1897.] Prakger. — Bog-bursts — Recent Disaster, Co. Kerry, 151 



The presence of so much floating timber in the waters of 

 the flood must have greatly enhanced its destructive powe r 

 One of the largest of these trees, a huge stump with roots 

 12 feet across, was seen lying some distance up the course of 

 -a tributary stream, and on the top of its overhanging bank, 

 at a distance of two and a half miles from the scene of the 

 outbreak. 



The erosive effects on the bed of the Owenacree are well 

 marked. We observed places where it had been lowered 6 

 feet ; e.g. at a spot about half a mile from Annagh Bridge ; a 

 lane which had extended across this as a shallow ford, had 

 been cut through by a trench, 20 feet in width and 6 feet in 

 depth. In other places the stream has cut for itself a new 

 course. 



The lamentable fate which overtook the Donelly family has 

 been already alluded to. Many farmers have suffered serious 

 loss by the tearing up and washing away of their potato-pits, 

 which were situated near the banks of the stream. The filling 

 up of the limestone quarry is a serious inconvenience ; for, 

 although the work of clearing it out has been already 

 commenced, and it will ultimately be worked as before, it 

 must remain useless for some time. No other quarry exists 

 in the neighbourhood, and lime is the only manure in univer- 

 sal demand. The roads can be cleared without much 

 difficulty : the breaches made in them are not serious. The 

 farmers will feel most seriously the loss of their land. On 

 most of the holdings the best land was situated along the 

 river banks, and, in the upper portions of the valley, this is 

 now covered to a depth of 3 feet with a solid deposit of peat. 

 At Annagh Bridge the average depth has decreased to 2 feet ; 

 here the deposit is of a finer grain and more liquid. According 

 to the inquiries made by the police, in the four townlands 

 which occupy the east bank of the river between the scene of 

 the outburst and a point a little below Annagh Bridge, close 

 on 300 acres of land have been thus buried.^ The tenants 

 being all small holders, the loss of their best grazing has 

 ruined them. 



Strange and contradictory rumours are prevalent among 

 the peasantry as to whether any symptoms of the approach- 



'• Freeman' s Journal, January 2nd. 



A 4 



