>uutict. tury, iron works were very common ; but at present 

 ^Y-^ there were few or none. In the peninsula of Howth, 



prvy ore of ni;r. ! >as been obtained in consider- 



able quantity. It is also found in various parts of Kil- 



IRELAND. 



pose. On this occasion, lands were offered to settlers 

 so low as twopence per acre. At this period, and on 

 these terms, Sir Walter Rateigh and others obtained 

 grants. On the flight of Tyrone, ancK those who had 



?tati;ti(*. 



r I :-. 



ktnnv, in the mountains of Glanmore, in Mayo, and in espoused his cause, more than 500,000 acres were to 



- I .__ /-I i* ;., r,.,,.,,i t. *V fj.iint.i* IK> rltci >ncf>fl nf in tlM -siv noi*th**i*n pniinti*> AQ aHucos 



be disposed of in the six northern counties. As abuses 

 had arisen from the grants having been too large on 



I II U If L *** Ml I *JJJ , w. j - an I 1-1 1*1* 



halt ore of Werner, has been found in the peninsula of former occasions, they were made considerably smaller 

 Tin-stone, j-jowth. Fragments of tin-stone occur in the gold mine at this time. The Corporation of _London obtained its 



several other counties. Cobalt is found in the copper 

 mine nt Mucross; and a variety of the earth black co- 



Mineral 



waters. 



in Wicklov. Porcelain earth, in purity equal to the 

 ' China clay" of Cornwall, lias been found on the south- 

 western side of the same county. 



CL Coal is met with in various parts of Ireland. In Ul- 



ster there are two coal mines wrought ; one in Antrim, 

 at Bally ca.tle, and the other in Tyrone, near Dungan- 

 non. In Connaught, collieries are wrought near Arig- 

 na, in the county of Leitrim. The province of Lein- 

 ster, however, seems to possess the rnlost abundant sup- 

 plies of coal, which is wrought near Castle Coomer, at 

 , Doonane, in Queen's county, and at Kilkenny. Castle 

 Coomer colliery is the largest in the kingdom. Forty 

 thousand tons are raised annually. The number of 

 colliers employed is 600. The coal is extracted at the 

 cxpence of 10s. per ton. This coal is generally deemed 

 one of the most pure found any where. Mr. Wake- 

 field, however, represents it, as well as all the other 

 coal of Ireland, as of an inferior quality to the bitumi- 

 nous coal of England. In the province of Munster, a 

 vein, the continuation of the Castle Coomer coal, is 

 wrought in Tipperary. The barony of Duhallow, in 

 the county of Cork, is the only part of the southern 

 portion of the province of Munster in which coal has 

 been discovered. This vein extends to Kerry. 



Mineral springs are found in almost every county. 

 They are chiefly chalybeates. Those most frequently 

 visited by invalids, are Lucan, near Dublin ; Swadlen- 

 bar, in the county of Cavan ; Johnstown, near Urling- 

 ford, in the county of Kilkenny ; and Mallow, in the 

 county of Cork. 



CHAP. III. 



Landed Properly Tenures Estates Farms Leases 

 General Character of the Agriculture of Ireland- 

 Arable Husbandry Implements Crops Wheat, Sfc. 

 Potatoes Flax Dairy Husbandry Grazing Hus- 

 bandry Cattle Sheep Horses Hags, $c. 



Tenures. THE tenures by which almost all the estates in Ire- 

 land are held, are derived from grants made in the 

 times of Henry VII. Queen Elizabeth, Cromwell, or 

 William III. A few proprietors, however, especially 

 in the province of Connaught, hold their estates by 

 original title to the soil. 



In the History of Ireland, we have already adverted 

 'to the forfeitures of landed property, which arose out 

 of the frequent resistance which the Irish made to the 

 power of the English. In this place, it may be proper 

 to consider them more particularly, as we shall thus 

 more clearly point out the titles on which by far the 

 greater part of the landed property of Ireland is held. 

 By the attainder of John O'Neil, and his associates, in 

 the reign of Queen Elizabeth, more than half of the 

 province of Ulster was vested in the crown, which was 

 bestowed upon the English lords, in such a manner as to 

 secure the English power in Ireland. After the rebel- 



large possessions in the county of Derry by this forfei- 

 ture. The forfeited lands in the time of Cromwell, 

 were appropriated chiefly to the discharge of the ar- 

 rears due to the English army. Connaught was entire- 

 ly reserved for the Irish. After all these assignments, 

 however, the counties of Dublin, Kildare, Carlow, and 

 Cork, were still unappropriated, and these were re- 

 served to be disposed of as parliament thought proper. 

 On the Restoration, the act of settlement, and the sub- 

 sequent bill of explanation, (both of which have been 

 adverted to in the history,) were passed, for the pur- 

 pose of regulating and assorting the grants. In thr 

 reign of King William, forfeitures were made to the 

 extent of upwards of one million acres, and of the va- 

 lue of upwards of 200,000 a-year. By the articles 

 of Limeric and Galway, part of these forfeitures were 

 restored ; but it is calculated, that the gross value of 

 the estates forfeited, from the 18th of February 1688, 

 and not restored, amount to upwards of one million 

 and a half. 



The tenure of landed property in Ireland differs, in 

 one respect, very considerably from that by which land 

 is held in England ; for, with but two exceptions, there 

 are no manorial rights in Ireland. The income of es- Estates, 

 tates varies very much from the lowest value to up- 

 wards of 100,000 per annum. There are several es- 

 tates of upwards of 50,000 acres. It was formerly a 

 common practice, to grant leases for ever, or for 999 

 years, or renewable for lives on a payment of a certain 

 fine. Hence the property of very extensive estates at 

 present, is vested in those who receive very little rent 

 from them. In Ireland, landlords never erect build- 

 ings on their estates, nor expend any thing in repairs ; 

 and the leases, in general, contain very few clauses. 

 Six months credit is generally given on the rents, 

 which renders the tenant very dependent on the land- 

 lord. In many leases the tenant is bound, besides Leases, 

 paying his rent, to labour for his landlord at an inferior 

 rate of wages. The system of what are called " mid- 

 dle men," prevails very much in Ireland: These are 

 persons who rent land from the proprietors, and let 

 them again to the real occupiers. Sometimes there are 

 several renters between the landlord and the occupier ; 

 and the latter is answerable, not only for the rent to 

 the person under whom he directly holds, but also for 

 the rent due by each renter to the person above him, 

 and by the first renter to the proprietor. This system 

 arises from the poverty of the Irish farmers in general ; 

 but it evidently not only proceeds from poverty, but 

 tends to increase it. The leases commonly -iranted, are 

 61 years and lives 31 years and lives 31 years 

 21 years and lives and 21 years; according to Mr. 

 Wakefield, orl, 7s. Id. Irish money per Irish acre. n tn t. 

 In some counties, the green, or cultivated acres, average 

 from 2, 10s. to 3, 8s ; the latter is the case with 

 the pasture land of Limeric, whereas the green acres 

 in Mayo and Fermanagh do not average above l, 5s. 

 In some parts of Ireland the value of estates is at 30 



lion of the Earl of Desmond was quelled, his immense years purchase; in general il -lies not ext oed 20; and 

 ostate was forfeited, and appropriated to the same pur- in some places it is not more than 16 or 18. 



