ingg. The principal mountains of Banffshire proper are Benrinnes and the Knockhill; but Cairngonn,Ben Macdlmi, and Ben Aven, the highest summits in Britain, lie on or close to the boundary. The principal noblemen s and gentle men s seats are Duff House, Cullen House, Park House, Troup House, Forglen House, Drummuir, Kininvie, Bal- venie, Aberlour, and Rothiemay. Several of these are elegant mansions, and most of them are surrounded by extensive and tastefully laid-out plantations. The natural
woods are inconsiderable both in extent and value.The geology of Banffshire is very closely connected vith that of the neighbouring counties of Aberdeen and Moray, from which it is divided by no natural boundaries. Gneiss, and to a greater extent mica slate, form the lowest stratified rocks running nearly south-west from the coast between Cullen and Portsoy to the upper valleys of the Fiddach, Deveron, and Aven rivers. Generally they are finegrained slaty rocks, and form low rounded mountains, of no great beauty, but decomposing into soils of considerable fertility. la many places the mica slate alternates or passes into quartzite, which differs from it chiefly in the almost entire absence of mica. Quartzite in a more independent form is seen on the coast between Cullen and Buckie, and forms also the Durn Hill near Portsoy, the Binn of Cullen, the Knockhill, and much of the high ground to the south. "Vhere it prevails the soil is far from fertile, and the white, weather-beaten mountains have a very sterile aspect. Connected with this series also beds of limestone are very common, and have been quarried in many places, as near Boyne Castle, Sandend, and Fordyce in the north, and in the interior near Keith, Mortlach, and Tomintoul.
Clayslate occurs in considerable abundance in Banffshire, in some places perhaps merely a finer variety of mica slate, in others coarser in texture, or so-called grey wacke. Large masses are seen near Boharm, and from Dufftown south to Kirkmichael. It also forms the north coast from Knock Head by Banff, Macduff, and Gamrie, to the Troup Head, often rising into bold, lofty cliffs, and extends south to Gartly. In several places it is wrought for roofing slates both in this county and in Aberdeenshire. Though no fossils have yet been found in these strata, there is little doubt that they are more or less metamorphosed represen tatives of the lower portions of the Palaeozoic (Silurian and Cambrian) formations.
Resting on these rocks Devonian or Old Red Sandstone and conglomerate beds are seen in a few places. Thus the Morayshire beds cross the Spey near Fochabers, running along the coast to Buckie, and in the Tynet Burn have yielded many characteristic fossil fishes. Gamrie, at the north-east extremity of the county, is also well known for similar remains occurring in calcareous nodules embedded in a bluish grey marly rock, from which they are washed out by a small stream on its way to the sea. The more important species are GheiracanthiisMurchisoni, Cheirolepis Uragus, Coccosteiis cutpidatii8,Diploptenu affinis, Glyptolepis elegans, Osteolepis arenatus, and Pterickthys Milleri. In the interior, near Tomintoul, another large deposit of red sandstone occurs, probably of the same age, but as yet no organic remains have been found in this locality. Indica tions of still more recent formations are seen in the chalk flints common in the vicinity of Portsoy, and in the Oolite fossils found in the brick clays at Blackpots. The raised beach with recent shells, more than 200 feet above the sea- level, near the old church of Gamrie, is also interesting. As in other parts of Scotland, the surface of the country is covered with masses of boulder clay and stratified drift beds, the materials often derived from a considerable dis tance and some of the granite boulders several tons in weight.
The most important igneous rock is granite. This rock, a portion of the great central mass of the Grampians, forms the mountains in the extreme south of the country round the sources of the Aven. Benrinnes also consists of it, and smaller masses are seen in Glenlivet and other locali ties. The well-known "graphic granite" forms a vein on the coast near Portsoy, and gets its name from the quartz and felspar crystals appearing on the polished surface like rude letters. Syenite, a compound of hornblende and felspar, covers a large district running south from near Portsoy to Rothiemay and Huntly in Aberdeenshire. The serpentine of Portsoy, though long known, and said to have been at one time extensively wrought and even sent to France as an ornamental stone, is now almost neglected. Rocks of a similar character may be traced pretty much in a south-west direction to near the sources of the Deveron, and from that into the upper parts of the Don in Aberdeenshire.
Some interesting minerals have been found in Banffshire. Among them may be mentioned magnetite, chromite, and asbestos at Portsoy ; fluorite near Boharm, at Keith, and on the Avon ; also cyanite and chiastolite in clayslate at Boharm. Attempts were made many years ago to work a vein of sulphuret of antimony near Keith ; and more recently mines of haematite were opened near Arndilly on the Spey.
The agriculture of Banffshire is conducted upon the newest and most approved principles. The soil, though varying even in adjacent fields, is in general rich and productive, yielding fair crops of wheat, and excellent crops of barley, oats, &c.; and the grass and green crops are equally abundant. About 163,000 acres are under culti vation, the extent of the farms is in general from 150 to 200 arable acres, independently of moorland and pas ture-grounds. The duration of leases is nineteen years ; although there are still some individuals who possess on liferent, and a few leases are held for a longer term. The whole of the farms, even the smallest pendicles, are under regular rotations of cropping, generally a five or seven course shift. The fields are well laid out and subdivided, and properly cleaned and manured ; for which last purpose large quantities of lime, bone-dust, and guano, are annually imported. The ridges are all straight ; and the fields, at least many of them, are enclosed with stone dykes or other fences. The swamps and wet grounds have also been drained and cultivated, so as to effect a total revolution in the ancient modes of agriculture within the county. The cattle and stock hold a high character; and there are several herds of pure short-horns and pure polled Aberdeenshire cattle maintained in the county. This district was much indebted to one of the earls of Findlater, who, as early as the year 1754, not only introduced and exemplified, on some of his own farms, the most approved practices then known in England, but held out liberal encouragement to his tenants to follow his example. His descendants, the earls of Sea- field, have also done much to improve the family estates, adding to them many thousands of acres of arable land ; and it may be said with truth that one of the earls was the greatest planter of trees in Great Britain within the pre sent century. In 1846 this nobleman received the honorary gold medal of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, for his vast and thriving plantations of useful timber trees, in the counties of Banff, Moray, and Nairn. From the year 1811 to 1845, he had planted 18,938,224 Scotch firs, 11,904,798 larches, 843,450 hardwoods; mak ing the enormous aggregate of 31,686,472 forest trees, planted in 8223 acres of enclosed ground.
generous efforts and taste for improvement a vast amount has been done in planting and reclaiming land, by favourable
leases to the tenantry, and allowances for draining, &c.