GASK-NETHER, or Findogask, a parish, in the
county of Perth, 3 miles (N. w. by N.) from Dunning;
containing, with the village of Clathy, 436 inhabitants.
Its name is supposed by some to be derived from a word
in the Gaelic language, signifying " a slope "; but the
etymology is extremely doubtful. The length of the
parish is about two miles, and the breadth nearly the
same; it contains about 2.560 acres. The ground slopes
on each side from the Roman causeway which runs
through the middle of the parish, on the highest ground:
the southern side is a pleasant tract, laid out in cultivated
fields; and on the slope towards the north are
plantations of fir, oak, and beech, interspersed with
corn-fields and pastures. Nether Gask is bounded on
the north by Madderty and Methven parishes, on the
south by Dunning, on the east by Tibbermore and Forteviot,
and on the west by Trinity-Gask. The river Earn
runs along the southern boundary, and though not
navigable, is a considerable stream, winding in this part
for about three miles; it contains salmon, white and
yellow trout, perch, flounders, pike, and eels. In this
parish the soil is partly clayey and partly loamy: in the
northern quarter is an extensive moss, a portion of
which has been reclaimed and cultivated, and the rest
supplies the people with peat for fuel. Grain of all
kinds is produced, as well as green crops, and the whole
is of good quality: more than 1200 acres are occupied
by wood, consisting mainly of larch, Scotch fir, and oak;
and the woods abound with every description of game.
The modern system of agriculture has been followed for
the last thirty or forty years, and all the land not in
wood is cultivated. The cattle are the Teeswater and
the Ayrshire; the sheep are the Leicesters, and the common
breed of horses is usually reared. The annual
value of real property in the parish is £3500. The rocks
consist of sandstone and grey slate, both of which are
quarried; and marl is found in different places. The
mansion of Gask is the residence of the chief proprietor,
whose ancestors for many generations have resided on
the property; it is a commodious and substantial building,
erected in the beginning of the present century, and
ornamented with many large and beautiful trees. The
turnpike and parish roads have been improved of late
years: the road from Perth to Stirling intersects the
parish.
Ecclesiastically this place is within the bounds of the
presbytery of Auchterarder, synod of Perth and Stirling;
patron, the Crown. The stipend of the minister is £1 55,
with a manse, built in 1800, and a glebe of twenty acres,
valued at £15 per annum. Nether Gask church was
erected also in 1800, and is a plain edifice in good repair,
accommodating nearly 400 persons with sittings.
There is a parochial school, in which Latin is taught,
with all the ordinary branches of education; the master
has the maximum salary, a house and garden, and about
£12 fees. A parochial library was founded in 1824,
and is supported by subscription. The Roman causeway
which runs through the parish is twenty feet broad, and
has been macadamized within these few years; it leads
westward to a camp still visible in the parish of Muthill,
and eastward to another camp in the parish of Scone.
By its side are stations, capable of containing from
twelve to twenty men, and inclosed by ditches, which
are very distinct. Within the policy of Gask, vestiges
of two other camps may be traced, one on the south,
and the other on the north, of the causeway; and the
praitorium of the latter is yet discernible, though the
ground has been planted with fir. One of these camps
seems to have been capable of containing 500 men, and
the other, half that number.