520 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



IV. — Sociology. 



1. Occupations. — The description of the mode of life of the people 

 of Gorumna and LettermuUen answers fairly well as that of the life 

 and occupations of the people of this district, with the exception that 

 these latter are somewhat better off on the whole. The people of the 

 islands, Mweenish, Fenish, and Mason, live mainly by fishing and 

 kelp-burning, and have few cattle, and those of very poor quality. 

 The holdings are very small, averaging for the district, about three 

 acres under cultivation, and are much cut up by rocks and loose stones, 

 and the soil is very shallow. The fields near the coast are of very 

 irregular shape, and are bounded by walls of loose stones often made 

 apparently to get the stones off the surface of the land. These loose 

 stone walls have no gates, but in many cases a place of entrance or 

 exit is provided by raising up two large stones as piers, so that the 

 part of the wall between them can be knocked down when needful 

 without damage to the rest of the fence. Farther inland the fields 

 are larger, and are bordered by earthen fences. The surface of the 

 fields is most irregular, often very wet, so that the potatoes seem in 

 some cases to be growing in water which soaks the ground. Oats, 

 barley, and potatoes are the principal crops, and the mode of cultiva- 

 tion is that described in the report on Gorumna. It is, perhaps, almost 

 needless to state that spade labour is universal. The usual manure is 

 " black- weed," which is brought from the sea shore in "back loads" 

 by the wonien who join in all field work, and seem to be the hardest 

 worked members of the community. 



The people in Mweenish, Mason Island, and part of the coast line 

 send their cattle up to the inland mountains and moors every summer 

 and autumn as there is no food for them at home, and the watchers 

 who stay to tend these cattle build for themselves small huts (boolies) 

 of stone or sods and roofed with scraws in which they live for the 

 season. These boolies are very similar to those built on Inishglora by 

 the lobster fishers of Inishkea (for a description of which see the 

 report on the Mullet and Inishkea islands). The owners have to walk 

 about five miles or so every day in order to get the milk. The cattle 

 are small and of a poor description. The fowl, cattle, and pig's are 

 brought into the houses at night in the winter. Very few pigs seem 

 to be kept, and only a small proportion of families own a horse or 

 donkey. Small patches of osiers are grown in moist places near most 

 of the houses to supply materials for baskets, panniers, lobster pots, &c. 



The principal source of money for the coast and inland proper is 



