Imatges de pàgina
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acres in his own hands; he did not, however, turn out the people, but kept them in to fee the effect of his operations.

These were of a magnitude I have never heard before: he had for several years 27 lime kilns burning stone, which was brought four miles with culm from Milford Haven. He had 450 cars employed by thefe kilns, and paid 700l. a year for culm: the ftone was quarried by from 60 to 80 men regularly at that work; this was doing the business with incomparable fpirit-yet had he no peculiar advantages, but many circumstances against him, among which his conftant attendance on the courts, which enabled him to fee Cullen but by farts, was not the leaft. The works were neceffarily left to others at a time that he could have wifhed conftantly to have attended them.

While this vaft bufinefs of liming was going forwards, roads were also making, and the whole tract inclofed in fields of about 10 acres each, with ditches 7 feet wide, and 6 deep, at 1 s. a perch, the banks planted with quick and forest trees. Of thefe fences 70,000 perches were done.

In order to create a new race of tenants, he fixed upon the most active and induftrious labourers, bought them cows, &c. and advanced money to begin with little farms, leaving them to pay it as they could. These men he nurfed up in proportion to their induftry, and fome of them are now good farmers, with 4 or 500l. each in their pockets. He dictated to them what they should do with their lands, promifing to pay the lofs, if any fhould happen, while all the advantage would be their own. They obeyed him implicitly, and he never had a demand for a fhilling lofs.

He fixed a colony of French and English Proteftants on the land, which have flourished greatly. In Cullen are 50 families of tradefmen, among whom fobriety and industry are perfectly established.

Many of thefe lands being very wet, draining was a confiderable operation: this he did very effectually, burying in the drains feveral

millions of loads of ftones.

The mode in which the Chief Baron carried on the improvement, was by fallowing. He ftubbed the furze, &c. and ploughed it, upon which he fpread from 140 to 170 barrels of lime per acre, proportioning the quantity to the mould or clay which the plough turned up. For experiment he tried as far as 300 barrels, and always found that the greater the quantity, the greater the improvement. The lime coft him 9 d. a barrel on the land: his ufual quantity 160, at the expence of 61. an acre, and the total of that expence alone thirty thousand pounds! After the liming, fallowed the land for rye, and after the rye took two crops of oats. Throughout the improvement, the lime has been fo exceedingly beneficial that he attributes his fuccefs principally to she ufe of it. Without it, all other circumftances equal, he has got 3 or 4 barrels an acre of oats, but with it 20 and 22 of barley. Has compared lime and white marle on an improved mountain-foil for flax; that on the lime produced 1000 lb. well fcutched, the other 300 lb.

His great object was to fhew the tenantry as foon as he could, what these improvements would do in corn, in order to fet them to work themselves. He fold them the corn crops on the ground at

40s. an acre: the three crops paid him therefore the expence of the liming, at the fame time they were profitable bargains to the tenants. With the third corn-crop the land was laid down to grass. Upon this operation, after the manuring, ditching, and draining, the old tenants very readily hired them. Some feeing the benefit of the works, executed them upon their own lands; but their landlord advanced all the money, and trufted to their fuccefs and honesty for the payment. This change of their fentiments induced him to build new farm-houses, of which he has erected above 30, all of lime and ftone, at the expence of above 401. a house; the farms are in general about 80 acres each.

• After fix or seven years, the Chief Baron limed much of it a fecond time on the fod, and the benefit of it very great. It is all let now on an average at 20 s. an acre. Upon the whole, his Lord hip is clearly of opinion that the improvement has been exceedingly profitable to him, befides the pleasure that has attended fo uncommon a creation. He would recommend a fimilar undertaking to others who poffefs waftes, and if he had fuch another eftate he would undertake it himself.

He alfo allotted a confiderable tract of many acres for plantations, which are well placed and flourishing. Ridings are cut in them, and they form a very agreeable fcenery. Mr. Forfter, his fon, takes much pleasure in adding to them, and has introduced 1700 forts of European and American plants. The country is now a fheet of corn: a greater improvement I have not heard of, or one which did more genuine honour to the perfon that undertook it.

This GREAT IMPROVER, a title more deferving eftimation than that of a great general or a great minifter, lives now to overlook a country flourishing only from his exertions. He has made a barren wilderness smile with cultivation, planted it with people, and made thofe people happy. Such are the men to whom monarchs fhould decree their honours, and nations erect their ftatues.'

