322 



The Country Gentleman's Magadnc 



which appeared worse by contrast, in con- 

 sequence of its leading from an exceedingly 

 well-kept high road. The entrances to his 

 fields were supposed to be closed by gates, 

 but in one instance the duty was performed 

 by a pair of harrows; in another by an old 

 hurdle, probably *' borrowed " from his land- 

 lord's home farm ; and in a third by three 

 large flags obtained from a neighbouring 

 quarry. His house, presumably also the 

 dairy, was even blacker and dirtier inside 

 than it was out, the thatch was like his own 

 clothing, patchy and defective ; and the 

 devices resorted to for the purpose of stop- 

 ping up holes would have done credit to his 

 ingenuity had it been applied to a better pur- 

 pose. From wisps of straw to old doors, 

 every conceivable material had been made 

 use of for the purpose of avoiding the neces- 

 sity of mending the thatch in a workmanlike 

 manner. Lord Dundreary once mistook a 

 dove-cote for a dairy, and we may therefore 

 hope to be pardoned for having mistaken a 

 dairy for a pig-stye. The ordinary course 

 which this farmer pursues is to keep about 

 eight cows, which he lets to a butter-maker 

 for ^49 or £^^o per annum — a sum just 

 about sufficient to pay his rent and taxes. 

 Thus, in the absence of any great calamity, 

 such as potato disease or foot-and-mouth, he 

 manages to pay his rent from year to year 

 with the money which he receives from the 

 butter-maker; and, in the absence of any 

 inducement to great exertion, he allows his 

 land to produce about one-half the quantity 

 that the nation might fairly expect from it. 

 He and his family live chiefly on the pro- 

 duce of the potato-ground, and if the season 

 is very good he may, notwithstanding his 

 laziness and want of thrift, manage to obtain 

 a larger crop of oats than is required to keep 

 the life in the one or two wretched speci- 

 mens of horse-flesh which he is obliged to 

 maintain for ploughing, carting, and other 

 ordinary requirements of his farm. 



This farmer lequires a labourer to assist 

 him, and it is to the lot of this member of 

 the community that we particularly wish to 

 draw attention. From the foregoing slight 

 ketch of the farm and the farmer, the cha- 



racter of the labourer may easily be inferred. 

 It is barely possible that he can be, in appear- 

 ance at least, a more wretched being than his 

 master, whom he resembles also in habits 

 and character. His nominal wages are, be 

 it observed, 3s. per week and his food, and 

 he has a wife and family at home to provide 

 for. From his weekly wages are deducted 

 6d. per week for his house, and 6d. per week 

 for his plot of potato-land, leaving, therefore, 

 2s. per week to meet any demands that are 

 required to supplement the produce of the 

 potato-land. By hook or by crook the 

 labourer has hitherto saved money enough 

 to buy a pig and a sheep, besides which he 

 has litde difficulty in setting up a small 

 poultry-yard. The pork and mutton increase 

 the family wealth, the wool contributes to their 

 clothing, and the eggs and chickens are de- 

 voted to the traditional purpose of supplying 

 them with boots and shees. Thus, with a plen- 

 tiful crop of potatoes, even the Irish farmers' 

 labourer has hitherto managed to keep the 

 wolf from the door. Unfortunately, however, 

 for the labourer's family, he has all his eggs in' 

 one basket ; in other words, if the potatoes 

 fail, the family must starve. He himself is 

 provided for by the farmer, and is fed either 

 on potatoes or Indian meal, with an 

 allowance of sour milk; but for his wife 

 and children there remain simply the 

 potatoes and — 2s. per week ! It is, there- 

 fore, a serious question for these poor 

 people to know what is to be done to prevent 

 their starving during the coming winter; 

 and accordingly, we find not a few of the 

 women in the districts where the potatoes 

 have failed endeavouring to rouse their hus- 

 bands to a befitting sense of the gravity of the 

 occasion. That the potatoes are almost a 

 complete failure in the south of Ireland can- 

 not for a moment be doubted. The hotels are 

 now chiefly suppfied by consignments from 

 the north, and the labourers' wives in the 

 country districts find that it takes them the 

 whole of their spare time to dig enough " mar- 

 bles " for each day's consumption. 



Such being the disease, let us now turn 

 to the remedy. In the district which v/e 

 have most carefully inspected, there are 



