. | L s. d. |
| 10 |Cabbage| 42 14 | 18 6 6 | 4 10 11 | 13 15 7 | |
| | | | | | | 1 15 11-3/4|
| 10 |Swedes | 26 12 | 12 6 7-1/4| 0 7 0 | 11 19 7-1/4 | |
+-----+-------+----------+------------+----------+-------------+------------+

The furze is a member of the family _Leguminosae_, which includes so many
useful plants, such as, for example, the pea, the bean, and the clovers.
There are three varieties of it met with in this country--namely, the
common furze, _Ulex europaeus_, the dwarf furze, _Ulex nanus_, and the
Irish, or upright furze, _Ulex strictus_.

The common furze is a hardy shrub, and grows luxuriantly at an elevation
far higher than the limits of cereal cultivation. It flourishes on any
kind of soil which is moderately dry, and heavy crops may easily be
raised on uplands almost incapable of producing grass. The dwarf furze
is never cultivated, but as it grows at a still greater elevation, and
on a poorer soil than the larger varieties, it might be profitably
cultivated on very high uplands. The Irish furze yields a softer and
less prickly food than the other kinds, but as it does not usually bear
seed, and must therefore be propagated by cuttings, its cultivation has
hitherto been limited to but a few localities.

The produce of an acre of furze appears to be at least equal to that
of an acre of good meadow. The Rev. Mr. Townsend of Aghada, county of
Cork--the most zealous and successful advocate for the cultivation of
this plant--informed me that he had obtained so much as 14 tons per
acre; a fact which proves that the furze is a plant which is well
deserving of the attention of the farmer.

Furze is an excellent food for every kind of stock. Cattle, although
they may at first appear not to relish its prickly shoots, soon acquire
a fondness for it. I have known several instances of herds being fed
almost if not entirely on the bruised plant, and to keep in good
condition. The late Professor Murphy, of Cork, stated that on the farm
of Mr. Boulger, near Mallow, thirty-five cows were fed on crushed furze,
which they "devoured voraciously." Each animal received daily from four
to six stones of the crushed plant, to which were added a little turnip
pulp and a small quantity of oats. The milk and butter yielded by these
cows were considered excellent. In a letter addressed to me by a very
intelligent fee