BUTE, as a county, consists of the Islands of Bute, Arran, Inchmarnock, and the two Cumbraes, in the Frith of Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Island of Bute is about six miles west of the coast of Ayrshire, and half a mile from Cowal in Argyleshire, from which county it is separated by the well known straits called the Kyles of Bute. The island is eighteen miles in length, and from three to five in breadth. To the north the coast is elevated, rocky, and barren; the centre is diversified by hills affording excellent pasturage, valleys, and fertile tracts; the south is hilly, and divided from the rest of the island by the low and sandy plain of Langal-chorid. The principal lakes are Loch Fadd, Loch Quien, and Loch Ascog, between Rothesay and Scalpsie Bay ; the small Loch of Greenan is about the middle of the island; the Red Loch and Bull Loch are near the north end. The coast is rocky, and indented by bays, the principal of which are those of Kilchattan, Rothesay, and Kames, on the east side; Dungoil, Stravannan, Scalpsie, St Ninian's, and Ellerick Bays, on the west side. The soil consists of clay, loam, and sand, with moss lying on gravel. The greater part of the arable land is well inclosed, and excellent crops are raised. The minerals are chiefly limestone, freestone, slate, and a very inferior quality of coal. There are beds of coral and shells of considerable thickness in many places half a mile from the shore. Some fine prospects are obtained from the hills, especially that of Kilchattan in the south district. Bute has long been celebrated for its salubrious climate, which makes it the great resort of invalids and persons in delicate health. Rothesay, the only town in the island, and a royal burgh, is now a favourite watering-place. There are several villages, but none of any importance. The memorials of antiquity are numerous, and in the south of the island is a place called the Devil's Cauldron, formed of stone without cement; the walls, now only a few feet in height, and ten in breadth; the area 30 feet in diameter. The object of its erection is unknown. The county of Bute returns one member to the Imperial Parliament. In 1831 the population was 14,151, including the islands of Arran, the Cumbraes, and Inchmarnock. The Parliamentary constituency in 1839 was 380. By the Scotish Reform Act the burgh of Rothesay is part of the county. The whole county is computed as having an area of 257 square miles, or 165,000 acres, of which 60,000 are cultivated, 40,000 uncultivated, and the 65,000 unprofitable. The annual value of real property, as assessed in 1815, was L.22,541. The Sheriff, Commissary, and Sheriff Small Debt Courts, are held at Rothesay every Tuesday; Justice of Peace Small Debt Courts are held at Rothesay on the first Monday of every month. The intercourse between the Island of Bute and Glasgow is cheap, rapid, and frequent. The Island gives the Scotish title of Earl, and the British title of Marquis, to a branch of the Family of Stuart, descended from a younger son of Robert II. Sir James Stuart of Bute was created a baronet by Charles II. in 1627, and his grandson was raised to the earldom of Bute in 1703. The grandson of this nobleman, the third Earl, was the celebrated Prime Minister after the accession of George III., and makes an important figure in the political history of Great Britain. His son and successor, the fourth Earl, was created Marquis of Bute, Earl of Windsor, and Viscount Mountjoy, in the British Peerage, in 1796. The Marquis of Bute is also Earl of Dumfries and Viscount Ayr in the Scotish Peerage, by maternal descent from Patrick, fifth Earl of Dumfries. His Lordship is Admiral of the county and Island of Bute, and is in no way dependent on the Lord High Admiral of Scotland, in any maritime case which occurs within his jurisdiction. The Marquis is also, as proprietor of the ancient patrimony of the Royal House of Stuart in the Island, Hereditary High Sheriff. See ROTHESAY. Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of Scotland, circa 1841