the methods of agriculture were of a primitive character, but since
then they have been entirely transformed, and Orcadian farming
is now not below the average standard of the Scottish lowlands.
The crofters' houses have been rebuilt of stone and lime, and are
superior to those in most parts of the Highlands. The holdings run
fairly small, the average being between 30 and 40 acres. Practically
the only grain crops that are cultivated are oats (which greatly
predominate) and barley, while the favoured root crops are turnips
(much the most extensively grown) and potatoes. Not half of the
area has been brought under cultivation, and the acreage under wood
is insignificant. The raising of live stock is rigorously pursued.
Shorthorns and polled Angus are the commonest breeds of cattle;
the sheep are mostly Cheviots and a Cheviot-Leicester cross, but the
native sheep are still reared in considerable numbers in Hoy and
South Ronaldshay, pigs are also kept on several of the islands,
and the horses—as a rule hardy, active and small, though larger
than the famous Shetland ponies—are very numerous, but mainly
employed in connexion with agricultural work. The woollen trade
once promised to reach considerable dimensions, but towards the
end of the 18th century was superseded by the linen (for which flax
came to be largely grown); and when this in turn collapsed before
the products of the mills of Dundee, Dunfermline and Glasgow,
straw-plaiting was taken up, though only to be killed in due time
by the competition of the south. The kelp industry, formerly of at
least minor importance, has ceased. Sandstone is quarried on several
islands, and distilleries are found in Pomona (near Kirkwall and
Stromness). But apart from agriculture the principal industry is
fishing. For several centuries the Dutch practically monopolized
the herring fishery, but when their supremacy was destroyed by the
salt duty, the Orcadians failed to seize the opportunity thus presented,
and George Barry (d. 1805) says that in his day the fisheries
were almost totally neglected. The industry, however, has now been
organized, and over 2000 persons are employed in the various branches
of it. The great catches are herring, cod and ling, but lobsters and
crabs are also exported in large quantities. There is a regular communication
by steamer becween Stromness and Kirkwall, and Thurso,
Wick, Aberdeen and Leith, and also between Kirkwall and Lerwick
and other points of the Shetlands.
Population and Administration.—In 1891 the population numbered 30,453, and in 1901 it was 28,699, or 67 persons to the sq. m. In 1901 there were 70 persons who spoke Gaelic and English, but none who spoke Gaelic only. Orkney unites with Shetland to send one member to parliament, and Kirkwall, the county town and the only royal burgh, is one of the Wick district groups of parliamentary burghs. There is a combination poorhouse at Kirkwall, where there are also two hospitals. Orkney forms a sheriffdom with Shetland and Caithness, and a resident sheriff-substitute sits at Kirkwall. The county is under the school-board jurisdiction, but at Kirkwall and Stromness there are public schools giving secondary education.
The Inhabited Islands.—Premising that they are more or less scattered, and that several lie on the same plane, the following list gives the majority of the inhabited islands from south to north, the number within brackets indicating the population. Sule Skerry (3) and the Pentland Skerries (8) lie at the eastern entrance of the Portland Firth; Swona (23), 15 m. from the mainland, belongs to Caithness and is situated in the parish of Canisbay; South Ronaldshay (1991) is the best cultivated and most fertile of the southern isles of the group. On Hoxa Head, to the west of the large village of St Margaret's Hope, is a broch, or round tower, and the island contains, besides, examples of Picts' houses and standing stones. Hoy (q.v.; 1216) is the southernmost of the larger islands. Flotta (372), east of Hoy, was the home for a long time of the Scandinavian compiler of the Codex Flotticensis, which furnished Thormodr Torfaaus (1636–1719), the Icelandic antiquary, with many of the facts for his History of Norway, more particularly with reference to the Norse occupation of Orkney. Pharay (59) also lies E. of Hoy. Burray (677) is famous for the broch from which the island takes its name (Borgarey, Norse, “island of the broch”). The tower stands on the north-western shore, is 15 ft. high, has walls from 15 to 20 ft. thick, built of layers of flat stones without cement or mortar, and an interior diameter of 40 ft. It is entered from the east by a passage, on each side of which there is a small chamber constructed within the thickness of the wall. Similar chambers occur on the west, north and south sides, accessible only from the interior. Adjoining the southern chamber is the inside stair conducting to the top of the broch; of this stair some twenty steps remain. Between Hoy and Pomona are Hunda (8), Cava (17), and Graemsay (195), which has excellent soil and is mostly under cultivation. The isle is surrounded by shoals, and high-level and low-level lighthouses have been erected, the one at the north-west and the other at the north-east corner. The cliffs of Copinshay (10) are a favourite haunt of sea-birds, which are captured by the cragsmen for their feathers and eggs. Half a mile to the N.E. is the great rock which, from a fancied