he
upper-leather of my boot, doubtless because he could find nothing else
to eat, poor little beast. Besides the "bonniva," who looked very
thin, the property of the entire family consisted of a dozen fowls
and ducks, some potatoes, a little stack of poor oats, not much taller
than a man, and a still smaller stack of rough hay. An experienced
hand in such matters, who accompanied me, valued the stacks at 2l.
15s. together. This was all they had at John Connolly's to face the
winter withal, and I was curious to know what rent they paid for their
little cabin and the field attached. An acre was quite as much as they
appeared to have, and for this they were "set," as it is called here,
at 3l. per annum, and, in addition, were charged 2s. 6d. for the
privilege of cutting turf, and 5s. 6d. for the seaweed. This toll for
cutting seaweed is a regular impost in these parts, sometimes rising
for "red weed" and "black weed" to 11s. The latter is used only for
manuring the potato fields, the former being the proper kelp weed, and
must be paid for whether it is used or not. As a matter of fact, Mrs.
Connolly's place assigned for cutting red-weed is the island of
Innisbroon, some four or five miles out at sea, and as her husband has
never been worth a boat she has paid her dues for nine years for
nothing. The seaweed dues in fact have for several years past
represented merely an increase of rental. It should not, however, be
forgotten that when kelp was valuable the lords of the soil took their
third part of it when it was burnt, in addition to the first tax for
collecting the weed, a most laborious and tedious operation.

It may be asked, and with some appearance of reason, why, if people
are hungry, they do not eat what is nearest to hand. That one owning a
dozen fowls and ducks and a stack of oats, be the same never so small,
should be hungry, seems at a superficial glance ridiculous. But the
fact is that this is just the flood time of harvest, the oats are
stacked and the potatoes stored, but there is a long winter to face;
and, what is more depressing to hear, these people who rear fowls
would as soon think of eating one as of flying. They do not even eat
the eggs, but sell them to an "eggler," and invest the money in Indian
corn meal, a stone of which goes much farther than a dozen or a dozen
and a half of eggs. Those, and they are greatly in the majority, who
have no cow are obliged to buy milk for their children, and find it