Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 10.djvu/66

Rh 56 other minerals, of great variety of appearance. 1'-Icli of llinabola is quartz, in general distinctly strxrtitied, or at least .-.-lristose. The position of its beds is various. Towards the west- 1-1'11 shor'e they are vertical, easily splitting by intervening rrrica plates, and a1l'ordin__; grod building stone. Limestone occurs in_ some places along the foot of these rrrourrtains. Round the base ot this group are also gnciss and ruica slate, with bands of hornblende and primitive mica. Along the north side of Lough Corrib to llallynakill the rrrica slate arnl lrornblemlc rise into mountains, and the liruestone disappears. From Lough Mask to the Killcries is a transiti-_rn country of grcenstorrc and gmrrwacke slate covered by the Old lied Sandstone or conglomerate. The hill of Glan, on the shore of Lough Corrib, exhibits, in a sruall compass, all the for- ruations which occur in the district. 'l‘ho western end is quartz, the north-eastern side mica slate ; the middle is penetrated by beds of mica slate, containing hornblende and granular mica covered by thick beds of pyritous grccnstone. On the south and cast are granite and syenite, which runs under the sandstone conglomerate towards Oughterard. and this again passes under the llotz Irrnc- stone, which, beyond Lough Corrib, occupies the greater part of Uonnanght and Leinster. Along the borders of the llotz limestone is a series of vast caverns, usually traversed by subterranean rivers. A line gritstonc, highly valued for making millstones, is raised near lmnmore. Crystalline sand, of a superior quality for scythe boards, occurs at Lough (‘ontra. Lead, zinc, copper, sulphur, and bisrmrth have been discovered ir1 various parts of the western division of the county. Iron was raised at Woodford, aml srrrelted until the tinrber was e.;h-austcd. The mountains of b'lievcbaughty, which separate Galway from Clare, are siliceous. In Connemara there is abundance of green variegated marble called serpentine; aml a beautiful black marble, without spots or flaws. and susceptible of a high polish, is obtained near Ouglrtcrard. Mineral spas, mostly chaly cate, are abundant. Climztc and :lgricrLItu.rc.—Tlre elinrate is mild and salubrious, but variable, and violent winds from the west are not unconrrnorr. Frost or snow seldom remains long on the western coast, and cattle of every description contirmc unhoused during the winter. The eastern part of the county produces the best wheat. Oats ar'e fre- ayucntly sown after potatoes in nroorish soils less adapted for wheat. ' ‘he ﬂat shores of the bays afford large supplies of seaweed for uran- ure. Limestone, gravel, and marl are to be had in most other parts. When a sutlicient quantity of manure for potatoes carnrot be had, the usual practice is to pare and burn the surface. In many places on the sea-shore ﬁne early otatoes are raised in deep sea-sand, rrran— ured with sea-weed, and t re crop is succeeded by barley. These parts of the eastern district less ﬁtted for grain are employed in pasturage. Ileathy sheep-walks occupy a very large tract between Monivea and Galway. An extensive range from Athenry, stretch- inv to Galway Bay at Kinvarra, is also chieﬂy occupied by sheep. I‘he total area under crop in 1878 was 214,685 acres, as compared with 235,168 in 1853. The following tables show the acres under the principal crops, and also the numbers of the ditt'erent domestic animals, during those years :— I,”,c‘_ Other Meadow Wheat. Oats. l,c'_,,se Potatoes. Turnips. Green and ' ' Crops. Clover. I. 7 1978 I 4.416 53.905 I 9.0. r I 50.604 14.041 8,910 75 333 185-} 13,517 83,340 15,751 I 46,1254 18,788 10,764 45,780 I 1 Horses. Asses. l Cattle. ‘ Sheep. Pigs. Go.r‘.s. Poultry. 1 ! 1878 28.33 14.3‘?! I 169,002 652,773 57,314 10,927 751,116 139'] 25,916 112,714 I 139,497 I 465,430 41,403 16,632 410,199 According to the returns or 1875-6, the total value of land, exclusive of the town of Galway, was £437,686, 15s., and the aver- age value per acre was 5s. 11 $11., as compared with 6s. 9d. for the province, and 13s. 3d. for the whole of Ireland. The county was divided among 1235 proprietors, of whom 332, or 27 per cent., owned less than one acre. The following possessed more than 20,000 acres, viz :—l'.ichard Berridge, 159,898 ; Marquis of Clanricardc, 49,025 ; Lord Dunsandle, 33,543 ; Allan Pollok, 29,366 ; Lord Clonbrock, 28,246; Sir 'I‘l1on1as J. Burke, 25,258 ; Earl of Clancarty, 23,896. .:l[rmu_f¢u.-lures.—)l.rnufaetures are not carried on beyond the de- mand caused by the donrestie consumption of the people. Coarse friezes, flanncls, and blankets are made in all parts, and sold largely in Galway and Louglrrca. Connemara has been long celebrated for its hand-knit woollen stockings. Coarse linen, of a narrow breadth, called bandlc linen, is also made for home consumption. A linerr- weaving factory has been established at Oughterard, The manufac- ture of kelp, formerly a great source of profit on the western shores, is still carried on to some extent. Feathers and sea-f0wls' eggs are brought in great quantities from the islands of .ran, the pro- duce of the putlins and other set:-fowl th:-.t ft‘:-qlrezil. the elills. l-'ish- The (‘omponent , G A L V A Y irrg atl'ords occupation to many of the inhabitants, but from want of capital is not prosecuted with sutticient vigour. In 1877 the nunrbcr of vessels engaged was 451, with 1104 men and 58 boys. 1’opululz'on.