of the pariili depends on the profits the 
 landlords make on the fifh and oil, and is only 
 known to themfelves. 
 
 " Formerly the landlords were little concerned 
 in the ling-fifhing. Many of the tenants then had 
 
 large
 
 KO. 3.] EXTRACTS, ON SHETLAND. 153 
 
 large flocks of fheep and cattle, and found their 
 profit in flaying at home to look after them, and 
 others went to Northmaven fifhing, for fees ; and if 
 they paid their rent to the landlord, nothing more 
 was aflsied. The landlords now profecute the fifli- 
 ing on their own account. 
 
 '• The tenants have no tacks, but fit from year 
 to year at the will of their landlords. By this 
 means they are difcouraged from improving their 
 farms ; becaufe, when they grow old, or unable to 
 go to fea, they may be turned out, and are very of- 
 ten overbid by flout young men !'* 
 
 (6.) Frojn the Rev. Mr Menzies'' Account of Brejfay 
 and Burray, Vol. x. p. 195. 197. [1794.] 
 
 *' The value of eftates in Shetland is not to be 
 eftimated from the rents payable to the landlords. 
 The fifliing, which their tenants are obliged to carry 
 on for them more than doubles it. Services are 
 alfo demanded, which are lometimes commuted for 
 money. 
 
 '* The fifliing is a great obftacle to improvements 
 in agriculture, the chief objed of the proprietors 
 being to have as many fifhermen upon their grounds 
 as poffible. The farms confequently are very 
 fmall. Few leafes are granted. Many fervices, the fad 
 marks of flavery, are demanded. They mujl fifh for 
 their mafters, who either give them a fee entirely 
 inadequate to their labour and their dangers, or take 
 their fifli at a lower price than others would give. 
 It is true, that, in years of fcarcity, they muft de- 
 pend upon their landlords for the means of fubfift- 
 ence, and are often deep in their debt. But why 
 not allow them to make the beft of their fituation ? 
 Why not let them have leafes upon reafonable 
 terms, and difpofe of their produce to thoie who 
 will give them the beft price ? Why not let them 
 fifli for themfelves ? Why fliould the laird have 
 any claim except for the flipulated rent ?" 
 
 U " To
 
 154 APPENDIX. [no. 3, 
 
 '• To better the circvimftances of the people, it 
 will be neceirary to give them larger farms, long 
 leafes, and liberty to difpcfe of their produce to the 
 bell advantage." 
 
 (7.) From the Rev. Dr Williain Juck's Account of 
 Nortbmaven.Vo].xu. p. 354. 362. and 367, [1794-] 
 
 " The tenant engages to fit out, at his own ex- 
 pence, a certain (hare of a boat to the ling-fifhing; 
 alfo to fell his fifh, at a certain ilipulated or under- 
 ttood price, to the landlord, and to make the firfl 
 offer of all his other produ.ls to him, preferable to 
 all others. 
 
 *• The fifhers complain that they are not permit- 
 ted to difpofe of their fifh and produce to the befl 
 advantage ; that the toil and peril of fifliing is im- 
 pofed upon them, without a profped: of profit. 
 The landlords fay that the tenant pays but half- 
 rent for his lands, and every neceflary for the fifli- 
 ing provided firfl by them. But not to enter far- 
 ther into the caufe, although the prefent practice 
 may have advantages equal to its difadvantages, yet 
 the appearance of a moiiopolj is a circumftance which 
 feldom fails to be conlidered as a grievance. A 
 friendly and benevolent behaviour towards their te- 
 nants, is a charaderiftic that will apply, in general, 
 to proprietors in this country ; but their granting 
 110 leafes, is much againfl improvements, and keeps 
 the tenants in conflant dependance. 
 
 ** Can it be doubted that the fituation of the 
 tenants mightbe much improved, by granting leafes, 
 by giving larger farms, by a full afTurance and con- 
 fidence that they were entirely free from all re- 
 firaints in their dealings with others when they paid 
 their landlord agreeable to contradl ? — Is it not 
 clear alfo, that the tenants pofTefllng large farms 
 and fheep-pafturcs, fliould be employed folely in 
 that way, and by no means engaged in the fifhing ?" 
 
 8. Frair^
 
 NO. 3.] EXTRACTS, ON SHETLAND, 155 
 
 (8.) From the Rev. Mr Gordon's Account of North 
 Tell and Fetlar. Vol. xiii. p. 285, 290. [1794.] 
 
 " We have no fine wool in this ifland ; but on 
 the other part of the ttiinifter's charge, there would 
 be (heep in great abundance, did not theft prevail 
 there, and in a great many places of the country^ to 
 fuch a degree that it beggars defcription I Neither 
 will this be wondered at, if it is taken into confi- 
 deration that there has not been one capital puiufh- 
 ment inflided in the lordlhip of Shetland (which 
 contains at leail 24,000 perfons) for a century by- 
 pafl, for any crime whatever. The punifhments 
 inflicted for the crime o^ theft in particular, are fo 
 extremely mild, that they rather excite to the com- 
 miffion of the crime than deter from it.-- 
 
 *' Our farms are divided into fuch fmall parcels, 
 that the people who cultivate thefe fmall fpots are 
 a good many of them poor, and with the greateft 
 difficulty live upon their fmall farms the half of the 
 year. 
 
 " The writer, after forty years fludy of the con- 
 flitution of this country, mull frankly own he can 
 fee no way of preventing the impending ruin of the 
 poor land in general, and of every honeft man in 
 particular, unlcfs the gentlemen of the country, 
 una voce^ enlarge the farms in the firft place, and 
 then let them to none but fuch as are of approved 
 morals. Next, that theyy put the laws of their 
 country in execution againft fome few of the many 
 culprits that have infefted this country for a num- 
 ber of years pall." 
 
 (9.) From the Account ofNeJling. By a per f on whorefi- 
 ded thefe in a public churadler^ in 1781. Vol. xvii. 
 p. 501. [1796]. 
 
 ** The agriculture in this minillry is in the fame 
 wretched ftate that it is in all the Shetland Iflands. 
 The people dired their fole attention to the fifliing, 
 and conlider the cultivation of the lands as only a 
 fecondary objed. 
 
 " One
 
 156 APPENDIX. [no. 3. 
 
 *' One obfervation applies to this minillry, as 
 well as to all the other parifhes in Shetland, name- 
 ly, that they never can be made of fuch importance 
 to the Britilh Empire as they might be, unlefs pro- 
 per manufadures are introduced among them ; — 
 leafes granted of a proper duration, and manufadur- 
 ing villages eftablifhed." 
 
 (10.) Tingwall, by the Reverend Mr Sands. [1797.] 
 Vol. xxi. p. 280, 281. 
 
 " The tenants carry on the ling-fifhery from fta- 
 tions, 10, 20, or 30 miles diftant from their own 
 houfes. Thus they are from home during the fum- 
 mer months ; and all that they can earn by it, is 
 but a poor compenfation for what their farms, their 
 flocks, and their families muft fuffer by their ab- 
 fence. 
 
 *• The want of inclofures in a country where 
 there are no herds, and where the herding a5l has 
 hardly been heard of, mud operate powerfully 
 againft all agricultural improvements." 
 
 (11.) From the Rev. Mr Ihomfon's Account of Walls 
 and Sand fiefs. Vol. xx. p. 108. 115. [1798.] 
 
 " The rent of the parifli cannot be eafily afcer-. 
 tained, becaufe the tenants ure obliged to fifh to 
 their landmafters, at a ftipulated low price, befides 
 paying a fmall rent for the land they polTefs. The 
 fifh ing- farmer, as he may be called, has his lands 
 for about 5 j. or 6 s. a merk ; but being obliged to 
 fifh to his landlord, and receiving from him a lower 
 price for his fifh and oil than he could othervvife 
 obtain, the proprietor thereby increafes his rent 
 confiderably. 
 
 " The farms are by far too fmall, many of them, 
 within thefe forty years, being fplit into triple the 
 number. This has proceeded from the impolitic 
 rage for profecuting the fiibing ; but it is accompa- 
 nied with hurtful confequenccs to the tenants, as 
 
 the
 
 NO. 3.] EXTRACTS, ON SHETLAND. 167 
 
 the fmallnefs of their farms keeps them in indigence. 
 It tends only to enrich the landmafter for the pre- 
 fent, as he takes the produds at a r/iucb lower price 
 than would be given by a neutral merchant. 
 
 " From the want of leaf es, and the tenants being 
 frequently obliged to have recourfe to his landmaf- 
 ter for fuplies in his exigencies, it renders himy^T- 
 vile and obfequious. That manly independent fpi- 
 rit, which characterizes a free-born Briton, and pre- 
 vails among the peafantry in the fouth, is here loft. 
 As the tenant has only a verbal tack, he promifing 
 to fifh for the landmafter, and to give him all his 
 products, and to remain upon the land during plea- 
 fure, this proves a bar to all improvements, as he 
 knows not if he will reap the benefit thereof longer 
 than one year." 
 
 NO. IV. 
 
 Obsei'vations, chiefly vimeralogkal, on the Shetland 
 Islands, made in the course of a Tour through 
 those Islands in 1803. By Dr T. S. Traill. (Com- 
 municated by the Author.) 
 
 The firft land we made after paftjng Fair Ille, was 
 the fouthern extremity of the Mainland of Shetland. 
 We approached firft to Fitful-Head ; a bold pro- 
 montory compofed of micaceous fchiftus. Pafs 
 through Cliff-Sound for feveral miles. The wef- 
 tern fide of this narrow channel is formed by a 
 chain of low iflands, feemingly compofed of mica- 
 ceous rocks. The eaftern fide is formed by a ridge 
 of hills, which in many places prefent craggy pre- 
 cipices of the fame material. The rocks along this 
 fide are all micaceous. Where Cliff- Sound termi- 
 nates in Scalloway Roads, 1 found a micaceous rock, 
 forming the fhore for a confiderable way, in which 
 there were no particles of quartz vifiblc : it was 
 formed of thin plates fomewhat bent or undula- 
 ted. This kind is reckoned, 1 believe, very rare ; 
 
 the
 
 158 APPENDIX. [no. 4* 
 
 the frefh fradure, if I was not deceived, had fome- 
 what of a lilky luftre, and the rock was uncom- 
 monly tough. 
 
 Part of Scalloway Roads, efpecially towards the 
 Aveft, is furrounded by micaceous rocks. From Mr 
 Scott's houfe, quite through the valley of Tingwall, 
 the general rock is limellone, in which are no vef- 
 tiges of any marine production, and which, from its 
 vicinity on each fide of the valley to micaceous 
 rocks, I fuppofe, h primary. Thefe limellone ftrata 
 were in moil places highly inclined. This valley is 
 the fined in Shetland, both for extent and cultiva- 
 tion. There are two lakes in the midft of it ; one 
 of which is faid to be fifty fathoms deep. Obferve 
 a rude pillar of a fingle block of granite erected 
 near one of thefe lakes. Probably it is a Scandina- 
 vian monument. Ploughs are more uicd in Ting- 
 wall-parifh than in any other part of thefe iflands. 
 All 1 faw had only one llilt like the Orkney plough. 
 The fpade is much ufed in Shetland inftead of the 
 plough. The harrows 1 faw here had iron teeth on 
 one fide, and wooden teeth on the other. 
 
 After traverfing half of this valley, afcend the 
 hills to the eaftward for Lerwick. Obferve frag- 
 ments of micaceous fchiftus and granite, as we af- 
 cended. Defcend tovv'ards Elfvoe, by a fi:eep road, 
 where micaceous rocks were prevalent. Obferve 
 near the road a vein of whinjlone traverfing thefe 
 rocks ; it was vifible but for a fiiort way ; it was 
 denfe, and dark-coloured. Afcend from Elfvoe a 
 Heril hill of micaceous fchifl:us ; pafs feveral ridges 
 ot mountains covered to a great depth by peat- 
 mofs, which concealed all that could intereft; a mi- 
 neralogift. On the top of a high hill, find great 
 numbers of rounded nodules of granite, quartz, and 
 micaceous rocks, which the rains have probably fe- 
 paratcd from a very coarfe fandflone breccia, of 
 which this hill is compofed. This breccia appears 
 at the furface, as we approach Lerwick, taking place 
 
 of
 
 NO. 4«] MINERALOGY OF SHETLAND. 159 
 
 of the primary rocks. The included nodules be- 
 come lefs in fize near to the town, where there is 
 no other (tone, an argillaceous fandftone excepted, 
 which is much ufed at Lerwick for building. The 
 hills around Lerwick are in moft places abfolutely 
 denuded of the peat-mofs which had formerly co- 
 vered them, but which is the common fuel ; fo that 
 well might the Stirlingfliire parfon exclaim, " I fee 
 nothing but the Ikeleton of a departed country,'* 
 when his eyes were diredled to thisfcene. 
 
 Return to Scalloway in a day or two. Weft of 
 IMr Scott's houfe, find the micaceous rocks to fuc- 
 ceed the limeftone ; veins of quartz often pervade 
 thefe micaceous rocks, and fometimes large veins of 
 red felfpar. The micaceous rocks are fucceeded, as 
 we go weftward, by granite, which forms the prin- 
 cipal rocks of the weftern part of the Mainland. 
 On the l^art-HiU, find in many places, where the 
 furface was broken, bog iron-ore, ariling from the de- 
 compofition of vegetables or of the rocks. 
 
 Sail by a coait partly micaceous, partly granitic, 
 to Selivoe, where the bay was filled with innume- 
 rable medufie. This name is a corruption of Sil- 
 voCy which Wgn'\^t% herring-bay '■> but no herrings are 
 now taken in it. Walk from Mr Barclay's manfe to 
 Bixetvoe, another deep bay that interfecls this part of 
 the ifland. The rocks here are of granite, gneifs, 
 and micaceous fchiftus. Thefe continue round the 
 headlands, in a few places mixed with limeftone, 
 as far as Selivoe. The fchiftus is fometimes form- 
 ed into millftones. It is curious, that the (tones of the 
 hand-miih, now common in Orkney, are of a fimilar 
 rock, which has been faid to have been brought 
 from Norway for this purpofe, in ancient times. 
 
 In crofting the micaceous hills from Sandvoe to 
 Sanfting Manfe, find, on the fummit of a hill, a 
 large white rock, called marble by the natives. It 
 is compofed of very large mafTes of pure white fel- 
 fpar and white quartz, with here and there a little 
 liiver-coloured mica. It may be conftdered as a 
 
 granite,
 
 160 APPENDIX. [no. 4, 
 
 granite, in which the conftituent parts are uncom- 
 monly large and diftind:. The whole feemed to me 
 to fill a vein in micaceous fchiftus ; but of this I 
 could not be certain, as the hill was thickly covered 
 by turf and fliort heath. — In my walks around Se- 
 livoe, find only primary rocks, chiefly granite and 
 micaceous fchiltus. 
 
 f- Sail for Foula. Pafs grand precipices of red gra- 
 nite. Near the only landing-place on this romantic 
 ifle, (the Thule of the ancients), the rocks are all 
 micaceous fchiftus. North of the landing-place 
 it is filled with garnets well formed, but none of 
 them large. This fchiftus is of a filver colour for 
 the moft part, but 1 found it quite black in feveral 
 places. I found alfo here dark-green hornblende 
 rock in confiderable maftes. The fhores on either 
 hand, as we recede from the landing-place, gra- 
 dT.ially become bold, and the micaceous rocks give 
 place 10 tremendous precipices of red granite. The 
 ifland contains three hills ; the higheft is about iioo 
 feet high; precipitous towards the north- weft, but flo- 
 ping towards the fouth-eaft. Two of thefe hills 
 feem, as if, in fome grand convulfion of nature, 
 they had been rent from top to bottom, and that 
 one-half had been buried in the waves. The clitt's 
 are very magnificent, and inhabited by innumerable 
 fea-fowl. Among the ftiort heath on the higheft hill, 
 find many nefts of the Jkim-gul/, among the largeft of 
 the gull tribe, and fo bold as to dart at us, and 
 even ftrike us with its wings, when near its neft. Its 
 colour is afli grey ; its body feems about the fize of 
 a fmall goole ; its bill is more hooked than the com- 
 mon gull, The JJiua does not inhabit any other 
 ifland of this group ; it is found at the Ferroe Ifles. 
 Obferve fwallovvs in the valleys, the only ones we 
 faw in Shetland. 'J'he natives fay, that their ponies 
 are the beft in Shetland. The people feem intelli- 
 gent and curious. They fee the paifon only once 
 a-year, when he flays with them fome weeks, ofli- 
 
 ciate$,
 
 NO. 4.] MINERALOGY OF SHETLAND. I6I 
 
 cates, baptizes children, and colledls his dues. Ob- 
 ferve many granite veins traverfing the fchiltus, 
 fome of them two feet thick ; all are very denfe in 
 their texture. 
 
 Sail for the Mainland. Pafs Papa Stour. The 
 north-wefl coaft of this ifland is of a red colour, 
 but I was not near enough to afcertain the rock. 
 It is hollowed out into grand caverns, through 
 which the waves rufti with inconceivable fury, 
 forming a fublime fpedlacle. Anchor in HilUwick- 
 voe. Sail for Papa Stour in the long boat, but 
 are forced into Vementry. Land on a beach com- 
 pofed of rounded nodules of granite, hornblende, 
 and hornftone porphyry. Towards the fouth end 
 of .the ifland, the rocks are red granite. The en^^ 
 next to the Ifle of Mickle Rhoe is partly micaceous 
 fchiftus, hornllone-porphyry, and hornblende rock. 
 
 Pafs over to Mickle Rhoe, and obferve the horn- 
 ftone porphyry on the end next to Vementry. A 
 little way from the beach, find a cliff of compadt 
 felfpar. 
 
 The ifland rifcs towards the weft into vaft preci- 
 pices of red granite, much eroded by the fury of 
 the waves, forming ftupendous arches, that mock 
 the feeble efforts of human ingenuity. We obfer- 
 ved enormous maflTes, detached from the ifland, 
 forming gigantic ifolated columns of wonderful mag- 
 nificence. In a valley that croflTes near the middle 
 of the ifland, find in two or three places black horn- 
 blende rock, and hornftone-porphyry, the felfpar of 
 which prefents regular oval plates, in a dark grey 
 ground, rifing through the heath, which was often 
 mixed with uva urji*, ufed by the natives for tanning. 
 On either hand, the hills rife abruptly, and vaft pre- 
 cipices of red granite, entirely deftitute of even mofs 
 or heath, overhang the valley. In fome places, one 
 
 X granite 
 
 * Arbutus uva-urfi. Bear-berry bulh.
 
 162 APPENDIX. [no. 4. 
 
 granite rock was piled on another in horrible confa- 
 fion, producing, as far as the eye can reach, an inde- 
 fcribablyfterile appearance. Barren asthis iflandis, its 
 inhabitants are happy, compared to what they are in 
 fome other parts of Shetland. They are emanci- 
 pated by the proprietor, Mr Hunter of Lunna *, 
 from \\\^Jlaveryofj\fhingy — a fyftem fraught, as it is 
 
 carried 
 
 * Note hy P. N. — I am forry that the following extract from 
 a pamphlet, publilhed in deience 9f the Shetland landholders, 
 fliould feem to derogate from the praife, which Dr Traill fo 
 candidly beftows on this gentleman. 
 
 In an " Anfwer to Vindicator," bearing to be printed at 
 London in 1804, it is ftated (p. 45:0» " Mr Hunter has found 
 " it necelfary and convenient to permit his tenants to return to 
 " bondefge, as Vindicator is pleafed to denominate it, under a 
 *' tackfman ; and it is effcded tvithout a murmur ! — I have the beft 
 " evidence for averring, that when Mr Hunter firft propofed this 
 *' change to his tenants, out of more than 130 houfeholders, 
 *' only 8 accepted their freedom, and he was obliged to fummon all 
 *' the rejl to remove, before they could be brought to try it, even 
 *' for one year. He then offered leafes to all who would take 
 " them ; only eight or nine applied, and a greater number ab- 
 " folutely refufed to take any." — " Thefe circumftances," it is 
 added, " are alone fufficient to convince every unprejudiced 
 " perfon of the advantages of the old fyRem." It appears to 
 me quite otherwife ; and I would draw precifely the oppofite 
 conclufion. Thefe circumftances feem to afford ample evidence, 
 not only of the extreme indigence, but of the abjeft dependance 
 of the Shetland tenantry; of the " ftupid apathy," — the ex- 
 tinction of the Britiih fpirit of independence, — which has here 
 been effetSed by the old fyftem ; which muft therefore be a bad 
 one. * i\lr "Hunter, I muft remark, fecms to have proceeded in 
 his experiment with too great hafte, and thus not to have given 
 it a fair chance of fucceeding. I do not queftion the purity of 
 his motives ; but I think that it was rather raih, to fummon 
 one hundred and tiventy-livo poor tenants all at once to remove ! I 
 have been found fault with for endeavouring to fubvert the 
 eftabliflied order of matters in Shetland ; but the alterations 
 •which I fuggefted, I propofed ftiould be gradually accomplifh- 
 ed ; I even exprefsly protefted agaiuft precipitancy. My words 
 were, (p. 102.), " in moft cafes the tenants are fo poor, that, 
 " were the landlord, at once to withdraw his aid, and leave them 
 " to manage as they beft could, many of them would probably 
 
 *' perifa
 
 NO; 4'] MINERALOGY OF SHETLAND. \6 
 
 o 
 
 carried on in fome of thefe iilands, with the great- 
 eft iujuftice, moft flagrant and infamous opprcfiion, 
 which fcarcely lefs deferves the notice of the Legif- 
 lature, than forne branches of traffic, that lately oc- 
 cupied its attention. 1 fay this from a conviction of 
 its truth. It is not now general : There are feveral 
 proprietors in dift'erent diftricls, who have emanci- 
 pated their tenants ; but ftill it is in fome places 
 carried on, and prevents my giving unqualified praife 
 to a people, among whom 1 met with the greateft 
 hofpitality and kindnefs. 
 
 The valley terminates in lofty cliffs of red granite. 
 The boat waited for us at a fmall beach, covered 
 "with granitic fand, over which two vaft granitic 
 rocks impend, which formed a grand, but rugged 
 vifta of naked rock, as we put offlliore. 
 
 Arrive again at Hillfwick-voe. Walk to Hillf- 
 wicknefs, a promontory chiefly compofcd of filvery- 
 coloured micaceous Ichiftus, containing immenfe 
 quantities of garnets, of a very large fize : thofe that 
 were in the upper layers were much decompofed ; 
 but below fome of them were complete, and finely 
 
 crvftallized. 
 
 •* perifh for want." Again, (p. 103.) " Even if the fize of 
 " farms were enlarged, and leafes of 19 years duration granted, 
 ** unlefs manufadures were here and there, at the fame time, 
 *' eftablilhcd, it is not improbable that many of the prefent cot- 
 " tars would either ftarve, or be compelled to indetii themfelves 
 " to America." If, with thefe moderate fentiments, I incur the 
 charge of being a " bawler about oppreffion," &c. ; with what lan- 
 guage of reprobation ought not Thule, if confiftent, to declaim 
 againft his friend Mr Hnnisr, who, ai once, fubverted the eftablifh- 
 ed order of a whole diftrid, and by his Jiai turned 122 tenants 
 adrift ! 
 
