this village is an interesting object of attention, and
from Boakfield, a pretty seat on the elevated grounds
beyond it, still more so. From this seat I had the
pleasure of perceiving the Wicklow mountains, whose
lofty summits covered with snow in the month of Fe-
bruary, formed a sublime boundary to the scene-, while
13allitore blended with trees at the bottom of the valley,
and" a number of pretty villas on the verdant lawns
around it, completed the beauty of the spectacle.
There are, in this village, two public schools, on the
Lancasterian foundation, for the education of the youth of
both sexes. Here, between one and two hundred young
persons are instructed in the elements of English litera-
ture, and, the females in those useful works which are
suitable to their sex and station. These schools are
maintained by subscription, but are, I presume, princi-
pally indebted for their existence and steady mainte-
nance, to Abraham Shackleton and Mary Leadbetter, the
philosopher and poet of that village, and to the other
branches of the Shackleton family, so long and so justly
esteemed as its respectable inhabitants ; and to the sen^
timents of decency and rectitude infused by the good
example of the Society of Friends in this place, may be
justly attributed the general decency and order of that
neighbourhood.
During the time that I made BalHtore my head-
quarters, 1 traversed the country in various directions,
2lLe Irish Tourist. 325
particularly on the eastern side, and in that direction
made a few observations wiiicli may be worth preserv-
ing, if not for public utility, at least for the entertain-
ment of 'the reader. And first, after the transaction of
my business at this village, I drove from thence to
Baltinglass, (a village on the western margin of
the County of Wicklow) by Anne's-hill, the seat of
the Rev. L. Coddington. In this drive I had an agree-
able prospect from Ballinure-hill to the village of Bumbo-
hall, which is seen as a pretty object at the bottom of a
scene, -rendered -in some degree picturesque by the
ornamental grounds of Grangecon, which rise with
gentle gradation above the village, and by several
pretty villas on the sides of the surrounding mountains.
To the amateur, the mansion-house of Grangecon, is
furnished with an attractive as powerful, as its lawns and
plantations to the lover of scenery, viz. one of the â– best
atid most valuable collection of paintings in that part of
Ireland, '^but of this we may speak more particularly
•hereafter.
BALTINQLASS.
The village of Baltinglass has something picturesque
in its appearance and appendages to recommend it to the
notice of the traveller ; and also another quality which,
should he abide there, he will find equally impressive,
I mean the general poverty of that place. There are
only a few respectable inhabitants in it, but the town,
though a tolerably picturesque object, when viewed in
connection with the surrounding scene, on a close and
intimate inspection is found poor and shabby. The
village is seen from those heights which surround it,
326 TJie Irish Tourist-
reposing at the foot of one of the Wicklow mountains,
in a valley fertilized and beautified by the waters of the
Slaney, which passing under the bridge, reflects the
lustre of its meandring current on the town, arid then
disappears. The best position on the public roads for
commanding a picturesque view of this object, is that
which stands above the town, on the road to Stratford
on Slaney, directly opposite the beautiful villa of Captain
Stratford, on the distant bank. From hence, the town,
the river, the church, and the ruin of an abbey, imme-
diately adjoining the latter object, appear to great
advantage, in the valley, while the elevated lodge and
demesne of Captain Stratford on the distant bank, dis-
play their beauties to the traveller in all their grandeur.
The roads in the neighbourhood of Baltinglass, parti-
cularly that to Stratford on Slaney, (though in parts
hilly) were tolerably good, but from thence to Hume-
wood, by Mr. Blake's, though in the neighbourhood of
mountains which abound with stone, were soft and
muddy. Unless in a case of absolute necessity, it is
bad policy to use marie or poor gravel in the composi-
tion of roads : broken stones being infinitely superior,
and when surface dressed with gravel, forming by much
the best, and considering its durability, by much the
cheapest road, it is matter of surprise that this method,
so successfully practised in some parts of the kingdom,
has not been universally adopted.
STRAITORD ON SLANEY.
Stratford on Slaney (the property of INfessieurs Orr
and Co. of the city of Dubliuj merchants) a iew miles
north-east of Bahinglass, is rendered an object of high
The Irish Tourist. 32?
