174 M A H O N. 



The rough ftone, after hackling, will 

 produce 81b. flax for coarfe linen ; and 4lb. of 

 dreffed tow, and fome for backens. The fpin- 

 ners earn from 3d. to 4d. a day. The weavers 

 earn iod. to is. 4d. The coarfe cloths and 

 yarn never fo high as at prefent. Weavers 

 very often turn labourers, which is attributed 

 to fo many being, contrary to law, bound ap- 

 prentices for 2 years, inftead of 5, by which 

 means they are bad hands, and can only do 

 the very coarfeft work. As to- health, from 

 the fedentary life, they rarely change their 

 profeffion for that. They take exercife of a 

 different fort, keeping packs of hounds, every 

 man one, and joining, they hunt hares : a pack 

 of hounds is never heard, but all the weavers 

 leave their looms, and away they go after them 

 by hundreds. This much amazed me, but 

 affured it was very common. They are in 

 general apt to be licentious and diforderly ; 

 but they are reckoned to be rather oppreffed 

 by the county cefTes for roads, &c. which are 

 not of general ufe. There is fome wheat, 

 and about Kilmore a good deal ; a middling 

 crop 5 barrels. Oats yield here 6 barrels on 

 an average. Mr. Workman, 9 years ago, in- 

 troduced the ufe of lime, and they are fince 

 coming faft into it : the effecl is very great, 

 though the foil is a wet loam on clay without 

 any ftones. No draining. They are in ge- 

 neral very bad farmers, being but the fecond 

 attention, and it has a bad effecl on them, 

 ftiffftning their fingers and hands, fo that they 



do 



