an extensive county in the north of Scotland, situated between 57° 33' and 58° 36' N. Lat., and bounded between 3° 39' and 5° 15' W. Long.; having the sea on the S.E.W., and N., Caithness on the N.E., and Ross-shire on the S.; is separated from the latter for about 30 miles by the Morroch Frith, and has communication with the south by Meikle Ferry and Bonar Bridge. The county forms an irregular square, extending from 45 to 50 miles both ways, and contains an area of 1,754 square miles, or 1,112,560 imperial acres, divided into thirteen parishes, with a portion of the parish of Reay, forming part of the synod of Sutherland and Caithness. The other recognized divisions of the county are—Sutherland, being the south-eastern part; Assynt; the Reay country; and Strathnaver; and these names still serve to designate the different localities.

The coast of Sutherland, in the N. and W. is rocky and surface precipitous, in the S.E. flat and sloping, except on the confines of Caithness, where the Ord projects into the sea with perpendicular abruptness; and presents a succession of inlets of the sea, and bold promontories, with several islets. The principal lochs or friths are—Lochs Assynt, Laxford, and Incharon, on the W.; Durness Bay, Loch Erriboll, the Kyle of Tongue, and the Bays of Torrisdale and Strathy, in

The N.; and Loch Fleet, branching out from the Dornoch Frith, on the S.E. Of the promontories, the more remarkable are—Rue Stoer, on the S. side of Loch Assynt; Cape Wrath in the N.W. extremity of the county; Far-out-Head, and Whiten Head on the N.E. coast. The interior consists of mountains, rising in Ben More, Assynt, to a height of 3230 feet, elevated plateaus covered with heath, vast fields of peat-bog, some pleasant straths watered by streams in which salmon and trout are found, and numerous lakes embosomed either in bleak, dismal regions of moorland, or begirt by a series of lumpy hills of conglomerate, whose naked and rugged sides have no covering even of heath. Wildness and sterility are the great features of the landscape, the dreary monotony being seldom relieved by tree or shrub; and this uniformity of desolation is only occasionally broken by some glen or strath presenting itself, as an oasis of verdure in the bleak desert. Of a different character, however, is the S.E. coast; for here the shore is flat or sloping for a distance varying from ½th of a mile to 2 miles, and a fringe or border of average fertility, well laid off into farms, highly cultivated, varied with plantations of considerable extent, and studded with handsome farm-houses, commodious steadings, and comfortable and tidy cottages. At about equal intervals are five fairly built and thriving villages, ornamented with proprietors' seats and a few handsome villas, sheltered from the north by a continuous line of hills, or opening into the pleasant and fertile valleys of Strathfleet, Strath-Brora, and the Strath of Kildonan. This district has a fine southern exposure, and both in its appearance and productions can bear comparison with cultivated districts in the Lowlands.

The principal streams are Oikel, with its confluent the Shin, Fleet, Brora, and Helmsdale, all falling into the Dornoch Frith or German Ocean. The Oikel, of which the Dornoch Frith is an expansion, is by the tide navigable for ships of 50 tons as far as Bonar Bridge, a distance of 12 miles; and for boats about 8 miles further. On the N. coast the rivers are Dinart, the Naver, and the Halladale. All take their rise in the heights in the centre of the county, whence they disperse to different seas. Salmon is to be found in all the above-named rivers. Loch Shin, about 20 miles long and 1 mile broad, is the most considerable of the lakes; but, with the exception that its south-eastern extremity is lined by pretty little fields and neat cottages with a few trees at Lairg, it has not much of the picturesque in its appearance. Through this lake flows the river of the same name. It is said that there are about 200 lakes, many of them small, in the county, and that they occupy about 53 square miles, or nearly 34,000 acres. On the N. coast, the sea has formed some remarkable caves in the limestone rock; the most remarkable are that of Smoo, in Durness, 32 yards wide and 20 yards high; and that at Fraissigil, 50 feet high and 20 feet wide at the entrance, but gradually narrowing to its termination, at a distance of more than half a mile.

