TJi \D OF TO-DAY 41 



1 given over to agriculture, an economic 

 would probably result in t. st, for 



rs of young cattle and unfini^i *tl< 



ose their markt ;tl- 



the national inch 

 ;th tlic exception of calf 

 , essentially a business of speculation. A 

 uys a beast cheap, lets it graze for a 

 time, and sells it off at a higher price m 

 as shoi possibl( I not only the 



professional cattle breeder and the professir 



low th: ness; in Mcath 



iun invest their wages in cattle, 

 which their employer allows to graze in his 

 or a small payment; they thus make 

 i a profit from this cattle speculation. 

 The good meadows of the West are often set for 

 Hi to the village shopkeeper, the solicitor, 



or the doctor even t rgyman himself does 



not scorn sometimes to increase his scanty in- 

 come by this means. A good proportion of these 

 tions are carried on by credit. It is more 

 n likely that the majority of deposits lodged 

 in Irish banks, in so far as they are not sent 

 d or employed by parties who have 

 ;i tin- town, are used for speculation 



When the Irish people are spol 

 of as a race of agriculturalists, what is really 

 m is dealers. The mere fact that 



to 545202 occupiers of farms there are 615,933 

 tie-owners, points to this conclusion. 1 



1 Agricultural Statistics, 1904, pp. 28, 95. 



