274 MITCHELSTOWN. 

 thefe dairy cows are the chief flock. The little 

 farmers manage their own; the larger ones 

 let them to dairymen for one cwt. of butter 

 each cow, and 12$. to 155. horn money; but 

 the mannas a privilege of four collops, and an 

 acre of land and cabbin to every twenty cows. 

 The people,moft attentive tq their own intereft, 

 are, however, getting out of this fyftem, from 

 the innumerable rafcalities of thefe dairymen, 

 they will play twenty tricks to keep them from 

 taking the bull, in order to have the longer 

 feafon ; and to force them to give down their 

 milk, they have a very delicate cuftom of blow- 



them where , but I have heard 



of this pradice in other parts. 



The winter food is ftraw and hay at night; 

 not many of them are houfed. In the breed- 

 ing fyftem they are very deficient. Vaft num- 

 bers of calves are killed at two or {hree days 

 old for an execrable veal' they call Daggering 

 bob, I fuppofe from the animal not being olp 

 enough to ftand fleady on its legs': they fill at 

 2S. or as. 6d. a head. A good cow fells from 

 $1. to 61. 6s. and a calf of fix or eight months, 

 at 2os. or 22S. Sheep are kept in very fmall 

 numbers j a man will {iave two, or even one, 

 and he thinks it worth his while to walk ten 

 or twelve miles to a fair, with a ftraw band 

 tied to the leg of the lamb, in order to fell it 

 for 35. 6d. an undoubted proof of the poverty 

 of the country. Markets are crouded for this 

 reafon, for there "is nothing too trifling to 

 carry ; a yard of linen, a fleece of wool, a 



couple 



