ROSS, a town of Herefordshire: it is commodi-
ously seated on the river Wye; is a handsome place,
containing about 300 houses; and has a good market
for corn and cattle. W. Long. 2. 35. N. Lat. 51. 55.
Ross, a county of Scotland, including Tayne and
Cromarty, stretching 80 miles in length, and 78 in
breadth, is bounded on the west by the western sea,
and part of the isle of Skie; by Inverness, on the south;
Strathnavern and Sutherland, on the north and north-
east; and by Cromartie and Murray-Frith on the east.
Tayne includes the greater part of Ross, with the isles
of Skie, Lewis, and Harries. Cromartie lies on the
other side of Murray-Frith, to the northward of In-
verness, extending but 12 miles in length, bounded
on the south and east by part of Ross and the Frith of
Murray, and by the Frith of Cromartie on the north.
The shire of Ross takes up the whole breadth of the
island; and being much indented with bays and inlets
from both seas, appears of a very irregular form.
These bays afford safe harbour for shipping, especially
that of Cromartie, which is capacious enough to con-
tain all the fleets of Europe, being land-locked on
every side, and in all respects one of the best harbours
in the known world. The Frith of Tayne, on the east
side of the shire, runs up 25 miles from the sea, as far
as the Cape Tarbat, dividing Ross from Sutherland,
it is about seven miles broad at the mouth; but, on
account of quick-sands, unsafe for navigation. The
country of Ross is encumbered with huge mountains,
on which the snow lies for the greatest part of the year;
these, however, yield good pasture: but on the eastern
side, next the German ocean, the country admits of
agriculture, and produces good crops of corn. The
valleys
valleys are fertilized by several rivers, among which we reckon the Okel, the Charron, and the Braan; besides a number of fresh-water lakes, which indeed are found in every part of this country. The valleys, or straths, are generally covered with wood; and near Alfrag, there are forests of fir 15 or 20 miles in length, well stocked with deer and game of all sorts. Great numbers of black cattle, horses, sheep, and goats, are fed upon the mountains; and the sea, rivers, and lakes, teem with fish and fowl. The lochs on the western coast abound with herrings in the season, particularly Loch Eu, about nine miles long, and three in breadth: one part of this is formed by a bay, or inlet of the sea; and the other is a lake of fresh water. The sides of it are covered with wood, where formerly abundance of iron was smelted. Though the middle part of Ros, called Ardros, is mountainous and scarce inhabited, the north-east parts on the rivers Okel, Charron, and Frith of Tayne, are fruitful, and abound with villages. Coygach and Alsgut, two northerly districts, are bare and hilly; yet they abound with deer and black cattle; and we see several good houses towards the coast, where there are also promontories, and huge rocks of marble. Ardmeanach, part of the peninsula betwixt the bays of Cromartie and Murray, is a barony, which of old bestowed a title on the king of Scotland's second son. The district of Glen-elchig, on the south-west, was the paternal estate of the earl of Seaforth, chief of the clan Mackenzie: but the last earl of that name, having risen in rebellion, was in the year 1719 defeated at Glenfesh, in this very quarter, together with a small body of Spaniards by whom he had been joined. His auxiliaries were taken, and though he himself, with some of his friends, escaped to the continent, his estate and honours were forfeited. At the same time, the king's troops, who obtained this victory, dismantled the castle of Yion-donnen, situated on an island in a bay that fronts the isle of Skie: it belonged to the crown; but the office of hereditary governor was vested in the earl of Seaforth, and here he had erected his magazine. Ros is chiefly peopled by the Mackenzies and Fraser, two warlike clans, who speak Erse, and live in the Highland fashion. There are fisheries carried on along the coast; but their chief traffick is with sheep and black cattle. The chief towns of Ros, are Channeric, Dingwell, Tayne, and Fortrose.