CARLOW, or C ATI' ER LOG it, a county of Ireland, in the province of Leinster, bounded on the north by Kil dare, on the north-west by Queen's County, on the north east by Wicklow, on the south-east by Wexford, and on the west and south-west by Kilkenny. The part of the county which lies to the west of the river Barrow, is covered with high and rough hills, and in the south-east ern part that is contiguous to Wexford, there is another mountainous district, stretching from the rocky mount called Leinster to another eminence called Blackstairs. The level part of the county is rich and fertile, the soil is of a calcareous nature, and in many places the cultivation has extended considerably up the sides of the mountains. Leases which formerly ran for thirty-one years and three lives, have been of late granted for twenty-one years and one life ; and the fee has been more transferred here than in any other part of the country. The average rents in this county are 50s. per acre. The following is a statement of the quantity of cultivated and uncultivated land.
Carlow is reckoned one of the first dairy counties in Treland. The dairies consist of from 20 to 50 cows, and, during the season, produce 1 # cwt. of butter per cow. Barley of the best quality is raised in Carlow, and a lar !;er quantity is sown than in any other part of the king dom. It is carried by the canal from Carlow to Dublin ;
and in the north it is consumed by the illicit ries.
Iron ore, a considerable quantity of oxide of manga nese, limestone, mark, and a great variety of clays, are found in the county; but its mineralogy has not yet been carefully examined.
The principal river in Carlow is the river Barrow, NV hid) traverses the county from north to south, and forms its western boundary for many miles. This river is navigable, and its navigation has of late been greatly improved. The river Slancy also crosses the eastern part of the county, and, though small in size, it contri butes to the beauty of the surrounding districts.
Carlow is about 33 English miles long from north to south, and 29 miles broad at its greatest breadth. R con tains 220,098 English acres, or 344 square miles, and is divided into 50 parishes. The principal towns are Car low, Lcighlinbridgc, Tallow, Palatine town, and Rutland, Ilackctstown, Clonegal, and Gousbridgc. The number of houses is 8763, which, at the rate of rive to each house, gives a population of 43,815. See Transactions of the Dublin Society ; Young's Tour in Ireland ; Beaufort's Memoir of a Mah of Ireland ; and \Vakefietd's Statisti cal and Political Account of Irtlawl London, 1812. (j)