Book I. 



AGRICULTURE OF CORK. 



1201 



7872. EAST MEATH. 526,700 acres, of low, flat, rich surface ; a clayey or loamy soil on limestone or 

 gravel, with little wood, few mansions, and only one twelfth of bogs. {Curwen'S Observations, J818. Thom- 

 son's Survey of Meath, 1802. Sup. Encyc. Brit. Edin. Gaz. 1827.) 



The landed property of Meath is divided into large estates, a 

 great many of which yield an income of upwards, of 2000/. a 

 year. These are for the most part let out on leases of twenty- 

 one vears and a life ; hut on some of them there are leases in 

 perpetuity, which have now become more valuable than the 

 freehold propertv. 



Grazing was, till very lately, a more important object in this 

 count v than tillage. Many persons fattened from 500 to .300 

 cows "in a season, besides bullocks and sheep, These they 

 purchase at the beginning of the grass season, and dispose of 

 during the summer and autumn, as they are ready, instead 

 of keeping a regular stock all the year. The pastures are con- 

 sidered too valuable to be applied to the rearingof stock. Dairy- 

 ing is not carried to any extent, and the butter made here is 

 said to be held in little estimation. In some instances, where 

 farms are let out for the dairy, the landlord supplies a succes- 

 sion of cows in milk, horses, and land, and the tenant furnishes 

 labour, utensils, &c, paying at the rate of from 6/. to 7/. 10j. 

 per annum for each cow. The English long-horned cattle 

 were introduced many years ago into this district, which now 

 contains some of the best specimens of the breed. Some 

 marshes on the Moynalty river feed an immense number of 

 horses in the summer season; and the Kilcrew bills, n t v e 

 western angle adjoining Cavan, are remarkable for fattening 

 sheep. The sheep are brought from other counties, and, like 

 the cattle, the same stock is kept only for a season. 



Tillage farms are larger here than in most parts of Ireland ; 

 but, according to Curwen^the system of management is little 

 better than on the small farms of other districts. The houses 

 and fences are, for the most part, of the worst description, es- 



the cabins of the farm labourers, which are mis 

 mud-walled hovels, sunk below the level of the ground adjoin- 

 ing, and occupied by cows and pigs, in common with the 

 fami ly. The principal food of this class is potatoes with churn- 

 raiik, and occasionally oatmeal ; butcher's meat being rarely 

 used even among the "farmers ; and, to add to their privations, 

 fuel is very scarce in different parts of the county. An unin- 

 terrupted succession of oats and other corn crops for several 

 vears is common; in a few instances even for twenty years. 

 The common ro:ation is wheat, oats, fallow, potatoes, clover, 

 all vithout the application of manure. It is customary to 

 work horses intermixed with oxen, of which six are generally 

 yoked together, three pair deep, to a very ill-constructed plough ; 

 yet, notwithstanding this management, the wheat crops are in 

 some p trts excellent. Agriculture has, of late years, extended 

 very much, and at present nearly three fourths of the county aie 

 under tillage. 



Manufacture* do not afford employment to any considerable 

 part of the imputation, though here, as in most parts of Ireland, 

 that of limn is carried on to some extent; and also the weavn g 

 of cotton. On the Blackwater and the Boyne there are several 

 extensive flour mills. 



7873. WESTMEATH. 378,880 acres of surface. The surface of this district is exceedingly diversified 

 with woods, lakes, streams, bogs, and rich grazing lands ; in no parts mountainous or fiat, but gently un- 

 dulating, or rising into hills of no great elevation. Some of these are cultivated to their summits, and 

 others covered with wood, presenting, in several parts, some of the finest scenery in Ireland. {Wakefield's 

 Statistical Survey of Ireland. Sup. Encyc. Brit. Edin. Gaz. 1827.) 



The principal river is the Shannon; and there are a number sheep occupy the grazing grounds, which extend over much 



of beautiful lakes well stocked with hsh ; the trout in I.ou-h of the best part of the district. Tillage is accordingly upon a 



Dim are said to have an emetic quality. One of the largest^of limited scale, though more corn is raised than the inhabitants 



the lakes is full of wooded islands. consume ; and besides the crops common in other places, flax. 



There are few large estates, but many gentlemen of mode- hemp, and rape are cultivated, with clover and turnips; the 



rate fortunes, from 2000/. to 3000/. a year, most of whom are two latter, however, not generally. The soil is mostly light ; 



resident* The leases are commonly for twenty-one ye trs and but in some parts it is rich and deep. 



a life, though in some instances for "thirty-one years and three Few or no manufactures. 

 lives. A great many fine long-horned cattle and long-woolled 



7874. LONGFORD. 234,240 acres, in great part bog, mountains, and waste; the climate on an average 

 giving 140 dry days in the year. {Wakefield, $c. Sup. Encyc. Brit.) 



plough. It is chiefly occupied in grazing, in which the resi- 

 dent gentry almost exclusively employ the farms which they 

 retain in their own hands. Some linen manufacture. 



Landed property is in estates of from 5000/. to 7000/. a year. 

 Leases are commonly for twenty-one years and a life. Farms 

 are, for the most part, very small, where tillage is the principal 

 object; but only a small proportion of the district is under the 



7875. LOUTH. 177,926 acres, mountainous towards the north, but in other parts undulating and fer- 

 tile, with little waste land, no considerable lakes, and a great number of gentlemen's seats, of which Col- 

 Ion is the chief. ( Wakefield. Edin. Gax. 1827. 1 



landed property is in estates from 1500/. to '2000/. per annum. 

