Year: 1868

An Eglish-Irish Landlord " writes to
the London Times in relation to the past
and present condition Of Ireland. His let
ters purpo.t to give facts but should be
taken with allowance. The following are
interesting passages


a 1t may give some idea Of the physical
state of the country ii give some facts
about the district | know best e., the
large district extending seventy or eighty
miles to the west Of Cork Seventy years
ago the post went into it once fortnight
but then only as far as Bandon-twenty
miles. There was no post any further,
and the district fifty or sixty miles off did
without. The roads, little better than
rocky paths, went up and down hills as
steep as it was possible for horse to trav-
el \ gentleman living thirty-fve miles
from Cork told me it used to take him in
summer from early i'll the morning till
dark to get home, with four horses. If
he ala not start till breakfast time, it was
a good Journey to be home by midnight
He usually walked himself, beating his
carriage by hours. His next neighbor,
twelve miles further, had to make two
days Of it. When he got near home there
was a part of the road that it was impos-
sible for horses to drag carriage up-a
sort of stairs of rock-so word was sent
before that the master was coming, and
tenants and laborers turned out to meet
him. and dragged the carriage up this rock
by main force, while the horses had enough
10 do to get up themselves.


This place was called The Leap.
The Kings writ was considered useless
beyond that place and to this day a say
ing remains in the country, Beyond the
leap, beyond the law Great tracts were
inaccessible to wheels, and all horse work
was done by panniers on the horses backs
Illicit stiles tiourished everywhere, be-
cause kegs Of whiskey were carried SC
much easier than corn in bulk. A friend
who undertook the Improvement of an es.
tate of eleven thousand acres in 1922
told me no wheeled vehicle had then ever
entered it, and once, at first, having lost
himself on the estate snipe shooting, they
had to send two miles for the man who
could speak English to tell him the way
home


What carts there were had round
discs of wood for wheels. A clergyman
still living told me when he got his parish
a large one now having hundreds Of
carts in it-there were three carts in the
parish that had spoke wheels. When
these were seen along the road, people
would leave their work some fields off tt
20 and look at the wonder


" Even twenty-five years ago plough
was seldom seen, except with gentleman
or near a town There were things called
ploughs, of the fashion of the Romans
or, more ancient still, that would scratch
the soil, but with which no art of maj
could turn a furrow. In 1888 Arthur
Young described horses drawing sucl
ploughs by their tails. At that time
turnips or clover were nearly unknown il
the district. Turnips were never grow
except by gentlemen. and clover or pras
seed of any kind were only sown in small
patches. Corn crops were taken yea
after Year. as long as the land would erov
any and then it was left to rest, as it wa
called. e., to grow weeds and nothin,
else, till a skin formed that could be pare,
and burnt for potatoes and corn again
All this Is now wholly changed.