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, 1818. TAotn. 

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



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

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

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

 one years and a life ; but on some of them there are leases in 

 perpetuity, which have now become more valuable than the 

 freehold property. 



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

 county than tillage. Slany persons fattened from 300 to 500 

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



Surchase at tlie beginning of the grass season, and dispose of 

 uring 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 rearing of 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 61. to '/. lOj. 

 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 hills, in the 

 western angle adjoining Cavjm, 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- 

 pecially the cabins of tlie farm labourers, which are miserable 

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

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

 family. The principal food of this class is potatoes with chum- 

 milk, and occasion.-Uly 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 com crops for several 

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

 'The common rotation is wheat, oats, fallow, potatoes, clover, 

 all without the application of manure. It is customary to 

 work horses intermixed with oxen, of which six are eenerall/ 

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

 yet, notwithstanding this management, the wheat crops are in 

 some parts excellent. Agriculture has, of late vears, extended 

 verv much, and at present nearly three fourths of the county are 

 under tillage. 



Manufactures do not afford employment to any considerable 

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

 that of linen is carried on to some extent ; anil also the weaving 

 of cotton. On the Blackwater and the Boyue 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 flat, 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.) 



sheep occupy the grazing grounds, which extend over much 

 of the best part of the district. Tillage is accordingly upon a 

 limited scale, though more com is raised than the inhabitants 

 consume ; and besides the crops common in other places, flax, 

 hemp, and rape are cultivated, with clover and turnips ; the 

 two latter, however, not generally. The soil is mostly light , 

 but in some parts it is rich and deep. 

 Few or no manufactures. 



The principal river is the Shannon ; and there are a number 

 of beautiful lakes well stocked with fish ; the trout in Lough 

 Dim are said to have an emetic quality. One of the largest of 

 the lakes is full of wooded islands. 



There are few large estates, but many gentlemen of mode- 

 rate fortunes, from 2000/. to 3000/. a yetir, most of whom are 

 resident. The leases are commonly for twenty-one years and 

 a life, though in some instances for "thirty-one years and three 

 lives. A great many fine long-homed 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, ( Wakejeld, Sfc. Sup. Encyc. Brit.) 



Landed property is in estates of from 3000/. 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 



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 Unen manufacture. 



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. Gaz. 1827.) 



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 occupied 

 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 com crops, barley being very little cultivated. The other 

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

 are almost confined 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 

 lauds requiring heayj dressings of lime and marl to keep them 



productive. Yet a spirit for agricultural improvement hai 

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

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

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

 are in a condition superior to that of ther 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 arenot often 

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

 carry away much of the capital that should be 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 exacted 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, S[c. Sup. Encyc. Brit.) 



Some very large estates, of which the most extensive belongs 

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

 one years 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 county, whea the eldest daughter 

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

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

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

 subdivision continues as long as there are daughters to be dis- 

 posed of. In regard to male children, they are turned out Into 

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

 can." The rent is chiefly paid from the produce of the dairy, 

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

 county, and from the pigs, which are partly fed upon its offals. 

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

 stances, pay 1000/. a year of rent ; and a great deal of butter is 



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

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

 neighbourhood of Waterford, cows were let for sixteen pounds, 

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

 There are very few sheep, and those of^a bad description ; and, 

 comparatively, but a small portion is in tillage. AVhere 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 lieen formed in various parts. Fur/e is so much used as 

 fuel, that whole fields are kept under this shmb for tlie pur- 

 pose. 



Hogs are an important branch of trade at Milford Haven ; 

 glass and salt the principal manufactures. 



7877. CORK- 1,048,799 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 sublime in many places, 

 and one fourth part waste. {Waktfield. Townsend's Survey of Cork, 1810. Sup. Encyc. Brit. Edin. 

 Gaz. 1827.) 



The elimate is mild ; but a very gaieral opinion existe that it 

 IS changing for the worse. 



The rivers of this county flow with rapidity for the most 

 part ; a circumstance unfavourable to their being rendered na- 

 vigable, but presenting many eligible situations for the erection 

 of machinery. 



The most useful fossils are limestone, marble, and slate ; coal 

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

 tent. 



Estates are generaUy 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 l>e for thirty-one years, or three 

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

 ye.irs, or one life; and the farms, instead of being let out to 

 middlemen, who used to relet the land in small portions to oc- 

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

 the occu|)ier from the proprietor himself. There is here the 

 usual minute division of tillage lands, cultivated by the spade 

 in preference to the plough ; the usual dependence on potatoes, 

 as the common and almost exclusive article of food ; with miser- 



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