FIFESHIRE, a maritime, almost peninsular co. of the e. of Scotland, between the Firth of Forth on the s. and the Firth of Tay on the north. It is 44 m. in extreme length from u.e. to s.w., and 18 at its greatest breadth; area, 503 sq.m.; coast-line, 85 m., mostly rocky, and having many small ports. The surface is a succession of culti vated vales and It ills. The hills rise in the west Lomond, 1713 ft., and Largo Law, 1020. The chief rivers are the Tay, Forth, Eden (20 m. long), and Leven (12). F. rests on old red sandstone, with trap rocks in the u., and carboniferous strata, with trap, in the south. There are many coal and iron mines, and lime quarries. The climate is dry, healthy, and mild on the Forth; but the valleys in the n. are much exposed to the full sweep of the e. and n.e. gales. The soil is a rich loam, or wet clay on till. The Howe of Fife, on the Eden, is mostly sandy and gravelly, and not very productive. In 1876, the total acreage under all kinds of crops, bare fallow, and grass, was 245,636; under corn crops, 87,533; under green crops, 47,509; clover, sandfoin, and grasses under rota tion, 57,354. The total number of cattle reported the same year was 38,875; sheep,
69,159; pigs, 6,463; horses used for agriculture, etc., 10,222. F. has a greater number of proprietors, gentlemen's seats, and plantations, in proportion to its size, than any other Scotch county, and its coasts are thickly studded with towns and villages. The chief manufactures are linen, fioor-cloth, and malt liquors. F. contains 61 parishes. Pop. '71, 160,735. It returns one member to parliament. The chief towns are Cupar (the county town). Dunfermline, St. Andrews, Kirkcaldy, East and West Anstruther, Burntisland, Crail, and Dysart. The ancient "kingdom of Fife" was the most culti vated, as well as the most warlike, of Scotch counties. It contains striking monastic, feudal, and palatial ruins at St. Andrews, Dunfermline, Falkland, and Lindorcs; many Celtic and Roman remains. Many .of the events connected with the Scottish refonna• Lion took place in this county, especially at St. Andrews. azo