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ABERDEENSHIRE, a large and important county of Scotland, forming the north-east corner of the island, and the most easterly point of an extensive triangle which advances far into the German Ocean. It is bounded on the north and east by the German Ocean; on the south by the counties of Kincardine, Forfar, and Perth; and on the west by the counties of Banff, Moray, and Inverness. The southern boundary of the county runs in a direction from east to west, and consists of the great ridges of the Grampians, which stretch along the north of the counties of Kincardine, Forfar, and a part of Perthshire. A long north-western boundary runs along the eastern side of the county of Banff and part of Inverness, and between the northern boundary and Caithness rolls that part of the German Ocean called the Moray Frith. The southern or south-western portion of the county forms a part of the Grampian range, and is consequently very mountainous, but the surface descends towards the north-east; and the greater part of the county may be described as a level plain, agreeably diversified by knolls and occasional eminences, with vales between each, intersected by its rill or stream. The greatest length of the county is 86 miles from north to south, and its greatest breadth from east to west is 42 miles. It consists of about 1985 square miles, of 1,270,740 English acres, of which about 300,000 are cultivated, 450 uncultivated, and 520,740 in waste. The county is ecclesiastically divided into 88 parishes, which with other parishes form eight Presbyteries, and these Presbyteries one Provincial Synod. Several of the parishes, however, in these Presbyteries belong to the adjoining counties.
The county of Aberdeen comprehends five districts—Mar (with its subdivisions of Braemar, Strathdee, and Cromar), Formartine, Garioch, Strathbogie, and nearly all Buchan. In the court of Lieutenancy it is divided into ten districts, each district superintended by a certain number of deputy-lieutenants, viz. Braemar, Deeside, Aberdeen, Alford, Huntly, Turriff, Garioch, Ellon, Deer, and New Machar districts. The population of the county in 1831 was 177,657; the inhabited houses 29,502; in 1838 the Parliamentary constituency was 3142, and the polling places for the county are—1. The Court-House, Aberdeen; 2. Village of Ellon; 3. Village of Strichen; 4. Village of Tarland; 5. At or near Bridge of Alford, across the Don; 6. Town of Huntly; 7. Town of Turriff; 8. Burgh of Inverury. A similar division is made in all the counties of Scotland, in proportion to tlieir extent, in conformity with the clause in the Reform Bill, in which it is provided that " every voter shall poll at the polling place of the district within which the premises, or any part of them, in respect of which he may claim to vote, may be situated." The county sends one member to the Imperial Parliament. There are three royal burghs in the county, namely, the city of Aberdeen, Kintore, and Inverury. Of these Aberdeen sends one member; and Kintore and Inverury are classed with the royal burghs of Banff, Cullen, and Elgin, and the Parliamentary burgh of Peterhead, in returning a member, so that Aberdeen, instead of returning one member, and occasionally two, when the city happened to be the returning burgh, now returns two of its own, and its fraction of a third, to the House of Commons.
In 1815 the valued rent of the county was L.235,605, 8s. 11d. Scots money, and the land-tax, L.2715, 4s. sterling. Since that time L.53,853, 7s. 1Od. have been redeemed, leaving assessed in 1837 the sum of L.181,812,8d., the land-tax arising from which, at the rate o L.13, 16s. 8d. per L.100 Scots, amounts to L.2101, 17s. 8d. sterling. The amount of assessed taxes in 1837 was L.11,205, 4s. 1Od. sterling. The fiars of the county are the rates or prices of the various kinds of grain and other crops grown in it, determined by the sheriff and a jury annually in the month of February or March for the preceding crop after hearing evidence. The fiars, of course, vary every year.
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