MONTROSE', a royal and parliamentary burgh and seaport on the n.e. coast of Scot land, in the county of Forfar, and situated at the mouth of the river South Esk, about 80 n.e. of Edinburgh, and 40 m. s. of Aberdeen. It stands on a level peninsula between the basin of the Esk (an expanse 7 in. in circumference, and dry at low water) and the mouth of the river. A fine suspension-bridge, 432 ft. long and 26 ft. broad—erected iu 1828-29 at a cost of nearly £20,000—connects the town with Rossie island, which is again connected with the mainland by a small draw-bridge. The royal lunatic asylum, opened in 1S68 at a cost of upwards of £30,000, accommodates about 400 patients. Between the town and the shore are the " links " or downs, among the finest in Scotland for golfing or cricketing. The harbor affords excellent accommodation to vessels of large tonnage, there being 18 ft. of water on the bar at low-water of spring-tides, and is one of the best on the e. coast. Two lighthouses stand in a line on the n. bank of the river, about 400 yards apart; while a magnificent tower, named the Scnrdyness light house, erected by the board of trade in 1870 at a cost of nearly S'.2,700—exhibiting a clear
white light, visible at nearly 20 m. distance—stands at the month of the river. Flax spinniag is the chief manufacture in the town, there being 4 factories of about 500 horse power in the aggregate, employing upwards of 2.000 hands, at a weekly cost of about A:1500. There is also a large saw-mill, giving employment to nearly 300 men and boys. Ship and boat building, formerly a staple trade of the town, has greatly fallen off. Edu cation is well represented in the town—the chief institution being the academy. In 1875, 1751 vessels, of 108,773 tons, entered and cleared the port. Imports—coal, lime, slate, irou, flax, and manures; exports—manufactured goods, salmon, herring, dressed wood, and agricultural produce. In 1875, the total value of trade was £404,453. Pop. '71, 15,720. Montrose unites with Arbroath, Brechin, Forfar, and Bervie to send a member to parliament.