BIRNIE, a parish, in the county of Elgin, 3 miles
(S.) from Elgin; containing 407 inhabitants. This place
is said by some to have been the site of the first cathedral
of the diocese of Moray; and it is probable that
Simeon de Tonei, one of the bishops, was buried here,
in 1184. The parish approaches in figure to an oblong,
extending about seven miles in length and one and a
half in mean breadth, and containing nearly 8000 acres,
of which about 2000 are under tillage, 304 in wood, and
the remainder waste. It is separated from the parish
of Knockando, on the south, by the junction of the
parishes of Dallas and Rothes, and is bounded on all
the other sides by the parish of Elgin. It lies on the
north side of the high ground that rises between the
Spey river and the flat of Moray. The surface is irregular
and abrupt, is marked with several ravines and
high hills covered with heath, and has in general a
bleak and rugged appearance. The lands are intersected
with the rivulets Lennock, Barden, and Rashcrook,
which flow into the Lossie, a stream containing abundance
of common trout. The arable soil is in general
of a gravelly or sandy kind, occasionally clayey, and by
the sides of the Lossie and of the rivulets it is loamy;
parts are of a mossy or rooory nature. All kinds of
grain are produced, as well as potatoes and turnips,
with a small quantity of flax. The cattle, which have
been lately much improved, are usually a cross between
the low-country cows of Moray and West Highland
bulls; the sheep are chiefly Cheviots, and the horses,
though small, are active, and well adapted for ploughing
the light shallow land of which the parish mainly
consists. The improved system of agriculture is followed,
and very considerable advances have recently
been made. The annual value of real property in the
parish is £1249- The chief rocks in the district are
sandstone and gneiss, with a small proportion of slate.
Ecclesiastically, the parish is within the bounds of
the presbytery of Elgin, synod of Moray. The patronage
belongs to the Earl of Jloray, and the minister has
a stipend of £156. 8. 4., a portion of which is received
from the exchequer; with a manse, and a glebe of about
eight acres of good land. The church is a very ancient
structure, repaired in 1817, with accommodation for
250 persons. It contains a fine Saxon arch, separating
the choir from the body of the edifice; also a stone
baptistery, and an old bell composed of silver and
copper, of an oblong shape, which tradition asserts to
have been made at Rome, and consecrated by the pope.
There is a parochial school, the master of which has
a salary of £26, with a house and garden, and about
£4 fees. The poor have the benefit of a bequest pro-
ducing about £3 per annum. About a mile east from
the church, on the side of the road, is a stone called the
" Bible Stone", having the figure of a book distinctly
engraven on it: and in the corner of a field once called
Castlehill, the foundations of what is supposed to have
been the ancient episcopal palace were dug up about half
a century ago.