Under the second district, Mr. Wakefield comprises the northern part of Antrim, Londonderry, the north and west of Tyrone, and the whole of Donegal. Tillage here is in a much worse state than in the first district. There is no clover ; and, with the exception of a little near Derry, no wheat.
The third district comprehends the northern part of Fermanagh. Here the farms are much larger than in ei ther of the former districts, the agriculture better, and the crops more productive. Some wheat is grown, but oats are the most prevalent crop. A small portion of the land, however, is only employed in tillage.
The fourth district comprises Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Clare, and parts of Roscommon, and Longford. In some parts of this district, the spade culture is generally pur sued ; but in other parts the land is cultivated with the plough, drawn by four horses a-breast. In Roscommon, the practice of yoking horses to the plough by the tail is still followed, at least with two-year-old colts in the spring. Oats are chiefly raised in this district ; but along the sea coast of Sligo considerable quantities of barley are grown. A large portion of this district is let on partnership-leases, according to the village system.
In the fifth district, which comprehends Limerick, Ker ry, the south-west and northern parts of Cork, and part of the county of Waterford, little corn is grown, with the ex ception of the southern part of Cork.
In the sixth district, which takes in the remainder of Cork, most of the land is in pasture ; and, where it is in tillage, the spade is generally used.
The seventh district comprehends some parts of Tippe rary,and King's and Queen's counties. Here a great deal of corn is grown, and the agriculture is good, in compari son with that which is pursued in any of the preceding districts. More attention is paid to a systematic course of cropping, and keeping the land in good heart. Oxen and horses are used for the plough. In some parts turnips are grown, but they are seldom hoed. Ninety acres are considered a large tillage farm.
The eighth district comprises Wexford, and a part of Wicklow. In some parts of this district beans are culti vated; but they are sown broadcast, and never hoed. Even here, their mode of ploughing is very awl: ward. One man holds the plough, another leads the horses, and third press es on the beam, to keep it down.
The last district comprehends the northern part of Kil kenny, Kildare, and the cultivated parts of \Vest Meath, Meath, and Lowth. Wheat enters into the common course of crops; but the fallows arc bad. Clover has been intro duced, but it is sown on exhausted land. The farms are much larger here than in any other parts of the country. The ploughs arc very badly constructed, and are drawn by six oxen and horses.
The following Table, given by Mr. Wakefield, exhi bits, according to him, the average produce of the nine districts.
The rudeness of the Irish plough has been already ad verted to. It is made chiefly of wood, with a very long beam, without a swillyard : the breast, which is also of wood, has seldom any ground ; and the share has hardly any wing. In Wexford, the beam is shorter than in any of the other counties, and the sock in general is of cast iron. The Scotch plough has been introduced within these few years. The flail is seldom heavier than a school boy's whip. The spade is much narrower than the Eng lish spade ; the handle generally five feet long : the handle of the shovel is still larger, it is sometimes rounded, some times pointed, and often square at the end. The loy, which is much used in Ireland, is a long narrow spade, which projects entirely on the right side of the handle : its breadth is that of the foot. The slane is a double loy, used in cut ting turf. The sliding cars have no wheels : the ends of the shafts are shod with iron, with a wicker basket sus pended between them. Cars are small carts, having the wheel fixed to the axle-tree, which turns round along with it. The wheel is not spoked, but solid. The cars are difficult to be turned.
Little labour is bestowed on ;allows in Ireland ; and that little is very ill done. Three ploughings are deemed amply sufficient ; and in consequence of these bring per formed with a rude and inefficient plough, not followed by the other necessary operations, the ground is generally full of weeds. The Irish, however, bestow a great deal of la bou• in trenching their land. By this operation they form it into beds, and shovel out a deep trench between them, throwing up the earth ; this is done to all land, whether ploughed or dug, while the crop is growing : the expence is eight shillings per acre.