topography of the island, and the other what he quaintly and absurdly called a vaticinal history of its conquest.The Welchman-though learned according to the lore of his time-was certainly very unfit to give a correct history or honest description of Ireland; because he was a person of inordinate vanity, extremely credulous in adopting the information of others, and very dishonest in wresting that information to serve his own preconceived views and theories; ever willing to sacrifice truth to produce effect, and delighting in a style full of quibbles and jingling conceits. The extent of his vanity may be measured by the display he made at Oxford, on his return from Ireland: where he not only entertained the whole University by reading for three days successively, his topography of Ireland, but also by feasting for the same period, the doctors, the scholars and the townsmen, who were perhaps as much pleased with his English cheer, as with his Irish wonders. These absurd writings of Gerald Barry, where truth is sacrificed to rhetorical flourishes, but which are at the same time extremely interesting as the first works written by a foreigner expressly on Ireland, naturally called forth the indignant reprehension of sundry natives of Ireland. Philip O'Sullivan, author of that very prejudiced but elegant piece of Latinity, the Catholic history of Ireland, took Cambrensis to task, and lashed him in a work called Zoilomastix.Stephen White, a Jesuit, also took up his pen, and in a historical treatise, refuted the fables and gross misrepresentations of the Welchman. But with far more effect, and with infinitely greater learning and research, Archdeacon Lynch, during his banishment from his native land, defended the honor of his country, and has not only refuted Barry, but has given one of the most rational and ample accounts of the ancient state of Ireland, as to its civilization, government, and literature, that exists. It has been said of Lynch, that the prior work of the Jesuit White was in his hands, but so imperfect as to be unfit for the press, and that Lynch only enlarged on it and then adopted it as his own. This insinuation cannot now be substantiated; but it certainly is not in accordance with the upright character of our author, and perhaps it has been urged against him in revenge for the similar charge which he had brought against Cambrensis of having possessed himself of, and then destroyed, many of the ancient Annals of Ireland.Lynch published his great work, the Cambrensis Eversus, under the feigned name of Gratianus Lucius. It is like the Alinithologia, extremely rare, and its rarity is accounted for, by its being printed in London though written at St Maloes; and immediately after the impression was struck off, the fire in London took place, and the greater part of it was consumed; a copy now very seldom comes to sale, and when it does, brings a price of from £30 to £40. In the year 1795, Mr. Theophilus O'Flanagan commenced a translation, in which he proceeded no further than the epistle dedicatory, and the two first chapters, and there, for want of encouragement, the attempt came to a close. It certainly is to be regretted, that a faithful translation has not been given of this work, which though not exactly a history of Ireland, contains an immense mass of information concerning the antiquities, learning, and the arts of the ancient Irish. If it ever should be translated, it is to be hoped, that the person attempting it, will altogether abstain from modern political remarks and angry annotations. Perhaps O'Flanagan's book failed of encouragement in consequence of his indulging in observations which marked him out as a party man. Lynch, besides the the works already quoted, wrote the following: A letter to Monsieur Boileau, proving that the Scoti who first taught in the Universities of Paris and Oxford were Irish and not Albanian Scots. This, in fact, was but an enlargement of the 17th chapter of his Cambrensis Eversus. Bishop Nicholson in his Irish Historical Library, says he saw in MS. a work of Lynch's entitled-" A Collection of Choice Flowers, gathered out of several of the most authentic annals of the kingdom, beginning at the year 1200, and continued to 1513, inclusive." Nicholson remarks, concerning this treatise, that the collector was a person of such accuracy and skill, and niceness of taste in the histories of Ireland, that the reader may rest assured that his statements are correct, and that no matter of great moment has escaped his notice. Where is this manuscript

now deposited? Nicholson says that a Mr. John Conry was in possession of it and others when he compiled his Historical Library.

The only other work mentioned of Lynch's, is the life and death of D. F. Kirwan, Bishop of Killala; this was printed at St. Maloes, in the year 1669, and is equally scarce with his other works. A copy of it was in Marsh's library; but it, together with many other scarce and valuable works, was stolen out of it some years ago,

After remaining some years abroad, until Cromwell's tyranny was overpast, and until the severe laws against the Roman Catholics were relaxed by Charles the Second, the venerable Lynch returned to his native land; and as a just reward for his piety, patriotism, and learning, was nominated to the See of Killala.

