330 A LIFE'S WORK IN IRELAND. 



must be by honest industrj^, taking the means of im- 

 provement which are offered you, and which others 

 have found for their benefit. 



I cannot bring this letter to an end, without showing 

 you the result of what I have advised, by the fortunes 

 of two farmers in the county of . 



Timothy Hennessy and Patrick O'Brien were neigh- 

 bours. Each had a farm of about twenty acres. 



A little before the time I am speaking of, Tim had 

 taken his farm, having some cows and other stock of his 

 own, and bearing the character of a decent man ; so that 

 his landlord thought he would make a good tenant, and 

 was glad to give him the farm. Tim, however, farmed 

 on the old plan ; he set his potatoes and his wheat, and 

 sowed a few firkins of hay-seeds with his wheat, and 

 so kept a good part of his land always for grazing, as 

 bawn-field, upon which, with the help of a quarter or 

 half an acre of furze-brake, he just managed to keep 

 two cows and his horse. In summer his cows did pretty 

 Avell ; it is true he got very little manure from them, 

 because they were obliged to be out in the field grazing, 

 both by day and night. Nor did they give nearly as 

 much milk or butter, as they Avould have done, if they 

 had been better fed ; still there was some grass for them, 

 and they gave some milk. But in winter, poor beasts ! 

 they had a hard life of it. They were always out in 

 the field all day, as they must be there to try and get 

 a bellyful ; and often, for the same reason, they were 

 out all night also ; and j^ou might hear them stand 

 lowing in the fields, from cold and hunger. Of course 

 they gave scarce any milk at this time ; the cold and 

 rain, and want of food, often quite dried them up. 

 However, Tim did the best he could : he kept them in 



