​FIFE, an eastern county of Scotland, bounded N. by the Firth of Tay, E. by the North Sea, S. by the Firth of Forth, and W. by the shires of Perth, Kinross and Clackmannan. The Isle of May, Inchkeith, Inchcolm, Inchgarvie and the islet of Oxcar belong to the shire. It has an area of 322,844, acres or 504 sq. m. Its coast-line measure 108 m. The Lomond Hills to the S. and S.W. of Falkland, of which West Lomond is 1713 ft. high and East Lomond 1471 ft., Saline Hill (1178 ft.) to the N.W. of Dunfermline, and Benarty (1131 ft.) on the confines of Kinross are the chief heights. Of the rivers the Eden is the longest; formed on the borders of Kinross-shire by the confluence of Beattie Burn and Carmore Burn, it pursues a wandering course for 25 m. N.E., partly through the Howe, or Hollow of Fife, and empties into the North Sea. There is good trout fishing in its upper waters, but weirs prevent salmon from ascending it. The Leven drains the loch of that name and enters the Forth at the town of Leven after flowing eastward for 15 m. There are numerous factories at various points on its banks. The Ore, rising not far from Roscobie Hills to the north of Dunfermline, follows a mainly north-easterly course for 15 m. till it joins the Leven at Windygates. The old loch of Ore which was an expansion of its water was long ago reclaimed. Motray Water finds its source in the parish of Kilmany, a few miles W. by N. of Cupar, makes a bold sweep towards the north-east, and then, taking a southerly turn, enters the head-waters of St Andrews Bay, after a course of 12 m. The principal lochs are Loch Fitty, Loch Gelly, Loch Glow and Loch Lindores; they are small but afford some sport for trout, perch and pike. “Freshwater mussels” occur in Loch Fitty. There are no glens, and the only large valley is the fertile Stratheden, which supplies part of the title of the combined baronies of Stratheden (created 1836) and Campbell (created 1841).

Climate and Agriculture.—Since the higher hills all lie in thewest, most of the county is exposed to the full force of the eastwinds from the North Sea, which often, save in the more shelteredareas, check the progress of vegetation. At an elevation of 500 or600 ft. above the sea harvests are three or four weeks later thanin the valleys and low-lying coast-land. The climate, on thewhole, is mild, proximity to the sea qualifying the heat in summerand the cold in winter. The average annual rainfall is 31 in.,rather less in the East Neuk district and around St Andrews,somewhat more as the hills are approached, late summer andautumn being the wet season. The average temperature forJanuary is 38° F., for July 59.5°, and for the year 47.6°. Four-fifthsof the total area is under cultivation, and though theacreage under grain is smaller than it was, the yield of each cropis still extraordinarily good, oats, barley, wheat being the orderof acreage. Of the green crops most attention is given to turnips.Potatoes also do well. The acreage under permanent pastureand wood is very considerable. Cattle are mainly kept for feedingpurposes, and dairy farming, though attracting more notice,has never been followed more than to supply local markets.Sheep-farming, however, is on the increase, and the raising ofhorses, especially farm horses, is an important pursuit. Theyare strong, active and hardy, with a large admixture, or purely,of Clydesdale blood. The ponies, hunters and carriage horses sobred are highly esteemed. The strain of pigs has been improvedby the introduction of Berkshires. North of the Eden the soil,though generally thin, is fertile, but the sandy waste of TentsMoor is beyond redemption. From St Andrews southwards allalong the coast the land is very productive. That adjacent tothe East Neuk consists chiefly of clay and rich loam. FromLeven to Inverkeithing it varies from a light sand to a richclayey loam. Excepting Stratheden and Strathleven, which aremostly rich, fertile loam, the interior is principally cold and stiffclay or thin loam with strong clayey subsoil. Part of the Howe ofFife is light and shingly and covered with heather. Some smallpeat mosses still exist, and near Lochgelly there is a tract ofwaste, partly moss and partly heath. The character of the farmmanagement may be judged by its results. The best methods arepursued, and houses, steadings and cottages are all in good order,commodious and comfortable. Rabbits, hares, pheasants andpartridges are common in certain districts; roe deer are occasionallyseen; wild geese, ducks and teal haunt the lochs; pigeon-housesare fairly numerous; and grouse and blackcock areplentiful on the Lomond moors. The shire is well suited forfox-hunting, and there are packs in both the eastern and thewestern division of Fife.

Mining.—Next to Lanarkshire, Fife is the largest coal-producingcounty in Scotland. The coal-field may roughly bedivided into the Dunfermline basin (including Halbeath, Lochgellyand Kelty), where the principal house coals are found, andthe Wemyss or Dysart basin (including Methil and the hinterland),where gas-coal of the best quality is obtained. Coal is alsoextensively worked at Culross, Carnock, Falfield, Donibristle,Ladybank, Kilconquhar and elsewhere. Beds of ironstone,limestone, sandstone and shale lie in many places contiguous tothe coal. Blackband ironstone is worked at Lochgelly andOakley, where there are large smelting furnaces. Oil shale isworked at Burntisland and Airdrie near Crail. Among theprincipal limestone quarries are those at Charlestown, Burntislandand Cults. Freestone of superior quality is quarried atStrathmiglo, Burntisland and Dunfermline. Whinstone ofunusual hardness and durability is obtained in nearly everydistrict. Lead has been worked in the Lomond Hills and copperand zinc have been met with, though not in paying quantities.It is of interest to note that in the trap tufa at Elie there havebeen found pyropes (a variety of dark-red garnet), which areregarded as the most valuable of Scottish precious stones andare sold under the name of Elie rubies.

