282 Farmers' Miscellany. [April, 



are productive, but the soil is much inferior to that of England. 

 A great part of the country may be considered as absolutely bar- 

 ren. The mountains are naked, and trees of native growth are 

 scarce in every part. 



Jlcrriculture. — The articles cultivated are generally the same as 

 in England. Oats are the principal crop, except in the most fer- 

 tile districts. Potatoes are cultivated somewhat extensively, and 

 in some places hemp. 



IRELAND. 



Face of the Country. — The surface of Ireland is almost entirely 

 level. The general appearance of the country is varied and 

 pleasant, although bare of trees. In some parts, are rich and 

 fertile plains, and in others gentle slopes and weaving hills. 



Climate. — The climate is damper than that of England, but 

 otherwise similar. Westerly winds are frequent and violent. 

 Snow is rare in winter, and passes rapidly away. The fields 

 have a green appearance through the year. 



Soil. — A great part of this island is covered with immense 

 bogs, or sterile tracts, producing nothing but heath bog, myrtle, 

 and sedge grass. They form a broad belt across the centre of the 

 island, widening towards the west. The remainder of the soil is 

 strong; but the moisture of the climate preserves the herbage, 

 and renders the land excellent for pasturing. 



Agriculture. — Agriculture is very backward. The cultivators 

 are not generally proprietors of the soil, and studiously avoid any 

 permanent improvement of the land, lest the rent should be raised. 

 The Irish are idle, and their implements of husbandry very rude. 

 Wheat is not generally cultivated, and w^hat is raised is often 

 inferior. Barley is now common, but oats are raised in a ten-fold 

 proportion to that of any other grain. The Irish staff of life, 

 however, is another article, which is so extensively cultivated as to 

 confer upon this island the name of the " land of potatoes." This 

 root furnishes to the poor the greatest part of their sustenance. 

 It is remarkable that a plant, brought originally from America, and 

 hardly known in Europe a century ago, should now be so univer- 