 The tenants of Lunna, it is ftated, fubmitted to be replaced 
 under a tackfman " without a murmur." ("his was about 1B05, 
 or 1804. If I knew the author, I would alk him, whether they 
 fubmitted with equal tamenefs, to the arbitrary increafe of the 
 " whale-fifhing exaiftion" from i guinea to 3 guineas, — which, 
 as already obferved, was effeded (probably without Mr Hunter's 
 knowledge) by the tackfman of this diftrift in 1805, but, accord- 
 ing to my information, tiot widaout murmuring !
 
 1^4 APPENDIX. [no. 4. 
 
 cryftallized. On the weft fide, this bold headland 
 is perfedly precipitous; but on the eaft fide, in one 
 place, it flopes towards the fliore. At this flope, ob- 
 ferve a vein of a light-green ftone, (probably fchif- 
 tofe talc), traverfing gneiis. This vein contains moft 
 beautiful fpecimens of common adynolite, fome pie- 
 ces in fibres, others in pretty diftind fix-fidcd prifms ; 
 in fome cafes approaching in luftre to glafly adiy- 
 nolite. The adtynolite is imbedded in talc, and was 
 found mixed with fteatite. The ferpentine is cal- 
 led kleher by the natives, who ufe it as an excellent 
 fubilitute for metallic oxides in ointments. They 
 apply this ointment to burns with fuccefs. Near 
 this place, find black hornblende rock of great hard- 
 nefs ; fienite, in one place, containing a large mafs 
 of filky-white felfpar. A reddilli-coloured hornftone 
 porphyry, in rounded maffes, was fcattereJ on the 
 Ihore. Obferve great veins of granite in fome pla- 
 ces, traverfing the micaceous rocks. As we approach 
 the jundlion of this promontory with the Mainland, 
 gneifs is found fucceeding the micaceous fchiftus. 
 Some grand pillars arc detached by the fury of the 
 Atlantic from the fides of this nefs ; the height of 
 thefe is equal to that of the adjacent clifis, which 
 impend fo over their bafes, as to imprefs the fpecla- 
 tor with fublime emotions, not unaccompanied by 
 fear. 
 
 Set out for Rona's hill, the higheil point of Shet- 
 land. Walk over a granite country to Rona's-voe; 
 crofs this long and narrow voe, and land at the foot 
 of precipices of red granite, in which the hill ter- 
 minates" towards the fouth and wefl:. The hill is at 
 firft heathy, but tovvards the top it becomes naked 
 rock. Its top is a long ridge, covered v^^ith frag- 
 ments of decompofed granite. I attempted to mea- 
 fure its altitude by a portable barometer, i obfer- 
 ved the barometer accurately when at the fea fide, 
 both before and after my afcent, and found it ilood 
 exactly at the fame height at each time, from which 
 
 1
 
 NO. 4.] MINERALOGY OF SHETLAND. l65 
 
 I concluded that no material alteration in the pref- 
 fure of the atmolphere had taken place during my 
 (lay on the mountain. The barometer fell when 
 on the fummit 15 tenths of an inch, but 1 had no 
 thermometer, which is necelTary to perfedt accuracy*. 
 From Rona's hill, fee to a vaft diftance around, — all 
 the Mainland, near feventy miles long, Foula, Fetlar, 
 Yell, Unit, &c. 
 
 Sail clofe to the promontory of Hillfwicknefs, and 
 obferve a great many reddilh veins, traverfing the 
 micaceous rocks which compofe thefe awful cliffs. 
 Some of them were apparently feveral yards in dia- 
 meter. 
 
 Pafs at fome didance a ftupendous, infulated, and 
 inacceflible rock, called the Drones. It appears 
 fomewhat like a vaft fhip under fail. It is of a red 
 colour, like fome granite cliffs at a confiderable di- 
 ftance on the Mainland, the neareft rocks on fhore 
 being micaceous. 
 
 Pafs Ille o{ Doreholm, another infulated rock, per- 
 forated by a magnificent natural arch, through which 
 the diftant fhores of the Mainland were vilible. 
 The colour of this is fimilar to that of the Drongs. 
 Both are probably either granite or wacken, limilar to 
 what ProfelTor Jamefon defcribes as found in Papa 
 Stour. A failor who had been the day before on the 
 Ihores of the Mainland neareft Doreholm, brought 
 me fragments of both granite and wacken, of a brick- 
 red colour. 
 
 Obferve that the parifti of Northmaven (which 
 was not vifited by ProfefTor Jamefon), is bounded 
 towards the weft by tremendous precipices of gra- 
 nite, ftmilar to what compofe Rona's hills, prefenting 
 a ftrong barrier againft the encroachments of the 
 Atlantic Ocean. 
 
 Pafs OJjaJkerrieSy lofty infulated rocks, apparent- 
 ly of reddifti granite. Pafs in a fog the iile of Yell. 
 
 Double 
 
 * Suppofing the temperature 50", the height here indicated 
 was about 1400 feet.
 
 I(i6 APPENDIX. [no. 4. 
 
 Double Ska, the moft northern point of his Majefty's 
 European dominions. It is a fmall illand, coinpoled 
 of gneifs, which forms fliores of confiderable bold- 
 nefs, and is only at a little diilance from the ifle of 
 Unft. Anchor in Balta Soimd, Unji. 
 
 The fhores around this tine bafon are entirely com- 
 pofed of ferpentine rock, and the beach is covered 
 with fragments of the fame. The neighbouring 
 hills, fome of which are of confiderable height, are 
 alfo ferpentine, and in many places are totally di- 
 veiled of vegetation, (even of lichens), prefenting to 
 the j^vvearied eye a naked wafte, of an iron-brown 
 colour. The fhores, from Balta Sound to Norwick 
 Bay, rife gradually into vaft cliffs, all of ferpentine, 
 in which are frequently found veins of talc, la- , 
 mellar adynolite, and common acTiynollte. Obfer- 
 ved imbedded, in one place, a fubftance very like 
 Labrador hornblende^ but was not able to force out 
 a fingle good fpecimen, on account of the hardnefs 
 of the ferpentine matrix. In the bottom of the bay 
 of Norwick, the fhores are low, and a curious ftri- 
 ated micaceous fchiftus prefents itfelf. The itria^ 
 are in parallel flraight fibres, of a grey colour, with 
 but little luitre, intermixed with fmall particles of 
 quartz. Near the jundion of the ferpentine and 
 fchiftus, clofe by the fea, in a ferpentine rock, find 
 fine fpecimens of talc in a vein. This vein alfo con- 
 tained tremolite in quartx. The ferpentine hitherto 
 mentioned has an iron-brown colour, from expofure 
 to the air ; but the colour of a frelh fradure is ge- 
 nerally of a dark-greenifii grey. The ftriated mi- 
 caceous fchiftus begins in the bottom of the bay, 
 and forms part of the weftern fide of it, rifing into 
 lofty cliff's, when it is fucceeded by a rock contain- 
 ing large mafles of whitifli felfpar, often cryftallized 
 in rude rhomboidal figures. This compound rock 
 is by Mr Jamefon called gneifs. This rock confti- 
 tutes the coaft as far as Biirra Frith, a bay very bold 
 and broken on the eaft fide, where there is a hollow 
 
 called
 
 ^O. 4,] xMINERALOGY OF SHETLAND. 16/ 
 
 called Saxe's Kettle. It is formed by an enormous 
 mafs, that feems as if feparated from the Mainland, 
 and afterwards joined at its extremities by the falling 
 in of lefs maffes. In bad weather the waves are dri- 
 ven with violence through a fmall opening towards 
 the bottom, and fill the whole yawning chafm with 
 foam. 
 
 The hills that lie between Norwick Bay and 
 Burra Frith are compofed to the top of the ftriated 
 micaceous fchiftus above mentioned ', and, though 
 the highell on the illand, are covered with coarfe 
 grafs and moiTes, while the ferpentine ones, though 
 inferior in height, are, for the moft part, deftitute of 
 vegetation. Does not this imply the hoftile nature 
 of magnefian earth to plants in general? 
 
 At the bottom of Burra Frith, the fame kind of 
 undulated micaceous fchiitus, before feen near Scal- 
 loway, again prefented itfelf. From Burra Frith, 
 the coaft wed wards is compofed of gneifs and mi- 
 caceous fchillius. At Hermanefs, the latter rock 
 abounds, and often contains finely cryftailized gar- 
 nets of a large fize. Saw one at a gentleman's houfe 
 found there, which was nearly i\ inch in circum- 
 ference, beautifully cryftailized, and of a pretty good 
 colour. At Hermanefs are faid to be grand caverns, 
 into which the tide flows, and which contain fine 
 natural pillars. Thefe pillars are conjedured by 
 Mr Jamefon to be of gneifs. The heavy furf pre- 
 vented me from exploring thefe caverns. Towards 
 the fouth, the ifle of Unil is lefs bold on its fhores, 
 and the rocks above defcribed are fucceeded by ar- 
 gillaceous fchiftus and fandftone. In crofling the 
 ifland to Mrs B.'s, find in the declivities plenty of 
 bog uon-ore, and in one or two places both earthy 
 and fchiftofe chlorite. 
 
 The little ifland of Balta, forming one fide of 
 Balta Sound, is compofed of ferpentine of various 
 ftiades of colour. 
 
 Sail for Lerwick : Pafs the bold coafls^of Yell and 
 
 Fetlar.
 
 16S APPENDIX. [no. 4. 
 
 Fellar, and fail between Out Skerries and Whalfey ; 
 (for an account of thefe fee Profeffor Jamefon's Out- 
 line). Sail clofe under tlie ftupendous Nofs Head, a 
 grand promontory on the eaft coail of Nofs Ifle, com- 
 pofed of fandftone of different hues, hollowed out be- 
 low into innumerable caverns, the retreat of myriads 
 of fea-fowl, whofe various pipes found harfli dif- 
 cord when heard alone, but when united, form a 
 foleiiin concert, a tribute of gratitude for that por- 
 tion of happinefs they enjoy. The ifland of Nofs 
 -and its holm are compofed of fandftone. Over a 
 chafm between the illand and the holm a ftrong rope 
 is ftr-itched, on which a bafket is flung, in which 
 the natives pafs over to plunder the nefts of the fea 
 fowl that inhabit the holm, and to carry over a few 
 iheep. There is an incorredl engraving of this place, 
 and the method of paffing in the bafket, publifhed 
 in Pennant's Ardic Zoology, (and from that copied 
 into the Encyclopaedia Britannica), from a rude 
 Iketch taken by the late Mr Lowe, an Orkney par- 
 fon. 
 
 Anchor in Lerwick Roads : Pafs over to Braffa, 
 an ifland compofed of fandftone, and of a coarfe 
 breccia with a fandftone bafe, like that already no- 
 ticed in the neighbourhood of Lerwick. The eaftcm 
 Ihores of this ifland, where they are expofed to the 
 ocean, are lofty precipices like Nofs Head, but the 
 fouthern Ihores flope gradually to the water's edge. 
 In BrafTa and Nofs, the ft rata are not very much in- 
 clined. 
 
 Walk along the ftiore weft from Lerwick towards 
 Scot's-hall. The breccia and fandftone continue 
 beyond the north- weft entrance into Brafla Sound, 
 The nodules imbedded in the former are larger than 
 in that found near Lerwick. As we go more wefterly, 
 the primary rocks again make their appearance. 
 Leave the ftiore, and crofs fome hills, on which we 
 obferved micaceous fchiftus, gneifs, and hornblende 
 rock, Defcend into the northern end of the vale of 
 
 Ting wall.
 
 NO. 4.] MINERALOGY OF SHETLAND. I69 
 
 Tingvvall, where we again find limeftone. Return 
 to Lerwick by the manfe of Tingvvall, and pick up 
 in feveral places fragments of Itriated micaceous 
 Ichiftus, but not fo remarkable as that found in 
 Unft. 
 
 Set out in the long-boat to coaft the eaftern fand- 
 ftone fliores of the M-iiniand. The coaft from Ler- 
 wick for fome miles feems to be of fandftone or 
 breccia, and is perforated in many places by caves 
 formed by the fea, and into fome of thefe we rowed 
 for feveral hundred feet. Soon after, we land, and find 
 a compaci limeftone, intesfperfed with veins, or red- 
 diib calcareous fpar, to fucceed the fandftone. As 
 we advanced, the hills on our right became higher, 
 and were compoied of micaceous fchiltus, efpecally 
 at Coningft)urgh. brom this point they gradually 
 fell in height, and fandftone of a dirty brown colour 
 fucceeded. 
 
 At Sandlodge, in 1803, (when I was there), a 
 copper-mine was wrought, which has, 1 underftand, 
 been lince given up, but which, I have been told, 
 it is in contemplation foon again to open. There 
 was then a fmall but well conftructed fteam-en^ine 
 on it. The principal fhaft was funk within a few fa- 
 thoms of the fea. The miners had penetrated to the 
 depth of about twenty-two fathoms, and were but- 
 little incommoded with water. The upper rock- 
 was fandftone ; and below it, at twenty-two fa- 
 thoms, lay a petrofiliceous, or perhaps quartzy 
 rock, traverfed by many veins of brown quartz. 
 This was the greateft depth to which they had then 
 penetrated ; and 1 believe that the hardnefs and 
 unpromifing nature of this rock, was the caufe of 
 their fo quickly giving up. At that time, there 
 were but two Gornifa miners, beiidcs a Cornifti 
 Captain of the Mi?ies, engaged, and thefe were 
 chiefly occupied in giving diredions to the na- 
 tives employed to work in the mine. The want 
 of men fufficiently fkilled in mining, was certainly 
 one caufe of their failure. The principal manager 
 was a partner, who had chiefly directed his atten- 
 
 Y tion
 
 170 .r.viA APPENDIX. [no. 4. 
 
 tion to the corn-trade, as I was informed, and who 
 •^vvas totally ignorant of the art of mining. The 
 principal lode or vein lies between the fandftone and 
 the petrotiliceous rock, in a direction from N. Ei 
 to S. W. The copper-ore is chiefly green carbo- 
 nate, and the fulphuret j it is imbedded in an iron- 
 ore, which is Ibmetimes pulverulent, and was called 
 by the Cornilh miners gozzan. The iron-ore is by 
 mtich the moll abundant. When Mr Jamefon vi- 
 iited this place, the copper-mine was not opened* 
 and he only mentions iron-ores as the producft of 
 the mine, which many years ago had been wrought 
 by an Englilh iron company, but afterwards aban- 
 doned. It was fabfcquent to Mr Jamefon's vilit 
 Yh'dt the copper-ore was much noticed. The iron- 
 ores here found, are, i. Dark- brown, fibrous, and 
 nTami-llated haematites; 2. Columnar bog-iron-ore; 
 3. Micaceous iron-ore ; 4. Iron-ochre of a brown 
 colour; 5. Stala6:itic iron-ore, colour dark-brown; 
 6. Earthy matter, much charged with iron, feem- 
 ingly arifing from the debris of other ores. The 
 copper-ores are, i. Friable and amorphous car- 
 bonate of copper, colour rich green ; 2, Beautiful 
 carbonate of an emerald green, cryftallized in ca- 
 pillary fibres of a filky lultre, diverging in radii 
 from a centre. This fpecies is found imbedded in 
 iron-ore ; 3. Sulphuret of copper, dilTeminated 
 through felfpar in fome places, and, in others, in 
 great maffes in iron-ore. The rich carbonates were 
 found near the bottom of the mine. The levels 
 and fliafts of the old company, feem to have pafTed 
 within three or four feet of this rich vein, but ne- 
 ver to have touched it. I walked through the gal- 
 leries fcooped out in former attempts for about 
 forty fathoms, but law only little appearance of 
 copper-ores, while there was iron in abundance all 
 around. The roads near the mine were all paved 
 with line iron haematites, which the Cornilh miners 
 who were there did not feem to regard as of any 
 value, nor indeed almolt to know. Some of them 
 
 imagined
 
 no; 4.J MINERALOGY OF SHETLAND. 171 
 
 imagined it was a new kind of copper-ore. Somp 
 pieces of bog iron-ore I had collected, were called 
 copper -fpume by one of them ; hence, it is evident, 
 we cannot truft much to the mineralogical opinions 
 of the generality of miners. From the faline tdfte of 
 the waters of the mine, and the cruft of copper it left 
 on ray knife, I propofed to the workmen to try to pro- 
 cure copper of cementation in the ufual way. This 
 company had already expended between L. 90CO ^rid 
 L. 10,000 on the Work, and had fliipped one or two 
 cargoes of ore ; for, when drefied and waflied, it was 
 carried to England to be fmelted. I was informed, that 
 the beft of it fold forL. ']Oper ton. The hills in the 
 vicinity afford both copper and iron pyrites in coh- 
 iiderable quantity. Near Coning [burgh cliffs, a vein 
 of- copper pyrites was wrought a few years ago, 
 which yielded Mr Jamefon 18 per cent, of copper ; 
 but it fo much decreafed in wid^ha&'they defcend^ 
 ed, that it was finally abandoned. The appearance 
 of the ores, was judged, by the Cornifh miners, to 
 improve as they defcended in the Sandlodge mine; 
 and, at their lowePi level, the quantity of fibrous 
 malachite, when I vifited the mine, was fuch as to 
 afford a moil beautiful Ipedacle by the light of our 
 candles. They have lince, however, I am told, un- 
 fortunately met with fuch obftacles, as to induce 
 them to give up the work. Still, it appears to me, 
 that it would be worthy the attention of fome mi- 
 ning company, who had capital and enterprize to 
 profecute the undertaking. i ^'" 
 
 Rocks of fandftone and breccia form the eaft 
 coaft from Sandlodge to Sumburgh. The mica- 
 ceous hills now crofs the Mainland, towards Fit- 
 ful-Head ; and from C)viendal Bay to Sumburgh 
 Head, the chief mineral produdion is fandflone. 
 At ^^endal Bay, a copper-mine was difcovered fe- 
 veral years ago, and was, in 1803, (lowly worked 
 by a very few miaers. In the trad from Sand- 
 lodge to Quendal Bay, there are many indications 
 ©f metallic ores, chiefly iron. 
 
 From
 
 172 .aiTA APPENDIX, r-r. [no. 4. 
 
 Frjm Levenwick Bay, fail along the fhores of the 
 Mainland to Sumburgh Head, the fouthern extre- 
 mity of thefe iflands. It is compofed of fandftone 
 cliffs, moderately high. Am informed, that a Hate 
 quarry has been lately opened, not far from the 
 top of this promontory.— Bid adieu to Shetland. 
 
 With regard to the general diftribution of the 
 rocks which compofe the Mainland, the weftern 
 fide of it is compofed of micaceous fchiftus and gra- 
 nite ; and is much more bold than the eaftern, which 
 confifts chiefly of fandftone, and fandftone breccia. 
 The parifh of Northmaven contains moft: granite ; 
 and, if 1 am not miftaken, Rona's Hill, the higheft 
 ground in Shetland, ftands in thisparifli. A fimilar 
 diftribution of the ftrata is, I believe, pretty general- 
 ly obferved in moft countries, but the caufe has not 
 been well explained. All the theories on the fub- 
 jed are lame and unfatisfadory. In the other Shet- 
 land ifles which I have examined, the weftern coafts 
 are generally the moft bold, and are compofed of 
 rocks more indifputably belonging to that clafs call- 
 ed prif?iitive, than thofe on their eaftern fhores. 
 The fame remark may be extended to the fifter 
 jlles of Orkney, and even to Great Britain. 
 
 Prefton's chart of the Shetland iflands, is the only 
 tolerable one we have ; but it is inaccurate in the 
 northern part, which, I have been told, he did not 
 live to furvey. The fouthern parts of Shetland were 
 laid down by himfelf, and are extremely accurate ; 
 but the northern parts were carelefsly added by 
 fome inferior hand at his death. 1 have even ften 
 a fmall ifland or rock that is always uncovered, 
 which is not in the chart at all. Mr Jamefon's 
 fmall map is pretty corredl. It would certainly 
 be worth the attention of Government to caufe a 
 nautical furvey of thefe iflands to be made, with 
 the fame minutenefs and accuracy that the Orkneys 
 are laid down in the admirable charts of Murdoch 
 
 Mackenzie,,
 
 NO. 4/] MINERALOGY OF SHETLAND. 173 
 
 Mackenzie. Pinkerton, in his Geography, feems to 
 have fuppofed, that the Orkney coails are as ill laid 
 down as thofe of Shetland. He fays, *' We have 
 *' better charts of the coafts of New Holland than of 
 •* the ifles of Orkney and Shetland." Strange, that 
 he fliouldbe unacquainted with Mackenzie'' s Charts^ 
 which every velTel that fails the North Sea invari- 
 ably carries! in^" 
 
 NO. V. 
 
 Letter from Sir Alexander Seton of Preston, 
 co7itaimng Observations on the state of the Shetland 
 ' Islands, and on the means of their improvement. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 In anfwer to yours of the loth Odober, I fliall 
 endeavour to colled; from my jottings the few Poli- 
 tical and Economical Obfervations 1 had occalion 
 to make, while I had the pleafure to be in Zetland 
 with you in the 1804. 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 Reprefentation in Parliament. The Iflands of 
 
 Zetland, viewed in a political light, are certainly 
 in the molt peculiar fituation of any part of the 
 Britilh Dominions ; they form a part of the fhire 
 or ftewartry of Orkney, but have no (liare in the 
 Reprefentation of Scotland, the Freeholders of Ork- 
 ney choofing the Members for both. The reafon 
 feems evidently to be, that the general valuation of 
 the landed property of Scotland (which originated 
 in Cromwell's time, and was adopted and confirmed 
 by Parliament in the beginning of Charles IPs reign, 
 by which ftandard the taxes are paid, and the free- 
 hold qualifications determined) had never extended 
 to thefe iflands \ the proprietors of which ilill conti- 
 nued
 
 .a>lAJT3!:AppENDIX/-«3[HIM f_^Q, ^. 
 
 miedthedivifionnnclvaluationof their land, as adopt- 
 ed and regulated by their-Norwegian anceftors. By 
 this mode, the iniield or arable land is divided into 
 mark-lands, and ihefe again into penny-lands : To 
 each mark-land, according to its extent, is annexed 
 a due proportion of pafture on the hills, beyond the 
 corn-field dikes, called y^rrt^c/, for which a feparate 
 rent is paid. The meafiire or extent of the mark- 
 land is ill defined ; yet it is faid that marks of land 
 bear a pretty accurate proportion to one another 
 within the tovvnfhip or room, though fome of thefe 
 mark lands confiil of unequal numbers of penny- 
 lands, from four, up to twelve pennies, and are rent- 
 ed according to their, number of penny-lands. 
 
 It being thus, v^r)^ difficult to form any criterion, 
 by which thefe mark-lands can be compared and 
 proportioned to the valued rent of the reft of the 
 kingdom, and thereby the freehold qualification of 
 Lf 400 difcovered, it feems to be a defed: which 
 can alone be remedied by the Legiilature. If re- 
 gard, indeed, were paid to the proportion of land- 
 tax paid by Orkney and Zetland, it might facilitate 
 the arrangement ; for, according to my information, 
 Orkney pays two-thirds and. Zetland one-third of 
 the eels impofed on the whole ftewartrv ; and the 
 v^hi^tiort of Orkney, including the bifliops' lands, 
 bein^" L. 5600, that of Zetland fliould on this 
 
 pritieiple be L. 28oC).' 
 
