228 



CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 

 Breeds of cattle in the south of Ireland Continued.. 



Mean temperature. Cork, 51.5 Fahr. ; Limerick, 49.4 ; Waterford, 48.f>. The mean 

 temperature of the southern half of Ireland varies from about 48 in the interior to 52 

 on the southwest seashore. 



Substratum. The mountains in the south of Ireland are all Silurian and Devonian 

 slates and sandstones. The plain of Munster, which comprises the great cattle dis- 

 tricts of Limerick, Tipperary, and North Cork, is mountain limestone. Most of the 

 river valleys also contain mountain limestone. lu many parts of the country the un- 

 derlying rock is covered with deposits of gravel and sandy clay, called by Irish geolo- 

 gists '" drift," resulting in part from ice action. These gravels correspond in great 

 measure to the subjacent rock, that is, are " limestone gravels " in the limestone dis- 

 tricts, and sandstone and slate gravels, clays, and sands in the Silurian and Devonian 

 districts. 



Cultivated grasses. The following are the kinds of grasses sown in laying down land 

 for permanent pasture : Poa trivialis, roughis, meadow grass ; Poa pratensis, smooth- 

 stalked meadow grass; Festuca dnriuscula, or hard fescue, a variety of Festuca ovina, 

 sheep's fescue ; Dactylis glomerata, rough cocksfoot grass ; Soliurn perenne, perennial 

 rye-grass; Anthoxantum odoratum, sweet-scented vernal grass ; Cynosurus cristata, 

 crested dog's-tail grass ; Alopicurus pratensis, meadow fox-tail grass; Phlonm pra- 

 tense, common cat's*tail grass; A vena flavescens, yellow oat; Festuca loliacea, a va- 

 riety of Festuca pratensis, meadow fescue. 



[Common red clover and Italian rye are grown for hay, but are cut for soiling in 

 early spring. White clover is generally sown with the grass seeds for permanent 

 pasture.] 



Total acreage of Munster and utilization of same during tlte years 1882 and 1883. 



