CAITHNESS, sometimes called the shire of Wick, is the most northern county of Scotland, and is bounded on the north by the Pentland Frith, which separates it from the islands of Orkney ; on the east and south the German ocean ; and by the county of Sutherland on the west. Its form is an irregular triangle, measuring from north to south about 35 miles, and 22 from east to west, and containing 690 square miles. The coast is rocky, and indented with a number of bays, the principal of which are Scribister bay on the north west, and Rice bay on the east. Its promontories are Duncan's-bay head, which is the north-east point of Caithness, and the extremest promontory in Britain ; Sandside-head, Hol born-head, and Dunnet-head. The island of Stroma, lying in the Pentland Frith, now belongs to this (-minty. Its property was formerly disputed by the Earls of Ork ney and Caithness, but adjudged to the latter in conse quence of an experiment, by which it was found that venomous animals would live in Samna, whereas they die immediately when transported to the Orkneys.
The western part of the county is and even mountainous, and chiefly adapted for the rearing of cat tle and sheep ; but towards tne east, it is almost com pletely level, and watered with seNeral small rivers and lakes, hut without a hill to shelter it from the piercing winds from the sea.
The climate is very cold, and more rainy than almost any other place on the easttrn coast of Scotland. The rains generally prevail in spring and autumn, and some times do considerable damage to the crops. The snow, however, seldom lies long on the ground, from its prox imity to the ocean ; but the coldness of the weather dur ing the spring months is a great bar to vegetation ; and in the interior of the county, where the soil is rather tender, has a tench:trey to engender a species of vermin called stone, which destroy the young plants of barley and oats, by cutting the roots below the ground. The longest day in summer is about 18 hours; and the sun makes so small an arch below the horizon, that Ole inha bitants enjoy a continued twilight from the dine he sets until he rises again.
The soil of Caithness, particularly in the Lowlands, is in general a mixture of clay, sand, and brown earth or loam, front six to fifteen inches deep, with a hard gravel, s'chistus, or horizontal rock, beneath, which has a ten dency to keep it always wet and to obstruct vegetation, especially that of trees. In point of fertility, however,
it is equal to any in the kingdom in proportion to its depth, and produces plentiful crops of barley and oats. The wheat husbandry has been attempted it) some parts of the county, but on the whole has not been found a profitable crop, on account of the frequent and heavy rains which Call in October, when the farmer is putting the seed into the ground. Various kinds of green crops, however, are cultivated with success, such as turnips, clover, rye-grass, tares, cabbages, coleworts, &c. ; and 'Air Wright, in his llusbandry of North Britain, has ob served, that the richest second growth of clover he had any where seen, was on a farm cultivated by Sir John Sinclair. Considerable improvements in agriculture have been made within the last thirty years, by the pro prietors or this county. The wretched system of ser vice, customs, and tithes, exacted by the landlord from the tenants, is now abolished, and the rent of the land is paid in grain or money. By the old mode of letting rims in Caithness, the farmer, besides the payment of a stated rent, was bound to cultivate a certain portion of Loci in the possession of the proprietor, by tilling, ma nuring, and sowing it in proper season ; by cutting down, gathering in, and securing the crop in the barn-yard ; and by manufacturing and carrying the produce to mar ket. He was also to produce peats for fuel, straw-bags for carrying grain or meal, and hair-ropes for drawing the plough or for tetherR 3 to keep a certain number of cattle for the landlord during the winter season ; to pay Nicarage of lamb, wool, &c. ; and a certain number of Cowls and eggs, which in the Highland district was con verted into veal, kid, butter, and cheese ; and on the sea coast, into fish and oil. Sometimes even a certain quan tity of spun lint and woollen yarn was annually exacted for the lady. The time and labour of the tenant were thus almost completely at the disposal of his landlord, which occasioned his own affairs to be either hurried or neglected. This practice, we are told, universally pre vailed throughout the county, till only within thirty or forty years ago; and, according to Sir John Sinclair's view of the agriculture of this county, in 1794, out of its extent of 441,600 acres, only 93,600 could be accounted productive land, including in this, not only land in til lage, but also such meadows and pastures as were rec koned at all valuable.