In Ireland, the want of manufactures has continued to act as a great hindrance to agri cultural improvement. The competition that arose among a generally indigent popula tion in taking small farms, led to extravagant rents, the payment of which involved the starvation of the tenants. The faithful pictures which Arthur Young drew, towards the close of the last century, showed the workings of such a system. The general introduc tion of the potato, upon which the people chiefly subsisted, enable rents to be paid by selling the scanty produce of grain, or the pigs that were reared. The failure of the potato-crop in 1846 produced the most heart-rending scenes of misery that have been witnessed in our times. When Young made his tour, it was the common practice, among the small farmers, to take from four to six crops of oats or barley in succession, after which the land was allowed to renovate its powers by the growth of the natural grasses. On the moderate-sized farms the cultivation was better; but turnips had little place in a course of cropping for nearly a century after they were largely cultivated in Norfolk. The Protestant population in the n. of Ireland introduced, at an early period, the•culture of flax, which still forms a 'peculiar feature in the A. of that part of the country. The large amount of manual labor which it requires in its preparation for market has so far served to preserve the cultivators from descending so low in the scale of social existence as those in the s. As a general rule, it is found that the worst land is most densely peopled; the secondary descriptions are in moderate-sized farms; while the best land has hitherto been devoted to pasture, for which the climate is admirably suited. The winters are so mild in the s., that cattle are often not stabled. In Young's time, the Irish graziers were the only class of agriculturists that were possessed of capital. The exodus which took place after the potato failure, has relieved the country of a portion of the redundant popula tion, but it is still too dense in many places.
Scotland made comparatively little or no advance in A. for ages previous to the begin ning of the 18th c. Donaldson, who published his Husbandry Anatomized ten years before the union, affords a pretty accurate picture of the art as then practiced. The farms were small, and divided into outfield and infield land. On the former, which was furthest from the homestead, the rotation consisted of two years in grass, succeeded by two years in oats. On the infield land, barley, oats and pease were sown in succession, and the whole manure was commonly applied to the barley-crop. The yield of corn was from three to four times the quantity of seed. Pastures were of the poorest description, as no artificial grasses were sown. Little encouragement was held out to rear cattle, for a heifer did not bring more than 20s. in the market—scarcely the price of two quarters of barley at that time. At the union, however, Scotland gained free trade with her wealthier rival, from which flowed the happiest consequences. Every branch of indus try shared in th6 new field opened up, and none more so than A. A large trade soon arose in sending the lean cattle and sheep that were reared on the mountainous wastes, as well as in the low country, to be fattened on the pastures and green crops in the s.
A great rise in the prices of stock soon followed, which not only encouraged improved breeds, but enabled cultivators to devote a certain portion of the arable lands to the growth of artificial grasses and turnips. Neither of these were grown previous to the union; but in little more than fifty years afterwards, one farmer in Roxburghshire is said to have had 100 acres of turnips in one year. Towards the end of the century, turnips and artificial grasses formed the basis of improved A. in every county. A great rise in the value of land took place. The war-prices in the beginning of the present century gave a further stim ulus to the reclamation of land. The improvements, however, were not effected without a great revolution in the state of the rural population. Formerly, the farms were small, and often labored by the members of a single family. A consolidation of farms took place, which necessitated a great change in the social condition of employers and employed, producing often painful contrasts. Of late years, the commercial prosperity of the country has greatly helped to elevate the rural population, and necessitated improvements in cottage accommodation.
Scottish A. is distinguished for great economy in labor, forming a contrast in this respect to that in the chief corn districts of England. Few farms are to be seen in the richer districts without having a fixed steam-engine for driving the barn and other machinery, Labor-saving machines have also been freely introduced. With soil, climate, and situation, the mode of cropping varies greatly over the country. In the Lothians, the six-course shift is common: namely, 1st, wheat; 2d, beans or potatoes; 3d, wheat; 4th, turnips; 5th, barley or wheat; 6th. grass-seeds. In certain situations, the potato crop has lately been still more extensively planted, occupying the place of the bean or the turnip. On secondary farms, the five-course rotation becomes more common: 1st, wheat or barley; 2d, grass; 3d, grass; 4th, oats"; 5th, turnips or potatoes. The larger pro portion of the surface of Scotland, however, is devoted to pasture for sheep and cattle. The mountainous tracts are generally unfit for cultivation. Little else has been done in the way of improving them than. digging a few surface-drains, and improving the breeds of the stock they feed. Sheep-farms vary in extent from 1000 to 60,000 acres. A few of the best stock-farms may summer and winter a sheep to the acre, but most require three acres. The black-faced are reared upon the most elevated and exposed ground, while the Cheviots thrive on those parts that are less so. No other food is usually given in winter than what is left on the fields in autumn. Cross-breeds between the Cheviot and the Leicester are reared in the lower ranges, where a supply of turnips may be had to give to the ewes while suckling their offspring. When the sheep are to be fattened, they are taken to the arable districts. The opening of steam-navigation and lately, the system of railways, have been of infinite benefit to Scottish A. in getting a market for fat animals.