 Farms are, in general, larger than in most other parts of Ire- 

 land; but there are still many very small; in some parishes, 

 scarcely one above twenty-five acres, and in others they do sel- 

 dom extend to eighty acres. As the land is chiefly occup-ed 

 in tillage, little attention is paid to the improvement of cattle 

 and sheep; of the latter, though a few are kept on most farms, 

 the number is inconsiderable. Wheat and oats are the prin- 

 cipal corn crops, barley being very little cultivated. The other 

 crops are potatoes, flax, and a little hemp. Clover and turnips 

 are almost con lined to the farms of proprietors. It is only on 

 these that the general management is good; that of the com- 

 mon farmers being, for the most part, slovenly ; and their 

 lands requiring heavy dressings of lime and marl to keep them 



productive. Yet a spirit for agricultural improvement has 

 lately happily appeared in this county, and many of the tenants 

 are in easy circumstances, well clothed, use meat in their fa- 

 milies, and m every thing but their houses and farm buildings 

 are in a condition'superior to that of the r brethren in most 

 other parts of Ireland. It is common to renew the leases some 

 time before the old ones expire, so that the tenants are not often 

 changed ; but fines are frequently paid on these renewals, which 

 carry away much of the capital that should l>e applied to the 

 soil. Tithes are very seldom taken in kind ; their value is as- 

 certained about the end of harvest, and the tenants grant their 

 notes for the amount, which, though payable in November, is, 

 in some cases, not exacttd till almost twelve months after. The 

 linen manufacture is carried on to a considerable extent. 



7876. WATERFORD. 454,400 acres, the greater part hilly and mountainous, but rich and productive 

 on the south-east ; the climate so mild, that cattle sometimes graze all the year round. { Wakefield, Cur- 

 wen, §c. Sup. Encyc. Brit) 



made, even among the mountains, where small cows, suited to 

 the nature of the" pastures, form the principal stock. In the 

 neighbourhood of W'aterford, cows were let for sixteen pounds, 

 eighteen pounds, and even twenty pounds, for the season. 

 There are vers few sheep, and those of a had description ; and, 

 comparatively, but a small portion is in tillage. Where lime is 

 used as a manure, it must be brought from a distance, as there 

 is no limestone to the east of Blackwater, and it costs upwards 

 of five pounds for an acre. Orchards are numerous on the 

 banks of this river, and extensive plantations of timber-trees 

 have been formed n various parts. Furze i* so much used as 

 fuel, that whole fields are kept under this shrub for the pur- 

 Hogs are an important branch of trade at Milford Haven ; 

 glass "and salt the principal manufactures. 



Some very larce estates, of which the most extensive l>eIongs 

 to the Duke of Devonshire. Leases are commonly for twenty- 

 one vears and a life ; and on the banks of the rivers, where the 

 land is most valuable, farms are small. .According to Wake- 

 field's information, " In this counts , when the eldest daughter 

 of a farmer marries, the father, instead of giving her a portion, 

 divides his farm between himself and his son-in-law ; the next 

 daughter gets one half of the remainder ; and this division rnd 

 subdivision continues as long as there are daughters t 

 posed of. In regard to male chi dren, they are turned out into 

 the world, and left to shift for themselves the best way they 

 can.'* The rent is chiefly paid from the produce of tie dairy, 

 which is conducted on a" greater or smaller scale over all the 

 countv, and from the pigs, which are partly f&\ upon its offals. 

 Some of the dairv farmers, most of whom are in easy circum- 

 stances, pav 10007. a year of rent ; and a great deal of butter is 



7877. CORK. 1,018,799 acres of Irish plantation measure of greatly varied surface , bold, rocky and 

 mountainous on the west, rich and fertile on the south and east, romantic and sublm 

 and one fourth part waste. ' 

 Gaz. 182; 



n ana reriiie on me miuui aim t«tst, jhmi«.hh^ ««*" <>■■«" - •■* --;-.-- ■ » 



(Wakefield. Townsend's Survey of Cork, 1810. Sup. Encyc. Brit. Edin. 



The climate is mild ; but a very general opinion exists that it 

 is cbangmg for the worse. 



The rivers of this county flow with rapidity for the most 

 pari ; a circumstance unfavourable to their being rendered na- 

 v i^aMe, but presenting many eligible situations for the erection 

 of machinery. 



The most 'useful fossils nre limestone, marble, and slate ; coal 

 and ironstone have been discovered, but not worked to any ex- 

 tent. 



Estates are generally large ; tillage farms are very small, sel- 

 dom above thirty acres : and, when they are larger, often held 



in partnership, and the shares of each further diminished by 

 the common practice of dividing the paternal possessions among 

 the sons. The leases used to be for thirty one years, or three 

 lives: but of late the term has been reduced to twenty-one 

 vears, or one life; and the farms, insUnd of lu.r.g let out to 

 middlemen, who mid to relet the land in isma portions to oc- 

 cupiers on short leases or at will, are now held in most casta by 

 the occupier from the proprietor himself- ilure is here the 

 usual minute division of tillage lai d >>y the spade 



in preference to the plough ; the usual depend; lice on potatoes, 

 ^ihpmmmon and almost exclusive article ol food; with miser, 



4 II 



