The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-05-14
OBSERVATIONS ON IRELAND.
by. Rev. r.. Latham, In yorlsvt,,e En.,,r,

l
| BallycaSry, at the head of I,arne Iyoush
Is the old town Larne. The population
| Is nearly three thousand Eve hundred
1t Is connected with Ballymena on the
west aud Belfast on the south by railroad
and carries on considerable traffic with
! England and Scotland. Boats run be.
tWesn London, Liverpool, Fleetwood
Glasgow and various other ports, both in
england aud Scotland, and Larne.
between several OF these ports, perhaps
all OF them, and Larne steamboats, run
every night. Very large quantities OF
lime are shipped from Larne to Ayrshire
Scotland. This lime is mainly used for
agricultural purposes. Here it may be
remarked trat the farmers of the British
Isles devote more attention to making
manure than the farmers of America do,
with the farmers Of England, Ireland
and Scotland manure making is the bus
iness. They use large quantities oil
lime; we, as q rule, use very little lime.
This is strictly true with regard to South
ern farmers. In Ireland--and the same
is true Of England and Scotland-noth.
ing is planted or sown without the ground
being first thoroughly manured. The
mannring il not done, as it is most fire..
auently done in our Southern country,
by dropping down a email handful oi
manure in the hill or by scattering it
sparingly in the drill, but it is always
spread broadcast over the ground so
thick that the ground is literally covered
BY it. Not only are the fields designed
to be planted in oats, fax, turnips, DO.
tatoes and other crops manured broad.
cast, but the pasture fields are manured
This system of manuring has been in
practice for several hundred years. The
result is that the soil is made permanent
ly rich. Land, which in some cases was
naturally poor, has, by this long contin.
ued process OF thorough inanuring, been
made so rich that it may be compared to
those places in our country on which
hogs or cows have been penned for years.
In fact, was told that sometimes the
land Is made too rich to be productive
and requires to be tempered with poor
soil.
In Ireland O. manure heap is q part
and parcel of every we'll conducted farm.
From the low marshy places the farmers
haul muck, and having placed it in some
convenient place, it is mixed with lime.
This is allowed to remain until it is
thoroughly decomposed, then it is hauled
out into the fields and. scattered. Lime
is scattered broadcast oyer the fields on
which the crops are growing. So far as
| now remember, the practice of scatter:
Ing pure lime, or lime unmixed with
muck, is confined to potato fields on
which IL is designed to SOW oats after the
potato crop is gathered. / frequently
saw potato fields covered so completely
with lime that they presented the same
appearance as if covered with snow.
Lime is sometimes sown over the pasture
fields. think this is done in early
Spring. The cost of lime at the kiln, in
Ireland, is about the same that it is in
our country. I do not think that our
ridge lands would bear the heavy eppli.
cations of lime that are made by Irish
farmers, and it would prove of no avail
if applied to old worn out land, in which
there is no vegetable matter. But am
not writing an essay on agriculture.
1t one time in the worlds history,
--tne was place of perhaps more note
than it is at present. On the extreme
point of q narrow peninsula, which, be.
cause of it's resemblance to a sickle, is
called Carran. Carrau, being the Irish
word for sickle or reap.hook, are the
remains Of Olderheet Castle. 1t was at
this place that Edward Bruce, the brother
of the celebrated Robert Bruce, King OF
Scotland, landed. This was in 1915.
Edward the Second was King of Eng
land. Ireland was in wretched condi-
tion, and Scotland was not much, if any,
better. AS an evidence of this, it may
be stated that by an Act of Parliament,
held at Kilkenny, in 1909, the murder OF
an Irishman was not punishable by law,
and the defaming of an Irish woman was
declared no crime. After the battle OF
Bannockburn, which was fought on the
Oath of June, 1914, the Irish invited
Robert Bruce, to become their King.
Many reasons were. urged why this step
should be TAKEN, The similarity of the
manner and customs of the Scotch and
Irish,! their common lineage and Ian.
guage, and the fact that both were
harrassed by England, seemed to oindicate
the wisdom Of the movement. So it ap.
,peared to Robert Bruce, and to show bis
interest in poor down-trodden Ireland,
he sent his brother Edward with an army
of six. Thousand men to assist in the dc.
'liverance of the Irish from English rule.
EdwaSd Bruce, with his ak thousand
men, landed at Larne, or rather at Older
fleet Castle, near Larne, in May, 1915.
The Irish flocked to his standard, aud he
began in earnest the work Of devaatation.
The Earl Of Ulster was defeated and
many of the English noble slain in a
battle which was fought soon after the
landing of Bruce. Oarrickfergus was
next attacked. Being strongly fortified
and we'll garrisoned its capture could
only be effected by siege. Lord Man.
deville was In command of the garrison.
Many deeds of daring vslor were per.
formed, both by the besieged and besieg.
ers! Prominent among these may be no.
ticed the heroisnn Of one Neill Fleming,
the commander 5ofsa Scotch guard Of
sixty men. FAT a time when the COM
malder of the besiegers seems to- have
been apprehendihg no danger, Lord
MApdeyille led his forces cut to attack
Them. Neill Fleming and his guard of
sixty men, were tho only persona IN the
Scotch army prepared for battle. The
troops led by Vaudeville were desperate.
Fleming saw that the Scotch army was
likely.to be surprised and routed unless
something desperate was done. He
promptly sent q messenger to Edward
Bruce to warn him of the impending
danger, and threw himself aud his guard
in front of the advancing forces Of Man.
desilie. As the forces Of the besfeged,
made desperate by hunger, advanced,
Neill Fleming shouted to his men. Now
let them sec how we can die foi. our
lord. The desperate courage of Elem.
ing and his sixty men stopped, for q time,
the forces Of Vaudeville. But eixty men
could mol stand long before thousands.