1603. '( 4^3 ) 



BRANCH IT. 



REVIEW OF AGRICUI/niRAL PUBLICATIONS 



Sht/i/Jii-al Survty of the Cou/ity of Donvn, nuitb ObftrvaUons on the 

 Means of Improvement : Drawn up for the confiderat'ion of the 

 Dublin Society. By the Revet end John DubourdieUf Re<^'jr of 

 Annah'ilt. 



The Reporter of this furvey has executed his taik in a way that 

 does credit to his impartiality and abilities ; and we hope it will 

 afford fome entertainment to our readers, to receive a general 

 Idea of the ftate of a confiderable county in our filter kingdom, 

 from a review of this performance. This we fhalt give as con- 

 cifely as poffible, while we remark particularly what is either 

 praifeworthy or cenfurable in this i-urvey, as far as regards the 

 agriculture of Downfliire. What is itatillical, and not properly 

 agricultural, mult either be omitted entirely, or noticed very flightly. 



The geographical ftate and circuniftances of Downfliire form 

 the fubjed of the firlt chapter. 



It is a maritime county, being bounded on the eaft and fouth by 

 St George's Channel, containing above 558,000 Englifh, 440,000 

 Scotifli, or 344,648 Irlih acres, its civil divifions are nine baro- 

 nies of unequal value, extent, population, and propoition of pub- 

 lic burdens j and its ecclciiaitical divifions are, the two bifhoprics 

 of Diomore and Down, the former containing twenty-one, and 

 the latter forty-two parilhes. The climate is variable, but not 

 fubjecSt to the extremes of heat or cold, or of wet or dry. The 

 Reporter remarks, that the month of October is generally very 

 agreeable, and that the extremes of either wet or dry featbns are 

 equally unfavourable with relped to the fruits of the earth j and 

 he dates as a proof of tliis, that the years 1799 and i 800 were 

 equally unproductive, the crops of both years not equalling that 

 of 1801. We fubfcribe to his general remark, though we fuf- 

 fpe£t that the crop of 1801 was not more than equal to that of 

 the two preceding years, and believe that the deficiency of crop 

 iBco was in no fmall degree occahoned by the bad feed ufed that 

 year. 



We are informed, that the foil of Downflilre * has every gra- 

 dation from fandy loam to ftrong clay, which is in moft places in- 

 termixed with Itones of every fize. ' It has been obfervcd, that 

 io ereat a proportion of ftones is mixed witji the foil of Ireland, 



