,transcriber's ,note ,the use of ,l around a letter indicates bold4 ,hyphenations have been standardised4 ,changes made are noted at the end of the book4 ,because there are so many illustrations1 it wasn't always possible to place them between paragraphs4 ,,cambridge ,,county ,,geographies ,,aberdeenshire ,illustration ,illustration3 ,the ,cambridge ,university ,press ,illustration3 ,,physical ,,map ,,of ,,county ,,of ,,aberdeen ,copyright4 ,george ,philip ,son ,ltd ,,cambridge ,,county ,,geographies ,,scotland ,general ,editor3 ,w4 ,,murison1 ,m4,a4 ,,aberdeenshire ,,cambridge ,,university ,,press ,london3 ,,fetter ,,lane1 ,e4,c4 ,c4 ,f4 ,,clay1 ,,manager ,illustration ,edinburgh3 #ajj1 ,,princes ,,street ,berlin3 ,a4 ,,asher ,,and ,,co4 ,leipzig3 ,f4 ,a4 ,,brockhaus ,new ,york3 ,g4 ,p4 ,,putnam',s ,,sons ,bombay and ,calcutta3 ,,macmillan ,,and ,,co41 ,,ltd4 ,all rights reserved ,cambridge ,county ,geographies ,,aberdeenshire by ,,alexander ,,mackie1 ,m4,a4 ,late ,examiner in ,english1 ,aberdeen ,university1 and author of ,nature ,knowledge in ,modern ,poetry ,with ,maps1 ,diagrams and ,illustrations ,cambridge3 at the ,university ,press #aiaa ,cambridge3 ,,printed ,,by ,,john ,,clay1 ,m4,a4 ,,at ,,the ,,university ,,press ,,contents ,,page #a4 ,county and ,shire4 ,the ,origin of ,aberdeenshire #a #b4 ,general ,characteristics #d #c4 ,size4 ,shape4 ,boundaries #aj #d4 ,surface1 ,soil and ,general ,features #ae #e4 ,watershed4 ,rivers4 ,lochs #bj #f4 ,geology #ce #g4 ,natural ,history #dc #h4 ,round the ,coast #eb #i4 ,weather and ,climate4 ,temperature4 ,rainfall4 ,winds #fd #aj4 ,the ,people--,race1 ,language1 ,population #gj #aa4 ,agriculture #gf #ab4 ,the ,granite ,industry #hc #ac4 ,other ,industries4 ,paper1 ,wool1 ,combs #hi #ad4 ,fisheries #id #ae4 ,shipping and ,trade #ajb #af4 ,history of the ,county #aje #ag4 ,antiquities--,circles1 ,sculptured ,stones1 ,crannogs1 ,forts #aab #ah4 ,architecture--7a7 ,ecclesiastical #aba #ai4 ,architecture--7b7 ,castellated #acb #bj4 ,architecture--7c7 ,municipal #ade #ba4 ,architecture--7d7 ,domestic #aed #bb4 ,communications--,roads1 ,railways #afj #bc4 ,administration and ,divisions #aff #bd4 ,the ,roll of ,honour #agj #be4 ,the ,chief ,towns and ,villages of ,aberdeenshire #agh ,,illustrations ,,page ,the lone ,kirkyard1 ,gamrie #c ,town ,house1 ,old ,aberdeen #e ,consumption ,dyke at ,kingswells #g ,the ,punch ,bowl1 ,linn of ,quoich1 ,braemar #i ,pennan1 looking ,n4,w4 ,showing old and new houses of ,troup #ab ,loch ,avon and ,ben-,macdhui #ad ,benachie #ai ,linn of ,dee1 ,braemar #ba ,old bridge of ,dee1 ,invercauld #bb ,view from old bridge of ,invercauld #bc ,falls of ,muick1 ,ballater #bd ,birch ,tree at ,braemar #bf ,fir ,trees at ,braemar #bh ,the ,don1 looking towards ,st ,machar ,cathedral #cj ,brig o' ,balgownie1 ,aberdeen #ca ,loch ,muick1 near ,ballater #cb ,loch ,callater1 ,braemar #cd ,loch of ,skene #cf ,deer in time of snow #dg ,the ,dunbuy ,rock #dh ,girdleness ,lighthouse #ec ,sand ,hills at ,cruden ,bay #ef 8,the ,pot10 ,bullers o' ,buchan #eh ,buchan ,ness ,lighthouse #fj ,kinnaird ,lighthouse1 ,fraserburgh #fa ,entrance to ,lord ,pitsligo's ,cave1 ,rosehearty #fb ,aberdour ,shore1 looking ,n4,w4 #fc ,inverey near ,braemar #fg ,aberdeen-,angus ,bull #ha ,aberdeen ,shorthorn ,bull #hb ,granite ,quarry1 ,kemnay #hd ,granite ,works1 ,aberdeen #hf ,making smoked haddocks1 ,aberdeen #ic ,fish ,market1 ,aberdeen #ig ,fishwives1 ,the ,green1 ,aberdeen #ih ,north ,harbour1 ,peterhead #ii ,herring boats at ,fraserburgh #ajj ,fishing ,fleet going out1 ,aberdeen #aja ,at the docks1 ,aberdeen #ajc ,white ,cow ,wood ,cairn ,circle2 ,view from the ,s4,w4 #aac ,palaeolithic ,flint ,implement #aad ,neolithic ,celt of ,greenstone #aad ,stone at ,logie1 in the ,garioch #aaf 8,picts0 or 8,eirde ,house0 at ,migvie1 ,aberdeenshire #aah ,loch ,kinnord #abj ,from ,the ,book of ,deer #abe ,st ,machar ,cathedral1 ,old ,aberdeen #abg ,st ,machar ,cathedral 7interior7 #abh ,king's ,college1 ,aberdeen ,university #abi ,east and ,west ,churches1 ,aberdeen #acj ,kildrummy ,castle #acc ,the ,old ,house of ,gight #ach ,craigievar ,castle1 ,donside #adj ,crathes ,castle1 ,kincardineshire #ada ,castle ,fraser #adb ,fyvie ,castle1 ,south ,front #add ,municipal ,buildings1 ,aberdeen1 and ,town ,cross #adf ,marischal ,college1 ,aberdeen #adg ,union ,terrace and ,gardens1 before widening of ,bridge #adi ,grammar ,school1 ,aberdeen #aej ,gordon's ,college1 ,aberdeen #aea ,bridge of ,don1 from ,balgownie #aeb ,old ,bridge of ,dee1 ,aberdeen #aec ,balmoral ,castle #aee ,cluny ,castle #aeg ,haddo ,house #aeh ,midmar ,castle #aei ,spittal of ,glenshee #afa ,professor ,thomas ,reid1 ,d4,d4 #age ,the ,old ,grammar ,school1 ,schoolhill #agi ,birsemore ,loch and ,craigendinnie1 ,aboyne #ahb ,mar ,castle #ahc ,ballater1 view from ,pannanich #ahd ,braemar from ,craig ,coynach #ahf ,the ,doorway1 ,huntly ,castle #ahh ,the ,bass1 ,inverurie #ahi ,the ,white ,horse on ,mormond ,hill #aic ,diagrams #aie ,,maps ,orographical ,map of ,aberdeenshire ,front ,cover ,geological ,map of ,aberdeenshire ,back ,cover ,rainfall ,map of ,scotland #fe ,the illustrations on pp4 #c1 #ab1 #fb1 #fc are from photographs by ,w4 ,norrie2 those on pp4 #e1 #i1 #ad1 #ai1 #ba1 #bb1 #bc1 #bd1 #bf1 #bh1 #cj1 #ca1 #cb1 #cd1 #cf1 #dh1 #ec1 #ef1 #eh1 #fj1 #fa1 #fg1 #hf1 #ic1 #ig1 #ih1 #ii1 #ajj1 #aja1 #ajc1 #abj1 #abg1 #abh1 #abi1 #acj1 #acc1 #adj1 #ada1 #add1 #adf1 #adg1 #adi1 #aej1 #aea1 #aeb1 #aec1 #aee1 #aeg1 #aeh1 #aei1 #afa1 #ahb1 #ahc1 #ahd1 #ahf1 #ahh and #ahi1 are from photographs by ,j4 ,valentine and ,sons2 that on p4 #g from a photograph by ,j4 ,watt2 that on p4 #dg from a photograph by ,dr ,w4 ,brown2 that on p4 #hd from a photograph by ,a4 ,gordon2 that on p4 #aic from a photograph by ,a4 ,gray4 ,thanks are due to ,w4 ,duthie1 ,esq41 ,collynie1 for permission to reproduce the illustration on p4 #hb2 to ,j4 ,mc,g4 ,petrie1 ,esq41 ,glen-,logie1 for permission to reproduce that on p4 #ha2 to ,messrs ,t4 and ,r4 ,annan and ,sons1 for permission to reproduce that on p4 #age2 to the ,society of ,antiquaries of ,scotland for permission to reproduce those on pp4 #aac and #aah2 and to ,alexander ,walker1 ,jr41 ,esq41 ,aberdeen1 for permission to reproduce that on p4 #agi4 #a4 ,county and ,shire4 ,the ,origin of ,aberdeenshire4 ,the term 8shire10 which means a division 7,anglo-,saxon sciran3 to cut or divide71 has in ,scotland practically the same meaning as 8county40 ,in most cases the two names are interchangeable4 ,yet we do not say ,orkneyshire nor ,kirkcudbrightshire4 ,kirkcudbright is a stewartry and not a county1 but in regard to the others we call them with equal readiness shires or counties4 ,county means originally the district ruled by a ,count1 the ,norman equivalent of ,earl4 ,it is said that ,aberdeenshire is the result of a combination of two counties1 ,buchan and ,mar1 representing the territory under the rule of the ,earl of ,buchan and the ,earl of ,mar4 ,the distinction is in effect what we mean to-day by ,east ,aberdeenshire and ,west ,aberdeenshire2 and the local students of ,aberdeen ,university when voting for their ,lord ,rector by 8nations0 are still classified as belonging to either the ,buchan nation or the ,mar nation according to their place of birth4 ,the counties1 then1 are certain areas which it is convenient for political and administrative purposes to divide the country into for the better and more convenient management of local and internal affairs4 ,to-day ,scotland has thirty-three of these divisions4 ,in a public ordinance dated #acje1 twenty-five counties are named4 ,they would seem to have been first defined early in the twelfth century1 but as a matter of fact nothing very definite is known1 either as to the date of their origin or as to the principles which regulated the making of their geographical boundaries4 ,it is certain1 however1 that the county divisions were in ,scotland an introduction from ,england4 ,the term came along with the people who were flocking into ,scotland from the south4 ,the lines were drawn for what seemed political convenience and no doubt they were suited to the times4 ,to-day the boundaries seem on occasion somewhat erratic4 ,banchory1 for example1 is in ,kincardineshire1 while ,aboyne and ,ballater on the same river bank and on the same line of road and railway are in ,aberdeenshire4 ,if the carving were to be done over again in the twentieth century1 more consideration would probably be given to the railway lines4 ,a commission of #ahia did actually rearrange the boundaries4 ,of the parishes partly in ,aberdeen and partly in ,banff1 some were transferred wholly to ,aberdeen 7,gartly1 ,glass1 ,new ,machar1 ,old ,deer and ,st ,fergus71 while others were placed in ,banffshire 7,cabrach1 ,gamrie1 ,inverkeithny1 ,alvah and ,rothiemay74 ,how it happened that certain parts of adjoining counties were planted like islands in the heart of ,aberdeenshire may be understood by reference to such a case as that of ,st ,fergus4 ,a large part of this parish belonged to the ,cheynes1 who being hereditary sheriffs of ,banffshire were naturally desirous of having their patrimonial estates under their own legal jurisdiction1 and were influential enough to be able to stereotype this anomaly4 ,this explains the place of ,st ,fergus in ,banffshire2 it is now very properly a part of ,aberdeenshire4 ,illustration3 ,the lone ,kirkyard1 ,gamrie ,the county took its name from the chief town--,aberdeen--which is clearly ,celtic in origin and means the town at the mouth of either the ,dee or the ,don4 ,both interpretations are possible2 but the fact that the ,latin form of the word has always been ,aberdonia and ,aberdonensis1 favours the ,don as the naming river4 ,as a matter of fact1 ,old ,aberdeen1 though lying at no great distance from the bank of the ,don1 can hardly be said to be associated with ,donmouth1 whereas a considerable population must from a remote period have been located at the mouth of the ,dee4 ,whatever interpretation is accepted1 it was this city--the only town in the district conspicuous for population and resources--that gave its name to the county as a whole4 ,the whole region between the river ,dee and the river ,spey1 comprising the two counties of ,banff and ,aberdeen1 forms a natural province4 ,there is no natural1 or recognisable line of demarcation between the two counties4 ,their fortunes have been one4 ,the river ,deveron might conceivably have been chosen as the dividing line1 but in practice it is so only to a limited extent4 ,the whole district1 which if invaded was never really conquered by the ,romans1 made one of the seven ,provinces of what was called ,pictland in the early middle ages1 and it long continued to assert for itself a semi-independent political existence4 #b4 ,general ,characteristics4 ,illustration3 ,town ,house1 ,old ,aberdeen ,the county is almost purely agricultural4 ,it has always enjoyed a certain measure of maritime activity and of recent years the fishing industry1 especially at ,aberdeen1 has made immense progress1 but as a whole the area is a well-cultivated district4 ,round the coast and on all the lower levels tillage is the rule4 ,in the interior the level of the land rises rapidly1 and ploughed fields give place to desolate moors and bare mountain heights in which agriculture is an impossible industry4 ,the surface of the lowland parts1 now in regular cultivation1 was originally very rough and rock-strewn4 ,it was covered with erratic blocks of stone1 gneiss and granite 7locally called 8heathens071 left by the melting of the ice fields which overspread all the north-east of ,scotland during the ,ice ,age4 ,these stones have been cleared from the fields and utilised as boundary walls4 ,some idea of the extraordinary energy and excessive labour necessary to clear the land for tillage may be gathered from a glance at the 8consumption0 dyke at ,kingswells1 some five miles from ,aberdeen4 ,this solid rampart stretches like a great break-water across nearly half a mile of country1 through a dip to the south of the ,brimmond ,hill4 ,it is five or six feet in height and twenty to thirty in breadth and contains thousands of tons of troublesome boulders gathered from the surrounding slopes4 ,the disposal of these blocks was a serious problem4 ,it has been solved by this rampart4 ,in other parts the stones were built up into enclosing walls and now serve the double purpose of enclosing the fields and providing a certain amount of shelter for crops and cattle4 ,the slopes of the ,brimmond ,hill are in certain parts still uncleared and the appearance of these areas helps us to realise what this section of the country looked like before the enterprising agriculturist braced himself to prepare the surface for the use of the plough4 ,illustration3 ,consumption ,dyke at ,kingswells ,the soil1 except in the alluvial deposits on the banks of the ,don and the ,ythan1 is not of great natural fertility1 yet by the exceptional industry of the inhabitants and their enterprise as a farming community it has been raised to a high degree of productiveness4 ,the county now enjoys a well but hard earned reputation for progressive agriculture4 ,notably so in regard to cattle-breeding4 ,it is the home of a breed of cattle called ,aberdeenshire1 black and polled1 but it is just as famous for its strain of shorthorns which have been bred with skill and insight for more than a century4 ,in spite1 then1 of its inferior soil1 its wayward climate and its northern latitude1 the inborn stubbornness and determination of its people have made it a great and prosperous agricultural region and only those who on a ,september day have seen from the top of ,benachie the undulating plains of ,buchan glittering golden in the sun can realise what a transformation has been effected on a barren and stony land by the industry of man4 ,the most easterly of the ,scottish counties1 it abuts like a prominent shoulder into the ,north ,sea4 ,it has1 therefore1 a considerable sea-board partly flat and sandy1 partly rocky and precipitous4 ,the population of the numerous villages dotted along this coast used in time past to devote themselves to fishing1 but the tendency of recent years has been to concentrate this industry in the larger towns1 ,fraserburgh1 ,peterhead and ,aberdeen4 ,other industries there are few4 ,next to agriculture and fishing comes granite1 which is the only mineral worthy of mention found in the county4 ,it is the prevailing rock of the district and is quarried to a considerable extent in various parts4 ,a large part of the population earn their living by this industry1 and ,aberdeen granite1 like ,aberdeen beef and ,aberdeen fish1 is a well-known product and travels far4 ,paper and wool are also manufactured but only on a moderate scale4 ,there is only one other general feature of the county that deserves mention and that is its attractiveness as a health resort4 ,the banks of the ,dee1 more especially in its upper regions1 is a much frequented holiday haunt2 and every summer and autumn ,braemar1 ,ballater and ,aboyne are crowded with visitors from all parts of the country4 ,the late ,queen ,victoria no doubt gave the ,illustration3 ,the ,punch ,bowl1 ,linn of ,quoich1 ,braemar impetus to this fashion4 ,her majesty at an early period of her reign bought the estate of ,balmoral1 half-way between ,ballater and ,braemar1 and having built a royal castle there made it her practice to reside for a large part of every year amongst the ,deeside hills4 ,apart from this royal advertisement the high altitude of the district1 and its dry1 bracing climate1 as well as its romantic mountain scenery1 have proved permanently attractive4 ,here are ,loch-na-gar 7sung by ,byron71 ,ben-,macdhui1 ,brae-riach1 ,ben-na-,buird1 ,ben-,avon and other ,bens1 all of them #djjj1 or nearly #djjj1 feet above sea-level1 and all of them imposing and impressive in their bold and massive forms4 ,these mountains supply elements of grandeur which exercise a fascination upon people who habitually live in a flat country1 and ,braemar is not likely to lose its merited popularity4 #c4 ,size4 ,shape4 ,boundaries4 ,aberdeenshire is one of the large counties in area1 standing fifth in ,scotland4 ,although ,inverness contains more than twice the number of square miles in ,aberdeenshire1 its population is far behind that of ,aberdeen1 which in this respect is the third county in ,scotland4 ,its greatest length from ,n4,e4 to ,s4,w4 is #ajb miles2 its greatest breadth from ,n4,w4 to ,s4,e4 is #ej4 ,the coast line measures #fe miles and is little indented4 ,the whole area of the county is #aigj square miles1 or #a1bfa1iga acres1 of which #fdjj are water4 ,in shape the county might be likened to a pear lying obliquely on its side1 the narrow stalk-end being in the mountains1 while the rounded bulging head is the north-eastern sea-board4 ,the flattest portion is the region lying north of the ,ythan1 called ,buchan1 and even this can hardly be called flat1 for the level is broken by ,mormond ,hill1 near ,strichen1 rising to a height of #haj feet4 ,all the way to ,pennan ,head the contour of the land is irregularly wavy4 ,the narrower portion in the ,s4,w41 called ,mar1 is entirely mountainous1 and midway between these two extremes lie the ,garioch and ,formartin--districts which are undulating in character4 ,a crescent line drawn from ,aberdeen to ,turriff1 the convex side being to the ,s4,w41 would divide the county into two parts1 which might be described as lowland and highland4 ,the lowland portion contains the lower valley of the ,don as far up as ,inverurie1 the valley of the ,ythan and all the remaining northern part of the county4 ,south of this imaginary line the ground rises in ridge after ridge until it culminates in the lofty ,grampian range of the ,cairngorms4 ,the bipartite character of the county1 which is reflected in the occupation and pursuits as in the character and language of the two populations1 is of some importance1 and yet must not be pressed too far1 because the population in the one half is practically insignificant as compared with that of the other4 ,it follows that when ,aberdeenshire men and ,aberdeenshire ways are referred to1 nine times out of ten it is the lowland part of the county that is in question4 ,illustration3 ,pennan1 looking ,n4,w4 ,showing old and new houses of ,troup ,the boundaries are1 on the east1 the ,north ,sea1 and on the north as far west as ,pennan ,head1 the ,moray ,firth4 ,there ,banffshire and ,aberdeenshire meet4 ,from that point inland a wavy boundary separates the two counties1 the ,deveron being for part of the way the dividing line4 ,above ,rothiemay the boundary mounts the watershed between ,deveronside and ,speyside1 and keeping irregularly to this line past the ,buck of the ,cabrach1 and the upper waters of the ,don1 reaches ,ben-,avon4 ,thence the line moves on to ,ben-,macdhui with ,loch ,avon on the right1 and at ,brae-riach ,banffshire ceases to be the boundary4 ,for several miles1 almost due south in direction1 ,inverness comes in as the county on the west4 ,the southern boundary touches three counties1 ,perth1 ,forfar and ,kincardine4 ,at ,cairn ,ealar1 which is the angle of turning and almost a right angle1 the direction changes and runs east alongside of ,perthshire to the ,cairnwell ,road1 and crossing this leaves ,perthshire at ,glas ,maol1 where it touches ,forfarshire4 ,the line continues east but with a trend to the north1 passing on the left ,glenmuick1 ,glentanar and the ,forest of ,birse1 in which the ,feugh takes its rise4 ,on the top of ,mount ,battock three counties meet1 ,forfar1 ,aberdeen and ,kincardine4 ,henceforth we are alongside of ,kincardineshire and the line bends north-west with a semi-circular sweep round ,banchory-,ternan and the ,hill of ,fare to ,crathes1 from a little beyond which1 the bed of the ,dee becomes the boundary line all the way to ,aberdeen4 ,in all this area of high ground the line of march is practically the watershed throughout1 marking off the drainage area of the ,don and the ,dee from that of the ,deveron and the ,avon 7a tributary of the ,spey7 on the one hand1 and from that of the ,tay and the two ,esks 7south and north7 on the other4 ,illustration3 ,loch ,avon and ,ben-,macdhui #d4 ,surface1 ,soil and ,general ,features4 ,from what has been already said of the contour of the county it may be inferred that its surface is extremely varied4 ,every variety of highland and lowland country is to be found within its limits4 ,near the sea-board the land is gently undulating1 never quite flat but not rising to any great height till ,benachie 7#addj7 is reached4 ,from that point onwards1 whether up ,deveronside or ,donside or ,deeside1 the mountains rise higher and higher till the ,cairngorms1 which comprise some of the loftiest mountains in the kingdom1 are reached4 ,at that point we are more than half-way across ,scotland1 and in reality are nearer to the ,atlantic than to the ,north ,sea4 ,less than half the land is under cultivation4 ,woods and plantations occupy barely a sixth part of the uncultivated area4 ,the rest is mountain and moor1 yielding a scanty pasturage for sheep and red-deer1 and on the lower elevations for cattle4 ,in the fringe round the sea-board no trees will grow4 ,it is only when several miles removed from exposure to the fierce blasts that come from the ,north ,sea that they begin to thrive1 but the whole ,buchan district is conspicuously treeless4 ,almost every acre is cultivated and the succession of fields covered with oats1 turnips and grass1 which fill up the landscape as with a great patchwork1 is broken only here and there by belts of trees round some manor-house or farm-steading4 ,except in a few places the scenery of this lowland portion is devoid of picturesque interest1 yet the woods of ,pitfour and of ,strichen1 the policies of ,haddo ,house near ,methlick1 the quiet silvan beauty of ,fyvie1 which more resembles an ,english than a ,scotch village1 the wooded ridge that overlooks the ,ythan at the ,castle of ,gight1 are charming spots that serve by contrast to accentuate the general tameness of this lower area4 ,in the higher region1 the south-western portions of the county1 agriculture is1 to some extent1 practised1 but it is necessarily confined to narrow strips in the valleys of the rivers4 ,the hills1 which are rarely wooded1 and that only up to fifteen hundred feet above sea-level1 are rounded in shape1 not sharp and jagged4 ,they are1 where composed of granite1 invariably clothed in heather and are occasionally utilised for the grazing of sheep1 but this is becoming less common1 and year by year larger areas are depleted of sheep for the better protection of grouse4 ,all the heathery hills up to #bjjj feet are grouse moors4 ,throughout the summer these display the characteristic brown tint of the heather--a tint which gives place in early ,august to a rich purple when the heather breaks into flower4 ,long strips of the heather-mantle are systematically burned to the ground every spring4 ,such blackened patches scoring with their irregular outlines the sides of the hills in ,april and ,may give a certain amount of variety to the prevailing tint of brown4 ,they serve a very useful purpose4 ,the young grouse shelter in the long and unburnt heather but frequent the cleared areas for the purpose of feeding on the tender young shoots which spring up from the blackened roots of the burned plants4 ,further inland still1 where the hills rise to a greater height1 they become deer-forests4 ,as a rule these forests are without trees and are often rockstrewn1 bare and grassless4 ,it is only in the sheltered corries or by the sides of some sparkling burn1 that natural grasses spring up in sufficient breadth to provide summer pasturage for the red-deer1 which are carefully protected for sporting purposes4 ,here too the ptarmigan breed in considerable numbers4 ,the grouse moors command higher rents than would be profitable for a sheep-farmer to give for the grazing1 and every year prior to the #abth of ,august1 when grouse-shooting begins1 there is an influx of sportsmen from the south1 to enjoy this particular form of sport4 ,the red grouse is indigenous to ,scotland2 it seems to find its natural habitat amongst the heather1 where in spite of occasional failures in the nesting season1 and in spite of many weeks' incessant shooting1 it thrives and multiplies4 ,deer-stalking begins somewhat later2 in a warm and favourable summer1 the stags are in condition early in ,september4 ,this sport is confined to a comparative few4 ,the highest mountain in the ,braemar district is ,ben-,macdhui 7#dbif feet74 ,a few others are over #djjj--;,brae-riach and ,cairntoul4 ,ben-na-,buird and ,ben-,avon1 which last is notable for the numerous tors or warty knots along its sky-line1 are just under #djjj feet4 ,loch-na-gar1 a few miles to the east and a conspicuous background to ,balmoral ,castle1 is #cghi4 ,byron called it 8the most sublime and picturesque of the ,caledonian ,alps10 and ,queen ,victoria writing from ,balmoral in #ahej described it as 8the jewel of all the mountains here40 ,its contour lines1 which are somewhat more sharply curved than is usual in the ,deeside hills1 and the well-balanced distribution of its great mass make it easily recognised from a wide distance4 ,this partly explains the pre-eminence which notwithstanding its inferiority of height it undoubtedly possesses4 ,due north from ,ballater are ,morven 7#bhhj7 and ,culblean1 and due south is ,mount ,keen2 a little east and on the boundary line of three counties is ,mount ,battock4 ,perhaps the most prominent hill1 and the one most frequently visible to the great majority of ,aberdeenshire folks1 is ,benachie1 which stands as a fitting outpost of the vast regiment of hills4 ,it stands apart and although only #addj feet in height is an unfailing landmark from all parts of ,buchan1 from ,aberdeen1 from ,donside1 and even from ,deveronside4 ,its well-defined outline and projecting 8mither tap0 render it an object of interest from far and near1 while the presence or absence of cloud on its head and shoulders serves as a barometric index to the state of the weather4 ,illustration3 ,benachie #e4 ,watershed4 ,rivers4 ,lochs4 ,as we have already pointed out1 the watershed coincides to a large extent with the boundary line of the county4 ,the lean of ,aberdeenshire is from west to east so that all the rivers flow in an easterly direction to the ,north ,sea4 ,on the west and north-west of the highest mountain ridges1 the slope of the land is to the north-east1 and the ,spey with its several tributaries carries the rainfall to the heart of the ,moray ,firth4 ,the chief river of the county is the ,dee4 ,it is the longest1 the fullest-bodied1 the most picturesque of all ,aberdeenshire waters4 ,taking its rise in two small streams which drain the slopes of ,brae-riach1 it grows in volume and breadth1 till1 after an easterly course of nearly #ajj miles1 it reaches the sea at ,aberdeen4 ,the head-stream is the ,garrachorry burn1 which flows through the cleft between ,brae-riach and ,cairntoul4 ,a more romantic spot for the cradle of a mighty river could hardly be found4 ,the mountain masses rise steep1 grim and imposing--on one side ,cairntoul conical in shape1 on the other ,brae-riach broad and massive1 a picture of solidity and immobility4 ,the ,dee well is #djfj feet above sea-level and #acjj above the stream which drains the eastern side of the ,larig--the high pass to ,strathspey4 ,as it emerges from the ,larig1 it is a mere mountain torrent but presently it is joined at right angles by the ,geldie from the south-west1 and the united waters move eastward through a wild glen of rough and rugged slopes ,illustration3 ,linn of ,dee1 ,braemar and ragged1 gnarled ,scots firs to the ,linn of ,dee1 #f-c_/d miles above ,braemar4 ,there is no great fall at the ,linn1 but here the channel of the river becomes suddenly contracted by great masses