GOfr M E A 
The diet of the firft Romans confided wholly of milk, 
herbs, and roots, which they cultivated anddrefied with their 
own hands ; they alfo had a kind of gruel, or coarfe pap, 
conipofed of meal and boiling water ; when they began to 
ufe bread they had none for a great while but of unmixed 
rye. Barley-meal was eaten by them, which they called 
polenta. When they began to eat animal food, it was 
elieemed a piece of luxury, and an indulgence not to be 
juftified but by fome particular occalion. After animal 
food had grown into common ufe, the meat which they 
molt frequently produced upon their tables was pork. 
MEAT-OF'FERING,yl An ofFering which was to be 
eaten. 
' MEAT-PI'E, f. A pie made of fiefti. 
ME'ATED, adj. Fed ; foddered : 
Strong oxen and horfes, wel fhod and vvel clad, 
Wei mealed and ufed. TuJJer's Plujlandry. 
MEATH, otherwife East-Meath, to diftinguifh it 
from the county of West-Meath, a county of Ireland, 
which, though only the tenth in fize, is one of the mod 
diftinguifhed on account of its many natural advantages. 
It is bounded on the north by the counties of Cavan, Mo¬ 
naghan, and Louth; on the eaft by the Irifh Channel and 
port of Dublin ; on the fouth by the county of Kildare ; 
and on the welt by Weft-meath. It extends- from north 
to fouth 29 miles, (36 Englilh,) and from ealt to welt 35 
(44! Englilh) miles, including an area of 512 fquare miles, 
or 327,900 acres, Irilh meafure, which are equal to 822 
fquare miles, or 526,700 acres, Englilh meafure. 
This county, united with Longford, Welt-meath, and 
part of fome adjoining counties, was formerly one of the 
live kingdoms into which Ireland was divided ; and, long 
after the Englilh obtained polfelfion of the country, it was 
confidered as a diftinCt province, though it is now part of 
Leinlter. It derived its name, according to fome, from a 
corruption of Media, from its being furrounded by the 
other kingdoms ; but others derive its name from the Irilh 
Magh or Maith, which fignifies a plain or level country. 
On the eftablilhment of the Englilh in Ireland, Henry II. 
made a grant of Meath to Hugh de Lacy, who planted fe- 
veral colonies, and erected many cattles, and was more 
powerful in Ireland, as he boalted, than Henry himfelf. 
In 1234, the inheritance of Meath palfed, by marriage, to 
Jeffery de Geneville, from whom it in like manner palled 
to Mortimer earl of March, whofe daughter and heir mar¬ 
ried the duke of York, father of Edward IV. Meath 
formed a principal part of what was called the Engli/li 
pale ; and, from the number of parilhes into which it was 
divided, and the many ruins it contains, it is probable 
that it was then very populous. In 1792, the 147 pa¬ 
rilhes were, by unions, reduced to 59 benefices, of which 
44 had churches, and 19 only glebe-houfes. The popu¬ 
lation was eltimated by Dr. Beaufort at 112,400. 
The country is in general level, having few hills, and 
-thole of inconfiderable height. The foil is variable, but 
that moft generally met with is a ftrong deep clay upon 
limeftone gravel, at a greater or lefs diftance from the 
furface, in different places. That land which borders on 
the county of Louth, north of the river Boyne, is the worft 
and moll unprofitable, whillt the north-weftern and fouth- 
ealtern diltriCts are the moft productive. Though fome 
peculiar diftricts in other counties are richer, yet there 
is no traCt of equal extent in Ireland of fuch excellent 
quality, and fo appropriate to every purpofe of grazing 
and tillage. Meath is indeed proverbial for cattle ; and 
not only fupplies the Dublin market, but alfo buyers 
from the north of Ireland, and from different parts of 
England. There is alfo a number of dairy farms, efpe- 
cially in the fouth-eaftern part, which fend their produce 
to the metropolis. Some butter is alfo made for expor¬ 
tation, but it is not highly prized. At Slaine there is a 
manufactory of cheefe carried on by natives of Eng¬ 
land. The paftures yield a luxuriant crop of natural 
gralles; and there is little attention paid to the introduc- 
T H. 
