THK IRELAND OF TO-DAY. 37 



With the exception of the coarsest soils in 

 Ulster, the s soon as withdrawn 



m cult , covers itself with grass. The 



regular m<i.sturv and slight cold 

 in winti r, favours grass farming and is not th< 

 m< lage farming. Besides these 



plr reasons a host of other cause 



co-opt to make Ireland a pastoral land. 



(1 that the abolition of the Corn 1 

 (1846) changed Ireland from an agricultural 



1 country. It is not my intention to 

 :ion here, but it can be said with 

 tolerable precision that no corn duties of faiiK 

 bearable dimensions would have been able 

 >e great fall in the price of com dur 

 s. Up to that time it was not so mi 

 1 in corn prices as the rise in meat prices 

 had caused the prevalence of cattle breed- 

 in Ireland. Moreover, the Irish have ahv 

 le rearing people, understand 

 !e of agriculture and turning their attention 

 exclusively to cattle: breeding. The dense popn- 



his supervision the statistical publications of the Department 

 of Agriculture became a s- illy thought-out and practi- 



cally useful source of information. Coyne was one of the few 



c brought a si. ining to the trcati. 



of practical questions. The statistics which have issued from 

 Icpartment are among the few which try to answer questions 



manner, and do not merely contain a collet 

 of figures which i as well serve to mislead as to illu- 



te public opinion. \\ iifficult points in my I 



es would never have been solvable without his help and 

 advice. 



