Rodamalioii of Bar/ and 3Ioorland in Galwaij. 211 
I will now give a brief summary of the improvement on each 
township of the property, taking them in the order of passing 
down the south side of the river and returning up the north side. 
The first two townships were not purchased from the Wilberforce 
family. The work of reclamation by Mr. Mitchell Henry was 
first begun opposite to the castle at JNIweelin. Previous to the 
famine, this land was owned, as a fee farm under the Provost of 
Trinity College Dublin, by two Miss Murphys who grazed 
cattle, and lived in a small cottage, still standing. They died 
at the time of the famine, leaving the farm to their nephew, a 
clerk in a solicitor's office in Dublin. Finding himself unable 
to pay succession duty and the taxes upon the land, he was glad 
to sell his white elephant to a Dublin tailor for lOZ. and a suit of 
clothes. In 1854 it was owned by the Rev. J. Duncan, and subse- 
quently sold by him to the present owner. On the mountain side 
oOZ. were spent here twelve years ago on sheep-drains with ex- 
cellent effect ; before this was done there was a great loss from rot 
among the sheep, as many as thirty dying annually out of a 
flock of 200. The benefit is not confined to sheep and cattle ; 
in wet weather the grouse will always give the preference to the 
drained land. The system of sheep-drainage was introduced 
'into the district by an Ayrshire man about 15 years ago ; it is 
done with the Scotch spade, cutting a small open trench across 
the face of the hill, the turf being laid on the lower side. The 
trench is 20 inches deep, with a breadth of 20 inches at top and 
9 inches at bottom : and the cost is \d. per Irish rod of 7 yards 
long. Every seventh year the trenches should be cleaned out, at a 
cost of \d. per 7 yards. At the foot of'the hill there are the remains 
of an old monastery, and at a short distance one of the burying- 
places of the once powerful family of the Joyces, noted for their 
size and strength. Lower down is situated a good limestone 
quarry, with a kiln in which both coal and peat are used for the 
lime burning. Immediately below the kiln is a bog of deep 
peat. Here 20 acres were drained, nine years ago, by 4-foot 
drains, 30 feet apart, leading into a main drain, which at its 
lower extremity had been left as an open ditch. This has 
proved very disadvantageous, as the sides have been trodden 
down by sheep and cattle, and the outfall of the minor drains has 
been so much impeded that a new main drain is now being cut 
to open the minor drains about 30 feet from their original outfall.. 
The land .received a dressing of 50 barrels, equal to 150 bushels, 
of lime per acre, and was trenched into 4-foot ridges ; 10 acres 
received a dressing of guano, and were sown with turnips ; the 
other 10 acres received a half-dressing of farmyard-manure, and 
were planted with potatoes. The roots were drawn for the cattle 
P 2 
