Page:Irish Emigration and The Tenure of Land in Ireland.djvu/167

Rh people to accept the latter alternative. The mildness of the climate, the cheapness of the fuel, and above all, the suitableness of the potato to what is technically called "la petite culture" contributed to turn the scale, and early marriages continued to remain a characteristic of the Irish peasantry. Even had the landlords interfered, their remonstrances would have been in vain, and, the downward impulse once communicated, acquired a continually accelerated momentum, for the simple reason that each succeeding generation was accustomed from infancy to a lower standard