 ■;ifil ' )■ . •'■■ . ! ;i -i- 
 
 Vdal^tenure.-^Ou^mviWy landed property was 
 poITefTed in thefe iflands by udnl-hoJdin^, that is, it 
 pafled from man to man by fimple difpofition or 
 bill offaie, confirmed by the Judge-Ordinary, with- 
 out acknowledging any fuperior whatever, till 1664, 
 when Douglas of Spynie, Chamberlain of George, 
 Vifcount Grandifon, in right of the Crown, had the 
 addrefs to perfuade mod of the poor unfufpicious 
 iidallers to refign their lands, and take out charters 
 from the Crown ; and thus, inftead of their former 
 
 admirable
 
 NO. 5-^ OBSERVATIONS ON SHETLAND. 17 O 
 
 admirable and fimple tranfmifiion of property, 
 which at this day exifts in the North of Europe, 
 they fubjeited themfelves to that multiplicity of in- 
 tricate writings enjoined by feudal laws till then 
 unknown. Some inftanccs of the udal-tenure are 
 ilill to be found in the illands. 
 
 ECONOMICAL. 
 
 '"^'In travei-fing the dreary wilds of thefe iflarid^^ 
 where neither tree, bufli nor (hrub is to be feen, and 
 where the heath itfelf is ftunted, feldom exceeding 
 three or four inches in height, one's feelings are 
 naturally awaked to the fituatioh of the poor Inhabi- 
 tants, who Teem to be the molt primitive unmixed 
 people of the Britifli Ifles, having little intercourfe 
 with foreigners, in which clafs they even confidey 
 the Scots: their manners are little corrupted, but 
 they are depreffed by extreme poverty : they are 
 certainly in a greater degree in want of the conve- 
 niences of life, and often of its neceffaries, than any 
 of their fellow-fubjeds of Britain. They are very 
 civil and even polite ; and from that inquifitive dif- 
 pofition they feem all poflelTed of, one is led to be- 
 lieve that thev wilh to be better informed, and 
 that much might be made of them. Their country 
 is indeed poor, but it mult be a wretched one furely 
 which wiU admit of no melioration. Almofl all the 
 gentry have been educated in Scotland ; their 
 manners are fimilar to thofe in the north of Scot- 
 land ; and in hofpitality, they are not behind any of 
 their feilow-fubjects. 
 
 Draining. — That great obftacle to all improve- 
 ment, the wetnefs and fponginefs of the foil, here 
 occurs in the extreme : it prevails with few excep- 
 tions over the furface of the whole country, to which 
 the coating of peat-mofs and peat-earth with which 
 it is covered, even to the tops of the eminences and 
 hills, greatly contributes. On fuch a foil nothing can 
 
 be
 
 176 APPENDIX. [no. 5. 
 
 be produced, till itbe freed from fuperfluous moiflure. 
 Now, as declivities are not wanting everywhere, it is 
 far from being iinpradticable to drain many places, e- 
 fpecially floping hills, by open drains or ditches, in 
 ranges above one another, at fuch diftances as may be 
 found neceffary, always obferving that the water have 
 a fufficient fall or dcfcent ; thefe intervals may be 
 prefumed, then, capable of culture, either by the 
 plough or fpade, efpecially if a little lime could be 
 procured, of which there is a field, together with 
 excellent fliell-marl, in the valley which interfedts 
 the Mainland between Scalloway on the fouth, and 
 Laxfirth or Laxfiordvoe on the north. Thefe fubilan- 
 ces, when mixed with mofs earth, according to the 
 theory introduced by Lord Meadowbank, form a 
 rich and powerful com poll. I fhould not then 
 defpair of their producing crops 0^ potatoes, — to the 
 plantation of which root every exertion and encourage- 
 ment Jhould be employed : thefe and the fubfequent 
 crops would gratefully repay any extra-labour. 
 
 Many of the hills, however, it mud be owned, 
 from the great quantity of large furface-ftones and 
 outburiling rocks, are incapable of being meliorated 
 in this manner ; but there are alfo many of they^a^- 
 ols, whofe declivities are quite gentle and fmooth. 
 Such only can be the fubjedl of the propofed im- 
 provement. 
 
 Winter-fodder for Cattle. — The climate of Zet- 
 land is not more fevere than that of the north of 
 Scotland, where turnips now form a part of the ro- 
 tation, and (land the winter ; the Swedijh T^urnip or 
 Brafjica radice napiformey and the Cabbage leafed 
 turnip, or Brafjica caulorapa, are reckoned Hill more 
 hardy. By this propofed additional cultivated fur- 
 face taken in and fenced from the fcatol, the inha- 
 bitants might be enabled to fow part of their mark- 
 lands, or old worn out corn-fields, with turnip, and 
 even with grafs-feeds ; for in all the dry grounds of 
 the iflands, the red and white clover, and avena ela- 
 tior, are found indigenous, and thrive well. What a 
 
 bleffing
 
 NO. 5.] OBSERVATIONS ON SHETLAND. 177 
 
 bleffing, then, would it be, could a little iDinter-fod' 
 der be afforded to the horfes, cattle, and fheep, in- 
 ftead of turning them out to range the dreary hills, 
 where they very often die through want. 
 
 I view this fubjecl with pleafure, becaufe it yields 
 a hope that thefe iilands, inllead of being obliged to 
 their neighbours for fubfiftence, may, in a courfe of 
 years, be enabled, without aid, to fupport a greater 
 amount of population than at prefent they pofTefs. 
 But, alas I this cannot be expeded on the prefent 
 fyftem, nor from the prefent tenantry. They are 
 extremely poor, have no ftock, and nothing to rifk 
 in fpeculation ; befides, they have no time, being 
 employed in the fummer months at a diftance from 
 home in the ling-fifhery, at the very feafon when 
 works of the field ftiould be attended to, and which 
 are thereby transferred to the women, children, and 
 the infirm, who proceed as they have done for ages, 
 in the faulty routine left them by their Norfe an- 
 ceftors. It is from the efforts of the Proprietors any 
 change muft be expeded, many of whom are pa- 
 triotic, well-informed men : would they lead the way 
 to an improved fyftem of economy, they would na- 
 turally be followed at a diftance by their inferiors, 
 as example operates with more force than many 
 volumes of inftrudions, efpecially when they fee 
 their intereft concerned. 
 
 Separation of the profejjions of the Fijher and Hiif- 
 bandinan. — To facilitate, however, this end, it is a 
 queftion worth confideration, if the ling-fifhery and 
 agriculture, as they feem to be incompatible, fliould 
 not be diftind profefTions. Could this change be 
 introduced, the landlord might expcdl an adequate 
 rent for his land, which, on account of the advan- 
 tages he derives from the tenants' fifhing, he has 
 hitherto let at a very low rate ; and the fiftier might 
 exped: a fair and equitable price for his fifli, which 
 at prefent he delivers to his landlord at an under 
 
 Z value,
 
 17S APPENDIX. [ho. 5* 
 
 value, on account of the eafy terms on which he 
 pofTeffes his land. Were this reform pradicable, it 
 feems highly probable that many of the inhabitants 
 would, through choice, attach themfelves to iheji/b- 
 eryy and be fatisfied with a cottage and fmall portion 
 of ground for potatoes and cabbage, and then their 
 former fmall poflcffions would fall to be added to 
 their neighbours mark-lands who made choice of 
 agriculture for their profeflion : to thefe (hould be 
 granted a leafe of reafonable duration, with the rent 
 particularly defined, either in money or part of the 
 produce, with few onerous fervices, and thefe as 
 much as poffible reftrided to the time not employed' 
 in their own fields. 
 
 Although it be unfafe to condemn in toto the re- 
 ceived cuftoms of any country, which are generally 
 founded on the experience of ages, and adapted to the 
 climate, and the genius of the people, yet a ftranger, 
 from a country farther advanced in civilization, 
 cannot fail to remark, that, from the extreme rude- 
 nefs and fimplicity of every part of their jrural eco- 
 nomy and cuftoms, it feems to be evident, that no 
 attempt at improvement has been made fince the de- 
 parture of the Norwegians. On the contrary, it is 
 more probable, from the ingenious and induftrious 
 charafter poffefled by the prefent inhabitants of Nor- 
 way, that things have been rather retrograde in 
 Shetland. The poor people are miferably lodged ; 
 their houfes, furniture and utenfils, rude as the coun- 
 try. Materials fur the mafon are every where 
 found: But alas ! want of timber, which can only 
 be procured from Norway or the Highlands of Scot- 
 land, is a prodigious defedt. 
 
 Zetland Plough. — That their inftruments of agri- 
 culture are rude and imperfed:, will not admit of a 
 doubt. The plough left them by their Norwegian 
 anceftors is very light, and in principle much the 
 
 fame
 
 2^0. 5-] OBSERVATIONS ON SHETLAND. 179 
 
 fame as that ufed on the oppolite Continent for 
 ploughing their old corn-fields and fallow- land, but 
 for nothing elfe ; for from want of a mould-board, 
 and coulter, it is only fcratching, not ploughing ; 
 . and it is incapable ot" breaking up grafs-grounds. 
 In the Statiftical Account of Unft, (vol. v.), an accu- 
 rate drawing of it is given. If, in place of the broad- 
 pointed fock, the Zetland hufbandman would adopt 
 the narrow-pointed one of the old Scots plough, 
 he would find it much better adapted to a ftony 
 foil than the other ; and with a feather on that fock, 
 capable of ploughing grafs-ground. Indeed, the old 
 Scots plough, upon a fmail fcale, proportioned to 
 the powers of two of the fmall horfes of the coun- 
 try, might prove a great acquifition to Zetland. 
 
 Trees. — The wild nakednefs of thefe illands muft 
 naturally ftrike every ftranger with farprife. That 
 in fome remote period it has been otherwife, has 
 been univerfally believed. The fad has been handed 
 down by tradition ; it is evinced by the remains of 
 trees being found in the peat-moiTes ; and is farther 
 confirmed by fome names of places, which intimate 
 their being covered with timber (for inftance, Z,z/7z<^in 
 Unft, which fignifies a gro've). It is now the general 
 opinion of the irdiabitants, however, that trees will 
 not grow ; and it muft be admitted, that in a coun- 
 try fubjccted to fuch violent winds for at leafl: eight 
 months in the year, confiderable difficulties will at- 
 tend the attempt. As it is not, however, fa.id, that 
 any fair trial was ever made and perfevered in, it 
 were to be wifhed fome patriotic [proprietor would 
 make the experiment : and furely a finglc failure 
 ihould not intimidate. It is in vain to plant fingle 
 trees or fingle rows ; an acre at leaft, or more, lliould 
 be chofen in an inland place, fomewhat fiieltered 
 from the violent winds, either by rifing grounds or 
 earthen walls. Seedlings or very young plants are 
 the moft proper ; and could they be procured from 
 about Bergen, or even farther north, where the firs 
 
 in
 
 180 APPENDIX. [no. 5. 
 
 in particular are found growing fpontaneoiifly in the 
 woods, they would be preferable. It is of the ut- 
 moft importance to prevent fuch young plants from 
 being fmothered for the firfl year or two by weeds 
 and grafs ; indeed the fpeedieft way of railing a. 
 plantation in the fouth, is by planting potatoes or* 
 fowing turnips among them, and keeping them clean 
 by the fpade and hoe. The trees which grow in the 
 fame latitude on the oppofite continent, are, Nor- 
 way or Spruce Fir, Scots fir. Alder, Birch, Moun- 
 tain- AJb or Roan, Haxel, the Crab Tree, Wood- 
 Saugb, and the fhrubs Hawthorn, Jumper and Bar- 
 berry. 
 
 Roads. — The iaft obfervation I have to make, re- 
 fpedls roads of communication, of which thefe 
 iflands are totally deftitute •, and as they facilitate 
 the execution of every other improvement, they 
 may be faid to be the mother of ail, and fhould be 
 attended to as the very firft. The late Mr Scott of 
 Laxfiordvoe and Mr Rofs of Sund, havefhewn what 
 may be done, fo far as they have executed the road 
 of communication between Lerwick and the valley 
 of Scalloway ; a road of the firft importance. It is 
 faid fome of the landholders have now qualified 
 themfelves to ad: as Juftices of the Peace. This is 
 a lucky circumftance ; becaufe it will enable them 
 to execute the laws relating to the highways by 
 flatute 'labour, as far as conlillent with the fituation 
 of the poor people, who mull have many leifure 
 days in winter and fpring. Could they be prevail- 
 ed on to perform their fix days ftatute-work then, it 
 would tend greatly to their own and the public 
 advantage. One great obftacle, I am aware, here 
 meets us ; The Commiffioners of Supply in Scotland 
 alTefs themfelves annually in highway and bridge 
 money ; but it is doubtful if the Zetlanders have 
 any fuch commillion. In default, could the Juftices 
 and proprietors impofe a penny on each mark-land, 
 
 it
 
 NO. 5'] OBSERVATIONS ON SHETLAND. .181 
 
 it might raife a fmall fund in the different pariflies, 
 for buying tools, and defraying other unavoidable 
 road-expences : Their power, however, is equally 
 doubtful, and an application to Parliament is at- 
 tended with an enormous expence. 
 
 From the fmallnefs of the horfes, and inequality 
 of the country, it is not probable that heavy car- 
 riages will ever be ufed in Zetland ; and indeed 
 they never (hould. A fmall light fingle horfe-cart, 
 which in moft countries the commons can make 
 themfelves, is beft adapted to the country. In this 
 view, the road-making Ihould not be expenfive. 
 Let the roads, however, if poffible, be 22 feet broad ; 
 fmoothed, by rolling off' the large ftones and filling 
 up the hollows ; with a fmall ditch on each fide : not 
 above 8 feet of this breadth need be metalled ; and 
 if this be on one lide, the other part being foft road, 
 may be ufed in fummer or dry weather. 
 
 I have thus, at your requeft, colled:ed and thrown 
 together the few loofe Remarks I made while in 
 Zetland. All I can fay for them, is, that they are 
 well meant. I retain a lively fenfe of the polite at- 
 tention paid us there by the gentry, and of the ci- 
 vility of the commons : And could any of the tore- 
 going obfervations conduce in the fmalleft degree to 
 the comfort and happinefs of thefe iflands, it would 
 give me infinite pleafure. I am, Dear Sir, &.c. 
 
 Alex. Seton. 
 Prejloji, 061. 23. 1806. 
 
 No. VI.
 
 i8g APPENDIX. [nc. 6. 
 
 NO. VI. 
 
 List of Plants indigenous to Orkney, omitted in the 
 List published in Dr Barry s History of Orkney, 
 1 805 ; uith Remarks on some doubtful species which 
 appear in that work. 
 
 [While in Orkney in 1804, I had feveral oppor- 
 tunities of being in company with the hue Dr IJar- 
 ry, the laborious author of the ** Hiftory of Ork- 
 ney," I vol. 4to. 1 was even favoured with a fight 
 of the MS. of a Flora Orcadenjis, compiled by the 
 Dodor, partly from his own obfervations, and part- 
 ly (as he informed me) from MSS. left by the late 
 Reverend Mr Lowe, the northern affiftant of Mr 
 Pennant. Of the rarer plants mentioned as natives 
 of Orkney, on the authority of Mr Lowe, Dr Barry, 1 
 may remark, was not poffeffed of any fpccimens. 
 This, I found, was the cafe with Pinguicuia alpina, 
 Arabis alpina, Orobus niger, and Trifolium monta- 
 num, none of which have hitherto been difcovered 
 by botanifts, either on the mountains of Scotland or 
 Wales. It is, with fome confidence, therefore, that I 
 fet down thefe as miftakes. From this Flora Orca- 
 denfis the Botanical Lilt piiblifiied in the Hiflory 
 had been extraded. During my excurfions througli 
 the iflands, I either collected fpccimens, or took notes 
 of the names, of all the different fpecies of plants 
 which occurred. Upon my return home, and long 
 before the publication of the Hiitory, I fent to Dr 
 Barry, by his own defire, a note of fuch omilfions 
 and inaccuracies in his MS. Flora as my botanical 
 excurfions had enabled hjC to fupply or corre6t ; un- 
 der the difadvantage, however, of depending mere- 
 ly on my recoUedlion of the plants already contain- 
 ed
 
 NO. 6.] ADDITIONAL PLANTS OF ORKNEY. 183 
 
 ed in the Dodor's lifl:. I afterwards learned, with 
 regret, that before my packet reached him, he was 
 unhappily confined to his chamber by the illnefs of 
 which he died. Since the publication of the Hif- 
 tory, I have compared the Botanical Lift which it 
 contains, with a catalogue made up by myfelf from 
 my private notes, aided by my Orkney hortus ficcus ; 
 and in the following Table, I have ftated, as fully and 
 corredlly as poffible, all the different fpecies which I 
 found in Orkney, which are tiot mentioned in Dr 
 Barry's Lift. I have, in general, added the local 
 habitats, though for thefe I depend chiefly on me- 
 mory. In foot notes, and at the end of the Table, 
 I have fubjoined fome critical remarks as to doubt- 
 ful fpecies, which the recollection of what palTed 
 in my perfonal communications with the author, 
 (who, though a man of very extenfive general in- 
 formation, had never been a pradlical botanift), 
 perfuade me to think, will, in general, be found 
 pretty near the truth. — I have followed the improv- 
 ed nomenclature to be found in Dr Smith's Flora 
 Britannica ; but where it appeared ufeful, 1 have 
 added the fynonimes of Mr Lightfoot's Flora Sco- 
 tica.'] 
 
 LIST
 
 184 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 [no. 6. 
 
 LIST, 
 
 Supplementary to Dr Barry s Catalogue. 
 
 Eng/i/h Name. Localities. 
 
 Common chara, 
 Prickly chara. 
 
 Pools and ditches. 
 Loch of Airie. 
 
 Germander fpeedwell, Very common. 
 
 Water fpeedwell, Ditches at Scarr, Sanda. 
 
 Chocolate clubrufh, Hoy hills, plentifully. 
 Floating club-rufh, Loch of Knitching. 
 BuU-rufh, Loch of Aikernefs, 
 
 Ltnnean Name. 
 Chara 
 
 vulgaris, 
 
 hifpida, 
 Veronica 
 
 Chamjedrys *, 
 
 Anagallis, 
 Scirpus 
 
 pauciflorus, 
 
 fluitans, 
 
 lacuftris, 
 Eriophorum 
 
 anguftifolium f, Narrow cotton-rufli, Peat-bogs, common. 
 Alopecurus 
 
 geniculatus, Floating fox-tail-gr. Meadows of Crantit. 
 
 Agroftis 
 
 ftolonifera, 
 
 vulgaris, var 
 
 pumila, 
 Aira 
 
 precox, 
 Melica 
 
 coerulea, 
 Poa 
 
 trivialis, 
 
 maritima, 
 Feftuca 
 
 duriufcula J, 
 
 clatior, 
 
 loliacea, 
 
 Creeping bent-grafs, Moift paftures. 
 
 [• Dwarfifh bent-grafs, Paftures, common. 
 
 Early hair-grafs, Dry paftures. 
 
 Purple Melic grafs, Moors, plentifully. 
 
 Rough meadow-grafs. Meadows at Crantit. 
 
 Sea meadow-grafs, Salt-marihes, common. 
 
 Hard fefcue-grafs, Dry paftures. 
 
 Tall fefcue grafs, Moift meadows. 
 
 Spiked fefcue-grafs, Moift meadows. 
 
 Bromus 
 
 * While Dr Barry omits this common fpecies, he enumerates 
 V. fpicata, a fpecies which I did not fee in Orkney. Poflibly V. 
 chamasdrys has been taken for V. fpicata. 
 
 ■\ Dr Barry mentions E. polyftachion, which alfo occurs ; but the 
 moft common fpecieb of cotton-rufti is E. anguftifolium of Dr Smith, 
 which is Indeed E. polyftachion of Lightfoot. 
 
 :{: While the Dodor omits Feftuca duriufcula, he mentions F. ovi- 
 na, which, if it occurs in Orkney, is not common. Indeed, I fufpeft 
 that F. duriufcula has been miftaken for F. ovina. The former, to- 
 gether with F. vivipara, forms much of the beft and drieft upland 
 paftures of Orkney,
 
 NC. 6.] 
 
 ADDITIONAL PLANTS OF ORKNEY 
 
 185 
 
 L'lnnean Name. 
 Bromus 
 
 mollis, 
 Avena 
 
 pubefcens, 
 Arundo 
 
 Phragmites, 
 
 arenaria *, 
 
 colorata, 
 Scabiofa 
 
 arvenfis f , 
 Ruppia 
 
 jnaritima, 
 Sagina 
 
 apetala, 
 Anagallis 
 
 tenella :j;, 
 Convolvulus 
 
 arvenfis, 
 Hydrocotyle 
 
 inundata, 
 ^thufa 
 
 Cynapium, 
 Chasrophyllum 
 
 fylveftre, 
 ^gopodium 
 
 Podagraria, 
 Sium 
 
 anguftifoliuni, 
 Conlum 
 
 maculatum §, 
 
 Engiyh Name. 
 
 Soft brome-grafs, 
 
 Downy oat-grafs, 
 
 Common reed, 
 
 Sea-reed, 
 
 Canary reed-grafs. 
 
 Field fcabious. 
 
 Sea Ruppia, 
 
 Localities. 
 
 In paftures, common. 
 
 Guills of Scapa, 
 
 Loch of Aikernefs. 
 Sandy fliores. 
 Sides of ditches. 
 
 Cultivated places. 
 
 Salt-marfhes, common. 
 
 Small- flow. pearl-wort By the fea ftiore. 
 Bog pimpernel, Marfh at Deernefs. 
 
 Small bindweed. 
 Floating white-rot, 
 Fool's-parfley, 
 Wild chervil, 
 Gout-weed, 
 Water parfnep, 
 Common hemlock, 
 
 In fields. 
 
 Moift places, by Carnefs. 
 
 Kitch. gardens, Kirkwall. 
 
 Way-fides near Kirkwall. 
 
 Near Kirkwall. 
 
 Ditches, common. 
 
 Way fides, common. 
 
 Pamaffia 
 
 * Dr Barry mentions Elymus arenarius, and omits Arundo arena- 
 ria. The former I did not find in Orkney ; the latter is common 
 in different iflands. As the plants are very fimilar, I fufpedl that 
 the Arundo has been taken for the Elymus. 
 
 f A white-flowering variety of Scabiofa fuccifa, or devil's-bit, is 
 not uncommon in Orkney. 
 
 J This elegant little plant is not general in Orkney. 
 
 § In his catalogue, the Dodor puts down, " Cicuta, paflim." J 
 did not fee the Cicuta virofa in Orkney. Certainly either Conium 
 maculatum mull have been meant, the old officinal name of which 
 was Cicuta ; or, as the Englifh name given, is, *' Long-leaved water- 
 hemlock," Sium angullifolium, may have been intended. Neither 
 the Conium nor Sium appears In the Dodor's lift. 
 
 A a
 
 186' 
 
 Linnean Name. 
 Parnaflia 
 
 paluftris *, 
 Radiola 
 
 millegrana, 
 Juncus 
 
 bufonius, 
 
 bulbofus, 
 
 iiliginofus, 
 
 pilofus f, 
 Epilobium 
 
 anguftifolium %, 
 
 tetragonum, 
 Tiiglochin 
 * maritimum, 
 Polygonum 
 
 Biftorta, 
 Saxifraga, 
 
 hypnoides^, 
 Sllene 
 
 maritlma 1|, 
 
 APPENDIX.^ 
 
 Englilh Name. 
 
