Gazetteer of Scotland

PAL
culture, but wet and cold, from hav-
ing a bottom of close impervious til!.
This circumstance, and the vicinity
U> the Atlantic, renders the climate
moist ; and rheumatic, pulmonary,
And other inflammatory disorders, are
■?ery prevalent. About 140 acres are
Covered with natural wood, which is
all that remains of the extensive fo-
rest of Paisley, mentioned in many
ancient papers. The whole district
abounds with various useful and cu
rious minerals. Coal, limestone, and
freestone, are wrought in many pla-
ces ; and there is one quarry of a spe-
cies of lapis cllaris called Osmund
.stone, which is fire proof, and highly
on demand for hearths of ovens. In
the limestone quarries are found fos-
sil shells, and other marine exuviae,
in great variety and abundance. Be-
sides the shells natural to our seas,
are found many foreign shells, as ano-
■mix, gryphytesi m'dliperes, fungites,
&c. Corals and shells have also been
found in the coal shafts, in detached
pieces of limestone and schistus, some-
times at the depth of not less than
i 60 feet. In the limestone there are
often fine specimens of calcareous and
rhomboidal spars. One bed of schis-
tus contains considerable •quantities
of iron pyrites, and even native sul-
phate of iron, which is extracted from
it by a company established in the
neighbourhood for the manufacture
of copperas. Some of the beds of ;
schistus and freestone exhibit fine
Specimens of impressions of native
and exotic plants. Population of the
town and Abbey parish of Paisley in
J301, 31,179.
PALDIE cr PALDIEKIRK j a
small village in the parish of Fordoun,
in Kincardineshire, noted for its three
days fair. It is said to have received
its name from St. Palladius, first bi-
shop of the Scots, who was interred
there.
PANBRIDE; a parish in Forfar-
shire, situated on the sea coast, at the
mouth of the Frith of Tay. It is a-
bout 5\ miles long, and L z broad. The
.general appearance is flat, with a con-
siderable declivity from the N. to the
sea. The coast is flat and rocky, but
has two open harbours at the East
and West Havens, where small ves-
sels may deliver their cargoes during
tie summer monihSr The soil varies
PAP
considerably, being sandy on the coast*
loam or clay in the middle, and moory
in its northern extremity. The pa-
rish is watered by a considerable
stream, which runs at the bottom of
a valley called Battle's den, over
which is thrown a high bridge on the
turnpike road from Dundee to Ar-
broath. There are several villages^
viz. East and West Havens, Panbride,
Skrine, and Muirdrum, at the latter
of which is a post-office. In the
northern part of the parish stands the
house of Panmure, with its extensive,
inclosures and plantations, the pro-
perty of the Hon. W. Ramsay Maule..
Near the house are the vaults and
foundations of the old castle of Pan-
mure, long the seat of the Earls of
that name. The ancestors of Hector
Boethius or Boece were for several
generations proprietors of the barony
of Panbride, and it is generally rc»
ported that that historian was born
in this parish. Population in 1801,
1^83.
PANNANACHorPANNANICH;
a village in Aberdeenshire, in the pa-
rish of Glenmuick, noted for its mi-
neral waters. These waters issue
from the N. side of the hill of Pan-
nanich, and are said to resemble the
Seltzer water in Germany, being
strongly impregnated with the aerial
acid. They are of great service in
gravellish, scorbutic, and scrophulous
affections. The wells are the pro-
perty of Mr. Farquharson of Monal-
trie, who has cleared the spring and
covered them, and erected several
houses for the accommodation of the
water drinkers, and a public and pri-
vate bath. He has also built a large
and commodious house called Pan-
nanach I,odge, on the banks of the
Dee, about a mile from- the wells.
PAPA-STOUR % a small island of
Shetland, about a nwje W. of the
Mainland, lying in the parish of Walls
and Sandness. It is about % mile*
long and 1 broad, flat, and extremely
agreeable in summer. The soil is
sandy, and in a warm summer, when
well manured with sea weed, yields
rich Crops of bear, oats, and potatoes.
The grass it produces is exceedingly
rich. It possesses several small voet
or harbours, which afford safe shelter
to the fishing boats. The beaches
are excellent for drying fish, which