The Irish standard., 1908-08-22

LlIHeElCk LOOKS ike a. 1IleQl6Vdl CltS,
and 1t is one of the oldest in ireland.
haven't found anything modern since
we have been here, says VIM. e. Cur
tbs. in a letter to the Chicago Record
Herald, under date of Aug. 4.
There is an old tower that was built
seven centuries ago, and portions Of
walls forty feet high and thirty-six
feet thick. which date back to the time
of King John in the twelfth century.
The castle is one Of the finest Nor
man fortresses yet remaining in the
kingdom, and overlooks the River
Shannon in most formidable man
ner. The ancient gate is carefully re-
tained and there Is a, bridge across the
river approaching it that might have
been built by the Romans. The Shan
non is good deal Of river here and
has been walled in with cut stone and
wide quays that are equipped with
modern machinery for loading and un-
loading vessels. although there isn't
much commerce. Occasionally a
steamer loaded with coal arrives, but
there is no regular traffic. and today a
big four masted barque is discharginB
a cargo OF wheat that was brought all
the way around Cape Horn from Cali
fornia, and will be ground up in the
Mills of Limerick, because 1t is cheap
er to bring it. all that distance than
to raise wheat on the farms in this
vicinity.
haven't quite been able to figure
out how that happens. and 1t seems in
credible, because there Is so much land
given up to pastures that might be
p:owed and sowed with grain. We
have been riding about this part of the
country in an automobile for several
days and haven't vet seen a. wheat
fleld--not one--although there are sew
eral -four mills in Limerick and the i'm
mediate neighborhood. In two gro
Gerry stores where have inquired they
told me that they handled American
-four or -four from American wheat,
almost exclusively. and that they were
selling a good deal of bacon from the
Chicago packing houses. which also
seems strange, because Limerick bacon
is supposed to be the best in the world.
and three big establishments, employ
iEg several hundred men. do nothing
but cure bacon and hams. Each one
siaughters about 10000 hogs a. week,
which doesn't seem a very large busi-
ness in comparison with that Of the
packing houses of Chicago. Omaha
and Kansas City. but over here 1t is
something TO brag about.
Limerick bacon brings the highest
price in the London market, and sells
at or 4 cents a pound more than that
which is imported from Chicago. In
order to realize the difference the peo-
pie of the city are willing to ship their
bacon to England and eat the Chicago
product.
limerick is also the center of a
large butter trade and has the biggest
| condensed milk factory in the king
dom, using the milk Of 10000 cows
Gaily. which is gathered morning and
evening by enormous motors that go
laundering around the roads like jug
gernauts. They look like stesm-rollers
and are built the same way with four
wheels that have tires more than a foot
foot wide. and they serve double pur-
pose by rolling the roads daily while
they are hauling in the milk. Each of
these ponderous vehicles carries a
large tank that will hold hundred
gallons Of milk and hauls a trailer that
carries two tanks of similar size. thus
making about 300 gallons to the load,
but it. makes noise enough for 10000
gallons. The big tanks are painted
white and the machines are polished
like the knockers on the front doors
Of the Limerick houses. There are