of rock and the water rushes through a narrow gorge only four feet wide4 ,the pool below is deep and black and much overhung with rocks4 ,for #cjj yards stretches this natural sluice1 formed by rocks with rugged sides and jagged bottom1 the water racing past in small cascades4 ,the river is here spanned by a handsome granite bridge opened in #aheg by ,queen ,victoria4 ,illustration3 ,old bridge of ,dee1 ,invercauld ,as the river descends to ,braemar1 the glen gradually widens out1 and the open1 gravelly1 and sinuous character of the bed1 which is a feature from this point onwards1 is very marked4 ,pool and stream1 stream and pool succeed one another in shingly bends1 clean1 sparkling and beautiful4 ,at ,braemar the bed is #ajff feet above sea-level4 ,below ,invercauld the river is crossed by the picturesque old bridge built by ,general ,wade1 when he made his well-known roads through the ,highlands after the rebellion of #agde4 ,here the ,garrawalt1 a rough and obstructed ,illustration3 ,view from old bridge of ,invercauld ,illustration3 ,falls of ,muick1 ,ballater tributary1 joins the main river4 ,from ,invercauld past ,balmoral ,castle to ,ballater is sixteen miles4 ,here the bottom is at times rocky1 at times filled with big rough stones1 at other times shingly but never deep4 ,the average depth is only four feet1 and the normal pace under ordinary conditions #c-a_/b miles an hour4 ,from ,ballater1 where the river is joined by the ,gairn and the ,muick1 the ,dee maintains the same character to ,aboyne and ,banchory1 where it is joined by the ,feugh from the forest of ,birse4 ,just above ,banchory is ,cairnton1 where the water supply for the town of ,aberdeen1 amounting on an average to #g or #h million gallons a day1 is taken off4 ,the course of the river near the mouth was diverted some #dj years ago to the south1 at great expense1 by the ,town ,council1 and in this way a considerable area of land was reclaimed for feuing purposes4 ,the spanning of the river at this point by the ,victoria bridge1 which superseded a ferry-boat1 has led to the rise of a moderately sized town 7,torry7 on the south or ,kincardine side of the river4 ,the scenery of ,deeside1 all the way from the ,cairngorms to the old ,bridge of ,dee1 two miles west of the centre of the city1 is varied and attractive4 ,it is well-wooded throughout2 in the upper parts the birch1 which would seem to be indigenous in the district1 adds to the beauty of the hill-sides1 while the clean pebbly bed of the river and its swift1 dashing flow delight the eyes of those who are familiar only with sluggish and mud-stained waters4 ,it is not surprising therefore that the district has attained the vogue it now enjoys4 ,the ,don runs parallel to the ,dee for a great part of its course1 but it is a much shorter river1 measuring only #gh miles4 ,it rises at the very edge of the county close to the point where the ,avon emerges from ,glen ,avon and turns north to join the ,spey4 ,it drains a valley which is only ten or fifteen miles separated from the valley of the larger river4 ,in its upper reaches it somewhat resembles ,deeside1 being quite highland in character2 but lower down the river loses its rapidity1 becoming sluggish and winding4 ,strathdon1 as the upper area is called1 is undoubtedly picturesque1 but it lacks the bolder features of ,deeside1 being less wooded and graced with few hills on the grand scale4 ,it has not1 therefore1 become a popular ,illustration3 ,birch ,tree at ,braemar summer resort1 but its banks form the richest alluvial agricultural land in the county-- ,a mile o' ,don's worth twa o' ,dee ,except for salmon1 stone and tree4 ,this old couplet is so far correct4 ,the ,dee is a great salmon river1 providing more first-class salmon angling than any other river of ,scotland1 while the ,don1 though owing to its muddy bottom a stream excellent beyond measure and unsurpassed for brown trout1 is not now1 partly owing to obstruction and pollution1 a great salmon river4 ,but the agricultural land on ,donside1 which for the most part is rich deep loam1 about ,kintore1 ,inverurie and the vale of ,alford is much more kindly to the farmer than the light gravelly soil of ,deeside1 which is so apt to be burnt up in a droughty summer4 ,in the matter of stone1 things have changed since the couplet took shape4 ,the granite quarries of ,donside are now superior to any on the ,dee2 but the trees of ,deeside still hold their own1 the ,scots firs of ,ballochbuie forest1 west of ,balmoral1 being the finest specimens of their kind in the north4 ,the nether-,don has been utilised for more than a century as a driving power for paper and wool mills4 ,of these there is a regular succession for several miles of the river's course1 from ,bucksburn to within a mile of ,old ,aberdeen4 ,after heavy rains or a spring thaw the lower reaches of the river1 especially from ,kintore downwards1 are apt to be flooded1 and in spite of embankments which have been erected along the river's course1 few years pass without serious damage being done to the ,illustration3 ,fir ,trees at ,braemar crops in low-lying fields4 ,some parts of ,donside scenery1 notably at ,monymusk 7called ,paradise71 and at ,seaton ,house just below the ,cathedral of ,old ,aberdeen1 and before the river passes through the single ,gothic arch of the ancient and historical bridge of ,balgownie1 are very fine--wooded and picturesque1 and beloved of more than one famous artist4 ,the next river is the ,ythan1 which1 rising in the low hills of the ,culsalmond district and flowing through the parish of ,auchterless and past the charming hamlet of ,fyvie1 creeps somewhat sluggishly through ,methlick and ,lord ,aberdeen's estates to ,ellon4 ,a few miles below ,ellon it forms a large tidal estuary four miles in length--a notable haunt of sea-trout1 the most notable on the east coast4 ,the river is only #cg miles long4 ,it is slow and winding with deep pools and few rushing streams2 moreover its waters have never the clear1 sparkling quality of the silvery ,dee4 ,yet at ,fyvie and at ,gight it has picturesque reaches that redeem it from a uniformity of tameness4 ,the ,ugie1 a small stream of #bj miles in length1 is the only other river worthy of mention4 ,it joins the sea north of the town of ,peterhead4 ,in character it closely resembles the ,ythan1 having the same kind of deep pools and the same sedge-grown banks4 ,the ,deveron is more particularly a ,banffshire river1 yet in the ,huntly district1 it and its important tributary the ,bogie 7which gives its name to the well-known historic region called ,strathbogie7 are wholly in ,aberdeenshire4 ,illustration3 ,the ,don1 looking towards ,st ,machar ,cathedral ,the ,deveron partakes of the character of the ,dee and the character of the ,don4 ,it is neither so sparkling and rapid as the one nor so slow and muddy as the other4 ,around ,huntly and in the locality of ,turriff and ,eden1 where it is the boundary between the counties1 it has some charmingly beautiful reaches4 ,along its banks is a succession of stately manor-houses1 embosomed in trees1 and these highly embellished demesnes enhance its natural charms4 ,illustration3 ,brig o' ,balgownie1 ,aberdeen ,lakes are few in ,aberdeenshire1 and such as exist are not specially remarkable4 ,the most interesting historically are the ,deeside ,lochs ,kinnord and ,davan which are held by antiquarians to be the seat of an ancient city ,devana--the town of the two lakes4 ,in pre-historic times there dwelt on the shores of these lakes as also in the valleys that converge upon them a tribe of people who built forts1 and lake retreats1 made oak canoes1 and by means of palisades of the same material created artificial islands4 ,the canoes which have been recovered from the bed of the loch are hollowed logs thirty feet in length4 ,other relics--a bronze vessel and a bronze spearhead1 together with many beams of oak--have been fished up1 all proving the existence of an early ,pictish settlement4 ,illustration3 ,loch ,muick1 near ,ballater ,besides these1 there is in the same district--but south-east of ,loch-na-gar1 another and larger lake called ,loch ,muick4 ,from it flows the small river ,muick--a tributary of the ,dee1 which it joins above ,ballater4 ,south-west of ,loch-na-gar is ,loch ,callater1 which drains into the ,clunie1 another ,dee tributary1 which joins the main river at ,castleton of ,braemar4 ,on the lower reaches of the ,dee are the ,loch of ,park or ,drum1 and the ,loch of ,skene1 both of which drain into the ,dee4 ,both are much frequented by water-fowl of various kinds4 ,the ,loch of ,strathbeg1 which lies on the east coast not far from ,rattray ,head1 is a brackish loch of some interest4 ,two hundred years ago1 we are told1 it was in direct communication with the sea and small vessels were able to enter it4 ,in a single night a furious easterly gale blew away a sand-hill between the ,castle-hill of ,rattray and the sea1 with the result that the wind-driven sand formed a sand-bar where formerly there was a clear ,illustration3 ,loch ,callater1 ,braemar water-way4 ,since that day the loch has been land-locked and though still slightly brackish may be regarded as an inland loch4 #f4 ,geology4 ,geology is the study of the rocks or the substances of which the earthy crust of a district is composed4 ,rocks are of two sorts3 7#a7 those due to the action of heat1 called igneous1 7#b7 those formed and deposited by water1 called aqueous4 ,when the earth was a molten ball1 it cooled at the surface1 but every now and again liquid portions were ejected from cracks and weak places4 ,the same process is seen in the eruptions of ,mount ,vesuvius1 which sends out streams of liquid lava that gradually cools and forms hard rock4 ,such are igneous rocks4 ,but all the forces of nature are constantly at work disintegrating the solid land2 frost1 rain1 the action of rivers and the atmosphere wear down the rocks2 and the tiny particles are carried during floods to the sea1 where they are deposited as mud or sand-beds laid flat one on the top of the other like sheets of paper4 ,these are aqueous rocks4 ,the layers are afterwards apt to be tilted up on end or at various angles owing to the contortions of the earth's crust1 through pressure in particular directions4 ,when so tilted they may rise above water and immediately the same process that made them now begins to unmake them4 ,they too may in time be so worn away that only fragments of them are left whereby we may interpret their history4 ,illustration3 ,loch of ,skene ,to these may be added a third kind of rock called metamorphic1 or rocks so altered by the heat and pressure of other rocks intruding upon them1 that they lose their original character and become metamorphosed4 ,they may be either sedimentary1 laid down originally by water1 or they may be igneous1 but in both cases they are entirely changed or modified in appearance and structure by the treatment they have suffered4 ,the geology of ,aberdeenshire is almost entirely concerned with igneous and metamorphic rocks4 ,the whole backbone of the county is granite which has to some extent been rubbed smooth by glacial action2 but in a great part of the county the granite gives place to metamorphic rocks1 gneiss1 schist1 and quartzite4 ,a young geologist viewing a deep cutting in the soil about ,aberdeen finds that the material consists of layers of sand1 gravel1 clay1 which are loosely piled together all the way down to the solid granite4 ,this is the glacial drift1 or boulder clay1 a much later formation than the granite and a legacy of what is called the great ,ice ,age4 ,far back in a time before the dawn of history all the north-east of ,scotland was buried deep under a vast snow-sheet4 ,the snow consolidated into glaciers just as in ,switzerland to-day1 and the glaciers thus formed worked their way down the valleys1 carrying a great quantity of loose material along with them4 ,when a warmer time came1 the ice melted and all the sand and boulders mixed up in the ice were liberated and sank as loose deposits on the land4 ,this is the boulder clay which in and around ,aberdeen is the usual subsoil4 ,it consists of rough1 half-rounded pebbles1 large and small1 of clay1 sand1 and shingle1 and makes a very cold and unkindly soil1 being difficult to drain properly and slow to take in warmth4 ,below this boulder clay are the fundamental rocks4 ,at ,aberdeen these are pure granite2 but in other parts of the county they are1 as we have said1 metamorphic1 that is1 they have been altered by powerful forces1 heat and pressure4 ,whether they were originally sedimentary1 before they were altered1 is doubtful2 some geologists think the crystalline rocks round ,fraserburgh and ,peterhead were aqueous4 ,mormond ,hill was once a sandstone1 and the schists of ,cruden ,bay and ,collieston were clay4 ,the same beds traced to the south are found to pass gradually into sedimentary rocks that are little altered4 ,whether they were aqueous or igneous originally1 they have to-day lost all their original character4 ,no fossils are found in them4 ,these rocks are the oldest and lowest in ,aberdeenshire4 ,after their formation1 they were invaded from below by intrusive masses of molten igneous rock1 which in many parts of the county is now near the surface4 ,this is the granite already referred to4 ,its presence throughout the county has materially influenced the character and the industry of the people4 ,wherever granite enters1 it tears its irregular way through the opposing rocks1 and sends veins through cracks where such occur4 ,the result of its forcible entrance in a molten condition is that the contiguous rocks are melted1 blistered1 and baked by the intrusive matter4 ,why granite should differ from the lava we see exuding from active volcanoes is explained by the fact that it is formed deep below the surface where there is no outlet for its gases4 ,it cools slowly and under great pressure and this gives it its special character4 ,if found1 therefore1 at the surface1 as it is in ,aberdeen1 this is because the rocks once high above it1 concealing its presence have been worn away1 which gives some idea of the great age of the district4 ,one large granitic mass is at ,peterhead1 where it covers an area of #df square miles1 and forms the rocky coast for eight miles2 but the whole valley of the ,dee as far as ,ben ,macdhui1 and a great part of ,donside1 consist of this intrusive granite4 ,it varies in colour and quality1 being in some districts reddish in tint as at ,sterling ,hill near ,peterhead1 at ,hill of ,fare1 and ,corennie2 in other parts it is light grey in various shades4 ,the succession in the order of sedimentary rocks is definitely settled1 and although this has little application to ,aberdeenshire1 an outline may be given4 ,the oldest are the ,palaeozoic which includes--in order of age-- ,cambrian1 ,silurian1 ,old ,red ,sandstone or ,devonian1 ,carboniferous1 ,permian4 ,of these the only one represented in ,aberdeenshire is the ,old ,red ,sandstone1 which occupies a considerable strip on the coast from ,aberdour to ,gardenstown1 and runs inland to ,fyvie and ,auchterless and even as far as ,kildrummy and ,auchindoir4 ,the deposit is #acjj feet thick4 ,a visitor to the town of ,turriff is struck by the red colour of many of the houses there1 a most unusual variant upon the blue-grey whinstone of the surrounding districts4 ,the explanation is that a convenient quarry of ,old ,red ,sandstone exists between ,turriff and ,cuminestown4 ,kildrummy ,castle1 one of the finest and most ancient ruins in the county1 is not like the majority of the old castles built of granite but of a sandstone in the vicinity4 ,the same band extends across country to ,auchindoir1 where it is still quarried4 ,the next geological group of ,rocks1 the ,secondary or ,mesozoic1 includes--in order of age-- ,triassic1 ,jurassic1 ,cretaceous4 ,these are not at all or but barely represented4 ,a patch of clay at ,plaidy1 which was laid bare in cutting the railway track1 belongs to the ,jurassic system and contains ammonites and other fossils characteristic of that period4 ,over a ridge of high ground stretching from ,sterling ,hill south-eastwards are found numbers of rolled flints belonging to the ,cretaceous or chalk period1 but the probability is that they have been transported from elsewhere by moving ice and are not in their natural place4 ,the ,tertiary epoch is just as meagrely represented as the ,secondary4 ,yet this is the period which in other parts of the world possesses records of the most ample kind4 ,the ,alps1 the ,caucasus1 the ,himalayas were all upheaved in ,tertiary times2 but of any corresponding activity in the north-east of ,scotland1 there is no trace4 ,it is only when the ,tertiary merges in the ,quaternary period that the history is resumed4 ,the deposits of the ,ice ,age1 when ,scotland was under the grip of an arctic climate1 are much in evidence all over the county and have already been referred to4 ,it is necessary to treat the subject in some detail4 ,during the glacial period1 the snow and ice accumulated on the west side of the country1 and overflowed into ,aberdeenshire4 ,there were several invasions owing to the recurrence of periods of more genial temperature when the ice-sheet dwindled4 ,one of the earlier inroads probably brought with it the chalk flints now found west of ,buchan ,ness2 another brought boulders from the district of ,moray4 ,south of ,peterhead a drift of a different character took place4 ,most of ,slains and ,cruden as well as ,ellon1 ,foveran1 and ,belhelvie are covered with a reddish clay with round red pebbles like those of the ,old ,red ,sandstone4 ,this points to an invasion of the ice-sheet from ,kincardine1 where such deposits are rife4 ,dark blue clay came from the west1 red clay from the south1 and in some parts they met and intermixed as at ,st ,fergus4 ,a probable third source of glacial remains is ,scandinavia4 ,in the ,ice ,age ,britain was part of the continental mainland1 the shallow ,north ,sea having been formed at a subsequent period4 ,the low-lying land at the north-east of the county was the hollow to which the glaciers gravitated from west and south and east1 leaving their dbris on the surface when the ice disappeared4 ,so much is this a feature of ,buchan that one well-known geologist has humorously described it as the riddling heap of creation4 ,both the red and the blue clay are often buried under the coarse earthy matter and rough stones that formed the residuum of the last sheet of ice4 ,this has greatly increased the difficulty of clearing the land for cultivation4 ,moreover a clay subsoil of this kind1 which forms a hard bottom pan that water cannot percolate through1 is not conducive to successful farming4 ,drainage is difficult but absolutely necessary before good crops will be produced4 ,both difficulties have been successfully overcome by the ,aberdeenshire agriculturist1 but only by dint of great expenditure of time and labour and money4 ,the district of the clays is associated with peat beds4 ,there is peat1 or rather there was once peat all over ,aberdeenshire1 but the depth and extent of the beds are greatest where the clay bottom exists4 ,a climate that is moist without being too cold favours the growth of peat and the ,buchan district1 projecting so far into the ,north ,sea and being subject to somewhat less sunshine than other parts of the county1 provides the favouring conditions4 ,the rainfall is only moderate but it is distributed at frequent intervals1 and the clay bottom helps to retain the moisture and thus promotes the growth of those mosses which after many years become beds of peat4 ,these peat beds for long provided the fuel of the population4 ,in recent years they are all but exhausted1 and the facility with which coals are transported by sea and by rail is gradually putting an end to the 8casting0 and drying of peats4 ,moraines of rough gravel--the wreckage of dwindling glaciers--are found in various parts of the ,dee valley4 ,the soil of ,deeside has little intermixture of clay and is thin and highly porous4 ,it follows that in a dry season the crops are short and meagre4 ,the ,scots fir1 however1 is partial to such a soil1 and its ready growth helps with the aid of the natural birches to embellish the ,deeside landscape4 ,in the ,cairngorms brown and yellow varieties of quartz called 8cairngorms0 are found either embedded in cavities of the granite or in the detritus that accumulates from the decomposition of exposed rocks4 ,the stones1 which are really crystals1 are much prized for jewellery1 and are of various colours1 pale yellow 7citrine71 brown or smoky1 and black and almost opaque4 ,when well cut and set in silver1 either as brooches or as an adornment to the handles of dirks1 they have a brilliant effect4 ,time was when they were systematically dug and searched for1 and certain persons made a living by their finds on the hill-sides2 but now they are more rare and come upon only by accident4 #g4 ,natural ,history4 ,as we have seen in dealing with the glacial movements1 ,britain was at one time part of the continent and there was no ,north ,sea4 ,at the best it is a shallow sea1 and a very trifling elevation of its floor would re-connect ,scotland with ,europe4 ,it follows that our country was inhabited by the same kind of animals as inhabited ,western ,europe4 ,many of them are now extinct1 cave-bears1 hyaenas and sabre-toothed tigers4 ,all these were starved out of existence by the inroads of the ice4 ,after the ice disappeared this country remained joined to the continent1 and as long as the connection was maintained the land-animals of ,europe were able to cross over and occupy the ground2 if the connection had not been severed1 there would have been no difference between our fauna and the animals of ,northern ,france and ,belgium4 ,but the land sank1 and the ,north ,sea filled up the hollow1 creating a barrier before all the species in ,northern ,europe had been able to effect a footing in our country4 ,this applies both to plants and animals4 ,while ,germany has nearly ninety species of land animals1 ,great ,britain has barely forty4 ,all the mammals1 reptiles and amphibians that we have1 are found on the continent besides a great many that we do not possess4 ,still ,scotland can boast of its red grouse1 which is not seen on the continent4 ,with every variety of situation1 from exposed sea-board to sheltered valley and lofty mountain1 the flora of ,aberdeenshire shows a pleasing and interesting variety4 ,the plants of the sea-shore1 of the waysides1 of the river-banks1 and of the lowland peat-mosses are necessarily different in many respects from those of the great mountain heights4 ,it is impossible here to do more than indicate one or two of the leading features4 ,the sandy tracts north of the ,ythan mouth have characteristic plants1 wild rue1 sea-thrift1 rock-rose1 grass of ,parnassus1 catch-fly 7,silene maritima74 ,the waysides are brilliant with blue-bells1 speedwell1 thistles1 yarrow and violas4 ,the peat-mosses show patches of louse-wort1 sundew1 ,st ,john's wort1 cotton-grass1 butterwort and ragged robin4 ,the pine-woods display an undergrowth of blae-berries1 galliums1 winter-green1 veronicas and geraniums4 ,the ,linnaea borealis is exceedingly rare1 but has a few localities known to enterprising botanists4 ,the whin and the broom in ,may and ,june add conspicuous colouring to the landscape while a different tint of yellow shines in the oat-fields1 which are throughout the county more or less crowded with wild mustard or charlock4 ,the granitic hills are all mantled with heather 7common ling1 ,calluna erica7 up to #cjjj feet1 brown in winter and spring but taking on a rich purple hue when it breaks into flower in early ,august4 ,the purple bell-heather does not rise beyond #bjjj feet and flowers much earlier4 ,through the heather trails the stag-moss1 and the pyrola and the genista thrust their blossoms above the sea of purple4 ,the cranberry1 the crow-berry and the whortle-berry1 and more rarely the cloudberry or ,avron 7,rubus chamaemorus7 are found on all the ,cairngorms4 ,the ,alpine rock-cress is there also1 as well as the mountain violet 7,viola lutea71 which takes the place of the hearts-ease of the lowlands4 ,the moss-campion spreads its cushions on the highest mountains2 saxifrages of various species haunt every moist spot of the hill-sides and the ,alpine lady's mantle1 the ,alpine scurvy-grass1 the ,alpine speedwell1 the trailing azalea1 the dwarf cornel 7,cornus suecica71 and many other varieties are to be found by those who care to look for them4 ,as we have said1 no trees thrive near the coast4 ,the easterly and northerly winds make their growth precarious1 and where they have been planted they look as if shorn with a mighty scythe1 so decisive is the slope of their branches away from the direction of the cold blasts4 ,their growth too in thickness of bole is painfully slow1 even a period of twenty years making no appreciable addition to the circumference of the stem4 ,convincing evidence exists that in ancient times the county was closely wooded4 ,in peat-bogs are found the root-stems of ,scots fir and oak trees of much larger bulk than we are familiar with now4 ,the resinous roots of the fir trees1 dug up and split into long strips1 were the fir-candles of a century ago1 the only artificial light of the time4 ,the district is not exceptional or peculiar in its fauna4 ,the grey or brown rat1 which has entirely displaced the smaller black rat1 is very common and proves destructive to farm crops--a result partially due to the eradication of birds of prey1 as well as of stoats and weasels1 by gamekeepers in the interest of game4 ,the prolific rabbit is in certain districts far too numerous and plays havoc with the farmer's turnips and other growing crops4 ,brown hares are fairly plentiful but less numerous than they were in the days of their protection4 ,every farmer has now the right to kill ground game 7hares and rabbits7 on his farm and this helps to keep the stock low4 ,the white or ,alpine hare is plentiful in the hilly tracts and is shot along with the grouse on the grouse moors4 ,the otter is occasionally trapped on the rivers1 and a few foxes ,illustration3 ,deer in time of snow are shot on the hills4 ,the mole is in evidence everywhere up to the #aejj feet level1 by the mole-heaps he leaves in every field1 and the mole-catcher is a familiar character in most parishes4 ,the squirrel has worked his way north during the last sixty years1 and is now to be found in every fir-wood4 ,the graceful roedeer is also a denizen of the pine-woods1 whence he makes forays on the oat-fields4 ,the red-deer is abundant on the higher and more remote hills1 and deer-stalking is perhaps the most exciting as it certainly is the most exacting of all forms of ,scottish sport4 ,the pole-cat is rarely seen2 he is best known to the present generation in the half-domesticated breed called the ferret4 ,the hedge-hog1 the common shrew1 and the water-vole are all common4 ,illustration3 ,the ,dunbuy ,rock ,the birds are numerous and full of interest4 ,the coast is frequented by vast flocks of sea-gulls1 guillemots1 and cormorants1 while the estuary of the ,ythan has many visitants such as the ringed plover1 the eider-duck1 the shelduck1 the oyster-catcher1 redshank1 and tern4 ,on the north bank of this river the triangular area of sand-dunes between ,newburgh and ,collieston is a favourite nesting-place for eider-duck and terns4 ,the nests of the eider-duck1 with their five large olive-green eggs embedded in the soft down drawn from the mother's breast1 are found in great numbers amongst the grassy bents4 ,the eggs of the tern1 on the other hand1 are laid in a mere hollow of the open sand1 but so numerous are they that it is almost impossible for a pedestrian to avoid treading upon them4 ,puffins or sea-parrots are conspicuous amongst the many sea-birds that frequent ,dunbuy ,rock4 ,this island rock1 half-way up the eastern coast1 is a typical sea-bird haunt1 where gulls1 puffins1 razorbills and guillemots are to be seen in a state of restless activity4 ,a colony of black-headed gulls has for a number of years bred and multiplied in a small loch near ,kintore4 ,a vast number of migratory birds strike the shores of ,aberdeenshire every year in their westward flight4 ,the waxwing1 the hoopoe1 and the ruff are occasional visitors1 the great northern diver and the snow-bunting being more frequent4 ,the game-birds of the district are the partridge and the pheasant in the agricultural region1 and the red grouse on the moors4 ,the higher hills1 such as ,loch-na-gar1 have ptarmigan1 while the wooded areas bordering on the highland line are frequented by black-cock and capercailzie4 ,these last are a re-introduction of recent years and seem to be multiplying2 but1 like the squirrel1 they are destructive to the growing shoots of the pine trees and are not encouraged by some proprietors4 ,the lapwing or green plover's wail is an unfailing sound throughout the county in the spring4 ,these useful birds are said to be fewer than they were fifty years ago--a result probably due to the demand for their eggs as a table delicacy4 ,after the first of ,april it is illegal to take the eggs1 and this partial protection serves to maintain the stock in fair numbers4 ,the starling1 which1 like the squirrel1 was unknown in this district sixty years ago1 has increased so rapidly that flocks of them containing many thousands are now a common sight in the autumn4 ,the kingfisher is met with1 very1 very rarely on the river-bank1 but the dipper is never absent from the boulder-strewn beds of the streams4 ,the plaintive note of the curlew and the shriller whistle of the golden plover break the silence of the lonely moors4 ,the golden eagle nests in the solitudes of the mountains and may occasionally be seen1 soaring high in the vicinity of his eyrie4 ,of fresh-water fishes1 the yellow or brown trout is plentiful in all the rivers1 especially in the ,don and the ,ythan4 ,the migratory sea-trout and the salmon are also caught in each1 although the ,dee is pre-eminently the most productive4 ,the salmon fisheries round the coast and at the mouth of the rivers are a source of considerable revenue4 ,the fish are caught by three species of net1 bag-nets 7floating nets7 and stake-nets 7fixed7 in the sea1 and by drag-nets or sweep-nets in the tidal reaches of the rivers4 ,time was when drag-nets plied as far inland as ,banchory-,ternan 7#ai miles71 but these have gradually been withdrawn and are now relegated to a short distance from the river mouth1 the rights having been bought up by the riparian proprietors further up the river1 who wish to obtain improved opportunities for successful angling4 ,the ,dee has1 in this way1 been so improved that it is now perhaps the finest salmon-angling river in ,scotland4 ,the insects of the district call for little remark4 ,butterflies are few in species and without variety4 ,it is only in certain warm autumns that the red admiral puts in an appearance4 ,the cabbage-white1 the tortoise-shell1 and an occasional meadow-brown and fritillary are the prevailing species4 ,the waters of the ,ythan1 the ,ugie1 and the ,don are frequented by fresh-water mussels which produce pearls4 ,these grow best on a pebbly bottom not too deep and are #c to #g inches long and #a-a_/b to #b-a_/b broad4 ,the internal surface is bluish or with a shade of pink4 ,the search for these mussels in order to secure the pearls they may and do sometimes contain was once a recognised industry4 ,to-day it is spasmodic and mostly in the hands of vagrants4 ,many beds are destroyed before the mussels are mature and this lessens the chances of success4 ,the pearl-fisher usually wades in the river1 making observation of the bottom by means of a floating glass which removes the disturbing effect of the surface ripple4 ,he thus obtains a clear view of the river-bed1 and by means of a forked stick dislodges the mussels and brings them to bank1 #aej making a good day's work4 ,he opens them at leisure and finds that the great majority of his pile are without pearls4 ,if he be lucky enough1 however1 to come upon a batch of mature shells he may find a pearl worth #bj4 ,as a rule the price is not above ten or twenty shillings4 ,much depends on the size and the colouring4 ,the most valuable are those of a pinkish hue4 #h4 ,round the ,coast4 ,the harbour-mouth1 which is also the mouth of the ,dee1 is the beginning of the county on the sea-board4 ,it is protected by two breakwaters1 north and south1 which shelter the entrance channel from the fury of easterly and north-easterly gales4 ,to the south1 in ,kincardineshire1 is the ,girdleness lighthouse1 #ahe feet high1 flashing a light every twenty seconds with a range of visibility stated at #ai miles4 ,to the north of the harbour entrance are the links and the bathing station4 ,the latter was erected in #ahie and has since been extended1 every effort being made to add to the attractiveness of the beach as a recreation ground4 ,a promenade1 which will ultimately extend to ,donmouth1 is in great part complete2 and all the other usual concomitants of a watering-place have been introduced with promising success so far1 and likely to be greater in the near future4 ,from ,donmouth the northward coast presents little of interest4 ,all the way to the estuary of the ,ythan is a region of sand-dunes bound together by marum grass and stunted whins1 excellent for golf courses1 but lacking in variety4 ,in the sandy mounds in the vicinity of the ,ythan have been found many flint chippings and amongst them leaf-shaped flint arrow-heads1 chisels and cores1 as well as the water-worn stones on which these implements were fashioned4 ,these records of primitive man as he was in the later ,stone ,age are conspicuous here1 and are ,illustration3 ,girdleness ,lighthouse to be seen in other parts of the county4 ,in the rabbit burrows1 which are abundant in the dunes1 the stock-dove rears her young4 ,in #ahhh a migratory flock of sand-grouse took possession of the dunes1 and remained for one season4 ,beyond the ,ythan are the ,forvie sands--a region of hummocks under which a whole parish is buried4 ,the destruction of the parish took place several centuries ago1 when a succession of north-easterly gales1 continued for many days1 whipped up the loose sand of the coast-dunes and blew it onward in clouds till the whole parish1 including several valuable farms1 was entirely submerged4 ,the scanty ruins of the old church of ,forvie is the only trace left of this sand-smothered hamlet4 ,not far from the site of the ,forvie church is a beautiful semi-lunar bay called ,hackley ,bay1 where for the first time since ,aberdeen was left behind1 rocks appear1 hornblende1 slate1 and gneiss4 ,at ,collieston1 a village consisting of a medley of irregularly located cottages scrambling up the cliff sides1 a thriving industry used to be practised1 the making of ,collieston 8speldings40 ,these were small whitings1 split1 salted and dried on the rocks4 ,thirty years ago they were considered something of a delicacy and were disposed of in great quantities2 now they have lost favour and are seldom to be had4 ,at the north end of the village is ,st ,catherine's ,dub1 a deep pool between rocks1 on which one of the ships of the ,spanish ,armada was wrecked in #aehh4 ,two of the ,st ,catherine's cannon very much corroded have been brought up from the sea-floor4 ,one of them is still to be seen at ,haddo ,house1 the seat of the ,earl of ,aberdeen4 ,northward we come upon a region of steep grassy braes1 consisting of soft1 loamy clay1 #bj to #dj feet deep1 and covered with luxuriant grasses in summer and ablaze with golden cowslips in the spring months4 ,along the coast are several villages which once populous with busy and hardy fishermen are now all but tenantless4 ,such are ,slains and ,whinnyfold crushed out of activity by the rise of the trawling industry4 ,the next place of note is ,cruden ,bay ,hotel built by the ,great ,north of ,scotland ,railway ,company1 and intended to minister specially to the devotees of golf1 for which the coast links are here eminently suitable4 ,the fine granite building facing the sea is a conspicuous landmark4 ,just north of the ,hotel is the thriving little town of ,port ,errol1 through which runs the ,cruden burn--a stream where sea-trout are plentifully caught at certain seasons4 ,the next prominent object is ,slains castle--the family seat of the ,earls of ,errol4 ,it stands high and windy1 presenting a bold front to the ,north ,sea breezes4 ,all its windows on the sea-face are duplicate1 a necessary precaution in view of the fierceness of the easterly gales4 ,very few plants grow in this exposed locality1 and these only in the hollow and sheltered ground behind the castle1 where some stunted trees and a few garden flowers struggle along in a precarious existence4 ,as we proceed1 the rocky coast rises higher and bolder and presents variable forms of great beauty4 ,beetling crags enclose circular bays with perpendicular walls on which the kittiwake1 the guillemot1 the jackdaw and the starling breed by the thousand4 ,the rock of ,dunbuy1 a huge mass of granite1 surrounded by the sea1 and forming a grand rugged arch1 is a summer haunt of sea-birds and rock-pigeons4 ,illustration3 ,sand ,hills at ,cruden ,bay ,after this1 we reach the picturesque and much visited ,bullers of ,buchan--a wide semi-circular sea cauldron1 the sides of which are perpendicular cliffs4 ,the pool has no entry except from the seaward side1 and it is only in calm weather that a boat is safe to pass through the low1 open archway in the cliff4 ,in rough weather1 the waves rush through the narrow archway with terrific force1 sending clouds of spray far beyond the height of the cliffs4 ,under proper conditions the scene is one of the grandest in ,aberdeenshire1 and is a fitting contrast to the sublimely impressive scenes at the source of the ,dee1 right at the other end of the county4 ,beyond the ,bullers1 the coast consists of high granite rocks1 behind which are windswept moors4 ,near ,boddam is ,sterling ,hill quarry1 the source of the red-hued ,peterhead granite4 ,here too is ,buchan ,ness1 the most easterly point on the ,scottish coast1 and a fitting place for a prominent lighthouse4 ,the lantern of the circular tower 7erected in #ahbg7 stands #acj feet above high-water mark and flashes a white light once every five seconds4 ,the light is visible at a distance of #af nautical miles4 ,illustration3 8,the ,pot10 ,bullers o' ,buchan ,at ,peterhead1 which is a prosperous fishing centre and the eastern terminus of the bifurcate ,buchan line of railway1 is a great convict prison1 occupying an extensive range of buildings on the south side of the ,peterhead bay4 ,the convicts are employed in building a harbour of refuge1 which is being erected under the superintendence of the ,admiralty at a cost of a million of money4 ,the coast onwards to the ,ugie mouth is still rocky1 but from the river to ,rattray ,head1 the rocks give place to sand-dunes similar in character to those further south4 ,alongside of the dunes is a raised sea beach4 ,they form the links of ,st ,fergus4 ,rattray ,head is a rather low reef of rock running far out to sea and highly suitable as a lighthouse station4 ,in the course of twelve years1 the reef was responsible for #bd shipwrecks4 ,the lighthouse erected in #ahie is #abj feet high and the light gives three flashes in quick succession every #cj seconds4 ,it is visible #ah miles out to sea4 ,beyond this point is a region of bleak and desolate sands4 ,not a tree nor a shrub is to be seen4 ,the inland parts are under cultivation1 but the general aspect of the country is dismal and dreary1 and the very hedgerows far from the sea-board lean landwards as if cowering from the scourges of the north wind's whip4 ,the country is undulatory without any conspicuous hill4 ,beyond ,rattray ,head is the ,loch of ,strathbeg already referred to4 ,the tradition goes that the same gale as blighted ,forvie silted up this loch and contracted its connection with the sea4 ,on the left safely sheltered from the sea-breezes are ,crimonmogate1 ,cairness and ,philorth--all mansion-houses surrounded by wooded grounds4 ,at the sea-edge stand ,st ,combs 7an echo of ,st ,columba71 ,cairnbulg and ,inverallochy4 ,here occurs another raised sea beach4 ,our course from ,rattray ,head has been north-west and thus we reach the last important town on the coast--,fraserburgh4 ,illustration3 ,buchan ,ness ,lighthouse ,illustration3 ,kinnaird ,lighthouse1 ,fraserburgh ,fraserburgh lies to the west of its bay4 ,founded by one of the ,frasers of ,philorth 7now represented by ,lord ,saltoun71 it is like ,peterhead a thriving town4 ,like ,peterhead too1 it is the terminus of one fork of the ,buchan ,railway and a busy fishing centre4 ,in the month of ,july1 which is the height of the herring season1 8the ,broch10 as it is called locally1 is astir with life from early morn4 ,illustration3 ,entrance to ,lord ,pitsligo's ,cave1 ,rosehearty ,more herrings are handled at ,fraserburgh than anywhere else on this coast1 from ,eyemouth to ,wick4 ,between ,fraserburgh and ,broadsea is ,kinnaird's ,head4 ,here we have another lighthouse which has served that purpose for more than a century1 an old castle having been converted to this use in #aghg4 ,it was one of the first three lighthouses in ,scotland4 ,kinnaird's ,head is believed to be the promontory of the ,taixali mentioned by the ,alexandrian geographer ,ptolemy as being at the entrance of the ,moray ,firth4 ,here the rocks are of moderate height but further west they fall to sea-level and continue so past ,sandhaven and ,pittullie to ,rosehearty4 ,a low rocky coast carries us to ,aberdour bay1 where beds of ,old ,red ,sandstone and conglomerate rise to an altitude of #cjj feet4 ,illustration3 ,aberdour ,shore1 looking ,n4,w4 ,the conglomerate extends to the ,red ,head of ,pennan--once a quarry for mill-stones--where an attractive and picturesque little village nestles at the base of the cliff4 ,the peregrine falcon breeds on the rocky fastnesses of these lofty cliffs1 which continue to grow in height and grandeur till they reach their maximum 7#djj feet7 at ,troup ,head4 ,troup ,head makes a bold beginning for the county of ,banff4 #i4 ,weather and ,climate4 ,temperature4 ,rainfall4 ,winds4 ,the climate of a county depends on a good many things1 its latitude1 its height above sea-level1 its proximity to the sea1 the prevailing winds1 and especially as regards ,scotland whether it is situated on the east coast or on the west4 ,the latitude of ,great ,britain if the country were not surrounded by the sea would entitle it to a temperature only comparable to that of ,greenland but its proximity to the ,atlantic redeems it from such a fate4 ,the ,atlantic is #c warmer than the air and the fact that the prevailing winds are westerly or south-westerly helps to raise the mean temperature of the western counties higher than that of those on the east4 ,the ,north ,sea is only #a warmer than the air so that its influence is less marked4 ,still1 considering its latitude 7#eg-eg #dj'71 ,aberdeenshire enjoys a comparatively moderate climate4 ,it is neither very rigorous in winter nor very warm in ,illustration3 ,rainfall ,map of ,scotland4 7,after ,dr ,h4 ,r4 ,mill7 summer4 ,of course in a large county a distinction must be drawn between the coast temperature and that of the high lying districts such as ,braemar4 ,the fringe round the coast is in the summer less warm than the inland parts1 a result due to the coolness of the enclosing sea1 but in the winter this state of affairs is reversed and the uplands are held in the grip of a hard frost while the coast-side has little or none4 ,the mean temperature of ,scotland is #dg1 while ,aberdeen has #dfd and ,peterhead #dfh4 ,that of ,braemar1 the most westerly station in the county1 though in reality very little lower1 is arrived at by entirely different figures2 the temperature being much higher during ,july1 ,august and ,september1 but lower in ,december1 ,january and ,february4 ,braemar is #aaad feet above sea-level and since there is a regular and uniform decline in temperature to the extent of #a for every #bgj feet above the sea1 the temperature of this hill-station should be low4 ,as a matter of fact1 from ,june to ,september it is only #i and in ,october #ge below that of ,london4 ,yet its maximum is #aj higher than is recorded at ,aberdeen1 only in winter its minimum is #bj lower than the minimum of the coast4 ,braemar and ,peterhead as lying at the two extremes of the county may be compared4 ,peterhead receives the uninterrupted sweep of the easterly breezes1 for it has no shelter or protection either of forests or mountains4 ,the impression a visitor takes is that ,peterhead is an exceptionally cold place4 ,as a fact1 its mean winter temperature is above the average for ,scotland1 but the lack of shelter and the constant motion of the air give an impression of coldness4 ,in the summer and autumn its mean falls below that of ,scotland4 ,it is therefore less cold in the cold months and less warm in the warm months than ,braemar and has a seasonal variation of only #afc between winter and summer1 whereas ,edinburgh has a range of #ba and ,london of #bf4 ,illustration3 ,inverey near ,braemar ,the rainfall over the whole county is also moderate1 ranging from less than #be inches at ,peterhead--the driest part of the area--to #dj inches at ,braemar1 and #cb at ,aberdeen4 ,this is a small rainfall compared with #fj or #gj inches on parts of the west coast4 ,the driest months in ,aberdeenshire are ,april and ,may1 and generally speaking less rain falls in the early half of the year when the temperature is rising than in the later half when the temperature is on the decline4 ,two inches is about the average for each month from ,february to ,june1 but ,october1 ,november and ,december are each over three inches4 ,the most of the rainfall of ,scotland comes from the west and south4 ,this explains why the west coast is so much wetter than the east4 ,the westerly winds from the ,atlantic1 laden with moisture1 strike upon the high lands of the west1 but exhaust themselves before they reach the watershed and1 having precipitated their moisture between that and the coast1 they reach the east coast comparatively dry4 ,braemar just under the watershed is relatively dry4 ,its situation as an elevated valley1 #aaad feet above sea-level and surrounded on three sides by hills of from three to four thousand feet1 and the fact that it is #fj miles from the sea combine to make it one of the most bracing places and give it one of the finest summer climates in the ,british ,isles4 ,this sufficiently accounts for its popularity as a health resort4 ,may is its driest month1 ,october its wettest4 ,easterly winds bring rain to the coast1 but as a rule the rain extends no further inland than #bj miles4 ,easterly winds prevail during ,march1 ,april and ,may1 which make this season the most trying part of the year for weakly people4 ,in summer the winds are often northerly1 but the prevailing winds of the year1 active for #cg per cent4 of the #cfe days or little less than half1 are west and south-west4 ,east winds bring fog1 and this is most prevalent in the early summer1 ,june being perhaps the worst month4 ,the greatest drawback to the climate from an agriculturist's point of view is the lateness of the spring4 ,the summer being short1 a late spring means a late harvest1 which is invariably unsatisfactory4 ,the low rainfall of the county is favourable to sunshine4 ,aberdeen has #adjj hours of sunshine during the year in spite of fogs and east winds2 the more inland parts being beyond the reach of sea-fog have an even better record4 ,the great objection--an objection taken by folks who have spent part of their life in ,south ,africa or ,canada--is the variableness of the climate from day to day4 ,there is not here any fixity for continued periods of weather such as obtains in these countries4 ,the chief factor in this variability is our insular position on the eastern side of the ,atlantic4 ,when1 on rare occasions1 as sometimes happens in ,june or in ,september1 the atmosphere is settled1 ,aberdeenshire enjoys for a few weeks weather of the most salubrious and delightful kind4 #aj4 ,the ,people--,race1 ,language1 ,population4 ,the blood of the people of ,aberdeenshire1 though in the main ,teutonic1 has combined with ,celtic and other elements1 and has evolved a distinctive type1 somewhat different in appearance and character from what is found in other parts of ,scotland4 ,how this amalgamation came about must be explained at some length4 ,the earliest inhabitants of ,britain must have crossed from ,europe when as yet there was no dividing ,north ,sea4 ,they used rough stone weapons 7see p4 #aad7 and were hunters living upon the products of the chase1 the mammoth1 reindeer and other animals that roamed the country4 ,such were palaeolithic 7ancient stone7 men4 ,perhaps they never reached ,scotland3 at least there is no trace of them in ,aberdeenshire4 ,they were followed by neolithic 7new stone7 men1 who used more delicately carved weapons1 stone axes1 and flint arrows4 ,traces of these are to be found in ,aberdeenshire4 ,a few short cists containing skeletal remains have been found in various parts of the county4 ,in the last forty years some fifteen of these have been unearthed4 ,from these anthropologists conclude that neolithic men lived here at the end of the stone age1 men of a muscular type1 of short stature and with broad short faces4 ,they were mighty hunters hunting the wild ox1 the wolf and the bear in the dense forests which1 after the ,ice ,age passed1 overspread the north-east4 ,they clothed themselves against the cold in the skins of the animals which they made their prey and were a rude1 savage1 hardy race toughened by their mode of life and their fierce struggle for existence4 ,they did not live by hunting alone2 they possessed herds of cattle1 swine and sheep and cultivated the ground but probably only to a slight extent4 ,their weapons were rude arrow-heads1 flint knives and flint axes2 and a considerable number of these primitive weapons as well as the bones of red-deer and the primeval ox--bos primigenius--have been recovered from peat-mosses and elsewhere throughout the district4 ,such have been found at ,barra1 at ,inverurie and at ,alford4 ,besides these remains1 have been found urns made of boulder clay1 burned by fire and rudely ornamented4 ,these were very likely their original drinking vessels1 afterwards somewhat modified as food vessels1 and were1 it is supposed1 deposited in graves with a religious motive in accordance with the belief common among primitive peoples that paradise is a happy hunting-ground in which the activities of the present life will continue under more favourable conditions4 ,in addition to these relics the county has a great number of stone circles1 circles of large upright boulders set up not at hap-hazard but evidently with some definite object in view4 ,these will be dealt with in a later chapter4 ,the probability is that the so-called ,pictish houses1 the earth or ,eirde houses found on ,donside and the lake dwellings at ,kinnord already referred to1 were the homes of these people4 ,but the whole subject is by no means clear4 ,the general opinion is that the north-east was first inhabited by ,picts1 who may or may not have been ,iberians1 and that after the ,picts came the ,celts2 but some critics hold that the ,picts were only earlier ,celts4 ,in any case the ,stone ,age was succeeded by the ,bronze ,age1 when ,bronze took the place of ,stone in the formation of weapons4 ,the ,celts made their way through ,central ,france to ,britain and ultimately to ,scotland4 ,unlike the people they found in possession of ,scotland1 they were tall 7#e ft4 #i in47 ,these are the ancestors of the ,gaelic speaking people of ,scotland4 ,they are supposed to have amalgamated to some extent with the ,neolithic men whom they found on the spot1 and it is certain that they were christianised at an early period4 ,later on ,teutonic tribes1 tall1 longheaded and fairhaired men crossed from the ,baltic to ,britain and in due course they too reached ,aberdeenshire4 ,but up to the time of ,david ,i 7#aabd-aaec7 the population and institutions of the north-east were entirely ,celtic4 ,the ,saxon or ,teutonic element was introduced by way of the coast and the trading towns4 ,from the towns it spread to the country districts4 ,when ,henry ,,ii expelled the ,flemish traders from ,england many migrated to the north and formed settlements in many parts of the country1 establishing trade and handicraft1 particularly weaving1 and reclaiming waste land4 ,the defeat of ,comyn1 the ,earl of ,buchan1 by ,bruce in #acjh1 when ,bruce harried ,buchan from end to end and spared none1 opened the way for lowland immigrants and not only gave an impetus to ,teutonic settlements1 but helped to kill out the ,celtic language and the ,celtic ways4 ,these immigrants are really the ancestors of the present ,aberdeenshire people1 but they have been greatly modified by absorbing the ,celtic population and mixing with it1 for though reduced by slaughter1 and by an exodus to the hills1 it had not entirely disappeared4 ,scandinavians from ,norway and ,denmark also found a footing at various periods in this north-eastern region and these elements are all blended in the modern ,aberdonian4 ,celt1 ,saxon1 ,fleming and ,scandinavian came in one after the other and possessed the land1 forming a new people in which all these elements were fused4 ,aberdonians are credited with a distinct individuality1 partly the result of race1 partly due to environment4 ,the strain of practicality in the ,teuton toned down the ,celtic imagination and warmth of feeling1 and added a certain tincture of the phlegmatic such as is so prominent in the ,dutchman4 ,hence the cautious 8canny0 nature of the typical ,aberdonian1 dreading innovations1 resisting agricultural novelties1 and disliking ecclesiastical changes4 ,they have been described as people ,who are not fond of innovations1 ,nor covet much new reformations2 ,they are not for new paths but rather ,each one jogs after his old father4 ,this requires some elucidation4 ,they are far from slothful or indifferent4 ,they will uphold with zeal the cause they think right1 but they must first reach assured conviction that it is right4 ,they are not swift nor slow to change1 but firm4 ,the ,celtic population was in fact absorbed1 as we have said1 but a certain contingent betook themselves to the mountains and for long kept up a warfare of reprisals upon those who had dispossessed them4 ,this caused no end of trouble in ,aberdeenshire but not without its uses for it braced the occupants in the arts of defence and made them alert and courageous4 ,no less potent a factor in the evolution of the ,aberdonian has been his struggle with a well-nigh irreclaimable soil4 ,the county is without mineral wealth1 and the only outlet for his energy was found in attacking the boulder-strewn moors and in clearing them for the plough4 ,to this he set his mind in the eighteenth century with grim determination4 ,small farmers and crofters by dint of great personal toil and life-long self-sacrifice transformed stony tracts of poor and apparently worthless land into smiling and productive fields4 ,it is this struggle with a malignant soil1 more than anything else1 that has made the ,aberdonian2 one triumph led on to another1 and to-day the spirit of enterprise in farming is nowhere more pronounced than in this difficult county4 ,the place names are almost entirely ,celtic1 and even when they appear to be ,saxon they are only ,gaelic mispronounced or assimilated to something better known4 ,the parish of ,king ,edward might very plausibly be referred to the northern visits paid by the ,hammer of the ,scots1 but it is really ,kinedar1 with the ,gaelic ,kin 7seen in ,kinnaird1 ,kintore and ,malcolm ,canmore71 meaning a head4 ,the county has a distinctive dialect1 really imported and originally uniform with the dialect of the ,mearns1 and of ,northumbria1 the dialect spoken at one time all the way from ,forth to ,humber4 ,to-day it is called the ,buchan ,doric and though varying somewhat in different parts of the county and hardly intelligible in the ,highlands of ,braemar1 where ,gaelic still survives1 it is a ,teutonic speech with a thin tincture of ,gaelic words such as bourach1 closach1 clachan1 brochan1 etc4 ,the dialect contains many vocables not found in literary ,english1 such as byous and ondeemis for extraordinary1 but where the words are ,english1 they are greatly altered4 ,it is characterised by broad1 open vowels2 8boots0 is pronounced 8beets10 8cart0 is 8cairt10 8good0 is 8gweed40 ,the final l is dropped2 8pull0 is 8pu10 8fall0 is 8fa40 ,final ol becomes ow2 8roll0 is made 8row10 and 8poll0 is 8pow40 ,wh is always f3 8white0 is 8fite0 and 8who80 7interrogative7 is 8fa80 ,it is rich in diminutives like the ,dutch--a lassie1 a basketie4 ,the finest embodiment of this striking dialect1 giving permanent life to its wealth of pathos and expressiveness1 is ,dr ,william ,alexander's ,johnny ,gibb of ,gushetneuk4 ,scots wha hae1 which is supposed to be a characteristic phrase common to all the dialects1 would be in ,buchan--,scots at hiz1 which is largely ,norse4 8,the quynie coudna be ongrutten0 is ,buchan for 8,the little girl could not help crying40 ,the population of the county which a hundred years before was #aba1jfe in #aija was #cjd1dci4 ,since the county contains #aigj square miles this brings out an average of #aed to the square mile--just a little over the average of ,scotland as a whole1 but as ,aberdeen city accounts for more than half of the total1 and towns like ,peterhead and ,fraserburgh between them represent #be1jjj1 the figure is greatly reduced for the rural districts4 ,the country districts are but thinly peopled1 especially on the ,highland line1 and the tendency is for the rural population to dwindle4 ,they either emigrate to ,canada1 which is a regular lodestone for ,aberdonians1 or they betake themselves to the towns1 chiefly to ,aberdeen itself4 ,except in and around the principal town1 the county has hardly any industries that employ many hands4 ,agriculture is the main employment1 and modern appliances enable the farmer to do his work with fewer helps than formerly3 hence the depopulation of the rural districts4 ,the towns tend to grow1 the rural parishes to become more sparsely inhabited4 #aa4 ,agriculture4 ,this is the mainstay of the county1 and considering the somewhat uncertain climate1 the shortness of the summer and the natural poverty of the soil1 it has been brought to marvellous perfection4 ,the mountainous regions are necessarily cut off from this industry except in narrow fringes along the river banks1 but in the low-lying area it is safe to say that every acre of ground worth reclaiming has been put to the plough4 ,a century ago the industry was rude and ill-organised1 the county being without roads and without wheeled vehicles1 but the advent of railways gave an impetus to the farming instinct and an extraordinary activity set in to reclaim waste land by clearing it of stones1 by trenching1 by draining and manuring it4 ,the proprietors were usually agreeable to granting a long lease at a nominal rent to any likely and energetic man who was willing to undertake reclamations and take his chance of recouping himself for outlays before his lease expired4 ,being thus secured1 the farmer or crofter had an incentive to put the maximum of labour into his holding4 ,he often built the dwelling-house1 and as a rule made the enclosures by means of the stones1 which1 with great labour1 he dragged from the fields4 ,in this way a great acreage was added to the arable land of the county1 and though some of it has fallen into pasture since the great boom in agricultural prices during the seventies in last century1 the greater part of the reclaimed soil is still in cultivation4 ,the area of the county1 exclusive of water and roadways1 is #aiee square miles1 or #a1bea1dea acres4 ,of this exactly one half is under cultivation1 #fbh1ebc acres4 ,when we remember that ,scotland contains some nineteen million of acres and that only #be per cent4 of this acreage is arable land1 it is apparent that ,aberdeen with its #ej per cent4 is one of the most cultivated areas4 ,as a matter of fact it has by far the largest acreage under cultivation of any ,scottish county4 ,next to it is ,perthshire with #ccf1bea acres4 ,the uncultivated half is made up of mountain1 moor and woodlands4 ,part of this is used for grazing sheep1 as much as #aeg1iee acres being thus utilised4 ,in the matter of woods and plantations the county with its #aje1ica acres stands next to ,inverness-shire1 which has #ade1fbi4 ,the trees grown are mostly larch and pine and spruce1 but the deciduous trees1 or hard woods1 the beech1 elm and ash1 are not uncommon in the low country1 more especially as ornamental trees around the manor-houses of the proprietors4 ,the crops chiefly cultivated are oats1 barley1 turnips and potatoes4 ,wheat is not grown except now and again in an odd field4 ,the climate is too cold1 the autumn heat never rising to the point of ripening that crop satisfactorily4 ,oats is the most frequent crop1 and ,aberdeenshire is the oat-producing county of ,scotland4 ,a fifth of the whole acreage under this crop in ,scotland belongs to ,aberdeenshire4 ,perth1 which is next1 has only one-third of the ,aberdeenshire oat-area4 ,twenty thousand acres are devoted to barley1 only one-tenth of the barley-area in ,scotland4 ,over seven thousand acres go to potatoes2 the southern counties have a soil better adapted to produce good potatoes2 ,forfar1 ,fife1 ,perth and ,ayrshire excel in this respect and all these give a larger acreage to this crop4 ,as regards turnips1 however1 ,aberdeenshire is easily first4 ,being a great cattle rearing and cattle feeding district1 it demands a large tonnage of turnip food4 ,it is estimated that a million and a half tons of turnips are consumed every year in the county4 ,as regards cattle and horses the county has first place in ,scotland4 ,in #aiji there were #bjd1dij agricultural horses in the country and of these #ca1eib were in ,aberdeenshire1 while of #a1agf1afe cattle it had #afh1jia4 ,it has a quarter of a million sheep1 but here it falls behind other counties1 notably ,argyll1 which has nearly a million1 or one-seventh of all the sheep in ,scotland4 ,aberdeenshire is a county of small holdings4 ,no other county has so many tenants4 ,over five thousand of these farm from five to #ej acres1 while there are nearly four thousand who farm areas ranging from #ej to #cjj4 ,this is part of the secret of its success4 ,earlier1 the number of small farms was greater1 the tendency being in the direction of throwing several smaller holdings together to make a large farm4 ,the industry has been a progressive one4 ,up to the ,union in #agjg tillage was of the most primitive kind4 ,sheep-farming for the sake of exporting the wool had been the rule1 but the ,union stopped that branch of commerce4 ,later on1 about the middle of the eighteenth century1 the droving of lean cattle into ,england was a means of profit4 ,meantime the system of cultivation was of the rudest4 ,a few acres round the steading1 called the infield1 were cropped year after year with little manuring1 while the area beyond1 called the outfield1 was only cropped occasionally4 ,there was no drainage and enclosures were unknown4 ,improvement came from the south4 ,sir ,archibald ,grant of ,monymusk and ,mr ,alexander ,udny of ,udny were pioneers of better things2 they brought labourers and overseers from the ,lothians and the south of ,england1 to educate the people in new methods of culture4 ,at first a landlord's1 it by and by became a farmer's battle2 and ultimately in the nineteenth century it was the farmers who did the reclaiming4 ,but the landlords set a good example by sowing grasses and turnips4 ,near ,aberdeen1 a boulder-strewn wilderness was converted into fertile fields4 ,the town feued the lands and the feuars cleared away the stones1 which they sold and shipped to ,london for paving purposes2 the process of clearing cost as much as #ajj an acre1 a fourth of this being recovered by the sale of the stones4 ,this is typical of what was done elsewhere4 ,gradually the bleak moors were absorbed4 ,a famine in #aghb opened the eyes of all concerned4 ,hitherto there was not as much as #bjj acres in turnips4 ,hitherto also the heavy work-oxen1 ten or twelve of them dragging a primitive and shallow plough1 at a slow pace and in a serpentine furrow1 had been imported from the south4 ,now they began to be bred on the spot4 ,by and by cattle grew in numbers2 by and by1 two horses superseded the team of oxen in the plough4 ,but the chief factor in evolving ,aberdeenshire into a cattle-rearing and beef-producing county was the turnip4 ,till turnips began to be grown in a large acreage1 no provision was possible for the cattle in winter4 ,hence the beasts had to be disposed of in autumn4 ,in #ahbj1 as many as #ab1jjj animals were sent in droves to ,england4 ,the advent of steam navigation in #ahbg ended the droving4 ,then began the trade in fat cattle1 but it was years before the county gained its laurels as the chief purveyor of 8prime ,scots0 and the roast beef of ,old ,england4 ,the turnip held the key of the position2 but turnips will not grow well without manure4 ,the canal between ,aberdeen and ,inverurie carried great quantities of crushed bones and guano to raise this important crop4 ,illustration3 ,aberdeen-,angus ,bull ,cattle-breeding began with ,mc,combie of ,tillyfour and the ,cruickshanks of ,sittyton1 one with the native black-polled cattle--the ,aberdeen-,angus--and the others with shorthorns4 ,by dint of careful selection1 great progress was made in improving not only the symmetry of the beasts but their size and beefy qualities4 ,there began a furore for cattle-rearing and prizes taken at ,smithfield made ,aberdeen famous4 ,railway transit came in as an additional help1 and to-day the ,christmas market never fails to give its top prices for ,aberdeenshire beef4 ,every year the beef of #fj1jjj cattle leaves the county for the southern markets1 chiefly ,london2 this in addition to supplying local needs1 and ,aberdeen has now #afb1jjj of a population4 ,cattle-rearing and cattle-feeding are therefore at the backbone of ,aberdeenshire agriculture4 ,a recent development is the export of pure-bred shorthorns to ,america1 more especially the ,argentine ,republic1 for breeding purposes4 ,as much as #ajjj has been given for a young bull1 in this connection4 ,illustration3 ,aberdeen ,shorthorn ,bull ,in the matter of fruit culture1 ,aberdeen is far behind ,perthshire and ,lanark1 which have a richer soil and a superior climate4 ,but the ,aberdeen strawberries1 grown mostly on ,deeside1 are noted for size and flavour4 ,in #aiji only #bai acres were devoted to this crop4 ,the cultivation of raspberries1 which is so great a feature of lower ,perthshire1 has made only a beginning in ,aberdeen1 and the small profits that have come to southern growers of this crop in recent years have acted as a deterrent1 in its extension4 #ab4 ,the ,granite ,industry4 ,aberdeen has long been known as 8,the ,granite ,city40 ,it is built of granite1 chiefly from its great quarries at ,rubislaw4 ,the granite is a light grey1 somewhat different in texture and grain from another grey granite much in vogue1 that of ,kemnay on ,donside4 ,there are many quarries in the county1 and each has its distinctive colouring4 ,the ,peterhead stone is red2 ,corrennie is also red but of a lighter hue4 ,the granite industry has made great strides of recent years4 ,the modern appliances for boring the rock by steam drills1 the use of dynamite and other explosives for blasting1 as well as the devices for hoisting and conveying stones from the well of the quarry to the upper levels by means of ,blondins have all revolutionised the art of quarrying4 ,illustration3 ,granite ,quarry1 ,kemnay ,it was long before ,aberdeen people realised the value of the local rocks for building purposes4 ,the stone used in the early ecclesiastical buildings was sandstone1 which was imported by sea from ,morayshire and the ,firth of ,forth4 ,the beginnings of ,st ,machar ,cathedral and the old church of ,st ,nicholas as well as the church of ,greyfriars1 built early in the sixteenth century and recently demolished1 were all of sandstone4 ,not till the seventeenth century was granite utilised4 ,at first the surface stones were taken1 then quarrying began about #afjd1 but little was done till #agbe4 ,between #aghj and #agij as many as #fjj men were employed in the ,aberdeen quarries4 ,great engineering works such as the ,bell ,rock ,lighthouse1 the ,thames ,embankment1 the foundations of ,waterloo ,bridge1 the ,forth ,bridge and ,london ,bridge1 where great durability and solidity are necessary1 were made possible by the use of huge blocks from ,aberdeenshire4 ,the polishing of the stone made a beginning in #ahbj1 and now a great export trade in polished work for staircases1 house fronts1 faades1 fountains and other ornamental purposes is carried on between the county and ,america as well as the ,british ,colonies4 ,apart from building purposes1 granite slabs are largely used for headstones in graveyards4 ,this monumental department employs a great number of skilled workmen4 ,there are over #hj granite-polishing yards in ,aberdeen4 ,here too the modern methods of cutting and polishing the stones by machinery and pneumatic tools have greatly reduced the manual labour as well as improved the character of the work4 ,unfortunately the export trade in these monumental stones has somewhat declined owing to prohibitive tariffs4 ,in #ahif ,america took #ee1deb worth of finished stones2 in #aiji the value had fallen to #ch1jjj4 ,the tariffs in ,france have also been against the trade1 but an average of nearly #aj1jjj tons is sent to continental countries4 ,strangely enough1 granite in the raw state is itself imported to ,aberdeen4 ,swedish1 ,norwegian and ,german granites are brought to ,aberdeen1 to ,illustration3 ,granite ,works1 ,aberdeen be shaped and polished4 ,these have a grain and colouring absolutely different from what is characteristic of the native stone1 and the taste for novelty and variety has prompted their importation4 ,in #aiji as much as #bg1cjh tons were imported in this way4 ,celtic and ,runic crosses1 recumbent tombs1 and statuary are common as exports4 ,the stone is also used for the humbler purpose of street paving and is shipped to ,london and other ports in blocks of regular and recognised sizes4 ,these are called 8setts10 and of them #cj1jjj tons are annually transmitted to the south4 ,stones of a larger size are also exported for use as pavement kerbs4 ,the presence of quarries is not so detrimental to the atmosphere and the landscape as coal mines1 and yet the heaps of dbris1 of waste and useless stone piled up in great sloping ridges near the granite quarries1 are undoubtedly an eyesore4 ,to-day a means has been found whereby this blot on the landscape is partially removed4 ,the waste dbris is now crushed by special machinery into granite meal and gravel1 and used as a surface dressing for walks and garden paths--a purpose it serves admirably1 being both cleanly and easily dried4 ,not only so but great quantities of the waste are ground to fine powder1 and after being mixed with cement and treated to great pressure become adamant blocks for pavements4 ,these adamant blocks have now superseded the ordinary concrete pavement just as it superseded the use of solid granite blocks and ,caithness flags4 ,this ingenious utilisation of the waste has solved the problem which was beginning to face many of the larger quarries1 namely1 how they could dispose of their waste without burying valuable agricultural land under its mass4 ,granite is the only mineral worthy of mention found in the county4 ,limestone exists in considerable quantities here and there1 but as a rule it is too far from the railway routes to be profitably worked4 ,it is1 however1 burned locally and applied to arable land as a manure4 ,in the upper reaches of ,strathdon1 lime-kilns are numerous4 ,by means of peat from the adjoining mosses the limestone was regularly burned half a century ago4 ,to-day the practice is dwindling4 ,a unique mineral deposit called ,kieselguhr is found in considerable quantity in the peat-mosses of ,dinnet1 on ,deeside4 ,it is really the fossil remains of diatoms1 and consists almost entirely of silica with a trace of lime and iron4 ,when dried it is used as a polishing powder for steel1 silver and other metals2 but its chief use is in the manufacture of dynamite1 of which it is the absorbent basis4 ,it absorbs from three to four times its own weight of nitro-glycerine1 which is the active property in dynamite4 ,as found in the moss it is a layer two feet thick of cheesy light coloured matter1 which is cut out into oblong pieces like peats4 ,when these are dried1 they become lighter in colour and ash-like in character4 ,the ,dinnet deposits are the only deposits of the kind in the country4 ,inferior beds are found in ,skye4 ,the industry employs #ej hands during the summer months1 and has been in operation for #bh years4 ,the beds show no sign of exhaustion as yet1 and the demand for the substance is on the increase4 #ac4 ,other ,industries4 ,paper1 ,wool1 ,combs4 ,the industries apart from agriculture1 work in granite1 and the fisheries are mostly concentrated in and around the chief city4 ,these1 although numerous1 are not carried on in a large way1 but they are varied2 and there is this advantage in the eggs not being all in one basket that when depression attacks one trade1 its effect is only partial and does not affect business as a whole4 ,paper1 combs1 wool1 soap are all manufactured4 ,the first of these engages four large establishments on the ,don and one on the ,dee at ,culter4 ,writing paper and the paper used for the daily press and magazines as well as the coarser kinds of packing paper are all made in considerable quantity4 ,esparto grass and wood pulp are imported in connection with this industry4 ,comb-making is also carried on1 and the factory in ,aberdeen is the largest of its kind in the kingdom4 ,textile fabrics are still produced1 but the progress made in these is not to be compared with the advances made in the south of ,scotland1 where coal is cheap4 ,weaving was introduced at an early period by ,flemish settlers1 who made coarse linens and woollens till the end of the sixteenth century1 when 8grograms0 and worsteds1 broadcloth and friezes were added4 ,provost ,alexander ,jaffray the elder in #afcf established a house of correction--the prototype of the modern reformatory--where beggars and disorderly persons were employed in the manufacture of broadcloths1 kerseys and other stuffs4 ,a record of this novelty in discipline survives in the ,aberdeen street called ,correction ,wynd4 ,in #agjc a joint-stock company was formed for woollen manufactures at ,gordon's ,mills on the ,don1 where a fulling-mill had existed for generations1 and where the making of paper had been initiated a few years earlier4 ,the ,gordon's ,mills developed the manufacture of cloths of a higher quality1 half-silk serges1 damask and plush1 and skilled workmen were brought from ,france to guide and instruct the operatives4 ,to-day high-class tweeds are made at ,grandholm1 and such is the reputation of these goods for quality and durability that in spite of high tariffs they make their way into ,america1 where they command a large sale at prices more than double of the home prices4 ,in the olden days the cloth sold in the home markets was a product of domestic industry4 ,the farmers' daughters spun the wool of their own sheep into yarn1 which was sent to county weavers to be made into cloth4 ,aberdeenshire serge made in this way was sold at fairs and was hawked about the county by travelling packmen4 ,the hosiery trade was worked on similar lines4 ,the wool was converted into worsted by rock and spindle1 and the worsted was knitted into stockings by the women and girls of the rural population4 ,one man employed as many as #djj knitters and spinners4 ,in the latter half of the eighteenth century this industry brought from #ajj1jjj to #abj1jjj into ,aberdeenshire every year4 ,stockings were made of such fineness that they cost #bjs4 a pair and occasional rarities were sold at four or five guineas4 ,in #agga twenty-two mercantile houses were engaged in the export trade of these goods1 which went chiefly to ,holland4 ,the merchants attended the weekly markets and country fairs1 where they purchased the products of the knitters' labour4 ,such work provided a source of income to the rural population and was indirectly the means of increasing the number of small holdings4 ,these were multiplied of set purpose to keep the industrious element in the population within the county4 ,the invention of the stocking-frame together with the dislocation of trade due to the ,napoleonic wars made the trade unremunerative and it came to an end with the eighteenth century4 ,the linen trade began in #agcg at ,huntly1 where an ,irishman under the patronage and encouragement of the ,duke of ,gordon manufactured yarn and exported it to ,england and the southern ,scottish towns4 ,silk stockings were also made there4 ,by and by linen works sprang up on the ,don at ,gordon's ,mills and ,grandholm as well as within ,aberdeen itself4 ,the linen trade in the form of spinning and hand-loom weaving was carried on in most of the towns and villages of the county and several new villages grew up in consequence1 such as ,cuminestown1 ,new ,byth1 ,strichen1 ,new ,pitsligo1 ,stuartfield and ,fetterangus1 in some of which the manufacture is continued on a small scale to this day4 ,much flax was grown in the county for a time to minister to this industry1 but gradually the crop disappeared as fibre of better quality was imported from ,holland4 ,yet the spinning of linen yarn was widely practised as a domestic industry when the woollen trade declined1 and every farmer's daughter made a point of spinning her own linen as the nucleus of her future house-furnishings4 ,the linen trade1 except as regards coarser materials such as sacking1 has decayed4 ,there is still a jute factory in ,aberdeen4 ,another industry which employs a large number of hands is the preserving of meat1 fish1 fruit1 and vegetables4 ,there are several of these preserving works in ,aberdeen4 ,dried and smoked haddocks1 usually called 8,finnan ,haddies10 from the village of ,findon on the ,kincardineshire coast1 are one of the specialities of ,aberdeen4 ,they had at one time a great vogue1 and are still largely in demand though the quality has fallen off by the adoption of a simpler and less expensive method of treatment4 ,ship-building is another industry long established at ,aberdeen4 ,in the days before iron steamships1 fleets of swift-sailing vessels known as 8,aberdeen ,clippers0 were built on the ,dee and made record voyages to ,china in the tea trade and to ,australia4 ,the industry of to-day is concerned1 for the greater part1 with the building of trawlers and other fishing craft1 but occasionally an ocean going steamer is launched4 ,the trade is meantime suffering from depression4 ,illustration3 ,making smoked haddocks1 ,aberdeen ,other industries well represented are soap and candle making1 coach and motor-car building1 iron-founding and engineering1 rope and twine making1 the manufacture of chemicals1 colours and aerated waters4 ,besides1 ,aberdeen is a great printing centre and many of the books issued by ,london publishers are printed by local presses4 #ad4 ,fisheries4 ,during the last quarter of a century the fishing industry has made great strides1 the value of fish landed in ,scotland having more than doubled in that period4 ,nowhere has the impetus been more felt than in ,aberdeenshire1 which now contributes as much as one-third of the whole product of ,scotch fisheries4 ,since #ahhf the weight of fish caught round the ,scottish coast has increased from five million hundredweights to over nine millions1 while the money value has risen in even a greater proportion from #a1djc1cia1 to #c1adi1abg4 ,to these totals ,aberdeen alone has contributed over a hundred thousand tons of white fish 7excluding herrings71 valued at over a million pounds sterling4 ,peterhead and ,fraserburgh are also contributors especially as regards herrings1 the former landing #gci1hgh hundredweights and ,fraserburgh very nearly a similar quantity4 ,these three ports amongst them account for one half of all the fish landed at ,scottish ports4 ,when we consider the number of persons collaterally employed in handling this enormous quantity of merchandise1 the coopers1 cleaners1 packers1 basket makers1 boat-builders1 makers of nets1 clerks and so on1 apart altogether from the army of fishermen employed in catching the fish1 we see how far-reaching this industry is1 not merely in increasing the food-supply of the country but in providing profitable employment for the population4 ,at ,aberdeen1 it is estimated1 #ac1eab persons are so employed and at the other two ports combined1 almost a similar number4 ,there are two great branches of the fishing industry--herrings and white fish4 ,the herrings are caught for the most part1 though not exclusively1 in the summer1 ,july being the great month4 ,they are captured with nets mostly by steam-drifters as they are called1 but also to some extent by the ordinary sailing boats of a smaller size than the drifters4 ,fraserburgh and ,peterhead land in each case double the weight of herrings that come to ,aberdeen4 ,in recent years a beginning has been made in ,may and ,june with gratifying success1 but ,july and ,august give the maximum returns4 ,later on in the year1 when the shoals have moved along the coast southwards1 the herring fleets follow them thither1 to ,north ,shields and ,hartlepool1 to ,yarmouth and ,lowestoft2 and bands of curers1 coopers and workers migrate in hundreds from one port to another1 employing themselves in curing the fish4 ,the bulk of the herrings are cured by salting1 and are then exported to ,germany and ,russia1 where they are much in demand4 ,even more important is the white fishing4 ,aberdeen is here pre-eminent1 being perhaps the most important fishing centre in the world4 ,the total catch for ,scotland in #aiji was short of three million hundredweights1 of which ,aberdeen with its large fleet of trawlers and steam-liners accounted for #fg per cent4 ,the most important of the so-called round fish is the haddock1 of which over a million hundredweights are landed in ,scotland1 ,aberdeen contributing the lion's share1 three-fourths of the whole4 ,next to the haddock comes the cod1 of which nearly three hundred and forty thousand hundredweights were handled in the ,aberdeen fish market4 ,the next fish is ling1 and then come whitings1 saithe1 torsk1 conger-eels4 ,the flat-fish are also important1 plaice1 witches1 megrims1 halibut1 lemon soles and turbot4 ,this last is the scarcest and most highly prized of all flat fish1 and commands a price next to that given for salmon4 ,ling and halibut are still mostly caught by hook and line2 the turbot and the lemon sole on the other hand are distinctively the product of the trawl net and were little known until trawling was begun4 ,a certain small percentage of this great weight of fish is consumed locally1 but the great bulk of it is packed in ice and dispatched by swift passenger trains to the southern markets4 ,the ,aberdeen fish market1 extending for half a mile along the west and north sides of the ,albert ,basin 7originally the bed of the ,dee7 is the property of the ,town ,corporation and is capable of dealing with large catches4 ,as much as #gfj tons of fish have been exposed on its concrete floor in a single day4 ,in the early morning the place is one of the sights of the city1 with the larger fish laid out in symmetrical rows on the pavement1 and the smaller fish--haddocks1 whiting and soles--in boxes arranged for the auction sale at #h a4m4 ,the majority of the fishing craft are still sailing vessels1 but steam-drifters and motor-boats and steam-trawlers ,illustration3 ,fish ,market1 ,aberdeen are gradually driving the ordinary sail-boats from the trade1 just as the trawl net is superseding the old-fashioned mode of fishing with set lines4 ,still about #hf per cent4 of the number of boats employed is made up of sailing vessels1 but the tonnage is relatively small4 ,the quantity of fish caught by hook and line is only one-tenth of the whole4 ,illustration3 ,fishwives1 ,the ,green1 ,aberdeen ,illustration3 ,north ,harbour1 ,peterhead ,illustration3 ,herring boats at ,fraserburgh ,the amount of capital invested in boats and fishing gear for all ,scotland is estimated by the ,fishery ,board at over #e1jjj1jjj4 ,of this total1 ,aberdeenshire claims very nearly two millions4 ,it is now the case that the value of fish discharged at the fish market of ,aberdeen is as great as the yearly value of the agricultural land of the whole county--truly a marvellous revolution4 ,illustration3 ,fishing ,fleet going out1 ,aberdeen ,the herring fishery was prosecuted off the ,scottish coast by the ,dutch1 long before the ,scotch could be induced to take part in it4 ,many futile attempts were made to exploit the industry but little came of them till the nineteenth century4 ,a beginning was made at ,peterhead in #ahbj and at ,fraserburgh a little earlier4 ,aberdeen followed in #ahcf but no great development took place till #ahgj4 ,the first trawler came on the scene in #ahhb2 to-day there are over #bjj local vessels of this type besides many from other ports4 ,the salmon fishery has long been famous and at one time was relatively a source of much greater revenue than at present4 ,it still yields a considerable annual surplus to the ,corporation funds1 but has been eclipsed by the growth of other fisheries4 ,the rateable value of the salmon fishings on the ,dee is nearly #ai1jjj2 those of the other salmon rivers--the ,don1 ,ythan and ,ugie--being much less4 ,the fish are caught by fixed engines in the sea--stake-nets and bag-nets--set within a statutory radius of the river mouth1 and by sweep- or drag-nets in the tidal reaches of the rivers4 ,a good many fish are caught by rod and line throughout the whole course of the rivers but angling is not the commercial side of salmon-fishing4 #ae4 ,shipping and ,trade4 ,aberdeenshire has practically but three ports--,fraserburgh1 ,peterhead and ,aberdeen4 ,the herring fishing with its concomitant activities absorbs the energies of the two former so far as shipping is concerned1 but ,aberdeen having to serve a larger and wider area than these two northern burghs has developed a range of docks of considerable extent and importance4 ,during the last forty years the ,harbour ,commissioners have spent #c1jjj1jjj in improving the harbour1 increasing the wharfage1 adding break-waters1 diverting the course of the ,dee1 deepening the entrance channel1 forming a graving dock and so forth4 ,still1 in spite of these outlays1 ,aberdeen1 which has been a port for centuries1 has hardly grown in shipping proportionately to its growth in other respects4 ,the reason is that1 except fish1 granite and agricultural products1 the city has nothing of much moment to export4 ,illustration3 ,at the docks1 ,aberdeen ,exclusive of fishing vessels the tonnage of home and foreign going vessels was in #ahhb1 #ehg1agc2 in #aiji it had advanced to over a million1 hardly doubling itself in #bg years4 ,while its imports have gone up from #ebb1edd tons in #ahhb to #a1afe1jfj in #aiji1 the exports have made only a very slight advance4 ,the chief export is herrings1 and last year nearly #ajj1jjj tons of these1 salted and packed in barrels1 were sent by sea4 ,the fresh fish are dispatched by rail4 ,stones in the form of granite1 either polished for monumental purposes or in setts and kerbs for paving1 account for #ej1jjj tons4 ,the remainder 7of #baj1eed tons7 is made up by oats1 barley1 oatmeal1 paper1 preserved provisions1 whisky1 manures1 flax and cotton fabrics1 woollen cloth1 cattle and horses1 butter and eggs1 salmon and pine-wood4 ,the trade is mostly a coasting trade and more an import than an export one4 ,coal is the chief article of import1 #fjj1jjj tons being discharged in a year4 ,besides coal1 esparto grass1 wood-pulp and rags for paper-making1 foreign granite in the rough state sent to be polished1 flour1 maize1 linseed1 the horns of cattle used for comb-making1 and the salt used in fish-curing1 are the chief materials landed on the ,aberdeen quays4 ,aberdeen being the distributing centre for the county1 and all the railway routes focussing in it1 the coal and the building materials not produced in the district1 such as lime1 slate and cement1 all pass this way1 while the tea and sugar1 the tobacco and other articles of daily use1 also arrive mostly by the harbour4 ,there are regular lines of steamers between ,aberdeen and the following ports3 ,london1 ,newcastle1 ,hull1 ,liverpool1 ,glasgow and ,leith1 as also with continental towns such as ,hamburg1 ,rotterdam and ,christiania4 #af4 ,history of the ,county4 ,standing remote from the centre of the country1 ,aberdeenshire has not been fated to figure largely in general history4 ,the story of its own evolution from poverty to prosperity is an interesting one1 but it is only now and again that the county is involved in the main current of the history of ,scotland4 ,if the ,romans ever visited it1 which is highly doubtful1 they left no convincing evidence of their stay4 ,of positive ,roman influence no indication has survived1 and no conquest of the district can have taken place4 ,the only records of the early inhabitants of the district--usually called ,picts--are the ,eirde houses1 the lake dwellings or crannogs1 the hill forts or duns1 the 8,druidical0 circles and standing stones and the flint arrow-heads1 all of which will be dealt with in a later chapter4 ,christianity had reached the south of ,scotland before the ,romans left early in the fifth century4 ,the first missionary who crossed the ,mounth was ,st ,ternan1 whose name survives at ,banchory-,ternan on the ,dee1 the place of his death4 ,st ,kentigern or ,st ,mungo1 the patron saint of ,glasgow1 had a church dedicated to him at ,glengairn4 ,st ,kentigern belonged to the sixth century1 and was therefore a contemporary of ,st ,columba1 who christianised ,aberdeenshire from ,iona4 ,in this way two great currents met in the north-east4 ,columba accompanied by his disciple ,drostan first appeared at ,aberdour on the northern coast4 ,from ,aberdour he passed on through ,buchan1 and having established the ,monastery of ,deer and left ,drostan in charge1 moved on to other fields of labour4 ,his name survives in the fishing village of ,st ,combs4 ,he is the tutelar saint of ,belhelvie1 and the churches of ,new ,machar and ,daviot were dedicated to him4 ,these facts indicate the mode in which ,pictland was brought under the influence of ,christianity4 ,the next historical item worthy of mention is the ravages of the ,scandinavian ,vikings4 ,the descents on the coast of these sea-rovers were directed against the monastic communities1 which had gathered some wealth4 ,the ,aberdeenshire coast1 having few inlets convenient for the entry of their long boats1 was to a large extent exempt from their raids1 but in #ajab an expedition under ,cnut1 son of ,swegen1 the king of ,denmark1 landed at ,cruden ,bay4 ,another fact of interest is the death of ,macbeth1 who for seventeen years had by the help of ,thorfinn1 the ,scandinavian 7whose name may be seen in the ,deeside town of ,torphins71 usurped the kingship of ,scotland4 ,malcolm ,canmore led an army against him in #ajeg1 and gradually driving him north1 beyond the ,mounth1 overtook him at ,lumphanan4 ,there ,macbeth was slain4 ,a ,macbeth's stone is said to mark the place where he received his death-wound1 and ,macbeth's ,cairn is marked by a clump of trees in the midst of cultivated land4 ,the farm called ,cairnbethie retains the echo of his name4 ,kincardine ,o',neil1 where ,malcolm awaited the result of the conflict1 commands the ford of the ,dee on the ancient route of travel from south to north across the ,cairn-o-,mounth4 ,malcolm shortly after passed through ,aberdeenshire at the head of an expedition against the ,celtic population which had supported ,macbeth4 ,the ,norman ,conquest1 nine years thereafter1 was the occasion of ,anglo-,saxon settlements in the county4 ,the court of ,malcolm and ,queen ,margaret became a centre of ,anglo-,saxon influence4 ,the old ,gaelic language gave way before the new ,teutonic speech4 ,the ,celtic population made various attempts to recover the power that was fast slipping from their hands4 ,malcolm headed a second expedition to ,aberdeenshire in #ajgh1 and on that occasion granted the lands of ,monymusk and ,keig to the church of ,st ,andrews4 ,he is said to have had a hunting-seat in the forest of ,mar1 and the ruined castle of ,kindrochit in the village of ,braemar is associated with this fact4 ,the earliest mention of ,aberdeen is in a charter of ,alexander ,i1 granting to the monks of ,scone a dwelling in each of the principal towns--one of which is ,aberdeen4 ,a stream of ,anglo-,saxons1 ,flemings and ,scandinavians had been gradually flowing towards the settlement at the mouth of the ,dee1 where they pursued their handicrafts and established trade with other ports4 ,william the ,lion frequently visited the town and ultimately built a royal residence1 which after a time was gifted to the ,trinity or ,red ,friars for a monastery4 ,the bishopric of ,aberdeen dates from #aaej4 ,edward ,i of ,england in #abif at the head of a large army paid these northern parts a visit4 ,he entered the county by the road leading from ,glenbervie to ,durris1 whence he proceeded to ,aberdeen1 exacting homage from the burghers during his five days' stay4 ,from ,aberdeen he went to ,kintore and ,fyvie and on to ,speyside1 returning by the ,cabrach1 ,kildrummy1 ,kincardine ,o',neil and the ,cairn-o-,mounth4 ,the next year ,wallace1 in his patriotic efforts to clear the country from ,english domination1 surprised ,edward's garrison at ,aberdeen1 but unable to effect anything1 hastily withdrew from the neighbourhood4 ,edward was back in ,aberdeen in #acjc and paid another visit to ,kildrummy ,castle1 then in the possession of ,bruce4 ,then ,bruce1 having fled from the ,english court and assassinated the ,red ,comyn at ,dumfries1 was crowned at ,scone and the long struggle for national independence began in earnest4 ,in #acjg he came to ,aberdeen1 which was favourable to his cause4 ,at ,barra1 not far from ,inverurie and ,old ,meldrum1 his forces met those of the ,earl of ,buchan 7,john ,comyn7 and defeated them 7#acjh74 ,it was not a great battle in itself1 but its consequences were important4 ,it marked the turn of the tide in the national cause4 ,the ,buchan district1 in which the battle took place1 had long been identified with the powerful family of the ,comyns2 and after his victory at ,barra1 ,bruce devastated the district with relentless fury4 ,this 8harrying of ,buchan10 as it has been called1 is referred to by ,barbour as an event bemoaned for more than fifty years4 ,the family of the ,comyns was crushed1 and their influence1 which had been liberal and considerate to the native race of ,celts1 came to an end4 ,the whole of the north-east turned to ,bruce's support1 and in a short time all ,edward's garrisons disappeared4 ,this upheaval created a fresh partition of the lands of ,aberdeenshire4 ,new families such as the ,hays1 the ,frasers1 the ,gordons and the ,irvines1 were rewarded for faithful service by grants of land4 ,the re-settlement of the county from non-,celtic sources accentuated the ,teutonic element in the county4 ,after ,bannockburn1 ,bruce rewarded ,aberdeen itself for its support by granting to the burgesses the burgh as well as the forest of ,stocket4 ,the great event of the fifteenth century was the ,battle of ,harlaw1 which took place in #adaa at no great distance from the site of the ,battle of ,barra4 ,it was really a conflict between ,celt and ,saxon1 and was a despairing effort on the part of the dispossessed native population to re-establish themselves in the ,lowlands4 ,the ,highlanders were led by ,donald of the ,isles1 who gathering the clansmen of the northern ,hebrides1 ,ross and ,lochaber1 and sweeping through ,moray and ,strathbogie1 arrived at the ,garioch on his way to ,aberdeen4 ,the burghers placed themselves under the leadership of the ,earl of ,mar 7,alexander ,stewart1 son of the ,wolf of ,badenoch71 a soldier who had seen much service in various parts of the world4 ,the provost of the city1 ,robert ,davidson1 led forth a body of his fellow-citizens and joined ,mar's forces at ,inverurie1 within three miles of the ,highlanders' camp4 ,the two forces were unequally matched--,donald having #aj1jjj men and ,mar only a tenth of that number1 but of these many were mail-clad knights on horseback and armed with spears4 ,it was a fiercely contested battle and lasted till the darkness of a ,july night4 ,the slaughter on both sides was great1 but the tide of barbarism was driven back4 ,the ,highlanders retreated whence they came and the county of ,aberdeen was saved from the imminent peril of a ,celtic recrudescence4 ,this is the only really memorable battle associated with ,aberdeenshire soil4 ,its 8red0 field1 on which so many prominent citizens shed their life-blood 7,provost ,davidson and ,sir ,alexander ,irvine of ,drum being of the number71 was long remembered as a dreary and costly victory4 ,another battle of much less significance was that of ,corrichie1 fought in ,queen ,mary's reign in #aefb on the eastern slope of the ,hill of ,fare1 not far from ,banchory4 ,it was a contest between ,james ,stewart 7the ,regent ,murray1 and half-brother of the ,queen7 and the ,earl of ,huntly4 ,huntly was defeated and slain1 and his son1 ,sir ,john ,gordon1 who was taken prisoner1 was afterwards executed at ,aberdeen4 ,queen ,mary1 it is said1 was a spectator both of the battle and of the execution4 ,in the seventeenth century1 at the beginning of the ,covenanting 8troubles10 ,aberdeenshire gained a certain notoriety as being the place where the sword was first drawn4 ,in #afci the ,covenanters mustered at ,turriff under ,montrose1 to the number of #hjj4 ,the ,royalist party under the ,earl of ,huntly1 to the number of #bjjj but poorly armed1 marched to the town with the intention of preventing the ,covenanters from meeting1 but they were already in possession1 and when ,huntly's party saw how matters stood1 they passed on1 the two forces surveying each other at close quarters without hostile act or word4 ,this bloodless affair is known as the first ,raid of ,turriff4 ,a few weeks later a somewhat similar encounter took place1 when the ,covenanters1 completely surprised1 fled without striking a blow4 ,the loss on either side was trifling1 still some blood was actually shed1 and the ,trot of ,turriff1 as it was called1 became the first incident in a long line of mighty events4 ,montrose1 both when he was leading on the side of the ,covenant1 and later when he became a ,royalist leader1 paid several visits to ,aberdeen1 which1 although supporting the ,royalist cause1 suffered exactions from both parties4 ,in #afdd ,montrose made a forcible entry of the town1 which resulted in the death of #aej ,covenanters1 and in the plundering of the city4 ,later on1 after his victory over ,argyll at ,inverlochy1 ,montrose gained a success for the ,royalist cause at ,alford 7#afde74 ,in #afej1 after the execution of ,charles ,i1 his son ,charles ,,ii landed at ,speymouth1 and on his way south to be crowned at ,scone1 visited ,aberdeen1 where he was received with every manifestation of loyalty and goodwill4 ,the next year ,general ,monk paid the town a visit1 and left an ,english garrison1 which remained till #afei4 ,the ,restoration was hailed with rejoicing3 the ,revolution with dislike4 ,yet at the ,rebellion of #agae scant enthusiasm was roused for the cause of the ,pretender1 who himself passed through the city on his way from ,peterhead to ,fetteresso4 ,in the thirty years that passed before the second ,jacobite ,rebellion1 public sentiment had grown more favourable to the reigning ,house4 ,the '#de therefore received little support in ,aberdeenshire4 ,a few of the old county families threw in their lot with the ,prince1 but the general body of the people were averse to taking arms4 ,the ,duke of ,cumberland1 on his way north to meet ,prince ,charlie at ,culloden1 remained with his army six weeks in the city2 when he started on his northward march through ,old ,meldrum1 ,turriff and ,banff1 he left a garrison of #bjj men in ,robert ,gordon's ,hospital1 lately built but not yet opened4 ,after ,culloden small pickets of troops were stationed in the ,highland districts of the county1 to suppress the practice of cattle-lifting4 ,braemar ,castle and ,corgarff ,castle in the upper reaches of the ,dee and the ,don still bear evidence of their use as garrison forts4 ,the problem of dealing with the inhabitants of the higher glens1 where agriculture was useless1 and where the habits of the people prompted to raiding and to rebellion1 was solved by enlisting the young men in the ,british ,army4 ,the ,black ,watch 7#dbnd7 as reorganised 7#ageh7 and a regiment of ,gordon ,highlanders 7#agei7 were largely recruited from ,west ,aberdeenshire1 and this happy solution closed the military history of the district4 #ag4 ,antiquities--,circles1 ,sculptured ,stones1 ,crannogs1 ,forts4 ,aberdeenshire is particularly rich in stone-circles4 ,no fewer than #age of them have been recorded as existing in the district4 ,unfortunately many of them entirely disappeared when the sites were turned to agricultural uses2 others have been mutilated1 and owing to the removal of some of the stones1 stand incomplete2 a few have been untouched1 and from these we may judge what the others were like4 ,one of the best preserved is that at ,parkhouse1 a mile south-west of the ,abbey of ,deer4 ,a circle of great blocks of stone1 irregular and of unequal height1 some standing erect1 some evidently fallen down1 is the general feature4 ,sometimes inside the circle1 but more usually in the circumference of the circle itself1 there is one conspicuously larger stone1 in a recumbent position4 ,this it has been usual to call the rostrum or altar stone4 ,it is well marked at ,parkhouse1 being #ad feet #i inches long1 #e feet #i inches high1 and estimated to weigh #bj tons4 ,the so-called rostrum is usually on the south side of the circle and the stones facing it on the north are of smaller size4 ,illustration3 ,white ,cow ,wood ,cairn ,circle2 ,view from the ,s4,w4 ,from ,proceedings of the ,society of ,antiquaries of ,scotland1 #aijc-d ,illustration3 ,palaeolithic ,flint ,implement 7,from ,kent's ,cavern1 ,torquay47 ,neolithic ,celt of ,greenstone 7,from ,bridlington1 ,yorks47 ,the size of the circles varies1 the largest being over #fj feet in diameter1 the smaller ones less than #cj4 ,parkhouse measures #ej feet4 ,they are found all over the county1 in the valley of the ,dee1 in the valley of the ,don at ,alford1 ,inverurie and ,dyce1 as well as in ,auchterless1 ,methlick1 ,crimond and ,lonmay4 ,the recumbent stone is invariably a feature of the larger circles4 ,one of the largest is in the circle at ,old ,keig in ,alford--a huge monolith computed to be #cj tons in weight4 ,other good examples are at ,auchquorthies1 ,fetternear and at ,balquhain near ,inveramsay4 ,in the smaller and simpler circles1 there is no recumbent stone1 and the blocks are of more uniform height4 ,what the circles were used for is still a matter of dispute4 ,they have for long been called 8,druidical0 circles1 and the received opinion was that they were places of worship1 the recumbent stone being the altar4 ,but there is no certitude in this view2 and1 indeed1 the fact that several exist at no great distance from each other 7more than a dozen are located in ,deer7 would seem to be adverse to it4 ,they were certainly used as places of burying1 and some antiquarians hold that they were the burying grounds of the people of the ,bronze ,age4 ,a later theory is that they were intended to be astronomical clocks to a people who knew nothing of the length of the year1 and who had no almanacs to guide them in the matter of the seasons4 ,the stone-circles1 however1 still remain an unsolved problem4 ,illustration3 ,stone at ,logie1 in the ,garioch 7#d feet high7 ,from ,anderson's ,scot4 in ,early ,ch4 ,times1 #bnd ,series ,besides the circles1 ,aberdeenshire has another class of archaeological remains1 called sculptured stones4 ,these are of three kinds3 7#a7 those with incised symbols only1 7#b7 those with in addition ,celtic ornament carved in relief1 and 7#c7 monuments with ,celtic ornament in relief and no symbols4 ,the first class is the only one largely represented in ,aberdeenshire and a good many representatives are in existence4 ,the symbols most commonly seen are the crescent and sceptre1 the spectacles1 the mirror and comb1 and the so-called 8elephant0 symbol1 a representation of a beast with long jaws1 a crest and scroll feet4 ,another is the serpent symbol4 ,what the symbols signify is still a mystery1 but the fact that the stones with symbolism are unusually common in what was known as ,northern ,pictland seems to point to their being indigenous to that area4 ,out of #abd stones in the first class ,aberdeenshire has #db4 ,it would seem as if the county had been the focus where the symbolism originated4 ,the richness of the locality round ,kintore and ,inverurie in symbol stones is taken to indicate that region as the centre from which they radiated4 ,another form of archaeological remains found in the county is the ,eirde or ,earth-,houses4 ,these are subterranean dwellings dug out of the ground and walled with unhewn1 unmortared stones1 each stone overlapping the one below until they meet at the top which is crowned with a larger flag-stone1 or sometimes with wood4 ,the probability is that in conjunction with the underground chambers there were huts above ground1 which1 being composed of wood1 have now entirely disappeared4 ,at many points in these earth-houses traces of fire and charcoal are to be seen1 stones blackened by fire and layers of black ashes4 ,in one at ,loch ,kinnord a piece of the upper stone of a quern as well as an angular piece of iron was found4 ,it may be inferred that the inhabitants1 whoever they were1 were agriculturists1 and that the period of occupation lasted down to the ,iron ,age4 ,specimens of these houses1 which usually go by the local name of ,picts' houses1 are found in the neighbourhood of ,loch ,kinnord on ,deeside1 at ,castle ,newe on the ,don1 and at ,parkhouse1 not far from the circle already referred to4 ,illustration3 8,,picts0 ,,or 8,,eirde ,,house0 ,,at ,,migvie ,,aberdeenshire ,from ,proceedings of the ,society of ,antiquaries of ,scotland1 ,vol4 ,v4 #ahfe ,the common notion of the purpose of these underground dwellings was that they were meant for hiding-places in which the inhabitants took refuge when unable to resist their enemies in the open1 but if1 as has now been discovered1 they were associated with wooden erections above ground1 they could not have served this purpose4 ,on the surface beside them were other houses1 cattlefolds and other enclosures2 once an enemy was in possession of these1 he could hardly miss the earth-houses4 ,moreover1 the inhabitants1 if discovered1 were in a trap from which there was no escape4 ,it is more probable that the dwellings were adjuncts of some unknown kind to the huts on the surface4 ,the fact that pottery and bronze armlets have been unearthed from these underground caverns proves that the earth-dwellers had reached a certain advancement in civilisation4 ,they reared domestic animals1 wove cloth and sewed it1 and manufactured pottery4 ,they used iron for cutting weapons and bronze for ornament1 and must have possessed a wonderfully high standard of taste and manual skill4 ,along with the earth-houses at ,kinnord are found crannogs or lake-dwellings4 ,artificial islands were created in the loch by forming a raft of logs1 upon which layers of stones and other logs were deposited4 ,as fresh materials were added the raft gradually sank till it rested on the bottom4 ,the sides were afterwards strengthened with the addition of stones and beams4 ,in this way was formed what is called the ,prison ,island on ,loch ,kinnord4 ,in all probability the other island in the same loch1 the ,castle ,island1 may also be artificial1 although it has usually been regarded as natural4 ,crannogs in pairs--one large and the other small--occur in several lochs4 ,illustration3 ,loch ,kinnord ,a number of hill-forts1 more or less disintegrated1 are traceable in the higher ground in the vicinity of ,lochs ,kinnord and ,davan4 ,these show concentric lines of circumvallation1 with stronger fortifications at various points4 ,vitrified forts1 where the stones have been run together by the application of heat1 are found at ,dunnideer near ,insch1 and on the conical summit of ,tap o' ,noth near ,rhynie4 ,the ,barmekin at ,dunecht encloses an area of more than two acres1 and consists of five concentric walls1 three of earth-works and two of stone4 ,numerous cairns1 barrows or tumuli exist all over the county1 at ,aberdour on the coast1 at ,birse1 ,bourtie1 ,rhynie1 ,turriff1 and elsewhere4 ,human remains have been found in most of these2 and as a rule flint arrow-heads and other implements are also associated with them4 #ah4 ,architecture--7a7 ,ecclesiastical4 ,the history of ,scotland from an architectural point of view does not reach very far back into the past4 ,till the tide of civilisation flowed into ,scotland from the south in the eleventh and twelfth centuries1 there existed in the country no architecture worthy of the name4 ,when the ,normans became the ruling power in ,britain1 they brought architectural ideas with them and these superseded the crude attempts at church building hitherto made4 ,the ,scottish churches built under the influence of ,columba were simple and rude1 consisting of a small oblong chamber with a single door and a single window4 ,the ,norman style1 which obliterated these structures1 dates from the twelfth century and1 being carried along the coast of lowland ,scotland1 gradually changed the manner of building4 ,it is characterised by simple1 massive forms and especially by arches of a semi-circular shape1 sometimes enriched by zig-zag1 and by the use of nook shafts and cushion capitals4 ,of this period the remains in ,scotland are not numerous1 and they are very few in ,aberdeenshire4 ,the earliest specimen we can point to is the ancient church of ,monymusk1 which contains some ,norman building incorporated in the modern church erected on the old site4 ,monymusk is on ,donside seven miles up the river from ,kintore4 ,it is a place of great antiquity4 ,the ,culdees first appear there in the twelfth century1 and the ,earl of ,mar built a convent for them on condition that they should submit to canonical rule4 ,the lower part of the church tower and the chancel arch are of the ,norman style4 ,the tower has been entirely rebuilt except the lower doorway1 which has a round arch-head with a hood mould enclosing it4 ,these small fragments