 Grafs of Parnaffus, 
 
 AU.feed, 
 
 Toad-rulh, 
 Round-fruited rufti, 
 Little bulbous rufh. 
 Hairy rufh, 
 
 Rofebay willow-herb, 
 Square willow-herb, 
 
 Sea arrow-grafs, 
 
 Great biftort, 
 
 Mofly faxifrage, 
 
 Sea campion, 
 
 [no. 6. 
 
 Localities. 
 
 Meadows, very common* 
 
 In Eda, abundantly. 
 
 Moift ground. 
 Side of Hoy hill. 
 Ifland of Eda, 
 Roufay. 
 
 Trumbland, Roufay, rare. 
 Guills of Scalpa. 
 
 Salt-marfli, Deemefs. 
 
 Near Kirkwall, rare. 
 
 Hoy hills, plentifully. 
 
 Seafhore, common, 
 
 Arenarla 
 
 * In the beginning of September 1804, I found many acres of paf- 
 ture In Weftra rendered quite white with the flowers of the Parnaf- 
 fia; the plants were dwarfilh, feldom exceeding four inches in 
 height. 
 
 f In Dr Barry's lift, a i\x\\c\xs fyheftris appears. This may be a mif- 
 take for fyhalicus : but it is molt probable that J. pilofus is the plant 
 intended. A Juncus triformis is alfo mentioned : this is probably a 
 typographical inaccuracy, and J. trifidus may be meant, which it is 
 very likely may grow on Hoy hills. 
 
 if The French-willow is one of the moft fhewy native plants of Ork- 
 ney, and its omiflion in Dr Barry's lift feems almoft unaccountable. It 
 Is undoubtedly indigenous to the banks of Trumbland-burn, in the if- 
 land of Roufay. Dr Barry mentions an Epilobium ramofum j but no 
 fuch fpecies is defcribed in botanical works. 
 
 § Dr Barry ftates Saxifraga Cctfpitofa ; but as S. hypnoides is en- 
 tirely omitted, though pretty common, I am inclined to think that 
 this has been miftaken for S. caifpitofa, which I did not obferve in 
 Orkney. S. autumualis, it may be remarked, is only S. aizoides 
 flowering late. 
 
 II This plant covers a gravel' foot-path at Kirkwall-fliore, which 
 is one of the moft public walks near the town ; and it is abundant on 
 the ihores of moft of the iflands and holms. It could not fail to be 
 
 obferved,
 
 NO. 6.] ADDITIONAL PLANTS OF ORKNEY. 
 
 Englijh Name. Localitief. 
 
 Sea fpurrey fandwort, Salt-marflies. 
 Biting ftone-crop, On dry banks. 
 Corn-cockle, In cornfields, rarely, 
 
 187 
 
 Linnean Name. 
 Arenaria 
 
 marina *, 
 Sedum 
 
 acre, 
 Agroftemma, 
 
 Githago, 
 Ceraftium 
 
 latifolium |, 
 
 tetrandrum, 
 Rofa 
 
 villofa, 
 Rub us 
 
 idaeus, 
 Mentha 
 
 hirfuta, 
 Glechoma 
 
 hederacea, 
 Bartfia 
 
 Odontites, 
 Melampyrum 
 
 prate nfe ;}:, 
 AlyfTum 
 
 fativum, 
 Thlafpi 
 
 arvenfe, 
 Bunias 
 
 Cakile, 
 
 Broad leaved chickw. Hoy hills. 
 Tetrandrous chickw. Kirkwall fliore. 
 
 Apple-rofe, 
 Rafpberry, 
 Hairy mint, 
 Ground-ivy, 
 Red bartfia, 
 Yellow cow-wheat, 
 Gold of pleafure, 
 Penny -crefs, 
 Sea-rocket, 
 
 Trumbland, Roufay. 
 
 Trumbland, Roufay, 
 
 Wet meadows. 
 
 Wafte grounds. 
 
 Fields, common. 
 
 Barren clayey ground. 
 
 Among flax, Weftra. 
 
 Fields at Scalpa. 
 
 Sanda, not common. 
 
 Trifolium 
 
 obferve^, therefore,by Mr Low and Dr Barry: but they had confound- 
 ed it with Silene inflata, which is mentioned in their lift, under the 
 old name Cucubalus Behen. The Englifii name of this plant, I may 
 add, is Bladder-Campion, not Berry-bearing Chickiveed, (as Dr Barry 
 makes it), which is a very different and very rare plant ; Cucubalus 
 baccifer. 
 
 * In Dr Barry's catalogue, Arenaria faxati/is is put down. It is not 
 probable that this fpecies is to be found in Orkney. Perhaps A. te- 
 nuifolia may occur. 
 
 ■(■ Dr Barry mentions a Ceraftium tommtojum ; by which, moft proba- 
 bly, is to be underftood C. latifclium. 
 
 X Dr Barry includes In his lift, Melampyrum fylvaticum ; but this 
 is a very rare plant, and I doubt not that M. pratenfe has been mif- 
 taken for it.
 
 188 
 
 Linnean Name. 
 Trifolium 
 
 Ihiatum, 
 
 procuinbens *, 
 Hypericum 
 
 pujchrum, 
 
 elodes, 
 Hieracinm 
 
 Pilofella. 
 Gnaphalium 
 
 redum, 
 Pyrethrum 
 
 maritimum, 
 Carex 
 
 ftellulata, 
 
 flava, 
 
 fulva, 
 
 diftans, 
 
 praecox, 
 
 extenfa, 
 
 panicea, 
 
 recurva, 
 
 casfpitofa, 
 
 ampullacea, 
 
 arenaria, 
 Viola 
 
 tricolor, 
 
 canina, 
 Typha 
 
 latifolia, 
 Sparganium 
 
 fimplex, 
 Atriplex 
 
 laciniata, 
 
 patula, 
 Mynophyllum 
 
 verticilhitum, 
 En)petrum 
 
 nigrum, 
 Urtica 
 
 urens. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 EngUJJo Name., 
 
 [no. 6. 
 
 Loccflitieu 
 
 Soft knotted trefoil, Bare dry knolls. 
 Hop-trefoil, Dry hilly paftures. 
 
 Small St John's-wort, Moid banks. 
 
 MarlK St John's-wort, Rackwick, Hoy, rarely. 
 
 Moufe-ear hawkweed, Dry fpots at Scalpa. 
 
 Upjight wood Cudw. Quanternefs, not general. 
 
 Sea feverfew, On the fliores, not iincom. 
 
 Little prickly carex. In marflics. 
 
 Yellow carex, Moi ftmeadows. 
 
 Tawny carex, Moi ft ground. 
 
 Loofe carex, Marfhes by the fea. 
 
 Vernal carex, Dry paftures. 
 
 Long brafteated do. Salt marlhes. 
 
 Pink-leaved carex, Moift paftures. 
 Glaucous heath carex, Moift heaths. 
 
 Tufted carex, Moift ground. 
 
 Bladder carex, 
 Sea carex, 
 
 Panfy violet, 
 Dog's violet, 
 
 Reed-mace, 
 
 Bur-reed, 
 
 Frofted fea-orache, 
 Spreading orache, 
 
 Loch of Aikernefs. 
 Sandy links or downs. 
 
 Cultivated grounds. 
 Quills of Scalpa. 
 
 Loch of Aikernefs. 
 
 Lakes and ditches. 
 
 Sea-fhores, rarely. 
 Sea-fliores, common. 
 
 Verticillate wat-milf. Lochof Airie, Stronfay. 
 
 Black crowberry. Heaths, common. 
 
 Stinging nettle. Streets of Kirkwall. 
 
 Salix 
 
 * Trifolium montanum is mentioned by Dr Barry : but it is found 
 only on he Alps and Pyrenees. Probably cither T. ftriatum, or T. 
 procumbens is the plant referred to.
 
 NO. 6.] 
 
 ADDITIONAL PLANTS OF ORKNEY. 
 
 18^ 
 
 TAnnean Name. 
 3allx * 
 
 arbufcula, 
 
 prunifolia -j-, 
 
 argentea \, 
 
 arenaria §, 
 
 aquatica(j, 
 
 aurita, 
 
 acuminata, 
 Equifetum 
 
 lylvaticum, 
 Lycopodium 
 
 clavatum, 
 
 alpinum, 
 
 annotinum, 
 
 Selago, 
 
 Selaginoides, 
 Afpidium 
 
 dilatatum, 
 
 Filix mas, 
 
 Filix fffimina, 
 Afplenium 
 
 A Jiant. nigrum^, 
 Blechnum 
 
 boreale, 
 Grimmia 
 
 maritima, 
 
 Engl'ijli Name. 
 
 Little tree-willow, 
 Plum-leaved willow, 
 Silky fand-willow. 
 Downy willow, 
 Water fallow, 
 Round-eared willow, 
 Long-leaved fallow, 
 
 I^ocaUtte.u 
 
 Roufay and Hoy. 
 
 Hoy valleys. 
 
 Downs of Sanda. 
 
 Wart-hill, Shapinfa. 
 
 Sides of rivulets. 
 
 Vale of Rackwick, Hoy. 
 
 Moiftgrounds,Deernefs. 
 
 Branched horfe-tail, Trumbland, Roufay. 
 
 Common clab-mofs. Hills of Hoy and Roufay. 
 Savin-leaved do. Mountains of Hoy. 
 
 Interrupted club-mofs Wart-hill of Hoy, rarely. 
 Fir club-mofs, Hills of Hoy and Roufay. 
 
 Prickly club-mofs. In the moors, common. 
 
 Gr. creftedihield-fern, Moid rocky places. 
 Male fhield-fem, Moift banks. 
 
 Female lliield-fern, Moift banks. 
 
 Black maidenhair, Cleft of rocks, Roufay. 
 
 Rough fpleenwort, Banks at Scalpa. 
 
 Sea Grimmia, Roclys by the fea, common. 
 
 Dicranum 
 
 * Several of the falices (S. prunifolia, arenaria, and argentea) were 
 ftill in flower in Orkney in the end of July j 804 •, but it was difficult 
 to afcertain others (S. Arbufcula, acuminata, aurita, and aquatica), 
 the catkins of which I could not find ; and I acknowledge, with 
 pleafure, the affiftance I derived from that acute practical botanift, Mr 
 G. Don of Forfar, in determining the fpecies, by means of the fpe- 
 cimens which I brought with mc from the iflands. 
 
 •j- Salix myrfinites of Lightfoot's Flora Scotica. 
 
 \ S. arenaria, Lightfoot. § 8. Lapponum, Lightfoot. 
 
 II S. cinerea of Wit}>erlng's Botany, by which name it is raention- 
 cd/upra, p. 1 7. 
 
 5f In Dr Barry's catalogue, Acroftichum feptentrionale appears ; 
 but I have reafon to believe, that Afplenium Adiantum-nigruni was 
 the fern intended.
 
 190 
 
 APPEKDIX. 
 
 [no. 6, 
 
 Linnean Name, 
 Dicranum 
 
 varium, 
 
 aciculare, 
 
 purpureum, 
 Trichoftomum 
 
 lanuginofum, 
 Tortula 
 
 muralis, 
 
 ftellata, 
 Funaria 
 
 hygrometrica, 
 Bartramia 
 
 arcuata, 
 
 fontana, 
 Bryum 
 
 nutans, 
 
 hornum, 
 
 ventrlcofum, 
 
 pundatum, 
 Hypnum 
 
 fericeum, 
 
 rufcifolium, 
 
 uncinatum, 
 Fontinalis 
 
 antlpyretica, 
 
 fquamofa, 
 Polytrichum, 
 
 commune, 
 
 nanum, 
 Jungermannia 
 
 julacea, 
 
 undulata, 
 
 platyphylia, 
 Lichen 
 
 frigidus, 
 
 fragllis, 
 
 globiferus, 
 
 uncialis, 
 
 ericetorum, 
 
 calicaris, 
 
 rangiferinus, 
 
 hirtus, 
 
 hifpidus, 
 
 cocciferus, 
 
 parietinus, 
 -Ulva 
 
 comprefia, 
 
 Engl'ijh Name. 
 Fork-mofs. 
 
 Fringe-mofs. 
 Screw-mofs. 
 
 Twifting-mofs, 
 Bartramia. 
 
 Thread-mofs. 
 
 Feather-mofs. 
 
 Water-mofs. 
 Hair-mofs. 
 
 Rock-mofs. 
 
 Rein-deer lichen. 
 
 Localities, 
 
 Sandy paftures. 
 Sides of rills, Hoy. 
 On hill-diies. 
 
 Hills and moors, common. 
 
 Old walls, common. 
 Sides of rivulets. 
 
 Old kelp-kilns, common. 
 
 Moorifli grounds. 
 About fprings. 
 
 Moorifh places. 
 Moift banks. 
 Marfhy places. 
 Trumbland, Roufay. 
 
 Dry banks. 
 
 On ftones in brooks. 
 
 Moifl rocks. Hoy. 
 
 Ditches and rivulets. 
 Rivulets in Hoy. 
 
 Boggy places. 
 Dry fandy places. 
 
 Hoy mountains. 
 On ftiaded rocks- 
 Dry rocks. 
 
 Summit of Wartbill, Hoy. 
 Hoy mountains. 
 Hoy and Roufay. 
 Heaths, common- 
 Turfy heaths, Kirkwall. 
 Stones of Stentiis. 
 Heaths, common. 
 Heathy grounds, Sanda. 
 Rocks in Hoy. 
 On the heaths. 
 On walls. 
 
 On the fhores, common. 
 
 Ulva
 
 NO. 6.] 
 
 ADDITIONAL PLANTS OF OIUCNEY. 
 
 191 
 
 Linnean Name. 
 
 Ulva 
 
 diaphana *, 
 
 Fucus 
 filum, 
 loreus, 
 laccharinus, 
 articulatus, 
 fanguineus, 
 rubens, 
 fmuofus, 
 plumofus f , 
 
 Byffus 
 purpurea, 
 aeruginofa, 
 
 Agaricus, 
 cylindricus, 
 campeftris, 
 Oreades, 
 
 Englijh Name. 
 
 Cat-gut, Orkney. 
 Drew. Orkney. 
 Sierter, Orkney. 
 
 Crimfon byflus, 
 Verdegris byffus, 
 
 Localities. 
 
 Caft on fhore with fponges. 
 
 Bay of Scalpa. 
 Tirlet fhores, Weftra. 
 Deep lliores, common. 
 Sea beach at Newark. 
 Beach near Kirkwall. 
 Bay of Scalpa. 
 Beach at Scalpa. 
 Shore at Deernefs. 
 
 Caves in Weftra. 
 Cathedral of Kirkwall. 
 
 Padock-Jlooly Wafte grounds, Kirkwall. 
 
 Ketchup mufhroom, Dry paftures, Carnefs. 
 Fairy-ring mufhroom, In circles in old paftures. 
 
 * Dr Barry includes in his lift a fpecies which he calls Ulva pa- 
 pillofa. Perhaps U. diaphana may have been intended. 
 
 t Fucus plumofus grows to a greater fize in the Orkney feas than 
 in England. Jt is dcfcribed as being there about five inches high ; 
 but here I have often feen it exceeding a foot in height. 
 
 Belides Pinguicula vulgaris, Dr Barry mentions 
 P. alpina as being found on the hills of Waes and 
 Hoy. This, I am inglined to believe, is a miftake : 
 at leaft, the only fpecies I could perceive on the hills 
 of Hoy was P. vulgaris, or common butterwort, 
 which in Orkney is known by the name of Eccle- 
 grafs. 
 
 Panicum Crus-galli, or Loofe panick-grafs, ap- 
 pears in the Dodlor's lift ; but it ought to be ftruck 
 out. there being no Panicum in Orkney. 
 
 Sorbus domeftica, or True fervice-tree, is men- 
 tioned by the Dodor as growing in Hoy : but I 
 ihould ftrongly fufped: that S. aucuparia, or Roaji- 
 trec (Pyrus aucuparia of Flora Britannica) is the 
 only fpecies to be found there. 
 
 Beta
 
 392 APPENDIX. [no. 6. 
 
 Beta vulgaris, which is the garden-beet, is put 
 down in place of B. maritima, or fea-beet, which 
 grows on fome of the fhores of Orkney. 
 
 It may be proper to remark, thatPlantago Lceflin- 
 gii, and P. montana, which, in the Dodior's lift, are 
 numbered as diftindl fpecies, are only varieties of P. 
 maritima, which in Orkney is very abundant in the 
 beft flieep paftures, and varies extremely in appear- 
 ance, according to the foil and lituation. Plantago 
 uniflora of Dr Barry's lift, is Littorella lacuftris of 
 Flora Britannica. 
 
 Cochlearia armoracia, or horfe-radifti, which is 
 contained in the lift, has probably only efcaped from 
 gardens. 
 
 Arabis alpina is not entitled, I fear, to a place in 
 the catalogue. It is not unlikely that Turritis hir- 
 futa may be found in Hoy and Roufay, and this may 
 be the plant referred to. 
 
 Orobus niger, I fufped, ftands in the fame pre- 
 dicament. It has not been found in Britain ; nor 
 did I obferve any fpecies but Orobus tuherojiis in my 
 Orkney walks. 
 
 Imper^toria, or Martin-ivort (Mafter-wort) isfaid 
 by Dr Barry to be found in Hoy ; but I faw nothing 
 there which approached nearer to it, than Ligufti- 
 cum Scoticum, or Scots lovage, which grows on the 
 rocks by the fea ; and in Sir Robert Sibbald's wri- 
 tings, this plant is defcribed as *' Imperatorias affi- 
 nis." 
 
 By Euphorbia fegetalis is probably meant E. exi- 
 gua ; but I did not happen to obferve it in Orkney. 
 
 Carduus crijpus, it may be remarked, is only ano- 
 ther name for C. acanthoicles, the fpecies which im- 
 mediately precedes it in the lift. 
 
 Sometimes Dr Barry only gives the generic name : 
 This is the cafe with Stellaria. S. holoftea and S. 
 graminea, Greater and Lefler ftitchwort, are both in 
 Orkney. 
 
 Lamium
 
 NO. 6.] ADDITIONAL PLANTS OF ORKNEY. 193 
 
 Lamium ruhrinn^ it may be obferved in paflingfis 
 printed in place of L. purpureum. Mucor ctjpitofus 
 in place of M.. fepticus. 
 
 Fucus turbinatus is mentioned among the fea- 
 weeds. It is a native of the Weft Indian or Ame- 
 rican feas, and may have been wafted acrofs the At- 
 lantic, and caft upon the (hores of Orkney. F. iia- 
 tans is, in this manner, frequently thrown uponthefe 
 fticres. 
 
 Some very ornamental plants are to be found in 
 Shetland, which I did not meet with in Orkney. For 
 inftance, SciUa verna and Jaiione niontana near Ler- 
 wick, and in BralTay ifland ; andDianthus deltoides. 
 Maiden pink, in the illand of Vailey, obferved there 
 by my friend Mr G. Whyte. On the other hand, 
 the elegant little Orkney plants. Primula farinofa 
 and Anagallis tenella, did not occur in the couife 
 of my Shetland perambulations. 
 
 Dr Barry enumerates 312 fpecies in his work, but 
 from thefe, half a dozen may be dedudled as fpurious. 
 The preceding lift contains 156 in addition. So 
 that the Flora of Orkney, at prefent, mcludes 462 
 fpecies of plants ; no inconfiderable number for thofe 
 expofed northern iflands. But I have no doubt, that 
 a keen botanical eye, and a more thorough exami- 
 nation of the illand-, efpecially of Hoy and Roufay, 
 would add at leaft another hundred fpecies. 
 
 B b No. VII.
 
 194: APPENDIX* [nO. 7. 
 
 NO. VII. 
 
 List of the Popular Names of some of the pruKipat 
 Birds found in Orhney and Hhetland^ with their 
 English and Linnean synommes. 
 
 [The uncertainty which attends popular nomen- 
 clature is often a fource of great perplexity to the 
 naturalift. To him, therefore, this Lift will not ap- 
 pear an idle or ufelefs compilation. Only thofe 
 birds which have provincial names in Orkney and 
 Shetland, or which are known by names peculiar to 
 Scotland, are enumerated *. In notes at the bot- 
 tom of the page, I have introduced a few remarks, 
 which may, perhaps, amufe other readers. To Dr 
 Barry's Hiftory, it will be feen, I am indebted for 
 fevcral of the names ; fome I found mentioned in 
 books ; and others I picked up during my excur- 
 fions through the iflands. To thofe names of birds 
 which I confider as peculiar to our Northern Iflands, 
 I have prefixed an afteriflv. Moft of thefe are doubt- 
 lefs of Norwegian origin.] 
 
 Enie^ 
 
 * The Wild Swan, %vhich is rather an uncommon bird, is thus 
 excluded from my lift. Large flocks of fwans annually arrive 
 in Orkney and Shetland in the month of 0<flober, and fpend the 
 winter about the numerous frefti-water lakes in the iflands. Early 
 inthefpring they take their departure for the peaceful ardic re- 
 gions, v/here they may incubate, and rear their young, without 
 moleftation. Till within thefe twenty years, (as I was told in 
 Orkney"), a few pairs regularly remained during the fummer in 
 the iflets of the great lake of Stennis, and there produced their 
 broods. But, about that time, having been much haraffed, this 
 little colony finally abandoned this Orkney breeding-place. 
 
 On the fame account, the IVigron, golden eye, tea!, with tht /and- 
 marlin, martin, houfe-fivalloiv, blackbird, throjlh, common fparroiv^ 
 goldcn-crejled wren, and others, are omitted.
 
 NO. 7.] BIRDS OF ORKNET. \<)5 
 
 LIST. 
 
 ^Erne, Cinereous-Eagle, Falco albicilla.— Befides 
 this fpecies, the Golden-eagle, falco chryfaetos ; 
 the Black-eagle, falco fiilvus ; and the Ofprey, falco 
 offifragus, are occalionally called Ernes. They 
 all have their eyries in the tremendous precipi- 
 ces of Hoy and Eda. 
 
 Gledf or Greedy-gled^ Kite, Falco Milvus. 
 
 ^Kutabeihy Henharrier, Falco cyaneus. — (Hid. of 
 Ork. p. 312.) The Rinj-tail hawk is the female, 
 
 Windcuffer, Keftril, Falco tinnunculus, (Hift. of Ork. 
 p. 312.) 
 
 *Katojl(ff or Stock- owl. Great Eared-Owl, Strix 
 Bubo. — (Hift. of Ork. p. 312.) In addition to 
 Dr Barry's account of this bird, it maybe added, 
 that it often attacks rabbits and red grous, which 
 are abundant in feveral of the iflands. Kat-ugle 
 is the Norwegian name. 
 
 Corby, Raven, Corvus corax. — Breeds in Orkney and 
 Shetland, building in inaccellible rocks. 
 
 Hoody, or Chough, Royfton crow, Corvus cornix. — » 
 This is the moft common kind of crow in Orkney 
 and Shetland. The carrion-crow fometimes ap- 
 pears : the rook fcarcely ever. The name Z>oo^y is 
 here fometimes applied alfo to the Pewit-gull, 
 (Barry, p. 303.) 
 
