DOWN. 



59 



Down. Potatoes, of which there are here from twenty to thirty 

 ~~Y~*^ different kinds, are in Down, as in other parts of Ire- 

 land, in great request. They are frequently planted in 

 turf bogs and moory grounds, which are thought to 

 preserve them from degenerating ; and accordingly, as 

 the curl is in these cases little known, they are bought 

 for seed by those who have not the same advantage. 

 Flax is sown to a considerable extent. In 1 809, there 

 were sown with flax 2700 acres, which were supposed 

 to produce 3200 bushels of flax-seed, and of these, 

 bounty was likely to be claimed for 3000 bushels, to 

 the amount of L.7SO, being at the rate of 5s. per bu- 

 shel. Of hemp, there are but a few acres in the whole 

 county. Grasses -are found in great variety and plenty. 

 The following Table gives a view of the average quan- 

 tity of seed and produce of various sorts of grain, ta- 

 ken from different estates and different years. 



Dung and straw manure is universally employed. 

 Marl has been applied with great success. AH along 

 the coast, wreck or sea- weed is used for potatoes, and 

 also in some cases for grain. That species of bog which 

 is unfit for fuel, by wanting the necessary adhesion, ' is 

 applied to sharp as well as clayey soils, both by itself, 

 and after being mixed with lime or dung. Lime, lime- 

 stone, gravel, and shell sand, also, are made use of in 

 manuring the ground. 



Down cannot be considered as a grazing district. 

 Yet many cattle are annually fattened in it ; and some 

 of these are of a large size, especially on the western 

 side, where the soil is of a deep loam or clay. In gene- 

 ral, bullocks are thought too heavy for the soil, and 

 therefore the grazing stock, for the most part, consists 

 of such calves and heifers as are deemed best for fatten- 

 ing and milking. The farms are all so limited, that 

 no extensive dairy is kept, but there is a great number 

 of cows ; each occupier keeps at least one, and, as he 

 consumes only the skimmed milk in his family, a large 

 quantity of butter is made, which is partly consumed 

 in the county, and partly exported from Newry and 

 other places. The usual quantity of milk obtained from 

 a cow for two months after calving, is from twelve to 

 twenty quarts. To produce twenty, it require* the 

 animal to be a good one, and to have the best pasture. 

 The breed of cattle in this county is indifferent. Little 

 or no attention is paid to it. The prevalent breed is 

 the long-horned, with their horns growing upwards 

 and thick, having large bellies and thin hips, and weigh- 

 ing between three and four hundred weight. They are 

 good milkers, which is !u-re the great object. Some 

 cattle of a superior kind are to be found in the hands of 

 private gentlemen. There are no flocks of sheep, ex- 

 cept among a very few gentlemen. The little farmers 

 purchase them singly or in pairs at the summer fairs, 

 and keep them one or two years, as they find it conve- 

 nient, fattening them in the house on boiled potatoes, 

 oats, and liay, and then selling them to the butcher, one 



or two at a time, as they themselves had bought them. Down. 

 The mutton is said to be remarkably sweet. In the *" ~Y~~" / 

 mountains there is a native breed of sheep, small and 

 hardy, most of them horned, who are esteemed for the 

 fineness of their wool, and the delicacy of their flesh. 

 In the mountainous barony of Mourne, great numbers 

 of horses are bred. Goats are to be seen around the 

 greater part of the cabins. They furnish the poor 

 people with a considerable quantity of good rich milk. 

 Rabbits, considered as stock, are chiefly to be met 

 with in the neighbourhood of Dundrum, the sandy soil 

 of which is peculiarly suited to them. They are also 

 to be found in various other places in smaller numbers. 

 Bees thrive uncommonly well in this county. The 

 dry hills covered with heath and odoriferous herbs, af- 

 ford them a rich supply of food, and their honey is here 

 highly esteemed for its flavour. Pheasants, so scarce in 

 all other parts of the kingdom, abound at Tullamore 

 Park, the property of Lord Roden. 



