which Mountain can be seen by the ships, which are a huge way from the land yet; the Mountains of Brandon hills, in the County of Kerry, to the East of the haven of Smerwick, the which are discovered by the Sea-faring men, when they are above fifty miles from the land; in the North-west quarter of the county of Waterford, called Slew Boine; that in the mountainous country of Wickloe, which for it's fashions sake is commonly called the Sugar-loaf, and may be seen very many miles off, not only by those that are upon the Sea, but even into the land.

Sect. 5. Nature of the Ground in Ireland, and of the

fruitfull grounds.

Next to the fore-going division of Ireland taken from the fashion and outward form of the land, commeth to be considered that which consisteth in the nature of the soil or ground; some parts of the countrie being fruitfull, and others barren.

The fertile soil is in some places a blackish earth, in others clay, and in many parts mixt of both together: as likewise there be sundry places, where the ground is mixt of earth and sand, sand and clay, gravell and clay, or earth; but the chalkeground and red earth, which both are very plentifull and common in many parts of England, are no where to be found in Ireland.

These grounds differ among themselves in goodness and fatness, not only according to the different nature of the soil whereof they consist, but also according to the depth of the mold or uppermost good crust, and the nature of the ground which lyeth next to it underneath: for the best and richest soil, if but half a foot or a foot deep, and if lying upon a stiffie clay or hard stone, is not so fertile, as a leaner soil of greater depth, and lying upon sand or gravell, through which the superfluous moisture may descend, and not standing still, upon the clay or stone, make cold the roots of the grass, of corn, and so hurt the whole.

as

There be indeed some countries in Ireland, where the ground underneath being nothing but stone, and the good mold upon it but very thin, it is nevertheless very fruitful

in corn, and bringeth sweet grass in great plenty, so as sheep and other cattell do wonderfull well thrive there; which kind of land is very common in the County of Galloway, and in some other Counties of Connaught, as also in sundry parts of the other Provinces. But the reason thereof is in those parts, because the stone whereon the mould doth lye so thinly, is not Free-stone, or any such cold material, but Lime-stone, which doth so warm the ground, and giveth it so much strength, that what it wants in depth, is thereby largely recompensed.

Sect. 6. Causes hindering the fruitfulness of the ground, where the soil otherwise is not bad.

Except in the case now by us declared, neither Corn nor Grass will grow kindly, where the ground, though otherwise good, is not deep enough, as also where it hath a bad crust underneath: From whence it commeth, that in many places, where the grass doth grow very thick and high, the same nevertheless is so unfit for the food of beasts, that cows and sheep will hardly touch it (especially if they have been kept in better pastures first) except that by extreme famine they be compelled thereto; and that by reason of the coarsness and sourness of the grass, caused by the standing still of the water, the which through the unfitness of the neather crust, finding not a free passage downwards, maketh cold the good mold, and the crop and grass degenerate from its naturall goodness.

For the same reason the land in many parts, where otherwise the soil in it self would be fit enough to produce good Wheat or Barley, will hardly bear any thing else but Oats, or Rye, and that none of the best: As in other parts, the fault is in the soil it self, and by the leanness thereof it commeth, that nothing else but coarse grass, and the worst kinds of grains will grow there. And unto these causes may be joyned another yet, the overshadowing of high and steep Mountains and Hills, whereby the sides thereof, and the lands, lying close under them, being deprived of the free and seasonable access of the Sun-beams, and so wanting convenient warmness, cannot afford to the things growing there

on such good and well-concocted nourishment, as unto the producing of the best and richest sorts of grains and grass is requisite.

Sect. 7. Ireland a very fruitfull Country, especially for grass.