As a fuitable companion to the above piece, we shall subjoin the picture of Ardmagh, as improved by the prefent Primate:

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July 23d, his Grace rode out with me to Ardmagh, and fhewed me fome of the noble and fpirited works by which he has perfectly changed the face of the neighbourhood. The buildings he has erected in seven years, one would fuppofe without previous information, to be the work of an active life. A lift of them will juftify this obfervation.

'He has erected a very elegant palace, 90 feet by 60, and 40 high, in which an unadorned fimplicity reigns. It is light and pleafing, without the addition of wings or leffer parts, which too fre. quently wanting a fufficient uniformity with the body of the edifice, are unconnected with it in effect, and divide the attention. Large and ample offices are conveniently placed behind a plantation at a fmall diftance: around the palace is a large lawn, which spreads on every fide over the hills, and fkirted by young plantations, in one of which is a terrace, which commands a most beautiful view of cultivated hill and dale. The view from the palace is much improved by the barracks, the school, and a new church at a difiance, all H 2

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which are fo placed as to be exceedingly ornamental to the whole country.

The barracks were erected under his Grace's directions, and form a large and handsome edifice. The fchool is a building of confiderable extent, and admirably adapted for the purpose: a more convenient or a better contrived one, is no where to be seen. There are apartments for a mafter, a fchool-room 56 feet by 28, a large dining-room and fpacious airy dormitories, with every other neceffary, and a fpacious play-ground walled in; the whole forming a handsome front and attention being paid to the refidence of the mafter (the falary is 400 l. a year), the fchool flourishes, and muft prove one of the greateft advantages to the country of any thing that could have been established. This edifice entirely at the Primate's expence. The church is erected of white ftone, and having a tall spire, makes a very agreeable object, in a country where churches and fpires do not abound-at least fuch as are worth looking at. Three other churches the Primate has alfo built, and done confiderable reparations to the cathedral.

He has been the means alfo of erecting a public infirmary, which was built by fubfcription, contributing amply to it himself.

A public library he has erected at his own expence, given a large collection of books, and endowed it. The room is excellently adapted, 45 by 25, and 20 high, with a gallery, and apartments for a librarian.

He has further ornamented the city with a market house and hambles, and been the direct means, by giving leafes upon that condition, of almost new building the whole place. He found it a neft of mud cabbins, and he will leave it a well built city of ftone and flate. I heard it afferted in common converfation, that his Grace, in thefe noble undertakings, had not expended less than 30,0col. befides what he had been the means of doing, though not directly at his own expence.

When it is confidered that all this has been done in the fhort term of feven or eight years, I should not be accused of exaggeration, if I faid they were noble and fpirited works undertaken upon a man's paternal eftate; how much more then are they worthy of praise, when executed not for his own pofterity, but for the public good?'

The revenues of the primacy are estimated at 8,000l. per аппит. Thus in public works alone this truly munificent prelate has expended more than half his annual income! It is faid that the lands of the primacy, if let as a private eftate, would be worth near one hundred thousand pounds a year. If every fucceeding Primate were to poffefs the noble and princely fpirit of the prefent Archbishop, it would be a happy thing for Ireland if the revenues of the primacy were at their extended value.

The reproach of forcing draught horfes to pull by the tail, is, we believe, peculiar to Ireland; what will our Readers think of the following custom equally fingular, of oxen drawing by the horns; which has lately been introduced into that country by Lord Shannon ?