'Consideration in tlie County of Wicklow, by tbe very
extensive and important trade which is carried on there,
in the callico manufacturing, bleaching, and printing
departments. The village comprizing two or three small
streets and. a market square, and composed of about
eighty houses, including the parish church, which is the
most ornamental building in the place, stands on the
summit of a high hill, surrounded on all srdes by the
Wicklow mountains. Whether, therefore, we regard it
on the ground of its wild and lofty scenery, or on that
of the important benefits which it diffuses among the
labouring poor for many miles around, we equally hail
it as an object gratifying to the best feelings of the
traveller. I descended (in company with a gentleman
who had the politeness to shew me this village and its
appendages) from this height to the factory, which is,
probably, the most extensive establishment of the same
kind in the province of Leinster, and if now to be
€rected with its concomitant machinery, would cost «
many thousand pounds. It stands in the valley, on one
of the banks of Slaney, about the distance of a furlong
beneath the village ; and when surveyed from the decli-
vity of the hill, in connection with its bleach-yard,
inferior offices, neat cropped hedges, and surrounding
plantations, presents to the spectator, a little scene re-
plete with rural beauty, architectural grandeur, and the
lively proofs of a happy manufacturing colony. The
company employ, in this once barren and deserted
country, about one thousand of the surrounding popu-
lation, so that considering the benefits which it confers
upon the people, wc should not be much surprised if
328 The Irish loiirist.
the anniversary of its accession to tlie throne of Stratford
was celebrated, in that village, hy public rejoicings.
Tiie Orr fv.uWy, uho are in possession of a large
landed property in this neighbourhood, are making, (not
only in the article of building and manufactures, but
in that of plantations also). considerable advances towards
its improvement. The soil, indeed, as in all hilly
countries, is not the most deep and fertile, but it pro-
duces smart crops of corn, and the vallics fertilized by
the waters of the Slaney, are tolerable for pasturage and
meadow.
Beside the church, there is aho here a meeting of
Dissenters, and a stationary minister of that community,
whose presence as a religious and literary teacher, is
an acquisition of no small importance to that village.
When I observed, of which I had some partial oppor-
tunity, the obvious decencv "knd propriet}' of manners,
which marked the appearance and conversation of the
working classes in this place, many individuals of whom,
particularly those from S(iotland and the north of Ireland,
have received a decent education, and are capable of
earning a respectable livelihood in that ruriil district,
and the evident superiorit}' v.'hich, by the combined
advantages of a liberal religion, an adequate measure of
plain education, arid a course of prosperous industry,
they have acquired over the ordinary working classes of
this country, I considered them, in f^vct, well deserving
the epithet of respectable, and raised above the bulk
of our population to a position of marked superiority
and improvement.
I had to lament, that here, as in other places, a want
of unanimity, in the people, had rendered incfTcctual the
The Irish Touristy 329
benevolent intentions of the company, in relation to the
education of the poor. I was informed that the Orr
family had employed a master and dedicated a house
to this purpose — but this benevolent design is said to
have been- rendered abortive by the opposition of the
Roman Catholic clergy, who appearing to suspect a
design on our part, of rendering these schools instru-
ments of proselytism, think it expedient to resist them.
In this and similar cases it may stand as an apology for
intercepting the progress of education, that placinj
Protestant Scriptures in the hands of Catholic children,
evidently carries with it a design hostile to the interests
of the Romish church ; but this apology would cease to
have force, if the Protestant founders of schools would
introduce, together with their own Testaments, Catholic
versions of that sacred book, for the instruction of the
members of this church ; a proceeding highly reason-
able, and without which the Roman Catholic clergy will
always have a plausible pretext • for paralyzing our
efforts to improve the principle and enlarge the intellect
of the country. Should this attempt on our part to
conciliate the confidence and affections of our Catholic
brethren, prove unsuccessful, I should not hesitate (in
a countr}' like this,) to recommend a total expulsion
of the Scriptures from schools of mixed population, on
a charitable foundation, and the substitution of moral
essays, founded on the precepts of the gospel, in their
stead. Against the valuable tendency of these, no man
friendly to the interests of society could presume to
contend, while the proposition of a measure so healing
and conciliatory, would place our object beyond the
reach of suspicion, the designs of those wIjo would
330 2%e Irish Tourist'^
oppose it in a true light, and if generally accepted, (as
no doubt it would, by the candid and liberal of the
Catholic clergy) the interests of education on a perma-
nent basis.
