Page:Irish Emigration and The Tenure of Land in Ireland.djvu/395

Rh 3G1 Table showing the Tillage Acres, the Tillage Cultivators, and the gross annual value of the produce ; also the annual value of the produce per acre, the annual value produced by each cultivator, and the number of acres he cultivates. Tillage Acres, 18G6. Tillage Cultivators. Census of 1861. Gross pro- duce on the acreable average production of 1S64-5. Annual value of gross produce per acre. Annual value of I produce to each | Cultivator. Number of acres to each Culti- vator. .hngland and v ales. 14,JJU, j jy o OOO 1 1 " £ 76,754,726 £. 5'3 £. 62-4 116 Ireland 5,547,738 985,265 o n oi * noc o0,O I / ,9 2b 54 a.; 5-6 Leinster, Province . 1 ^ln IPO 1,610, 168 21 1,709 Q flQ 1 4 or c,lMl,49o 5-0 37-9 7'6 Munster „ 1,322,916 253,364 7,239,909 54 28 5 5*2 Ulster „ 1,887,773 339,705 11,030,103 5'8 32-4 5*5 Con naught „ 726,881 177,618 4,136,689 56 23-2 4-1 Cork, County 465,650 84,582 2,578,053 5 5 30'4 55 Kerry „ 145,883 34,643 145,883 5 4 23-0 4-2 Antrim „ 254,495 36,912 1,552,S05 6*1 42 0 6-9 Down „ 334,832 47,717 1,988,349 59 41*6 7-0 From tlic foregoing T«ible it will be seen that the acreable prod nee in Ulster, where one man cultivates 5£ acres, is greater than the acreable produce in Con- naught and Minister, where more men cultivate a smaller an a ; and that whereas in Ulster each cultivator extracts from the soil £32. 4.*, in Minister and Connaught he only obtains £28. and £23. The same proportions will be seen to rule the rate of production when Antrim or Down arc compared with Cork or Kerry. Surprise may perhaps be occasioned by the rate of the acreable produce in Ireland appearing to be greater than the rate of the acreable produce in England. This is to be accounted for by our having been compelled to estimate the green crops of England according to the rate of production of green crops in Ireland, no statistics, cxeept those which give the number of acres so cultivated in England, existing on the subject. But even though it be admitted that the same superiority of produc- tion which is evinced by the acreable yield of cereals in England extends to the rest of her cultivation, it is very evident that the dittcrenco in the agricultural prosperity of the two countries depends rather upon the excess of persons in Ireland amongst whom the produce has to be distributed than on the comparative inferiority of her rates of production. Indeed, it stands to reason, that both rent and wages being lower in Ireland than in England, if the rate of produce were anything like the same (and the difference in money value is probably much less than is supposed) the profits of the Irish farmer might be even greater than those of the English, not- withstanding his more distant markets. If we asmma that England is as superior to Ireland in the production of her green crops as in that of her cereals the rate of her gross acreable produce would have to be taken at something considerably above. .£.'». 3.v per acre, raising of course to a proportionate amount the annua) value of produce to each cultivator. Kut pro- bably the £ 1,U00,00U. worth of potatoes in Ireland are grown as skilfully as the £9,500,000. of turnips are grown in England, though it muM be admitted that the predominance of our potato crop, mid the restricted extent of our turnip cultivation may be an element of danger in the Irirdi syslem.