We can only add, that he was an intimate friend and correspondent of Roderick O'Flaherty, author of the Ogygia, and of the celebrated Dudley M'Firbis, the last of the hereditary antiquaries of Lecan, who furnished him with much important historic matter from the writings of his ancestors, which latter circumstance proves the genuineness of the sources whence he had derived his historic information, and adds great importance to his works. It is to be lamented that so little is really known of such an excellent man. Perhaps amongst his own family, in Connaught, there may exist memorials and traditional anecdotes of him, which, this short and imperfect_notice may tend to elicit-perhaps his relation, Sir Francis Lynch Blosse, may have materials for a fuller and more satisfactory life of one who does so much credit to his name; if so, it is to be hoped, that as there is no one more able, he will be equally willing to give his information to the public, and satisfy it respecting one, whom both Protestants and Roman Catholics are entitled to regard. It is said that the house in which Lynch taught humanity is still standing in Galway. If so, what a subject it would be for a wood cut. R. Y.

STANZAS.

FOR THE DUBLIN PENNY JOURNAL.
O sweet wild Breeze-O fairy Breeze,
I've watched thee on thy way,
O'er gay green lawns and blossomed trees
At prime of merry May.
Beneath thy kiss, where primrose banks
Their breathing fragrance shed,
And lillies bowed their virgin ranks
To greet thy playful tread :
Where harebell blue, and clustering star
Of cowslip, paly bright,
And yellow kingcup, danced afar
Their morris of delight.

I've watched thy rustling wing across
The glen's green thicket sweep,
Where mountain oaks exulting toss
Their rude arms on the steep.

I've watched for thee, the twilight still
Of tall aerial trees,

And hearing, felt thy whisper thrill,
O low mysterious Breeze!
And as thy light breath, fitfully,
Disturbed my clustering hair,
With startled eye I've looked for thee,
Wild spirit of the air!

I've walked with thee, wild Breeze, along
The winding path of hills,
And heard thee in the low sweet song
Of birds and rushy rills.

With light gold mist, I've seen thee plow
The dark-blue fields of sky,
Where but the blithest lark and thou
Could meet in heaven so high.
I've watched thee on the ocean floor,
The sunned and shadowy sea-
And wished for wings to leave the shore
All fetterless like thee.

It was for this, O fleet of wing,
My heart to thee was given,
Because thou art the wildest thing
And freest under heaven.

J. UU.

TEMPER.

By MARTIN DOYLE, Author of "Hints to Small Farmers," &c. &c. &c.

(FOR THE DUBLIN PENNY JOURNAL.)

"An accommodating temper meets its reward.” Two gentlemen, brothers, called at the office to take seats for the following morning, in the Kilkenny coach; there were fortunately two inside places vacant, as the elder brother was, from his appearance, obviously suffering under some oppressive ailment, and the other in rather a delicate state of health. Between the two there happened not to be more cash than was sufficient to pay for one passenger; the second brother said he would bring the fare with him in the morning, and went away. In a short time after, another person came into the office, asked for a seat in the same coach, tendered his money, insisted on the strict rule being observed, and was booked accordingly. The next morning an hour before day, the brothers arrived; the invalid got in, and the other putting down his fare was told that the place was filled by one who had paid his money, and threatened that if refused his place, he would hire a chaise for the whole journey to Dublin, at the expense of the coach proprietors. The young man looked into the coach, and finding all the seats occupied, begged, and was strenuously supported by his brother, to be admitted as a fifth, even for a stage or two, as he was not in good health, and the rain poured down in a tremendous deluge.

The rest of the coach company seemed to yield, but the stiff gentleman was con-tra-ry, as will sometimes happen, and with his former menace silenced the agent (who was leaning to the side of mercy), and insisted with increased vehemence, that the rules of the office should be observed.

