or ZETLAND ISLANDS, a group belonging to Scotland, the most northerly land included in the United Shetland, Kingdom. Exclusive of the Fair Isle, midway between Orkney and Shetland, and of Foula, which lies 20 miles to the west, the group lies between N. Lat. 59° 52' and 60° 48', W. Long. 0° 45' and 1° 40'. These islands are far removed from any other land; Orkney on the S.W., being 50 miles off; the Faroe group, on the N.W., 180 miles; and the coast of Norway, on the E., 210 miles. The whole number of islands and rocks is upwards of 100, but of these only 32 are inhabited. The following is a list of the inhabited islands, beginning from the south:

| Island | Pop. (1851) | |-----------------|------------| | Fair Isle | 280 | | Munna | 10 | | Bressay, East and West Burra, Papa, and Halsayvera | 885 | | Noss | 21 | | Linga | 10 | | Oyxa | 21 | | Trondray | 169 | | Mainland | 21,613 | | Little Papa | 1 | | Vaila | 2 | | Foula | 240 | | Papa Stour | 359 | | Total | 31,078 |

The entire area is 5588 square miles, about half of which belongs to the Island of Mainland. This island extends about 60 miles in length, from Sumburgh Head, its southern extremity, to Feideland Point in the north. To the N.E. lies Yell, separated from Mainland by the Sound of Yell; and still farther N.E. is Unst. The other islands, which are much smaller, for the most part fringe the coast of Mainland. These coasts are exceedingly irregular, being indented by extensive land-locked bays, whose mouths are sheltered by islands, and by long narrow arms of the sea called roes. So much is this the case, that no part of the island is more than 3 miles from the sea in one direction or another. Yell and Unst are also irregular in outline, but not so much so as the larger island; the former of these is 20 miles long by 6 broad; the latter 11 by 6.

The general appearance of Shetland from a distance is not very striking; for the land is all low, though there is a great deal of bold and romantic cliff scenery. The highest point in the islands is Roeness, in the north of Mainland, which only attains the height of 1500 feet above the sea. On approaching Shetland from the south, the first point that appears conspicuously is Fitful Head, an abrupt and craggy promontory of Mainland, exceeding in altitude Sumburgh Head further to the east. At the latter point the tides from opposite sides of Shetland meet, causing a tumultuous current, which makes a dark line on the ocean, dying away towards Fair Isle. This is known by the name of the Roust of Sumburgh; and is a good place for the fishery of scithe or coal-fish (Gadus corbanares). About Dunrossness and Quendel, in the south of Mainland, there are some fine corn-lands. Northwards from this, the land consists of 'bleak hills and heaths, without a tree or even a shrub; and is generally enveloped in damp mists. The coasts are pierced with numerous creeks and inlets, and lined with rugged cliffs and rocks; while the monotony of the scene is occasionally relieved by groups of cottages, with their patches of green corn-land enclosed with stone-dykes.