suggest that they were part of the convent erected by the ,earl of ,mar very early in the thirteenth century4 ,the rounded arch gave place in the thirteenth century to the early ,gothic1 of which the most striking feature is the pointed arch4 ,this is the ,first ,pointed ,period4 ,ornament was more general1 the mouldings were richer and more graceful and the foliage of trees was occasionally copied4 ,the windows were narrow1 lofty and pointed1 giving an impression of space and lightness4 ,aberdeenshire is too far north to have developed many examples of this early style1 but it has some4 ,the ,abbey of ,deer is perhaps the most ancient ecclesiastical building1 but it is now a complete ruin1 all the best parts of it having disappeared within the last fifty years4 ,it was founded in the thirteenth century4 ,deer had been an ecclesiastical centre long before that time4 ,the story goes that ,columba and his pupil ,drostan travelled from ,iona to ,aberdeenshire when ,bede was ,mormaer 7,earl7 of ,buchan4 ,they were first at ,aberdour on the coast1 but ultimately journeyed to ,deer1 where ,columba requested the ,mormaer to grant him a site for a church4 ,at first the ,mormaer refused1 but his son fell ill and in consideration of the efficacy of the prayers of the two holy men in bringing the youth back to health1 the ,mormaer granted them the lands of ,deer and this was probably the first place in ,aberdeenshire where a regular ,christian church was erected4 ,no trace of that church1 built in the sixth century1 is left4 ,the ,abbey was an entirely different structure and not begun till early in the thirteenth century4 ,it was founded by ,william ,comyn1 ,earl of ,buchan1 and was really a ,cistercian ,abbey1 originally occupied by monks sent from ,kinloss4 ,from the ruins now within the grounds of ,pitfour ,house1 it can be made out that the length of the building 7nave and chancel7 was #aej feet4 ,a few mouldings and the arches of some windows indicate that it belonged to the first pointed period4 ,the building was of red sandstone probably brought from ,new ,byth1 some #ab miles distant4 ,after the ,reformation the ,abbey fell to decay and its walls became1 as in many other cases1 a quarry from which other buildings were erected4 ,in #ahji the ruins were enclosed with a wall by the then proprietor1 ,mr ,james ,ferguson of ,pitfour1 but since then they have dwindled4 ,no mention of ,deer is possible without reference to the famous ,book of ,deer--a manuscript volume of the highest value1 emanating not from the ,abbey but from ,columba's monastery in the same region4 ,the book was brought to light in #ahfj by the late ,mr ,henry ,bradshaw1 ,university ,librarian at ,cambridge4 ,it had lain unrecognised in the ,library since #agae4 ,it contains the ,gospel of ,st ,john and other portions of scripture in the writing of the ninth century2 but of even greater importance is the fact that on its margins it contains memoranda of grants to the monastery1 made by ,celtic chiefs of ,buchan and all written in ,gaelic4 ,these jottings are of the highest historical value4 ,some traces of the ,early ,pointed style are found in ,st ,machar ,cathedral 7the greater part of which1 however1 is much later74 ,the old church of ,auchindoir close to ,craig ,castle has a good doorway and other features of this period4 ,illustration3 ,from ,the ,book of ,deer ,from the middle of the fourteenth to the middle of the fifteenth century 7#acej-adej7 is in ,scotland the ,middle ,pointed ,period4 ,the windows were made larger1 the vaulting and buttresses less heavy4 ,the ,cathedral of ,st ,machar belongs in part to this time4 ,the legend goes that ,st ,machar in obedience to the commands of ,columba1 of whom he was a disciple1 journeyed to ,scotland and at ,old ,aberdeen founded a church4 ,this church in the twelfth century became the seat of a bishopric founded by ,david ,i4 ,the original church was superseded probably about #aafe1 the only relic of this ,norman period being part of the abacus of a square pier4 ,all other traces of earlier work have vanished4 ,in the fourteenth century ,bishop ,alexander ,kyninmonth ,,ii rebuilt the nave1 partly of red sandstone with foliated capitals of great beauty and decorated with naturalistic imitation of leafage1 one capital representing curly kail 7colewort74 ,the same kind of decoration is seen in ,melrose ,abbey4 ,later on the two impressive western towers1 which are to-day conspicuous objects in the eastern landscape to all travellers northward-bound from ,aberdeen1 were added4 ,they form a granite mass of solid and substantial masonry1 and1 being finished with machicolation1 parapet-paths and capehouses1 were really like a castle in ,early ,english architecture4 ,still later on1 in the sixteenth century1 ,bishop ,elphinstone1 who founded the ,university of ,aberdeen1 who built the first ,bridge of ,dee1 and gave a new choir to ,st ,nicholas ,church1 completed the central tower and placed in it fourteen bells 8tuneable and costly40 ,the sandstone spires over the western towers were added by ,bishop ,dunbar early in the sixteenth century1 in place of the original capehouses4 ,the central tower fell in #afhh1 crushing the transepts4 ,illustration3 ,st ,machar ,cathedral1 ,old ,aberdeen ,illustration3 ,st ,machar ,cathedral 7interior7 ,in #aefj the government ordered the destruction of the altars1 images and other monuments of the old faith1 and this cathedral suffered with the rest4 ,it was despoiled of all its costly ornaments and the choir was demolished4 ,the roof was stripped of its lead and the bells were carried off4 ,all that remains to-day is the nave 7now the parish church71 a south porch1 the western towers and fragments of the transept walls1 which contain tombs of ,bishop ,lichtoun1 ,bishop ,dunbar1 and others4 ,this is the only granite cathedral in the country1 and1 though dating from the ,middle and late ,pointed periods1 has reminiscences of the ,norman style in its short1 massive cylindrical pillars and plain unadorned clerestory windows4 ,another feature is the great western window divided by six long shafts of stone4 ,the finely carved pulpit now in the ,chapel of ,king's ,college is a relic of the wood-carvings destroyed in #afdi4 ,the whole is extremely plain but highly impressive and imposing4 ,its flat panelled oak ceiling decorated with heraldic shields of various ,european kings1 ,pope ,leo ,x1 and ,scottish ecclesiastics and nobility 7#dh in all7 is worthy of mention4 ,this heraldic ceiling was restored in #ahfh-ga4 ,illustration3 ,king's ,college1 ,aberdeen ,university ,of later date is ,king's ,college ,chapel1 at no great distance from the ,old ,cathedral4 ,it is a long1 narrow but handsome building begun in #aejj1 shortly after the foundation of the ,university by ,bishop ,elphinstone4 ,the chapel and its graceful tower are the oldest parts of the ,college buildings which had originally three towers4 ,illustration3 ,east and ,west ,churches1 ,aberdeen ,the surviving one is a massive structure buttressed nearly to the top and bearing aloft a lantern of crossed rib arches1 surmounted by a beautiful imperial crown with finial cross1 somewhat resembling ,st ,giles's in ,edinburgh4 ,the difference is that ,king's ,college has four ribs while ,st ,giles's has eight4 ,the whole is of freestone from ,morayshire4 ,the entire building is a mixture of ,scottish and ,french ,gothic styles1 and retains in the large western window the semi-circular arch1 a peculiarity of ,scottish ,gothic throughout all periods4 ,the canopied stalls and the screen of richly carved oak1 ,gothic in design and most beautifully handled1 take a place among the finest pieces of mediaeval carved work existing in the ,british ,empire4 ,their beauty and delicacy1 according to ,hill ,burton1 surpass all remains of a similar kind in ,scotland4 ,the chapel contains the tomb of ,bishop ,elphinstone4 ,it was once highly ornamented1 but meantime is covered with a plain marble slab4 ,its restoration is in prospect4 ,st ,nicholas ,church1 ,aberdeen 7now the ,east and ,west ,churches7 contains in its transepts and groined crypt and in its wood-carving1 interesting relics of twelfth1 fifteenth and sixteenth century work4 ,the nave was rebuilt in the ,renaissance style of the time 7#agee74 ,greyfriars ,church1 removed a few years ago to make way for the new front of ,marischal ,college1 was a pre-,reformation church1 built by ,alexander ,galloway1 ,rector of ,kinkell1 early in the sixteenth century4 ,its chief features were its range of buttresses and a fine seven-light1 traceried window4 ,the ,protestant churches that succeeded these ancient buildings were inferior as architecture4 ,it was only in the nineteenth century that taste began to revive and some attempt at grace and embellishment was made4 ,architects began to study old styles1 and this combined with the increasing wealth of the country created a new standard in ecclesiastical requirements4 ,to-day our churches tend to grow in architectural beauty4 #ai4 ,architecture--7b7 ,castellated4 ,the earliest fortifications in ,scotland were earthen mounds1 surrounded with wooden palisades4 ,they were succeeded by stone and lime 8keeps0 built in imitation of ,norman structures4 ,the presence of the ,normans in ,england during the eleventh and twelfth centuries drove the ,saxon nobility northwards1 and they were followed in turn by other ,normans1 who obtained possession of great tracts of country4 ,the rectangular keeps of the ,normans have in consequence formed the models on which most of the ,scottish castles were constructed4 ,in the thirteenth century there were castles at ,strathbogie1 ,fyvie1 ,inverurie and ,kildrummy4 ,these have mostly been rebuilt in recent times and the more ancient parts have disappeared4 ,the general idea in them all was a fortified enclosure usually quadrilateral4 ,the walls of the enclosure were #g to #i feet thick and #bj to #cj feet high4 ,the angles had round or square towers1 and the walls had parapets and embrasures for defence and a continuous path round the top of the ramparts4 ,the entrance was a wide gate guarded by a portcullis4 ,the comparatively large area within the walls was intended to harbour the population of a district and to give temporary protection to their flocks and possessions in times of danger4 ,some of the finer examples1 such as ,kildrummy1 closely resemble the splendid military buildings of ,france in the thirteenth century4 ,one of the towers is usually larger than the others and forms the donjon or place of strength1 to which retreat could be made as a last resort1 when1 during a siege1 the enemy had gained a footing within the walls4 ,illustration3 ,kildrummy ,castle ,kildrummy ,castle is one of the finest and largest in ,scotland1 and even in its present ruinous condition gives an impression of grandeur and extent such as no other castle in ,aberdeenshire can rival4 ,it was built in the reign of ,alexander ,,ii by ,gilbert de ,moravia1 ,bishop of ,caithness4 ,situated near the river ,don1 some ten miles inland from ,alford1 and occupying a strong position on the top of a bank which slopes steeply to a burn on two sides1 and protected on the other sides by an artificial fosse1 it was a place of great strength4 ,its plan is an irregular quadrangle1 the south front bulging out in the centre towards the gateway4 ,it had six round towers1 one at each angle and two at the gate4 ,one of the corner towers--the ,snow ,tower--#ee feet in diameter1 was the donjon and contained the draw-well4 ,the castle possessed a large courtyard1 a great hall1 and a chapel1 of which the window of three tall lancets survives4 ,it was built in the thirteenth century1 and therefore belongs to the ,first ,pointed ,period4 ,the stone used is a sandstone1 probably taken from the quarries in the locality1 where instead of the prevailing granite of ,aberdeenshire a great band of sandstone occurs4 ,this famous castle passed through various vicissitudes4 ,it was besieged in #acjf by ,edward ,i of ,england and was gallantly defended1 but1 in consequence of a great conflagration1 ,nigel ,bruce1 ,king ,robert's brother1 who was acting as governor1 yielded it to the ,english1 he himself being made prisoner and ultimately executed4 ,some of the buildings date from this period1 when it was rebuilt by the ,english1 but it soon fell into ,bruce's hands again4 ,twenty years after ,bannockburn it was conferred on the ,earl of ,mar4 ,the rebellion of #agae was hatched within its walls4 ,thereafter being forfeited by ,mar1 it eventually came into the hands of the ,gordons of ,wardhouse4 ,recently it was purchased by ,colonel ,ogston1 who has built a modern mansion-house close by and crossed the ravine with a bridge1 an exact replica of the historic ,bridge of ,balgownie near ,donmouth4 ,during the fourteenth century1 ,scotland1 exhausted with the struggle for national independence1 was unable to engage in extensive building4 ,beside1 ,bruce's policy was opposed to castle building1 as such edifices were liable to be captured by the enemy and a secure footing thereby obtained4 ,his policy was rather to strip the country1 and to destroy everything in front of an invading army1 with a view to starving it out4 ,the houses of the peasantry were made of wood and could easily be restored when destroyed4 ,the houses of the nobility took the form of square towers on the ,norman model and all castles of the fourteenth century were on this simple plan--a square or oblong tower with very thick walls and defended from a parapeted path round the top of the tower4 ,the angles were rounded or projected on corbels in the form of round bartizans4 ,at first these parapets were open and machicolated4 ,as time went on1 the simple keep was extended by adding on a small wing at one corner1 which gave the ground plan of the whole building the shape of the letter ,l4 ,the entrance was then placed as a rule at the re-entering angle4 ,such keeps are usually spoken of as built on the ,l plan4 ,the ground floor was vaulted and used for stores or stables and as accommodation for servants4 ,the only communication between this and the first floor was a hatch4 ,in early castles the principal entrance was often on the floor above the ground floor and was reached by a stair easily removed in time of danger4 ,access from one storey to another was by a corkscrew or newel stair at one corner in the thick wall4 ,thus constructed a tower could resist siege and fire1 and even if taken1 could not be easily damaged4 ,of this kind of keep ,aberdeenshire has many excellent examples1 the most perfect1 perhaps1 being the ,tower of ,drum4 ,it stands on a ridge overlooking the valley of the ,dee4 ,to the ancient keep built probably late in the thirteenth century was added a mansion-house on a different plan in #afai4 ,the estate was granted to ,william de ,irvine by ,bruce in recognition of faithful service as secretary and armour-bearer4 ,previous to that1 ,drum was a royal forest and a hunting-seat of the king4 ,the keep1 which stands as solid and square to-day as it did six hundred years ago1 is quadrilateral and the angles are rounded off4 ,the entrance was at the level of the first floor4 ,the main stair is a newel4 ,in the lowest storey the walls are twelve feet thick1 pierced with two narrow loops for light4 ,in a recess is the well4 ,on the top of the tower are battlements1 the parapet resting on a corbel-table continued right round the building4 ,hallforest near ,kintore is an example of a fourteenth century keep4 ,it was built by ,bruce as a hunting-seat and bestowed on ,sir ,robert de ,keith1 the ,marischal4 ,it still belongs to the ,kintore family but is now a ruin4 ,the fifteenth century brought a change in castle-building4 ,the accommodation of the keeps was circumscribed and the paucity of rooms made privacy impossible4 ,one way of extending the space was1 as we have said1 by adding a wing at one corner4 ,another mode was to utilise the surrounding wall1 for the keeps were generally guarded by a wall1 which formed a courtyard or barmekin for stabling and offices4 ,this was often of considerable extent and defended by towers4 ,as the country progressed and manners improved1 buildings were extended round the inside of the courtyard walls4 ,in the sixteenth century the change went further and developed into the mansion-house built round a quadrangle4 ,the building was first in the centre of the surrounding wall2 ultimately the courtyard was absorbed and became the centre of the castle4 ,balquhain ,castle in ,chapel of ,garioch1 two miles from ,inverurie1 was originally a keep like ,drum1 but being destroyed in #aebf1 it was rebuilt4 ,very little of it now remains but its massive1 weather-stained walls have a commanding effect4 ,the barmekin is still traceable4 ,queen ,mary is said to have passed the night prior to the ,battle of ,corrichie at ,balquhain4 ,it was burned in #agdf by the ,duke of ,cumberland4 ,many other castles on the same general plan are dotted up and down the county4 ,some are in ruins1 some have been altered and added to on other lines1 but the original keep is still a marked feature in most of them4 ,cairnbulg--recently restored--on the north-east coast has a keep of the fifteenth century with additions of a century later4 ,gight1 now ruinous1 but formerly celebrated for its great strength1 occupies a fine site on the summit of the ,braes of ,gight1 which rise abruptly from the bed of the ,ythan4 ,it also is a fifteenth century edifice built on the ,l plan4 ,it has a historical interest as having once belonged to ,lord ,byron's mother1 from whom it was purchased by the ,earl of ,aberdeen4 ,another of the same kind is ,craig ,castle in ,auchindoir4 ,it was completed in #aeah and is also on the ,l plan4 ,so too is ,fedderat in ,new ,deer4 ,illustration3 ,the ,old ,house of ,gight ,in the sixteenth century the troubled reign of ,queen ,mary was unfavourable to architecture1 but towards the end of it the rise of ,renaissance art began to exert a decided influence1 especially on details and internal furnishings1 and in the next century gradually but completely dominated the spirit of the art4 ,another influence at work was the progress made in artillery4 ,the ordinary castles could not now resist artillery fire1 and all attempts at making them impregnable fortresses were abandoned1 and the only fortifications retained were such as would make the buildings safe from sudden attack4 ,in consequence1 what had before been grim fortresses were now transformed into country mansions1 whether on the keep or on the quadrangle plan2 and sites were chosen as providing shelter from the elements rather than defence against human foes4 ,the ,reformation1 too1 which secularised the church lands and gave the lion's share to the nobility1 was a notable influence in revolutionising architecture4 ,the nobility being now more wealthy were enabled either to extend their old mansions or to build new ones4 ,hence the great development that took place in the quiet reign of ,james ,,vi4 ,the effect of the ,union in #afjc1 which drew many of the nobility to ,england1 was civilising and educative1 and raised their ideas of house accommodation as well as their standard of comfort and domestic amenity4 ,the change was of course gradual4 ,the old keeps and the castles built round a courtyard were still in evidence1 but picturesque turrets corbelled out at every angle of the building1 slated1 and terminating in fanciful finials1 became the rule4 ,the lower walls were kept plain1 the ornamentation being lavishly crowded only on the upper parts4 ,the roofs became high-pitched with picturesque chimneys1 dormer windows and crow-stepped gables4 ,all these features so characteristic of the mansion-houses of the fourth period 7#aedb-agjj7 are well marked in ,craigievar1 which is one of the best preserved castles of the time4 ,its ground plan is of the ,l type1 but the turrets ,illustration3 ,craigievar ,castle1 ,donside and gables are corbelled out with ornamental mouldings and the upper part of the castle displays that profusion of sky-pointing pinnacles and multifarious parapets which mark the period4 ,the same is seen at ,crathes and at ,castle ,fraser4 ,the last is altogether an excellent specimen4 ,it consists of a central oblong building with two towers at the diagonally opposite ends1 one square and the other round1 and is therefore a development into what has been called the ,z plan or stepped plan--induced by the general use of firearms in defence4 ,here1 as at ,craigievar1 gargoyles originally used to carry off rain water from the roof are brought in as a piece of fanciful decoration1 apart from any utilitarian purpose1 and project from the walls at places where rain-spouts are irrelevant4 ,illustration3 ,crathes ,castle1 ,kincardineshire ,the castle has a secret chamber or 8lug10 in which the master of the house could over-hear the conversation of his guests in the dining-hall4 ,nothing could better illustrate the treachery and cunning which had been bred by the difficulty of the times4 ,mr ,skene1 the friend of ,sir ,walter ,scott1 minutely investigated this contrivance as it exists at ,castle ,fraser1 and no doubt his account of this ingenious but dishonourable device for gaining illicit information suggested ,king ,james's 8,lug10 so happily described in ,the ,fortunes of ,nigel4 ,illustration3 ,castle ,fraser ,castellated buildings of this class are so numerous in ,aberdeenshire that it is possible to name only a few4 ,one of the finest is ,fyvie ,castle on the banks of the upper reaches of the ,ythan in the very centre of the county4 ,it is not like many others a ruin1 but a mansion-house modernised in many respects1 but still retaining all the picturesque features of the olden time4 ,it occupies two sides of a quadrangle1 with the principal front towards the south1 one side being #adg1 the other #acg feet in frontage4 ,at the three corners are massive square towers1 with angle turrets and crow-stepped gables4 ,besides these towers1 there are in the centre of the south front two other projecting towers1 which at #db feet from the ground are bridged by a connecting arch1 eleven feet wide1 the whole forming a grand and most impressive mass of masonry called the 8,seton0 tower1 a magnificent centre to what is perhaps the most imposing front of any domestic edifice in ,scotland4 ,at the south-east corner is the 8,preston0 tower1 built by ,sir ,henry ,preston1 and the earliest part of the building1 dating from the fourteenth century4 ,in the south-west stands the 8,meldrum0 tower1 so-called from the succeeding proprietors 7#addj-aeif74 ,they erected this part and the whole range of the south front except the 8,seton0 tower already referred to1 which is a later addition4 ,the ,setons succeeded the ,meldrums and it is to ,alexander ,seton1 ,lord ,fyvie and ,earl of ,dunfermline1 that the castle owes its greatest splendours4 ,besides planning this tower1 he ornamented the others with their turreted and ornate details4 ,he also built the great staircase1 which is a triumph of architectural skill4 ,it is a wheel or newel staircase of grand proportions1 skilfully planned and as skilfully executed4 ,illustration3 ,fyvie ,castle1 ,south ,front ,the ,gordon tower on the west was not added till the eighteenth century1 by ,william1 second son of the second ,earl of ,aberdeen4 ,its erection necessitated the destruction of the chapel4 ,here one may see how the ,renaissance ideas were creeping in1 especially the desire for balance and symmetry4 ,two of everything was beginning to be the rule4 ,one wing must have another to balance with it2 one tower another to make a pair4 #bj4 ,architecture--7c7 ,municipal4 ,after a period of declining taste in architecture1 a revival began early in the nineteenth century under the guidance of architects of genius such as ,archibald ,simpson and ,john and ,william ,smith4 ,a great improvement was thereby effected in the general aspect of the city of ,aberdeen1 and their good work has been enhanced by that of their successors4 ,it is necessary to repeat that it was long before the local granite came to its own4 ,the earlier buildings of importance were all of sandstone2 to-day he would be a bold architect who suggested a sandstone building in ,aberdeen4 ,the use of granite exercises an indirect effect on architectural design4 ,it lends itself to broad1 classic1 monumental and dignified effects1 while its stubborn quality is a check against over-exuberance of detail1 and fanciful1 gimcrack trivialities4 ,the plainness of the buildings was often remarked upon by strangers twenty years ago4 ,the newer buildings are not without adornment4 ,the ,county and ,municipal ,buildings 7or the ,town-,house as it is familiarly called7 on the south side of ,castle ,street were opened in #ahgj4 ,they form a magnificent pile which takes a high place amongst provincial town-halls1 as regards both vigour and originality of treatment4 ,the line of elliptical arches on the ground floor and of small arcaded windows in the floor above make an imposing front4 ,the great tower1 which rises to a height of #bjj feet and dominates the whole city1 has the castellated turrets which we have seen to be characteristic of ,scottish architecture4 ,it is curious to see how latter-day architects have not been able to get away from this feature4 ,it is conspicuous even in such buildings as the ,grammar ,school and the new ,post ,office4 ,the ,municipal tower1 if somewhat heavy-looking1 is on the whole effective4 ,the small tower and spire on the east is the old ,tolbooth tower1 of the seventeenth century1 preserved by being incorporated in the modern building4 ,illustration3 ,municipal ,buildings1 ,aberdeen1 and ,town ,cross ,the next public building that should be mentioned is ,marischal ,college1 recently enlarged at a cost of nearly ,illustration3 ,marischal ,college1 ,aberdeen #bej1jjj4 ,this is undoubtedly the finest piece of modern architecture in the north of ,scotland1 and one of the most handsome and graceful in the kingdom4 ,the ,college at the end of the nineteenth century was a work of the ,gothic revival occupying three sides of a quadrangle1 with a tower in the centre of one side4 ,this tower has been remodelled and greatly heightened so that it is now a rival to the ,municipal tower in the same street4 ,it is known as the ,mitchell tower1 in compliment to the donor1 the late ,mr ,charles ,mitchell of ,newcastle1 whose name is also associated with the public or graduation ,hall of the ,university4 ,the old frontage of ,marischal ,college was a desultory line of commonplace houses1 through which by a narrow gateway entrance was gained to the quadrangle4 ,these have all been cleared away and now a stately pile bristling with ornate pinnacles that sparkle in the sun fills the whole length of #djj feet4 ,no less impressive than the delicately chiselled front is the back view of the ,college from ,west ,north ,street1 where a dip in the ground displays to advantage the great mass of building1 the ,mitchell ,hall with its great ,gothic window1 its angle-turrets and lofty buttresses4 ,the ,northern ,assurance ,office stands at the angle between ,union ,street and ,union ,terrace4 ,the clean surface and clear-cut lines of the granite masonry are very pleasant to the eye4 ,union ,terrace contains some of the best modern buildings in the city--the ,grand ,hotel1 the ,aberdeen ,savings ,bank1 which though very simple is an admirable specimen of a front specially designed for granite2 the ,offices of the ,parish ,council and the ,school ,board1 original and striking1 the ,public ,library1 the ,united ,free ,south ,church with its graceful dome1 and ,his ,majesty's ,theatre--all serve to illustrate the changes that are being rung on granite fronts in recent years4 ,the contrast between these more ornate buildings and the severely classic simplicity of the ,music ,hall1 a square block with a portico of ,ionic pillars1 belonging to the early