This strict person was owner of a great flour mill; he was any thing but a jolly miller, not resembling his professional predecessor of the river Dee, in the gaiety of his independence, but adhering literally and morosely to the principle of "caring for nobody," not because "nobody cared for him," but because it was the habit of his life to make every liberal thought or kind intention, which accidentally arose in his mind, like worldly charity, to begin at home, and centre in himself; he was wrapped up in his milling operations, and eyed his bags of flour with the same avidity as a miser would those of his gold; he was that sort of selfish and self-sufficient person that would not take any moderate boot between the prime minister and himself, and thought the machinery of the state of little importance compared with that of his own mill. He ordered the coachman to get forward, with some further menace if he did not.

The young man after a little altercation, took his seat beside the guard, and the coachman drove off. It was still dark; the rain was intense, the voices ceased, and the invalid, if a gentle snore was any indication, had fallen asleep.

As the coach passed through the Fox and Geese Common, a barking cur assailed the horses, and was apparently responded to by a low growl from the interior of the vehicle. "Is there a dog in the coach," asked the miller, for it was yet pitch dark. Those who were awake said, they could not tell : the invalid breathed hard and snored-in a few minutes the growl was heard again, advancing to a sharper snarl. "Have you got a dog in the coach?" asked the miller-" it is contrary to all rule-the agent is incorrect, and shall be finedit shall be looked to when the coach stops." A renewed snarl and a few chopping barks from the opposite seat where the invalid was placed, made the miller certain that the dog belonged to him, and lay behind his legs; not wishing, however, to put out his hand, or even his foot, to make the trial, he waited for daylight impatiently, and one or two succeeding growls from the same quarter, confirmed him in this sur

mise.

At length a tedious dawn gave way to the slowly increasing light of a gloomy morning; the miller had his eye fixed upon the spot, and as objects became less enveloped in shade, he chuckled at having ocular proof of the nuisance which he determined to complain and get rid of at the next stage.

:

There lay the dog, as he conceived, behind his master's legs but what was his disappointment and chagrin when through the breaking clouds, a strong gleam of light fell upon -not the dog of his imagination-but on a small portman

• Vide old song of the "Jolly Miller."

66

66

"It

teau belonging to the invalid, who at the sudden burst of light which had surprised and disappointed the miller, opened his eyes, keen, sharp, and penetrating, but sunk deep in a pale and emaciated countenance. "You have been asleep," said the miller" have I?" was the reply. "Have you a dog in the coach ?"—"No." "Did you not hear any growling or snarling in the coach ?" "I did at setting off." "From what quarter did you hear it?" "From yourself, growling about strict rules." "You are satirical, but we have heard a dog in the coach, and it shall not remain-you were asleep.""So you say." "You snored in your sleep." "May be so." "Do you ever growl, or snarl, or bark in your sleep?" is not improbable-I have not been very well; but Doctor Middleton tells me I am cured." Do you say Middletonthat's the mad doctor." "He's a very good doctor, and I'll thank him the longest day I live." The miller in some little alarm, asked in a milder tone, "were you in his house?" "I was, for three months, and he performed a great cure for me," May I ask," said the now subdued miller, "what was the nature of your malady?" Why, if you must know," replied the invalid, "it was neither more nor less than the bite of a mad dog."-" Save us," said the miller, "aud did the doctor effect a perfect cure?" "He did, and sent me out yesterday to return to my native air, saying that the trifling symptom of snarling like a dog, which, perhaps, may have annoyed you in my sleep, will gradually wear away, and does not signify, as I have done no mischief for the last month, and he was sure that going back to my family would quiet my mind and set all right.' The miller's countenance now exhibited a strong expression of terror; he looked wistfully out of the window, and lamented the teeming rain which prevented him from enjoying a seat outside. At this moment the invalid was affected by a tremendous fit of snarling and barking, resembling so perfectly the canine expression of the most furious irritation, that the miller under the strongest alarm was about to get out of the coach, when the invalid seizing him by the lapelles of his coat, grinned at him, and exhibited a set of deformed teeth, barking vehemently for some minutes, and then subsiding into a perfect calm, entreated the terrified miller not to be in the least alarmed, that it was all over, and that he might depend on there being no danger whatever; for though he was affected from time to time in this unpleasant way, he had not bitten any one for the last six weeks. He then brightened up, was extremely agreeable in conversation, in which the now silent miller was not moved to join, and exhibited less the appearance of any oppressive malady.