DUNLAVIN.
From Ballitore, I also drove to Dnnlavin, a small
market town in the County of Wicklow, within about
six miles of that village — While in this neighborhood, I
lodged one night at the house of Mr. Cook, a hospi-i
table gentleman farmer, with whom conversing on agri-
cultural subjects, my thoughts were particularly turned
to the advantages resulting from the cultivation of clover
and pea-vetch, which although in the article of feeding,
of primary importance, is, in many parts of Ireland,
completely overlooked by the little farmer, whose more
immediate interest it is to select from the multiplicity of
new inventions, those well tried improvements, which
come recommended to his interests by their well known
profitable results — With regard to the cultivation of
clover as an article of summer-feeding, if the little
farmer could be prevailed on to separate from two or,
three pasture fields of twelve or fourteen acres, a conve-
nient angle of one single acre, for the growth of this
nutritious plant, he would soon find, in the condiiion
and general improvement of his cattle, and particularly
in the profits of his dairy, a sound reason for the continued
cultivation of clover. The virtue of clover consists, first,
in the quantity of its vegetable juice — secondly, in tiie
double and even treble crops with which, in one season,
it will reward the toils of the husbandmau'-thirdly, in
its duration for two years, in almost every species of
The Irish Tourist. 331
soil, and in those soils of which it is the natural pro-
duct, I should suppose (though I have not seen the ex-
periment tried) that with a little surface dressing it might
be propagated adinfinitmu, though like every other plant
it will flourish best in a new and well pulverized fallow.
The mode of cultivating pea-vetch, of which 1 can say
less from actual observation, and the uses to which it
is applicable, I had from the aforesaid gentleman who is
an experimental agriculturist, as follows: " When pre-
jjaring to lay down your ground for vetches, imme-
diately after you have severed your preceding crop of
corn from the earth, plough up the soil, say, about the
latter end of September or beginning of October; then,
throw in your seed, about sixteen or eighieen stones to
the acre, more or less according to the character of your
soil;, then harrow in 3'our crop, and if a good soil, it
will be fit to cut for your cattle the following Maj-, and in
the course of the season, it will produce a second crop
•—Three half acres thus sown ; one in October; one in
January, and one in April, will furnish a succession of
summer and winter vetches, and will be found an appen-
dage of great value to any farnrof fifty acres" — Some ex-
perimental farmers maintain, that if you sow in four
acres of poor ground, (to enrich whicli, a strong argu*-
ment in its favor, is the property of vetches) an cqua;l
quantity of oats and vetches ; say about seven stones of
each to the acre, you will have in the produce, without
auxiliary oat feeding, adequate winter support for eight
working horses, that is, in a ratio of half an acre to each
horse; a quantit}', in our ordinary mode of feeding,
by no means sufficient, unless the meadow is of prime
quality, to furnibh one h-tsc with the article of hay —
S32 The Irish, Tourist.
The allcdgcd advantage of this species of agricultore
recommends it to attention, and deserves, at all events,
on a scale of experiment, a fair trial To make this
trial with effect, jou must cut jour crop before it is
fuIJy ripe, as otherwise the vetches would be too strong
and the oats would shed — When sufficiently dry, make
your crop into a rick, thatch it well, and at the proper
season feed your horses out of a rack in the usual form.
And now that I have got into agricultural subjects,
I shall venture to throw out a remark or two upon some
classes of stock which are of interest to the farmer,
as<:onstituting an important branch of his osconomy*
PIGS.
The English breed of pigs which have been im-
ported into this country, and are soon brought to per-
fection, being of a round plump form with short legs,
are a species of stock peculiarly calculated to meet the
convenience of the poor cotter, who to pay his rent, must
soon fatten and sell ; but a superior class of pigs, which
are tall and lengthy, and continue growing for several
years are more profitable for the wealthy farmer, who can
afford to deal in the best slock, and hold them over
for the best market — Some of these pigs have been
known to weigh as much as an ordinary beef-cow, say
from five to seven cv.'t.