 ^Kae, Jackdaw, Corvus monedula. (Hift. of Ork, 
 p. 311.) Often limply called Daw in Scotland. 
 
 Goitk, Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus. (Hift. of Ork. 
 p. 311.) The name Gouk is common throughout 
 Scotland. Gog is the Norwegian. 
 
 ^Skeel-goofe, (fupra, p. 53.) Shieldrake, Anas Tador- 
 na. — Some account of its cunning, from which it 
 derives its common Orkney name of Sly-goofe, has 
 already been given. In Orkney it is lometimes 
 
 alfo
 
 196 APPENDIX. [no. 7, 
 
 al fo czledjkeelin^-^oofe or /keel- duck. In Shetland 
 fc ale drake. The male of this fpecies is the inoft 
 beautiful bird of the duck tribe. 
 '^Horra-goofe, or Horie-goofe, Brent-goofe, Anas 
 Bernicia. (Hift. of Ork. p. 302.)— Fhe horra- 
 goofe is one of the fmallefl: of the wild-geefe. It is 
 fometimes called the rood-gooje; and 1 fufpect that 
 quink-goofe is another name for the fame bird, 
 though this lafl: may pollibly be the golden-eye 
 duck, anas clangula, (the quim-cEud of Norway), 
 which makes a loud noife, as it flies along, with 
 the vigorous quick ftrokes of its wings. 
 
 ^Routheroo k ^oo/t-jBernacle- goofe. Anas erythropus. 
 — The name routheroock occurs in the old writers 
 on Orkney ; but is now nearly unknown in the 
 illands ; Dr Barry does not mention it. This 
 was alfo in former times called Claikis, or chiik- 
 goofe. It was this fpecies which was long be- 
 lieved to fpring from the bernacle-lliells, which 
 are rtill common in Orkney. Butler (by a poeti- 
 cal licence, no doubt) makes it theyo/««-goofe : 
 
 *' As bernacles turn folan-geefe 
 
 *' In the iflands of the Orcades." Hudilras. 
 
 Dunter-goofd, (fupra, p. 22.) Eider-duck, Anas mol- 
 liiRma. — This is alfo called Colk; iQ,Q.fupra^ p. 42. : 
 and fometimes edder-duck. 
 
 *Caloo, or Calaw, (fupra, p. 79 ) Long-tailed Duck, 
 Anas glacialis. — This has alio got the whimlical 
 name of Conl-and-candle-light, from a fancied re- 
 femblance of its long and plaintive winter-call to 
 thefe words. The name caloo has the fame ori- 
 gin. Dr Birry (Hift. of Ork. p. 301.) ftates the 
 caloo to be the Fintail-duck ; but having been fa- 
 voured with Huffed fpecimens from Orkney, 1 find 
 that it is only the Long-tailed-dack, 
 
 ^Attile-duck, Pochard, Anas ferina. — Dr Barry feems 
 to think, that the *' atteal is only a variety" of 
 the teal : but, according to the defcription 1 recei- 
 ved,
 
 JIO. 7.] BIRDS OF ORKNEY. 1^7 
 
 ved, it muft the pochard, or poker. Attile is al- 
 fo a Shetland name. 
 
 Stock-duck, Mallard, Anas Bofchas. (Barry, p. 301.) 
 
 ■^Barle, Goofander, Mergus Merganfer. — (Hid. of 
 Ork. p. 302.) I fufpect that Mr JPennant and Dr 
 Barry are miftaken, and that the harle of Orkney 
 is the Mergus lerrator, or Red-breafled merganfer. 
 It is curious that harle fhould be xht French name 
 for the goofander. 
 
 *Ta?mnQrie,{[nij[>Yay p.53.) Puffin, Alca ardica. — This 
 bird is very common in the Orkney feas : it is 
 there frequently named the Tommy; alfo the 
 Coulterneh. In Shetland it is called tomnorry. 
 In the fouth of Scotland it has various names, wiU 
 lick, Bafs-cock^ Ailfa-CQck, fea-parrot, tomnoddy, 
 cockandy, pope, &c. In the Hebrides it is called 
 the Bowger. In Norway the Lunde. 
 
 « 
 
 ^Bawkie, Razor bill, Alca Torda. (Hill of Ork. 
 p. 305.) \n the Hebrides this bird is called Falk 
 ox faik. It is fometimes called marrot, 
 
 *Alk, or Oke, Black-billed auk, Alca Pica. — Vafl 
 flocks of thefe attend the flioals of herrings. The 
 razor-bill is fometimes alfo called alk. 
 
 ^Ratch, Little auk, Alca Alle. — In Shetland, rotcb 
 and rotchie. 
 
 *u4I/amotti-\-, Stormy petrel, Procellaria pelagica. — 
 This is alfo known by the whimfical name of Mo- 
 ther Carey'' s chicken. It appears chiefly in winter, 
 but it has occalionally been feen in Orkney as 
 late as the beginning of June : Mr James Erflcine 
 of Kirkwall, however, who is pradically verfed 
 in the ornithology of the iflands, aflT'ures me, that 
 it does not breed in Orkney. Dr Barry mull 
 be miftaken, therefore, when he fays that it 
 breeds on the rocks, and remains there only du- 
 ring the breeding- feafon. It is feldom or never 
 
 t Jn Dr Barry's work, the name u printed Jll/amontif bj mif- 
 take, in place oi j^Ilatnptti.
 
 1^5 APPENDIX. [no. 7. 
 
 feen on land, and not often at Tea, except imme- 
 diately before or during the continuance of a 
 ftrong gale of wind. It dives very rapidly, and 
 is therefore very difficult to (boot ; the interval 
 between the flafli and the projedion of the fhot 
 being fufficient for its efcape. In the Hebrides it 
 is called the AJftlag. 
 
 ^Malmock, MalUmock, or Mallduck, Fulmar, Procel- 
 laria glacialis. — Appears in the friths of Orkney, 
 and voes of Shetland, efpecially during winter. 
 It is not mentioned by Dr Barry, and is probably 
 more common in Shetland than in Orkney. Du- 
 ring the whole of the winter 1805-6, many fulmars 
 remained in Uyea Sound, Unif, feeding on the 
 krangs, or carcafes of whales which had been 
 ftranded there fome months before. 
 
 ^Lyre or Lyar, (fupray p. 48.) Shearwater, Procel- 
 iaria Puffinus. — -This is called Lyrie in Shetland, 
 In Norway, Skrahe, or Skraap. 
 
 *Noi'ie, (fiipra, p. 24.), Cormorant, Pelecanus Carbo. 
 This is alfo called the great fcarf, (Barry, p. 300.) j 
 and in the fouth of Scotland the J'cartf. 
 
 Scarf, 
 
 U > II — — • — — ^ — 
 
 ■f The Cormorant has generally been confideied as a very vo- 
 racious and gluttonous bird. This character has partly been 
 ftamped on it, from an imperfedt obfervation of its manners. It 
 poflcfTes, in common with its congener the Pelican of Africa, a 
 Jarge bag or pouch at its throat ; and when it goes a-fiOiing, it 
 catches perhaps two or three mackerel in immediate fucceilion, 
 and depofites them in its bag. Sometimes the pouch is fo full, 
 that the tail of the fifh is feen hanging out of the mouth cf the 
 cormorant. If it were fuppofed, as is vulgarly done, that the 
 bird was attempting io ftvalloiv all this food at a meal, it might 
 well be confidered as the emblem of rapacity. But it merely 
 carries the fifh to its lodging-place ; immediately empties the 
 pouch ; and either feeds its young, or fatisfies its own hunger. 
 It is certain, however, that it eats greedily ; for it is remarked 
 by the fea fowl catchers, that, immediately after a meal, it is 
 la/y and flupid, and makes fcarcely any exertion to efcape. 
 The poets have improved upon the bad charader of this poor 
 bird. Milton, it is well known, pitches upon it as the reprefen- 
 tative of Satan himfelf : 
 
 " So
 
 NO. 7-] BIRDS OF ORKNEY. 199 
 
 ^Scarf, (fiipra, p. 24.), Shag, Pelecanus Graculus. — 
 
 This is called fcart in the Frith of Forth ; and 
 
 fcarv in Norway. The fiibfpecies with a creft, 
 
 is common in Orkney : In Norway it is termed 
 
 top-fcarv. 
 
 Solan-goofe, (fupra, p. 53.) Gannet, Pelecanus Baf- 
 fanus. (Hid. of Ork. p. 300.) — Gannets are com- 
 mon in the Orkney and Shetland feas, but breed 
 
 chiefly 
 
 " So clomb this firft grand thief into God's fold : — 
 '* Thence up he flew, and on the Tree of Life, 
 *' The middle tree, and highell there that grew, 
 •' Sat like a Cormorant." Parad. Loftt b. iv. 
 
 Mr Graham, again, in his Birds of Scotland, fends it " fcour- 
 ** ing awa in lang excurfion" to the " blood-ftained coaft of 
 " Africa," to attend the flave-fliips^ and watch for the carcaies 
 of murdered Negroes : 
 
 " On diftant waves, tlie Raven of the fea, 
 
 ** The Cormorant, devours her carrion food, — ■ 
 
 *' Lur'd by the fcent, unweariedly fhe flies, 
 
 *' And at the foamy dimples of the track 
 
 ♦' Darts fportively, or perches on a corpfe." P. 80. 
 
 Now, the truth is, tliat the Cormorant, far from thus hunting 
 after human fleih, will not touch carrion of any kind, but, as 
 above ftated, feeds only on the bed and freflieft fifli. In confir- 
 mation of tills remark, I may obferve, tliat during the time I 
 refided at Airie in Stronfay in 1804, a draught-ox having fick- 
 ened and died, was dragged to the fliore and flayed= The car- 
 cafe was fpeedily befet by multitudes of gulls of diiFerent fpe- 
 cies, — the great fca-guU, the herring-gull, the white mew, and 
 others. But, ahhnigh the headlands and rocks in the imme- 
 diate neighbourhood, were the reforts and breeding-places of 
 hundreds of cormorants and fhags, not one of thefe approached 
 the carrion ; they often flew pall it, indeed, without turning 
 afide, or taking the leaft notice of it. I may further remaik, 
 that having, on one occafion, clambered to fome of the nefts of 
 the cormorants on the ledges of the rocks which form the 
 promontory called the Brough Head of Stronfay, I found the 
 environs of thefe nefts ftrewed with innumerable heads and 
 back bones of cod, haddock, coallilh and mackerel, but faw no 
 marks of any other kind of food. — If poetical licence be plead- 
 ed, I anfwer, that the author of the Birds of Scotland, profefFes 
 to unite, (and in general does unite), the minute accuracy of 
 natural hiftory with the charms of poetry ; and that fuch a 
 Ti<jlation of Nature ought not therefore to appear in lais poem.
 
 200 APPENDIX. [no. 7, 
 
 chiefly on the Stack of Suliikerry f. This fo- 
 litary, uninhabited illet ufed to be annually vi- 
 fited for the fake of the feals and fea- fowls which 
 it afforded. The veflel having been wrecked up- 
 on the Stack feveral years ago, the felchies and 
 ^©/^//-^^•(f/^ enjoyed a jubilee till laft fummer, 1806, 
 when, a new veflel having been equipped, they 
 were again attacked, and were found to have 
 multiplied to an inconceivable degree. In one 
 cave the feals were fo numerous that the people 
 found it neceffary to let fome hundeds efcape be- 
 fore they could venture to make an attack. Nefts 
 of gannets, gulls, and eider-ducks, covered every 
 part of the rock. 
 
 Rain-goofe, (fupra, p. 69.) Red-throated Diver, Co- 
 lymbus feptentrionalis. — (Hift. of Ork. p. 304.) 
 
 Ember-goofe, (fupra, p. 53.) Immer, Colymbus Im- 
 mer. (Dr Barry, p. 304.) 
 
 Great Loon, Northern Diver, Colymbus glacialis. — « 
 The name ember, is alfo frequently applied to this 
 bird. As its eggs or young have not been found 
 in Orkney or Shetland, the natives very generally 
 believe that it hatches its eggs under its wings, 
 and never leaves the fea. This notion is even coun- 
 tenanced by Pontoppidan, (Nat. Hift. of Norway, 
 vol. ii. p. 80.) Horrebow, however, (Nat. Hift. 
 of Iceland, Lond. 1758), gives us a much more 
 rational account: *' The lom'''' (or northern diver) 
 ** is unmolcfted ; for the people give themfelves no 
 ** trouble to look after its neft or brood, neither 
 *' their flefli nor eggs being fit to be eaten. They 
 *' build in remote places, near frefli water." 
 
 LooTif Speckled diver, Colymbus llellatus. — (Barry, 
 p. 304.) 
 
 ^Toijl, Tyft, Taifle, (fupra p. 22. 42.) Black Guille- 
 niotte, Colymbus Grylle. — In Shetland it is called 
 Teijly. In the fouth of Scotland it is called Green- 
 land- 
 
 \ Sule is the Norwegian name for ugarmet, zxid^Jkcrry means roch.
 
 NO. 7.] BIRDS OF ORKNEY. 201 
 
 land-dove J fea-turtle^ and puffinet. In the He- 
 brides, fcrahct\ A fpotted variety is fometimes 
 found. 
 
 Scout, Fooli(h Guillemot, Colymbus Troile. — (Barry, 
 p. 305,) This is the lavy of the Weftern lilands. 
 
 Kitthvake, Larus Rifla and Larus tridadylus. — Alfo 
 called kiJJnfaik. See note on Tarrock ov piSlarny. 
 
 ^Scaurie or Scorey, young of the Herring-gull, Larus 
 fufcus. — Dr Barry (p. 303.) corredlly dates the 
 fcorey to be larus naevius of Linnaeus ; but this 
 Linnaean fpecies is now incorporated with L. fuf- 
 cus, being found to be only the young of that 
 fpecies. 
 
 Black-beady Pewit-gull, Larus ridibundus. — Black- 
 head is a Shetland name. This gull is alfo fome- 
 times called Hooded-crow. 
 
 '^Swart-back, Great black-backed gull, Larus ma- 
 rinus. — (Hift. of Ork. p. 304). This is the largeft 
 of the gull tribe. In Shetland it is called the 
 fwabie. In Norway, Swart-bag. 
 
 '^Scoutiallan, or Scoutiaulan, Arctic gull, Larus para- 
 fiticus. — This bird is fometimes fimply called 
 Xht Allan ; fometimes the Dirten-allan j and it 
 is alio named the Badoch. It breeds on the 
 hills of Orkney among the lliort heath. In 
 Auguit 1804, we faw many of them chacing the 
 white mews and kittiwakes, in the outer harbour 
 of Stromnefs ; for they purfue and harafs all the 
 fmall gulls, till thefe laft difgorge or vomit ; they 
 then dexteroufly catch what is dropped, ere it 
 reach the water. The common names are deri- 
 ved from the vulgar opinion that the fmall gulls 
 are muting, when they are only difgorgitig fifli 
 newly caught ; and it is obfervable, that the arctic 
 gulls never chafe the others but when they find 
 them fifhing. 
 
 ^Bonxie, (fiipra, p. 90.) Skua- gull, Larus Cataradcs. 
 ■ — This is the Port Egmont Hen of our circum- 
 
 C c navigators,
 
 i202 APPENDIX. [no. 7. 
 
 navigators. It breeds chiefly in Foulah, but has 
 been alio fliot in Unit. See Dr Traill's defcrip- 
 tion, App. No. IV. p. 160. It is alfo called yX'^^zV. 
 
 ^Tarrock^, or Pi5lani)\(fupra^ p. 42.) Sea-fwallow, 
 Sterna Hirundo. — This bird is known by a great 
 variety of names, moft of which feem to be imi- 
 tations of its ditTerent calls. In Orkney it is ge- 
 nerally named the rittoch or rittock, (Barry's Hif|. 
 p. 303.)- fometi'mes the tarrock or tar>et. In 
 Shetland it is commonly called the rippock ; forae- 
 times the tirrick or tarrack. In both fqts of 
 iflands, as well as in the fouth of Scotland, the 
 names kiruiew, tarney, and piciernie ox picketarnie^ 
 are occafionaily applied to it. In England it is 
 called the tern or fea-fwalloiv. In Wales, the 
 
 fpiirre and the fcraye. In Norway, ta:n, tarne, 
 
 fand-tariie. 
 
 "^Hegrie or Skip-hegriCy Heron, Ardea major. — This 
 is the common name in Shetland ; but I do not 
 recollect to have heard it ufed in Orkney. Heyre 
 or begre is the Norwegian. 
 
 Hoarje- 
 
 f In his Hiftory of Orkney, (p. 303.) Dr Barry fays, " The 
 "■ tarrock,^^ (f. ^. the tarrock of Pennant), " Larus tridaftylus 
 " Lin., feems to be our kittiv/ake ; it is by far the moft com- 
 '•' mon of the gull kind in this place : indeed, to fuch a degree 
 *' does this fpecies cover the rocks with its numbers, that they 
 *' appear white at a diftance." The kittiwake (or, as it is fome- 
 times called, kijliifath) is now admitted to be the larus rifla of 
 LinuKus, and the defcrlption here given of its gregarious num- 
 bers is juft and applicable ; and ornithologills leem now to be 
 agreed, that the l.arus trydaiSylus of Linnseus is merely the 
 kittiwake before it have attained its full growth. The tarrock 
 of Orhneyh, as already (tated, the ftcrna hirundo of Linnaeus, and 
 to it, the above account as to numerous flocks docs by no means 
 apply.- Mr Pennant, it appears, had adopted the name tarrock 
 f.om Willughby ; and on turning to that author, (Ornithologia, 
 Lend. 1675, p. 263.), I find, that tarrock is a provincial Cornilh 
 name for the young of the kittiwake. When Dr Barry men- 
 tions the tarrock, therefore, he muft be underftood as fpeaking 
 of the Tarrock of Cornivall (larus trydadlylus), not the Tarrock 
 of Orkney (ftcrna hirundo).
 
 NO. 7.] BIRDS OF ORKNEY. 203 
 
 '*Hoarfe-gouk or Horfe-gauk, Snipe, Scolopax Galli- 
 
 nago. (Hiit. of Ork. p. 307.) — Very plentiful in 
 
 the moill moorilh paltures in Orkney. Horfe- 
 
 gog and Rof-gaiik are Norwegian names for birds 
 
 of the fnipe kind. 
 
 Whaap, or Stock-whaap^ Curlew, Scolopax arquata. 
 
 ^'lang-wbaap, Whimbrel, Scolopax Phoeopiis. — - 
 This I'pecies is omitted by Dr Barry. 
 
 Half-web, Grey phalarope, Tringa lobata, (p. 43.) 
 
 '*'^ee-'whaap. Lapwing, Tringa Vanellus. — In the 
 fouth of Scotland this bird has feveral names, 
 which, like tee- whaap, are imitations of its que- 
 rulous call ; peefeweep, peewity teewit, teiichit, &.c. 
 It is alfo called green plover. 
 
 Sand-lark, Ringed plover, Charadrius Hiaticula. — 
 (Barry, p. 306.) 
 
 '^Chaldrick^ (fupra, p. -24.) Sea-pie, Haematopus 
 oftralegus. — This bird is in Orkney alfo called 
 J'colder,Jkeldrake,2i.ndJkelder-drake, probably from 
 its incelfant fhrill dilcordant call when difiurbed, 
 which may not unaptly be compared to what the 
 lower orders in Orkney t^xm Jkeldering, or fcold- 
 ing. In Shetland it is generally called chalder. 
 In the Hebrides tirma and trillichan. In Norway, 
 kiceld, ticeld, or glib. 
 
 '*S7iytb, Coot, Fulica atra. — Loch of Aikernefs, &c. 
 (Hift. of Ork. p. 300.) > 
 
 Corn-crake, Land-rail, Rallus Crex f, 
 
 Teeting 
 
 \ The land-rail is exceedingly abundant in Orkney, and is 
 alfo pretty common in Shetland. It appears in the end of 
 April, and difappears in Odober. It has generally been con- 
 fidered as a migratory bird : 
 
 " Behold the corn-crake ; fhe too wings her way 
 " To other lands ; ne'er is fhe found immers'd 
 " In lakes, or buried torpid in the fand, 
 *' Tho' weak her wing contrafted with her bulk." 
 
 Graham- 
 
 I made
 
 ii04 APPENDIX. [no. 7. 
 
 ^Teetingj Titlark, Alauda pratenfis. On the heaths 
 in Orkney. 
 
 ^Stare, Starling, Sturnus vulgaris. In Orkney and 
 Shetland common. It is fometimes called Stir- 
 ling. In Norway, it is the Jiaer. 
 
 Feltifer, Fieldfare, Turdus pilaris. — Feltifers only 
 fpend a few days in Orkney and Shetland in their 
 wav fouthward in autumn. 
 
 *Snow-fow/, Snow-Jiake, or Oat-fowl, Snow-bunt- 
 ing, Emberiza nivalis. — Vaft flocks of fnow-fowls 
 fpend the winter in the Orkneys. It is the fnee- 
 fugl of Norway. 
 
 Chacky or Check, Wheat-ear, Motacilla Oenanthe. — 
 (Hift. of Ork. p. 308., where the Englifh name is 
 printed white-f^x in place oi wheat -^'^x.') 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 I made frequent inquiry whether corn-crakes had been feen 
 to migrate from Orkney ; but could not learn that fuch a cir- 
 cumftance had been obferved. It is the opinion of the inhabi- 
 tants, indeed, that they are not able to undertake a flight acrofs 
 the fea, Mr Yorfton, the farmer at Aikernefs, further related 
 a curious fadV, rather leading to the conclufion that they do not 
 migrate. In the courfe of demolifhing a bill-dike, (i. e. a mud- 
 wall) at Aikernefs about midwinter, z.corn-crake was found in the 
 midft of the wall : it was apparently lifelefsy but being frefh to 
 to the feel and fmell, Mr Yorfton thought cf placing it in a 
 warm fituation, to fee if it would revive. In a fhort time it 
 began to move, and in a few hours it was able to walk about. 
 It lived for two days in the kitchen, but would not eat any kind 
 of food. It then finally died, and putrefied. — I do not affert 
 that this folitary inftance ought to he regarded in any other 
 light than as an exception to the general rule of migration, till 
 further obfervation have determined the point.
 
 205 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Note A. (p. 13.) 
 
 AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ORKNEY. 
 
 I AM happy to have it in my power to mention, 
 that a number of the landholders and principal farm- 
 ers in Orkney, fenfible of the low ftate of hufban- 
 dry in the iflands, and delirous of its improvement, 
 formed themfelvcs into an Agricultural Society at 
 Kirkwall, in the beginning of the year 1805. The 
 Society, I am informed, now confifts of about feven- 
 ty members. Mr Malcom Laing, advocate, (an ex- 
 tenfive proprietor in Orkney), is prefes : Dr Monro 
 of Kirkwall, vice-prcfes : Mr Mitchell, writer in 
 Kirkwall, fecretary. Hitherto, indeed, the So- 
 ciety has done very little ; but I undcriland it is 
 fpeedily to commence more extenlive operations ; 
 and important beneficial confequences willdoubtleis 
 refult from any example it may fet, in promoting 
 draining, inclofing, planting, 6«t-c. by offering pre- 
 miums, and otherwife. No lands in Scotland, it is 
 believed, are more capable of melioration than fome 
 diftridts of Orkney. 1 ftiall here only obferve, that 
 it will firft of all be neceifary that the landlords 
 grant long leafes ; and, in thefe, ftipulate with their 
 tenants as to draining, ditching and fencing, or ra- 
 ther engage to aid them in accomplilhing fuch in- 
 difpenfable fteps towards improvement. 
 
