Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-08-15

probably presents Tue SllOhSSSt Ooh-
trast to any of the Southern counties.
After leaving Belfast for some miles the
offShots of that important manufacture
ing centre continually meet the eve,
and ut almost every railroad station
we catch a glimpse of active industrial
operatiOns. The whole of Antrim, in
fact, tells of diversified md prosperous
industries in its towns, and of the bene-
fetal effect which these industries pro-
duce upon the pursuits, character and
condition of the agricultural population.
A general comparison between Antrim
and a southern county, as regards
thriftness and comfort, would not be
essentially unlike q comparison be-
tween relatively fertil e corner ofNeW-
England and naturally rich but inn
pOverished portion of one of the old
Slave States.
There have been not a few eyictions
in the County of Antrim, in some dis
tricts there are complaints as 10 the
rentals and the harshneSs with which
they are eXacted. But the Land
League has not made much progress
there: it has made less, probably, in
Antrim than in any other county in
Ireland. In some parts of Ulster 1t is
strong. in Antrim its hold is feeble.
so Sar as my observation goes, the pre-
vailing feeling among the farmers is
adverse to the League-nOt because
they are satisfied with their relations
toward many of the landlords, nor be-
cuse their position is not, in their judg-
ment, susceptible of Improvements,
but Simply because their better instincts
revolt against some of the agencies with
which the League is elsewhere more or
less closely associated. OF bOycOttlnS,
or example, they speak with disgust,
and the OutrageS traceable to the No
Rent doctrine are referred to as some
thing that would not be possible IN
Antrim. For much of the content
ment which prevails the Ulster Tenant
Right Is undoubtedly the cause; but L
have found everywhere in the county a
hearty appreciation of the Land act,
and implicit faith in its sutficlency--
after amendment on the lines laid
down by Mr.. Gladstone for all the hon
est purposes of the tenant farmer, They
have faith i'm the sutliciency OF law,
and of lawful methods for bringing
about the complete protection which,
~ they think should be afforded the
occupant and cultivrtOr of the land.
Ii is scarcely necessary TO add that in a
county controlled by feelings of this
character the professional agitator occu-
pies subordinate place; the people go
about their business without fear OF
mole, tatiOn: there is comparatively lit
tie poverty of the kind that challenges
attention i'm other parts of Ireland; and
the authority of law is so well grounded
that even the 18th of July, with all its
noise and nonsense, passes by without
u ripple of disturbance.
The first feature of Antrim farming
which strikes the eye is the variety of
the crops cultivated by the farmer. He
does not stake everything on single
crop. In the South and West, as
have pointed out, arabic farming has
been to a great extent abandoned.
The land is all but universally given up
to grass. The farmers themselves are
lazy and shiftless, and their exclusive
attention to cattle cOnSigns the labOrer
to idleness and misery. Apart from
the conflict between tenant and land
lord, agricultural society is being de-
mOralized and disOrganiZed as result
of the change which has occurred. In
the better portion of Ulster generally,
and in Antrim especially, diversified
agriculture is still the rule. The soil
is not rich; the climate is certainly not
genial. But the Antrim farmer makes
the best possible use of his opportunities.
He cultivateS flax largely, oats and bar
ley largely, turnips and other root crops
in abundance, and still manages to
keep horned cattle and to raise the hay
needed for their Winter use. Sheep
are not often seen, and those that are
seen are Of the small, black-faced breed.
The cattle, however, are plentiful and
ola good average quality, whether for
dairy purpose or the market. One
consequence of this farming is
the maintenance of a steady demand
for farm labor; another is the existence
of much better relations between farm
er and labor than exist in the other
countries l have visited. Men and wo-
menare at work in the fields, and decent
cottages are the adjunct ola farm. Indeed
in the northwestern part of Antrim
and in the small strip of Londonderry
east of the river Bann, the farm build
ings and the farm laborers' homes are
infinitely superior to any have else
where seen in Ireland. Good taste sur
rounds the farmhouse; the farm-yard
is clean and tidy; the adjacent cottage is
sweet and wholesome, with here and
there flowers in the windows and vines
and flowers covering the walls. The
Limerick laborer would consider him
self in Paradise If he were transferred to
one of many of these northern homes,
with its accompanying wages and privi-
legeS. A farm labOrer having a family
receives los per week, with cottage
and a rood of land rent free: if without
q family he receives Us week. The
former, therefore, has the privilege for
which the laborers in other parts Of Ire
land plead in vain, with q steadineSs of
employment for which they have not
ventured to hope. Small as these wages
are, judged from American standpoint,
they produce moderate degree of con-
tent, together with degree of comfort
where the wife happens to be good
manager-which disappears when we
get further into the country of London
| derry.
One farmer there's within a couple of
miles Of COleraipe who in q 20 years
tenantry has succeeded in saving nearly
$1,000. His farm is only 800 acres in
extent, but is is managed with a skill
and care whcih have enabled him, in
splto of adverse seasons, always to
make money. Bullock-feeding and flax
represent the main sources of his profit:
irom other sources he pays expenses and
maintains his family. The smaller and
less fortunate farmer relies mainly on
lax for the payment of his rent; his
grass, grain, and root crops, with milk
or butter, serve for the rest. Few, then
make money. But thrift and industr,
tell, and their general condition is ont
Of comfort. Their stock is good, anC
the best implements are in free US,
among them.
| WAS oivap nm 70 lie k-o-.-. H. .