Hello All Some time ago, one of our members shared with me an interest in Agriculture, and to be more specific, regarding the 'Potato Blight during the Famine years of 1846-49'. I have extracted quite a number of articles relating to this, as to cause and effect. Suffice it to say, that in the newspapers of the times this was an extensively discussed topic, throughout the world.
It certainly was not the only famine, nor the only time, that the 'blight' caused severe difficulties for our farmer ancestors. I see from the news that as recently as 1910, the potatoes in Ireland, were diseased. Over the next while, I shall send in parts my extracts. It has been a project I've been working on daily, for the last few weeks. I'll begin with the total number of acres of the crops grown in Ulster in 1847. 28 Aug. 1848 Agricultural Produce in Ireland for 1847 Acres of wheat Antrim 10,336 Armagh 12,216 Cavan 3,531 Donegal 5,816 Down 20,543 Fermanagh 6,593 Londonderry 5,998 Monaghan 6,436 Tyrone 6,737 Acres of Oats Antrim 107,615 Armagh 83,7734 Cavan 99,753 Donegal 113,080 Down 163,473 Fermanagh 45,164 Londonderry 100,432 Monaghan 87,752 Tyrone 156,304 Acres of Barley Antrim 5,280 Armagh 3,792 Cavan 515 Donegal 8,456 Down 15,847 Fermanagh 571 Londonderry 3,297 Monaghan 2,490 Tyrone 1,380 Acres of Flax Antrim 2,516 Armagh 6,833 Cavan 1,625 Donegal 10,973 Down 5,950 Fermanagh 1,221 Londonderry 8,395 Monaghan 6,723 Tyrone 9,463 Acres of Potatoes Antrim 14,393 Armagh 9,652 Cavan 5,206 Donegal 10,983 Down 13,741 Fermanagh 3,681 Londonderry 8,991 Monaghan 6,436 Tyrone 14,101 Acres of Turnips Antrim 14,414 Armagh 10,661 Cavan 5,960 Donegal 15,588 Down 21,575 Fermanagh 3,575 Londonderry 12,766 Monaghan 7,424 Tyrone 15,297 Acres of Mangel wursel (from wikipedia ...Mangelwurzel, also called mangold, mangel beet, field beet, fodder beet and root of scarcity is a cultivated root vegetable. It is a variety of Beta vulgaris, the same species that also contains the red beet and sugar beet varieties.) Antrim 320 Armagh 247 Cavan 129 Donegal 96 Down 443 Fermanagh 116 Londonderry 203 Monaghan 153 Tyrone 187 Acres of Other Green Crops Antrim 2,051 Armagh 2,583 Cavan 1,583 Donegal 2,899 Down 3,979 Fermanagh 845 Londonderry 1,867 Monaghan 2,040 Tyrone 2,420 source for definition of Magel Wurzel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangelwurzel transcribed by Teena from The Pilot _______________________________________________ UlsterAncestry@cotyrone.com UlsterAncestry Mailing List Searchable Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/ulsterancestry@cotyrone.com/ http://lists.cotyrone.com/mailman/listinfo/ulsterancestry Website: https://cotyrone.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CoTyroneIrelandGenealogy/