 Mofl of Sir Alexander Seton's remarks on the 
 means of improving Shetland, (from p. 175, to 
 p. 180.), are equally applicable to Orkney. 
 
 The notice of Lord Meadowbank's theory of 
 peat-compojls at p. 176. being rather fhort, and not 
 
 perfedlly
 
 ^06 APPENDIX. 
 
 perfedly diftinct, the following explanation is ad- 
 ded from the firft authority. " Even till, or a fub- 
 foil of coarfe clays and fand, when fpread on drained 
 peat, has been found to produce very quickly a 
 kindly grafs ; but there can be no doubt that the 
 addition of a little fliell-marl would prove highly 
 beneficial. And according to Lord Meadowbank's 
 experiments, it is proved, that peat laid up with a 
 fourth part of farm-yard dung into a compoft 
 dunghi], or with a flill lefs proportion of the refufe 
 of filheries, or any other animal fubftance, from a 
 tenth to a twentieth, undergoes a powerful fefmen- , 
 ration, which renders it, in four months in the for- 
 mer cafe, and in twelve months in the latter, a power- 
 ful dung, even without the aid of lime or marl ; 
 which, however, if mixed in very fmall quantities 
 with the compoft, to the extent of Yr^h part or fo, 
 was found to haften the preparation of the peat. 
 And thefe compofts have been found to raife pota- 
 toes and carrots equally well with farm-yard 
 dung, when laid on drained peat-fields, and to af- 
 ford a fucceflion of crops that gradually prepared a 
 foil for oats and grafs." 
 
 Note B. (p. 30.) 
 
 KELP AND BARILLA. 
 
 The theory of the produdlion of the foda in kelp is 
 not yet well underftood. Gren and La Metherie af- 
 firm, that ibda exiils ready-formed in marine plants. 
 Jacquin, on the contrary, fays, that only fea-falt is 
 prei'ent, the foda being produced by the pyro-lignic 
 (or acetous) acid decompofing the fea-falt ; and in 
 proof of this he mentions, that v.'hen the falfola plant 
 was raifed in inland fituations, its afties yielded only 
 potafli. From a feries of experiments, (detailed in 
 the " Annales de Chimie" for 1791) Bouvier con- 
 cluded, that no uncombined alkali is prefent in marine 
 plants ; but his experiments were made on the fuci 
 only, or plants which grow ijinnerfed in the fea. The 
 
 experiments
 
 NOTES. KELP. 20^ 
 
 experiments of Vauquelin ('* Annalcs de Chimie" for 
 1793) decided the queftion as far as regards the fal- 
 fola foda, which grows on the fandy fliores of France, 
 and, by analogy, other faline vegetables growing on 
 the land. He found, '* que la foude exifte toute 
 "' formee dans la falfola, et que le feu ne fait que 
 " la developer," by feparating the other principles 
 of the vegetable. The fuci or fea- weeds are doubt- 
 lefs lefs complete plants than the different fpecies of 
 falfola, falicornia, &.c. which grow on the land, and 
 from which barilla is prepared ; yet as they do ve^ 
 getate^ we may perhaps fufpedl an inaccuracy in 
 Bouvier, and extend Vauquelin's dodrine to them 
 alfo. If Bouvier be corred, it is evident that the 
 foda found in kelp muft be derived from the mu- 
 riate of foda, decompofed either by the acetous 
 acid, or, what is more likely, by the potafh prefent, 
 during combuftion and fuiion. Upon the whole, it 
 may be regarded as extremely probable, that, in the 
 cafe of fea- weeds, the muriatic acid is partly difchar- 
 ged by the vegetation of the plant, and that a portion 
 of foda comes thus to exift ready-formed in it ; or at 
 leaft, that the ftate of combination is fo altered 
 or modified by the procefs of vegetation, as to enable 
 heat alone to effe6l the difengagement of the acid. 
 If vegetation have no effed:, as Bouvier would lead 
 us to conclude, one might almofl expect to procure 
 kelp by incinerating any kind of vegetables, or even 
 old linen, that had been thoroughly drenched in 
 fea-water. 
 
 Various tells have been prefcribed for afcertain- 
 ing the value of a cargo of kelp. One method pro- 
 poled by Mr Kirwan is a very fimple one, viz. 
 To determine what quantity of pure foda is requi- 
 fite to faturate a certain quantity of fulphuric acid, 
 of one fpecific gravity : then to try what weight of 
 the kelp is requilite for that quantity of the acid. 
 This plan would, no doubt, nearly afcertain the 
 quantity of alkali prefent ; but it would not deter- 
 mine the quantity o^foda prefent: it is, in fliort, a tell 
 
 that
 
 208 APPENDIX. 
 
 that might be employed by the glafs-maker or the 
 bleacher, but not by the foap-boiler. Further, as the 
 fulphuric acid might decompofe portions of the mu- 
 riate of potafs and the muriate of foda, which are 
 always prefent, we might perhaps be led to reckon 
 the kelp richer in foda than it would prove to be 
 when merely diffblved in boiling water. 
 
 More lately, Mr Kirvvan has propofed a more 
 exacl method, — by adding a folution of a certain 
 quantity of alum to a folution of a given portion 
 of the alkaline fubftance, and weighing the precipi- 
 tate. For the details of the procefs, fee Irifh Tranf- 
 adions 1789, or Henry's Epitome of Chemiftry, 8vo. 
 p. 389. ; where the means of afcertaining the pro- 
 portional quantities both of the mineral and vege- 
 table alkali prefent, are pointed out. 
 
 Fucus veliculofus, or yellow bladder-wrack, has 
 been generally confidered as the fea-weed mod pro- 
 dudlive of alkali ; but Dr Traill informs me, that 
 experiments made by him in Orkney led him to 
 conclude, that fucus digitatus, or great tangle, is the 
 richeit kelp-weed. He employed only the leaves of 
 the tangle. 
 
 While fuccefsful attempts have been made to cul- 
 tivate the fuci, by rolling into fandy bays large 
 blocks of limeftone or whinftone, which in three 
 years become thickly covered with fucus nodofus 
 and veliculofus, (with the feeds of whichf*the fea 
 feems to teem), it has often appeared to me furpri- 
 fmg, that no attempt has been made to convert the 
 falt-marflies and dry fandy fhore of Britain to pro- 
 fitable ufe, in producing native faline plants from 
 which barilla might be prepared. In the falt- 
 marflies, falicornia herbacea and fruticofa, (marfh 
 famphire), with after tripolium (the only ftar-flower 
 indigenous to Britain), might eafily be cultivated, 
 and thefe plants tafte ftrongly of fea-falts. On the 
 dry fands, might be fown falfola kali or prickly 
 glafswort, with bunias kakile or fea-rocket, and 
 arenaria peploides or fea-chickweed. All thefe 
 
 are
 
 «( 
 it 
 it 
 
 NOTES. — coalfish. 209 
 
 are native plants ; but probably fome others might 
 without much difficulty be introduced and na- 
 turalized. It may be proper to flate, however, that 
 Pallas * has thrown fome doubt on the fitnefs of 
 falicornia herbacea : " On s' imagine (he obferves) 
 " qu' on pent tirer la foude de cette limple, ainli que 
 de la plupart des plantes falines ; mais les effais faits 
 a Orenbourg ont prouve que cette plante contient 
 trop de fel commun." 
 
 V 
 
 Note C. (pp. 39. & 62.) 
 
 GREY-FISH, OR COALFISH. 
 
 The coalfilh, in the different ftages of its growth, 
 being found in vaft abundance on mod of our 
 Ihores, is known by a greater number of names than 
 perhaps any other fifh. In Orkney and Shetland, the 
 fry are caUcd Jillocks or fel/ocks ; at Edinburgh, pod- 
 leys ; and at Scarborough, ^^rj. The year-old coal- 
 filh is the cooth of Orkney ; the piltock of Shetland ; 
 xht pollock of the Hebrides; the ^//2^c/^ of Suther- 
 land ; the cuddieo^ the Moray Frith ; they grey-pod- 
 /^fyofEdinburgh ; and the ^f//f^ of Scarborough. The 
 appearance of the coalfilh varies much with its age : 
 hence a new feries of provincial names. In Orkney 
 it is I. ^Jillock ; 2. a cooth ; 3. a harbin ; 4. a cud- 
 den ; and, 5. ?i.fethe. The full grown fifh is alfo, in 
 different places, termed a fey^ a grey lingy a grey 
 lord, &c. 
 
 In Dr Campbell's Political Survey, under the ar- 
 ticle Shetland IJlands, it is ftatcd : " As for fillucks 
 " and piltocks, which are a kind of fmall whales, 
 *' the meaner fort live on their flefli, fuch as it is." 
 As above obferved, the Jtllock is the young fry of the 
 coalfifh, and the piltock the fame fifh a year old. 
 The Dodtor has probably been led into the ludicrous 
 miftake of defcribing them as " fmall whales," from 
 
 D d the 
 
 * Voyages, torn, i.
 
 210 APPENDIX. 
 
 the limilarity of the name pihock (or pillock, as it is 
 Ibmetimes pronounced), to palacb, the name by 
 which the porpeffe is univerlally known in the Ork- 
 ney and Shetland illands. 
 
 Note D. (p. 46.) 
 
 AIKERNESS. WINTER-FODDER. 
 
 The remarks to be found on the fubje6t of win- 
 ter-fodder in Sir Alexander Seton's letter, p. 176., 
 and which are equally applicable to Orkney as to 
 Shetland, fuperfede in a great meafure thofe which 
 I meant here to have introduced. The hay which 
 I faw preparing at Aikernefs, was truly coarfe ; but 
 in many places, no llore of fodder whatever is pro- 
 vided, but the horfes and cattle are turned adrift in 
 mid- winter to feek their food on the dreary hills and 
 moors. The Meadow foft-grafs, (Holcus lanatus), 
 though not one of the beft pafture-graffes, deferves 
 perhaps the attention of Orkney improvers : The 
 feed being abundant, could be eafily collected : it 
 affords a fure and ample crop, and might probably 
 be fown on poor chilly expofed foils with much 
 greater advantage than Dutch clover and rye-grafs 
 feeds, — which, after cofting coniiderable fums in 
 the fouth, are here fometimes nearly thrown away 
 on foils not congenial to their growth. 
 
 Dr Graham of Aberfoil, 1 obferve, recommends 
 the culture of Holcus 7nollis in an earneft manner. 
 He fays, *' It is particularly grateful to cattle. It 
 ** has broad leaves. It fpreads, and forms horizon- 
 " tal rtools from 14 to 18 inches in diameter ; and 
 " from the abundance of its feeds, and its difpofi- 
 " tion to multiply by flioots, it feeras peculiarly fit- 
 " ted for covering the ground expeditioufly *." 
 From the whole defcription and account of this 
 
 grafs, 
 
 * Communications to the Board of Agriculture, vol. iv., 
 p. 197.
 
 NOTES. TIMBER. 211 
 
 grafs, it would appear that it is the Meadow foft- 
 grafs or Holcus lanatiis (above mentioned) that is in- 
 tended to be recommended. Indeed the Holcus 
 mollis is a much lefs common plant ; and though it 
 has creeping roots, yet only one ftalk arifes from 
 each plant ; while a iingle plant of H. lanatus forms 
 a tuft from which numerous ftalks arife. Holcus 
 mollis grows naturally on dry foils, generally in corn- 
 fields ; while H. lanatus prefers wet foils, and, as 
 M.^ ^WQ.ynQ,\n]\h Gramina pafcua, obferves, flou- 
 riflies on *' moift turf or peat land." 
 
 Note E. (p. 57.) 
 
 GROWING OF TIMBER IN ORKNEY AND SHETLAND. 
 
 The circumilance of the fliores of Norway being 
 clothed with fir-trees *, is doubtlefs aftrong analogi- 
 cal argument in favour of the pradticability of raif- 
 ing timber in the Orkney and Shetland illands. 
 
 •' In refpedl to the foil," (fays the Bifliop of Ber- 
 gen \), " it is not the good, rich and black earth, 
 " that favours the fir-trees ; nor the clayey foil ; but 
 " rather the gravelly, fandy, or moorilh lands." 
 This is an obfervatiou well calculated to infpire 
 hopes of fuccefs. 
 
 ThoLifands of young fir- plants are cut, every 
 fpring, by the peafants of Norway, for food to their 
 cattle. It would not probably be difficult, therefore, 
 to procure quantities of faplings from that country. 
 But if this were found to be too troublefome, it may 
 be fuggelted that the ripe cones might be brought 
 over (and thefe could eafily be coUeded), and that 
 the feeds might, by way of trial, be fown where the 
 trees were intended to grow. This fimple plan might 
 
 polTibly 
 
 * The fir-trees of Norway are, I find, l\\Q fare or fpruce, pinns 
 abies (not the filver-fir, as fuppofed at p. 57.) ; and the gran or 
 pine, pinus fylveftris, well known by the n.imc «f Scots-fir. 
 
 t Nat. Hift. of Norway, vol. i. p. 143.
 
 212 APPENDIX. 
 
 poflibly be found preferable to raifing the plants in 
 nurferies or gardens in the iflands. We fhould, in 
 fuch cafes, adopt every approximation to the methods 
 of nature. Pontopiddan even fuggefts, that inllead 
 of inserting the feeds in the foil, it would be better to 
 hang the branches, containing the cones, upon poles 
 at different diftances, and to allow the feeds to drop 
 out and fow themfelvcs. At any rate, the feeds 
 might be merely raked in. The experiment might 
 be tried on any piece of dry rocky land (an acre or 
 more), which could mod eafily be proteded from 
 the inroads of fheep or cattle, the exclufion of thefe 
 being indifpcnfable. The feeds might be fown very 
 clofe ; and if only one in ten or twenty were to ve- 
 getate, (and that is not a very fanguine expedation), 
 a flattering foundation would be laid for ultimate 
 fuccefs. 
 
 Having mentioned this fubjedl to Mr James Hoy 
 at Gordon Caltle, he obferved to me, that ** it is re- 
 markable that trees thrive naturally on the weft coafl: 
 of Scotland, as well as on the wejl Qo-a.^ of Norway, 
 in fome places very nearly down to the fea fide ; 
 while, in feveral places on the eajl coaft of Scotland, 
 they cannot be reared at all ; and therefore what- 
 ever caufe of difference may lie in the foil, it would 
 appear that much is owing to expofure. The expo- 
 fure to ftrong, fweeping unchecked v^'inds, feems to 
 be the chief obrtacle to the raifing of timber. Hills 
 act upon the wind as a dam- dike does on a running 
 llream, in producing confiderable ftillnefs or even 
 calm upon the fide from which the current flows. 
 This confideration fliould induce planters to begin 
 always at the bottom of hills, and extend their 
 plantations gruduaHy towards the fea. A hedge 
 upon the fide next the fea, though defirable, could 
 fcarcely perhaps be reared of any tree or plant. Hip- 
 pophae rhamnoides (fea buckthorn) might be tried : 
 but Sambucus nigra (elder bufli) would probably be 
 found preferable." 
 
 For
 
 NOTES. WILLOWS. 213 
 
 For the raifing of larch, afh, fycamore, and others, 
 nurferies ftiould be eftablifhed in the iflands them- 
 felves ; it being certain that plants refemble animals 
 in becoming gradually habituated to particular cli- 
 mates and foils. 
 
 In places where Salix acuminata, S. arbufcula, a- 
 quatica, and others, grow, various willows might be 
 cultivated, fuited for wicker-work and cooperage. 
 Salix fragilis or crack-willow would grow freely ; it 
 makes large flioots every feafon, and bears cropping 
 admirably. It anfwcrs well for making crets, 
 cradles, and large bafkets. The namQ fragilis only 
 intimates that the annual flioot is very ealily detach- 
 ed from the trunk, the twig itfelf being very flexi- 
 ble and tough. Salix viminalis or common ofier, 
 alfo grows very freely, and is much in requefl by 
 coopers. Salix Helix, or rofe willow ; S. triandra, 
 or long-leaved ofier ; and S. vitellina or yellow ofier, 
 would doubtlefs fucceed, and they are all employed 
 in balket-making. To thefe might be added S. 
 Forbyana or baiket ofier, for the nicer kinds of 
 work ; and S. Rufl^elliana, which would be very ufe- 
 ful not only for making crets and creels, but in tan- 
 ning, — the bark being fuperior for t-his purpofe per- 
 haps to oak-bark. A decodion of it would form an 
 excellent liquor in which to fteep their herrmg 
 nets. 
 
 ^ Note F. (p. 6i.) 
 
 MOLUCCA BEAMS. 
 
 I have lately obferved a paper " on the beans call 
 alhore in Orkney," in Philofophical Tranfadions 
 1696, No. 222. by Sir Hans Sloane. He mentions 
 three kinds as pretty common: the Cocoon; the 
 Horfe-eye-bean ; and the Afh-coloured nickar. The 
 two former are the kmds which I got in the iflands, 
 in 1804. The cocoon of Sloane is evidently the feed 
 of the Mimofa fcandeus of Linnaeus, the Gigalobium 
 
 of
 
 ^14 APPENDIX, 
 
 of Brown's " Jamaica." It is the largeft of the 
 beans figured in Wallace's " Defcription of Ork- 
 ney," 1693. 2. The horfe-cye~hean of Sloane is dif- 
 tindly the feed of Dolichos urens Lin. ; the Zooph- 
 talmum of Brown, who calls the feed, ox-eye-bean. 
 This is the fmaller bean figured by Wallace, and is 
 eafily known by the hilus or welt which furrounds 
 it, and which gives it fomewhat the appearance of a 
 horfe's or ox's eye. 3. T\\q ajh-coloured nickar h 
 the feed of the Guilandina bonduc Lin. It is not 
 fo commonly found as the others. It is a perfed- 
 ly round hard feed, little larger than a mulket-bul- 
 let. 
 
 Note G. (p. 72.) 
 
 HERRING-FISHERY. 
 
 This immenfe field for induflry, — this inexhauH- 
 ible fource of wealth, — has been often defcribed y 
 but flill it is in a great meafure negleded ; at leafh 
 we certainly do not derive from '^it thofe vaft ad- 
 vantages which it is calculated to afford, and 
 which it did, for a very long feries of years, afford 
 to the States of Holland. At a moment when we 
 are liftening to the eloquent and plaufible, but I 
 fear fedudive and dangerous arguments of the Earl 
 of Selkirk in favour of emigration, I cannot omit 
 this opportunity of very briefly calling into view 
 the extent and the value of this fifliery, which, if 
 duly profccuted, would afford cheerful and profi- 
 table employment at home, to any number of thofe 
 deluded men who are every year abandoning their 
 native country, in queft of imaginary happinefs and 
 riches in the woods and fens of America ; — and I 
 prefume it will at once be conceded, that ten or 
 twenty thoufand Scotfmen engaged in the Shetland 
 hcrring-fifiiery, would, in this eventful period, be a 
 much more agreeable objed of contemplation to the 
 mother country, than the fineft imaginable fettlement 
 
 ia
 
 NOTES. HERRINGS. 215 
 
 in Prince Edward's Illand, or on the banks of the 
 St Lawrence. 
 
 It is fcarcely poflible to form an idea of the im- 
 menfity of the grand northern fhoal of herrings 
 which approaches the Shetland Illands every month 
 of June. " The flocks of fea-birds, for their num- 
 ber," it has been obferved, " baffle the power of fi- 
 gures :" 
 
 Where the Northern Ocean in vaft whirls 
 
 Boils round the naked melancholy ifles 
 
 OffartheftThule; 
 
 Who can recount what tranfmigratlons there 
 Are annual made ? what nations come and go ? 
 And how the living clouds on clouds arife ? 
 Infinite wings ! till all the plume-dark air 
 And rude refounding fhore, are one wild cry *. 
 
 " But the fwarms of fifhes, as if engendered in the 
 clouds, and fliowered down like the rain, are mul- 
 tiplied in an incomprehenfible degree. Of all the 
 various tribes of fifties, the Herring is the moft nu- 
 merous. Clolely embodied in refplendent columns 
 of many miles in length and breadth, and in depth 
 from the furface to the bottom of the fea, the flioals 
 of this tribe peacefully glide along, and, glittering 
 like a huge refleded rainbow or aurora borealis, at- 
 tract the eyes of all their attendant foesf." 
 
 Let it not be thought that this fwelling defcrip- 
 tion exaggerates the amount of the fhoals : let it be 
 coolly confidered that for more than a century the 
 Dutch annually loaded above a thoufand decked 
 veffels out of this grand northern ftioal, and yet 
 that this immenfe capture never in any year fenfi- 
 bly diminiflicd the number of herrings around Shet^ 
 land, which, after thefe foreigners were glutted, 
 regularly continued to prefs forward toward the 
 illands in vaft bodies, frequently crowding into 
 every creek and bay I 
 
 The 
 
 s 
 
 * Thomfoa. f Bewick, Introd.
 
 216 APPENDIX. 
 
 The Dutch, it is well known, accounted this fifli- 
 ery their " gold mine." It feems generally agreed 
 among authors, that it yielded them, for a long 
 courfe of years, L. 3,000,000 Sterling yearly. Dr 
 Campbell, after prcmiling that the value of the 
 Dutch fifliery has' often been exaggerated, and that 
 he will therefore give a " modeft computation," pro- 
 ceeds thus : " It would however be no difficult 
 thing to prove, to the fatisfadion of the candid as 
 well as critical inquirer, that, while it continued 
 to flourifh in their hand, they drew from their fifh- 
 ery out of the ocean waffiing the coaft of Shetland, 
 to the amount of two hundred millions Ster- 
 ling*." From 1500 to 2000 floops were employed 
 in filhing : this gave occalion to the freighting of 
 6000 more ; and thus the herring -fifliery gave em- 
 ployment and fubfiftence to above a hundred thou- 
 fand perfons -f. 
 
 Captain Smith, who was fent to Shetland fo long 
 ago as 1633, exprefsly to report on the Dutch fifli- 
 ery, fays, "I was an eye.witnefs of the Hollanders' 
 bufles fifliing for herrings on the coaft of Shetland, 
 not far from Ounft, one of the northernmoft: iflands. 
 Demanding the number of them, I was informed 
 that the fleet confifted of 1500 fail, of 80 tons bur- 
 den each, and about 20 armed fliips, carrying 30 
 guns a-piece, as convoy." The conclufion drawn 
 by the captain, is quite charadleriftic of a Britifli 
 failor : it is ftated with much fpirit, and though 
 his plan is not a pradicable one, his language forci- 
 bly ftiews how ftrongly his mind was imprefled 
 with the vaftnefs of this fifliery, and the ab- 
 furdity of negleding it : ** If the King J would fend 
 out fuch a fleet of buffes for the fifliing-trade, be- 
 ing in our own feas, and on our own grounds, and 
 
 all 
 
 * Political Survey, vol, i. p. 696. f l^id. 
 
 J Charles I.
 
 NOTES. HERRINGS. 217 
 
 all ftrangers were difcharged from filliing in thofe 
 feas, that the fubjeds of the three kingdoms only- 
 may have it, it would make our king rich and glo- 
 rious, and the three kingdoms happy ; not one 
 would want bread, — and God would be praifed, — 
 and the King loved." 
 
