NAIRNSHIRE, a small county in the north of Scot land, is bounded on the north by the Moray Frith ; on the east and south by Morayshire ; ancl on the west by Inverness-shire. It is situated between 57° 22' and 57° 40' North Lat. and 3° 35' ancl 3° 47' West Longitude. It extends from 16 to 18 miles in length, and its greatest breadth is ten miles. The whole of this county, except ing Ferintosh, which is encompassed by Ross-shire, and wholly unconnected with any other part of the county, was formerly included in the province of Moray It con sists of lour entire parishes, Ardclauch, Auldearn, Cal der, and Nairn, as also a part or the parish of Dyke in Alorayshire, of Urquhart in Ross-shire, of Croy, Moy, and Petty in Inverness-shire. The county contains near ly 128,000 acres.
This county presents a varied intermixture of low land, hilly, and mountainous district. The flat plain of the lower part of the parish of Calder rises towards the south into a hilly tract, and elevates its boundary with Noy into a mountainous country. In the parish of Nairn, whose form resembles the letter X, the ground on the north of the river is flat and level, and on the south a gradual acclivity is terminated in one corner of the parish by the hill of Urchany. The part of the parish of Croy lying to the north and north-west of the Nairn is almost one continued ridge ; but the banks of the Nairn are well cultivated or planted. The parish of Ardclaugh is a hilly district, corresponding with the Gaelic word, which signifies high stony ground, and on this account it furnishes little pasture that is not mixed with heath.
The climate is in general serene, dry, and salubrious, but more inclement and rainy in the higher parts of the county. It is worthy of remark, that in the parish of Ardclauch, though the air is supposed to be healthy, and many of its inhabitants surpass the 70th and 80th year of their age, yet the inhahitantc, both young and old, are pe culiarly subject to the erysipelas.
The greatest part of the soil in this county is poor, thin, stony, and generally of a sandy quality. In the
eastern quarter of Auldearn, the soil is a strong clay, of a red c.olour, and produces abundant crops, but is dif ficult to cultivate. The southern part of the county of Nairn is nf a rich heavy mould, and the banks of the river consist of sand mixed with clay. The greatest part of the parish or Croy presents a white moorish soil, while along the river a fertile loam abounds of good quality. The soil in the higher part of Calder is a peat morass, covered with brown heath: in some of the lower parts there are plots of moorish rocky ground, but a con siderable quantity is a kindly, sharp, and fertile soil. The small number of enclosures, and the great abundance of heath, prove the general badness of the soil, and poverty of its cultivators. If, however, the same spirit should arise in this bleak county which has so long distinguish ed Norfolk, once the most barren spot in England, and a judicious use of marl, lime, acc. be adopted, we entertain no doubt that a great change will soon be effected.
This county is watered by tile rivers Findhorn and Nairn, whose banks are covered in many parts with woods and plantations; several elegant seats and roman tic old castles diversify the scenery. The castle of Kilravock, on the banks of the Nairn, and that of Caw dor on the delightful burn of the same name, are wor thy of notice. Boath, Geddes, and Lethin house merit attention.
Sandstone is very abundant. A very valuable. bed of pure marl is contained in the moss and lake of I,itie, on the property of Lord Cawdor, extending over a space of 40 acres, and being from 16 to 20 feet deep. It is also supposed, that in the grounds between Boat') and the shore, coal might be found, since there is a quarry of dark blue stone, which, like coal, flames in the fire, and does not fall into powder like limestone, on the ap plication of water. Considerable tracts of peat abound also in this county ; and fir trees 60 feet long and 3 feet in diameter, have also been discovered in the peat, and used in the roofing of houses.