FOOD OF TH% IRISH PEASANT. 143 



MEATH. 



WEEKDAYS Breakfast. Bread and butter, sometimes an 

 egg. Dinner. Boiled bacon and potatoes ; cabbage or eggs 

 and potatoes. Tea. Tea and bread and butter. Supper. 

 Indian and oat meal porridge. SUNDAYS. Same as on week- 

 days, with fresh meat occasionally for dinner. 



QUEEN'S COUNTY. 



WEEKDAYS Breakfast. Tea, "griddle cakes" or bread 

 and butter ; sometimes eggs where fowls are kept. Dinner. 

 Potatoes, cabbage, and American bacon. Tea and Supper. 

 Bread and butter, tea, and in some cases porridge. SUNDAYS. 

 Same as on weekdays, substituting occasionally sheep's head 

 or pig's head for bacon at dinner. Another return says : 

 WEEKDAYS Breakfast. Bread, butter, and tea. Dinner. 

 Three days potatoes, bacon and cabbage ; three days potatoes 

 and milk, or potatoes, with herrings or eggs. Tea. Bread, 

 butter, tea or cocoa. Supper. Potatoes or porridge and milk. 

 SUNDAYS. Same as on weekdays, except that no supper is 

 taken. 



WEST MEATH. 



WEEKDAYS Breakfast. Oatmeal "stirabout" with butter- 

 milk, or sometimes skimmed milk, and afterwards tea and a 

 slice of bread (either bakers' or home-made) with a little butter 

 or fat bacon. Where dripping can be obtained it is often used 

 in lieu of butter or bacon. Dinner. Many labourers take their 

 dinners with them in the fields. In such cases, a bottle of milk 

 or cold tea, flour cake (home-made) with slice of cold fried 

 bacon, or on Fridays butter instead of bacon. Those who can 

 go home have boiled bacon, cabbage, and potatoes. Tea is used 

 for dinner by all adults. Salted herrings with potatoes are 

 occasionally used for dinner on Fridays instead of butter. Tea. 

 Tea is given by employers during harvest or very busy times, 

 otherwise there is no meal between dinner and supper. Supper. 

 Tea and bread with boiled potatoes ; or, in winter, hot potato 

 cake. Labourers who have not been able to return to their 

 dinner generally have fried bacon with their supper. Cocoa 

 in place of tea for supper is also coming gradually into 

 use. SUNDAYS. Among the better-paid labourers, ploughmen, 

 carters, etc., "stirabout " for breakfast is ceasing to be taken, 

 and much larger quantities of tea, bread, butter, and bacon are 

 used. Tea is taken at every meal, but in some cases cocoa is 

 gradually coming into favour. All farm labourers keep pigs, 

 fowls, and goats. Pigs are only kept for sale, and are never 

 killed by the feeders, the profit derived therefrom being gener- 

 ally sufficient to pay for the rent. With the profit from the 

 sale of eggs and a few chickens, tea, sugar, and clothes are 

 provided. Milk is obtained from the goats, and new milk is 

 rarely purchased. Buttermilk is generally given gratis by the 

 employers, and sometimes skimmed milk also. 



