1803. Survey of the County of Kilkenny, 93 



corn is fovvn in the latter end of September, or beginninc^ of Octo- 

 ber, in ridges of five or fix fods : the mod common fizj of the 

 ridges is five fods ; the turned fed is about a foot, or rather Icfs, in 

 breadth : the drier the ground, the broader the ridges are often 

 made ; fo that they occaflonally vary from four fods to feven or 

 eight. 



* Ley ,2;round is fometimes not broken up unti-1 March, crofs- 

 ploughed in June and July, harrowed in Oclobar, or as fooii as it 

 is convenient after harvefl, then ploughed, and, with another har- 

 it)wing and ploughing, the feed is fovvn. 



* Good ley ground, however, has often been ploughed up at mid- 

 fummer, crofs- ploughed and harrowed at Michaelmas, immediate- 

 ly ploughed again, and the feed fown as ufual ; one of the fineft 

 crops near Kilkenny, in 1801, was upon ground that had been 

 mown the year before, the grain fovvn on the back of the fed, and 

 trenched. 



* When the ground receives a regular fallowing, the farmer ought 

 to have a great crop, to indemnify him for two years rent, and 

 the expence of fuch a tillage, which, except the lail ploughing at 

 feed-time, is almoft always performed with four horfes, who can 

 feldom turn more than half an acre in a day, and that with great: 

 labour; for the foil, which is generally a clayey loam, becomes 

 too hard, from being baked in the fun, to be eafily divided by an 

 ill-conflru6led plough ; if rain has preceded the ploughing, the 

 land remains in clods like unburnt bricks, which are fometimes 

 broken with mallets, or with hurling flicks, which have a large 

 crooked head. In a few inftances three horfes have been.ufed in 

 breakinof fallows, but fometimes even fix : lefs than four bullocks 

 are never feen on the lightell ground on any occaiion.' 



Mr Tighe is an advocate for drilling corn-crops, though we 

 rather fufpe£l that the pradice cannot be extenlively difFufed in 

 the prefent flate of Iriih hufbandry. Whether the drilling of 

 wheat, barley, and oats, is an eligible praftice, we are not now to 

 difcufs ; but in one thing we are certain, that the ground mufl be 

 very highly cultivated before it can be introduced with advantage. 

 We have uniformly maintained the propriety of drilling legumi- 

 nous crops, but have great doubts refpecling the propriety of ex- 

 tending the practice farther. The faving of feed, in the firfl in- 

 llance, is not an obje61:, becaufe it is balanced by the extra work 

 required, and the crops fowm in the drill way are afTurcdly expo- 

 fed to greater danger than thofe fovvn by hand in the broad c. fl 

 method. 



The Kilkenny m.ode of reaping corn is curious. It is executed 



by men, while women are the binders, which is dire6lly the re- 



verfe of the Britifn cuftom. The reaper takes three handfuls fuc- 



VOL. IV, NO. XIII. M celHvelj 