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LARY

Lord Shannon, upon going into tillage, found that the expence of horses was fo great, that it eat up all the profit of the farm; which made him determine to use bullocks; he did it the common method of yokes and bows, but they performed fo indifferently, and with fuch manifeft uneafinefs, that he imported the Presch method of drawing by the horns; and in order to do this effectually, he wrote to a perfon at Bourdeaux to hire him a man who was practifed in that method. Upon the correfpondent being applied o; he represented difficulties attending it, the man who was fpoken to hay ing been in Germany for the fame purpose. Upon which Lord Shannon gave directions that every thing should be bought and fent over which the labourer wished to bring with him. Accordingly, a bui; lock of the best fort, that had been worked three years, was purchased; alfo a hay-cart, a plough, harrows, and all the tackle for harneffing them by the horns, which, with the man, were fent over. His falary was to be 400 livres a year, with board, &c. The bullock, 218 livres; tackle for two bullocks, 36. Two carts, 314. A plough and harrow, 123, which, with other expences, came to 45 l. 17 s. and freight 161. 16s. Upon the whole, the experiment coft from first to laft, to bring it thoroughly to bear, about an hundred pounds. His Lordship is perfuaded, that the first year of his introducing it at large on his farm, faved him the whole. He has purfued the me. thod ever fince, and with the greatest fuccefs. He finds the bullocks fo perfectly at their eafe, that it is a pleafure to fee them; for first breaking up lays, and for cross ploughing, he ufes four, but in all fucceeding earths, only two; nor more for the first ploughing of ftubbles: I faw fix ploughs doing this in a wheat stubble, and they did it five or fix inches deep with great eafe. Upon first introducing it, there was a combination among all his men against the practice, but Lord Shannon was determined to tarry his point; in this matter, he followed a courfe that had all imaginable fuccefs: one lively fenfible boy took to the oxen, and worked them readily. His Lordship at once advanced this boy to eight pence a day: this did the bufinefs at once; others followed the example, and fince that he has had numbers who could manage them, and plough as well as the Frenchman. They plough an acre a day with eale; and carry very great loads of corn and hay, coals, &c. Four bullocks in the French cart brought twelve barrels of coals, fhip measure, each 5 cwt. of three tons; but the tackle of the fore couple breaking, the other two drew the load above a mile to a forge. Two of them drew 35 cwt. of flag tone three miles, with ease; but Lord shannon does not in common work them in this manner, three tons he thinks a proper load for four bullocks. Upon the bailiff, Mr. Bere, mentioning loads drawn by thefe oxen, that appeared to me most extraordinarily great, I expreffed many doubts; his Lordship immediately ordered the French harvest cart to be loaded half a mile from the reeks; it was done; 1020 sheafs of wheat were laid on it, and two oxen drew it without difficulty; we then weighed 40 fheafs, the weight 251 lb. at which rate the 1020 came to 6375 lb. or above three tons, which is a vaft weight for two oxen to draw; I am very much in doubt whether in yokes they would have stirred the cart so loaded.'

If this account be true, and there can be no reason to dif pute it, perhaps the Irish may not be fo much mistaken when they infift that a horfe tired in traces, if put to work by the tail, will draw better, quite fresh again.' The principal objection to either method, viz. that of drawing oxen by the horns, or horfes by the tail, feems to be, that it is painful to the animal with refpect to a fingle exertion, there can be no doubt but in either cafe they have the power of exerting their full ftrength, which perhaps may in fome degree be impeded by more artificial modes of draught.

Mr. Young's obfervations are by no means confined merely to agriculture, or rural affairs; his work is occafionally embellifhed with matter of more general entertainment. The sketches he gives of the common people, who on many accounts are much difcriminated from thofe of the fame rank on this fide the channel, are frequently curious and amufing.

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Dancing is very general among the poor people, almoft univerfal in every cabbin. Dancing maflers of their own rank travel through the country from cabbin to cabbin, with a piper or blind fiddler; and the pay is fix pence a quarter. It is an abfolute fyllem of education. Weddings are always celebrated with much dancing; and a Sunday rarely paffes without a dance; there are very few among them who will not, after a hard day's work, gladly walk feven miles to have a dance. John is not fo lively, but then a hard day's work with him is certainly a different affair from what it is with Paddy. Other branches of education are likewife much attended to, every child of the pooreft family learning to read, write, and caft accounts.

There is a very ancient cuftom here, for a number of country neighbours among the poor people, to fix upon fome young woman that ought, as they think, to be married; they alfo agree upon a young fellow as a proper husband for her; this determined, they fend to the fair one's cabbin to inform her, that on the Sunday following She is to be horfed, that is, carried on men's backs. She must then provide whisky and cyder for a treat, as all will pay her a visit after mafs for a hurling match. As foon as the is bored, the hurling begins, in which the young fellow appointed for her husband, has the eyes of all the company fixed on him; if he comes off conqueror, he is certainly married to the girl; but if another is victorious, he as certainly lofes her, for fhe is the prize of the victor. Thefe trials are not always finished in one Sunday, they take fometimes two or three; and the common expreffion when they are over is, that fuch a girl was goal'd. Sometimes one barony hurls against another, but a marriageable girl is always the prize. Hurling is a fort of cricket; but instead of throwing the ball in order to knock down a wicket, the aim is to pafs it through a bent ftick, the ends ftuck in the ground. In thefe matches they perform fuch feats of activity, as ought to evidence the food they live on to be far from deficient in nourishment.'

The following paffage will, we apprehend, leave upon the mind an impreffion fomewhat fimilar to that which is felt in

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