42 THE IRISH AGRARIAN PROBLEM. 



5. The fifth type are the agricultural farms 

 which occur principall}^ in King's County, 

 Queen's Count}-, Wexford, Carlow, and are speci- 

 ally frequent in Ulster, with the exception of the 

 Counties of Fermanagh and Cavan.^ Ulster, 

 in fact, has a more severe climate than the rest of 

 the country, but it also has much less fruitful 

 pastures, which will not clothe themselves with 

 grass, and on which man must do his part if he 

 wants to ripen a harvest. It is, moreover, in- 

 habited by a capable, energetic population, 

 partly of Scottish origin, who brought from their 

 homes in Scotland a knowledge of agriculture, 

 and thus were spared the slow development from 

 the nomadic condition. Here, in addition to 

 flax, oats is the principal crop. Barley, the raw 

 material for the national industries of whiskey 

 and stout, is cultivated to a considerable extent 

 in Tipperary and Wexford ; but constant impor- 

 tation of barley is necessary, for the brewers have 

 cause for complaint as to the uneven quality of 

 the Irish barley. 



The five types of farm which have been 

 mentioned do not often occur as pure examples 

 of their class. According as grass farming is 

 combined with dry feeding its type becomes 

 more modified in the direction of the agricultural 

 farm. In County Roscommon and other places 

 sheep pastures take the place of the cattle 

 pastures. The breeding of swine and sucking 



^ " Ireland, Agric. and Ind.," p. 307. 