resemblance to a horse rearing its head from the sea, is called the Horse of Copinshay. Pomona (q.v.; 16,235) is the principal island, and as such is known also as Mainland. Shapinshay (765) was the birthplace of William Irving, father of Washington Irving. It possesses several examples of Pictish and Scandinavian antiquities, such as the “Odin stone” and the broch of Burrowstone. Balfour Castle, a mansion in the Scottish Baronial style built in 1848, is situated near the south-western extremity of the island. The island takes its name from Hjalpand, a Norse viking. Gairsay (33) was the residence of Sweyn Asleifson, the rover, celebrated in the Orkneyinga Saga for his exploits as a trencherman and his feats in battle. Stronsay (1159) is a busy station of the herring fishery, and is also largely under cultivation. At Lamb Head, its south-easterly point, is a broch and Pictish pier, and about 2 m. farther north, on Odin Bay, is a round pit in the rocks called the Vat of Kirbuster. The well of Kildinguie was once resorted to as a specific for leprosy. Papa Stronsay (16) commemorates in its name, as others of both the Orkneys and Shetlands do, the labours of the Celtic papae, or missionaries, who preached the Christian gospel before the arrival of the Northmen. The adjacent Veira or Wire has a population of 60. Egilshay (142) is the island on which St Magnus was murdered by his cousin Hacco in 115. It derives its name—Church (ecclesia) Island—from the little church of St Magnus, now in ruins, consisting of a chancel 15 ft. long, and nave 30 ft. long. The building has a round tower at the west end of the nave. The tower resembles similar constructions found beside Irish churches of the 7th and 8th centuries and has walls 3 ft. thick. It is doubtful whether it must be ascribed to the Celtic evangelists or to a much later period—not earlier than the 12th century. On Rousay (627) the cairn of Blotchnie Fiold (811 ft.), the highest point of the island, commands a beautiful survey of the northern isles of the archipelago. At the southern base of the hill stands the fine mansion of Trumbland House. Eday (596) contains several specimens of weems, mounds and standing stones. It affords good pasturage and has sandstone quarries. Carrick village, once a burgh of barony, with salt pans and other manufactures, was named after the earl of Carrick, brother of Patrick Stewart, 2nd earl of Orkney (d. 1614). It was off this island that John Gow, the pirate, was taken in 1725. Sanday (1727), with an area of 19 sq. m., is one of the largest of the northern isles, and yields excellent crops of potatoes and grain. It has safe harbours, in the north at Otterswick and in the south at Kettletoft. The antiquities include a broch in Elsness. Pharay (47) lies W. of Edey. Westray (1956), one of the seats of the cod fishery, has a good harbour at Pier-o'-wall. Noltland Castle, in the vicinity, is interesting as having been proposed as the refuge of Queen Mary after her flight from Loch Leven. It dates from the 15th century or even earlier, and was at one time the property of Sir Gilbert Balfour, the Master of Queen Mary’s Household. The building, now in ruins, was never completed. On one side of the inner court, to which a finely ornamental doorway gives access, is a large hall with a vaulted ceiling of stone, 20 ft. high. The cliffs and overhanging crags at Noup Head (250 ft.), the most westerly point, are remarkably picturesque. An isolated portion, divided from the headland by a narrow chasm, is known as the Stack of Noup. Gentleman's Cave, 1 m. to the south, was so called from the circumstance that it afforded shelter to five of the leading followers of Prince Charles Edward, who lay here during the winter of 1745–1746. Papa Westray (295) and North Ronaldshay (442) are the most northerly islands of the group. The latter is only reached from Sanday, from which it is separated by a dangerous firth 212 m. wide. The monumental stone with Ogham inscription, which was discovered in the broch of Burrian, must date from the days of the early Christian missionaries.
History.—The Orkneys were the Orcades of classical writers, and the word is probably derived from the Norse Orkn, seal, and ey, island. The original inhabitants were Picts, evidence of whose occupation still exists in numerous weems or underground houses, chambered mounds, barrows or burial mounds, brochs or round towers, and stone circles and standing stones. Such implements as have survived are of the rudest description, and include querns or stone handmills for grinding corn, stone worls and bone combs employed in primitive forms of woollen manufacture, and specimens of simple pottery ware. If, as seems likely, the Dalriadic Scots towards the beginning of the 6th century established a footing in the islands, their success was short-lived, and the Picts regained power and kept it until dispossessed by the Norsemen in the 9th century. In the wake of the Scots incursionists followed the Celtic missionaries about 565. They were companions of St Columba and their efforts to convert the folk to Christianity seem to have impressed the popular imagination, for several islands bear the epithet “Papa” in commemoration of the preachers. Norse pirates having made the islands the headquarters of their buccaneering expeditions indifferently against their own Norway and the coasts and isles of Scotland, Harold Haarfager (“Fair Hair”) subdued
