The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1904-11-12
Planting of Forests Recommended For the Bog
and Mountain Wastes, Where Farm
ing Has Failed.
Rare Opportunities of Making Ireland Pros
porous BY Self-Development Have
Been Neglected.

little holding, had to be supplied by his
! daughter in America with f15O to en-
able him to keep the place. He said
his farm was bog covered with wa
ter. Michael Brennan's farm of nine
acres was held, and he himself s,lp-
ported in it, by his children in Ameri-
ca and in England.
God help the small farmers of hun
dreds of mountain and bog estates
throughout Ireland. It is only by
Gods help or mysterious help of some
kind that they have for so long been
enabled to cling to the acres of log
and miles Of rock that are so often,
with unconscious, pathetic irony tenn
ed farms" While these poor craa-
lures are starving on the bog and
mountain wastes it is piuable that al
great deal Of the very best and richest
land in ireland should be used as
ranches for fattening thousands Of bull
locks. The congested districts board
has been in some districts in Irelaa nd
moving, though very slow, towards
rectifying this crying evil. Here and
there they have bought an extensive
grazing farm, which they are dividing
up into small farms and on each Of
which they are erecting comfortable
little cabin. Small farmers who are
eking out wretched existence amid
the wastes will be imported here, a
farm given to each, and a certain an
nual sum charged, which will in tile
course of long term Of years give to
the tenant the ownership Of his little
farm.
The mistake is that the congest1 d
districts board is, Of course, only o.
erative in rare districts throughm t
Ireland, and their purse Is not long, 20
they are only able to scratch the su.-
face Of the evil. The next great mo, e
in land reform in ireland should he
the buying up Of all rich grazing farms
and their dividing into tillage farms
for the many thousands Of poor tel
ants who presently live upon tracrs
that a self-respecting crow would
scorn to alight upon. Before many
years there will be big agitation in
Ireland for the possession of grazing
lands. The raising of men is, after all,
Of somewhat more Importance to Ir~
land than the raising of bullocks.
Another thing, the need of whic,
strongly asserts itself in Ireland, IS
the reafforestation of the country.
Howitz, of Denmark, says that Irela1n,
is f1OO,OOO,O00 poorer through neglec
of afforestation. When men are, i,s
the near future, removed to the ricl.
grazing land from the bog and noun. k.
tain wastes their place should be sup
piled by trees which will flourish
where men failed to thrive, and which
will render the country healthier, rich
er, more picturesque There are a.,
present three and quarter millions
of waste and barren land in Ireland
against 100000 acres under wood and
plantation. During the last year
221,0O0 trees were planted, $4,000
felled and blown down, 1,1o0 acres
were planted with trees; $500 acres
We're cleared! While there is % per
cent of uncultivated land in Ireland,
only 1 1-2 per cent is under wood. In
England 81 per cent Of the country Is
under wood, in Scotland As, in Wales
3.S. DR.. Schlich, who had reported on
the afforestation of Ireland in 1885.
estimated that 100000 acres of the
waste land of the country were valu-
able for forestation. The last report
Of the department Of agriculture states
that there is annually imported into
Great Britain and Ireland f9,OOO,OOO
worth Of timber that could be grown
in these islands. The real and rare
opportunities Of making Ireland rich
and prosperous by self-development
have been for long years neglected J
Nowadays we are awakening to :t,if,
neglect Part of it is being remedied,
It is fancerely to be hoped that while
the 'aze for improvement holde us
~ - v a &