Mr. Sampson says, "there are two very considerable ones on the east side of the Bann, the least of which contains probably 500 acres, the other about 2000. A very large warren lies in Magilligan; it occupies not less than 1500 acres, and is divided into "the near," and "the far end," a distinction of the situation in respeet of Newtown and its neighbourhood.* The value of the warren, taken by the acre, varies exceedingly: in some places an acre will contain rabbits worth £10. whilst in others, 30 acres will not contain so many as will produce £1. The swelling grounds alone are most valuable, because the rabbits will not burrow in low flats. These animals are either consumed in the farmer's household, or, in still greater numbers, exposed to sale through the neighbouring towns and country. The carrier hangs the rabbits over his horse's back, and sells them at from six-pence to tenpence a couple, skinning or casing them at the same time for the skins he is accountable to the proprietor of the warren. It is well known that warren rabbits are greatly inferior, as to flesh, to those of domains; but they are superior with regard to the fur. Those in Magilligan, which are fed on the bent and moss, have the longest fur. The same thing is true of all other animals. The sheep of those pastures which are kindly, grow fine in the wool. It is affirmed that the coarsest Inishoen or highland sheep will, in a few summers' pasturage in Magilligan, become fine in the wool. From the best information I learn, that the number of rabbit-skins varies from 1500 to 3000, and that the annual yield is about 2000. These are purchased at two different auctions held in Magilligan; persons commissioned by the hatters of Dublin, and sometimes of England, are the bidders. The price fluctuates from eight shillings to twelve shillings per dozen, and in some extraordinary years may be a little above or below. Those of the far end are first auctioned, and their price generally regulates that of the near end. There is a difference in the time of beginning to take the rabbits: the far end commences on the 1st of November, or new style, and the near end on the 12th of November, or old style."+ In the county of Down "rabbits, as stock, are mostly confined to the neighbourhood of Dundrum; the ground there being sandy, is well adapted to them: in Murtogh they are so intermingled with the other stock, that it would be difficult to ascertain their exact value; but Mr. Hamilton, of Terala, is so well persuaded of the superiority of the soil, though sandy, for agricultural purposes, that he has broken up a considerable part of his warren, and intends improving the whole, which probably would answer, even though it were to be returned to its former state; for rabbits, like all other animals, are profitable in proportion to the goodness of their * SEPT. 16th. COLERAINE.-There is a rabbit-warren at Magilligan, near Down Hill; 2500 dozen are caught in a year. The rabbits sell for four-pence a piece; the skins at thirteen shillings per dozen. + Sampson's Survey of Derry, p. 221. food. The rabbits in the Maze-course are very fine, from the access they have to the well-cultivated fields within their reach; and the few stragglers that are to be met with in other places are so much larger than the warren rabbits, that they seem to be almost a different species."* In Meath" there is only one warren of sufficient extent to entitle it to notice. It extends along the sea-shore, from the mouth of the river Boyne towards the mouth of the Nanny river, and belongs to Mr. Brabazon of Morningtown. The rabbits burrow in a heap of sand blown off the sea-shore by the easterly winds, and feed on a salt marsh running parallel to it, being prevented from going on the uplands and corn-grounds by broad drains, which are constantly full of water. They are taken by pass-nets, placed between them and the burrow, on their hasty return from feeding at night, being alarmed by the barking of dogs kept for that purpose. 'They are all disposed of in Dublin market, the skin being generally more valuable than the flesh; and they are sold by the warreners at from one shilling and sixpence to two shillings the pair. I have been informed that this warren is worth, to Mr. Brabanzon, three hundred pounds per annum, and the ground so employed is not valued at one shilling per acre. There are many small burrows in ditches and sand-hills throughout the country, but they are not worth mentioning."