-—The county includes one parliamentary borough, Galway ; and three townslrips, liallinasloc (part of which is, how- ever, in the county of Iloscommon). 4159; Longhrea, 3072; and 'l'rranr, 4223. The largest of the villages are (loft, 1773; Clifden, 1313; Athcnry, 1194 ; lleadford, 870; Oughterard, 861; and I'i_'1'c- court, 747. The population in 1831 was 414,654 ; in 1851. 321,684 ; and in 1871, 248,458, of wlronr 122.496 were rrrales arnl 125,962 females. In 1871 the number of ('atholies was 239,902; and of Protestants 8556, of whom 7464 were lipiseopalians and 615 I‘1'esbyterians. Of persons live years arnl upwards 173,36] were illiterate, a proportion of 569 per cerrt.; and 30,2-39 could speak lirsc only, as com] ared with 41,572 in 1561. llrnigration from this county has drafted 011' a very large number of its inlrabitants. From the 1st of May 1851 to 31st llecernbcr 1877 there were 104,691 cnngrants, or an annual average of 3950. 1u’cprcscntatz'on and A¢lnn'n1'stru(ion.—'l'wo members of parliament are returned for the county, and two for Galway borough. There are in the county 35 petty-sessions districts, and part of anotln-r. Quarter-sessions are reld at Ballinasloe, Clifdcn, lalway, Gm-t, Loughrea, Oughterard, Portumna, aml Tuam. There are five. poor—law unions wholly within the county, Galway, Loughrea, Mount Bellcw, Portumna, and Tumn ; nearly the whole of Clifden, Gort, and Oughterard; and parts of live otlrers——llallinasloe, 11allin- robe, Glermarnaddy, ltoseommon, aml Scarritf. The county is within the Dublin military district, and there are barrack stations at Loughrea, Dunrnorc, l'ortumn:r, Galway, Gert, and Oughterard. It is divided into 18 baronics. A ntz‘quz‘tics'.—Amongst these are the round towers of .-trdrahan, Ballygaddy, Iiilbannon, Kilmaeduagh, lllcelick, and llur1‘o11glr. llzrths are numerous, and several cromlechs are still to be seen in good preservation. The ruins of monastic buildings are also numer- ous. That of Knoeknroy, about 6 miles from 'l‘uam, said to have been founded in 1180 by Catlral O'Connor, was adorned with rude fresco paintings, still discernible, which were considered valuable as being the best authentic representations existing of ancient Irish costumes. Ancient castles and square towers of the Anglo-I'orman settlers are frequently nrct with; some have been kept in repair, but the greater number are in ruins. The castle of Tuarn, built in 1161 by Roderick O'Connor, king of Ireland, at the period of the English invasion, is said to have been the first building of this de- scription of stone and mortar in Ireland. The remains of a round east c, a form of building very uncommon in the military architec- turc of the country, are to be seen between Gort and Kilmacduag. GALv.-iv, the county town, and a parliamentary borough, is also a county in itself, with an exclusive jurisdiction extending two miles on every side except the south. It stands or1 the northern shore of the Bay of Galway, on both sides of the river Corrib, which connects Lough Corrib with the sea. The space within the walls formed an oval of about 3426 square perches. Some of the streets are very narrow, and contain several curious specimens of old buildings, chiefly in the antique Spanish style, being square, with a court in the centre, and a gateway opening into the street-. The finest of these is the pile of buildings known as Lynch's Castle. During the last few years many large shops have been built in the principal streets, and several handsome residences have been erected in the suburbs. St Nicholas church is the most remarkable building in the town. It is cruciform, 152 feet long by 126 broad, with a steeple rising over the nave, and the side aisles separated from the centre by Gothic pillars. It contains several antique monuments. The exchange, near the church, con- sists of an open corridor, 90 feet long by 28 broad, with a front of arches supporting an upper story, in which are apartments for holding the local courts, and for other public purposes. St Augustine’s church (lloman Catholic), an ediﬁce in the First Pointed style, was erected in 1859. The county court-house is an elegant and cornmodious building ; near it are the county and town prisons. The town also contains a county inﬂrnrary, a union workhouse, a fever hospital, three monasteries, five nunnerics, aml two barracks. A grammar-school is in the immediate neighbourhood of the town. Queen’s College, built of beautiful grey limestone, is an elegant and extensive quadrangular struetnrcin tlrcTudor Gothic style. Near the college is a national school. The shipping trade of Galw ay has for some time been gradually