The Stature of the People diminished. 307 



Our journey this day was not concluded under 

 thirty-five miles, with a very indifferent place to 

 stop at, called Gallaghers Inn, at the end of 

 fifteen. Travellers on this road are so few that 

 it was not surprising to find our host ill-pro- 

 vided ; bread there was none but cakes made 

 with milk and flour, and prepared in a few 

 minutes, became its substitute. Oaten bread 

 is, in part, the food of the North of Ireland, as 

 it is in Scotland, and some of our northern 

 counties. 



The diminished stature of the people here, 

 when compared with those of the North, as 

 likewise their general character, begin to be 

 very apparent. Soon after we had breakfasted 

 we entered on an extensive district of bog, 

 reaching to the foot of Knocknaree. Not a 

 tree was produced on this wide waste, in va- 

 rious parts of which were seen huge masses of 

 rock, one of which I examined particularly, 

 and found it to be of grey whinstone, unlike the 

 rocks in its neighbourhood. These large stones 

 being scattered individually over the bog had a 

 singular appearance difficult to account for. 

 The cabins on the side of the bog were misera- 

 ble, and bore the strongest marks of poverty. 

 Land was said to be let for twenty shillings per 

 acre, on which the oats appeared to be ten days 



