THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



439 



turns ; has one of the best of landlords, who lias 

 done, and is still doing, all he can to encourage his 

 tenantry, and aids them also by his presence and 

 advice." An English gentleman settled in the 

 province of Connaught says "his farm is above 

 300 acres ; all the lands in his neighbourhood are 

 capable of great improvement, and he particularly 

 states what has been done by Mr. Poll ok as an 

 example. The low lands and cut-away bogs, 

 most of which have limestone and gravel lying 

 a few feet below the surface, might be easily 

 reclaimed for grazing or tillage. The average 

 rate of labour is — for men Is., women 6d., and 

 children 4d. a day; ploughmen Is. a week 

 extra. There has been great improvement during 

 the last few years. All the labourers find employ- 

 ment, and the wages mentioned are higher by one- 

 half than they were some years ago. The peasantry 

 are better fed aud clothed ; pauperism has much 

 decreased, and the poor rate about l^d. in the 

 pound. The people are very civil and obliging. 

 The soil produces most abundant crops of all kinds. 

 The country is remarkably healthy, and is not 

 nearly so wet as I expected to find it." The next 

 letter read was from a Scotch farmer settled in 

 Ulster, who says that " The soil of his part of the 

 province is in general superior to the south of 

 Scotland, and is well adapted for grazing and 

 growing all kinds of green crops to good perfection. 

 Has seen a field of turnips weigl. 59 tons per Irish 

 acre— mangolds 46 tons, The winters are mild 

 and open ; grass continues growing till January ; 

 oats, barley, wheat, and beans grow well. There 

 is a gradual improvement in the appearance of the 

 country. The inhabitants are an industrious and 

 intelligent class of people, civil and obliging, and 

 take great interest in agricultural improvement. 

 Wages of men are Is. to Is. 3d. per day ; women, 

 6d. to Sd. There is little pauperism in the 

 locality." 



At the conclusion of Mr. Miller's paper he was 

 loudly applauded. 



The Chairman congratulated the society upon 

 having set apart a special evening for the reading 

 of Mr. Miller's valuable and instructive paper, in 

 which he had touched upon almost every branch of 

 Irish agriculture. 



Dr. Hancock said the society should feel much 

 indebted to Mr. Miller for the simple, direct, and 

 truthful manner in which he had laid before them 

 the valuaijle information respecting the condition 

 of Irish agriculture, which he had had such ex- 

 cellent opportunities of acquiring. It was gratify- 

 ing to find that the Englishmen and Scotchmen 

 who came to Ireland and lived amongst us, 

 entertained very different opinions of this country 



and its people, from those which were promulgated 

 by writers in the English press who knew nothing 

 of Ireland, and he regretted to say also by some 

 of the Dublin newspapers. With respect to what 

 Mr. Miller had said as to Scotch agriculture, he 

 (Dr. Hancock) could speak with confidence, having 

 spent a considerable time in Scotland, during which 

 he had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with 

 some of the most distinguished agriculturists of 

 that country. The general impression made upon 

 his mind was, that nothing could be more success- 

 ful than the manner in which Scotch agriculture 

 was practised ; but, at the same time, he came 

 away with the impression that the mode in which 

 it was carried out was not an unmixed good. In 

 the county of Donegal, the change from one 

 system to another had not been carried out in a 

 manner calculated to lead to satisfactory results as 

 regarded the condition of the people (Hear, hear). 

 There was one matter alluded to by Mr. Miller, in 

 which we were clearly in advance of our English 

 neighbours — he meant the subject of tolls. All 

 tolls on Irish roads had been abolished by act of 

 parliament; but, as ?. proof how slow people were 

 to learn wisdom, he might mention the singular 

 fact that very soon after the House of Commons 

 had abolished tolls on Irish roads, a bill was intro- 

 duced for the purpose of charging tolls in every 

 fair or market in Ireland (Hear, hear). One 

 remarkable fact stated by Mr. Miller was, that a 

 large number of Irish farmers had sought his ad- 

 vice as to the best mode of investing their money 

 in the funds. The chief cause of Ireland's 

 misfortunes was represented by nearly every writer 

 who treated of the subject down to the year 1S46, 

 to be the want of capital. It now appeared that 

 the Irish farmers had plenty of capital, but they 

 did not employ it in the improvement of their land 

 (Hear, hear). This showed clearly enough that 

 it was not the want of capital, but the defective re- 

 lations between landlord and tenant which had 

 retarded the progress of agricultural improvement 

 in Ireland (Hear). Mr. Miller intimated that this 

 was the case when he stated the difficulty which 

 English and Scotch farmers had in carrying out 

 improvements, because of the unwiUingness of the 

 landlords to do their part in the erection cf suitable 

 farm-houses, oflSces, &c., and making other im- 

 provements on their own property, which were 

 invariably done by the landholders of the sister- 

 country. The Incumbered Estates Court had 

 doubtless eflfected much good, but it was clear, 

 from these facts, that some legislation was required 

 to place the relations between landlord and tenant 

 upon an equitable and satisfactory basis (Hear, 

 hear). He was also of opinion that the principle 

 of the Incumbered Estates Court ought to be 



