1731

new rents, in various soils and situations at Florence Court, Inniskilling, near Swadling-bar, and Ballyshannon.

Farms.

No. 1

Years let. Acres. Old Rent. New Rent.

The extremes of date may be called from 1730 to 1770, or 40 years, the average of the period would be 20 years; but we may safely say that in 30 years the rent is quadrupled. The courses of crops:

1. Potatoes. 2. Potatoes, reversing the lands. 3. Oats. 4. Oats. 5. Oats. 6. Lay out for weeds, &c.

4. Oats. 5. Flax.

3. Barley. 4. Oats. 5. Oats.

Tillage farms rise from ninc acres subdivided, to large tracts in grazing ones. The manures are marle, lime-stone, gravel, lime, bog, and sod ashes; the marle is white and light, found under bogs, and in banks; that in the banks, about Florence Court, is upon clay, or gravel, with springs under it, which makes the marle run into forms like cinders, petrified, and of a reddish cast, as if from vitriolic acid. The whole country abounds with sulphureous, and other mineral springs. Very little of this marke used; they use the lime stone gravelly clay most, which gives them very good crops. The expence of lime, carriage included, is 8d. a barrel, slacked; they lay sixty barrels an acre. They burn their mountain land, lime, and marle it, and set potatoes. In the year 1774, there were claimants for the Dublin Society's premiums, for 174 acres of bog reclaimed, and 120 of mountain. In 1773, 38 moor, and 120 bog. No draining done by the farmers, but much by the gentlemen.

Potatoes they plant all on lays; plant four barrels per acre, each barrel 6 cwt. they are measured by the peck, so piled up as

to weigh 3 stone each: the price from 5s. to 168. the barrel; average, 88. No hiring of land merely for planting potatoes, but the farmers will let the cottars take a crop of potatoes, if they dung the land. The produce, on an average, will be 32 barrels: thirty-two men will set an acre a day, with five children: when the potatoes appear, they shovel the furrows, which four men wili do in a day: eight men will weed an acre in a day, and sixty-four men will take them up.

Of oats, they sow two barrels an acre, and some more, and the crop twelve barrels. Of barley they sow five bushels an acre, esch eight gallons, the crop eight barrels. Much stubble, and potatoe land, in wet soils, is dung for corn, and it takes eighteen men to dig an acre a day. Much flax is sown, both on the land, by its owner, and hired by cottars, who have no land it for it; they hire a peck sowing, at 2 bushels and a half, or £2 148. 2d. but the land is ploughed and harrowed into the bargain.

Pulling, sixteen women, at 6d. .

80

0 10 8

Gathering, tying, and rippling, sixteen men, at 8d.
Watering, eight horses and cars, and eight men, the horse

and car, at 18. Taking out, four men. Spreading, eight women.

Lifting and carrying home, 4 cars, 8 women and 4 boys.
Drying and beetling by a turf fire, four men and thirty.

two women

Scutching, mostly at home, by women, but done for three halfpence per lb. 360 lb. the acre

Heckling, thirteen pence a stone, twenty-two stone

815 2

Produce: 360 lb. or 22 stone, cleaned dressed, at 178. 6d.
Expences.

They spin all the flax they raise into three to five-hank yarn, on an average four. Many servants are hired for spinning, at 12s. a quarter, who do the business of the house, and spin a hunk a day; if they do it for pay, it is 3d. a hank. A stone spins into 64 hanks; and when they have done it, it is sold at the markets and fairs: the tow they spin into two-hank yarn, which is wove into seven hundred cloth, for home consumption. The weavers earn, on an average, 10d. a day. Many cows are kept, and much butter made by every little farmer, which they put into tubs of 14 cwt. and if one has not cows enough to make it, they join, in order to do it. Two cows will rear two calves, feed the family, and make a tub, which sells for 40s. per cwt. on an average, or £2 10s. the two cows; a cow requires two acres for her summer food, or if they have it, more, and her winter's hay, 10s. A good cow, if no milk is taken from her, will make 7 lb. of butter a week; a middling one, four pounds and a half, and she will give twelve quarts a day. Many pigs kept, but no proportion observed to the number of cows, which are kept in the house at night in winter, but out all day. The calves suck the cows three months before weaning; many do not suck at all, but are weaned in a few days. The management of the grazing farmers, is to buy in

year-olds, at 20s. on an average, keep them till they are four years old, and sell them from £4 to £10. Some of these farmers occupy very large farms, even to £1,000 or £1,500 a year, but these are rare. Some buy in at three years old, and sell out at four; some at four, and sell at five; some at yearlings, and sell out at three, according to their lands. The common farmers buy in missed heifers, in November, and sell them in May, when they buy dry cows, which they sell fat in November, and make on the fattening, 30s. a head, and on the missed heifers, 16s. on an average. The little farmers that have lands fit for sheep, keep a few for cloathing their families, very many of them spinning wool enough, and weaving it for their own cloaths, pettycoats, blankets, &c. also stuffs for the women. The girls are seen in summer in their striped linens and whites of their own making, and in winter in their woollen stuffs. They clip from a ewe, about 3 lb. on an average.

Goats were so common that every person had them from the case of keeping, as they brouze only on bushes, and 20 were not reckoned a sum. This term should be explained, it implies a portion of land sufficient for a given stock; for instance, keeping a cow is a sum; a horse a sum and an half; 8 sheep; 6 ewes and 6 lambs; 3 year olds; a 2 year old, and a year old; a 3 year old; 20 geese; a barrel of potatoes setting; a peck of flax sowing; a barrel of corn sowing, and a cow's grass; all these are sums. They plough all with horses, except gentlemen, 3 abreast, and do half an acre a day. Drawing by the tail not done these 7 years. The price per acre 10s. Of digging by the acre 12s. and the crop 10s. an acre more; but they reckon that nothing in the world wears out the land more than digging. They lay their wet lands in narrow ridges of 5 furrows. The horses get no oats, yet they are not more than from 6s. to 12s. a sack, of 2 barrels measure; the barrel weighs 9 or 10 stone. Average price 9s. In hiring a little farm, no attention given to what stock they have. Land. Fells at 21 years' purchase, rack rent, which is lower than 4 or 5 years ago. Rents are fallen in 4 years 28. an acre. Tythes compounded, small and great ones, by the lump. The leases most common are 3 lives, or 31 years. Tierney begs are now done with. The people increase considerably, notwithstanding the emigra- 7 tions, which were great till within these 2 years. Their circumstances vastly improved in 20 years; they are better fed, cloathed, and housed; more sober and industrious in every respect. Their