By this time the coach had arrived at Black Church; the rain was rather heavier, and more perpendicular in its descent: during the change of horses the feverish miller called for a glass of spring water, which when presented to him at the carriage window, was instantly dashed to pieces by the sufferer under hydrophobia, who recommenced the most ter rific barkings and snarlings, accompanied by grinnings and gestures the most frightful, through all of which he roared to the miller to be under no alarm, that it would not signify, that Doctor Middleton had told him so, that he had bitten no one for six weeks, and that he would be quiet again in a few minutes.

But the trembling miller determined not to trust him, Dr. Middleton, or the nature of his disorder, jumped out of the coach, called for a chaise, and posted on alone. As he drove off, the invalid putting his head out of the window, invited his brother into the vacant seat, which (leaving his wet cloak with the guard) he enjoyed for the remainder of a drenching day, to the infinite mirth of the passengers, (previously made acquainted with the trick,) and to the still further annoyance of the miller, whom they passed upon the road, and who was saluted by both brothers, with a familiar nod of humorous and wicked sarcasm, and an exclamation from both, “you should observe strict rules."

MORAL.

In every rank of life let a disobliging temper be avoided. Be accommodating in every way that religion and duty will sanction-" Do as you would be done unto," recollecting that it is a divine maxim, and that, so blended are the wants and dependencies of the human race in all its gradations, you cannot tell the moment that a kind action done, may not be recompensed tenfold, or that a sulky, surly, unaccommodating temper may not meet, as in the miller's case, if not a more galling return, at least that of ridicule, contempt, and disappointment.

dier, well armed and furnished like the men of England; or for every two town-lands, a light English horseman, accoutred in the same manner; and that on fifteen days notice they should appear before the Deputy at every general hostings, with a third part of all the horsemen and footmen they were bound to provide; that they should grant no estate to any of the mere Irish or Scottish Irish, nor intermarry with them without permission. The Inquisition then states that Thomas Smith, the son, did, in 1572, enter the earldom of Ulster, but did not subdue it. It then proceeds to allege the violation of the various covenants in the grant, and the nonpayment of the Crown rent, and that, therefore, the whole grant reverted to the King. (James I.)

It is a remarkable proof of the slight importance that Belfast had attained previous to 1586, that in Hollinshed's Chronicle, printed in London, in that year, there is no mention whatever made of it in the enumeration of the chief towns and havens of the Counties of Down and Antrim, among which are mentioned more than one, which at this day are but mere fishing villages.

Many forfeitures having taken place about the close of the 16th century, in the northern counties of Ireland, extensive plans were brought into operation by James I. and his ministers, for the settlement and plantation of them. The Lord Deputy, Sir Arthur Chichester, having been most active in forwarding the King's views, was rewarded by considerable grants of land, and "as a further mark of his Majesty's lasting favour, he did, by letters patent, bearing date at Westminster 23d February, 1612, create bim Baron of Belfast."In the year following a charter was granted to Belfast, constituting it a corporation, consisting of a sovereign, twelve burgesses, and commonalty, with the privilege of sending two members to Parliament. From this period may Belfast date its rise, not only in political but also in commercial importance; the latter, however, received decisive assistance from the purchase by Lord Strafford, on the part of the Crown, from the Corporation of Carrickfergus, in 1637, of their privilege of receiving one-third of the duties payable on goods imported into that town, and other extensive monopolies which it enjoyed; in consequence of which, the trade of Carrickfergus rapidly transferred itself from thence to Belfast. The unsettled state of the kingdom during the succeeding years, and the well-known rebellion of 1641, greatly retarded the advancing improvement of the town; which was successively occupied, during the contest between Charles I. and his parliament, by the Scottish troops under General Monroe, and the Parliament forces, under the celebrated General Monk. From them it was re-taken by the Royalists by stratagem; and shortly after the arrival of Cromwell in Ireland in 1649, and the subsequent reduction of Drogheda, he sent Colonel Venables to reduce Belfast, which, after a resistance of four days, surrendered to him, having thus sustained four sieges, and as many times changed masters, in the lapse of not more than six years.