Other Industries.—The staple manufacture is linen, rangingfrom the finest damasks to the coarsest ducks and sackings. Itschief seats are at Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline, but it is carried on atmany of the inland towns and villages, especially those situatednear the Eden and Leven, on the banks of which rivers, as well asat Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline and Ceres, are found the bleaching-greens.Kirkcaldy is famous for its oil-cloth and linoleum.Most of the leading towns possess breweries and tanneries, andthe largest distilleries are at Cameron Bridge and Burntisland.Woollen cloth is made to a small extent in several towns, andfishing-net at Kirkcaldy, Largo and West Wemyss. Paper ismanufactured at Guardbridge, Markinch and Leslie; earthenwareat Kirkcaldy; tobacco at Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy;engineering works and iron foundries are found at Kirkcaldy andDunfermline; and shipbuilding is carried on at Kinghorn,Dysart, Burntisland, Inverkeithing and Tayport. From Inverkeithingall the way round the coast to Newburgh there areharbours at different points. They are mostly of moderatedimensions, the principal port being Kirkcaldy. The largestsalmon fisheries are conducted at Newburgh and the chief seat ofthe herring fishery is Anstruther, but most of the coast townstake some part in the fishing either off the shore, or at stationsfarther north, or in the deep sea.

Communications.—The North British railway possesses amonopoly in the shire. From the Forth Bridge the main linefollows the coast as far as Dysart and then turns northwards toLadybank, where it diverges to the north-east for Cupar and theTay Bridge. From Thornton Junction a branch runs to Dunfermlineand another to Methil, and here begins also the coastline for Leven, Crail and St Andrews which touches the main lineagain at Leuchars Junction; at Markinch a branch runs toLeslie; at Ladybank there are branches to Mawcarse Junction,and to Newburgh and Perth; and at Leuchars Junction a loopline runs to Tayport and Newport, joining the main at Wormit.From the Forth Bridge the system also connects, via Dunfermline,with Alloa and Stirling in the W. and with Kinross andPerth in the N. From Dunfermline there is a branch to Charlestown,which on that account is sometimes called the port ofDunfermline.

Population and Government.—The population was 190,365in 1891, and 218,840 in 1901, when 844 persons spoke Gaelicand English and 3 Gaelic only. The chief towns are theAnstruthers (pop. in 1901, 4233), Buckhaven (8828), Burntisland(4846), Cowdenbeath (7908), Cupar (4511), Dunfermline (25,250),Dysart (3562), Kelty (3986), Kirkcaldy (34,079), Leslie (3587),Leven (5577), Lochgelly (5472), Lumphinnans (2071), Newport(2869), St Andrews (7621), Tayport (3325) and Wemyss (2522).For parliamentary purposes Fife is divided into an easternand a western division, each returning one member. It alsoincludes the Kirkcaldy district of parliamentary burghs (comprisingBurntisland, Dysart, Kinghorn and Kirkcaldy), and theSt Andrews district (the two Anstruthers, Crail, Cupar, Kilrenny,Pittenweem and St Andrews); while Culross, Dunfermlineand Inverkeithing are grouped with the Stirling district. As ​regards education the county is under school-board jurisdiction, and in respect of higher education its equipment is effective. St Andrews contains several excellent schools; at Cupar there is the Bell-Baxter school; at Dunfermline andKirkcaldy there are high schools and at Anstruther there is the Waid Academy.

History.—In remote times the term Fife was applied to the peninsula lying between the estuaries of the Tay and Forth and separated from the rest of the mainland by the Ochil Hills. Its earliest inhabitants were Picts of the northern branch and their country was long known as Pictavia. Doubtless it was owing to the fact that the territory was long subject to the rule of an independent king that Fife itself came to be called distinctively The Kingdom, a name of which the natives are still proud. The Romans effected no settlement in the province, though it is probable that they temporarily occupied points here and there. In any case the Romans left no impression on the civilization of the natives. With the arrival of the missionaries—especially St Serf, St Kenneth, St Rule, St Adrian, St Moran and St Fillan—and conversion of the Picts went on apace. Interesting memorials of these devout missionaries exist in the numerous coast caves between Dysart and St Andrews and in the crosses and sculptured stones, some doubtless of pre-Christian origin, to be seen at various places. The word Fife, according to Skene, seems to be identical with the JutlandFibh (pronouncedFife) meaning “forest,” and was probably first used by the Frisians to describe the country behind the coasts of the Forth and Tay, where Frisian tribes are supposed to have settled at the close of the 4th century. The next immigration was Danish, which left lasting traces in many place-names (such as the frequent use oflaw for hill). An ancient division of the Kingdom into Fife and Fothrif survived for a period for ecclesiastical purposes. The line of demarcation ran from Leven to the east of Cults, thence to the west of Collessie and thence to the east of Auchtermuchty. To the east of this line lay Fife proper. In 1426 the first shire of Kinross was formed, consisting of Kinross and Orwell, and was enlarged to its present dimensions by the transference from Fife of the parishes of Portmoak, Cleish and Tulliebole. Although the county has lain outside of the main stream of Scottish history, its records are far from dull or unimportant. During the reigns of the earlier Stuarts, Dunfermline, Falkland and St Andrews were often the scene of solemn pageantry and romantic episodes. Out of the seventy royal burghs in Scotland no fewer than eighteen are situated in the shire. However, notwithstanding the marked preference of the Stuarts, the Kingdom did not hesitate to play the leading part in the momentous dramas of the Reformation and the Covenant, and by the 18th century the people had ceased to regard the old royal line with any but sentimental interest, and the Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745 evoked only the most lukewarm support.