POMONA, or MAINLAND, an island, in the county
of Orkney and Shetland; containing 16,141 inhabitants.
This island, which is the largest of the Orkneys,
is situated between the sound of Wire and other sounds,
on the north, and Scalpa Flow, Holm sound, and other
waters, on the south; and is about nineteen miles in
extreme length and fourteen miles in extreme breadth,
comprising an area of 150 square miles, or about 96,000
acres. It is divided into two unequal peninsulas by the
bay of Kirkwall on the north, and the still deeper indentation
of Scalpa Flow on the south. The surface is
diversified with hills, of which those in the western
peninsula are of greater elevation than those in the
eastern, which is also considerably less extensive in its
area. Of these hills, several are clothed with verdure
almost to the summits, affording excellent pasturage for
sheep; and between them are fertile valleys of a loamy
soil; but the principal land under cultivation is along
the coast, where abundance of sea-weed is obtained for
manure. In the western portion of the island are some
inland lakes, of which by far the largest is Loch Stennis,
divided nearly in the centre by a boldly projecting neck
of land, which forms a natural causeway reaching nearly
to the opposite shore, and on which are the celebrated
Druidical remains called the Stones of Stennis. The
other lakes are Orphir, Skail, Birsay, and Aikerness,
from which issiie several small streams abounding with
different species of trout. The coast, especially on the
west, is bold, rocky, and precipitous, rising into mural
cliffs of considerable height, covered with sea-fowl of
every variety, and perforated with natural arches leading
into caverns of romantic appearance. The system of
agriculture has recently made considerable progress, and
the lands have been partially inclosed; the chief crops
are oats, beans, and an inferior kind of barley. Great
numbers of sheep are pastured on the hills, and attention
is paid to the improvement of the stock, for which
purpose rams of the Merino breed have been introduced:
large herds of swine, also, are fed upon the commons.
The island comprises the parishes of St. Andrew's, Birsay,
Evie, Firth, Holm, Kirkwall, Orphir, Sandwick, and
Stromness, all of which are separately described.