The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-04-23

intelligent people, and their hospitality
is without parallel. There are many
persons in Ireland, who, it is conceded
are grossly ignorant. Such is the case il
London, and such is the case in every
country. The whole population OF a
country is not to be judged of by these
The physical conformation of ireland
is very peculiar. 1t is mountainous on
the coast, and comparatively level in
the interior. The mountains which form
natural barrier around the coast, are
not continuous chain of mountains, but
rather groups of what, in some parts OF
America, would be called high hills.
These groups are often pierced by narrow
plains which seem to extend from the
centre of the island to the coast. There
are no long mountain ranges in Ireland.
There are no mountain ranges at all, but
groups or clusters of mountains. Meth
er arc there any high mountains in Ireland.
The highest is Carrantuohill in Kerry
County. 1t is 3,414 feet high. Some of
our peaks are nearly $4,000 feet high.
A great plain, elevated above the sea,
from two to three hundred feet, and about
one hundred and fifty miles wide, extends
from East to West across Ireland. This
plain rests on a limestone substratum
and embraces the finest portion of the
island.
Ireland is remarkable for the great
number and large extent of its bogs.
These bogs arouse the curiosity of stran.
gers in no small degree. Every individ-
ual who visits Ireland has numerous
questions to ask about the bogs aud is
never satisfied until he puts his hand on
the peat or turf, and sees it.
There are two kinds of bogs in Ireland.
One is called the fiat bogs and the other
the mountain bogs. The fiat bogs cover
an area of about a million and half
acres, and the mountain bogs about q
million and a quarter. The two cover
two and three.quarter millions of acres,
or nearly one.seveuth part of the whole
surface of Ireland. The fat bogs are
chiefly in the interior, while the noun.
tain bogs are confined principally to the
coast highlands. The fiat bogs are also
called red bogs, because they are gener.
ally of redish or brownish color. /
have no means of ascertaining the exact
number of these fiat bogs, but I feel safe
in saying there are more than thousand,
varying in size from few rods to near
forty thousand acres. Sometimes these
bogs are separated by large tracts of cul.
tivated land, while others are disjoined
by only narrow ridges of dry ground.
The largest bog in Ireland, and 80 far as
I know in the world, is the Bog of Allen.
This occupies portions of Kildare,
Kings, Queens, Meath and Westmeath
counties. The principal part, however,
is in Kildare County, and covers about
thirty-six thousand acres of ground.
The mountain bogs cover the fiat tops
and sides Of the mountains, and differ,
chiefly, 81 ar as I could see, from the
fat bogs, in that they are smaller and
are dryer. The American meaning of
the word bog will give US but vague
and incorrect idea of an Irish bog. A
bog means, in our country, generally, a
spot of wet ground into which those who
attempt to pass over it are liable to sink,
or as is usually said, "mire down." A
bog in America is small swamp. The
only thing peculiar about either IN
American bog or swamp is that it is dan.
gerous to travel over it. All Irish bogs
are not swampy. Some of them are vet
and splashy, while others are dry. 1t is
dangerous to walk over some of the bogs
cf Ireland, but over others an individual
may walk with impunity, and, in fact,
the greatest comfort. The sensation
experienced is the same as if he were
walking on o carpet spread on thick
layer of straw, and the sound produced
by the tread of his feet is the same.
The peculiar thing about an Irish bog
is the peat or turf which it contains. 1t
is this peat or turf which makes the bog.
This peat consists of several moses which
grow in these bog localities. The princi.
pal moss is called spagnun, or bog moss.
1t is curious looking thing, resembling
nothing that l ever saw, except an arti-
fetal moss that is some times grown in
jars for the purpose of making peculiar
kind of beer.
Wherever, in the bog region, there is
any stagnant water this spagnuns grows
rapidly and dies in short time. This
is followed by successive crops which
soon die. The dead spuguuns accumu-
lates, and it is this that makes the peat
or turf which the Irish use extensively
for fuel. Some of the fiat peat beds are
very deep or thick. The layer of peat in
the Bog of Allen is, in some places, over
forty feet thick its average thickness is
twenty-five feet. If the supply of water
is sufficient, the bog continues to increase
in depth and extent.
The manner of preparing the peat for
use is very simple. 1t is cut out with a
spade, in blocks about foot long and six
inches thick. These peat blocks have
the general appearance Of large bricks.
After being cut, the peat blocks are
stacked up to dry, very much Us brick
makers stack up bricks to dry. So soon
as the blocks are dry they are hauled
home and again stacked up under a shell
ter.
I cannot say that the Irish peat makes
good fire. 1t is too ligh ht or porous, but
it does much better than those who have
never seen it burning would suppose.
The time for cutting the peat is in the
Spring and early Summer.
It is difficult to imagine more in
tensely gloomy and desolate appearance
than that presented by large Irish fiat
bog.
Little Sermons.
Nine. de Stael defined happiness to
be, GA state of constant occupation
upon some desirable object, with con-
tinual sense of progress toward its at.