 About half a century ago, the herring-fifhery on 
 the coafl of Shetland was very fuccefsfully profecu- 
 ted by fome Englifh companies. But, through un- 
 accountable mifmanagement, it has lor many years 
 paft been abandoned. At prefent, alfo, owing to 
 the troublous ftate of the North of Europe, this fifh- 
 ery is more negledled by foreigners than at any pe- 
 riod during the lad two centuries. Very few Danes, 
 Swedes or Pruffians, 1 underftand, now make their 
 appearance. The French and Dutch dare not. A 
 few floops from ports on the eaft coaft of Scotland 
 are fcarcely worth mentioning. 
 
 With refped to local pofition, the Shetlanders 
 themfelves are bell fituated for carrying on this fifh- 
 ery : But owing to poverty, the tenants or fifhers 
 are quite unable to engage in it : they can only 
 take a few hundred barrels of the inferior kind of 
 herrings which enter their voes in harveft. In fum- 
 mer 1804, a fcarcity approaching to famine prevail- 
 ed in Shetland ; yet herrings, in countlefs myriads, 
 were known to be off Unit. How deplorable to 
 think that the people fhould ftarve while there was, 
 at the fame time, a " wafte, at their doors, fufficient 
 to feed half the human race I" The capital requi- 
 fite for the purchafe of floops, nets, fait and caflcs, in 
 order to an effcdual prol'ecution of the fifhery at fea, 
 would, it is believed, exceed the ability even of mcft 
 of the Shetland lairds. 
 
 From Shetland, however, this fifliery, if underta- 
 ken by Englifh or Scots companies, could befl be car- 
 ried on. It would here be accompanied with leait 
 trouble and rifle of delay, and with leafl: expence. 
 Shetland is near to the fcene of the fifliery : the 
 Shetlanders are remarkably patient of fatigue in 
 
 E e filhing :
 
 2 IS APPENDIX. 
 
 fifhing : they are accuftomed to very forry accom- 
 modation: and being habituated to indifferent fare, 
 would not require that expenfive victualling which 
 is indifpenfable to an Engiifh crew. 
 
 The rules obferved by the Dutch curers are now 
 generally known *, and in fome degree pradifed. 
 But ftill it would probably be of confiderable ad- 
 vantage if the influence of Government were em- 
 ployed to encourage fome fifliing-families from Hol- 
 land to fettle in Shetland. A few Dutch curers 
 thus difperfed among the Britifh fmacks, might 
 prove exceedingly ufeful. 
 
 May it not be hoped that fome opulent EngliHi 
 and Scottifli companies,' — under the follering care 
 of a paternal Government, — will undertake this 
 Shetland, fifliery on a great fcale, — a fpeculation 
 which, if peifevercd in, would furcly, in the event, 
 become exceedingly profitable. The Hamburgh mar- 
 ket alone would take off the produce of a hundred 
 fioops, except the tatle for Shetland herrings has de- 
 clined in the north of Germany. There is a great de- 
 mand for herrings from our Weft India colonies, for 
 the food of Negroes : and the home confumption 
 would furcly not be inconliderable. Jf every inha- 
 bitant of the ifland were to eat only two herrings in 
 the year, it would open a market for the produce of 
 another hundred fioops, even fuppofing them to fifti 
 with the greateft poffible fuccefs. The herring fifli- 
 ery is an undertaking, indeed, of national impor- 
 tance, not merely as a fource of wealth, but as an 
 additional nurfery for our navy. 
 
 If this fiffiery were to be extenfively carried on 
 from Shetland, fome additional villages would be- 
 come neceffary, and winter employments would be 
 wanted. The manufa(^lure of herring-nets might 
 properly and advantagcouily occupy many durmg 
 
 the 
 
 * They are printed in die Tranfadions of the Highland Society 
 of Edinburgh, vol. ii. 328 — 345.
 
 NOTES. HERRINGS. 219 
 
 the winter: and with this, might commodioufly be 
 joined the manufacture of lines for the cod and ling 
 fifhery. 
 
 To thefe very curfory and imperfe6l hints on the 
 importance of this lifliery, I fhall fubjoin a few re- 
 marks connected with the natural hiflory of the 
 Herring, for the principal part of which 1 am in- 
 debted to my friend Dr Haluday of Edinburgh, 
 (now of Halefworth in Suffolk). 
 
 I am aware that Dr Anderfon, in his Agricul- 
 tural Recreations, has rendered it highly probable 
 that the herrings, inftead of rendezvoufing near to 
 the North Pole, as was formerly imagined, only re- 
 tire a little way from our coafts, or fink deeper in 
 the fea, at particular feafons. He remarks, That the 
 filhery commences fooner in fome foutherih bays, 
 than in others that are xdoxo, northerly \ That the 
 return of the grand fhoal to the northward is never 
 obferved ; That from peculiarities in the fliape and 
 fize of the herrings at different fiiheries, it is evident 
 that the herrings of the fame breed, or partial flioal, 
 return annually to the fame ftiores : and, that they do 
 not retire towards the North Pole to fpawn, as was 
 formerly imagined; but on the contrary, are taken 
 on our coalt, both when full of roe, and immediate- 
 ly after fpawning, when the fry are feen. 
 
 This lad obfervation of the Doctor's is undoubt- 
 edly corred. The fry is, at particular feafons, itzw 
 in the Orkney and Shetland feas in incredible num- 
 bers : it is then called the herring-Joil, and is ac- 
 companied by thoufands of the fmaller gulls and 
 divers. 
 
 The growth of the fry is very rapid ; it has been 
 watched by Dr Halliday, who informs me, " that on 
 the weftern fhores of the llle of Mull, he has 
 obferved, in the months of March and April, the 
 herring- fpawn which was accidentally entangled by 
 
 th^
 
 220 APPENDIX. 
 
 the cod-lines, to be vivified ; the two eyes and head 
 of the herring being then diicernible ; and that this 
 fpawn was raifed by thole lines only, which were fet 
 on the banks at fome diflance from the fhore. In a 
 fortnight, however, he obferved the fry, about an inch 
 in length, in great fwarms clofe by the Ihore ; and in 
 fix weeks they were three inches long." — Hence Dr 
 Halliday concludes, that it is poffible the herring 
 may attain its full growth in one year, inftead of re- 
 quiring three, as Dr Walker and others have fup- 
 pofed, 
 
 Dr Halliday farther informs me, that he has ob- 
 ferved that the herrings leave the weftern fnores of 
 Mull when about fix weeks old, and fteer to the 
 northward : but that they do not go many leagues 
 from land, he confiders as beyond doubt. He con- 
 ceives that fome place not far dillant from the illand 
 of Unll may be their rendezvous or grazing-ground, 
 (if we may be allowed the expreffion) : — That du- 
 ring the harveft and winter they keep near the bot- 
 tom, where they feed and grow to maturity : that in 
 the fpring they coUedt, rife to the furface, and begin 
 to move off in various diredions to the fouthward, 
 for the purpofe of fpawning. 
 
 As already remarked, they do not depofite their 
 fpawn near the Ihore, but in the middle of the 
 lochs or bays, or on the banks which are generally to 
 be found at the mouths of the lochs. If, however, 
 they arc frightened from the fpawning ground, they 
 fly towards the Ihores, and are then full of roe ; 
 but tney foon retire again, and do not return till 
 freed from their load. They then range along the 
 fliores for iome time, and at laft retire towards the 
 north, folio wmg the fry of the former years. 
 
 It may be proper to add, that it is frequently ob- 
 ferved on the weltern coaft of Scotland, that a few 
 weeks after the fiift flioal ha^left the lochs, a fecond 
 fhoal ent^M-s them, in full roe. This f«cond fhoal 
 appears in the end of Odtober or beginning of No- 
 vember :
 
 NOTES. WHALES. C2l 
 
 vember : they depofite their fpawn and leave the 
 lochs as before. It is poffible that the fry which 
 leaves the coall in the beginning of May, may be the 
 fame that returns to it next year about the fame 
 period, and that thefe may proceed from the Ipawn 
 depofited in the latter end of the feafon ; while the 
 fry of the June fpawn having got off before the 
 winter commenced, may return the following No- 
 vember ; — thus allowing, from the depofiting of 
 the roe, to the maturity of the herring, eighteen 
 months. 
 
 Note H. (p. 76.) 
 
 UVEA SOUND WHALES. 
 
 By a letter from a gentleman at Uyea Sound, 
 Unft, 1 was informed, that " on the 2ifl February 
 1805, no fewer than 190 fmall whales, from fix to 
 twenty feet long, were forced afliore at Uyea Sound ; 
 and on the 19th March thereafter, j2o more at the 
 fame fpot ; in all, 310. In this fecond flioal there 
 were probably about 500, but very many efcaped." 
 To a leries of queries addreffed to the fame gentle- 
 man I received in fubftance the following anfwers. 
 *' They meafured from 6 to 24 feet in length : the 
 fmall ones appeared to be the young of the others. 
 They had two long and narrow pedoral fins, from 
 between 4 and 5, to even 9 feet long. 1 hey re- 
 mained at the furface of the water 10 or 15 minutes, 
 jull as the boats were near or dillant. They had 
 one fmall fin on the back. The people called them 
 bottle -nojes, and conunon black whales, but moll ge- 
 nerally ca''ing whales. They had a row of teeth, 
 i\ inches long, in both jaws, about two dozen in 
 number in each jaw. The upper jaw was rather 
 the wideft. They had no whalebone in the mouth, 
 and had only one blow- hole, fituated in a fmall hol- 
 Jow at the back of the head. Moil: of the females 
 
 were
 
 222 • APPENDIX. 
 
 were either with young or giving fuck. Many of the 
 young ones had got no teeth. They had all very 
 fine black Ikins, as foft and fmooth as filk. They 
 appeared to be very inoffenlive animals, and fliew- 
 ed much natural affedtion for each other : When 
 any one hid llruck the ground, it fet up a kind of 
 howling cry, and immediately others crowded to the 
 fpot, as for its relief. Sandy giddocks (fand-lances) 
 were found in their mouths." From information 
 furniflied by another gentleman, I further learned, 
 that " from the tip of the nofe to the laft vertebra 
 of the back-bone, the generality of the whales mea- 
 fured 20 feet : that the head was fhort and round, 
 refembling in fhape the head of a feal ; and that the 
 upper jaw projeded three or four inches over the low- 
 er." — " Numbers of the females (this gentleman 
 adds) were fuckling their young when driven afliore ; 
 and while they continued alive, the milk was feen to 
 iflue from their nipples : of thefe they had only two, 
 refembling the teats of a cow, but larger." 
 
 This kind of whale fometimes appears, in large 
 herds, off the Orkney, and efpecially the Shetland 
 iflands. Being of a gregarious difpofition, the 
 main body of the drove follows the leading whales, 
 as a flock of flieep follows the wedders. Hence 
 the name ca'ing ixjhales, beftowed on them by the 
 natives, who well know that if they are able to 
 guide the leaders into a bay, they are fure of like- 
 wife entangling multitudes of their followers. 
 Though the above defcription proves that they be- 
 long to the genus Delphinus, and are nearly allied 
 to the Delphinus Orca or Grampus, they appear to 
 me to differ in i'everal refpeds from that, or any of 
 the other fpecies defcribed by naturalifts, — fo much 
 at leaft, as to deferve the attention of gentlemen who 
 may hereafter enjoy opportunities of accurate obfer- 
 vation. — I ffiall briefly enumerate the points of dif- 
 fimilarity. 
 
 The 
 
 \
 
 NOTES. WHALES. 923 
 
 The grampus has the fnout " fpreading upwards" 
 according to Shaw * ; •' waved upwards" according 
 to Stewartf; " furfum repando," as LinricTus ex- 
 prefles it. But this charader was not to be found 
 in the casing whale, in which the nofe was neither 
 fpread nor turned up at end, but rounded and drop- 
 ping. But 1 muft remark that La Cepede (the able 
 continuator of BufFon's " Hiftoire Naturelle," and 
 whofe general accuracy is great) takes no notice 
 "whatever of the " waving or fpreading upwards," 
 the *' furfum repando," mentioned by preceding 
 authors. 
 
 In the grampus, according to Shaw% " the lower 
 ** jaw is much wider than the upper :" in the ca'ing 
 whale, however, we find that " the upper jaw was 
 rather the wideft." 
 
 The grampus is faid, in books, to have 30 teeth 
 in each jaw : the Uyea Sound whales had only 24 in 
 each jaw. But La Cepede remarks, that the num- 
 ber of vilible teeth varies with the age of the ani- 
 mal. 
 
 In Dr Shaw's figure of the grampus (which, I 
 mufi: confefs, is inferior in accuracy to that of La 
 Cepede), the pedoral fins are Ihort and round ; ac- 
 cording to La Cepede, they are " larges et prefques 
 ** ovales X' " 1" ^^^ ca'ing whale they are faid to be 
 " long and narrow," — thus bearing more refem- 
 blance to thofe of the Delphinus gladiator, (to be 
 afterwards fpoken of.) 
 
 " The back-fin," fays Dr Shaw, *' meafures 6 
 *' feet in height." In thelargefl; of the Uyea whales 
 it did not exceed 2 feet. La Cepede does not make 
 it fo long as Shaw. 
 
 The 
 
 * " General Zoology," in loco. 
 
 f " Elements of Natural Hlftory," 2 vols. 8vo. 
 
 :j: " Hiftoire Naturelle des Cetactes, par le citoyen La Ce- 
 ptde," p, 301. 4to, Paris, Pan xii.
 
 004 APPENDIX, 
 
 The eye of the ca'ing whale, I am informed, was 
 placed higher in the head than in Shaw's figure ; 
 and the fpiracle, as we have feen, was *' fituated in 
 a fmall hollow at the back of the head," and behind 
 the eye : no fiich hollow is delineated in Dr Shaw's 
 plate ; but this is probably an overfight, as it is dif- 
 tinctly depided in La Cepede's reprelentation of the 
 fame animal. 
 
 The Uyea whales had not the white fpot on each 
 flioulder, near the eye, defcribed as appearing in the 
 grampus, and figured by Shaw. But La Cepede only 
 lays, " On voit fouvent derriere I'oeil une grande 
 " tache blanche *." 
 
 The neck, breafl and belly were not, I am told, 
 white, as in the grampus, nor was there a defined 
 line between the dark and light parts. Some of the 
 ca'ing whales were, according to my information, 
 quite black ; others, efpecially females, had only a 
 little grey on the belly. 
 
 The grampus, we arc told f, " leldom remains a 
 *• moment above water :" the Uyea whales, how- 
 ever, as formerly obferved, " remained lo or 15 mi- 
 nutes at the furface, juft as the boats were near or dif- 
 
 tant." 
 
 The grampus is ftated by Dr Shaw to be a 
 " very ferocious animal, attacking Teals and porpef- 
 '* fes ;" it has long been conlidered as the formida- 
 ble /f/f-z/zo////.;'/' fpoken of by the ancients % • t>ut the 
 
 ca'ing 
 
 * « Hiftoire des Cetacces," &c- p. 300. 
 
 f Bingley's •' Animal Biography," vol. ii. p. 152, 
 
 X The fmall eyed cachalot (Phyfeter microps) muft certainly be 
 a much more terrible-looking animal. Its head is very large, 
 forming indeed nearly one half of the whole body, which is 
 from 40 to 60 feet long. It is known to be very ferocious, ha- 
 ving been fecu to attack and tear to pieces the huge Greenland 
 
 whale.
 
 NOTES. — WHALES. 225 
 
 easing whale appeared to be a very inofFenfive animal, 
 and the common fand-lance was obferved to be its 
 food. 
 
 Under the name oi grampus, a fimilar animal, cal- 
 led by La Cepede, Le Dauphin gladiateur, has gene- 
 rally been confounded. The dorfal fin, however, ftands 
 much higher than in the grampus, and nearer to the 
 head. The pectoral fin is long and narrow, like an 
 oar. It is this fpecies, and not the common gram- 
 pus, that attacks whales, faft;ening round them like 
 fo many bull-dogs, and making them bellow with 
 pain : hence failors call it the killer. One of this 
 fpecies was, in 1793, taken in the river Thames; a 
 drawing and defcription of which appears to have 
 been fent by Sir Jofeph Banks to La Cepede, who 
 has figured it in his ** Hiftoire des Cetacees.' 
 
 n 
 
 The fmall whales in queftion, of whatever fpecies 
 they be, atlbrd a great deal of blubber ; and it ap- 
 pears furprifing that the value of the oil does not 
 induce fome of the Shetland and Orkney gentlemen, 
 or fome of the few fubftantial tenants, to prepare 
 and keep in readinefs an ample ftore of harpoons, 
 ropes, whale-lances, blubber-knives, and other im- 
 plements, fo as to enable their dependants to avail 
 themfelves, more completely than is at prefent pof- 
 lible, of the occafional vifits of thofe cetaceous in- 
 habitants of the northern feas. Harpoons and lines 
 
 F f are 
 
 whale. It is not without reufon, therefore, that La Cepede ra- 
 ther confiders this animal as the Ji-a-niori/ler of the ancient my- 
 thologifts, — from the devouring jaws of which Perfeus deliver- 
 ed the fair candidate for the prize of beauty (Andromeda), and 
 the horrihc afpcift of which Itruck terror into the fiery fteeds of 
 Hippolytus. It was a cachalot of this kind that was, in the cad 
 of the year 1769, ftranded at Cramond, near Edinburgh, and 
 v/hich attracted many thoufands of fpeftators from that city. 
 Stark's PiSure of Edinburgh, p. 465.)
 
 gj26 APPENDIX. 
 
 are indifpenfably neceffary. The belt harpoons, I be- 
 lieve, may be commiilionej from Preflonpans at the 
 rate of 7 s. 6 d. each. A fingle line for each har- 
 poon would fuffice, and that line needs not be of the 
 thicknefs required for Greenland whales : the Green- 
 land whale lines coft L. 5 ; but a line fufficient for 
 the fmall whales might be had for L. 2 Sterling. 
 Each boat might carry fix harpoons and lines, pro- 
 vided only care were taken to keep the lines clear 
 of each other. Each man lliould be furniflied with 
 a lance J i. e. a kind of fpear with a wooden handle 
 fix feet long, coiling 5 s. each. Blubber-knives may 
 be had at 2 s. 6 d. each. The hooked inftrument 
 called tomahazvk ox pickihawk, is alfo very ufeful for 
 laying hold of the blubber, and keeping it on the 
 ftretch till it be cut. If the blubber is to be bar- 
 relled, it fhould be allowed to lie expofed to the air 
 for a day or two, till incipient putrefadion be per- 
 ceived ; for the fwelling that accompanies the com- 
 mencement of that procefs would infallibly burfi: 
 the barrels. It is fcarcfe neceffary to add, that a 
 large caldron would be found very ufeful for boil- 
 ing down the blubber. 
 
 The exertions of the Shetland tenants, with re- 
 fped: to fuch droves of i'mall whales, muft cer- 
 tainly be much cramped by the ufage of the country, 
 which I have now to relate, and which appears to 
 me equally deftitute of foundation in law and in 
 equity. I Ihall (late the ufage in the words of Mr 
 Giffard of Bulla, which are certainly above all ex- 
 ception : •' As foon as the whales are got aQiore," 
 (i. e. by the exertions of the people, who, furrounding 
 them with boats,embay them, and force them afhore), 
 the bailie of the parilli is advertifed, who comes to 
 the place, and takes care that none of them are em- 
 bezzled ; and he acquaints the Admiral thereof, 
 who forthwith goes there, and holds a court, where 
 the fifcal prefents a petition, reciting the number of 
 " whales, &c. that the judge may give judgment 
 
 thereupon, 
 
 <(
 
 NOTES.-— AVHALES. 227 
 
 " thereupon, according to law and the country 
 '* pradlice. Whereupon the Admiral ordains the 
 " whales driven afliore to be divided in three equal 
 ** parts ; one to belong to himfelf ; one to the fal- 
 " vers ; and the third to the proprietor of the 
 " ground on which the whales are driven afliore*." 
 It is added, that the minifter of the parifli demands 
 tithes of them, and that the bailie of the parifli 
 claims the heads as a perquilite. Mr Giffard for- 
 tunately informs us, that the " biggeil" of the whales 
 of which he is fpeaking, '* are from 1 8 to 20 feet 
 " long." 
 
 Let us now examine how the law (lands on this 
 fubjed;. " By the Leges ForeJlaru7n, § 17.," (fays Mr 
 Erlkine f ), " all great whales belong to the King, 
 '* and alfo fuch fmaller whales as may not be drawn 
 " from the water to the nearefl part of the land on 
 *' a wain with fix oxen. Butno whales have, for at 
 *' leaft a century paft, been claimed, either by the 
 *• King, or by the Admiral his donatary, but fuch 
 *' as were of a fize confiderably larger than there 
 " defcribed." 
 
 Now, it is certain, that, by the old law already 
 mentioned, great whales, either of the myllicete or 
 cachalot kind, might be claimed as royal property. 
 But, in the firft place, at no period does the royal 
 claim appear to have extended to any other than 
 great whales ; and, 2dly, This royal right is fcarce 
 ever known to have been exercifed in cafes where 
 even large whales were forced ajbore by the induftry 
 of the fubjcds. It is at bed an ungracious law, 
 and has very properly been fuffered to fall nearly 
 into dcuietude in other parts of the Britifli domi- 
 nions. If the King have thus waved his legal right 
 to great whales found on our coafts, we might per- 
 haps 
 
 * Account of Zetland, by Thomas Giffard of Bufta, 1733, in 
 Billiotheca Brilannica topographica. No. 38. 
 
 f Inftitute, b. ii. tit. i. $ 10.
 
 228 APPENDIX. 
 
 haps exped that his Noble Donatary in Shetland 
 would follow his example. But, at all events, the right 
 which may lawfully be claimed by the donatary, or his 
 depute the Admiral of Shetland, cannot be more ex- 
 tenfive than the difufed and latent right of the So- 
 vereign himfelf. Now, if the above criterion were 
 applied to the ca^ijig whales of Shetland, none of 
 them, I apprehend, would be found to fall under the 
 denomination of " great whales.'* But, it may 
 here be ftated, that, by an ordonnance of Louis XIV., 
 fmall whales became royal property, " when they 
 ** had run aground upon the fliore ;" but if they 
 were caught en pleine mer, they became the property 
 of the captor*. Our law, it is to be prefumed, will 
 be interpreted with a fimilar regard to equity, and 
 as favourably for the fubjedl. If the caUng whales 
 be attacked " en pleine mer," furrounded by boats, 
 embayed and urged afhore by the people, they feem 
 fairly to become the fruit of labour, and cannot, we 
 conceive, be interfered with under the pretence of 
 the royal right, without the molt manifeft injuftice. 
 This tripartite divilion of whales in Shetland has 
 probably had the fame Danifh origin as the abfurd 
 divifion of wrecks in thefe illands, (already treated 
 of, p. 13P.), and both fliould immediately be abolifh- 
 ed, as barbarous, unjuft, and impolitic. 
 
 Note K. (p. 94. & 133-) 
 
 LIGHT-HOUSES IN SHETLAND. 
 
