EXTENSIVE FARMING AT BLARNEY CASTLE. Ill 



St John Jeffryes of Blarney Castle, to whom I had 

 an introduction. This gentleman farms about 2000 

 acres of his own estate, which is about three miles 

 to the north-west of the city, and over which he 

 kindly accompanied me. It is divided into several 

 farms, with threshing- mills on each. Turnips are 

 grown very extensively, and white carrots for the 

 farm-horses. There are about 300 acres of irrigated 

 meadows, which afford excellent food for the dairy 

 and other stock. The dairy consists of 170 cows, 

 partly short-horn and crosses, but all of a large size. 

 On one farm the cows are fed constantly in the house, 

 and they do quite as well as those which are pastured, 

 while the same number do not consume nearly as many 

 acres of produce, and make a vast quantity of manure. 

 The whole stock are fed daily on cut hay steeped in 

 distillery wash. This seemed an excellent and very 

 palatable food. The milk-cows get draff mixed with it. 

 They are fed four times daily ; in the morning and 

 evening with the hay mixture, twice during the day with 

 turnips. All the turnips are cut with gardeners' cutters. 

 The milk is sold at a fixed price to a man who takes it 

 daily at the farm. 



Besides the cows, Mr Jeffryes feeds out part of their 

 produce — viz., 100 calves, 100 year-olds, and 100 two- 

 year-olds, which are turned out fat annually. The 

 calves are first fed in pens singly ; they are then put 

 into loose-boxes, three in each, for the winter. These 

 boxes are constructed on the plan of Mr Blair Warren 

 of Norfolk, with a feeding passage in front of them, 

 and a door to each for removing the dung when 