Labour in this county is usually paid in money. The Prices of la- 

 general wages of a man are from Is. Id. to Is. 4d. per ^" r ' &c - m 

 day. Few women are employed, except in harvest/ 

 when they receive 2s. 2d. per day. A man the year 

 round receives about L.18, and a woman L.9; children 

 per day, 6d. A carpenter per day, 3s. 3d. ; mason do. 

 3s.; slater do. 3s. 3d.; quarryman do. 2s. 2 id.; thresh- 

 er do. Is. 2$d. ; mason per perch 2s. Id. ; slater per 

 square 7s. O^d. ; blacksmith per Ib. 6^d. The prices of 

 articles are as follows. Car and horse per day 3s. 3^d. ; 

 saddle horse do. 4s. lOjJd. ; plough do. horses and man 

 fed, 8s. 8d. ; mowing grass per acre 7s. O^d. ; cow's 

 grass per week, 3s. l|d. ; horse's do. 5s. 2^d. ; iron per 

 stone 2s. (3d. ; fencing per perch 2s. 3^d. ; turf per kisli 

 3s. ; sea-coal, best Wigan, per barrel 5s. 6d. ; oak per 

 foot 4s. 1 1 d. ; ash do. Ss. 6d. ; bricks per thousand 

 L.I, 13s.; lime per barrel Is. 8d. ; car mounted L.6, 

 18s. 3d. ; potatoes per stone 3fd. ; salt butter per cwt. 

 L.6, 5s. ; fresh do. per Ib. Is. Id. ; hay per ton L.4, 5s. ; 

 whisky per gallon 9s. 4d. ; porter do. is. 6d. ; ale per 

 quart 4d. ; beef per Ib. 5|d. ; mutton do. 7^d. ; veal do. 

 8^d. ; pork do. 4^d. ; eggs per score 7d. ; cheese per 

 Ib. 8d. ; shoeing a horse 3s. 3|d. ; brogues per pair 6s. 

 8|d. ; shoes do. Qs. 9d. ; leather per Ib. 2s. ; salt per 

 stone Is. 2d. ; a spade 4s. 3d.; Swedish iron per cwt. 

 L.I, 8s.; undressed flax per cwt. L.4; wool per stone 

 19s. 6d. ; land carriage to Dublin per cwt. 4s. 2d. ; 

 fowls per pair Is. lid. ; a turkey i's. lOfd. ; a goose 2s. 

 7 id. ; wheat per barrel L.2 ; barley per do. L.I, 3s. J)d.; 

 oats per do. 15s. 6d. ; flour, firsts, per cwt. L.I, 12s. ; 

 do. 2ds. do. L.I, 10s.; do. 3ds. do. L.I, 8s.; oatmeal 

 per do. 17s. 6cL; rabbits per pair Is. Id.; milk per 

 quart 2d. ; corn acres of oats per acre L.7, 1 5s. ; of mea- 

 dow j>er do. L 5, 13s. 9d.; potatoe land per do. L.4, 1 Is.; 

 flax per rood L.5. 



In 1802, Mr Dubourdieu estimated the average rent Rental, 

 of the cultivable land at L.I per Irish acre ; so that, estates, dec. 

 calculating the cultivable land to be 300,000 acres, he 

 made the whole rental of the county to be L.300,000. 

 Since the period at which this estimate was taken, the 

 value of land has been greatly increased ; and Mr Wake- 

 field is of opinion, that, taking all things into account, 

 the whole rental may now be set down at double of what 

 Mr Dubourdieu thought it. Several intelligent gentle- 

 men say, that the average rental of the county may be 

 fairly computed at L.2, 2s. per acre. In 1793, land was 

 let for thirty-one years, or two lives, at 1 3s. per Irish 

 acre. Now, it lets at two guineas per acre for twenty- 

 one years. Lord Dufferin lets land during three years 

 for one half the produce. It is thought that Lord Moi- 