nineteenth century1 shows what a change in sentiment has taken place4 ,the feature of all the ,aberdeen architecture is the careful1 conscientious workmanship1 which always gives the impression of lasting solidity4 ,the material is so irresponsive that without hard labour1 no effect is produced4 ,illustration3 ,union ,terrace and ,gardens1 before widening of ,bridge ,illustration3 ,grammar ,school1 ,aberdeen ,we can do no more than mention some of the other notable edifices in the city4 ,the ,grammar ,school1 erected in #ahfc1 is a successful application of castellated ,gothic to a modern building--all the more effective that it is well set back from the street4 ,the contiguous ,art ,school and ,art ,gallery are modern buildings1 each with an order of columns and a pediment which break the long low line of the faade4 ,the elliptical arch that unites ,illustration3 ,gordon's ,college1 ,aberdeen them gives access to ,gordon's ,college1 the centre portion of which is a piece of sober eighteenth century work4 ,the wings and colonnades were added subsequently4 ,the ,head ,office of the ,north of ,scotland and ,town and ,county ,bank at the top of ,king ,street has its entrance porch at the angle with a colonnade of pillars4 ,near it is the ,town ,cross1 a hexagonal erection with ,ionic columns and a tapering shaft rising from the centre of the roof1 with a heraldic unicorn as terminal4 ,it dates from the end of the seventeenth century4 ,in the panels of the balustrade are half-length portraits of ,scottish and ,british ,kings 7including the seven ,jameses74 ,it is a fine example ,illustration3 ,bridge of ,don1 from ,balgownie of its class and was the work of a local mason4 ,the royal portraits are real and authentic4 ,the ,ionic screen or faade between ,union ,street and the city churches gives some idea of the severely classic architecture that was the vogue in ,aberdeen nearly a century ago4 ,illustration3 ,old ,bridge of ,dee1 ,aberdeen ,a word must be said about the chief bridges4 ,union ,bridge has a span of #acj feet1 and was built in #ahjb to facilitate the making of ,union ,street4 ,it was originally narrower than the street and has recently been widened to meet the requirements of increased traffic4 ,the ,bridge of ,don 7,balgownie71 probably built early in the fourteenth century if not earlier1 throws its one ,gothic arch over the deep contracted stream of the river4 ,a small bequest in the seventeenth century for its maintenance has been so well husbanded that out of its accumulations the cost of the new ,bridge 7#ag1jjj71 and other buildings has been defrayed1 and the capital value of the fund--called the ,bridge of ,don fund--is to-day #bf1ejj4 ,the new bridge1 much nearer the sea and with five arches1 was designed by ,telford and completed in #ahcj4 ,the ,old ,bridge of ,dee 7with seven arches7 was founded by ,bishop ,elphinstone and completed in #aebg by ,bishop ,gavin ,dunbar4 ,in #ahdb it was widened #aa-a_/b feet4 ,the ,new 7,victoria7 ,bridge1 a continuation of ,market ,street1 was opened in #ahhb1 since when quite a new and populous city has sprung up on the south side of the river1 entirely eclipsing the old fishing village of ,torry which formerly monopolised this side of the water4 #ba4 ,architecture--7d7 ,domestic4 ,the mansion-houses of the county1 whether they are ancient fortalices modernised by later additions or entirely modern buildings erected within a century of the present time1 deserve more space than can be allotted to them here4 ,they are of all types of architecture1 classical1 renaissance1 and composite1 but there is no doubt that the castellated1 ,scotch baronial1 the traditional type so common in the seventeenth century1 still predominates4 ,illustration3 ,balmoral ,castle ,foremost among them must be mentioned ,balmoral ,castle far up the valley of the ,dee4 ,built in #ahec of a light grey granite found in the neighbourhood1 it is composed of two semi-detached squares with connecting wings1 and displays the usual castellated towers1 high-pitched gables and conical roofed turrets4 ,the massive clock-tower rising to a height of #ajj feet from amongst the surrounding leafage and gleaming white in summer sunshine forms a pleasing picture4 ,the late ,queen ,victoria purchased the estate in #ahdh1 and the ,prince ,consort took a great personal interest in the design the details of which are said to be modelled on a close study of ,castle ,fraser1 already referred to4 ,for more than half a century it has been a royal residence and though many additions and alterations have been made in that time1 the general picture of the edifice remains the same to the traveller on the ,deeside road4 ,two miles below is ,abergeldie ,castle1 which has been leased by the ,royal ,family for many years4 ,its turreted square tower1 old and plain and somewhat cramped in space1 serves as a contrast to the more spacious modern mansion4 ,this region of the ,dee has many mansions4 ,invercauld ,house1 reconstructed in #ahge1 is in the same manner1 its chief feature being a battlemented tower seventy feet high4 ,the situation of ,invercauld at the foot of a high hill and backed by plantations of pine and with a beautiful green terrace stretching to the river ,dee is probably unsurpassed in the district4 ,as seen from the ,lion's ,face ,rock1 a perpendicular cliff on the south side of the river1 this house of the ,farquharsons makes a striking picture not likely ever to be forgotten4 ,farther up is ,mar ,lodge1 the residence of the ,duke of ,fife1 in the horizontal and ,english domestic style4 ,it was built so recently as #ahih1 and replaced a somewhat similar building destroyed by fire4 ,glenmuick ,house1 built in #ahgc1 is in the ,tudor style1 strongly treated and modified to harmonise with the rugged surroundings4 ,the only other ,deeside mansion we can refer to is ,kincardine ,lodge1 recently built1 a very fine building1 based to a large extent on the plan of ,fyvie ,castle1 which we have already referred to as the grandest castellated mansion-house in the north4 ,illustration3 ,cluny ,castle ,donside is not so well furnished with stately and luxurious manor-houses1 but it has ,castle ,newe and ,cluny ,castle1 the antique-modern ,place of ,tilliefoure1 ,fintray ,house in the ,tudor style1 ,pitmathen in ,french ,renaissance1 each in its own way a work of art4 ,midway between the two valleys is ,dunecht ,house1 which was built for ,lord ,lindsay1 a great authority on ,christian art1 and of which the most striking feature is the great campanile in the ,italian manner4 ,illustration3 ,haddo ,house ,in the ,ythan valley1 ,haddo ,house1 the residence of the ,earl of ,aberdeen1 ,lord ,lieutenant of the ,county1 belongs to the period of the late ,english ,renaissance1 but additions have been made from time to time4 ,crimonmogate1 ,strichen1 and ,philorth are classic4 ,it is a curious fact1 worthy of mention1 that the local masons have almost developed a school of craftsmanship1 by the thorough conscientiousness and downright honesty ,illustration3 ,midmar ,castle of their work4 ,we have already remarked that ,kintore and ,inverurie seemed to be the centre from which the sculptured stones radiated4 ,in the same region are the group of castles1 ,castle ,fraser1 ,craigievar1 ,midmar and ,cluny 7now destroyed71 all within an easy radius of the centre4 ,castle ,fraser and ,midmar were built by a mason called ,john ,bell1 whose work was characterised by sterling qualities4 ,the art would almost seem to have been handed down through several generations of craftsmen1 for the modern ,cluny ,castle and ,dunecht ,house1 as well as their chapels1 besides other palatial and extensive fabrics1 were built entirely by local masons1 without any extraneous help4 ,it seems as if the building art were indigenous to this particular locality4 #bb4 ,communications--,roads1 ,railways4 ,in ancient times the chief means of communication between ,aberdeenshire and the south was the old ,south and ,north ,drove ,road1 which crosses the ,cairn-o-,mounth from ,fettercairn in ,kincardine1 and1 passing the ,dye and ,whitestones on the ,feugh1 reaches the ,dee at ,potarch4 ,it then ran along the hill to ,lumphanan and on through ,leochel to the ,bridge of ,alford1 thence to ,clatt and ,kennethmont and along the valley of the ,bogie to ,huntly4 ,there was another--a supposed ,roman road--which1 coming up from the direction of ,stonehaven1 crossed the ,dee at ,peterculter1 and1 proceeding northward through ,skene1 ,kinnellar1 ,kintore and ,inverurie1 went on to ,pitcaple4 ,thence it passed through ,rayne and across the east shoulder of ,tillymorgan to what has been regarded as a ,roman camp at ,glenmailen1 and by the ,corse of ,monellie1 ,lessendrum and ,cobairdy1 to the fords of the ,deveron below ,avochie4 ,another ancient road crossed the mountains from ,blairgowrie by the ,spittal of ,glenshee1 over the ,cairnwell1 ,castleton of ,braemar1 and the upper waters of the ,gairn to the valley of the ,avon at ,inchrory and thence by ,tomintoul to ,speyside4 ,illustration3 ,spittal of ,glenshee ,after the '#de ,general ,wade adopted the southern part of this road as the line of his great military route from ,blairgowrie to ,fort ,george1 but from ,castleton he turned to the east1 went down the ,dee valley to ,crathie1 and thence across the hills to ,corgarff in ,upper ,strathdon from which he reached ,tomintoul by the 8,lecht40 ,this route he completed in #agej4 ,these roads had naturally to lead to fords in the rivers1 and1 when bridges came to be built1 it was just as natural that they should be placed in the line of established routes4 ,when the ,bridge of ,alford was built over the ,don in #ahaj-aa and the ,bridge of ,potarch over the ,dee in #ahab-ac1 a new line of road was made across country to connect them4 ,it went from ,dess through ,lumphanan and ,leochel to the ,don valley4 ,the first turnpike made in ,aberdeenshire was the road from the ,bridge of ,dee to the city of ,aberdeen vi ,holborn ,street1 which completed the northern section of the great post-road between ,edinburgh and ,aberdeen4 ,this was in #agif4 ,about the same time was made the ,north ,deeside ,road reaching from ,aberdeen to ,aboyne and thence to ,ballater1 ,crathie1 and ,braemar1 where it met the ,cairnwell ,road4 ,another was the ,aberdeen and ,tarland route1 which went by ,skene and ,echt with branches joining on to those already in existence4 ,one of these struck off at ,skene1 and1 crossing the hill of ,tilliefourie1 proceeded to ,alford4 ,it was afterwards extended up the ,strath by ,mossat1 and ,glenkindie to ,corgarff1 where it met ,general ,wade's road4 ,the great post-road from ,aberdeen to ,inverness went by ,woodside1 ,bucksburn1 ,kintore1 ,inverurie1 the ,glens of ,foudland to ,huntly and ,cairnie on the boundary of ,banffshire4 ,it had branches from ,huntly to ,portsoy through ,rothiemay and to ,banff through ,forgue by the ,bridge of ,marnoch4 ,the ,strathbogie ,road from ,huntly to ,donside by way of ,gartly1 ,rhynie1 and ,lumsden joined the ,strathdon ,road at ,mossat4 ,though by no means the most convenient1 it is still used as the route along which the mails are conveyed to ,strathdon4 ,the ,aberdeen and ,banff ,road left the post-road at ,bucksburn and passing through ,dyce1 ,new ,machar1 ,old ,meldrum1 ,fyvie1 ,turriff1 and ,king ,edward made for the ,bridge of ,banff4 ,in the eastern district the most important route was that to ,peterhead4 ,it crossed the new ,bridge of ,don1 and1 passing through ,belhelvie1 ,ellon1 and ,cruden1 came to ,peterhead by the coast4 ,from there it went straight across country to ,banff by ,longside1 ,mintlaw1 ,new ,pitsligo1 and ,byth1 thence over the ,longmanhill to ,macduff4 ,later a coast route was made connecting ,peterhead and ,fraserburgh1 by way of ,st ,fergus1 ,crimond and ,lonmay4 ,another continuation of it was along the coast past ,rosehearty1 ,pennan1 ,gardenstown and ,troup ,head into ,banffshire4 ,it was only during the nineteenth century that proper and serviceable highways were constructed4 ,prior to that time a few main roads had been made but side connections were few and badly kept1 so that wheeled vehicles1 if they had existed1 would have been a useless luxury4 ,early in the eighteenth century wheeled vehicles were absolutely unknown4 ,in #agfe the judges of the ,circuit ,court of ,justiciary first travelled to ,aberdeen in chaises instead of on horseback4 ,the first mail coach did not arrive till #agih4 ,it took #ba hours between ,edinburgh and ,aberdeen4 ,not till #ahaa did passenger coaches begin to ply between ,aberdeen and ,huntly4 ,then only was it possible for the farmer to convey his products by cart1 which superseded the pack-horse as a means of transport4 ,the upkeep of the roads was secured by a system of tolls4 ,traces of the system still survive in the renovated toll-bar houses1 which in some cases retain a window facing right and a window facing left to mark the approach of vehicles from either side4 ,aberdeenshire abolished tolls in #ahfe4 ,the ,railway system reached ,aberdeen in #ahdh4 ,prior to that time for fifty years the stage coach plying between ,edinburgh and ,aberdeen had been1 apart from the sea-routes1 the only bond between this part of the country and the south4 ,a few years later1 in #ahed1 what is now the ,great ,north of ,scotland ,railway was opened from ,aberdeen to ,huntly1 and two years thereafter was extended as far as ,keith4 ,this is still the main line of railway in the county4 ,it touches in its course ,dyce1 ,kintore1 ,inverurie1 ,insch1 and ,huntly4 ,by and by branch lines were constructed forking off from it at various points2 first from ,inveramsay1 through ,wartle1 ,fyvie1 to ,turriff and ultimately to ,macduff2 second from ,inverurie across country to ,old ,meldrum2 third from ,kintore up ,donside by ,kemnay and ,monymusk to ,alford2 and lastly from ,dyce through ,new ,machar1 ,udny1 ,ellon to ,new ,maud1 where it bifurcates1 one fork going on to ,peterhead the other to ,fraserburgh4 ,this is the ,buchan and ,formartine branch4 ,recently a sub-branch was made from ,ellon running to the coast and touching ,cruden ,bay1 its terminus being at ,boddam within half an hour's distance of ,peterhead4 ,from ,fraserburgh1 a light railway runs to ,cairnbulg1 ,inverallochy and ,st ,combs4 ,the only other line of railway in the county is the ,deeside line1 which runs up the ,dee valley as far as ,ballater4 ,it was begun in #ahec1 and ,banchory was the terminus till #ahei1 when an extension was made to ,aboyne2 then in #ahff it was extended to ,ballater4 ,the lack of population and the paucity of goods apart from agricultural products have handicapped the local railways1 which are far from prosperous4 ,the chances of extension in other directions are very remote4 ,meantime outlying districts1 such as ,strathdon and ,braemar1 are served by motors4 ,the holiday and tourist traffic during the summer months and the influx of sportsmen at the shooting season are contributory sources of revenue1 but even these show no tendency to grow--a state of affairs due to the prevalent use of private motor-cars4 ,aberdeenshire has no canals and is never likely to have4 ,prior to the advent of railways a canal1 designed by ,telford1 the great engineer1 was constructed between ,aberdeen and ,port ,elphinstone on the south side of ,inverurie4 ,it was opened for passenger and goods traffic in #ahjf1 and continued to serve the district until the steam-engine sounded its knell4 ,for nearly half a century it was a bond between the chief city and the centre of the county and1 although it never was remunerative to the promoters1 and provided a very slow mode of conveyance1 it was of great public service4 ,the railway line to the north runs parallel at certain places to the track of this canal1 whose superannuated embankments may still be recognised1 after half a century1 at various points between ,aberdeen and ,inverurie4 #bc4 ,administration and ,divisions4 ,in the twelfth century ,scotland was divided into ,sheriffdoms1 where the ,sheriff was the minister of the ,crown for trying civil and criminal cases4 ,the office was hereditary until the rebellion of '#de1 when its hereditary character was abolished4 ,aberdeenshire has a non-resident ,sheriff-,principal 7who is also ,sheriff of ,banff and ,kincardine7 besides two resident ,sheriff-substitutes4 ,these deal with ordinary civil cases such as debts1 as well as with criminal cases involving fine or imprisonment1 but not as a rule involving penal servitude1 except forgery1 robbery and fire-raising4 ,the head of the county is the ,lord-,lieutenant4 ,next to him is the ,vice-,lieutenant and a large number of ,deputy-,lieutenants and ,justices of the ,peace1 but the chief administrative body is the ,county ,council1 which consists of #fe members4 ,these elect the chairman and vice-chairman1 who are designated respectively convener and vice-convener4 ,county ,councils were first established in #ahhi4 ,the county is divided into districts1 and each district has so many divisions1 or parishes1 which elect one councillor4 ,aberdeenshire has #he parishes1 which are grouped in eight districts3 7#a7 ,deer with fifteen electoral divisions1 7#b7 ,ellon with seven1 7#c7 ,garioch with six1 7#d7 ,deeside with six1 7#e7 ,turriff with seven1 7#f7 ,aberdeen with nine1 7#g7 ,alford with four1 and 7#h7 ,huntly with four1 making fifty-eight electoral divisions in all4 ,the powers of the ,council are to maintain roads and bridges1 to administer the ,contagious ,diseases 7,animals7 ,acts1 to appoint a medical officer of health and a sanitary inspector1 to deal with the pollution of rivers and to see to the protection of wild birds4 ,previous to the passing of the ,act of #ahhi the ,commissioners of ,supply were the chief governing body4 ,they are still retained but have no jurisdiction1 except in so far as they elect members to the ,standing ,joint ,committee4 ,this committee includes representatives from the ,county ,council appointed annually and from the ,commissioners of ,supply1 together with the ,sheriff ex officio4 ,the ,standing ,joint ,committee has charge of the ,police and controls all the capital expenditure in the county4 ,each district has a district committee consisting of the county councillors for the divisions of the district and of parish councillors selected by each parish council of the district4 ,each parish has in this way two representatives on the district committee1 one elected by the electors and the other appointed by the parish council4 ,this district committee is the local authority for administering the ,public ,health ,acts1 but has no power to raise money--that being the function of the ,county ,council as a whole4 ,by a later ,act of #ahid1 a parish council was established in every parish4 ,the number of councillors in landward parishes is fixed by the ,county ,council and in burghal parishes by the ,town ,council4 ,the parish council looks after the ,poor ,law and must provide for pauper lunatics1 sees to the levying of the school rate1 to the administration of the ,vaccination ,acts1 and to the appointment of ,registrars4 ,the affairs of the county are therefore divided amongst three bodies1 the ,county ,council1 the ,district ,committees and the ,parish ,councils4 ,prior to #ahij the powers of local administration lay with the ,commissioners of ,supply1 the ,road ,trustees and the ,parochial ,boards1 whose functions are now vested in these other bodies4 ,each parish1 besides having a ,parish ,council1 has a ,school ,board1 which1 since #ahgb1 has administered the education of the parish4 ,education is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of #e and #ad4 ,the schools are of three types--primary1 intermediate1 and secondary4 ,the intermediate schools provide a three years' course beyond the elementary stage1 and the secondary schools a further course lasting for two years4 ,the ,county ,council now takes a certain share in educational administration1 having powers to allocate grants of money to schools and bursaries to pupils4 ,the training of teachers1 which until recently was in the hands of the ,churches 7,established and ,united ,free71 has now passed to a ,provincial ,committee elected by various representative bodies4 ,every burgh has a ,town ,council consisting of ,provost1 ,magistrates and ,councillors1 who hold their seats for three years4 ,the number of councillors varies with the size of the town4 ,in ,aberdeen1 the councillors are elected by wards1 of which there are eleven1 each ward electing three representatives1 one of whom retires annually4 ,the ,town ,council of ,aberdeen consists of #cd members1 the ,dean of ,guild being an ex officio member4 ,the ,town ,council is the local authority for ,public ,health1 and looks after the streets1 buildings and sewers4 ,it owns the gas works1 water works1 tramways1 electric power station1 and public parks4 ,it regulates the lighting1 cleansing1 and sanitation4 ,the ,magistrates1 who are elected annually by the ,council1 are the licensing authority1 and form the police court for the trial of minor offences4 ,the city of ,aberdeen is not like ,peterhead and ,fraserburgh included in the administration of the county1 being itself constituted the county of a city1 with a ,lord-,lieutenant of its own1 who is the ,lord-,provost ex officio4 ,it has its own ,parish ,council as well as its own ,school ,board4 ,aberdeenshire is represented in ,parliament by four members--two for the county1 east and west1 and two for the city1 north and south4 ,some of the smaller burghs1 ,kintore1 ,inverurie and ,peterhead1 are grouped with similar burghs in ,banff and ,moray 7,banff1 ,elgin1 ,cullen7 to form a constituency called the ,elgin ,burghs1 which returns one member4 ,in addition1 the ,university of ,aberdeen shares a member with the ,university of ,glasgow4 ,there is still a certain amount of overlapping and confusion in the administrative divisions4 ,for example1 ,torry1 which is on the ,kincardineshire side of the ,dee1 is really a suburb of ,aberdeen1 and as such elects members to the ,town ,council1 the ,parish ,council1 and the ,school ,board1 but it has no share in electing a member of ,parliament for ,aberdeen1 being in that regard part of ,kincardineshire1 and voting for a representative of that county4 ,there are other similar anomalies4 #bd4 ,the ,roll of ,honour4 ,it is an accepted fact that ,aberdonians have intellectual characteristics somewhat different from those of their fellow-countrymen1 the result partly of race1 partly and chiefly1 we believe1 of environment4 ,we have already alluded to the amalgamation of nationalities that went to form the people of this north-eastern corner of the kingdom4 ,doubtless the ,spartan upbringing that was the rule in the county served to develop sturdy character and good physique4 ,the result is that the ,aberdonian has distinguished himself in all parts of the ,empire and even beyond it4 ,not that he has often risen to the front rank of greatness1 but he is frequently found well forward among the best of the second-class4 ,their own county presenting no tempting openings for ability1 ,aberdonians have migrated from the narrow home-sphere in great numbers and have made their mark as administrators1 medical officers1 and even as soldiers of fortune4 ,in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the cadets of the great houses1 exiled by the pressure of the times1 joined the service of continental kings and rose to high rank in the armies of ,sweden1 ,france1 and ,russia4 ,chief amongst these was ,james ,keith1 younger brother of the last ,earl ,marischal1 and born at ,inverugie ,castle4 ,after serving for nineteen years in ,russia1 he joined the service of ,frederick the ,great1 under whom he attained to the highest military rank as ,field-,marshal1 contributing to victories gained during the ,seven ,years' ,war and conducting the retreat from ,olmtz4 ,at the battle of ,hochkirchen1 when charging the enemy1 he fell mortally wounded in #ageh4 ,peterhead keeps his memory green by a statue presented to it by the ,emperor ,william ,i4 ,it is a replica in bronze of a similar effigy in ,berlin4 ,field-,marshal ,keith is probably the native of ,aberdeenshire who has figured most largely in history4 ,he was ,frederick's right hand1 and his military genius has been fittingly acknowledged by ,carlyle in his great work4 ,another of the same type1 though less eminent1 was ,patrick ,gordon of ,auchleuchries1 who fought both on the ,swedish and on the ,polish side1 but ultimately transferred his sword to ,russia1 where he rose to the highest rank1 and on his death-bed was watched over and wept over by ,peter the ,great4 ,he was born in #afce at ,auchleuchries near ,ellon and died in #afii4 ,he was a perfect example of the successful military adventurer1 one of the type so skilfully depicted by ,walter ,scott in ,dugald ,dalgetty4 ,the county has been a prolific recruiting ground for the ,army4 ,after the '#de ,chatham's device for breaking down the clan system and diverting the energies of the ,highlanders into healthier channels by enlisting them in ,british regiments was an inspiration of genius4 ,in #agid the ,duke of ,gordon raised during a few weeks a regiment of ,gordon ,highlanders1 which first distinguished itself with ,sir ,ralph ,abercromby in ,egypt1 and did noble service also in the ,peninsula and at ,waterloo4 ,in the work of empire-making in ,india and elsewhere1 the ,aberdonian has borne a notable part4 ,he has shown ability to exercise a singular mastery over inferior races4 ,conspicuous in this respect was ,sir ,harry ,b4 ,lumsden1 who formed the ,corps of ,guides out of the most daring free-booters of the ,north-,west frontier of ,india4 ,in statesmanship the county has been surpassed by other districts1 and yet it has the distinction of having produced one ,prime ,minister--the fourth ,earl of ,aberdeen 7#aghd-ahfj71 who was responsible for the ,crimean ,war1 and whom ,byron styled 8the travelled ,thane1 ,athenian ,aberdeen40 ,the ecclesiasts of distinction are too numerous to mention4 ,foremost amongst them was ,bishop ,elphinstone1 who1 though not a native of the county1 identified himself with its interests when he became ,bishop 7#adhc71 founded the ,university1 ,king's ,college1 the light of the ,north 7#adid71 and the church of ,st ,machar 7the ,cathedral in ,old ,aberdeen7 and was a pioneer in all that makes for educational enlightenment4 ,he was instrumental in introducing the art of printing into ,scotland4 ,his tomb is very appropriately in ,king's ,college1 the centre from which radiated the beneficent influence of his life4 ,henry ,scougal 7#afej-afgh71 scholar and saint1 son of ,bishop ,scougal and the inspirer of ,john ,wesley1 was a student of ,king's ,college4 ,he had not been long ordained in his charge at ,auchterless before he was appointed to the ,chair of ,divinity in ,king's ,college4 ,he died at #bh2 but his ,life of ,god in the ,soul of ,man is still greatly prized by lovers of devotional literature4 ,dean ,ramsay1 whose ,reminiscences of ,scottish ,life and ,character 7#aheh7 is a classic in humorous literature and one not likely soon to be forgotten1 was born in ,aberdeen4 ,in medical science the roll of eminent names is long and impressive1 from ,bannerman1 who was physician to ,david ,,ii1 down to ,arthur ,johnston1 who after an academic career abroad1 cultivated the muses at ,aberdeen1 gaining fame as a writer of ,latin verse4 ,he was for some time physician to ,charles ,i4 ,born at ,caskieben in #aehg1 he was rector of ,king's ,college in #afcg1 and died in #afda4 ,dr ,john ,arbuthnot1 though a native of ,kincardineshire1 was a student at ,marischal ,college2 as the friend of ,pope and ,swift1 and the wit and physician at the ,court of ,queen ,anne1 he is likely to be remembered4 ,another celebrated physician was ,dr ,john ,abercrombie1 who1 born in ,aberdeen1 went to ,edinburgh1 and became head of the