KINROSS-SHIRE

kinross-shire, a county of scotland, bounded n. and w. by perthshire, on the extreme s.w. by clackmannanshire and s. and e. by fifeshire. its area is 52,410 acres or 81.9 sq. m. excepting clackmannan it is the smallest county in scotland both in point of area and of population. on its confines the shire is hilly. to the n. and w. are several peaks of the ochils, the highest being innerdouny (1621 ft.) and mellock (1573); to the e. are the heights of the lomond group, such as white craigs (1492 ft.) and bishop hill; to the s. are benarty (1131 ft.) on the fife border and farther west the cleish hills, reaching in dumglow an altitude of 1241 ft. with the exception of the leven, which drains loch leven and of which only the first mile of its course belongs to the county, all the streams are short. green's burn, the north and south queich, and the gairney are the principal. loch leven, the only lake, is remarkable rather for its associations than its natural features. the scenery on the devon, west of the crook, the river here forming the boundary with perthshire, is of a lovely and romantic character. at one place the stream rushes through the rocky gorge with a loud clacking sound which has given to the spot the name of the devil's mill, and later it flows under the rumbling bridge. in reality there are two bridges, one built over the other, in the same vertical line. the lower one dates from 1713 and is unused; but the loftier and larger one, erected in 1816, commands a beautiful view. a little farther west is the graceful cascade of the caldron linn, the fall of which was lessened, however, by a collapse of the rocks in 1886. _geology._--the northern higher portion of the county is occupied by the lower old red sandstone volcanic lavas and agglomerates of the ochils. the coarse character of some of the lower agglomerate beds is well seen in the gorge at rumbling bridge. the beds dip gently towards the s.s.e.; in a north-easterly direction they contain more sandy sediments, and the agglomerates and breccias frequently become conglomerates. the plain of kinross is occupied by the soft sandstones, marls and conglomerates of the upper old red sandstone, which rest unconformably upon the lower division with a strong dip. southward and eastward these rocks dip conformably beneath the lower carboniferous cement stone series of the calciferous sandstone group. the overlying carboniferous limestone occupies only a small area in the south and east of the county. intrusive basalt sheets have been intercalated between some of the carboniferous strata, and the superior resisting power of this rock has been the cause of the existence of west lomond, benarty, cleish hills and bishop hill, which are formed of soft marls and sandstones capped by basalt. the hurlet limestone is worked on the lomond and bishop hills. east- and west-running dikes of basalt are found in the north-east of the county, traversing the old red volcanic rocks. kames of gravel and sand and similar glacial detritus are widely spread over the older rocks. _climate and industries._--the lower part of the county is generally well sheltered and adapted to all kinds of crops; and the climate, though wet and cold, offers no hindrance to high farming. the average annual rainfall is 35.5 inches, and the temperature for the year is 48°