Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 13.djvu/242

 226 I K E L A N D [AGRICULTURE. in Connanght there is another breed of cattle which is also a coarse variety of the &quot; Kerry.&quot; In some parts of the country the Scotch West Highland breed has been intro duced. The &quot; old Irish &quot; breed which existed in the central parts of the country has now been all but eradicated by crossing. The English Longhorn was at first the animal principally used to improve the breed of the Irish cattle, but it was ultimately supplanted by the Shorthorn, and the greater number of Irish cattle are now crosses with that breed. Polled Scotch cattle have also been largely introduced into the mountain districts, and in Ulster and Cork the Ayrshire or a cross between it and the Shorthorn is the breed chiefly used for dairy purposes. Milch cows in 1880 exceeded a third of the total number of cattle, the numbers of the three classes of other cattle (those under one year, those above one and under two years, and those above two years) being pretty nearly equal. The propor tion of milch cows to the total number of cattle in Leinster was less than one-fourth, in Munster nearly one-half, in Ulster above nine-twentieths, and in Connaught about three-eighths. Since 1861 the number of milch cows has decreased by 148,335, the decrease having nearly all taken place since 1871. Dairy farming is carried on chiefly in the south, more especially in Cork, where the methods practised are generally greatly superior to those of the other districts. In Cork the cows are generally wintered partly on turnips or cabbage, and to some extent also on artificial feeding stuffs, but in other districts they are often not housed even in winter, and what they gather from the winter pastures is supplemented only by an allowance of hay. The milk is used chiefly in the manufacture of butter, the buttermilk being employed for feeding pigs, and forming also along with potatoes or stirabout an important element of family diet. On account of the bad household arrangements of the small farms, the butter manufactured is often dirty and unwholesome ; and it is also frequently oversalted. Cheese is not manufactured except by some of the Scotch or English farmers for their own use. The proportion of calves kept may be gathered from the number of cattle under one year old, which in 1880 was less than the number of cows by 555,813. On the best farms the cow calves are generally kept. Only a very small number of calves are fattened for the butcher, but many are killed when only a few days old. Those that are kept scarcely ever receive warm milk after the first week, but are fed chiefly on buttermilk, hay-tea, and similar substitutes. This early process of half starvation, joined to imperfect winter housing and feeding, leaves effects on the constitu tion of the animals which greatly lessen their value for the butcher; and, although the breed of cattle in Ireland is one which fattens quickly on good pasturage, the animals, besides being smaller than they would otherwise have been, are always deficient in &quot;tallow,&quot; and generally weigh about 2 stones less than those of apparently similar dimen sions reared in England or Scotland. Scientific cattle- feeding is only practised in exceptional cases. Sheep have increased between 1851 and 1880 by 1,439,233, there having been very little increase between 1841 and 1851. The number is smallest in Ulster, which possesses only about one-eighth of the whole. The old native breed has been greatly improved by the introduction of Leicesters, and within recent years Border Leicesters have been largely introduced, as well as Shropshire Downs. In the mountain western districts there are large flocks of Cheviots and Scotch Blackfaced. The sheep possessed by the small farmer are generally of a very mongrel character. Pigs between 1841 and 1851 decreased by 208,244, but between 1851 and 18G1 increased by 17,185, and between 1861 and 1871 by 519,381, while between 1871 and 1880 they declined by 772,377. They constitute a very important item in the economy of the small farmer, and their carcases are largely sold to supply the English market, The old Irish &quot; grey -hound &quot; pigs, which were very nearly allied in race to the wild boar, are now almost extinct, their place having been taken chiefly by Berkshires, although Yorkshire and Cumberland breeds are not uncommon. Table XVI1T. shows the progress of the cattle export trade to the United Kingdom since 1790. Between 1841 and 1851 poultry diminished by 863,733, much less than might have been expected from the decrease in small farms; and between 1851 and 1880 their numbers have nearly doubled, the larger portion of the small farmers returns being now often obtained from the rearing of geese and turkeys and the produce of eggs. The breed of domestic fowls is somewhat mixed, but Dorking and Spanish fowls are becoming more common. TABLE XVI. Value of Live Stock on Holdings above 1 acre, and Average Value per Holding, in 1841, 1851, and 1871. Horses. Asses. Cattle. Sheep. Pigs. Goats. Poultry. Total. Total value on holdings] ,-, above 1 acre ) 1 0*7-1

4,215,768 4,167,080

66,542 128,317

11,446,916 19,153,023

2,181,365 2,325,703

1,329,989 1,289,965

No return. 83,919

159,270 178,143

19,399,850 27,326,150 ( 1871 4,245,056 171,101 25,793,605 4,646,423 1,929,379 82,488 279,416 37,147,468 Average value on each ] TQCI holding above 1 acre... 1 -to s. (1. 620 7 6 1 7 16 s. a. 1 11 046 064 s. d. 16 11 3 33 11 7 47 8 1 a. d. 331 4 1 7 8 10 9 s. &amp;lt;J. 1 18 6 253 3 10 11 s. d. 000 2 11 030 s. d. 047 063 10 3 s. a. 28 1 4 47 18 2 68 5 4 TABLE XVII. Value of Lire Stock on each class, of Holding, and Average Value per Holding, in 1851 and 1871. Fuiins. Not exceeding 1 Acre. Not exceeding 5 Acres. Xot exceeding 15 Acres. Xot exceeding 30 Acres. Not exceeding 50 Acres. Xot exceeding 100 Acres. Xot exceeding 200 Acres. Xot exceeding 500 Acres. Above 500 Acres. Total. Value of live stock, 1851.. 411,243

590,913

3,526,521

5,415,643

4,586,514

5,438,774 A 4,041,285

2,869,461

857,039

27,737,393 i .. il. Average value per holding 517 7 .&amp;lt;. &amp;lt;l. 6 14 2 s. d. 18 7 8 s. &amp;lt;J. 38 6 6 s. d. 65 8 8 s. d. 108 18 1 ,&quot;. d. 204 11 10 s. d. 365 13 6 s. d. 588 4 5 s. d. 47 18 2

Value of live stock, 1871 .. 405,869 668,583

4,410,081

7,201,947

6,346,285

7,903,005

5,687,549

3,786,540

1,143,478

37,553,337 s. d. .. &amp;lt;1. Average value per holding 5 5 8 8 18 8 25 14 7 s. d. 51 18 10 j. d. 87 3 9 s. d. 143 10 7 s. d. 262 2 11 s. d. 462 6 8 ,. (/. 729 5 2 &amp;gt;. d. 60 9 6
 * . d.