In 1688, a new charter was issued by James the II. in which the number of burgesses was increased to thirty-five, and the privileges of the Corporation were much abridged; a power being invested in the chief governor and privy council of removing a sovereign, burgess, or other officer at pleasure. Our lips are, in a great measure, sealed upon the subject of the political part which Belfast took in the great struggle which terminated in the establishment of William the III. upon the throne of these kingdoms. Certain, however, it is that in this town the cause of James was by no means popular, and the arrival of Duke Schomberg, in 1690, was hailed with joy. On the 9th of June following, William himself landed at Carrickfergus, from whence he proceeded immediately to Belfast, where he was received with enthusiasm, and remained there nearly a week, being lodged in the house of Sir William Franklin; the site of which is now occupied by the principal hotel in the town, the Donegal Arms.

The advantages derived from tranquillity soon began to manifest themselves in the increased prosperity of Belfast, which from this period advanced with rapid strides to the place it now holds among the commercial towns of Ireland. Its history, for many succeeding years, presents but few striking incidents; but it is quite obvious that this is by no means inconsistent with advancement in population, in trade, and in wealth. In the spring of 1692, seven arches of the Long Bridge fell in, it having been much shaken by the drawing of the heavy cannon of the Duke of Schomberg over it. This bridge, the foundation of which had been laid in 1682, but the completion of which was delayed for several years

after by the unsettled state of the country, is generally supposed to occupy the site of the ancient ford across the Lagan, from which, as we have before mentioned, Belfast is said to have had its origin. The bridge consists of twenty-one arches, and is 2,562 feet in length. It has long been in a tottering condition, and its final removal, and the substitution of a modern one in its place, has long been contemplated In 1708, the castle of Belfast was destroyed by fire, by the carelessness of a servant, and three daughters of Arthur, third earl of Donegal, unfortunately perished in the flames. Till lately some vestiges of the castle were to be seen, but now all trace of it has vanished, and its site is chiefly occupied by a fish and vegetable market. It is thus described by an English gentleman, who visited Ireland in 1635:-" At Belfast, my Lord Chichester hath a dainty stately palace, which is indeed the glory and beauty of that town, where he is mostly resident."

The descent of the French squadron under Thurot, in 1760, and his occupation of Carrickfergus, naturally excited great alarm in Belfast, which it was his intention to have entered and plundered; but some delay having been fortunately occasioned by a difference of opinion with his colleague, M. Flobert, the inhabitants of the town and the neighbouring district, rapidly got under arms, a body of troops were quickly despatched to their aid, and the excellent Lord Charlemont, as Governor of the County of Armagh, proceeded to take the command of the militia of that county. The result was, that Thurot was obliged to abandon the enterprise, and re-embark; the three frigates composing his little squadron were afterwards captured or dispersed before they could get out of the Irish channel. From the apprehension of a repetition of such attempts upon the part of the French nation to make descents upon the coast, arose the celebrated military associations known as the Volunteers; but it was not, however, till the year 1778, that these associations assumed a definite shape and name. In their formation Belfast took a leading and distinguished part; and here were held some reviews of the entire Volunteer force of the North of Ireland, upon a scale of great magnitude and splendour. It would be impossible for us now to enter upon the history of this celebrated body, which makes so conspicuous à figure in the annals of this country. We have already alluded, in the biographical memoir of Lord Charlemont in our 33rd Number, to its having effected the removal of various commercial restraints, and afwards established, in 1782, the independence of the Irish Legislature. This body finally ceased to exist in 1793.