+ Mr. Young, in his survey of Lincolnshire, has given a very accurate account of the management and profits of rabbit-warrens; and though I endeavoured to obtain a similar one in regard to Ireland, I was not able to succeed. HARES. These animals are frequently confined within the walls of gentlemens' domains, and in this case they always herd together in flocks. The skin of the hare in England is much more valuable than that of the rabbit, but in Ireland it is useless, as the hair obtained from it will not felt; a circumstance the more remarkable, as rabbit-hair in that country answers exceedingly well in the manufacture of hats. I have seen white hares in most parts of the island, but this peculiarity of colour does not seem to arise from climate, as these hares are numerous within the domain walls of Lord Bantry, which stands in a southern situation, and under a climate remarkably mild. BEES. The premium offered by the Dublin Society for the preservation of bees in winter, seems to have had no claimant in the county of Armagh, though great emulation prevails among the notable females in that part of the country, in regard to their management of these valuable insects. The bees are suffocated about October, and perhaps three hives out of ten are preserved; a hive sells at from 10s. to £1. Is.: very little mead is made in the county except for private use. The greatest number * Dubourdieu's Survey of Down, p. 207. + Thompson's Survey of Meath, p. 333. + Page 428. of stocks is produced on the mountains, where the hives are filled so rapidly, in consequence of the facility of making honey afforded by fragrant plants and wild flowers, which abound in these districts, that they frequently have two risers or scaps under them before the stock is taken. The hives often weigh 40 pounds, and sometimes so much as 60. Those who keep bees prevent them from swarming more than a second time by raising the hive.* An experiment was tried on the recommendation of the Dublin Society, of removing bees to a northern aspect in winter, with a view of preventing them from rambling abroad during gleams of sunshine, but this removal proved fatal to the whole community. Bees thrive remarkably well in the county of Down, though the breeding of them is much on the decline. It does not appear that any peculiar method of managing them is adopted, except by two gentlemen, who uniting humanity with skill, have by an ingenious construction of their hives devised a method of obtaining the honey without destroying the bees. The honey taken from the hives in this manner is abundant and of an excellent quality. The uncertainty of the seasons, and the severity of some winters, seem to have discouraged the culture of bees in Kilkenny, in which a considerable quantity of mead was made formerly, but at present it is scarcely ever seen. The price of a good hive here is about 11s.; and a hive of honey may be had for 16s. In this part of the country the hive is usually placed upon stones, a method which injures the bees, as it is attended with too much cold in winter, and too much heat in summer. The common way of obtaining the honey is to suffocate the bees, but a simple contrivance for preserving the hives during winter has been adopted by the Rev. Dr. Butler, and deserves to be generally imitated. He ties up the hive in a cloth, with a round board placed under the bottom of it, and suspends it from the cellar-beams in the beginning of October. In this and that the earth or gravel of Apes nusquam; advectum inde, Bede, Hist. Gent. Anglicanæ, * Solinus, cap. xxv. says, that in his time there were no bees in Ireland, that country possessed a noxious quality which was disagreeable to them. pulverem seu lapillos, si quis sparserit inter alvearia, examina favos deserunt. gives a different account: Hibernia dives lactis et mellis insula. But however this may be, the Danes or Ostmen as they were called, who established themselves in Ireland in the ninth century, were well acquainted at an early period with the management of bees. A Danish writer says, "The celebrated Jordbog or Rental, furnishes a great deal of information in regard to the state of agriculture in Denmark in the thirteenth century. It is there seen that the farmers of that period cultivated rye, wheat, barley, and oats; that they had a great many horses, cows, swine, and sheep; that the people lived upon butter, cheese, pork, geese, poultry, dried cod, and salmon; there were water-mills then in Denmark; the land was surveyed or measured, and every proprietor knew, in the most accurate manner, his own. There were woods in abundance, which afforded shelter to various kinds of game, and also a great many large swine. On the whole, the land was exceedingly well cultivated, and most of the farmers were proprietors of the farms on which they resided. The people of this period clothed themselves in a sort of coarse cloth (vadmel), and their drink consisted of Danish ale and mead. The ale they prepared chiefly with sweet gale (myrica gala), and to obtain mead they applied much to the cultivation of bees." Hist. Stat. Skildrung af Tilstandem, i Danmark og Norge, i ældre og nyere tider, ved Rasmus Nyerup, Kiobenhavn, 1803, vol. i. p. 193. state it is suffered to remain till the month of April, when it is taken down, and being exposed in the usual manner, the prisoners are released from their confinement and restored to the enjoyment of liberty and fresh air. Five hives treated in this manner yielded more honey than if they had been subjected to the common management. This method saves the winter food and preserves the insects better than any other. Seclusion from light and noise is essential to the welfare of bees, as it promotes that state of torpidity into which bees, ants, and other