THE NORTHERN HIGHLANDS.—The whole of the country which lies north of the line connecting Stonehaven with the mouth of the Clyde may be divided into two parts : the highlands proper, and the coastal sill. The mountainous character of the first of these regions, the infertile soil into which its crystalline rocks weather down, the heavy rainfall to which it is exposed, and the comparatively low temperature to which its altitude subjects it, combine to render it one in which little cultivation is possible. In the more favoured localities, such as the sheltered valleys, oats and potatoes are the main crops, but the yield per acre is generally below the average. Even for pastoral purposes the land is not altogether suited, and the density of both cattle and sheep is, and has apparently always been, below the average for Great Britain. The counties of Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty, Inverness, and Argyll, may be taken as typical of the region. With 14 per cent. of the area of Great Britain, they have less than 2 per cent. of the arable land and permanent grass, 2 per cent. of its cattle, and 7 per cent. of its sheep. During the last thirty years the arable land has decreased from 288,000 acres to 270,000 acres, which is less than the average rate of decrease for the whole of Great Britain ; while permanent grass has increased from 126,000 acres to 183,000 acres, which is above the average rate of increase for the same area. On the other hand, cattle have decreased by 5 per cent.
and sheep by 17 per cent. during the same period—a result of the conversion of considerable areas of mountain grazing land into deer forests.
On the coastal sill, with its lower elevation, better soil, higher temperature in summer, and moderate rainfall, the conditions are much more favourable to agriculture. Oats are extensively grown, barley is cultivated in places, and large numbers of cattle are raised for the English market. Along the coast there are a number of towns which serve partly as centres for the agricultural districts, and partly as bases for the fleets which frequent the fishing grounds of the Moray Firth and the North Sea. Of these the most im portant is Aberdeen which is second to Grimsby alone among the trawling ports of the British Isles. It is also engaged in the export of granite.
The Highland region, as a whole, is obviously unsuitable for the development of manufacturing activity. There is no coal, and, although there is in the aggregate a considerable amount of water power at present running waste, there are few places where 1,000 horse-power could be continuously maintained throughout the year. Works for the extraction of aluminium by electrical processes have, however, been established within recent years at Foyers and Bal lachulish in Glenmore, the electricity being generated by a natural waterfall in the first case, and by an artificial one in the second. Scattered over the Highlands there are numerous distilleries, which are, to some extent, dependent for their raw material upon the oats grown in the vicinity, and owe at least part of their success to the flavour imparted to the whisky by the peat.