WASTELANDS, 69 



WASTE LANDS. 



Although the proportion of wafte territory is not, I appre- 

 hend, fo great in Ireland as it is in England, certainly owing 

 to the rights of commonage in the latter country which fortu- 

 nately have no exiftence in Ireland ; yet are the trafts of de- 

 fart mountains and bogs very confiderable. Upon thefe lands 

 is to be praftifed the m'oft profitable huflbandry in the King's 

 dominions ; for fo I am perfuaded the improvement of moun- 

 tain land to be. By that expretfion is not to be underftood 

 only very high lands, all wafte in Ireland that are not bog they 

 call mountain ; fo that you hear of land under that denominati- 

 on where even a hillock is not to be feen. The largeft tracts, 

 however, are adjoining to real mountains, efpecially where 

 they (lope off to a large extent gradually to the fouth. Of this 

 fort Lord Kingfborough has a very extenfive and moft unprofit- 

 able range. In examining it, with many other mountains, 

 and in about five months experience of the beginning only of 

 an improvement under my direction there, I had an opportuni- 

 ty of afcercaining a few points which made me better acquaint- 

 ed with the practicability of thofe improvements than if I had 

 only pafled as a traveller through the kingdom. By dating a 

 few of the circumftances of this attempt, others who have 

 mountains under fimilar circumftances may judge of the pro- 

 priety of undertaking their improvement. The land has a ve- 

 ry gentle declivity from the Galty mountains towards the 

 fouth, and to a new road Lord Kingiborough made leading 

 from Mitchelftown towards Cahir, which road he very wifely 

 judged was the full ftep to the improvement of the wafte parts 

 of his eftate as well as a great public benefit. The South fide 

 of this road limeftone is found, and on the North fide, the im- 

 provement was begun in a fpot that included fome tolerable 

 good land, fome exceeding rough and ftoney, and a wet bot- 

 tom where there was a bog two, three, and four feet deep ; 

 the land yielded no other profit than being a commonage to 

 the adjoining farm, in which way it might pay the rent pof- 

 fibly of a {lulling an acre : Twenty thoufand acres by eftima- 

 tion joined it in the fame fituation which did not yield the 

 fourth of that rent. In June I built a lime kiln which burnt 

 twenty barrels a day, and cut, led, and (lacked turf enough 

 to keep it burning a whole twelvemonth, fketched the 

 fences of four inclofures, making thirty-four acres, and fi- 

 niihed the firft work of them, leaving the reft, and plant- 

 ing till winter*. I cleared two inclofures of ftones ; pared 

 and burnt them burnt eight hundred barrels of lime, limed 



one 



* Where fences //? be Jane by the day and not the perch, 'which 

 will generally be the cafe in the beginning of an improvement in a 

 "very wild country , from the labourers being totally ignorant of tak- 

 ing iwrk fry menfure ; all that is fvjfiblt jhould be executed in fuw- 



