OBSTACLES TO GOOD FARMING. 73 



not the means to make them. If, with these dis- 

 advantages, and the generally bad system of cultivation 

 practised, this rent can be made from the land, how 

 much more beneficial would it be to the community, 

 and how much more profitable to a man who had suf- 

 ficient skill and capital thoroughly to develop its capa- 

 bilities ! But where is that man to come from, so long 

 as landlords are unable to provide the permanent accom- 

 modations which are necessary % and what hope is there 

 for the country, so long as any laws exist which obstruct 

 the transfer of the land to those who are able to per- 

 form effectively the proper duties of landlords \ I am 

 assured by Mr Christie, who has been long in the coun- 

 try, that the people are well-disposed, and very grateful 

 for employment. 



Leaving Limerick next morning, I proceeded, by 

 steamer, down the river to Tarbert, a distance of thirty- 

 two miles. The sail down the river is most interesting, 

 both banks being rich and fertile, and ornamented with 

 mansions surrounded by fine wood. Here and there a 

 church-spire peeps modestly from among the trees, 

 while on both sides are seen the ruins of ancient castles 

 perched on the summit of a lofty rock, as Carrigogun- 

 niel; or more picturesquely situated on the water's 

 edge, like Bunratty. The ruins of old castles, abbeys, 

 and churches are so numerous, as to lead one to suppose 

 that, in former times, this country had been in a much 

 more prosperous state than it is at present. From 

 Limerick to Tarbert, on the south bank of the river, 

 there are not fewer than twenty of such ruins ; and on 

 the north bank nearly as many, castles and churches 



