Name.-The name, it is conjectured, is a corruption of the Gaelic word Dun, signifying a hill. It is descriptive of the locality, upon the height of a gentle acclivity, which slopes On the north to the river Carron, and on the south to Sclanders burn. The church is 400 yards from the nearest bank of Carron, and the houses extend from the church down a neat street to the bridge over the Carron, here called Denny-bridge. The ancient village consisted of a broad street, having a row of houses on each side directly east from the church, on the road to Falkirk and Edinburgh. A new street, parallel to this broad Street, with one row of neat houses on the north side, has risen since this century commenced. This street is called, ill honour of the principal heritor, Herbertshire Street. There are no houses on the southern declivity of the little eminence on which the town stands, partly from the glebe being on the west side of that declivity, and partly from the nature of the ground on the east side, and high price of feuing.¹

Extent.-The parish is generally computed at 6 English miles in length, and 4 in breadth, on an average. It is much about the same dimensions as laid down in a map of the county of Stirling, from a survey by Grassom, and published in 1817. About the same time, a survey and valuation of the rent of the parish was made by Mr William Kemp, land-surveyor, by direction of the Honourable Charles Elphinstone Fleming of Cumbernauld, superior of a great part of the parish,-a copy of which is before me, dated 9th July 1818, subscribed by Mr Kemp. The extent in Scots acres, according to him, exclusive of the common, which was divided in 1800, is 5314 acres, 4 falls, valued at the yearly rent of L. 7914. The extent of the common he makes 702 acres, 20 falls Scots measure, and the yearly value, L. 173, 8s. 4¼d. Both together make the parochial territory 6016 acres, 24 falls Scots measure, and the rental, L. 8087, 8s. 4¼d.

Boundaries.- The Darrach Hill, a principal feature of this parish, ("Hill ofOaks,")² forms the western boundary, from which, sloping to the eastward, in few places with abruptness, the whole parish stretches along to the parish of Dunipace, its boundary in that direction. The rivers Carron and Bonny are its lateral boundaries, Carron on the north, and Bonny on the south. On the west and north of Carron, the contiguous parishes are St Ninians and Dunipace; and on the south, Falkirk and Cumbernauld. The parish of Kilsyth is the boundary on the south west.

Topographical Appearances.-The figure of the parish is irregular, but has some resemblance to a parallelogram. In this figure, but more to the north side, there is ,.' wide' irregular ridge of whinstone and freestone through its whole length, from which the grounds slope on each side-on the north towards Carron, and on the south towards Bonny, dividing the parish into two nearly equal parts, both as to extent and population, often called South and North Herbertshire, and referred to in various tenures by these appellations, as the lands happen to lie on the north or south side of the parochial ridge. The reason of these appellations is unknown. if true, as the editor of the second edition of Nimmo's History of Stirlingshire states, page 739, that Herbertshire was the name of a parish,³ Denny might have been part of that parish, and have thus got its natural divisions characterized. The surface of the parish is diversified by heights and hollows, blended together by varied and beautiful undulations. The only hill within it, is Myothill, the property of John Graham, Esq. It is in the upper division of the parish, which 18 called Temple Denny. It is comparatively small, but beautiful, of a conical shape, and lies at the base of Darrach Hill, justifying, from its general, lateral, and summit smoothness, its name of Myot, which is conjectured by the editor already mentioned to signify smooth or soft. Myothll- House stands at the bottom of the hill, embosomed in trees, and forms the most prominent parochial object to the traveller westward from Falkirk. The turretted antique grandeur of Herbertshire, the house of the lady of the late William Forbes, Esq. of Callendar, and mother of the present William Forbes, Esq. of Callendar, late Member of Parliament for the county of Stirling, first, indeed, attracts notice, from its fine elevated position on the northern bank of Carron, in a lawn adorned with ancient trees; but, although the fourth part of the parish of Denny belongs to its proprietor, Herbertshire is in the parish of Dunipace. The undulations of the surface for a mile about Denny, and more especially to the eastward, are noticed as varied and attractive, and by strangers particularly admired for their beauty. The rush of the diluvial waters from Darrach Hill to the Forth, sweeping before them the softer mould, seems to have occasioned the tasteful knolls in this direction, which adorn the lower fields of the parish.

