BOTRIPHNIE, a parish, in the county of Banff,
.5i miles (S. W.) from Keith; containing 714 inhabitants.
This parish, which is situated in the narrowest
part of the county, is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the
south, and on the north by Moray, and measures about
four miles and a half from north to south, and three
miles from east to west. It consists principally of a
beautiful vale, lying between two ridges of hills, respectively
on the north and south; and comprises 9386
acres, of which 4360 are in tillage, 3540 waste and pasture
(430 of these being considered capable of profitable
cultivation), and 1486 acres under natural wood and in
plantations. The strath is watered by the small river
Isla, which, taking its rise at a loch in the western portion,
runs between banks beautifully ornamented with
alder and birch trees. The soil is a rich black loam in
some places, and in others a strong clay, incumbent on
a bed of limestone, replete with numerous springs of fine
water. A large extent of land, consisting of alluvial
soil, has been added in later times to the cultivated
ground, by the straightening of the course of the river,
and now produces in good seasons heavy crops of grain.
Extensive tracts, also, of moor or rough pasture have
been brought under tillage, chiefly by the use of lime
obtained from the limestone so plentiful in the locality.
The annual value of real property in the parish is £2620.
The only mansion is Botriphnie House, a shooting-seat.
A public road from the upper districts passes throughto
Keith and Banff, and has two branches near the centre
(if the parish, one leading to Huntly, and the other to
Fochabers and Elgin. A fair, called Fumach fair from
a tutelary saint, is held on the 15th of February for
general commodities and for horses, few, however, of the
latter being brought for sale. Ecclesiastically the parish
is in the presbytery of Strathbogie, synod of Moray, and
in the patronage of the Earl of Fife; the minister's stipend
is about £178, with a manse, and a glebe of six
acres, valued at £10 per annum. The church was built
in 1820, and has lately been repaired and renovated.
The parochial school affords instruction in the usual
branches; the master has a salary of £30, with a house,
£7 fees, and a share of the Dick bequest.