Gazetteer of Scotland

PER
had his fown grafs in the rick upon
the 1.5th day of May, old ftyle ; and,
upon the 29th of the fame month,
there were fix Scots pints of ftraw-
herries on his table, raifed in the open
garden. Horticulture is making ra-
pid progrefs in Perthfhire. There
are many extenfive orchards, particu-
larly in the Carle of Gowrie, which
has long been famous for fruit. In
the vicinity of Perth, and in the dif-
trict. of Monteath alfo, fruit is raifed
in great quantities. In former times,
the greater part of this extenfive coun-
ty muft have been covered with wood,
which the progrefs of agriculture has
removed in many diftricts ; but in
every mofs in the fiat land, in the
valleys, or on the tops of the hills,
roots and trunks of large trees are
found. The fir wood of Rannoch is
very extenfive ; and the proprietor,
Mr. Robertfon of Strowan, draws an-
nually a conliderable revenue from it.
It covers 3566 acres. The detached
woods of oak, birch, and alder, be-
longing to the fame gentleman, cover
3869 acres. Befides thefe, in Athol,
in Braidalbin, and in Monteath, there
are extenfive forefts. Within the laft
40 years, plantations have greatly in-
creafed, particularly of the larix, and
different hard woods. Befides Perth,
the county town, Perthfhire contains
another royal borough, viz.CuLROss :
feveral towns which formerly enjoy-
ed the privileges of royal burghs, as
Auchterderran, Abernethy, and
Dumblane; feveral burghs of ba-
rony, as Dunkdd, Crieff-, Long/organ,
Cupar, Alyth, &c. befides about 60
other conliderable villages, as Kincar-
dine, Callander, Muthil, B/airgoiurie,
Jnchture, &c. Of the numerous feats
of the nobility and gentry which or-
nament this county, we can only note
a few of the moft remarkable. Blair-
cajlle in Athol, and Dunkeld-houfe,
feats of the Duke of Athol; Tay mouth,
the feat of the Earl of Braidalbin ;
Dupplin-cajlle, the feat of the Earl of
Kinnoul ; Drummond-caJHe, the feat
of the family of Perth ; Ouchtertyre,
the feat of Sir Patrick Murray ; Du-
neira, a feat of the Right Hon. Henry
Dundas ; Blair-Drummond, the feat
pf Mr. Home ; Lasers, the feat of
Colonel Robertfon; Methven-cajile,the
feat of Lord Methven ; Cajlle-Himtly,
the feat of George Pateribn 3 Efq. ;
PER
Lundie, the feat of Lord Duncan ;
Cajlle-Gray and Kuifawis, feats of Lord
Gray ; Drimmie, the feat of Lord
Kinnaird ; Culrofs Abbey, a feat of the
Earl of Dundonald; Falleyjield, the
feat of Sir Charles Prefton. Befides
thefe, Cardrofs, Gartmore, Kier, Len-
rick, Cajlle-Menzies, Monzie, Glenea-
gles, Aberuchil, RoJ/ie, Arthur/lone, St,
Martins, Blairgowrie, Murthly, and
many others deferve notice, a lift of
which would even too far extend our
limits. The valuable minerals of Perth-
fhire are few. Coal is found in the
fouthern parts of it, in the neighbour-
hood of Culrofs, which town claims?
the invention of extracting pitch and
naphtha from that mineral. Lime-
ftone is difcovered, and wrought in
many parts of the Highland diftrict,
particularly in Rannoch, Glenlyon,
Braidalbin, and the head of Strath-
erne ; in Monteath it is of the nature
of marble, receiving a tine polifh : the
diftrict of Stormont alfo poffeffes fe-
veral limeftone quarries. Slates are
found in many parts, and efpecially
in the parifli of Aberfoyle. The moun-
tains on the N. and W. are chiefly gra-
nite. Freeftone of the beft quality is
abundant, and wrought to a great
extent, at the Kingoodie quarry in
Longforgan, and at the quarry of
Longannat in the parifh of Tullial-
lan. In Monteath there is a ridge of
fieatites, or rock foap, 3 feet thick,
which extends upwards of 4 miles in
length ; and a very valuable clay, fi-
milar to that wrought at Stourbridge
in Worcefteriliire, has been difcovered
in great beds near Culrofs. There is
plenty of ironftone near Tulliallan,
which is not of fufficient value to
caufe it to be wrought. A copper
mine has been wrought in the parifh
of Logie, on the banks of the Forth.
A lead mine was carried on fome
years near Tyndrum in Braidalbin,
and another in Glenlyon. Some lead
ore was lately difcovered in the moun-
tain of Benledi near Callander. It may
be noticed, that this county feems to
divide that part of Scotland on the S.
which is generally adapted to the
raifing of grain, from that on the N.
which, with a few exceptions, is more
fitted for pafture. It is alfo lingular,
that Perthfhire divides the country on
the N. where firs abounded in former
times, from that on the S* where ©aks*