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XV. — Illustrations of Irish Farming. Bj R. O. Pringle, 
Editor of the ' Irish Farmers' Gazette.' 
In a previous paper in the Journal* I had occasion to enter into 
details, which may be regarded as illustrating Irish farm manage- 
ment under certain circumstances. Those details show, for the 
most part, the defective points in Irish agriculture ; but the few 
examples I now purpose to describe, illustrate a higher class of 
farm management. The number of examples of this kind might 
easily have been increased, but a few cases, taken from different 
ranks of Irish agriculturists, not being proprietors, will be found 
quite sufficient to serve the purpose I have in view, namely, 
'of showing that " what one man has done, another may do." 
The examples here given comprise the largest class of tillage 
farms, the medium class, and also the smallest, or cottage-farm 
class. 
Before proceeding to describe the system of management 
pursued on these farms, it is necessary to state that I have been 
occasionally obliged to use Irish measures of land, and Irish 
denominations of the measure or weight of grain. These local 
denominations are confusing to those who are unaccustomed to 
them. The Irish, or plantation acre, is equal to 1 acre, 2 roods, 
19 perches imperial ; it is used in nearly all parts of Ireland. 
The imperial, or statute acre, is also used in some districts, and 
is the denomination adopted in all official documents. In most 
parts of Ulster the Cunningham, or Scotch acre, is used. The 
Cunningham acre contains 5760 square yards, and is, therefore, 
nearly midway between the statute acre and the Irish acre. 
With regard to measuies of corn weight there is also diversity. 
In the north of Ireland, and in some other parts of the country, 
corn is bought and sold by the imperial stone of 14 lbs. ; the 
cwt., 112 lbs. ; or the ton, of 20 cwt., according to Act of 
Parliament ; but in the Dublin market, and the central districts 
generally, the " barrel " is still used, although illegal. But the 
confusion is rendered still worse by the fact that a " barrel " of 
one kind of grain may not mean a " barrel " of another. Thus, 
20 stone, 280 lbs., is a barrel of wheat, rye, beans, peas, and 
potatoes ; but 16 stone, 224 lbs., is a barrel of barley or rape 
seed ; and 14 stone, 196 lbs., is a barrel of oats. Some years 
ago Government was importuned to take steps in order to render 
all weights and measures used in Ireland uniform, and to abolish 
certain illegal practices which had crept into the dealings of 
buyers with sellers, consisting chiefly of arbitrary deductions 
* Second Series, vol. viii., Part I., No. XY. 
