MONEYDIE, a parish, in the county of Perth, 6
miles (N.W.byN.) from Perth; containing 315 inhabitants.
This parish consists of two portions, viz., the old
parish of Moneydie and the district of Logiealmond, which
latter, about eighty or ninety years ago, was separated
from the neighbouring parish of Monzie, and annexed
quoad sacra to Moneydie. Before the Reformation
Moneydie Proper appears to have been a parsonage connected
with the diocese of Dunkeld; and about the
year 1480 the living was held by Alexander Myln, canon
of Dunkeld, calling himself " prebendary of Moneydie."
A large proportion of the land here seems to have been
held by the bishops, one of whom had obtained it by
purchase, and caused it to be united to the barony of
Dunkeld, but upon condition that a layman was to hold
of the Church, and to perform the necessary services to
the king. Other proprietors of lands in former times
were, James, Master of Gowrie, Sir Patrick Crichton,
and Sir Andrew Malcolm, who all had large estates in
the parish; and the district of Logiealmond, which is
more than double the size of the original parish of
Moneydie, appears to have been once possessed by a
family of the name of Logic. At present, Moneydie
Proper is nearly equally divided between the Duke of
Atholl and another family; while Logiealmond belongs
to Sir William Drummond Stewart of GrandtuUy.
The PARISH is bounded on the north by the parishes
of Auchtergaven and Little Dunkeld; on the west by
Fowlis; on the south by Redgorton and Methven; on
the east by Redgorton. Logiealmond,' cr the western
district, hes on the southern face of the first range of the
Grampians, sloping towards the river Almond; the eastern
extremity of the parish reaches almost to the river
Tay, near Luncarty bleachfield. The surface is but little
diversified; and with the exception of the Logiealmond
hills, which are about 1800 feet above the level of the
sea, there is no material elevation. The Almond, which
skirts the southern boundary of the parish for a number
of miles, is the only river of importance; but there are
the two small streams of Shochie and Ordie, which rise
in the Grampian range, and fall into the Tay. The
Almond abounds in salmon and trout, and the two
streams are famed for trout-fishing. In the lower district
the SOIL is much varied: near the Almond it is
a light alluvial mould, changing occasionally into a rich
loam resting upon a gravelly subsoil; while at some
distance from the river it is a hard red earth, with a
considerable proportion of black loam. On the higher
grounds it consists of a cold wet till, with a little peatmoss.
In Moneydie Proper "2718 acres are under cultivation,
and 771 in pasture; in Logiealmond '2237 are
cultivated, and 4869 iu pasture. About 800 acres are
occupied by wood, much of which consists of Scotch fir,
and is of some age; the younger plantations are chiefly
of larch, spruce-fir, and oak, the last of which prevails
to a great exteut upon one estate. All kinds of white
and green crops are produced; of the latter, potatoes
form the principal article. Cattle of every description
are reared, from the bulky Teeswater to the diminutive
West Highland; the sheep are chiefly of the Leicester
breed, especially on the low lands, being preferred both
on account of their readily fattening, and for the superior
value of their fleece. The best system of husbandry
is followed; and the improvements which have been
made in agriculture have trebled the rent of the parish
within the last forty or fifty years. The draining, inclosing,
and improving of waste land have advanced with
great rapidity; but the most important change consists
in the introduction of bone manure for turnips, which
are eaten off the land by sheep. By this means, independently
of some other advantages, the whole farmyard
dung is reserved for the potatoes, large quantities
of which are sent to the London market. The annual
value of real property in the parish amounts to £3654.
The rocks in the hills are chiefly blue slate; and in about
the middle of the upper district is a quarry of grey freestone,
of fine quality, and easily wrought. A flax spinning-
mill has been established at Milnhaugh, driven by
the river Almond, and employing about fifty persons.
The village of Ilerriotfield, the only one in the parish,
contains about 100 inhabitants. Logiealmond House, a
seat of Sir William D. Stewart's, is partly of ancient
date; it is romantically situated on the bank of the
Almond. Peat and wood are used as fuel in the upper
part of the parish: in the lower the people obtain English
coal from Perth.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs the parish is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Perth and synod of Perth
and Stirling; patron, the Karl of Mansfield. The stipend
of the minister is £'2l6; and there is a small manse,
with a glebe of nearly nine acres of good land. The
church is a plain sulistantial structure, with a square
tower, and accommodates 460 persons with sittings: it
was builtabout the year I8I7. At Chapelhill, in Logie-
almond, four miles distant, an ancient chapel was fitted
up and opened by subscription, in connexion with the
Establishment, in 18,'54, at an expense of about £150:
the allowance to the minister, which is small, arises from
seat-rents and collections. There is also a meeting-house
in the parish belonging to the United Presbyterian
Church; and the members of the Free Church have a
place of worship. A parochial school is maintained in
Moneydie; the master has a salary of £34, with about
£10 fees, and a house and two acres of land. There is
another school at Chapelhill, the master of which has a
salary from the heritors of 100 merks Scots, a dwellinghouse,
and about two acres of land. A school, also, is
attached to the United Presbyterian meeting-house. The
usual branches are taught in all these schools, with the
addition of the classics and French, if required, in the
parochial school. A small library belongs to the congregation
of the Established Church, and another to the
United Presbyterian body.