STIRLINGSHIRE, a central county of Scotland, bounded on the north by Perthshire and Clackmannan shire; on the cast by the Firth of Forth and Linlith gowshirc; on the south by Lanarkshire; and on the south-west and west by Dumbartonshire; is about 36 miles in length, and from 12 to 17 in breadth; and contains an extent of about 645 square miles, or 412,800 English acres. The ecclesiastical divisions arc, twenty-one parishes, besides portions of other four, parts of which are in the adjacent counties. This county contains one royal borough, viz. Stirling, which is the county town, and two large towns Falkirk and St. Ninians, besides several large and flourishing villages.
The appearance of many parts of Stirlingshire is mountainous to a considerable degree, particularly in the vicinity of Loch Lomond on the north, and in the parishes of Denny, Kilsyth, Kilpatrick, Campsie, and Baldernock on the south. Some parts of the central district are also very hilly. The principal ranges of hills are those of Lennox, Campsie, and Kilpatrick in the southern district. The Lennox hills extend from Dumbartonshire to the vicinity of the town of Stirling, and seldom exceed an elevation of 1500 feet above the level of the sea. The height of the Campsie hills is about 1500, and that of the Kilsyth hills 1368. From the highest of the last mentioned range of hills, there is one of the finest views in Scotland, which has been computed to embrace an extent of more than 12,000 square miles. The highest mountain in the county is Benlomond, in the north, which is 3262 feet high; the next highest is Bencloch in the parish of Alva, which attains the height of 2400 feet. Many of these hills, especially in the southern district, partake more of the lowland than the highland appearance, as their summits, and many parts of their sides, are covered with green sward, which affords excellent pasturage for sheep..
On the north, and especially on the cast of the Lennox hills, the elevation of the country above the level of the sea is so low as 162 feet. This district is
very rich and fertile, producing excellent crops of grain. The western and southern parts of the county, which are very hilly, for the most part consist of moss, and tracts of heath, and green pastures, interspersed with arable land, which is chiefly confined to the banks of the rivers.
Almost every variety of soil to be met with in Scotland occurs in Stirlingshire; but the most com mon is the alluvial or coarse land, which occupies an extent of about 40,000 acres on the banks of the Forth, which is the most fertile part of the county. In this soil there are beds of shells, clay, marle and moss. Small patches of rich loam occur in many parts of the county. The soil on the banks of the rivers, in the western and central districts, is chiefly of a light and gravelly description.
Stirlingshire is inferior to few districts of Scotland, in the quantity and variety of its mineral productions; the most abundant of which arc coal, ironstone, lime stone, and sandstone. The principal coal pits are situated in the southern base of the Lennox hills, and extend from Baldernock on the west, to Denny and St. Ninians on the east. Coal is also found in the eastern district, in the vicinity of the Forth and Clyde Canal. Stirlingshire yields this mineral in such abundance, as not only to be sufficient for home con sumption, but, by means of the Union Canal, to sup ply the inhabitants of the metropolis at a much cheaper rate than they were formerly accustomed to pay. The ironstone, limestone, and sandstone is found in the same district with the coal, one stratum of limestone being often found above, and another below a stratum of coal. Veins of silver were discovered, and wrought about sixty years ago, hut the working of them was soon discontinued. Copper, lead, and cobalt, have also been raised at different periods, but not in any considerable quantities.