SIIREP.
The English also have the advantage of us in the ar-
ticle of sheep — of these tiie Merino and South-down are
reputed to be the best classes fpr growing fine wool —
but for producing the largest- quantity of food and
clothing in a short time (which to the little farmer is an
r
The Irish lourist, 333
©bject of high importance) the Leicester ^breed of sheep^
is reputed, by judges of long experience, to have the
advantage of every other In the importation and
propogation of this useful stock, some active members
of the farming society have deserved well of their
country — but it cannot be too freq_uently enforced upon
this respectable body (which is looked up to by many as
the legitimate guardians of this country's improvement)
that much, very much indeed remains to be done for
improving the sentiments and habits of the poor — For
the benefit of this class, I beg leave to copy from- Dr.
Ledwich's parochial survey of Aghaboe and Mr. Tighe's
Statistical Survey of Kilkenny, the following valuable
remarks.
*' The poorest cotter," says Dr. Ledwicb, ** with but
a few perches of garden, might have bees." " A
cottager," says Mr. Tighe, " with four acres of indif-
ferent.land, might be very useful to himself, his family,
and the public, in raising poultry ; and this would be
not only augmented but facilitated by having bees, A
small orchard or garden., properly disposed and managed
to this purpose, would help to support them; and an
acre sown with buck wheat, which will grow on any soil,
would supply all defects, and the grain fatten poultry
more than any other" *' Our extensive tillage,"
continues Dr. Ledwich, " offers abundant material for
the industry of these valuable insects, and the high
prices of honey and wax will greatly overpay any at-
tendant trouble."
334 The Msh Tourist. ^
ONIONS.
"'* The poor should be encouraged to raise onions r a
small patch of ground would be sufficient for a family —
If used with potatoes and a little salt they would afford
a very wholesome meal — They assist digestion, expel
flatulence, dissolve viscid slime and increase the appetite.
Many nations on the continent rub them on their black
bread, and find them an excellent condiment — they
may be used either boiled or roasted." Dr, Ledwich.
TLAX.
*' This is another article, which the poor (for to these
I here attend) may raise — a small spot will be sufficient
for their consumption — Land fit for potatoes and turnips,
if kept clear of weeds, is the best for flax — The profit
of an acre, clear of all expences, has been stated at
above o£'10— rif a poor man could raise enough to serve
his family and keep part of them employed when they
could procure no other work, it would greatly encreasc
their comfort." — Ibid.
PLANTING TREES.
** A very small farmer might contrive to enclose some
^pot for the planting of timber; willowsor sallows, poplar,
alder, or other quick growing trees — Of the rapidity of
the growth of the first, Mr. Young (in his tour) informs
119, that he measured one, planted but three years, that
shot up to twenty-one feet, and as straight as a larch — •
In seven years, farm offices and cabins might be built
with it — Larch, beech, and Lombardy poplar, thrive
wonderfully in our soil." — Ibid.
r The Irisli TounsU 335
GREEN CROPS.
" I have before mentioned the want of green crops,
and the insufficiency of our implements of husbandry—
Our parish (Aghaboe in the Qlueen's County) is much
favored by Providence ; but the means used to secure
this favor, must be assiduously attended to, which will
• insure an increase of products, and though it be cir-
cuitous, will improve our civilization. It should, there-
fore, be the prime object of landed gentlemen, to study
and adopt ever}' means of improvement — I shall conclude
with the words of Cicero —
" Et sane omnium rerum, nil est agricultura melius,
nil uberius, nihil dulcius, nil libero homine dignius."*
CiCER. 1. O^c.—Ibid.
From Dunlavin I drove to Kilcullen, which, particu-
larly for corn, is one one of the best market towns in
the County of Kildare — It has the advantage of a dis-
pensary and fever hospital, founded and maintained by
subscription, and aided, as I have heard, (in common
with all institutions of the same nature) by the grand
jury's exercise of its parliamentary power to levy off
the county where such institution exists, a measure of
support, proportioned to the benevolence of subscribers.