Hydrography. Springs abound in the parish. but none of them are remarkable for peculiar properties. Castlerankine (conjectured to mean Castle of the headland point) burn is the largest rivulet that runs through the parish It forms the boundary between Temple Denny, and North and South Herbertshire, marking off that portion of the parish- a third part, perhaps, of the whole-which, it is said, once belonged to the Knights Templars. It rises in the south-west, at a little distance from the base of Darrach Hill, and falls into Carron , near Denny Bridge. It takes part ill contributing to the manufactured products of the parish. About a mile from Denny, there was once a lint-mill driven by its waters. Next, about five years ago, a small printfield was set down, instead of the lintmill. The printfield having not succeeded, was relinquished; and Messrs John Gray & Son have now, within these twelve months, in consequence of extending their (dyewood manufactory, become proprietors of it. Lower down the rivulet, there are chemical works, for making pyrolignous acid and its compounds, in which its waters are useful for keeping the metal conduits cool. But both these manufactories will be more particularly noticed afterwards.

Cascades.-In the division called Temple Denny, and within a mile of the new bridge over Carron, on the road to Fintry, about five miles west from Denny, there is a cascade called Auchinlilly lin-spout. In the first year of the present century, the wild natural beauties of the spot were transformed into a sort of fairyland, by the genius of Robert Hill, Esq. W. S. Edinburgh, who had purchased the lands of Forrest Hill, of which it is a part. A rustic cottage of whinstone, with the angular points facing one in all directions, was built on the very margin of a deep fissure, through which the waters of Carron flow, to be tossed over the rock of Auclinlilly, within perhaps six yards of the heath-covered cottage. There were a kitchen, a cellar, and other apartments; and also a stable was dug chiefly out of the rock, below the level of the floor of the cottage. On that floor, were a handsome dining-room, drawing-room, and two small bed-rooms. A spacious window in the dining-room fronted, westward, the rushing waters as they fell over the rock into the fissure, in their course to the spout. The river was seen, for some way up its channel, diffused in comparative largeness of expansion, and studded with tiny rocks, which might be reached when the waters were low. At other times, the river, swollen by the rains around the Muckle Bin, from which it takes its rise, and by the various feeders of the Carron between the Bin and Auchinlilly, rushing forward in roaring majesty, presented a magnificent spectacle from the dining-room window. On one occasion, the stream, having suddenly risen much above its usual elevation, struck the dining-room window with its surges, and, increasing in strength, burst through the window, and, rushing into the kitchen and cellar, made a new cataract over the rock adjoining the spout, into the channel of the river. No lives were lost. The damage was speedily repaired, and, to prevent in future such accidents, a deep excavation in the rock was made in front of the cottage, through to its east rocky banks, sufficient to receive any future overflowings. It was arched over, and thereby easy access, as formerly, to the entrance to the cottage was provided. The banks on each side of the river were planted; walks were made along their sloping sides, with resting-places at proper stations, for enjoying the picturesque beauties of the scene. A carriage way from the turnpike, from Denny to Fintry, was formed down to the cottage. A bridge of plank, close to the spout, was thrown over the fissure, which divides Denny parish from St Ninians, to give access to the garden on the other side. - For a time, it was the resort of the curious, who came even from a distance to see and enjoy the scenery of the Cliffs of Carron, the name by which it was known. A mother's fears for her offspring, amidst so many perils, soon made the amiable and accomplished lady of the property, a stranger to its beauties The last interesting inhabitant of this once enchanting and still beautifully wild place, was the widowed sister of the amiable Graham, the Sabbath poet. Since she left it, some dozen years ago, it has gradually decayed, and has at present only the ruins of its beauty remaining. It is now the property of Archibald Wishart, Esq. W. S. Deputy-Keeper of the Register of Sasines, Edinburgh.

Rocks.-The rocks are whinstone and freestone. The dip in a recently opened freestone quarry in the parochial ridge, already mentioned, is from the north, cropping-out on the south. Its colour is whitish. There are other freestone rocks, of yellowish and greyish colour, as well as whitish.

Soil -On the lower banks of Carron and Bonny, the soil is loamy. In the upper parts, it is frequently marshy, and in the central parts, gravelly.

Mines.-The mines in the parish are of ironstone and coal. The ironstone lies in Castlerankine division of the parish; the coal is diffused over the upper part of the parochial surface, and more especially in the southern quarter, called Banknock. The coal on the northern side of the parochial ridge, though nearest Denny and the manufactories, is only occasionally worked, owing to the want of a level for drawing off the water; and it is doubted whether the quality of it be such as would indemnify the working it by steam. Banknock coal is the common fuel of the parish and neighbourhood, and is sent by means of the adjoining canal, both to Greenock and Edinburgh. There are three strata of this mineral in the district of Banknock. No.1. The upper seam of 60 acres, 3 feet 6 inches thick. No.2. The thin seam, 160 acres, 22 inches thick; and, No.3. the main seam, of about 100 acres and 5 feet thick. The deepest pit at present is 68 fathoms deep.

Wood -There are no plantations in the parish; but there may be about 200 acres of coppice wood on the property of William Forbes, Esq.