profession and first physician to the king in #ahbd4 ,others no less noted were ,sir ,james ,clark2 ,sir ,andrew ,clark2 ,neil ,arnott1 a contemporary with ,byron at the ,grammar ,school1 and more famous as natural philosopher than as physician1 devising skilful inventions in healing and ventilation2 ,sir ,james ,macgrigor1 to whose memory a lofty obelisk in polished red granite was erected in ,marischal ,college quadrangle4 ,after standing there for years it was recently removed to the ,duthie ,park4 ,macgrigor was a pioneer in the humanitarian treatment of the sick and wounded in war1 and was chief of the ,medical ,staff in the ,peninsular campaigns4 ,in natural science ,william ,macgillivray is known by his careful and authoritative work on the ,history of ,british ,birds4 ,james ,clerk ,maxwell1 who did so much for the advancement of modern ,physics1 was for a few years professor of ,natural ,philosophy in ,marischal ,college4 ,dr ,alexander ,forsyth1 minister of ,belhelvie1 invented the percussion lock1 and ,patrick ,ferguson1 a native of ,pitfour1 invented the breech-loading rifle4 ,the county is remarkable for families with pronounced hereditary intellectual gifts4 ,the most noted case is that of the ,gregories1 who sprang from ,john ,gregory1 minister of ,drumoak4 ,it has produced fourteen ,professors in ,british universities1 skilled in ,mathematics1 ,astronomy1 ,chemistry and ,medicine4 ,one of them was the inventor of the reflecting telescope4 ,the ,reids1 the ,fordyces1 the ,johnstons are other cases less remarkable1 but still exceptional4 ,philosophy is a sphere in which the ,aberdonian has left his mark4 ,the greatest local name in this regard is that of ,thomas ,reid1 who created the ,scottish school in opposition to ,david ,hume1 and whose ,inquiry into the ,human ,mind on the principles of ,common ,sense was written while he was a ,professor at ,king's ,college4 ,born at ,strachan on the south side of the ,dee1 he was for a time parish minister of ,new ,machar4 ,later he migrated in #agfc to ,glasgow1 as successor to ,adam ,smith4 ,his ,intellectual and ,active ,powers was written after his retirement in #aghj4 ,other philosophical writers worthy of mention are1 ,dr ,george ,campbell1 who1 besides his dissertation on ,miracles1 wrote a ,philosophy of ,rhetoric2 ,dr ,james ,beattie1 whose ,minstrel is still read and whose ,essay on ,truth had a great contemporary reputation2 ,dr ,alexander ,bain1 an analytical psychologist1 whose books ,the ,senses and the ,intellect and ,the ,emotions and the ,will contain the most complete analytical exposition of the mind4 ,bain was the first ,professor of ,logic at ,aberdeen1 and in conjunction with his pupil ,croom ,robertson started the philosophical ,review called ,mind4 ,illustration3 ,professor ,thomas ,reid1 ,d4,d4 ,the sphere of imaginative literature is not the ,aberdonian's sphere4 ,criticism1 ,philosophy1 ,history1 ,science are more in his way1 and yet a few names can be given as of some note in pure literature4 ,foremost in time and unrivalled in his own department is ,barbour1 ,archdeacon of ,aberdeen 7#aceg74 ,he studied at ,oxford1 and was contemporary with ,wycliffe and ,chaucer4 ,his great work is ,the ,brus1 the most national of all ,scottish poems4 ,it is instinct with the spirit of freedom1 of chivalry and romance1 and details the struggles1 the perils1 and the marvellous escapes of his hero ,robert the ,bruce1 with great simplicity1 vividness1 and directness4 ,alongside of him we may place ,john ,skinner1 author of ,tullochgorum1 ,the ,ewie wi' the ,crookit ,horn1 and other well-known songs4 ,a native of ,birse and for long episcopal minister at ,longside1 he was the father of ,bishop ,skinner4 ,his fame rests on ,tullochgorum1 which ,burns pronounced to be the best of ,scotch songs4 ,dr ,w4 ,c4 ,smith1 the author of ,olrig ,grange and ,borland ,hall1 was born and educated in ,aberdeen4 ,dr ,george ,macdonald1 poet1 novelist1 and critic1 author of ,alec ,forbes and other novels embodying local colour and illustrating ,aberdeenshire life and dialect in the early part of last century1 was a native of ,huntly4 ,the best known poet connected with ,aberdeen is ,byron1 who spent some years of his boyhood in the city and short periods of the summer on ,deeside4 ,these visits to ,ballater are reflected in his poem on ,loch-na-gar and elsewhere in his work4 ,he left ,aberdeen at the age of #aj in #agih and never saw it again4 ,history is a subject that has appealed to ,aberdonians4 ,dr ,david ,masson's monumental work on ,milton must be mentioned4 ,other historians are ,joseph ,robertson1 ,john ,stuart1 ,john ,hill ,burton1 ,bishop ,burnet1 who wrote the ,history of his ,own ,time1 ,sir ,john ,skene1 and ,robert ,gordon of ,straloch1 antiquarian and map-maker1 as well as his son ,james1 minister of ,rothiemay and historian of the early years of the ,troubles4 ,the first ,principal of the ,university1 ,hector ,boece1 wrote histories somewhat credulous and imaginative but quite authoritative where his own times are concerned4 ,of painters connected with the district may be mentioned ,jamesone1 ,dyce1 and ,phillip called 8of ,spain0 from his success with ,spanish subjects4 ,architecture claims ,gibbs1 whose ,radcliffe ,library at ,oxford1 and ,london churches such as ,st ,martin's-in-the-,fields1 still stand a testimony to his art2 the ,smiths and ,archibald ,simpson have already been mentioned4 ,sculpture owns the two ,brodies and ,sir ,john ,steell4 ,scholars like ,wedderburn and ,ruddiman1 ,cruden of ,concordance reputation1 ,dr ,james ,legge1 the ,orientalist1 and ,professor ,robertson ,smith1 born in the ,donside parish of ,keig1 editor of the ,encyclopaedia ,britannica1 ,professor of ,arabic at ,cambridge1 and one of the most learned pundits of his time--are but a few representatives of a long list4 ,the thirst for education and the well-taught parish schools of the county contributed to bring about such results4 ,the doors of the ,university have for centuries been opened by bursaries to the poorest boys1 and in this way many who were endowed with capacity above ordinary entered the learned professions and rose to eminence4 #be4 ,,the ,,chief ,,towns ,,and ,,villages ,,of ,,aberdeenshire4 7,the figures in brackets after each name give the population in #aiaa1 and those at the end of each section are references to pages in the text47 ,aberdeen 7#afa1ieb74 ,from being entirely built of granite1 ,aberdeen is best known as 8,the ,granite ,city40 ,the light grey stone gives the town a clean look which strikes visitors from cities built of brick or of sandstone4 ,its many handsome public buildings1 banks1 offices1 churches and schools1 all solid and substantial1 and of great architectural interest1 are undoubtedly finer than those of any other town of the same size in the kingdom4 ,the first historical reference to it is in the twelfth century2 later a charter was obtained from ,king ,william the ,lion1 granting the city certain trading privileges4 ,long before ,edinburgh and ,glasgow had begun to show signs of rising to greatness1 ,aberdeen was a port of extensive trade1 but its growth was slow until the dawn of the nineteenth century4 ,in #ahja1 its population was only #bg1fjh2 in #ahca this figure had doubled1 and in recent years1 owing chiefly to the phenomenal growth of the fishing industry1 its progress has been rapid4 ,aberdeen has long been a great educational centre4 ,its ,grammar ,school claims to have existed in the thirteenth century4 ,its first ,university1 ,king's ,college in ,old ,aberdeen1 was founded in #adid by ,bishop ,elphinstone1 and its second1 ,marischal ,college in ,new ,aberdeen1 by ,earl ,marischal in #aeic4 ,these were united in #ahfj as the ,university of ,aberdeen4 ,since that time the buildings of both ,colleges have been largely added to1 and the number of professorships greatly increased4 ,its students in the different faculties1 ,arts1 ,medicine1 ,science1 ,law and ,divinity are little short of #ajjj4 ,illustration3 ,the ,old ,grammar ,school1 ,schoolhill ,being the only really large town in the county1 and for that matter in the whole north of ,scotland1 it tends to grow in importance1 and its business connections are ever extending4 ,it is the focus of the trawling industry1 and of the granite trade2 while the agricultural interests of the county look to ,aberdeen as their chief mart and distributing medium4 ,its secondary schools1 its technical college1 its agricultural college1 its ,university1 all help to swell its population by bringing strangers to reside within its boundaries4 ,in itself it is clean1 healthy and attractively built1 while its fairly equable climate1 its relatively low rain-fall 7#bi inches7 and its equally low death-rate 7#adb per #ajjj7 conduce to its popularity as a residential town4 ,being the northern terminus of the ,caledonian ,railway1 and having excellent service to ,london by the ,west ,coast1 the ,midland1 and the ,east ,coast routes1 it obtains a large share of the tourist traffic2 and the sportsmen who fish in the ,aberdeenshire rivers or shoot grouse in the ,aberdeenshire moors must all do more or less homage to the county town4 ,the chief street of the city is ,union ,street created a century ago at a cost which was considered reckless at the time but which has been more than justified by the results4 ,this first improvement scheme1 which has been followed up by others in recent times1 was the work of men with a wide outlook4 ,prominent among the ,provosts of enlightenment was ,sir ,alexander ,anderson1 whose name is now at the eleventh hour stamped in memory by the ,anderson ,drive--a fashionable west-end thoroughfare4 ,union ,street is the backbone from which all the other thoroughfares radiate4 ,it is broad and handsome and the buildings that face each other across it are as a rule worthy of the street4 ,union ,bridge1 one of ,fletcher's graceful structures1 with a span of #acj feet1 makes a pleasing break in the line of buildings and permits a view north and south along the ,denburn valley4 ,the northern view1 which shows ,union ,terrace and ,union ,terrace ,gardens with handsome public buildings1 both in the foreground and in the background1 is undoubtedly one of the finest in the city4 ,the ,duthie ,park on the north bank of the ,dee1 the links that fringe the northern coast1 the picturesquely wooded amenities of ,donside1 above and below ,balgownie ,bridge1 the quaint other world air of ,old ,aberdeen with its lofty trees1 its grand cathedral and the ancient crown of ,king's ,college1 these are all elevating and meliorating influences that help to keep in check the commercial spirit that rules about the harbour-quays and the fish-market4 ,aberdeen can boast of four daily newspapers besides several weeklies4 ,it claims the honour of having the oldest newspaper in ,scotland--,the ,aberdeen ,journal--established in #agdh4 7pp4 #c1 #h1 #aa1 #ac1 #bj1 #bd1 #cg1 #ch1 #ci1 #ff1 #fh1 #ge1 #hj1 #hc1 #he1 #hi1 #ia1 #ib1 #id1 #ie1 #aja1 #ajb1 #ajg1 #ajh1 #aji1 #aaa1 #abf1 #ade1 #afb1 #afd1 #afe1 #afi1 #agb1 #agc47 ,aberdour 7#edi7 is a small village on the coast half-way between ,troup ,head and ,rosehearty4 ,sometimes called ,new ,aberdour to distinguish it from the parish1 the village came into existence in #agif4 ,the parish is very ancient4 ,its church1 now in ruins1 was dedicated to ,st ,drostan1 the disciple and companion of ,st ,columba4 ,aberdour is the birth-place of ,dr ,andrew ,findlater1 once ,head-master of ,gordon's ,hospital 7now ,college71 ,aberdeen1 and first editor of ,chambers's ,encyclopaedia4 7pp4 #ci1 #fb1 #aje1 #aai1 #afd47 ,aboyne 7#aebe71 properly called ,charlestown of ,aboyne in compliment to the first ,earl of ,aboyne1 is a picturesquely situated village on ,deeside with a high reputation for its bracing climate4 ,near it is ,aboyne ,castle--for centuries the family seat of the ,marquis of ,huntly4 ,in the vicinity are ,lochs ,kinnord and ,davan4 ,at ,dinnet are beds of kieselguhr4 7pp4 #b1 #h1 #bd1 #ca1 #hh1 #aag1 #aai1 #afb47 ,alford 7pa4 #adfd71 on ,donside1 is the terminus of the branch railway from ,kintore and the centre of a rich agricultural district called the ,vale of ,alford4 ,in the neighbourhood are several interesting castles--,terpersie1 ,kildrummy and ,craigievar4 ,from ,alford the main ,donside road leads up the valley to ,strathdon and ,corgarff1 from which there are passes both to ,deeside and to ,speyside4 7pp4 #bg1 #ga1 #aac1 #aae1 #acd1 #afj1 #afb47 ,ballater 7#abdj71 a small town beautifully situated on the north side of the river ,dee1 in a level space enclosed by high mountains1 is #ffj feet above sea-level4 ,from ,ballater coaches drive daily to ,braemar1 passing ,balmoral ,castle half-way4 7pp4 #b1 #h1 #ah1 #bd1 #bg1 #cc1 #aed1 #afb1 #afd1 #agf47 ,illustration3 ,birsemore ,loch and ,craigendinnie1 ,aboyne ,illustration3 ,mar ,castle ,braemar 7#ejb71 properly ,castleton of ,braemar1 is the highest village in the county1 being #aajj feet above sea-level4 ,it stands at the junction of the ,clunie and the ,dee1 and is finely sheltered in a hollow amongst the surrounding mountains4 ,braemar is a fashionable health resort4 ,some #aj1jjj strangers visit it annually4 ,at the beginning of the nineteenth century it was not much more than a ,highland clachan4 ,now it has ,illustration3 ,ballater1 view from ,pannanich spacious hotels with electric light and all modern conveniences on a luxurious scale4 ,six miles distant is the famous ,linn of ,dee4 ,the ,duke of ,fife's ,highland residence1 ,mar ,lodge1 as well as ,mar ,castle and ,invercauld ,house1 the home of the ,farquharsons1 are all in the vicinity4 ,from ,braemar the ascent of ,ben-,macdhui is usually made1 and sometimes also ,loch-na-gar4 ,a road leads from ,braemar up the valley of the ,clunie and over the ,cairnwell to ,blairgowrie4 7pp4 #h1 #ba1 #bb1 #cc1 #ff1 #fh1 #ge1 #aab1 #afa1 #afb47 ,byth 7#cfj71 usually ,new ,byth1 is a village three miles from ,cuminestown1 and founded in #agfd4 ,it is a bare and treeless district4 ,near it are the hills of ,fishrie with a large number of crofts given off by the ,earl of ,fife in #ahcj to poor people evicted from other estates at a time when the fashion began of amalgamating small holdings in larger farms4 7pp4 #ia1 #abd1 #afc47 ,collieston is a fishing village circling round a romantic bay near the parish church of ,slains4 ,here in #aehh one of the ships of the ,spanish ,armada 7,santa ,catherina7 was wrecked4 ,the fishermen still call the creek ,st ,catherine's ,dub4 ,several small cannon have been recovered from the pool4 ,eighty years ago1 ,collieston enjoyed a certain notoriety for smuggling1 and the graveyard of ,slains close by contains evidence of the deeds of violence that the contraband trade brought about4 7pp4 #ch1 #dh1 #ed47 ,culter1 eight miles west of ,aberdeen1 celebrated for its paper-mills1 which date back to #agej4 ,this paper-mill1 the first of its kind in the north1 manufactured superfine paper and in particular the bank-notes of the ,aberdeen ,bank4 7p4 #hi47 ,cuminestown 7#dff71 a village on the north side of the ,waggle ,hill in ,monquhitter1 was established by ,joseph ,cumine of ,auchry in #agfc4 ,joseph ,cumine was a pioneer in agricultural improvement4 ,he planted trees and started the manufacture of linen4 ,about a mile distant is the smaller village of ,garmond4 ,the villages were once much more populous in the days when the spinning of flax and the knitting of stockings were rural industries4 7p4 #dj47 ,illustration3 ,braemar from ,craig ,coynach ,ellon 7#acjg71 a thriving town on the ,ythan1 is the junction for the ,cruden and ,boddam ,railway4 ,it has a shoe factory and large auction marts for the sale of cattle4 ,the ,episcopal ,church--,st ,mary's on the ,rock--was designed by ,george ,edmund ,street and is a handsome building in ,early ,english style4 ,a prominent divine in the pre-,disruption controversies1 ,dr ,james ,robertson1 was parish minister of ,ellon from #ahcb to #ahdc4 ,later he became a professor in ,edinburgh ,university4 ,ellon is a place of great antiquity4 ,it was the seat of jurisdiction of the ,earldom of ,buchan1 and there the earls held their ,head ,court4 7pp4 #bi1 #da1 #afc1 #afd1 #aga47 ,fraserburgh 7#aj1egj7 is the third largest town in the county4 ,it is a busy1 thriving place1 being the great centre of the herring fishing industry in ,scotland4 ,it was founded by ,sir ,alexander ,fraser1 one of the ,frasers of ,philorth 7now represented by ,lord ,saltoun74 ,the ,frasers are said to have come into ,england with the ,normans4 ,a royal charter was granted in #aedf erecting 8,faithlie0 as it was then called into a free burgh of barony with all the privileges4 ,sir ,alexander ,fraser was a great favourite with ,james ,,vi and was knighted at the baptism of ,prince ,henry1 #aeid3 he was a man of enterprise2 he built the town and the harbour and erected public buildings4 ,he received from ,king ,james the privilege of founding a ,university in ,fraserburgh1 and a building was set apart for this institution4 ,not only so but a ,principal was appointed in #afjj4 ,the ,college may have been active for a few years1 but very little is known of its history4 ,during the plague which raged for two years at ,aberdeen1 the students of ,king's ,college went for safety to ,fraserburgh in #afdg and1 it is supposed1 occupied the old ,college buildings4 ,a street in the town is still called 8,college ,bounds40 7pp4 #h1 #ch1 #ei1 #fa1 #gf1 #id1 #ie1 #aja1 #ajb1 #afc1 #afd1 #afi47 ,illustration3 ,the ,doorway1 ,huntly ,castle ,illustration3 ,the ,bass1 ,inverurie ,huntly 7#dbbi71 the largest inland town of the county1 is situated at the confluence of the ,deveron and the ,bogie4 ,it is the centre of an extensive agricultural district--,strathbogie--and has woollen and other manufactures4 ,in the vicinity are the ruins of ,huntly ,castle1 the property of the ,duke of ,richmond and ,gordon4 ,the first ,lords of ,strathbogie1 being opposed to ,bruce's claims of kingship1 were disinherited and their lands bestowed on ,sir ,adam ,gordon1 whose descendants became ,earls of ,huntly1 ,marquises of ,huntly and ,dukes of ,gordon4 ,the old castle of ,strathbogie was destroyed after the battle of ,glenlivet in #aeid1 but rebuilt as ,huntly ,castle in #afjb4 ,huntly is the birth-place of ,dr ,george ,macdonald1 poet and novelist4 7pp4 #bi1 #ca1 #ia1 #afj1 #afb1 #afd1 #agf47 ,insch 7#faf71 a village on the ,great ,north ,railway1 with ,benachie on one side1 and the ,culsalmond and ,foudland ,hills on the other4 ,the vitrified fort of ,dunnideer is in the vicinity4 7pp4 #aai1 #afd47 ,inverurie 7#djfi71 a royal burgh at the confluence of the ,ury and the ,don4 ,the workshops of the ,great ,north of ,scotland ,railway were removed from ,kittybrewster to ,inverurie some years ago1 thereby increasing the population of the burgh4 ,it is one of the ,elgin parliamentary burghs4 ,the ,bass of ,inverurie is a conical mound1 long considered artificial1 but now ascertained to be a natural formation due to the action of the two rivers4 ,inverurie has paper manufactures4 ,in the neighbourhood is ,keith ,hall1 the seat of the ,earl of ,kintore4 7pp4 #bg1 #ga1 #hj1 #ajh1 #aji1 #aac1 #acb1 #acg1 #afj1 #afb1 #afd1 #afe1 #afi47 ,kemnay 7#idh71 about five miles up ,donside from ,kintore1 is well known for its extensive granite quarries1 which sent stones to build the ,forth ,bridge and the ,thames ,embankment4 ,near it is ,castle ,fraser1 one of the finest inhabited castles of the county4 ,fetternear1 once the county seat of the bishops of ,aberdeen1 is on the opposite side of the river4 7p4 #hc47 ,kintore 7#hah7 is a royal burgh of great antiquity4 ,a mile to the west are the ruins of ,hallforest1 destroyed in #afci4 ,kintore has1 in its vicinity1 several 8,druidical0 circles and sculptured stones4 7pp4 #bg1 #di1 #ajh1 #acf1 #afj1 #afb1 #afd1 #afi47 ,longside 7#cib7 dates from #ahja4 ,a woollen factory brought for a time prosperity to the village1 but this has been given up and the population dwindles4 ,rev4 ,john ,skinner1 the author of ,tullochgorum1 was for over sixty years minister of the ,episcopal ,church at ,linshart1 close to the village of ,longside4 ,here also was born ,jamie ,fleeman1 8the laird of ,udny's fool10 a half-witted person whose blunt outspoken manner and shrewd remarks are still widely remembered4 7pp4 #afc1 #agf47 ,maud is the point where the ,buchan railway bifurcates for ,peterhead and ,fraserburgh4 ,maud is a centre for auction sales of cattle4 7p4 #afd47 ,mintlaw 7#cgg7 was founded about the same period as ,longside and the fortunes of both villages1 which are three miles apart1 have been similar4 7p4 #afc47 ,newburgh 7#ecg71 on the estuary of the ,ythan1 was at one time notorious like ,collieston for smuggling4 ,ships of small burden still come up to its wharf at full tide and sometimes proceed as far as ,waterton4 ,the bed of the estuary of the ,ythan is covered with mussels1 much used in the past as bait by the local fishermen1 as well as for export to other fishing stations4 ,the revenue from this source has greatly fallen off in recent years--line-fishing having suffered from the rise of trawling4 7p4 #dh47 ,new ,deer 7#fge7 is a village established about #ahje4 ,brucklay ,castle1 the seat of the ,dingwall-,fordyce family1 recently converted into a mansion of the old ,scottish castellated style1 and surrounded with tasteful grounds1 is now one of the most charming edifices in the district4 ,a mile to the west is the ruined castle of ,fedderat4 7p4 #ach47 ,new ,pitsligo 7pa4 #bbbf7 is a village in the neighbourhood of the sources of the ,ugie1 and extending for a mile in two parallel streets along the eastern slope of the hill of ,turlundie4 ,it stands #ejj feet above sea-level4 ,the village takes its name from ,sir ,william ,forbes of ,pitsligo1 who founded it in #aghg4 ,here a linen trade was at one time carried on2 this gave place to hand-loom weaving and ultimately to lace-making4 ,the ,episcopal ,church was designed by ,g4 ,edmund ,street1 and it is said to be one of the best examples of his work in ,scotland4 ,the manufacture of moss-litter from the peat in the neighbourhood was recently started4 7pp4 #ia1 #afc47 ,old ,deer 7#agi7 is prettily situated on the ,south ,ugie4 ,the district has memories of ,st ,columba and ,st ,drostan4 ,in the neighbourhood are the ruins of a ,cistercian ,abbey1 and 8,druidical0 circles4 7pp4 #b1 #aje1 #aac1 #aae1 #aag1 #abc47 ,old ,meldrum 7#aaaj7 was erected by charter into a burgh of barony in #afgb4 ,it is well known for its turnip-seed4 ,it used to employ many persons in handloom weaving and in the knitting of stockings4 ,both industries have fallen to decay1 and the population tends to dwindle4 ,there is a long-established distillery in the town4 7pp4 #ajh1 #aab1 #afc1 #afd47 ,peterhead 7#ac1efj71 the most easterly town in ,scotland1 is built of red granite4 ,a century ago it was a fashionable watering-place1 and used to be a whaling station4 ,now its chief industry is the herring fishing4 ,south of the town a harbour of refuge is being constructed by convict labour1 from the convict prison close by4 ,the harbour of refuge will cost1 it is said1 a million of money and its construction will occupy #be to #cj years4 ,a linen factory once existed here1 as also a woollen factory1 which exported cloth to the value of #ab1jjj a year4 ,both became extinct1 but the woollen industry was revived and still prospers4 ,another prominent industry is granite polishing4 ,at ,inverugie ,castle was born ,field-,marshal ,james ,keith1 whose statue stands in front of the ,town-,house4 ,the 8,pretender0 landed at ,peterhead on ,christmas ,day1 #agae4 ,peterhead was erected into a burgh of barony in #aeic by ,earl ,marischal1 the founder of ,marischal ,college1 ,aberdeen4 ,it continued to be part of the ,earl's estates till the rebellion of #agae1 when the lands were confiscated4 ,the ,peterhead portion is now the property of the ,merchant ,maiden ,hospital of ,edinburgh4 7pp4 #h1 #bi1 #ch1 #ci1 #da1 #eg1 #ff1 #fh1 #gf1 #hc1 #id1 #ie1 #aja1 #ajb1 #aaa1 #afc1 #afd1 #afi1 #aga47 ,rosehearty 7#acjh7 is a misspelt ,gaelic name of which ,ros1 a promontory1 and ard1 a height1 are undoubted elements4 ,the little town stands on the shore a mile north of ,pitsligo#a4 ,there is a tradition that in the fourteenth century a party of ,danes landed and took up residence here1 instructing the inhabitants1 who were mostly crofters1 in the art of fishing4 7pp4 #fb1 #afb47 ,illustration3 ,the ,white ,horse on ,mormond ,hill ,footnote #a3 ,alexander ,forbes1 fourth and last ,lord ,pitsligo 7#afgh-agfb7 was a warm supporter of the exiled ,stuarts and took part in both rebellions4 ,after ,culloden1 he remained in hiding1 his chief place of concealment being a cave in the rocks west of ,rosehearty4 ,m4 ,a4 ,strichen 7#ajid7 was formerly called ,mormond1 from the hill at the base of which the village stands4 ,this hill owing to the comparatively level character of the surrounding country is a conspicuous feature in the landscape for miles4 ,on the south-western side1 the figure of a horse is cut out in the turf1 the space being filled up with white stones4 ,this 8,white ,horse0 occupies half an acre of ground and is visible at a great distance4 ,on the south side of the hill an antlered stag on a larger scale is figured in the same manner4 ,this was done so late as #ahgj4 7pp4 #aa1 #af1 #ch1 #ia1 #aeh47 ,torphins 7#dee71 a rising village on ,deeside1 much resorted to by ,aberdonians in the summer months4 7p4 #ajf47 ,turriff 7#bcdf7 is situated on a table-land on the north of the burn of ,turriff near its junction with the ,deveron4 ,turriff is midway between ,aberdeen and ,elgin2 hence the couplet-- ,choose ye1 choise ye1 at the ,cross o' ,turra ,either gang to ,aberdeen or ,elgin o' ,moray4 ,turriff is very ancient1 being mentioned in the ,book of ,deer1 under the name of ,turbruad1 as the seat of a ,celtic monastery dedicated to ,st ,congan1 a follower of ,st ,columba4 ,the double belfry of the old church 7date #afce7 is really a piece of castellated architecture applied to an ecclesiastical edifice4 ,the churchyard gateway is also ,early ,scottish ,renaissance4 7pp4 #aa1 #ca1 #dj1 #aaj1 #aab1 #aai1 #afc1 #afd47 ,illustration3 ,scotland #aifci1cgg acres ,aberdeenshire #a1bfa1iga acres ,fig4 #a4 ,area of ,aberdeenshire compared with that of ,scotland ,illustration3 ,scotland #d1dgb1jdc ,aberdeenshire #cjd1dci ,fig4 #b4 ,population of ,aberdeenshire compared with that of ,scotland ,illustration3 ,scotland1 #aej ,aberdeenshire1 #aed ,lanarkshire1 #aebd ,fig4 #c4 ,comparative density of ,population to square mile ,illustration3 ,fig4 #d4 ,proportion of cultivated and uncultivated areas in ,aberdeenshire--practically #ej ,illustration3 ,fig4 #e4 ,proportionate area of ,crops in ,aberdeenshire 7#aiji7 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #f4 ,proportionate area of ,crops1 ,pasture and ,woodlands in ,aberdeenshire 7#aiji7 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #g4 ,proportionate numbers of live-stock in ,aberdeenshire 7#aiji7 ,illustration3 ,scotland #g1dbc1ahe cwts ,aberdeeshire #c1efc1bed cwts ,fig4 #h4 ,quantity of ,fish 7all kinds7 landed in ,aberdeenshire as compared with that of ,scotland 7#aiji71 almost #ej ,illustration3 ,scotland #d1ejj1jjj cwts ,aberdeenshire #a1ffa1gfh cwts ,fig4 #i4 ,quantity of ,herrings landed in ,aberdeenshire as compared with that of ,scotland 7#aiji7 ,cambridge3 ,,printed ,,by ,,john ,,clay1 ,m4,a4 ,,at ,,the ,,university ,,press ,illustration3 ,the ,cambridge ,university ,press ,illustration3 ,,geological ,,map ,,of ,,county ,,of ,,aberdeen ,copyright4 ,george ,philip ,son ,ltd4 ,transcriber's ,notes ,page #fb--;changed ,pitullie to ,pittullie ,page #aai--;changed possesssed to possessed ,page #adh--;changed ,sreet to ,street ,page #afd--;changed ,kenmay to ,kemnay ,page #afd--;changed ,formartin to ,formartine ,page #ahi--;changed ,glenlivat to ,glenlivet