This fever hospital was the first thing of that kind
which I had met with in a country village, and I confess
I felt myself charmed with the benevolence which had
* For the accommodation of the plain faimer, the "above
quotation from Cicero is lieie translated into English : " Than
agriculture notlunt; in the world is more t\ccliej!f, nothing
more richly productive^ not hing more agrccaule^ noUurjg more
sviitable to a man of liberal taste."
336 The msh Tourist.
suggested it — The late Mr. Latouche of Harristowr/^s
subscribed ^200 to this institution, which for its orderly
maintenance is considerably indebted to the unremitted
attention of the reverend Kddare Burrowes, whose con-
duct, in this instance, reflects high lionor on his cha-
racter. This hospital being founded by subscription,
as I have already remarked, its benefits,' of course, do
not extend to the county at large, but to those patients
only who are recommended by subscribers, or by them
permitted to be introduced — In this town the neigh-
boring magistrates hold a weekly sessions, as is, I aui
told, the custom in England, and I hear it has had a good
effect in maintaining the laws, and preserving order and
quietude in the country — It is, however, worth while
considering the probable benefits, which such an insti-
tution, if universally adopted, would produce to the
magistrates and to the country at large — -And first, it
would impart to each individual magistrate the strength
and counsel of a bench of justices, and consequently
would stamp the act of each individual with a superior
weight of authority — secondly, it would have a tendency
(as it is to be hoped on every bench there would be
found magistrates of integrity, courage and. good sense,)
to animate the languid efforts or restrain the impetuous
proceedings of others, whose ignorance, prejudice or
impetuosity might aggrieve individuals and bring scandal
on the commission — thirdly, in all cases of minor im-
portance (for those which concern the peace and safely
of society ought never to be postponed) it is obvious a
weekly sessions of the peace, would, save the magistrate,
in his individual capacity', much time and annoyance — it
would also furnish petty disputants with an opportunity
The Irish Tourist. 337
of tranquilizing their passions and accommodating their dif-
ferences without law ; but of all the benefits resulting from
a weekly sessions, that of unanimity in the administration
of justice, is the principal ; and as it stands opnosed to
that abuse of the commission, which (as we have fre'qUently
witnessed) renders thelatter an instrument of private pique,
this institution appears to merit the approbation and sup-
port of every good citizen — The abuse to which we have
alluded, is also, in our judgment, rather strengthened
than weakened, by a compact into which certain justices
have entered, and by which they constitute it a point of
honor not to interfere with those who reside in the neigh-
borhood of a brother magistrate, and hence if this
brother should feel inclined(from prejudice or any other
cause) to withhold from an injured neighbor the salutary
influence of his authority, (as has been frequently the
case) then the latter, for ihe instantaneous redress of his
grievances, will be without remedy, for the point of
honor in the breast of a distant magistrate, will not per-
mit the dignity of the repelling magistrate to be so far
wounded, as to give entertainment to a case which the
wisdom and impartial justice of the latter (and his
knowledge also, being resident on the spot) had found
it expedient to reject— It is true a resident magistrate
if invariably upright and dispassionate, would be the
most proper person to administer justice to the people
around him ; but if otherwise, and that he should happen
to be capable of improper resentments or private in-
terests, subversive of justice, the injured party as we
have just noticed, will have no instantaneous redressr-I
therefore prefer the form of administering justice in a
court, to which all individuals may repair, to that of
338 The Irish Tourist.
constituting, perhaps, a man of rank, talent and inte-
grity, or perhaps a little upstart fellow capable of the
foulest prejudices and most partial interests, the discreti-
onary protector or scorpion of his neighborhood, and who,
though he may be rendered accountable for his conduct
by those who have adequate resources, may, in a, thousand
nameless instances render his commission a source of
perplexity and persecution, instead of protection to
the subject. When we consider the utter impossibility
to the industrious citizen, of devoting his time or
money to the punishment of abused authority, and the
absolute necessity to which his circumstances, reduce
him, of submitting to many minor injuries, rather than-
spiritedly resisting and bringing one to punishment, we
cannot be too liberal of our encomiums of any insti-
tution which promises to the subject an impartial admi-
nistration of the laws.
I cannot dismiss this subject without remarking,, that
the compact to which we have just alluded, appears to
• have had its origin in a selfish rather than a public prin-
ciple — The people of Ireland have been furnished with