IRELAND. 



; .:. 



Eo^uh Acres. 



* Brought over 30,4.0 



Di-tiict of the River Barrow, in Kildarc, . 41,075 



( ie, in E. and \V. Meath, 42,370 



of tlie Brusna, in King's County, 44,591 



. of the Shannon, in \V. Meath, Long- 



fur y, . . . 34,500 



. of the Innv and Lough Ree, in Long- 

 ford and W. Meath, .... 34,569 



i of Lough Gars, in Roscommon, Sli- 



go, and Mayo, . . 83,689 



between Roscrea, and Killenaut, in 



Tipperary, Kilkenny, and Queen's Coun- 

 ty. 36,025 



. to the west of Maryborough, in 



Queen's County 14,754 



forming the western extremity of 



Clare 82,340 



A small district on the Barrow, in Kildare 



and King's County 7,t59 



ct of Lough ('orrib, in Galway and 



Mayo, . -v 



.. in Mayo l<ji 



surrounding Lough Neagh, and ex- 

 tending to the mouth of the Ban, . 0" 1,855 

 Exclusive of 10,673 acres inundated by 



the winter level of the lough. 

 of Iveragh, in Kerry, . . . : 

 . of Kenmare, in the same county, 14,605 



of the rivers Lanne ami Maine, in 



Ditto, 990 



, uf the Upper Maine, in Ditt . . 8,566 

 of Sueve Laughar, in Cork and Ker- 

 ry, -,SOS 



oftbeCashen, in north of Kerry, 51,514 



ronrignoM I* Loughrec, in Long- 

 fort), Lekrim, and Boacowimon, . . 26,630 



southern extremity of the Suck, in 



Galway and BoacoBMnon, . . . 76348 



northern extremity of ditto, . M.S9O 



Total 1,013,358 



Besides, there arc the three mountain districts of Wick- 

 low, Erris, and ( unnemera, which contain, respective- 

 ly. 97,000, 170,090, and 1X0,000 acres; and in the 

 two last districts, there are of mountain peat soil, re- 

 spectively, 155,500 and 900,000 acres. The extent in 

 Wicklow has not been ascertained. The mountain 

 peat vjfl in other parts of Ireland is supposed to amount 

 to about 900.000 acres. Of the bogs under 50 acre*, 

 there are about 90 m the county ot Cavan alone, con- 

 taining 17,600 acres in all; aid the eexnmissiot.crs 

 Mippo-r, that the other parts of Ireland cannot contain 

 let* than ten times a* great an extent of these lesser 

 bogs M the single county of Cavan. 



' from all the above data (the eommisinners ob- 

 serve) we can confidently pronounce, that the extent 

 of peat soil in Ireland exceeds 2,3" . lish acres, 



of which we have shewn at least I to consist 



of flat red bog. The remaining 1 ,255,000 acres form 

 the covering of mount.. 



The strata of which the bogs in Ireland in general 



consist, or which lie below them, will more properly 



be considered when we come to treat of the geology 



of Ireland. At present we shall extract from the re- 



.ports of the i iniiiiiinimii n the heights of some of the 



\Xi.' 



In that which b generally called the Bog of Allan, 

 the highest summit of Lullyraere bog is 256 feet above 



275 



the lowest point Statistic 



water mark in Dublin Buy, 



2 14 feet; the highest point of Timahoe bog 280, the 

 '. point 23* ; the highest summit of the Bog of 

 Mounds 96, the lowest point 2J4 ; and the highest 

 point of Clane bog 298, and the lowest point 255 feet 

 above high water mark in Dublin Hay. The greatest 

 height of the bogs on the west of the Shannon, above 

 Lough Ree, is 76 feet, the lowest point 29 feet ; the 

 greatest depth 43 feet, the Itast depth 21 feet. Tilt- 

 greatest height of the bogs on the east of this river, in 

 the counties of Longford and Leitrim is 114 feet, the 

 lowest point SO feet ; the greatest depth 43 feet, and 

 the least SO feet. The greatest height of the surface of 

 the bogs in the district of the Boyne, above the sea at 

 high water mark in Dublin Bay, is 336 feet, the least 

 height 21 8 j the greatest depth 40, the average depth 

 3* to 25 feet. The greatest height of the surface of 

 the bogs to the northward of the Brusna is 274 feet, 

 the least height 114; the greatest depth 44, the ave- 

 rage depth 30. The greatest height of those to the 

 southward of this river is 310 feet, the least height 

 111; the greatest depth 45, the average 22 to 25. 

 The greatest height of the bogs in the district of the 

 Inny and Lough Ree is 233 feet, the least 1 76 ; the 

 greatest depth 47 feet, the average 30 to 35 feet. 



As it is obviously a matter of the highest national Practical)!. 

 importance, that these bog*, if possible, should be re- ! "Y" f 

 claimed, and rendered capable of conducing to the sus. 

 tennncc of man, the commissioners particularly direct- 

 ed their attention and investigations to ascertain how 

 far, and by what means, this was practicable. They 

 MUMik, that " peat moss ought to be considered as par- 

 taking, in its general nature, of the property of sponge 

 completely saturated with water, and giving rue to 

 dtfterent streams and rivers for the discharge of the 

 surplus waters which it receives from rain or snow." 

 In the district of Allan, as well as in many other dis- 

 tricts, these streams have worn their channels through 

 the substance of the bog down to the clay or limestone 

 gravel underneath, dividing the bog into distinct mass- 

 es, and presenting in themselves the most proper situ- 

 ations for the main drains ; ond which, with the assist- 

 ance of art, may be rendered effectual for that purpose. 



Another circumstance is favourable to this great un- 

 dertaking. Their surfaces, in general, are by no means 

 level, but with planes of inclination amply sufficient for 

 their drainage. The highest summit of any part of the 

 bogs in the eastern district of All-in is 'J9S feet above 

 the level of the sea, taken at an ordinary spring tide in 

 the Bay of Dublin ; and the lowest point is 214 feet 

 above the same L .el. In the Bog of Timahoe, a part 

 of its water is discharged into the sea at Drogheda, 

 ami another part below Waterford. 



We have thus stated the two grand facts on which 

 the commissioners rested the practicability, and indeed 

 the facility, of effecting the drainage of the bogs of 

 Ireland, and on which they accordingly formed their 

 plans. That they will be successful, there can be lit- 

 tle doubt, provided they are executed with skill, and 

 sufficient funds are allowed. And, as far as the esti- 

 mates of the engineers may be depended upon, the ex- 

 pence will be amply counterbalanced by the quantity 

 of useful land recovered. The estimate for draining 

 the eastern district of the Bog of Allan is 147,052, 

 6s. lid., and the quantity of land which would be 

 gained is 56,430 English acres, or about 10 an acre. 



Ireland, like all other countries formerly, abounded Ancient fa- 

 in forests. According to Boate, on the authority of Ge- '*** 

 raldus Cambrcnsi', who came into Ireland on its first con. 