 In my original remarks, I mentioned the Sker- 
 ries of Whalfey, as the moft eligible place for a 
 light-houfe on the eaft coaft, and Papa Stour on 
 the well coaft, on the authority of a gentleman who 
 
 ha?. 
 
 I .I -^- ■ ■ ■■■■■■ ...-. 
 
 * ErfkinC; uh'ifupra.
 
 it 
 
 NOtES. LIGHT-HOUSES. C2() 
 
 lias had ample experience in navigating the 
 Shetland feas. I lately applied for the opinion of 
 another gentleman officially verfant in fuch fubjeds ; 
 and in a letter dated 12th September 1806, he writes 
 me, *' If only two lights were propofed to be erect- 
 *' ed for the protedion of vefTels off Shetland,, 
 they mult either be ereded upon the places you 
 mention, or on others contiguous, to be generally 
 ufeful ; and furely no one is polTelfed of more 
 ** practical information on this fubjedt .than the 
 ** gentleman you mention, as Captain G. has been 
 " long ftationed on that coaft. For my own part, 
 *' I had always confidered the Out-fkerries of Whal- 
 *' fey as a proper ftation : — but I never venture to 
 " be poiitive on queftions of this kind, without an 
 ** adual furvey." 
 
 In the late Memorial to Parliament relative ta 
 ereding a light-houfe on the Cape or Bell Rock, I 
 find it ftated (p. 27.), that " there are ftill feveral 
 ** light-houfes to eredl in the North : one, or per- 
 " haps two, upon the Shetland Illands ; one up- 
 " on Cape Wrath, 6cc. — which the Commiffioners 
 *' have for fome time paft had in contemplation." 
 The light-houfe on the Bell Rock is perhaps well 
 entitled to have precedence of the others ; and cer- 
 tainly it mull prove a work of no lefs danger and 
 difficulty than the famous Eddiftone Light-houfe of 
 England; but 1 doubt not that the zeal and perfeve- 
 rance of the Commiffioners, and the adivity and en- 
 terprize of their Engineer, will ultimately overcome 
 every difficulty, and difarm this enemy of our Ihip- 
 ping, which has often proved fatal by veflels fplit- 
 ting upon it, but tenfold more fatal by the terror of 
 its name, in preventing them from approaching the 
 coaft for Ihelter during ftorms, and thus expofing 
 them to the rilk of foundering in the turbulent 
 northern feas. It may be hoped that the difmal 
 and dangerous coaft of Shetland will, as foon after- 
 wards as poffible, be rendered fecure. 
 
 In
 
 230 APPENDIX. 
 
 In the loth volume of the Statiftical Account of 
 Scotland, p. 203., the Rev. Mr Menzies urges the 
 propriety of ereding a light-houfe upon Nofs Heady 
 on the eaft coaft of Shetland : he fays it could be 
 done at no great expence ; would befeen to a great 
 diftance, and would prevent many difafters. In 
 vol. xii. of that work, p. 366., an enumeration w^ill 
 be found of fome difmal fhipwrecks which have, of 
 late years, happened on the wejl coaft of Shetland, 
 moft of which would have been prevented by a 
 light-houfe on Fapa Stour. 
 
 It has been remarked by Thule (p. 23.), and his 
 obfervations on this fubjedl certainly merit attention, 
 that " two light-houfes, one on Skerries, and the 
 '* other on Papa, fo far from rendering fecure the 
 ** whole eaft coaft and the whole weft coaft, could 
 " neither of them be feen from veftels approaching 
 ** the coaft between Stenhoufe and Balta, a coaft of 
 at leaft forty miles, nor the coaft from Nofs to 
 Fitfull-Head, thirty miles ; and veffels approach- 
 ing the coaft between Fitfull-Head and Vailey, 
 more than thirty miles, could feldom receive any 
 benefit from that at Papa, and never from that at 
 " Skerries." 
 
 Perhaps, to render the whole coaft of Shetland 
 fecure, three light-houfes might be neceflary : one 
 on the northern, and another on the fouthern extre- 
 mity of the iflands, and a third about the middle. 
 The northern light-houfe might be placed on the 
 Holm of ^SX'fl, or the point oi Lamhanejs in Unft : 
 the fouthern about Sumhurgh Head: the middle one, 
 about Whaljey Skerries. If either the northern or 
 fouthern light could always be timeoufty feen in ap- 
 proaching the coaft from the weJl, no light-houfe in 
 that quarter, it is evident, would be neceflary : if 
 not, 2i fourth light houfe, placed on Papa, would be 
 rcquifite to complete fecurity. 
 
 Correfpondence 
 
 it 
 
 it
 
 231 
 
 Correfpondence with Vindicator, 
 
 Having very lately, and fince the preceding fheets 
 were fent to the prefs, learned on undoubted autho- 
 rity, that Vindicator was a refpedable clergyman in 
 Canongate, Edinburgh, and having at the fame time 
 received his addrefs, it occurred to me, that as 
 he had been conjoined with me in the violent 
 and unmannerly attacks of Thule, I ought to offer 
 him an opportunity of defending himfelf : at the 
 fame time I was determined not to print any de- 
 fence, unlefs it was accompanied with the name of 
 the author. I therefore wrote the following letter : 
 
 *' Sir, Edinburgh y loth October 1806. 
 
 ** Having fome time ago learned, on good authority, 
 that you are the author of the pamphlet refpe^ing 
 Shetland, ligned Vindicator ; and having lately had 
 an opportunity of reading that pamphlet, I ufe the 
 freedom of thus addreffingyou, in order to mention, 
 that I am about to publifh, in a connected form, 
 my tour through the Orkney and Shetland lilands, 
 vv'hich may poffibly have attracted your notice in 
 the Scots Magazine \ and as your pamphlet has been 
 repeatedly referred to by the anonymous writer 
 Thule, who has attacked me, and as the truth of 
 your fadts and concluiions has been equally denied 
 by him, 1 think it right to otTer you an opportunity 
 of briefly replying to him, if you think it worth 
 while ; as I can eaiily give a (liort paper from you, 
 a place in my Appendix, the printing of which is 
 
 not yet flniflied. Along with this, 1 fend you, for 
 
 your perufal, an Anfwer to your pamphlet, bearing 
 to be publiflied at London, but which was prefented 
 to me by a Shetland gentleman in Edinburgh, laft, 
 year. You will find it there ftated, that you pledg- 
 ed yourfeif to give your name to the public, provi- 
 ded
 
 S35 
 
 cled the Shetland lairds gave their names ; and that 
 you are called upon by no fewer th-a.x\five lairds, to 
 redeem your pledge. After having carefully read 
 your pamphlet, I can figure to myfelf no reafons 
 why you ihould not do fo, unlefs either an inclina- 
 tion to treat them with filent contempt, (which per- 
 haps, in your cafe, may not be improper), or the 
 xvant of fuch an opportunity as I now take the li- 
 berty to offer you. 
 
 1 Ihall expedl your anfwer as foon as convenient, 
 as the proper feafon for publication is now at hand, 
 I am, Sir, Sec. P, Neill. 
 
 (Addrefled to) The Rev. Mr Savik, Bide Street, 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 To this letter I foon after received the following 
 anfwer : 
 
 " Sir, Edinburgh, 2^d O^ober 1806. 
 
 *' I received your letter, and will now anfwer it in 
 a very few fentences. 1 am indeed the author of 
 the paper figned Vi?idicator, and am certainly not 
 afliamed of mji performance, though the contrary I 
 underftand has been alleged by fome of the Shet- 
 landers. The authorities upon which I proceeded 
 are indubitable. They are the moil refpecl:able per- 
 fons in Shetland. Among others, I have a manu- 
 fcript, tranfmitted to me by the Reverend Mr Sands, 
 from which I derived much advantage. I have 
 read with pleafure, what you have written, in re- 
 gard to Shetland, in the Scots Magazine. Your 
 fentiments coincide very much with mine, and I 
 hope that what you have written will prove benefi- 
 cial. You mult, however, forgive me, for not ma- 
 king any formal remarks on the pamphlet you fent, 
 figned " A Friend to Zetland,'''' which I return 
 "with thanks. 1 have no wifh to reply to malignant, 
 ill-written nonfenfe. I would advife the fagacious 
 " Friend to Zetland," before he attempt publifhing 
 
 again,
 
 Jg33 
 
 again, to learn to fpell, to write grammar, to fhew 
 common fenfe, and have good manners. I am, Sir, 
 &c. David Savile.^^ 
 
 (Addrefled to) Mr P, Neill, Old Fijh- Market Clofe, 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 In this letter, Mr Savile has fuppofed that I 
 wiftied him to write a formal anfwer to a London 
 pamphlet figned '* A Friend to Zetland ;" but I 
 merely intended to offer him an opportunity of re- 
 plying to the affertions of Thiile in a pamphlet pub- 
 lillied in Edinburgh. On explaining this circum- 
 itance to the Reverend Gentleman, he declared, that 
 he conlidered that the publifhing of his name would 
 be a fufficient anfwer, efpecially to an anonymous 
 attack, and authorifed me to print the above letter. 
 For the juftnefs of the criticifms on the London 
 pamphlet, the author of the letter is of courfe fole- 
 iy refponfible. Mr Savile, at the fame time, fent me 
 for perufal, nine different manufcripts, (being the 
 documents referred to in his letter), with liberty to 
 avail myfelf of any information they might con- 
 tain. 1 regret that this offer came entirely too late, 
 as the earlier poffeflion of thefe papers would have 
 enabled me to have fpoken with confidence, in fome 
 inftances where I have ufed the language of befita- 
 tion. I may be permitted to add, that, as far as I 
 am able to judge, they juftify and fupport every 
 material ftatement in Mr Savile's pamphlet. 
 
 Edinburgh, 
 2 ah 05ioher 1806. 
 
 G g Postscript.
 
 235 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Notice of Thidcs Second Pamphlet. 
 
 Since the publication of T/:u/e^s " Statement," &c. to which 
 feme Anfwers will be found in the preceding pages, he has again 
 forced himfelf upon the public notice ; both in the neiuj^apers, 
 and by means of z/econd pamphlet. 
 
 In the newfpapers, indeed, a previous letter appeared, figned 
 Serious, calling upon Thule to explain. To this epiltle of Mr 
 Serious, Thule replied with much apparent warmth. But having 
 fufpeded a collufion between this Mr Serious and Thule himfelf, I 
 had the curiofityto make inquiry; and I accordingly found that 
 Thule's meflenger had paid the printer's fees for the infertion of 
 both letters, — leaving diredions, I prefume, that the letter of 
 Mr Serious fhould appear on one day of publication, and the 
 anfwer by Thule on the next. Thefe concerted letters dcfervc 
 no notice : the purport of them, as far as they were intelligible, 
 feemed partly to be, to fcreen Thul« from the imputation of 
 being ignorant of the fubjundive mood of the Englilh verb to he^ 
 and partly, if polfible, to intimidate P. N., and hinder him from 
 publiihing. 
 
 The /:-cond pamphlet was intituled, " Thule's Reply to Mr P. 
 " Neill's and Meffrs Conftable and Company's attempted de- 
 ** fences of their conduifl." — It Ihull here receive fome notice, 
 though it is certainly very doubtful if it deferve any. 
 
 Thule is fnrprifed, (p. 3.) that, in the Scots Magazine for 
 July laft, P. N. Ihould have confined himfelf to a vindication of 
 Mr Mouat of Garth, (who, from fomo coincident circumftances, 
 had beenerroneouflyconfidered as the author of the " Stridlures," 
 &c.), and Ifiould not have written a fingle fentence in reply 
 to the " heavy charges direded againft himfelf." The anfwer 
 is evident : I was anxious only to make reparation to the in- 
 jured third parly, (for it was certainly a kind of injury to be 
 held forth as the author of the writings figned Thule), while I 
 but little regarded afpcrfions caft upon myfelf by fuch an anta- 
 gonill. Further, the Magazine had been declared iliut againtl 
 the contioverfy, and I certainly felt no defire to have it opened, 
 in order to continue fo fruitlefs a warfare. It is remarkable that 
 
 Thule
 
 236 
 
 Thule himfelf (p. ic.) earneftly urges the propriety of feme 
 fuch vindication of Mr M. He is fo obliging, even, as to fug- 
 geft the very vi'ords which fliould have been employed. They 
 are thefe, (p. lo.) " Mr M. is not the author of the paper fign- 
 " ed Thule j therefore the charge of prevarication, in appear- 
 " ance fubllantiated, by contrafting a paffage fuppofed to be his, 
 *' with a paffage of Thule, is uttei^ly groundlefs." Now, this, 
 I conceive, is the werj fubftance and import of my letter in the July 
 Magazine, (inferted above, p. 125.), the true meaning of which 
 feems not to have occurred to the mind of Thule, — who could 
 not furely exped that I fhould, by intuition, hit upon the iden- 
 tical exprefTions agreeable to him ! 
 
 Thule appears ever ready to hunt after and to magnify the moft 
 trivial incidents : Niig'u adderc pondus. Thus, the unimportant and 
 accidental circumftance of my letter of apology appearing in the 
 jiijl page of the Magazine, is exhibited as proof-pofitive of my 
 having adled under the " diredtions of Meffrs Conftable and Co." 
 £ut the truth is, that I happened to get this fuppofed poft of 
 honour in the Magazine, merely becaufe my communication 
 was too late to occupy a lefs prominent ftation ; for, however 
 paradoxical it may appear to Thule, it is certain, that the Jirjl 
 "four pages of the Scots Magazine (and probably of many other 
 Magazines) are lafl printed : perhaps this will not appear won- 
 derful to other readers, when they refled, that, in the title-pages 
 connected with thefe four, is contained a meteorological diary 
 down to the 26th day of the month, which confequently cannot be 
 completed till that day in each month. 1 believe that, in this cafe, 
 it happened that the Editor's defence of himfelf in the lajl page^, 
 was printed before the MS. of my note, which appeared in xhejirji 
 page, came to his hand. Thule, however, Is not here fatisfied 
 with drawing, as on former occafions, erroneous " deductions 
 *' from premifes," but cxprefsly and repeteadly afferts, that 
 - " Meffrs Conilable and Co. direded P. N. to invent fome pal- 
 *' liatlon of his condufl ;" and even adds, that *' P. N. will not 
 " deny that thefe direftlons were given him." I do pointedly 
 deny that thefe diredions, or any directions whatever, were 
 given me. — I am perfuaded that MefiVs C. and Co. did not even 
 know the contents of my note till after its publication. 
 
 In p. 6. it is allege J that " P. N. went from Mr M. to the 
 *' printing-houfe, to ridicule and mifveprefent the converfatlons 
 *' which had paffed between them." This is a moft unfair and 
 unwarranted ailertion. 
 
 Thule, very inndioufiy, puts the moft tuifavourable conftruc- 
 tion upon what arofc from innocent and almoft unavoidable 
 miftake. A fev/ fentcnces will explain the v.'hole. 
 
 As foon as I heard tlrat Mr M. was come to town from Shet- 
 land iA f'ummer 1805, 1 waited upon him at his lodgings ; and 
 I recoiled particularly, that he gave me fome Information re- 
 
 fpeding
 
 237 
 
 fpecling the droves of fmall whales which had recently before 
 been forced alhore by hiatenants in Unft : he alfo pointed out (I 
 "believe) feme llight inaccuracies in my Magazine remarks, but 
 told me that a private MS. communication would foon be made to 
 me on that fubje^. . I afiured him, that whatever he fhould Ihew 
 to be erroneous, . I fhoul J cheerfully corre(ft in a fuppleraentary 
 paper in the Magazine. No circumftance in Mr M.'s conduO, 
 nor any expreffion which dropped from him in different conver- 
 fations, ever led me to fufpect that he was not to be confidered 
 as the author of fuch promifed MS. communication, or at leaft 
 as refponfible for it. In the courfe of the autumn I received a 
 letter, in Mr M.'s handwriting, pointing out various alleged 
 miftakes ; and this was the only MS. communication I ever re- 
 ceived on the fubje<5t. Meanwhile, other papers (I have been 
 informed) were left at the Ihop of MefiVs C. and Co., by M.v M. 
 perfonally. I never {^.w thefe papers ; but, when I did exprefs 
 a wiih to fee them, I was told that my application v/as too late, 
 for that they had been fent back to Mr M. Thefe other papei-s, 
 it has now appeared, were the writings of Thule. But, in thefe 
 circumftances, I conceive that I can fcarcely be blamed for 
 afcribing them to Mr M, or for holding him refponfible- for 
 them, till I faw evidence to the contrary. Mr M., befides, was 
 already underftood to be the author of a controverfial pamphlet 
 on the ftate of Shetland, which, although fomewhat more tem- 
 perate in language than the pamphlets of Thule, certainly dif- 
 covers a good deal cf the fame fpirit. Thus led to believe Mr M- 
 to be the author of the paper figned Thiiky — if I had been corretfc 
 in that belief, I am confident that Mr M. himfelf will admit 
 that my remarks could fcarcely be deemed too fevere. Had 
 Mr M. avoided adting as the agent of Thule, or had Thule not 
 veiled himfelf under a fictitious name, the miftake could not 
 have occurred. 
 
 P. N. did not *< go from Mr M.'s to the printing-houfe to 
 *•' ridicule and mifreprefent the converfations which had paf- 
 " fed ;" feveral months intervened before P. N- prhited any 
 thing, and he had, in this interval, been led, though with reluc- 
 tance, to entertain doubts of Mr M.'s candour in thofe converfa- 
 t'ons. The delay, indeed, was partly occafioned by Mr M. 
 Thule has f<ud. that Mr M. furnifhcd me with ♦' fome books and 
 " papers." Thefe (if I recollefl right) confifted merely of two 
 controverfial pamphlets lately publilhed in defence of the Shet- 
 land fyilem, viz. "A letter to the Highland Society, 1802," 
 and an '' Anfv.-er to Vindicator, 1B04." I repeatedly applied 
 to Mr M. for a perufil of the oiiginal eflay written by the Se- 
 cretary of the Society for Propagating Chriftian Knowledge, 
 which had given rife to the controverfy ; and for the pamphlet 
 of Vindicator, the Anfwer to vvliich Mr M. had put in my hand. 
 Vvhether Mr AI. had them not in his poireflion, or did not wifli 
 
 me
 
 238 
 
 me to fee them, I know not ; but I rerAember well, that he afTo- 
 red me that I had no occafion to read thofe pamphlets, fair ex- 
 trafts having been given in the refpeftlve anjivers to them, I 
 fhall not probably be blamed for not refting completely fatisfied 
 with this information, nor for ftickling a little in favour of the 
 falutary, though un-Zetlandic maxim, Audi alteram partem. 
 
 Thule's illiberal and ill-natured infinuations about the origin 
 of my acquaintance with Mr M., are fcarcely worthy of atten- 
 tion ; but fmce he defcends to particulars (which are all erro- 
 neous) I may be excufed for taking notice of them. 
 
 He alleges, That Mr M, finding me in the company of Sir 
 Alexander Seton and his friends, at Unft, was thus induced t© 
 invite me to his houfe, and that I could not otherwife have. 
 *' intruded" there. But the truth is, that, upon our arrival in 
 Unft, in an open boat, in an evening in the clofe of September, 
 though I was invited by Mr M. to his houfe, I waved his invi- 
 tation, left the number of guefts might have anywife incom- 
 moded his family, and rather chofe to travel to the diftance of 
 feveral miles, in a dark and cold night, along a rocky fhore, to 
 the houfe of one of Mr M,'s tenants. I appeal to the reader 
 ■whether this conduft savoured much of intrujion. Had I come 
 alone to the ifland, I doubtlefs would, as a ftranger, and though 
 quite unknown, have received, and probably accepted, Mr M,'s 
 invitation, (at leaft I have no reafon to think that Mr M. is lefs 
 hofpitable, or lefs attentive to ftj-angers, than his brethren in 
 the other iflands are). I add with confidence, that I am certain 
 that Mr M., as a gentleman, could not, and therefore that he did 
 not, authorife Thule to ftate that I intruded into his houfe. 
 
 I may be permitted to remark in the next place, that it ap- 
 pears abundantly ridiculous for an anonymous phamphleteer X.Q 2.c- 
 cufe me., who have givea my name to the public, of being a " du- 
 " bious character", as Thule has done, p. ^6. It is the objecft, no 
 doubt, of Thule's afperfions, to render me fuch ; but for this 
 end, they are as inadequate, as is the pofieflion of fome hundred 
 acres of peat-mofs in Shetland to conftituie a gentleman. 
 
 Thule's philological criticifms are pointed partly againft me, 
 and partly againft the editor of the magazine, Thule has, no 
 doubt, deteded one or two trivial flips ; but he has, at the fame 
 time, given ample proofs of his utter unfitnefs for wielding the 
 weapons of criticifm.— — — Take an example : " How came the 
 editors" (he afks) " to write acquaintance with him^ for acquaintance 
 *' OF him ? Again, at what period of the progrefs of language, 
 •' were all diftin6tions between adverbs and adjedives confound- 
 *< ed ? IVe have called him {^\.\\Qj fay) a Zetland landlord i nve ccr- 
 ** tainly had reafon to think him SO." — Wliy will Thule (I afk ia 
 return) thus inlift on obtruding bis own ignorance on the notice 
 
 of
 
 239 
 
 of the public ? Nothing but the (heerefl: felf-concelt and 
 pedantry could have led a critic, — at the very moment of 
 criticifing, — when all his wits were about him, — thus egre- 
 gioufly to commit himfelf. For lurely I need not remind 
 the reader, that the editors' phrafe " acquaintance ivii/j him" 
 is pure and claffical Englifh ; but that " acquaintance o/'him" 
 is neither Englifh nor Scotch : it is indeed peculiarly Thule's 
 own, and may, to fecure the honour to whom it is due, be 
 termed the " Thulian idiom." With regard to the other cri- 
 ticifm, Thule not only (hews that he does not know the differ- 
 ence between an adje8ive and a pronoun, but he finds fault with a 
 form of exprefllon fupported by the great names of Addifon, 
 Swift, and Pope ; — " compared to whom" (illuftrious Shades 
 forgive me ! ) this Zetland critic is lefs than the " being of a 
 *' fummer's day." (Johnfon in verba " so," art. 13.) 
 
 Thule accufes me of writing Irish bulb ; yet in the very fame 
 pamphlet, after having tried in vain to involve me in a dilemma, 
 he triumphantly declares, that he has caught me at laft, for that 
 I can have no " third alternati've !" (2d pamphlet, p. 3.) Thule 
 tvill probably feel necejfitaled (to ufe a Scotticifm of his own) to 
 admit that this is a Shetland bull, which may, any day, ftand 
 in competition with the Irish bulls of the Scots Magazine. 
 
 In my former reply, I had obferved that Thule defcends to 
 minutiae, and even " twits me ivith my Scotticifms." This was 
 good and Sterling Englifii : but Thule has thought fit to correEl 
 me, both in his firft pamphlet, (p. 16.) and in the newfpapers, 
 and to make it " twits me for my Scotticifms," — which, again, 
 is neither Englifh nor Scotch, and mull therefore be confidcred 
 as another example of the " Thulian idiom." 
 
 Let this blundering fchool-boy of a critic, therefore, (to retort, 
 in his own indignant language), " hang his head a-while," draw 
 his grammar from his fatchel, and go parfe his lefTon. 
 
 " 7>," Thule, 
 
 *' Dijcipulorum inter jubco plorare cathedras.*^ 
 
 HORAT,
 
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