Inverkeithny

   INVERKEITHNY, a parish, in the county of Banff, 10 miles (N. E.) from Huntly; containing 687 inhabitants. This place takes its name from the large burn of Keithny, which here falls into the river Doveran, on the south side whereof the parish lies, stretching in length, along the stream, between five and six miles, and measuring from four miles to five in breadth. On the north, the parish is bounded by that of Marnoch, on the west by Rothiemay, on the south-west and south by Forgue, and on the east by Turriff, the two last parishes in the county of Aberdeen. It is computed to contain 5610 acres, of which 4000 are cultivated, 800 waste or natural pasture, and the same number woods and plantations, and undivided common. There is scarcely anything to be met with in the nature of peat or moss. The soil is tolerably good, and a considerable quantity of grain is annually raised; the land is farmed upon the most approved system, and the rents average about 15s per acre, the whole rateable annual value of the parish amounting to £3343. The public road from Banff to Huntly, to the former of which places the agricultural produce is mostly sent, passes through the western portion of the parish. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Turriff and synod of Aberdeen; and the patronage is vested in Thomas G. Bremner, Esq. The stipend of the minister is £215, with a manse, built in 1787, and a glebe of nearly six acres, valued in £10 per annum. The church, a very plain edifice, stands in a narrow vale, near the bank of the Doveran, where, also, is the manse. The parochial school affords instruction in the usual branches; the salary of the master is £34 per annum, with about £30 fees, and a house: fifty children are educated.