ROSCOMMON, in geography, an inland county of Ireland. in the province of Connaught. It is bound ed. by the river Shannon for its whole length on the east, and this fine river separates it from Leitrim, Longford, 'Westmeath, and the King's County ; on the south-west it is bounded by the Suck, which separates it for most of its course from Galway ; on the north west it is bounded by the counties of Mayo and Sligo.
By Messrs. Edgeworth and Griffith's late minute sur vey, it appears that the area measures 368,868 Irish acres.
Its length from north to south is 47 Irish miles, and its breadth varies from 12 miles to 301.
There arc six baronies in this county, and 56 pa rishes. The population by the last census is 207,000. It is very thickly inhabited between Lanesborough and Strokestown, and north of Lough Key, and in general in the neighbourhood of the bogs and mountains.
The tillage is rapidly increasing, from the extension of the royal canal and the improvement of the roads; and the pastures arc famous for their luxuriance, par ticularly between Boyle and Elphin, where there is a tract of country called the Plains of Boyle; but which is far from being flat.
The interior of the country is chiefly limestone, and the soil so rich, that it lets at from three to four guineas an acre. The fields are generally divided by stone To the north, the mountains, if they can be so call ed. are near 1000 feet high, and in these veins of coal
arc worked with some vigour. Lines of railroad are already laid out by the assistance of government; and it is likely that a company will carry on the collieries here and in Leitrim to such au extent, as not only to supply the neighbourhood with fuel, but the town of Sligo on the coast, which is sixteen miles distance.
The valley of the Arigna is rich with iron ore, which was worked about thirty years ago; but, from misma nagement, the Arigna iron works have fallen into ruin. But a now company are now (1824) commencing ope rations. Roscommon is the shire or county town, Boyle, Strokestown, Elphin, Casticrea, and French Park, are towns of some importance.
It is to be regretted, that amongst the number of beautiful county maps that have been made in Ire land, so few have been constructed on scientific prin ciples. We find diagrams or triangles attached only to the maps of the county of Dublin by Mr. Duncan; the county of Mayo by Mr. Bald; the county of Long ford, and this county, that part of which, north of the road from Lanesborough, through Roscommon to Ballyneve, was by Mr. William Edgeworth.