RENFREWSHIRE. The south-eastern part of this Scottish county is included in the great coal district of the west of Scotland. The chief coal works are at Quarrelton near Johnstone ; and at Hurlet and Hausehill near Paisley : the mines here are very pro ductive. Limestone, sandstone, ironstone, granite, and secondary trap-rocks, are found in considerable abundance. Good freestone for building. is quarried; limestone is also wrought for burning ; and the mines of coal and iron stone give employment to manypersons. The hilly parts of the county on the west and south are chiefly devoted to pasture. Owing to the demand for meat, vegetables, milk, butter, &c., by the large and crowded popula tions of Greenock, Glasgow, and Paisley, a large part of the cultivated land is meadow land or garden-ground. Dairy farming is very extensively practised.
Renfrewshire possesses a considerable amount of manufacturing and commercial industry in some of the towns. Greenock has been already alluded to in connection with the great city of GLASGOW. At the beginning of the last century, the harbour, which was then only fit for the reception of fishing boats, was enlarged : more than ten acres were en closed between two circular quays; and sub sequent improvements have rendered the outer harbour available for ships of large burthen. This has been the means of raising the place to an important position as a sea port. The Newfoundland and Nova Scotia fisheries are carried on extensively. The number of vessels belonging to the port is nearly 500. Johnstone, near Paisley, contains cotton mills and some other manufactories.
The parish of Neilston contains several vil lages ; most of the inhabitants, amounting altogether to about 10,000, are employed in various branches of silk and cotton manufac tures, the river Levern affording excellent water power for driving machinery. There is also abundance of clear water suitable for bleaching. PAISLEY industry has been noticed elsewhere. Pollockshaws is a tolerably large place, depending almost entirely on the cotton manufacture ; spinning, weaving, bleaching, and printing are actively carried on. In Ren frew the manufactures are various : muslin weaving is by far the most important. Many females are employed in clipping, tambouring, and flowering. A few small vessels carrying coal, manure, &c., on the Clyde, belong to the burgh ; but a considerable number of vessels, chiefly laden with grain from Ireland, or with dye-stuffs for Paisley, discharge their cargoes here.
The following were the factory statistics of Renfrewshire in 1850: Paisley being the chief town to which those statistics relate. There were 51 cotton factories, being a much larger number than in any other Scottish county except Lanark; these factories had about 500,000 spindles : 2000 power looms ; water and steam power equal to 2742 horse-power ; and 7884 factory operatives, of whom no less than 5717 were females. There were 3 woollen factories, 1 worsted factory, 4 flax factories, and 1 silk factory—the whole nine employing about 1500 persons.