Argyllshire

Argyllshire, or ARGYLESHIRE, a county in the west of Scotland, cut up into many peninsulas by arms of the sea, and including numerous islands. Its greatest length is 115 miles; greatest breadth, 55; and its coast-line extends to about 2289 miles, owing to the indentation of the coast by numerous sea-lochs. Next to Inverness, it is the largest county in Scotland, its area being 3213 sq. m., of which 623 belong to the islands. No part is more than 12 miles from the sea or from large inland lochs. The chief islands are Mull, Islay, Jura, Tyree, Coll, Lismore, and Colonsay, with Iona and Staffa. The general aspect of Argyllshire is wild and picturesque, the northern part being everywhere mountainous, and presenting some of the grandest scenery in Scotland, as Glencoe. The highest peaks are Bidean nam Bian (3766 feet) and Ben Cruachan (3689). The chief sea-lochs are Lochs Moidart, Sunart, Linnhe (branching off into Lochs Leven and Eil), Fyne, and Long. The streams are short and rapid, the principal being the Orchy, running through Glenorchy into Loch Awe, and the Awe connecting that lake with Loch Etive. The fresh-water lochs are Loch Awe and Loch Lydoch, the latter on the Perthshire border. The rocks of Argyllshire are mica-slate, which predominates on the mainland; trap in Mull and Lorne; quartz rock in Islay and Jura; granite around Lochs Fyne and Etive; patches of lias and oolite in many of the isles; and a little old red sandstone west of Loch Fyne and in South Kintyre. Lead has been mined at Strontian (where the mineral Strontianite was discovered), at Tyndrum, and in Islay and Coll. A copper mine exists in Islay. The Easdale and Ballachulish quarries supply the best roofing-slates in Scotland. Coal occurs near Campbeltown; fine marble in Tyree, &c.; excellent granite near Inveraray; and limestone in most parts of the county. The fertile parts of Argyllshire lie along the arms of the sea and the streams. The soil is mostly a light, sandy, and gravelly loam along the coast and the sides of rivers, and gravelly, with a till bottom, on the hillsides. Whereas the total percentage of cultivated area in England is 79.3, and in all Scotland 23.5, in Argyllshire it is only 5.7. Sheep and cattle rearing is the chief occupation of the farmer, more sheep (in some years upwards of a million) being reared in Argyllshire than in any other Scotch county. Argyllshire abounds in deer and game. Loch Fyne is famed for its herrings. Loch Awe abounds in salmon and trout. In many parts of Argyllshire the peasantry are still very poor, notwithstanding that steamers now connect every portion of the coast with Glasgow, and that a railway to Oban was opened in 1880. The West Highland Railway (1894) from Glasgow to Fort William runs through parts of the east and north-east of the county. The kelp industry, introduced into Tyree in 1746, had become all but extinct in 1863. The manufactures are unimportant, the chief being whisky, in Campbeltown and Islay, and coarse woollens for home use. The principal towns and villages are Inveraray, Campbeltown, Oban, Dunoon, Lochgilphead, Tarbert, and Tobarbary. The first three unite with Ayr and Irvine in returning one member to parliament; the county returns another. Pop. (1831) 100,973; (1881) 76,440; (1891) 74,085—42,012 Gaelic-speaking. The decrease is chiefly due to emigration. The principal proprietors are the Duke of Argyll and the Earl of Breadalbane. Among the antiquities of Argyllshire are the ecclesiastical ruins of Iona and Oronsay, and the castles of Dunstaffnage, Dunolly, and Kilchurn. See Lord Archibald Campbell's Records of Argyll (Edin. 1886).