SEEDS AND IMPLEMENTS 279 



head to Carmarthen, is to a great extent at the 

 present day. The Irish farmers in the district 

 in question were, in fact, robbed as mercilessly 

 in the matter of seeds as they were in the 

 matter of manures. The refuse brought up 

 weeds, if it brought up anything, and the clean- 

 ings produced a soft grass which contained no 

 proper nourishment for the cattle. It is no 

 wonder the farmers used to say " it was useless 

 for them to sow seed at all." But now that 

 purity and germinating qualities are guaranteed, 

 larger yields and much heavier crops being 

 consequently obtained, the purchases by farmers 

 in the West of Ireland have increased enor- 

 mously, and are still increasing. 



Less advance has been made, up to the 

 present, in the matter of agricultural imple- 

 ments. Whether or not there is an actual 

 "ring" of makers, it is certain that the latter 

 hesitate to deal direct with the Wholesale 

 Society, and insist that purchases shall be made 

 through " recognised agents " ; but the way may 

 eventually be found of overcoming a difficulty 

 which at present presses somewhat hardly on 

 farming interests. 



Such is the magnitude of the operations 

 carried on by the Irish Agricultural Wholesale 

 Society, Ltd., that the annual turn-over now 



