THE SOUTHERN REGION is, on the whole, mountainous, but contains considerable lowland areas along the coasts and in the valleys of the larger rivers. The soil varies greatly from one place to another. On the Old Red Sandstone of the south-west it is well adapted to dairying, while in the Silurian districts in the south-east much of it produces good herbage. In the Golden Valley, between the Slievefelim and the Galty Mountains, an intermixture of the debris of limestone and Old Red Sandstone produces a soil of great fertility ; and elsewhere, also, the limestone soils are generally fertile. With regard to cultivation, this region occupies a position intermediate to those already described. Over 10 per cent. of the area is under crops, and the grasslands are more extensive than in any other part of Ireland. Barley is grown, mainly in the east, and has given rise to brewing at Waterford, Kilkenny, Limerick, and elsewhere. Dairying is an important pursuit, especially in the three counties of Limerick, Kerry, and Cork, which contain about one-fourth of all the milch cows in Ireland. Cork is the commercial centre of the industry, and from it large quantities of butter are sent to Great Britain. The pro portion of pigs is also high in the south, especially around Cork and Waterford, both of which are actively engaged in curing and exporting bacon.
With the exception of those already mentioned, there are few industries in the south. Lace is made in a number of convent schools, and there is a certain amount of handloom weaving in Kerry and elsewhere.
A little coal is found at Castlecomer, near Kilkenny, and in north Kerry and Clare. The output, however, is small, and the quality inferior.
In conclusion, it may be noted that the economic development of Ireland is affected by a variety of circumstances. Her com parative poverty in mineral wealth has retarded the growth of manufactures ; topographic and climatic conditions limit the possibilities of agriculture ; the proximity of Great Britain prevents her growth as a trading nation. She has suffered alike by the protectionist policy of her more powerful neighbour in the eighteenth century, and by the free-trade policy of the nineteenth : in the former period by the suppression of her woollen industry, and in the latter by the loss of special privileges for the sale of her agricultural produce.