109 



marked by traces of the plough underneath deep bogs, which have 

 been cut away, and on many mountains which could not now be 

 brought into tillage without an immense expence of labour and 

 money.* Bede mentions the salubrious climate, the abundance of 

 fowl, honey and milk, and the cultivation of the vine.-f- Agricul- 

 ture, it is plain, must have been the common practice of the country, 

 and carried on largely, since Ireland was able to export great 

 quantities of corn to England,|: in the times immediately succeeding 

 the ages of Danish devastation, and during the perpetual warfare 

 and struggle with the Anglo-Saxons ; her wealth indeed must have 

 been very great, to have enabled her in 1229, only fifty-nine years 

 after the invasion, to yield any revenue to the English monarchs, 

 and to export corn, wine, and beer to England,§ : 



That roads for the transport of her goods early existed, the 

 remains still to be traced attest. These roads lead from the sea 

 ports to the interior of the country ; they were narrow, and formed 

 of flat stones placed on edge, while at defiles and fords places of 

 security were formed, where cars and goods were kept in safety 

 during the night.^ One of these roads crosses the island from 

 Galway to Dublin ; it was supported along the sides by walls, and 

 at intervals was defended by strong holds. That this road was for 

 the purpose of facilitating trade to Dublin, whence the Diablintae 



• Stewart's Hist. Armagh, p. 607- — O'Connor's Dissert, p. 112. — Hamilton's Letters on 

 Antrim, p. 40. 



f Eccles. Hist. B. I. c. i. It is remarkable, that there are in the Irish language terms for the 

 grape, the vine, the vineyard, and the wine-press, (Hist. Armagh, 599.) either the vine was 

 sufficiently cultivated to give rise to these words in the language, or they previously belonged to 

 it in another country where the vine was well known. 



■^ Betham's Aniiqua. Res. part 1. p. 5. 



§ Ibid. 



f Bfewer's Beauties of Ireland, Introd. Ixxxvii. And an ancient Irish MS. there quoted. 



