274 



IRELAND, 



-ici. valw is extremely fertile. Mr. Wakefield says, that the 

 ' richest loam he ever saw; turned up by the plough pre- 

 vails tlin>iif:h<rit Meath ; and n similar soil, on a calca- 

 i- subsoil, in to be found throughout Koscommon, 

 and in some parts of Galway, Clare, and other coun- 

 ties. In the counties of Limeric and Tipperary there 

 is another kind of rich land, consisting of a dark, (ruble, 

 dry, sandy !<>;im ; this also is on a calcareous subsoil. 

 The soils just described are, in general, very shallow ; 

 hut there js another kind of rich soil of great depth, and 

 of rather a singular nature, we allude to the " corecass, 

 or caucas" land, on the banks of the Fergus and Shan- 

 non. This is evidently soil of a nature, quality, and for- 

 mation, very similar to the carsc land found in Scotland, 

 on the banks of the Forth and Tay ; though perhaps 

 not so strong and tenacious as the Scotch carse land. 

 In both countries this kind of'soil has been formed by 

 deposition from the rivers,, on the banks of which alone 

 it is found. The substratum of th " caucas" land on 

 the Fergus and Shannon is a blue silt, which differs in 

 appearance and fertility from the upper soil, only, from 

 the circumstance that the latter has been long exposed 

 to the atmosphere and cultivated. The most remark- 

 able divisions of soil in Ireland are formed by some of 

 the rivers, especially the Barrow, Blackwater, and Ken- 

 mare ; to the west of the Barrow, -limestone is found 

 in abundance, whereas it does not exist throughout the 

 counties of Wexford and Wicklow. The Blackwater, 

 in its course through the county of Cork, is the south- 

 ern boundary of the limestone soil ; and in its course 

 through the county of Waterford, it is the northern 

 boundary of the same soil ; but in both counties the lime- 

 stone lies to the west of that river; the same circumstance 

 is observable in the Kenmare, the Bride, and the Lee. 

 Bo,;*. The greatest drawback to the general fertility of the 



soil of Ireland, consists in the immense extent of the 

 bogs by which that country is disfigured. These dif- 

 fer from the English mosses, in being rarely level, but 

 rising into hills ; there is a bog in Donegal, which is 

 said to be a perfect scenery of hill and dale ; the most 

 common plants are heath- bog-myrtle, and a little sedgy- 

 grass; the colour of the peat is, for the most part, red- 

 dish, whence they are called red bogs. The dry heaths 

 are, for the most part, confined to the mountains, un- 

 less the curragh of Kildare be reckoned such. This 

 curragh is rather elevated ground, highest near Kil- 

 daro, and thence descending by degrees towards the 

 Li fly. about three miles long, and two or three broad, 

 divided into rows of heath and grass. 



Kflercnt Boate, in his Natural History of Ireland, divides the 



bogs, strictly so called, into four sorts : First, the 

 grassy bogs, in which the surface is covered with some 

 kind of herbage ; hence they are very deceitful and 

 dangerous to travellers. Some of these, in particular 

 the great bog in the county of Kerry, dry up during 

 the summer, so that cattle may graze upon them. But 

 the deepest grassy bogs are impassable in the summer 

 as well as in the winter. There are, however, at all 

 times, firm places in them, by means of which those 

 who are well acquainted with them may pass over. 

 -. Watery and miry bogs, which contain grass co- 

 vered, however, with water and mire. 3. Hassocky 

 bogs, or shallow lakes, overspread with little tufts or 

 islets, consisting of reeds, rushes, coarse grass, and 

 sometimes small shrubs. As the roots of these are 

 closely interwoven, and sometimes rest on ground 

 rising to the surface of the bog, these bogs may be 

 passed over. Most of them are found in Queen's and 

 King's Counties. 4. The peat moors. 



kinds of 

 bogs- 



There is also another division of the bogs of Ireland Statistics. 

 into three sorts mountain bogs, red bogs, and floating " V"^ 



With respect to the last, which is the most sin- lt " t ' 

 gular kind, it has been ascertained tha^ a quantity of 

 Water lies in a body between the turbary and the gra- 

 vel, which keeps the turbary in a buoyant state, and 

 contributes to the growth of the fungus substance. 

 When the turf-cutter incautiously approaches the bot- 

 tom of n turf-hole, the water frequently bursts up 

 through a close covering of two or three feet, and ex- 

 poses him to imminent danger. 



In September 1 809, a warrant was issued, by which 

 commissioners were appointed to inquire into the na- 

 ture and extent of the several bogs in Ireland, and the 

 practicability of draining and cultivating therti. These 

 commissioners laid before Parliament four reports on 

 this important subject, from which the following parti- 

 culars have been collected. The limits of this article 

 necessarily compel us to draw from them only the most 

 relevant and interesting information ; and we must 

 refer such of our readers as wish for further particu- 

 lars, especially on the substances found in these bogs, 

 the analysis of these substances, and the most eligible 

 means of draining and cultivating the bogs, to the re- 

 ports themselves. 



In the first report, the commisioners state, that they Extent of 

 consider the greater part of these bogs as forming one Irish bogs. 

 connected whole; and that a portion of Ireland, of lit- 

 tle more than one-fourth of its entire superficial con- 

 tents, and included between a line drawn from Wick- 

 lowhead to Galway, and another drawn from Howth- 

 head to Sligo, comprises within it about six-sevenths 

 of the bogs in the island, exclusive of mere mountain 

 bogs, and bogs of less extent than 500 acres. This 

 portion, in its form, resembles a broad belt, drawn across 

 the centre of Ireland, with its narrowest end nearest 

 the capital, and gradually extending in breadth as it 

 approaches the Western Ocean. This great division 

 of the island, extending from east to west, is traversed 

 by the Shannon from north to south, and is thus divi- 

 ded into two parts. That portion of the bogs which 

 lies to the westward of this river, contairis more than 

 double the extent that are to be found to the eastward. 

 The commissioners are of opinion, that if the bogs of 

 Ireland (exclusive of mere mountain bogs, and bogs 

 under 500 acres) be supposed divided into 20 parts) 

 about 17 of them will lie in the great division just de- 

 scribed, viz. 12 to the westward, and 5 to the east- 

 ward, of the Shannon; and, of the remaining three parts, 

 two will lie to the south, and one to the north, of tin's 

 division, Most of the bogs which lie to the eastward of 

 the Shannon, occupying a considerable portion of King's 

 County and the county of Kildare, are generally known 

 by the name of the Bog of Allan ; but this is not one 

 ^eat morass. On the contrary, the bogs to which this 

 appellation is applied are perfectly distinct from pne 

 another, often intersected by ridges of dry country, and 

 inclining towards different rivers. In general, there is 

 no spot of these bogs, to the eastward of the Shannon, 

 so much as two Irish miles distant from the upland 

 and cultivated districts. 



The result of the investigations, set on foot by the 

 commissioners, with regard to the extent of the 

 bogs in Ireland, is given in their fourth report, laid 

 before Parliament in the session of 1813-14, as fol- 

 lows : 



English Acres. 



Eastern extremity of the Bog of Allan, in the 



County of Kildare, .... 3(5, 430 



