Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire, a lowland county of Scotland. having Stirling in the N., Dumfries on the S., the Lothians and Peebles on the E., and Renfrew and Ayr on the W. It has an area of 564,284 acres. The river Clyde cuts it into two nearly equal portions, and the Avon and other tributaries help to water it. In the S. are the Lowther or Lead Hills, from which the Clyde rises. Much of the soil is barren marshland, but the rest affords excellent pasturage, and from it abundant fruit crops are raised. The Clydesdale orchards have been famous for centuries. Lanarkshire is rich in mineral products, coal, iron, and lead being obtained in great abundance. Some gold and silver is found. The chief towns are Glasgow, Airdrie, Hamilton, and Lanark, the last being an old place 31 miles S.E. of Glasgow, near which are the beautiful falls of Clyde. Lanark, Hamilton, and Airdrie are members of the parliamentary group of Falkirk boroughs. The county was given four new members by the Reform Bill of 1885, and has six in all.