420 
Illustrations of Irish Farming. 
I have already mentioned the farm of Bellegrove, of which 
Messrs. McLachlan and McCuUoch are the occupiers. This farm 
is part of the estate belonging to J. G. Adair, Esq., and has 
been held on lease by the present tenants for the last seventeen 
years. It consists of 650 statute acres — chiefly a limestone 
gravel loam, but with a considerable proportion of rough pasture. 
The better part grows good crops of wheat, barley, roots, and 
artificial grasses, but, in general, the soil is not suitable for 
permanent pasture. Black oats succeed better on the farm than 
any of the white varieties. Barley, however, is the principal 
cereal crop, and the barley grown at Bellegrove has reached 59 
lbs. per bushel. As already mentioned, the district to which I 
refer at present is noted as a barley-growing district, and I find 
that the highest rate of produce is 20 " barrels " per Irish acre ; 
that is, reckoning the bushel at 56 lbs., equal to fully 60 bushels 
per imperial acre ; but the average yield in the district is 
reckoned at 13 or 14 " barrels" to the Irish acre, that is, about 43 
bushels per imperial acre. 
The fields on Bellegrove Farm are large, and suitable for the 
rotation followed, which is the ordinary four course, lengthened 
by two or three years' pasture, as may be convenient. Ten 
horses are kept for the work of the farm, and as two double- 
furrow ploughs are used, it is considered that these save one pair 
of horses and a man. The farm-steading is built of stone, and 
arranged on the plan commonly adopted on farms of the kind in 
Scotland. A fixed engine does the thrashing and other barn 
and feeding-house work. 
Sheep form a principal part of the live-stock at Bellegrove. 
The breeding flock consists of from 300 to 350 ewes, of 
Border Leicester blood. Messrs. McLachlan and McCulloch 
imported a few years ago a number of high-class ewes from 
Kelso, and since that time rams have also been brought over. 
Previous to the introduction of the Border Leicesters, the flock 
at Bellegrove consisted chiefly of " English Leicesters," but it was 
found that the sheep became rather fine, and the Border Leicester 
was resorted to, in order to get inore size without injuring 
tjuality. For some years Messrs. McLachlan and McCulloch 
were successful exhibitors of sheep at the Irish Royal, and the 
Royal Dublin, as well as local shows, but, latterly, they have 
given up sliowing, finding, as others have done, that show 
condition is not always favourable to breeding. Besides the 
breeding flock, there is also the fattening flock, which consists 
of each year's " crop " of lamljs — say 400 — which are fattened 
during winter for the Dulilin market. These are folded upon 
the crop, or a part of it, and the turnips are all cut by a machine 
for the sheep. Half a pound of oats and cake is given to each 