North of the narrow strip of land that forms the southern portion of the island, lies the picturesque bay and village of Scalloway on the west coast, the green vale of Tingwall about the middle of the island, and the town of Lerwick on the Sound of Bressay, which separates Mainland from the island of that name to the east. Beyond Bressay lies the Island of Noss, which communicates with a rock called the Holm of Noss by a wooden trough or cradle, suspended by ropes over a chasm 160 feet deep. North of Lerwick, Mainland extends to a greater breadth, and consists for some distance of extensive boggy meadows, containing several lakes. On the Island of Whalsay, off the east coast of Mainland, an excellent system of farming is carried on; and in the Outskerries, the most easterly of all the islands, there are extensive establishments for deep sea-fishing of ling. The north-western part of Mainland is as wild and grand in its scenery as any other portion of the island. Here are seen the bare red summit of Roeness Hill, several lakes surrounded by heath and rocks, and the surges of the Atlantic for ever dashing on the precipitous cliffs that line the shore. Here is the large bay of St Magnus, at the south side of which lies the Island of Papa Stour, remarkable for its porphyritic rocks and underground caverns. Yell is a dull uninteresting island, but a great fishing station; and Unst is of a bleak precipitous character. The Island of Fetlar, to the east of Yell, contains very fertile valleys. Foula, supposed to be the Ultima Thule of the ancients, consists of five conical hills, rising abruptly out of the sea to the height of 1300 feet. It is occupied by vast flocks of sea-birds in summer, but they all take their flight when winter sets in. The geological character of the islands is very varied. In the southern portion of the Mainland there is a central line of primitive clay-slate, forming the range called the Cliff Hills; on the east of which lies a series of blue and red sandstone, and on the west beds of blue limestone. Further north a great deposit of gneiss occupies the districts of Whiteness, Aithsting, and Delting in the centre of Mainland; the Islands of Burra, Oyxa, and Trondray on the west; Whalsay, the Skerries, and Yell, with parts of Fetlar and Unst on the east. Mica slate occurs in the peninsula of Eswick, on the east of Mainland, and at Fadeland Point, in the extreme north. Roeness Hill and the adjoining country are composed of hard red granite, flanked on the south-east by greenstone; and the peninsula in the west forming the parish of Walls, consists of primary quartz rocks. Granite is found in some other parts of Mainland; and the hills of Fetlar and Unst are for the most part composed of serpentine. The mineral riches of the country are not very great; copper veins are found in the Fair Isle and elsewhere; iron, mica, and pyrites in some places; and Unst is especially remarkable for its chromate of iron. The climate is, owing to the insular position of the land, less cold than is common in such a high latitude; but the temperature is liable to very great and sudden changes; and the weather is not unfrequently wet, foggy, and tempestuous. The winter is very dark and gloomy; but, on the other hand, in the summer the sun hardly sinks below the horizon, and bright twilight continues the whole night. Thus from the middle of May to the end of July there is hardly any darkness in Shetland. The soil of the islands is in general very unfavourable for agriculture; and only a very small portion of it is arable. Indeed fishing, not farming, is the chief object of attention both to landlords and tenants; and the climate is so unpropitious that little else but the commonest kinds of barley and oats are raised. In 1857 the islands contained 1026 acres under a rotation of crops; of which 3 were of wheat, 4 of barley, 349 of oats, 91 of bere, 124 of turnips, 64 of potatoes, 371 of grass and hay, &c. The plants and animals of Shetland resemble very much those of Orkney. The country is not so much distinguished by the presence of peculiar species as by its more limited vegetation, and by the absence of many plants common elsewhere. It has been estimated that there are 74 species of plants peculiar to Shetland, 40 common to Shetland and Iceland, 37 to Shetland and Faroe, and 146 to all the three. The most characteristic animals of the islands are the small ponies or shelties. These are very diminutive, but strong and hardy; they run wild on the heaths and pastures of the island, and are exported in great numbers. The cattle, sheep, and hogs of the islands are also small and of peculiar breeds; and the fleeces of the sheep are very much Shetland, esteemed. The islands contained in 1857, 486 horses; 1094 cattle; 6486 sheep; and 57 swine; in all, 8123 live stock. The most important source of wealth to the Shetlanders is the fisheries, in which by far the most of them are employed. There are three different classes of fisheries; the hagf, or deep-sea fishing; the herring fishery; and that of the coal-fish. Of these the first is the most important; cod, ling, and tusk being the chief kinds of fish obtained, and furnishing the staple articles of export from Shetland.

