CHARLEVILLE — CASTLE OLIVEE. 89 



left to nature, without a particle of grass-seed, and in 

 three years it became, and now is, very fine feeding land ! 

 A farm of 300 acres is now to be let by Lord 

 Muskerry. Springfield castle is a fine old place, with 

 some good timber, and a busy noisy rookery, the only 

 one I remember to have yet seen in the west of Ireland. 



Next morning, October 31st, we left Springfield castle, 

 returning eastward along the borders of Cork and 

 Limerick, by Drumcollogher and Charleville, to Castle 

 Oliver and Kilmallock. Charleville, a station on the 

 Dublin and Cork Railway, is a nicely situated town, 

 with a very handsome new church. A good deal of 

 bustle and some business was going on in the principal 

 street. On the steps of the market-house about twenty 

 women were seated, each with large wooden pailfuls of 

 butter-milk for sale. Several cart-loads of fine large 

 apples were also on sale, and four loads of turf, for 

 which two shillings each were asked, the distance to 

 the "mountain" being considerable. Several wool- 

 packs and carts with furniture were passing through 

 the town. Nearly every fourth shop was shut up from 

 want of trade. 



At Castle Oliver, important improvements are being 

 effected by the Misses Gascoigne, who have planted, 

 drained, and improved their property to a very con- 

 siderable extent. I may give an interesting quotation 

 from the report of Mr Cox, Inspector of Drainage, 

 from the seventeenth report of the Board of Public 

 Works. He says, — " Many old prejudices have 

 given way, and particularly that generally entertained 

 against deep-draining, as compared to shallow. In 



