948 EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE THE COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED 10th Sept.,
1844.
no leases.
For the same reason, there is no drainage.
Gram and potatoes are sowed
-"TT" alternately.
Animal and sea manures are generally used, but the sea manure o-reatly
m"p preponderates.
There are no farming societies or agricultural schools in tMs district.
r.
ames M'Carthy.
^ jg ^ gea gan^ ^iat ^ mQ(^ 9—yes; there is an abundance of sea-weed and sea sand • it is weed that is brought in by the tide.
'
6.
Have you ever tried dredging for the coral sand ?—No;
we have plenty of it.
7.
Do you consider that the coral sand of Bantry bay is inferior ?—No
; I am sure it is superior.
8.
Have you ever tried to dredge for that coral sand, so as to improve the sand you have ?—No;
we are weU satisfied with the quaHty of the sand that we have free access to.
9.
What is the average size of the tiHage farms ?—The
average size of tillage farms is from five to six acres, and they are cultivated, generaHy, by the spade ancl manual labour.
There are no artificial grasses or house-feeding in tMs district.
10.
Do you speak of the Irish aero ?—Yes.
As there is no real improvement m tihV-e so there is no demand for labour, for the occupiers generaHy tiU their own farms.
There are no grazing farms in tins district.
11.
Are there many farms held in common, or m joint tenancy?—Yes,
there are some.
12.
What is the condition of the occupiers of those farms compared to those who hold separately ?—Those
who hold separately are more satisfied and more comfortable ; when they hold, in common they are anxious to have the land divided.
If they have leases they strive to improve—those who hold in common clo not; but there are no leases in the country, 13.
In what manii«L-is the rent fixed; is it by private contract, proposal, or valuation?
By private contract, between the landlord and tenant; it is a gross smn chargeable per gneeve.
14.
How do you define the word " gneeve ?
"—It is the twelfth part of a plougMand; and those ploughlands ancl gneeves vary in size.
One gneeve in my parish is as large as twelve others.
I know gneeves in my parish that clo not exceed from four to five acres in extent; and I know of another gneeve which has tMrty acres in it: it is let according to its value.
It was very puzzling hi the collection of the county rates some time ago, for the smaU gneeve paid as much as the large one, when the county rates were levied by the grand jury, as they always are ; but there was a valuation took place some time ago, and they pay accordhig to their extent now.
15.
Are there any valuators employed in tins district ?—No;
m this district there are no valuators of any kind between the landlord ancl tenant.
The amount of rent enth-ely depends upon the contract between landlord ancl tenant.
16.
What should you say was the usual rent of average good land in the district?—
There is no man that holds a farm hi the district that has not every quaHty of land m it,— rocks, and MUs, and rough land, and' very productive lands between them.
I should think tho average of the best land is about £l an acre.
17.
What proportion does the usual letting value bear to the poor law valuation ?—The
rents are generaUy from twenty to twenty-five per cent.
Mgher than the poor law valua¬ tion ; we do not know any thing about the government valuation.
*
18.
How soon after the rent becomes clue is it usuaUy demanded ?-—The
best payers of rent in the county pay one half-year before the other is clue ; where they have good value they generaUy do that.
I receive rent myseff for a gentleman who holds property in that district, and that is the course I have*adopted—to get the March rent before September; but though I adopt that system, I do not get the money.
The rent is generaHy paid by cash.
The tenant does not depend on loan funds or local usurers for money.
Rent is recovered from defaulting tenants by distraining and auctionmg.
19.
Do those that distrain often proceed to sale ?—They
do when they are not paid.
20.
Are auctions frequent ?—No,
not to say very frequent; upon my word they are not.
I think landlords in general would sooner let a tenant run in arrear than proceed by auction.
Though the system is to pay one half-year within the other, I clo not know of any estate hi the country so clear as that: they generaUy owe a year before they pay any.
The gale days are generally in May and November, ancl where a tenant owes a year's rent in November, he is a good tenant if he clears up before February, when Ms corn is sold and his firkin of butter made up.
21.
Are the receipts of rent on account, or up to a particular gale day ?—Up
to the gale day when the rent is paid up to that time.
I receive a good deal of rent in the parish, and I never give a receipt tUl they clear up hi November, then I give them a receipt—for any tMng paid between I give them credit on account.
22.
Do they hold, generaUy, immediately under the proprietors, or are there many middlemen ?—There
are a good many middlemen; but a good many hold under the pro¬ prietors.
23.
Is there any property under the management of the courts ?—Oidy
one.
24.
Is there any difference between the classes of tenants ; is one more comfortable than the other; are those who hold under the proprietors more comfortable than those wno hold under the middlemen ?—In
the parish in wMch I am I clo not see that they are.
have known lands come into the hands of fee-simple proprietors some years ago that were held by a middleman for many years; and I have known the rent raised Mgher by the tee-shnple proprietor.
.
.
25.
Is that a general case ?—No
; I do not say that it is.
The gentleman I receive rent
