, 1880-02-01
PLENTY of Land There, bus the
People Eaten Up by
Rents.
The Land Badly Titled Because Good
Farming Entails Higher
Rents.
Fact Which the British Critics Have
Sedulously Concealed.
The Growing Discomfort Of the Oppressed
They A1e Tired Of Hunger
The Psaant1 Of mann Restrained ffen Violence
by Their Priest.
FARMS AND FARMING.

by Their Priest
FARMS AND FARMING. .
THE LAND AND IT'S FERTILITY.
Specta1 Correspondence London 1sInes.
DuBL1S, Jan. 13-Whoever may have
trayersed green Erin, from the Mountains OF
Wicklow to the wild yet rich scenery OF Kill
larney OF the stony wastes and grim fast
nesses Of Connemara, from the south coast
of thousand inlets to the mighty cliffs Of
the northwest and the columnar wonders of
the Causeway, the stranger who crosses the
central plains (eyery landscape OF cultivated
country or Of vast reaches Of dark bog has
its boundary of yerdure- clad hills or blue
SUBMITS in the further distance), who sees
the spreading loughs, the .broad-aowlng
Shannon, and the rivers pouring into many
psruaries by which every province IS Wa
tered, and who visits the woodland regions
and innumerable tracts Of fine plow land and
of pastures luxu1iant beyond English
example, must have felt the mystery and
sorrow of the fact that such kingdom re-
mains but half utilized by the industrial de-
fault Of its inhabitants, and that over large
proportion OF its surface Ireland yields only
poverty to tens Of thousands who should be
among the most happy and prosperous people
on the earth. A climate mild and moist
from the influence Of the Atlantic, from the
hill ranges in every maritime county, which
condense the sea yapor into rain, and from
the humidity due to peat bogs occupying
seventh part Of the superfcies Of the island,
is uncongenial for the ripenlng OF full
haryests Of bread corn; and, indeed, the
low summer temperature and the prevalence
of cloud, especially in the south aud west.
render the maturing OF wheat, and also OF
ine mailing barley, preca1touS- But these
atmospheric conditions favor the growth OF
Of natural pasture in profusion. Ireland is
uor formed to be q gTlnaTy; nature makes 1t
q meadow, dairy, ard a stall. IN part, also,
it is garden Of vegetables and fruits. Here
disc Of live stock,-a land flowing with mill,
If not with honey. And the wonder to
stranger is why ireland, possessing few man
ufactures and little Of mineral and metal
liferous industry to divert the energies OF Its
people from the mother art, has not presented
in every department of its husbandTy. II
the profits Of agriculture are insufficient for
the well-being Of the population, it IS certain
ly not the quality of the soil WHICH is to
OF Ireland will class then. generally as infe-
rior to the light sands and poor clays Of Elan
ders or will compare their natural fertility
unfayorably with the arabic and pasture
Of Denmark or of Holland. Where are the
Irish lands representative of the downs and
heaths which English husbandmen have
wrought to high pitch of prodnctiveness
III Ireland, too, the adhesive clays which
English farmers now find it proftlesS to cult
tyate are all but unknown.
Can lack Of agricultural prosperity be at
tributable to an undue pressure Of the Irish
population upon the limits. Of their cultivated
land? So far as general average is coil
cerned, the available area is not below that
Of Other countries where the agcnlt9le TS3 y, is
gland q 500. 900 out Of 81, ,00o acres Of to,
tai area have been brought under crops and
grass, in Ireland 15,350,000 out Of a,75o,.
600 acres are under management and this
fourths acres Tor each head Of the population.
In Belgium the quantity Of cultivated land is
only one acre per head; in Great Britain it
is one and one-Quarter acres; IN Holland one
and one-third acres; and up to three and one
cess Of inhabitants in proportion to the capa-
bilities of the country for maintaining them
can scarcely be said to distinguish Ireland as
a whole, whatever may be the case in par:
ticu1ar districts; Judging BY TIE example 4. OF
cultiyators Of the soil thrive, it appears prob
able that Ireland might support in comfort a
population more numerous than the existing
$3.50 900, who, In parts OF many counties, arr
alleged to be on the verge OF starvation when
pitious season.
There is enough cultivated land In Ireland
to be divisible into holdings averaging twen
U-nine acres for each Of the existing occu
piers; and hence there can be no absolute
necessity why more rnlnous morcellelnen1
of occupations should obtain than we find il
Denmark, where the holdings average thirty
two acres each, or in the small farm province:
OF Belgium, where they average little more
remarkable inequality exists in the distribu
tion of total area which, if equally appor
toned. might be found ample Out OF tht
48l, 900 occupiers in Ireland holding NOR,
than single acre each in the year 1878, ther.
are 207, 900 holding above one and not exceed
ing fifteen acres and OF these, GO, 600 occupy no
more than one to five acres each. The numbe
Of occupiers with more than fifteen and no
exceeding thirty acres is 124, 900. And with 33l
acres each there remain on1y15 900 farmer
occupying above thirty acres; nearly half O.
these namely, 5000 having farms OF oyel
thirty up to fifty acres. Farmers of over fifty
about per cent Of the farmers Of Ireland
have occupations Of over 100 UP to 200 acres
and but II loo farm more than 200 acres
Probably about half Of all the cultivated
land is In the hands OF small occupiers O
from over one to not more than fifty acre
each; while the agricultural condition Of !;
third of Ireland is revealed and tested by tht
condition of the little occupations Of from
over one to not more than thirty acres each
Grave misrepresentation Of the real state 9
Irish husbandry would arise from taking i
to be represented mainly by the classes O
farms Whit ich English tenants would regar<
as large or medium-sized, or worthy OF tn,
name offar1ns at all; yet such are those com
monty visited for the purpose Of acquiring
information as to the character and position
OF Irish Ausbandry.
STATE OF IRELAND.
THE MASSES BEGIN TO SPEAK.
Special Correspondence London Iimts-
DUBLIN, Jan. 16-The hint giren by th'
Dublin Nation Oh Saturday to the unem
ployed OF the 1aboring classes to make public
demonstration and display black flag. tht