Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/434

404 C R K H< M S i5e3 n<1 Asses Cattle. Sheep. Pigs. Goats. 1873. ..54,044 8168 372,412 342,697 136,661 23,526 the great lines of communication, exhibit very favourable specimens of agricultural improvement. No advancement has recently been made in the extent of land placed under tillage, and the principal crops raised are oats, potatoes, and turnips. In 1876 the total area under tillage amounted to 430,541 acres, of which 157,365 were under corn crops, 127,206 under green crops, and 145,370 grass under rotation. The corn and green crops were thus distributed in the two years 1873 and 1876 respectively Acreage. Oats. Wheat. Bailey, &c. Potatoes. Turnips. 1873 ...... 115,990 19,133 25,470 68,338 40,476 1876 ...... 117,330 18,043 21,990 71,958 39,528 Dairies are extensive, and the character of the Cork butter stands high in the English and foreign markets. Cork possesses the largest number of live stock of any county in Ireland, except in sheep and asses, in the former of which it is exceeded by Galway, and in the latter by Tipperary, The numbers of live stock in the years 1873 and 1876 were as follows : Poultry. 971,821 1876. ..53,425 9312 365,729 322,349 170,048 25,102 1,135,951 The total value of the land, exclusive of the city of Cork, according to the return of 1875, was 1,059,994, and the average value per acre lls. 7|d. that of all Munster being 11s. 2 Jd. The county in the same year was divided among 5889 separate proprietors, of whom 3091 possessed less than one acre, being a much larger proportion of small owners than in the rest of Munster. The average size of the pro perties amounted to 309 J acres that of all Munster being 374. Eighteen proprietors owned upwards of 10,000 acres each, and held a total of one-fifth of the whole county. The principal proprietors were the earl of Bantry, 69,500 acres ; duke of Devonshire, 32,550; Sir George C. Colthurst (Ardrum), 31,260 ; Countess of Kingston (Mitchelstown), 24,421 ; earl of Kenmare, 22,700 ; earl of Cork and Orrery, 20,165; Sir H. W. Becher (Ballygiblin), 18,933; earl of Egmont (Lohort Castle), 16,766; R. H. E. White (Glen- garriff), 16,175; and Lord Fermoy, 15,543. Of waste ground, there was estimated to be 15,350 acres. Administration. The county is divided into east and -west ridings (the county of the city is in the east riding) ; it is subdivided into 33 baronies, containing 251 parishes, which form the diocese of Cork, Cloyne, Ross, and part of Ardfert. Since the disestablishment of the Irish Church, that body has under the diocesan scheme reduced the number of parishes by amalgamation to ninety-five. The Cork military district has barracks at Cork (head quarters), Kinsale, Fermoy, Ballincollig, Queenstown, Spike Island, Camden and Carlisle Forts at the entrance to the harbour (lately fortified with all the improvements of modern science), Bandon, Youghal, and Buttevant. The constabulary force of the county consists of 674 men in the east and west ridings, two inspectors, and seventeen sub- inspectors ; the officers have their headquarters at Cork and Bandon. The poor law unions are Bandon, Bantry, Castletown, Clonakilty, Cork, Dunmanway, Fermoy, Kanturk, Kinsale, Macroom, Mallow, Midleton, Millstreet, Mitchelstown, Skibbereen, Skull, and Youghal. Population. The number of inhabitants in this county has greatly decreased within the last thirty years. At the last census (1871) there was a population of 517,076 persons (males, 256,062 ; females, 261,014) ; in 1861 it was 544,818 and in 1851, 649,308, showing a decrease between 1851 and 1871 of about 20 per cent., while that of all Munster was 25 per cent. The estimated population of the county for 1875 was 507,016. The principal towns are Cork, population 102,526; Queenstown, 10,340; Fer moy, 7388; Kinsale, 7050 ; Bandon, 6131 ; Youghal, 6081; Mallow, 4165 ; Skibbereen, 3695 ; and Midleton, 3603. During the five years ending 18 5, the average number of emigrants per annum amounted to 7110, and the total number from 1851 was 301,573, the largest proportion of any Irish county. Of late years, however, the exodus has considerably abated. The prevailing religion of the inhabitants is the Roman Catholic. In 1871 there were 517,076 Catholics to 49,455 Protestants (40,493 Episcopalians, and 8962 of various denominations) the proportion of Protestants to the whole population amounting to