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of the county the ground rises into the Slievemarigue
hills, which separate it from Kilkenny. The only lake
is that of Lough Annagh, called also Lough Duff, on
the border of the King’s county, to which one-half of
it is considered to belong.
The soil, which rests chiefly on. a substratum of
limestone, varies from a stiff clayey loam, well adapted
to the growth of wheat, to a light sand, which, how-
ever, produces good barley, turnips and potatoes.
In the Slieve-Bloom mountains the surface inclines
to a black, and in some parts, a yellow clay, of
unequal depth, covering a mouldering rock or gritty
gravel; its general character is spongy, wet, boggy even
where highest, and very rocky. The Dysart hills are
fertile to their summits, which, though too steep for the
plough, afford rich pasturage for sheep. The soil of the
southern barony of Cullinagh is a gravelly silicious clay
towards the mountains; in the central parts it is a rich
loam, and in the south, light and sandy: the largest
bullocks in the county are fattened on the rich pastures
in the low lands. In the northern barony of Portne-
hinch the soil is light and unproductive, unless in some
favoured spots where a persevering course of judicious
cultivation has improved its character. Bogs are fre-
quent in every part, chiefly about Maryborough; they-
may all be considered as branches of the great central
bog of Allen. The turf from them yields both white and
red ashes; that affording the latter is most esteemed
either for manure or fuel. In some places are large tracts
of marshy land called callows, which are inundated dur-
ing winter but in summer afford excellent pasturage. The
land on the banks of the Barrow is alluvial and forms
rich and valuable meadows. The average size of farms,
particularly in the tillage districts, is not more than
from 12 to 14 acres; some noblemen and landed pro-
prietors hold large tracts of land in their own hands,
the superior cultivation of which is very effective as a
leading example towards the general improvement of
agriculture in the county. Wheat is now generally grown
even in the mountain districts: barley is also extensively
cultivated: potatoes and oats form an essential part of
the rotation system. Green crops are often seen, par-
ticularly turnips, of which the Swedish is most esteemed:
rape and vetches are extensively raised; clover is to be
seen everywhere; flax is planted only in small quan-
tities for domestic consumption. The implements and
carriages employed in rural economy are generally of
the most improved description: both bullocks and horses
are used in ploughing, generally in pairs: where the
soil is very deep and stiff, two pairs of the latter are
sometimes put in the same team. The manures are,
lime and limestone gravel, here called corn gravel, pro-
cured with little labour or expense, and composts from
the farm-yard. The common fence is of white thorn
planted on ditches well constructed but too often sub-
sequently neglected: stone walls are also raised for the
same purpose, particularly for the demesnes of the
nobility and gentry. All the improved breeds of En-
glish cattle have been introduced into the county. The
most esteemed dairy cows are a cross between the
Durham and native breed, as they are good milkers,
of large size and easily fattened. Dairies are nu-
merous and productive; cheese is made in small quan-
tities; but butter, which is of very good quality, is the
chief produce. Pigs are reared in very great numbers;
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no farm-house is without them, but the breed is inferior
to that in the southern counties; goats are also kept
by all the small farmers and cottiers. The horses are a
light, small-boned, active race, good for the saddle but
not well fitted for heavy agricultural labour.
A great part of the county, particularly the moun-
tainous districts to the north-west, was once covered
with timber, in proof of which it may be stated that in
the neighbourhood of Lough Annagh, oak, fir and yew
trees are found in numbers lying a few feet below the
surface, some of the roots adhering to the trunks and
others remaining in their original position, the trunks
having been burnt off and the charred cinder adhering
in all its freshness to both trunk and root: large trunks
and roots of trees are also perceptible in the lake, with
their timber sound and remarkably tough. In the
reign of Elizabeth, Capt. Leigh received the thanks of
that queen for having valiantly led the English cavalry
from Birr to Athy, through the woods and forests of
Oregan. The country has since been entirely cleared of
its old woods; but new plantations have sprung up in
most parts. The farm-houses, like the farms, are
generally small; many have neat gardens and orchards,
which, with the hedgerow trees, give them the appear-
ance of much rural comfort. Draining and irriga-
tion are but little attended to.
The principal portion of the county belongs to the
great floetz limestone field, which forms the base of
the greater part of the level country of Ireland; the
Slieve-Bloom mountains in the north-west, are of the
sandstone formation, and at the Slievemargue in the
south-east the coal formation commences. The lime-
stone field abounds with escars, already noticed. The
coal formation commences near Timahoe, and extends
east and south-east to the Barrow, and southwards
almost to the Nore. It forms the northern extremity
of the Kilkenny field, from which it is separated only
by a small river, and the coal is in every respect
similar in each part: the portion included in the
Queen’s county extends about 3 miles by 2. The
strata range as in Kilkenny, but the dip being to the
west, the. pits on this side are deeper. There are five
collieries at work; namely, Newtown, Wolf Hill,
Doonane, Poulakele and Moydebegh; those of Rushes
and Tollerton, though very valuable, are not wrought at
present. The pits at Newtown are from 45 to 48 yards
deep, all those around Moydebegh are from 61 to 64
yards. The coal at Newtown and Doonane is equal
to the best Kilkenny coal, and sells at 20s. per ton at
the pits; that of the other collieries, though somewhat
inferior, never sinks below the price of 17s. per ton.
Hence the poor people, even in the immediate vicinity
of the pits, cannot afford to use it, and it is entirely
purchased by maltsters, brewers, distillers and smiths,
by whom it is much sought after, inasmuch as, being
almost pure carbon, without any admixture of bitumen,
it requires no preliminary preparation even for malt-
ing purposes; it is conveyed to all the surrounding
counties chiefly in one-horse carts. In the summer of
1836, 64 pits were at full work, for unwatering which
five steam-engines were employed, but the coal is mostly
raised by horses. The works furnished employment to
700 men, and the value of the coal raised is estimated
at upwards of £78,000 per ann. Yet, notwithstanding
these advantages, the workmen, from their irregular and