At the earlier period of the memorable French Revolution, a powerful sensation was produced in Belfast, where it was hailed by many as the dawn of a new era in the history of the civil and religious interests of mankind. Imbued with an ardent love of liberty, they were caught by the enthusiasm of the day, and until undeceived by the frightful scenes of bloodshed which rapidly followed, they hailed the progress of the revolutionists with unrestrained demonstration of the

liveliest sympathy and joy. Addresses to the French people, expressive of such feelings, were rapidly prepared, and numerously and respectably signed. The fermented state of the public mind consequent upon these proceedings, affords we think the clue to the formation in Belfast of the secret societies, so well known afterwards by the designation of United Irishmen. But a narrative of their proceedings must not be expected from our columns; in the memoirs of Theobald Wolfe Tone, not long since published, are to be found the details of their objects and plans. The government, whose subversion they sought to effect, took active measures in selfdefence, for their suppression, and in consequence Belfast was visited by many of the calamities necessarily resulting from the steps taken to provide against the anticipated conspiracy. Many arrests took place, and martial law was proclaimed.At length the rebellion of 1798 broke out; but we learn that to such a state of subjection were the conspirators here reduced by the unremitting vigilance and exertion of the civil and military powers, that, while insurrection was blazing forth in various parts of Ireland, not the slightest commotion be trayed itself here. The lapse of a few years restored peace to this distracted country; and Belfast once more resumed her rapid advance to her present state of commercial prosperity, which no untoward events have since occurred to interrupt.

Having already much exceeded the limits to which we had intended to have restricted ourselves for this article, we are compelled to postpone our notice of the present state of Belfast, with regard to its trade, manufactures, public institutions, &c. to a future number. O'G.

ON MANURES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE DUBLIN PENNY JOURNAL.

SIR-A few days ago I happened to be crossing some tillage fields about nine miles from Dublin, and observed a man walking to and fro over a piece of ground that had produced a crop of potatoes last year, and had as yet received no tillage preparatory to its being sowed down with oats or barley. I occasionally observed him stoop down and pick up something, which he transferred to a bag he carried on his shoulder; and curious to know what he was about, I went up and inquired what was his business. "Gathering bones, plase your honour." "What for, friend ?" "To bring into Dublin, and sell." "And what do you get for them?" " Three-pence per stone." "And how much do you generally gather each day?" "About five stone." "And how do you get them into town," Why what other way than on my back." "And do you go every night with five stones on your back, and come out again in the morning?" "Troth I do, your honor; and hard slavery it is upon a poor body; but God's will be done; better do any thing nor starve."

Let no one tell me, if this poor fellow's statement is true, that the Irish are not industrious, and willing to bear any hardship in obtaining a livelihood, when he, besides wandering over fields the whole day, walks 18 Irish miles, and half that time with a burden of five stones on his back, for fifteen pence.

"And

"Well, my honest fellow, to what use are these bones applied!" Why then in troth myself can't exactly tell. All I know is, that they go to England, and some say they are used to make Chaney, (China,) others that they are for manuring land; but sure that can't be, seeing as how they are lying on this poor field we are now walking over, and not a taste the better is it of them; but any how these English are terrible cute, and can make money, and money's worth, out of any thing." pray, friend, do you search every field this way in quest of bones?" "Oh, by no means. I walk over this and the likes of it, because it is near the canal, and time after time it has been manured with Dublin scavengers' manure, and so it is nathural to expect that the bones, along with other offal of the city, come out with the dung and are spread over the land. But sure enough I would not be at all this trouble, peering and picking over the land, if the boys would but give up the way they have of burning bones at their Midsummer eve and other bonefires. Myself cannot see why a branch of furze, and a few sods and sticks, would not do as well, without spoiling a poor body's trade like mine. Many a dead horse and dog do I lose the parquisite of in this way."

This conversation with the poor bone gatherer, called up an obvious train of thinking, and I considered with myself why it was that the Irish, when so much depends on the manuring of their land, should send off, as I know they do, such a vast quantity of bones to England and Scotland, to supply the farmers with the bone dust so necessary to the turnip and other green crops there, and not crush them for the benefit of our land at home. The expense, surely, of reducing them to powder, cannot be so great as to deter Irish farmers; nor can it be supposed that what is, beyond any question, valuable as a manure in England and Scotland, would not be so in Ireland. It is idle for the Irish agriculturalist to complain of his high rents and his low markets, when he has not the spirit or the enterprise to keep pace with his rival farmers in Scotland and England. As well might the Limerick farmers, a century ago, complain that they could not pay rent, when they cast their dung into the river Shannon, as for one now to say, I cannot grow enough of manured green crops to keep my land under the rotation system, when the Scotchman and Englishman carry away a valuable manure from under my nose. The fact is, that the farmers of Great Britain or Flanders, greatly excel the Irish in the science and industry of manure-making. Look at England and Scotland, and see what wonders are done by the use of bone dust. Look at Flanders, and see how barren sands are turned into fields teeming with fertility, by the application of liquid manures, that the Irishman lets flow away into the next stream or river, from his yards and dung-heaps.