The oldest formation of rocks in Sutherland is gneiss, which extends over the whole county, and affords a great variety of aspect in the stratification. This formation is traversed by granite veins, which abound in various places in the south-east part of the county, as also in the upper parts of the parishes of Reay and Edderachysil. The gneiss is also traversed by veins of greenstone and porphyry. Those of the greenstone are found in great abundance in the south-east district of Assynt, and in the country around Scourie in Edderachysil. Porphyry veins are of rare occurrence. Mica-slate is developed to a considerable extent in two parts of the country: in that portion of the district of Moir which stretches southwards, and constitutes the whole of the mountains of Ben Hope, Ben Hee, and Meal Rynies; and that part of the county between Loch Fleet and Bonar Bridge. Granite fields prevail in the lower part of the parish of Reay, and in the parishes of Loth and Rogart. Syenite is to be met with in several places. It is most abundant in the mountain of Ben Laoghal, and that considerable tract of country which intervenes between the head of Loch Fleet and Lairg, at the head of Loch Shin. The quartz series of rocks occurs principally, in greater or lesser fields, in the western part of the county, from Loch Erboll on the north to Loch Vattie on the south. This series is connected with sandstone and limestone. The latter is divided into four great fields connected with one another, and running in the same direction as the quartz. There is also a portion of nearly 6 miles in length at Durness, between Loch Erboll and Cape Wrath. Redstone and conglomerate are extensively displayed on the east side, and at several points on the north coast, and in the interior. The oolite series of rocks, consisting of white sandstone, sandstone-flag, slate-clay, limestone, and coal, forms the coast between Golspie and the Ord of Caithness, and has a breadth at the River Brora of 3 miles. At Brora, coal occurs at several points, but although the seam is 3 feet 2 inches thick, the coal is so inferior in quality that it has been found to be not worth the working. Calcareous sinter and bog-iron ore are the only chemical alluvial deposits to be found in the county.

This county, which is valued in the cess-books at Valuation L.26,193, 9s. 7d. Scots, is almost entirely the property of the Duke of Sutherland. In 1812 the gross rental of lands and houses, as returned under the Property-tax Act, was L.28,458, 8s. 4d., including about L.1700 as the rent of the salmon and other fisheries. In 1839 the rental of the same subjects, including shootings let, amounted to L.52,376, that of land alone being upwards of L.46,000.

The mansions of proprietors in the county are Dun-Mansions, robin Castle, a palatial structure in the Old English baronial style, greatly enlarged and improved in the years 1845–61, at an expense of upwards of L.100,000; House of Tongue, Lochinvar House, Embo, and Skelbo Cottage—all belonging to the Duke of Sutherland; Skibo Castle (Dempster's); Osprishale (Gilchrist's); and Rosehall (Sir J. Matheson's). There are not more than two other proprietors in the county, and these have their mansions in Ross-shire. The farm-houses are, however, of a superior character, and several of them would form suitable mansions for moderate estates.

Fifty years ago there were almost no roads, except bridle tracks, in the county; but for the last thirty years it has communicated a complete system of excellent roads intersecting the county in every direction, while no such thing as a toll-bar is to be seen upon them. There are also good inns, well kept, in every quarter in which the accommodation of travellers requires them. The roads are partly parliamentary; but by far the greatest extent of the several hundreds of miles of road connecting the different parts of the county was made and is maintained from the county rate. These roads, and other changes effected in the first quarter of the present century, have put this remote county on a level, in point of civilization, with districts more favourably situated for receiving an impulse from the great centres of intelligence and improvement.

Previous to the year 1808, Sutherland was in a state of Changes nature; and owing to the want of means of communication, and the inhabitants continued in a state of primitive rudeness prove and ignorance. They were almost all engaged in tillage, but as their implements were of the rudest description, and as their skill and industry were unequal to the task of overcoming the unproductiveness of the soil and the rigours of climate, they only earned a miserable subsistence: their crops often blighted by mildew, they sometimes had recourse for sustenance to the expedient of bleeding their living cattle, and were frequently saved from absolute starvation by supplies of meal furnished by the landlord. mountain region, the glens, and corries in which the inhabitants were located, presented insuperable obstacles to successful or profitable tillage; and as the very existence of a population so situated must always be precarious, the first Duke of Sutherland, a nobleman of enlightened views, resolute purpose, upright character, and withal possessing great wealth, had the foresight and the courage to effect in Sutherland a change which, whatever its hardships at first, has been attended with beneficial results. He removed the Sutherland man from his possessions in the heights of the county, and offered him an allotment on the coast-side at a nominal rent; or, if such was his choice, he was furnished with the means of emigrating to Canada. That any views of immediate gain influenced the proprietor in removing the tenants can hardly be maintained, when it is borne in mind, that although the Sutherland family have spent on this county many thousands drawn from their English estates, they have never, up to this date (1860), derived one penny of clear revenue from their extensive Highland property, forming nineteen-twentieths of the sixth largest county in Scotland. All has been spent in real or attempted improvements.

