The counties, then, are certain areas which it is convenient for political and administrative purposes to divide the country into for the better and more convenient management of local and internal affairs. To-day Scotland has thirty-three of these divisions. In a public ordinance dated 1305, twenty-five counties are named. They would seem to have been first defined early in the twelfth century, but as a matter of fact nothing very definite is known, either as to the date of their origin or as to the principles which regulated the making of their geographical boundaries. It is certain, however, that the county divisions were in Scotland an introduction from England. The term came along with the people who were flocking into Scotland from the south. The lines were drawn for what seemed political convenience and no doubt they were suited to the times. To-day the boundaries seem on occasion somewhat erratic. Banchory, for example, is in Kincardineshire, while Aboyne and Ballater on the same river bank and on the same line of road and railway are in Aberdeenshire. If the carving were to be done over again in the twentieth century, more consideration would probably be given to the railway lines. A commission of 1891 did actually rearrange the boundaries. Of the parishes partly in Aberdeen and partly in Banff, some were transferred wholly to Aberdeen (Gartly, Glass, New Machar, Old Deer and St Fergus), while others were placed in Banffshire (Cabrach, Gamrie, Inverkeithny, Alvah and Rothiemay). How it happened that certain parts of adjoining counties were planted like islands in the heart of Aberdeenshire may be understood by reference to such a case as that of St Fergus. A large part of this parish belonged to the Cheynes, who being hereditary sheriffs of Banffshire were naturally desirous of having their patrimonial estates under their own legal jurisdiction, and were influential enough to be able to stereotype this anomaly. This explains the place of St Fergus in Banffshire; it is now very properly a part of Aberdeenshire. [Illustration: The lone Kirkyard, Gamrie] The county took its name from the chief town—Aberdeen—which is clearly Celtic in origin and means the town at the mouth of either the Dee or the Don. Both interpretations are possible; but the fact that the Latin form of the word has always been _Aberdonia_ and _Aberdonensis_, favours the Don as the naming river. As a matter of fact, Old Aberdeen, though lying at no great distance from the bank of the Don, can hardly be said to be associated with Donmouth, whereas a considerable population must from a remote period have been located at the mouth of the Dee. Whatever interpretation is accepted, it was this city—the only town in the district conspicuous for population and resources—that gave its name to the county as a whole.