"Oh

Again, I considered what an immense mass of bones is lost every year, by being consumed at Midsummer eve, and other occasions of festival rejoicing. A foolish mistake as to the name, has caused, and I fear will cause, the destruction of an immense supply of a valuable fertilizing material. Fires lighted on such occasions are, and always have been, considered of a sacred character, and hence called in the old Norman English, Bou fires-good fires. Now this appellation unfortunately got into Ireland, and of course with us what could a BON fire mean but one composed of bone, and therefore no BON fire should be without them; and so owing to this mistake, an amazing quantity of fertilizing material has been given to the winds. Mr. PENNY JOURNAL, allow me while on the subject, to suggest to your agricultural readers, that there are other ways in which the manuring capabilities of the country might be extended-by making use of the weeds of which our soils are so productive, to increase our potato and corn crops. There perhaps is no country on earth so abounding in weeds as Ireland. The soil, from long neglect, absolutely teems with their roots and seeds, and the humidity and mildness of our climate cause them to vegetate with surprizing energy. Moreover, our worthy farmers, more especially our grass farmers, have got it into their heads that weeds, so far from doing harm, are pleasant marks of the goodness of the land. I have often heard a gentleman grazier tell the story with much satisfaction, of a long-headed landholder, who, when old and quite blind, was still considered so knowledgeable that he was consulted by all about to take land; and on one such occasion as this, his opinion being sought by a relative, he desired to be brought on horseback to the farm; and accordingly they rode there, and when arrived on the land, the WISEACRE desired to alight and rest himself, " And in the meantime," says he, "tie my horse's head to a thistle." "Sir," replied his friend," there is no thistle large enough in the whole farm to tie an ass to, let alone a horse." then my good boy," rejoined the old fellow, "we may turn our horses' heads homeward, have nothing I say to do with any land that will not grow thistles large enough to picket a horse to." Whether this circumstance ever took place or not, I am not sure, but I know the story is told by the Limerick and Tipperary graziers, as an excuse for the immense thistles and nasty weeds that you see disgracing and pestering their grounds. Now if it be true, as Swift says, that the man, who makes two blades of grass grow where but one grew before, is a benefactor to his country, surely the converse of the proposition may be stated as of equal verity, namely-that the man who allows two useless weeds to grow where two blades of grass should, is a nuisance to his country. How many such enemies has Ireland; and yet we hear of the people wanting employment; and in the spring and summer, after the corn is sowed and the potatoes are planted, and before the harvest is ripe, we see thousands of men, women, and boys idle, while thistles, and rag worts, and nettles are growing on the grass lands, and the prasha buy, colts-foot, couch grass, and dockens, are robbing the corn and potatoes of their nourishment, and generating seeds that are to propagate and perpetuate the noxious mischief. Now what I want is, that our youthful, but now absolutely idle population, should employ themselves in weeding the corn fields, and in cutting thistles and rag wort on the grass lands, and bringing them home to their own manure heaps, every weed so cut, if properly fermented and mixed with clay or bog stuff, and other materials, will make excellent manure for the next year's potatoes; thus a present evil will be prevented, and a future good obtained. If the gentry and farmers were to give permission, which no doubt they would, for the people to go on their lands for the purpose of weeding, and if each young person was allowed, on the following season, as much ground, rent free, as he or she could cover with manure so made, it would give a stir to their industrious habits—would give them a means of feeding and clothing themselvesand produce incalculable good, both directly and indirectly, through the land.

I throw out these few hints to your country readers, Mr. PENNY JOURNAL. and remain your obedient servant R. Y.