bog, but of a series of bogs or morasses, some of them at considerable distances apart, with cultivated land be tween. 4. Around the edge of the great plain most of the Irish mountains rise in detached ranges and groups. They are generally of no great height, and their slopes are useful for pasture. 5. The mountains of Ulster, situated in the neighbourhood of the northern coast, almost cover the northern part of this province. They rise to the height of 2000 feet in Donegal and Antrim, and terminate at the north coast in fine cliffs. The granite range of the Mourne Mountains, of which Slieve Donard (Sleev-don'-ard) is 2796 feet high, overlooks the Irish Sea, opposite the Isle of Man. 6. Towards the south-east of the island are the Wicklow Hills, which form the eastern boundary of the plain. They are granite heights of about the same elevation as the Mourne Mountains. Here is the lovely valley of Avoca where the waters of the Avon and Avoca meet; and here is also the valley of Glendalough, abounding in charming scenery and interesting ruins. Of the former the poet Moore sang:— There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet, As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet, In thy bosom of shade with the friends I love best. 7. The south-west is filled with ranges of hills and valleys. Here Macgillicuddy's Reeks rise on the borders of the Lakes of Killarney to the height of 3404 feet, this elevation being attained by Carn Tual (Tew'-al), the loftiest summit in Ireland. 8. The western mountains are along the coast of Connaught north of Galway Bay. Here perhaps the wildest district is that of Connemara (Con-ne-mä'-rä1). 9. Almost the only inland range of any consequence is that known as the Slieve Bloom Mountains, which extend from the south-west into the great plain. The highest summit is not much over 2000 feet. LESSON 31.-BOGS. 1. We all know what a bog is-when we get into one; but if asked to define it, we should perhaps differ. 2. The tourist would describe it a great eyesore; the sportsman, as a capital place for wild fowl; the peasant, as a handy substitute for a coal pit; the engineer, as a thing which must be got round, or over, or rid of, if possible. 3. None of these answers would give much idea of the real nature of a bog, which we must remember, in extent forms no small proportion of Her Majesty's British Islands. In England bogs are few and far between; but nobody who has travelled in Ireland can forget the desolate flats and surfaces that extend for so many miles inland-a perfect sea of black peat, without a single shrub or mound or any token of life, save here and there a cabin, almost more dull and sad than the bog itself. 4. Yet it has a wild, forlorn kind of interest. If we look a little into the nature and composition of bog, we shall find that it is something more than a mixture of black mud and water. 5. Bog consists chiefly of a kind of moss known as sphagnum, together with many sorts of grass, fern, and heath, which, under pressure, becomes peat. It is easy 1 ä as in fär. to see how the growth of a flat bog has arisen. A pool is formed, more or less stagnant, round the borders of which grow water-plants, in course of time filling up the surface, and then the deeper parts, by the mud around. their roots. 6. This mud is just the place for sphagnum, which flourishes, pushing out new plants while the lower stages become rotten. Sometimes the pulpy mass fills to overflowing, as in King's County in 1821, when a bog burst its bounds and flowed down into a valley for a mile and a half, covering 150 acres with a layer of bog from six to ten feet in thickness. 7. Bogs are not all alike in composition. Bog country may be divided into red, brown, black, and mountain bog. In Ireland there are about a million and a half of acres of red and black bog, and a million and a quarter of mountain bog. 8. The red and brown are of least value for fuel; they are very wet, and contain a small amount of woody matter. Mountain bog, instead of sphagnum, contains gray moss, which is supplied with moisture by the damp air and clouds of the mountains. 9. Trunks of large trees are frequent in the black bog chiefly; far down beneath the surface we find traces of the hazel, oak, yew, and pine. These facts show that the flat dismal area was once beautifully wooded and pleasant to the eye with fine foliage. In Wales the bogs may have been formed where the woods were cut down for charcoal; but the flat Irish bogs seem to be the result of a sinking of the ground. 10. Many articles made by man have been found in the bogs, such as boats, paddles, canoes, bowls, drinkingvessels, and wooden huts. The elk once roamed in the Irish forests, for its bones and antlers are frequently found in the bogs. 11. When the peat is cut the whole population adjourns to the bog (if it is fortunate enough to have one; and I assure you that a bog upon a property is a wonderful advantage to it), the men cut the peat with long spades, the women stack it in heaps to dry. The heat-giving power of turf is about half that of coal.-G. P. Beran. LESSON 32.-CONNEMARA AND GALWAY. 1. We passed, on a lonely desolate road, an extremely beautiful barefooted girl of about 17, whose hair, unrestrained even by her ears, was hanging in a state of perfect nature on her shoulders. On her back was a bundle, and in her right hand there swung a very small bonnet. Altogether she was a fine specimen of the Connemara peasantry, considered to be the tallest and handsomest in Ireland. 2. Among other questions I asked, "How is the climate in winter?" "Very wet and rough," was the reply; "there is very little frost or snow in Connemara; it is, I think, too near the sea.' "Has your 3. As we skirted the lake my driver said, honour ever seen an eagle?" at the same time pointing to a fine pair of brown eagles chained to a post close to a house where we were now passing. "There was a pair of them on that island that lived there one hundred years till they got quite gray. They grab fish in the middle of the lake." Just then a large heron, with white body and gray wings, rose from the lake-shore, and with its long neck pointing to its course away it slowly flew. 4. The lake now branched into two more, and the 1 By permission from the Graphic. |