For the last forty years tillage has been carried on in this county on the same plan, with the same appliances, and, taking soil and climate into account, with the same success as in the southern counties of Scotland. At Balnakeil, Keoidale, Eriboll, and Tongue, on the north coast, there are considerable corn farms; while on the south-east coast, in the parishes of Creich, Dornoch, Golspie, Clyne, and Loth, there are about thirty arable farms, paying each from £150 to £750 of annual rent, besides a small proportion of farms of from £20 to £100 rental; and, in addition to these, hundreds of lots of land, consisting of from one to ten acres. These lots are numerous in the inland parishes of Rogart and Lairg, and also along the west and north coast. As a body, the Sutherland farmers may, in intelligence, professional skill, and capital, stand a comparison with the agriculturists of any part of Scotland. The management of their farms, the adoption of every improvement in modes of tillage and implements of husbandry, the erection of handsome farm-houses with convenient steadings by the proprietor, and the raising of excellent crops of wheat, barley, oats, turnips, and hay—the grain sent south often fetching the highest price in the Edinburgh markets—furnish sufficient proof that the changes in the occupancy already referred to have been decided improvements so far as relates to corn farms. The regions in the interior, from which the aborigines were removed, are occupied with sheep farms, and the grazing of sheep or cattle appears to be the only purpose to which such districts of country can be applied. The sheep farms in the county are in number about thirty-five, carrying each from 1500 to 8000 sheep. The Cheviot is almost the only sheep on these farms, and it has not degenerated in the country of its adoption. From 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. per sheep is the general rental. A few years ago these farms were larger than they are now; but as leases fall in, their size is reduced and the number increased, portions of every large sheep farm being allotted to the corn farmers. The Dunrobin breed of cattle, originally from Argyllshire, was long celebrated; but on the larger farms these are giving way to other breeds, such as the short-horn and polled cattle, which come sooner to maturity. On the small holdings occupied by the cottars, now generally the descendants of those formerly dispossessed in making room for sheep farmers, there are substantial, comfortable cottages; and partly from the produce of their lands, which pay a very low or even nominal rent, and partly from earnings drawn from labour elsewhere, the occupants appear to live in more comfort than their forefathers did before the days of removals. But it can scarcely be maintained that their condition is as much in advance of that of the peasantry of the beginning of the century, as the condition of the farmer of 1860 is superior to that of the tacksman of 1800. Further, it may be stated, that to enable the people to live on these allotments, the landlord must forego one-half of the rent which the land would fetch. There are numerous fir plantations near the coast, which, however, take a long time to arrive at maturity. The sharp air of the German Ocean is unfavourable to the growth of timber, and close to the sea trees have a blasted and stunted appearance. Oaks, elms, and ash, in sheltered localities, attain considerable size. In the interior, any tree that is to be seen is dwarf birch. Horticultural productions are similar to those in more southern counties; and even at Tongue, on the north coast, there is a well-stored and productive garden.

A cotton-mill had been for some time in operation at Manufac-Spinningdale, but having been burnt down in 1806, the undertaking was abandoned. The only manufactory in the county is a woollen-mill on a small scale at Pittentrail in Rogart. Only one distillery, but no brewery, exists in the county.

A few boats are engaged in the white fishing on the Fisheries west and north coast. Lobsters and oysters are also found in considerable quantities. At Embo, Golspie, Port-Gower, Brora, and Helmsdale, about 30 boats altogether are employed in fishing all the year round; the two latter are herring-curing stations, and 200 boats are employed at Helmsdale, and 30 at Brora, during the herring season.