A large bank of these fish extends from the north of Orkney to the west of Shetland. This fishing is only carried on for two or three months in summer, and it is an occupation accompanied with much danger. The total number of cod and ling taken in the Shetland Isles in 1857 was 1,342,172, being more than a third of the whole number of these fish taken in Scotland. This fishery, as well as that of herring, was at one time almost exclusively in the hands of the Dutch, who sent over annually about 2000 boats to engage in them. Although towards the end of the seventeenth century, and subsequently, this number was greatly reduced, it is not one hundred years since there were only three British vessels engaged in the fisheries here. But from the beginning of the present century, herring fishing has made rapid progress among the Shetlanders; and in 1857 it employed 669 boats, with a tonnage of 1327. The number of fishermen and boys in the same year was 2990; the total number of persons employed 4121; and the number of barrels of herrings cured 17,858. The total value of boats, nets, and lines employed in fishing in Shetland was, for the same year, £15,822. Very few manufactures are carried on in Shetland, the only one of any importance being hosierly from the fine wool of the sheep. The plaiting of straw was formerly pursued in Lerwick, but this has fallen off. Kelp is also prepared, but not to so great an extent as in the Western Isles. The trade consists in the exportation of fish, hosierly, shelties, &c., in exchange for the various necessaries and luxuries of life which nature has denied to the Shetland Islands. The inhabitants of Shetland are all of Scandinavian origin, and differ entirely from the Highlanders of Scotland. They are small, light, nimble and hardy, lively and versatile, and fond of excitement. They do not speak Gaelic, nor are any of the names of places Celtic; but they have retained many Norse words and idioms, and speak with a quick pronunciation, quite different from that of the Highlanders. The dress of the fishermen is peculiar, consisting of wide, neat skin-boots, reaching to the knee, woollen breeches, a leather surtout, and a worsted cap. The first people whom we know to have inhabited Shetland was a tribe of Saxon rovers, but they were expelled by Theodosius A.D. 368. In the sixth century it is probable that the Scandinavians, from whom the present inhabitants are sprung, had already settled here. Harold Harfager, who first united Norway into one kingdom in 875, reduced to subjection all the northern and western islands, which had been previously held by petty chieftains and pirates. Caithness, Orkney, and Shetland were then made one earldom, and conferred on Sigurd, who afterwards considerably extended his dominions. The authority of the earls over Shetland was, however, very slight, for it was not the feudal system, but a totally different form of government that prevailed here. The arable land was held free from any tax or impost, and hence was called uadal; the pastures, for which a tax was paid, were known by the name of seattald. The country was under a civil governor appointed by the king, and was subdivided into lesser districts, each governed by a foude or inferior magistrate, from whom there lay an appeal to the grand foude, or annual assembly of all the uadal proprietors. The Earl of Orkney had no right to interfere with the civil affairs of the people; he was only their military protector, under whose standard they had to fight in case of invasion. In 1468 James III. of Scotland received with the Princess Margaret of Denmark a dowry of 60,000 florins, in pledge for which Orkney and Shetland were given; and in 1470 he purchased the whole right to these islands and annexed them to the crown. The various changes that took place in the earldom of Orkney, which included Shetland, after its annexation to the Scottish crown, are narrated in the article ORKNEY. Under the various earls, especially those of the Stuart family, the people were very much oppressed, from the constant attempts to substitute the feudal system for their original uadal right. The ancient constitution was finally abolished in the reign of Charles II. The islands now form, along with Orkney, a county, which returns one member to the Imperial Parliament, a privilege not possessed by Shetland before the Reform Act of 1832. In ecclesiastical affairs Shetland forms a synod of the Established Church, composed of three presbyteries and twelve parishes. The whole number of places of worship in Orkney and Shetland, according to the census of 1851, was 123, with 39,761 sittings—of the former 41 belonged to the Established Church; 23 to the Free Church; 18 to the Wesleyans; 16 to the Independents; 14 to the United Presbyterians; 9 to the Baptists; and 2 to the Original Seceders. At the same period there were 111 public schools, and 36 private schools in the county. The number of proprietors in Shetland is 574, and the valuation of rent for 1858–9 was £24,698. Lerwick is the chief town, and it seems to have been erected since the beginning of the seventeenth century. There are many interesting remains of antiquity in the Shetland Islands. Among these are many Pictish towers, especially one in Munsa, which is one of the most perfect Teutonic forts in Europe. The castle of Scalloway is of a much later date, having been erected in 1600; but it is now reduced to a mere shell. In the valley of Tingwall is still to be seen the place where the chief magistrate of Shetland used to hold his court in the open air, at the head of a small loch. The population of Shetland in 1801 was 22,379; in 1811, 22,915; in 1821, 26,145; in 1831, 29,392; in 1841, 30,558; and in 1851, 31,078.