OF THE COUNTY OF DOWN. 35 



roomy as in countries where the produce of a large 

 farm is houfed at harveft ; here it is abfolutely nece 

 fary to fuffer the crop to remain in flacks for fome 

 time, that it may be perfectly faved ; when put in too 

 foon it heats and grows fufly j befides, grain in the 

 ft raw can be fecured much better from vermin on well 

 contrived hovels than in any houfe. I underfland that 

 they are fo fenfible of this in England, they flack much 

 more of their grain than they formerly did. A well 

 fized barn, one proportioned to the farm, is abfolutely 

 neceflary ; nothing prevents the internal operations of 

 hufbandry from going on with fpirit, and indeed with 

 economy, fo much as being hampered, which is too 

 much the cafe with the farmers in this county ; in this 

 particular, however, they are improving every year. 

 The materials ufed are, flone and lime for the walls, 

 for the roofs, timber raifed from the bogs, and alfo 

 foreign timber, but the high price of the latter has 

 been a very great bar to improvement, for fome years 

 paft ; yet a great deal has been done within this laft 

 year, notwithflanding this obftacle. The ufuai cover- 

 ing is thatch, but in many of the new buildings flates 

 have been fubflituted ; and if the quarries of that ma- 

 terial were properly worked, the ufe of flraw would 

 be much abridged. The cottages of the labourers, and 

 weavers, who have no land, are but poor, yet even 

 thefe are fuperior to what they were ; and as the ge- 

 peral circumflances of the country alter for the better, 

 F 2 fo 