insects, fall during cold weather. The dry hills of the county of Down, covered with heath and odoriferous herbs, are well adapted to bees, and the honey there is highly esteemed for its fine flavour; the combs also are often remarkable for their depth. Various kinds of bees are found in Derry, among which are the rufa, or small field-bee. The great humble-bee, sometimes known by the names of terrestris and subterranea, and in particular* the mellifica or hive-bee, that most active, but ill-requited contributor to the luxurious gratifications of man. Here, as well as in other parts already mentioned, the number of bees kept for profit has greatly decreased within the last twenty years. In the neighbourhood of Aghadowey, the scaps average from 20 to 40 pounds of honey in the comb. The scap is made of twisted wheat-straw, worked together with pieces of split briar. The bees in general swarm; twice or thrice in a season. The first comes off towards the end of May, and the second in about ten or fifteen days after. About the end of July the first casts a swarm; if more follow they are not fit to be kept, and therefore any farther swarming ought to be prevented by raising the hive. square Mr. Acheson is the only person in this district who has made any attempt to abolish the usual practice of suffocating bees, and to substitute in its stead a less barbarous method of obtaining the honey. In place of the common scaps he uses boxes with panes of glass, through which the work may be seen. The boxes are moveable, and are divided into an upper and lower apartment by a plate of copper, so that the bees above are separated from the honey beneath, while a stick can be introduced to support the comb. This method is simple and successful, having been tried during the course of several years, and as it is recommended by policy as well as humanity, ought to be generally adopted. In the county of Kildare the same plan has been pursued by Mr. Green at Kilrea, and it is to be hoped that the good example he has set will be followed. POULTRY. Barn-door fowls, turkeys, and geese, are reared almost around every cabin in Ireland. The manner in which the last-mentioned bird is stripped of its feathers is a most painful sight; it continually occurs in almost every direction, and considering the number of these animals kept in the country, the sale of feathers must form a very * Survey of Derry, p. 235. extensive branch of trade. But I cannot conceive that man, though styled the lord of the creation, has any right to subject these poor animals to torture in the barbarous manner I have seen in every part of Ireland. The county of Wexford is celebrated" for crammed fowls," and there is a fair at Ballyheague, in that county, kept expressly for the sale of poultry of all kinds. I have known families send thither from a great distance to purchase store fowls. In the county of Cork there is a fair for the sale of turkeys, which are numerous in Ireland, as the warmth of the cabins, into which fowls are always admitted, is exceedingly favourable to their increase. It renders them more prolific in eggs, and the young, by sharing in the habitation of the family, can be reared with much greater ease. PIGEON S. These birds are rather scarce in Ireland, being seldom kept but as domestic favourites. There are here no manorial lords who have a right to a dove-cot, whence pigeons are sent out to the distance of several miles to forage on a neighbour's land. The poor cannot keep them for profit, because their habitations are so low that the pigeons would soon fall a sacrifice to the cats. PARTRIDGES. These birds are as plentiful in Ireland as can be expected in an unprotected country; but game in general is so scarce, that it is not worth a poacher's while to take the trouble of going in quest of it, and I never heard of any person of that description in the whole island. Every estate, however, abounds with vermin, which destroy more game than all the murderous guns that are levelled at them. PHEASANTS. I saw some of these birds in a coop, at the seat of Lord Bantry, but they were the only ones that fell under my notice while in Ireland. I was told that Lord Roden has abundance of them at Tullamore park, in the county of Down. The want of turnips, the scarcity of corn, and above all, ignorance in regard to the mode of feeding them, will account for their being so few in number, though there are woods in some parts of Ireland of sufficient extent to shelter them in abundance. No place in the British dominions can be better adapted for them than Ballyarthur, and all the islands of Lougherne. WOODCOCKS AND SNIPES. In the season, these birds visit Ireland in immense flights. While in that country, I do not think that during several months in the year I ever dined without some of them being at table.* * If the climate of Ireland be so damp as is said, and the opinion of Celsus correct, the Irish game must be lighter food than that found in drier countries. Omne etiam ferum animal, domestico levius: et quodcunque humido cœlo, quam quod sicco. Celsus de Re Medica, Lugd. 1566, 12mo, lib. ii. cap. 18, p. 81. |