These defects are not peculiar to Ireland, but common to other countries, and nowise generall in it, but only here and there in distant parts; and where they are, they may be amended by the meanes fit and usuall for that purpose, whereof by-and-by we shall speak particularly: therefore they cannot hinder, that Ireland should not justly be counted among the fruitfullest countries of the world. And although Orosius, who preferreth it even before England in this particular (Hibernia soli cælique temperie magis utilis Britanniâ, are his words) goeth too far, yet fullie true is the saying of Stanyhurst, in the preface of his Irish chronicle, Cum Hibernia, cœli salubritate, agrorum fertilitate, ubertate frugum, pastionis magnitudine, armentorum gregibus, conferre paucas, anteferre nullas valeas: that is, With Ireland for wholsomness of air, fruitfulness of lands, great store of corn, abundance of pastures, and numerousness of cattell, few countries may be compared, none preferred: as also that of Giraldus, Gleba præpingui uberique frugum proventu fælix est terra, et fœcunda frugibus arva, pecore montes: that is, This country is happy in very rich ground, and plentifull increase of graines, the fields being fertile in corn, and the mountains full of cattell. But although Ireland almost in every part, where the industry of the Husbandman applieth it self thereto, bringeth good corn plentifully, nevertheless hath it a more naturall aptness for grass, the which in most places it produceth very good and plentifull of it self, or with little help: the which also hath been well observed by Giraldus, who of this matter writeth thus: Pascuis tamen quam frugibus, gramine quam grano fœcundior est insula, This Iland is fruitfuller in grass, and pastures, than in corn and graines. And Buchanan in his second book of his History of Scotland calleth the pasture ground of Ireland pascua fere totius Europa uberrima, the fruitfullest pasture ground of most all Europe.

Sect. 8. More of the plenty and goodness of the Irish pastures.

The abundance and greatness of pastures in Ireland, doth appear by the numberless number of all sorts of cattell, especially of Kine and Sheep, wherewith this country in time of peace doth swarm on all sides, whereof in another place shall be spoken more at large: and the goodness of the same is hereby sufficiently witnessed, that all kind of cattell doth thrive here as well in Ireland, and give as good milk, butter, and cheese (with good handling) as in any other country.

It is true, that the Irish kine, sheep, and horses, are of a very small size: but that that doth not come by reason of the nourishment and grass, but through other more hidden causes, may be easily demonstrated by the goodly beasts of the forenamed kind, that are brought thither out of England, the which not only in themselves, but in all their breed, do fully keep their first largeness and goodness, without any the least diminution in any respect, so that before this last bloody rebellion the whole land, in all parts where the English did dwell, or had any thing to do, was filled with as goodly beasts, both Cows and Sheep, as any in England, Holland, or other the best countries of Europe: the greatest part whereof hath been destroyed by those barbarians, the naturall inhabitants of Ireland, who not content to have murthered or expelled their English neighbours (upon whom with an unheard-of and treacherous cruelty they fell in the midst of a deep peace, without any the least provocation) endeavoured quite to extinguish the memory of them, and of all the civility and good things by them introduced amongst that wild Nation; and consequently in most places they did not only demolish the houses built by the English, the gardens and enclosures made by them, the orchards and hedges by them planted, but destroyed whole droves and flocks at once of English Cows and Sheep, so as they were not able with all their unsatiable gluttony to devour the tenth part thereof, but let the rest lye rotting and stinking in the fields.

The goodness of the pastures in Ireland doth further appear by this, that both Beef and Mutton there, as well that of the

small Irish, as that of the large English breed, in sweetness and savouriness doth surpass the meat of England it self as (all those, who have tried that must confess) although England in this particular doth surpass almost all the countries of the world.

Nevertheless the saying of Pomponius Mela, That the grass here is so rank and sweet, that the cattell do burst, if they be suffered to feed too long, wherefore they be fain every day to drive them betimes out of the pastures, Juverna adeo luxuriosa herbis, non lætis modo, sed etiam dulcibus, ut se exigua parte diei pecora impleant, & nisi pabulo prohibeantur, diutius pasta dissiliant: the which also hath been repeated by Solinus, Hibernia ita pabulosa, ut pecua ibi, nisi interdum à pascuis arceantur, in periculum agat satias: That is, Ireland hath such excellent pastures, that cattell there are brought into danger of their lives by over-feeding, except now and then they be driven out of the fields; is a mere fable, no wayes agreeable to the truth: For all kinds of cattell here, as in other countries, are continually left in the pastures day and night: neither do they through their continuall feeding ever burst or come into any danger of bursting.

CHAP. XI.

Of the severall manners of manuring and inriching the ground practised in Ireland.

Sect. 1. In some part of Ireland the ground never needs dunging.

T

O amend the lean and faulty grounds, to enrich both

them and the good ones, and to keep both the one and the other in heart, in preserving them from being exhausted, the dunging of the ground is usuall in Ireland as in other countries. It is true, that as approved Authors assure us, in the Iland of Zealand, part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the naturall richness of the ground is such, and so lasting, as it needeth not the succour of any artificial helps, but is very fruitfull