little more than 9| per cent., while that of all Munster was 6|. The number of persons in 1871 of five years and upwards who could read and write was 219,074 ; 49,091 could read but could not write, and 183,114 could neither read nor write ; 11,628 were returned as able to speak Erse only, Representation. Previous to the Union the county re turned twenty-six members to the Irish Parliament. At that time, however, the representation was reduced to eight two for the county, two for Cork city, and one each for the boroughs of Mallow, Bandon, Youghal, and Kinsale. History. According to Ptolemy, the districts now known by the names of the county of Cork and Desmond were anciently inha bited by the Coriondi, Udise or Vodii, Velabori, and Uterni, which Dr Smith considers to be a corruption of the name Iberi. Before the arrival of Strongbow Cork was a kingdom of itself, governed by the MacCarthys ; but in 11 72 DermodMacCarthy, who had sworn fealty to Henry II., threw off his allegiance, and attacked the English under Raymond le Gros, thereby forfeiting the crown. What formed his kingdom was granted by Henry II. to Robert Fitz- stephen and Milo de Cogan, with the exceptions of the city of Cork and the adjoining cantred belonging to the Ostmen of the same city, which were retained by the king. It was made shire ground by King John in 1210, who appointed sheriffs and other local officers for its government. For many years, however, the royal writs were of little efficacy in many parts of it, as the great families still virtually commanded the allegiance of the inhabitants. Fitzstephen s share of the grant descended through the female line to the Barrys and Roches, whilst that of De Cogan became vested in Maurice Fitzgerald, growing into an extent of territory and consequent power far exceeding any ever possessed by the MacCarthys. Whilst making a show of attachment to the English, the Fitzgeralds intrigued with the foreign Roman Catholic powers (who projected the conquest of Ireland during the reign of Queen Elizabeth), and ultimately broke out into open rebellion. After being utterly defeated, Gerald, the fifteenth and last earl of Desmond, when a fugitive in the wilds of Kerry, was slain by an obscure individual named Kelly. Against this earl of Desmond an act of attainder was passed in 1583, and the Fitzgeralds of Desmond, after having maintained their power and possessions for upwards of 300 years, were reduced to utter ruin ; their strong castles were seized, and their vast estates, to the extent of no less than 574,628 acres, confiscated by the Crown. These were again transferred to English settlers, called undertakers or planters, who were bound not to convey any part of the lands to the native Irish, or to intermarry with or maintain any of them. Sir Walter Raleigh obtained 40,000 acres, which afterwards passed to the family of Boyle, earl of Cork; Arthur Robins, 18,000; Hugh Worth, 12,000 ; Fane Beecher, 12,000 ; Arthur Hyde, 12,000 ; Sir Warham St Leger, 6000 ; Sir Thomas Norris, 6000 ; Hugh Cufie, 6000 ; Thomas Say, 5800 ; Sir Richard Beacon, 1600 ; and Edmund Spenser, the poet, 3028. This attempt to set aside or extirpate the native population failed. The Irish outbade the English settlers, and were therefore, at least for a time, found to be more profitable tenants, so that ultimately they re-occupied nearly all the lands as tenants under the English undertakers. In 1602 a large portion of the estates of Sir Walter Raleigh and Fane Beecher were purchased by the earl of Cork, who had them colonized with English settlers ; and by founding or rebuilding the towns of Bandon, Clonakilty, Baltimore, Youghal, and afterwards those of Midleton, Castlemartyr, Charleville, and Doneraile, which were incorporated and made parliamentary boroughs, the family of Boyle became possessed of nearly the entire political power of the county. In 1641 and the following years the sons of the earl of Cork, more especially Lord Broghill, rendered good service to the Parliamentary cause, and obtained considerable military renown. The course of events led to the forfeiture of the estates of Lords Muskerry and Roche, and after wards of those of the earl of Clancarty, Viscount Kenmare, Sir Richard Nagle, and others, to the extent of 250,000 acres. Since that period no events of equal importance have occurred in this county.

Antiquities. The earlier antiquities of the county are rude