290 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



there is the most beautiful ride of eight miles around the 

 winding shores of the middle lake, by Muckross head, that I 

 ever beheld. Language can give but a faint idea of it, because 

 the ever-changing hues, in the sunshine and the shade, must 

 flash upon the eye to be appreciated. 



And there, in the centre of the lower lake, lies the lovely island 

 of Linisfallen, which Arthur Young, of agricultural memory, 

 declared to be " the most beautiful place in the king's domin- 

 ions, and perhaps in Europe." And who is not familiar with 

 that most charming of melodies beginning with, 



" Sweet Innisfallen, fare thee well ; 



May calm and sunshine long be thine ; 

 How fair thou art let others tell, 

 While but to feel how fair be mine. 



" Sweet Innisfallen, long shall dwell 

 In memory's dream that sunny smile 

 Which o'er thee on that evening fell, 

 When first I saw thy fairy isle." 



Twelve hundred years ago, this "enchanting spot was selected 

 by the monks as the seat of a monastery, and a portion of its 

 ruin is still to be seen. The soil on this island is very rich, 

 the grass growing in extreme luxuriance, and nourishing a 

 large number of sheep, while the magnificent arbutus which 

 flourishes all through the lake region, here becomes particularly 

 fine, owing to the mildness and moisture of the atmosphere 

 and the soil, though it often rises from the clefts of the i^ocks, 

 where it would seem to have little chance for support. Other 

 fine timber trees cover this island, and lend it an unspeakable 

 charm. 



Ross Island, of a hundred and fifty-eight acres, and its fine 

 old castle, now a majestic ruin, was aijother point where we 

 landed, but it is impossible to give any adequate description of 

 it. Its fine old castle was built in the fourteenth century by 

 one of the O'Donoghues, and was the last stronghold of Mun- 

 ster to surrender to the parliamentary army in 1652. Like all 

 other ruins in this country, it is one mass of ivy, of immense 

 extent and richness of foliage, while the views from the top are 

 of unsurpassed interest and attraction. 



The raising of flax is increasing in Ireland, as a consequence 

 of the high price of cotton. In the sections I visited, it is 