tion of others. Some niarfhes on the Moynalty river feed 
an immense number of horfes in the fummer feafon j and 
the Kilcrew hills in the weftern angle adjoining Cavan, 
are remarkable for fattening fheep. Agriculture has of 
late years extended much, and about one-third of the 
county is at preferit under tillage. The crops commonly 
cultivated are, wheat, oats, barley, rye, clover, flax, ami 
potatoes. Cabbages, turnips, rape, and peafe, are alfo 
frequently met with, though not very general. The 
quantity of walte land, excltifive of bog, is very fmall; 
and chiefly confifts of the commons belonging to fome of 
the towns, which will probably be foon enciofed. 
The manufactures of this county are few. The prin¬ 
cipal is that of facking, which is made from tow brought 
out of the northern counties. The manufacture is chiefly 
carried on in the neighbourhood of Navan. Dowlas and 
three-quarters wide coarfe linens are made in the parts 
near Drogheda, which are exported to the Weft Indies 
to clothe the negroes. In the north-weftern parts linen 
of a finer texture is made, which is fold in the county 
of Cavan. In the fouthern parts fpinning is gene¬ 
rally negleCted ; and there is no manufacture except of 
fome coarfe frieze for home-confumpiion. It may¬ 
be* added, that the manufacture of ftraw hats, both of 
fplit and whole ftraw, has been brought to high perfec¬ 
tion, and is carried on to a great extent. I-n the weftern 
and northern parts of the county are fome conliderable 
bogs, which fupply a large quantity of fuel, though not 
equal to the wants of the inhabitants; whilft the ealtern 
parts have coal from Dublin or Drogheda. There are 
iuppofed indications of coal in feveral parts of the county 5 
but no mine is worked. The other mineral productions 
are of little importance. There is a copper-mine at Skreen, 
from which the proprietor has yet derived no benefit; and 
a valuable potters’ clay near Dunfliaughlin, reckoned 
equal if not fuperior (fays Mr. Thompfon) to moft of the 
potters’clay found in Staffordfhire, which, though within 
fifteen miles of Dublin, has been turned to no account. 
Marl is found at fome depth under the bogs, fimilar to 
that found in Louth, which is ufeful in agriculture; and 
the limeltone at Ardbraccan has been thought orna¬ 
mental in building. 
Meath is well watered, and the attention paid to inland 
navigation cannot fail of contributing to its rapid im¬ 
provement. The principal river is the Boyne, which, 
rifing in the county of Kildare, enters Meath in the fouth- 
weltern angle, and divides it into two nearly equal parts. 
Its courfe lies through fome of the moft fertile and bell: 
improved parts of the county. Its banks in moft parts 
rife to a confiderable height, gradually floping from the 
water’s edge to their verdant brow ; and in others bold 
projecting rocks and fteep precipices overhang its limpid 
furface. Though in fome places the river is much dif- 
turbed in its courfe by fharps and rocks, yet in others it 
fteals filently along through flats of conliderable extent, 
adding elegance and beauty to fcenes fcarcely to be equal¬ 
led in Ireland. On this river, in its courfe within the 
county, are fix extenfive bolting-mills, befides feveral grift 
and cloth mills, and one for the manufacture of cotton. 
A canal has been made, called the Boyne Navigation, 
which is for the moft part contiguous to the river. This 
canal has been completed as far as Navan ; but the other 
projected cuts to Trim, Athboy, and Kells, remain unfi- 
nifhed ; which appears, from Mr. Wakefield’s account, to 
be the cafe with moft of fuch undertakings in Ireland. 
The Blackwater, flowing from LoughRamor in the county 
of Cavan, enters the county in the north-weft, and, paffing 
near the town of Kells, joins the Boyne at Navan. The 
Moynalty flows into the Blackwater; and the Athboy, 
Knightfbrook, and fome other (mall rivers, add their wa¬ 
ters to the Boyne. The river Nanny, or, as it is ufually 
called, the Nanny Water, rifes near Navan, and takes near¬ 
ly an eafterly direction to the Irifh Sea. The water of 
that river has, like the Bann, the character of being pe¬ 
culiarly adapted to the purpofes of bleaching. The lea- 
coafi 