The exports are sheep, wool, cattle, ponies, grain, whisky, commerce, salmon, cod, haddock, and herring; meal and flour, however, are both imported, besides groceries, manufactured goods, and coals. The only way of accounting for the import of meal and the export of oats seems to be, that the farmers, who are all possessed of considerable capital, can keep up their grain in order to take advantage of high prices, and also that Caithness meal is generally preferred by the consumers.

Dornoch, the county town, is the only royal burgh in Towns and Sutherland, and has been stationary at a population of villages about 500 for the last sixty years. Though small, it is now pretty well built, and contains an excellent jail (often empty), court-room, and other public buildings, all erected within the last twenty years. The parish church is a cathedral on a small scale, which was renovated and restored in 1836. Golspie, with 900 inhabitants, is beautifully situated in the vicinity of Dunrobin Castle, has two banks, half-a-dozen good shops, and is ornamented by a handsome fountain, being a monument to the Duchess-Countess of Sutherland; while on Ben-Bhraggie, overlooking the village, 1000 feet above the sea, stands a monument 70 feet high, surmounted by a colossal statue, 30 feet in height, of the late duke; both it and the fountain having been erected by the tenantry in acknowledgment of their appreciation of the character of those noble persons. The other villages are Bonar, Brora, and Helmsdale, the last the largest place in the county. In Sutherland, as in the rest of the Highlands, the military spirit, that formerly sent forth a regiment from every county, appears to be extinct: the cause is to be found in the dissolution of feudal ties, and in the commercial character of the age, which draws off the surplus young men in quest of money and the comforts of life—things not to be found in camps or campaigns.

Before 1843, Sutherland contained no dissenting place Churches of worship, and scarcely a single dissenter; but though at the disruption, the Duke of Sutherland was a firm supporter of the Established Church, at least nine-tenths of the people, headed by their more popular pastors, joined the Free Church, and continue steadily adherents to that denomination. In 1851, there were 10 Established churches, with 3696 sittings; and 19 Free churches, having 7920 sittings. On 31st March 1851, the attendance at the Established churches was—forenoon, 255; afternoon, 200; at the Free churches—forenoon, 6723; afternoon, 4504. By the census returns of 1851, it appeared that a greater proportion of the population of this county than of any other in Great Britain attends school. This is owing to two circumstances—that there is little or no employment for youths under sixteen years of age, and that every inhabited district of the county has an excessive number of schools. In addition to the parish school, there are in every parish one or two General Assembly schools, as many Free Church schools, and in some a society school. In Dornoch parish, a radius of two miles would sweep over the parish school, three General Assembly schools, four Free Church schools, and a society school. In other parishes, an Assembly school has been planted within a mile of efficiently-taught but half-filled parish schools; while a Free Church school is always at hand to supplement deficiencies in both. Although there is no printing-press in the county, Sutherland matters are sufficiently discussed by neighbouring journalists. Gaelic is losing ground daily, and many young people on the coast cannot speak it.

In various districts along the coast there are some remains of antiquity. The most interesting are two circular buildings, called Dun-Dornaild, or Dornaidilla's Tower, and Castle Coll, both reared of large stones, nicely fitted, but without cement, and of which considerable portions are still entire, after the lapse of probably 1000 years. Castle Coll, which is situated on the east side of the county, on a stream that falls into the Brora, has an exterior circumference of 54 yards, with walls 4½ yards thick at the base, inclining inwards 9 inches in every 3 feet in height; and two small apartments on each side of the doorway, as if intended for guard-rooms. The highest part of the wall is now only 11 feet high, but old people remember it twice that height. Dun-Dornaild is in the parish of Darness, on the northern side of the county. It is a building of the same character with Castle Coll, but still more dilapidated, and is celebrated in the ancient Gaelic ballads as a place of renown at a very early period. At Backies, near Golspie, are the remains of a Pictish tower, with covered passages and chambers, all formed of stone without cement, and apparently intended to be fire-proof. Others of a similar character, tumuli, and some small forts, may still be traced in various situations along the coast.

The county sends one member to Parliament; and the town of Dornoch joins with Cromarty, Dingwall, Tain, Wick, and Kirkwall, in election of a burgh member.

The population, according to the census of 1801, was 23,117; in 1811, it amounted to 23,629; in 1821, to 23,840; in 1831, to 25,518; in 1841, to 24,782; in 1851, to 25,793; and in 1860 it is estimated at 26,500.