Fodderty, a parish of south-eastern and central Ross and Cromarty, traversed for 6¼ miles by the Dingwall and Skye branch of the Highland railway, from a point 15/8 mile W by N of Dingwall to the foot of Loch Garve. Strathpeffer station thereon lies 4½ miles WNW of Dingwall; and the parish also contains Strathpeffer Spa, Auchterneed hamlet, and Maryburgh village. It is bounded N by Kincardine, NE by Alness, Kiltearn, and Dingwall, SE by Urquhart, S by Urray, and SW by Contin. Its utmost length, from NW to SE, is 23 miles; its width varies between 1 mile and 7¾ miles; and its area is 65, 262/3 acres, of which 9881/3 are water, and 27202/5 belong to the Maryburgh or south-eastern portion, detached from the main body by a strip of Dingwall parish, 2/3 furlong broad at the narrowest. Through this south-eastern section the Conan flows 1¾ mile north-north-eastward to the head of Cromarty Firth; whilst in the main body, the Peffer, rising at an altitude of 1750 feet, winds 77/8 miles south-south-eastward and east-by-northward, till, 1¾ mile above its mouth, it passes off into Dingwall. Lakes are Loch Ussie (6½ X 42/3 furl.; 419 feet), lying partly in Dingwall and partly in the detached portion; Lochs Garve (1½ X ½ mile; 220 feet) and Gorm (2 X 2¼ furl.; 1900 feet), on the Contin bor. der; Crom Loch (¾ mile X 2¼ furl.; 1720 feet), on the Kincardine border; and Loch Toll a' Mhuic (5¾ X 2 furl.; 880 feet), in the north-western interior. The surface declines to 20 feet above sea-level along the Peffer, and S of the railway attains 579 feet at conical Knock Farril, 801 at Creag Ulladail, and 874 at Creag an Fhithich; north-westward it rises to 1172 at Druim a' Chuilein, 1705 at Carn Gorm, 3106 at An Cabar, 3429 at huge lumpish *Ben Wyvis, 2206 at *Carn nan Con Ruadha, and 2551 at Meall a' Ghrianain, where asterisks mark those summits that culminate on the confines of the parish, the highest point in whose detached portion is 628 feet. A calcareo-bituminous rock-fish-bed schist of the Old Red sandstone series-occurs in large quantities in the lower parts of Fodderty. It emits, when broken, a peculiar fœtid odour; and to it the Wells owe their ingredients and properties. A seam of soft friable bitumen in a hill above Castle-Leod is capable of yielding a high percentage of oil, though not enough to repay the cost of working, as proved by investigations of 1870-71. The rocks of the mountainous north-western region are gneissose chiefly, of Silurian age. The soil of the arable lands ranges from a strong reddish clay to a fine free loam, and great improvements have been carried out on the Duchess of Sutherland's property since 1867 in the way of reclaiming, fencing, planting, building. etc.; still the arable area is small, compared .with hill-pasture and moorland. A cairn, measuring 260 feet by 20, is on the lands of Hilton, where and on Cromarty estate are remains of two stone circles; two standing stones adjoin the parish church; and several kistvaens or ancient stone coffins have been found to the N of the churchyard. The chief antiquity, the vitrified fort on Knock Farril, is noticed separately, as also is the chief mansion, Castle-Leod. Four proprietors hold each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 2 of between £100 and £500, and 6 of less than £100. Giving off portions to the quoad sacra parishes of Carnach and Kinlochluichart, Fodderty is in the presbytery of Dingwall and synod of Ross; the living is worth £354. The parish church, 9 furlongs ESE of Strathpeffer station, was built in 1807, and, as enlarged in 1835, contains 640 sittings. There are two Free churches, one of Maryburgh and one of Fodderty and Contin; and two public schools, Fodderty and Maryburgh, with respective accommodation for 165 and 121 children, had (188l) an average attendance of 11l and 117, and grants of £84, 1s. and £107, 1s. 6d. Valuation (1860) £7538, (1882) £12, 583, 15s. Pop. of civil parish (180l) 1820, (1831) 2232, (1861) 2247, (1871) 2121, (l891) 2047, of whom 1381 were Gaelic-speaking; of ecclesiastical parish (1871) 1943, (188l) 1880.—Ord. Sur., shs. 83, 93, 1881.
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