BUITTLE, a parish, in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright,
4 miles (S. E. by S.) from Castle-Douglas; containing,
with the village and port of Palnackie, 1059
inhabitants. This place, whose name is of very uncertain
derivation, is of great antiquity; and there are still
some remains of its castle, supposed to have been the
principal seat of the ancient lords of Galloway. The
parish is bounded on the east by the river Urr, and on
the south by the bay of Orchardton in Solway Firth.
It is about eight miles in length, and nearly three in
average breadth. The surface is diversified by hill and
dale; in the middle and lower districts it is broken
with numerous rocky knolls, covered with furze and
broom, but in the upland districts the ground is more
uniformly level, and better adapted for the plough. The
soil is various, and, on the arable lands, generally fertile;
the chief crops are oats, barley, wheat, potatoes,
and turnips. The system of agriculture is improved;
the lands have been extensively drained, and large tracts
of moss have been brought into profitable cultivation.
Great attention is paid to the rearing of cattle; they
are usually sold to the dealers at two or three years
old, and driven to England, where they are fed for the
English markets. Considerable numbers of sheep are
also reared; they are fed upon turnips, and mostly sent
to Liverpool. The annual value of real property in the
parish is £7757. The plantations, which have been
greatly extended within the last few years, now comprise
about 960 acres. They consist chiefly of oak, ash, larch,
and Scotch fir; and on some of the lands planted at an
earlier date, are remarkably fine specimens of luxuriant
growth; though many of the larches, after flourishing
vigorously for a few years, degenerate. The substratum
is chiefly granite, of very excellent quality, of which an
extensive quarry was opened some time since at Craignair
Hill, and afforded employment to about 200 men;
blocks weighing from seven to eight tons were for some
years shipped for Liverpool, but the quarry at present is
only wrought to a very limited extent, for home use.
For ecclesiastical purposes the parish is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Kirkcudbright and synod
of Galloway: the minister's stipend is about £230, with
a manse, and a glebe valued at £20 per annum; patron,
the Crown. The church, situated in the centre of the
parish, and erected in 1819 at an expense of £1000, is a
handsome structure in the early English style, containing
400 sittings, and, from the height of the walls, well
adapted for the erection of galleries, if additional seat
room should be required. In the churchyard are the
walls of the ancient church, covered with ivy, and forming
a beautiful ruin. There are two parochial schools,
the masters of which respectively have salaries of £28
and £23, with dwelling-houses, and the fees. On a farm
called Castlegower, on the north-west border of the parish,
are the remains of a vitrified fort. There are two
wells, formerly held in high repute, and one of which
was celebrated for the cure of diseases peculiar to cattle;
but they are now totally disregarded.