1

SECT. 5. Navigations and Navigable Rivers.

THE County is intersected by the Grand canal, long completed to Athy; the Royal canal, which, after passing through much of the northern part of the county, continues its line to Westmeath; and the river Barrow, navigable by nature, which passes through upwards of twenty miles of the south and west sides of the county. The great advantages to agriculture, in the cheap conveyance of manures, and in bringing the farmers' products to market, are so evident, it would but take up time to give a general account; suffice it to say, that an acre of drilled potatoe land can be well manured at Athy, by water forty-one miles from Dublin, with the very best manure for ten pounds, and that the produce will sell for twenty, paying greatly for all expence, and leaving the farmer his land in the highest prepared state for a subsequent crop of wheat.

The Royal canal, begun at Dublin in 1790, is to proceed to Tarmonbury on the river Shannon, and northward to Kells, with off-branches to several market towns, as will be deemed expedient. It runs into this county near Leixlip, and passes to Maynooth; thence through Kilcock to Trim. Twentytwo miles of navigation have been already completed;

N

pleted; viz. from Dublin to Newcastle, to and from which boats ply regularly every day up and down, which contributes highly to the benefit and advantage of that part of the county, as well as to the improvement of its commerce and agriculture. It is carried on with astonishing expedition, three thousand men being constantly employed; a considerable progress is now made in the remainder to Mullingar. The ground, through which this canal passés, is so favourable, that one level is six miles in length, another fourteen, and the summit is expected to be seventeen miles in extent, without a lock, into which the inexhaustible supply of water will run from Lough Owill, near Mullingar. The construction of this canal is of the most perfect kind; the locks eighty feet in length, clear pool, and fourteen in breadth; the banks sloping twenty inches for every foot they rise. The trading boats carry from eighty to one hundred tons burden: the passage boats are elegant and commodious. The great quarries, through which this canal has been carried with incredible labour and expence, afford an immense quantity of lime and building stones of the best qualities; also marble of three different colours, dove, brown, and black, which bears a much higher polish than the Italian. Over the Rye-water, near Leixlip, a most wonderful aqueduct has been erected; it is a master-piece of architecture, and so far execed

ing in magnitude any work of that nature in Europe, that it must be an everlasting monument to the credit of the engineer, the late Richard Evans, Esq. Adjacent to this, over the same river, he also on the great road leading from Dublin to Athlone built a handsome stone bridge, which, in honour of the Right Hon. Thomas Conolly's Lady, (she being proprietor of the estate) is called Louisa-bridge; near which a spa of invaluable quality has been discovered, and having already cured many persons of cutaneous, and other various violent disorders, will prove of public utility; it has been analized by the celebrated chymist, Mr. Higgins, having found it so efficacious. The excavation of the bog of Cappagh was another arduous undertaking; besides having to cut through hard strata many feet under the bog, it for a length of time baffled their efforts, as from its soft fluid substance it closed, and nearly filled up the channel, when they ceased working. These difficulties were at length overcome, and the canal itself has proved such a drain to the bog on either side, as to enable a great extent to be reclaimed, which is now brought under cultivation. Several curiosities were found in excavating; in particular, one of the horns of an animal of the deer kind; it measured in length, from the forehead to the extreme tip, five feet, nine inches, and must have been about twelve feet from tip to tip. From the direction of

this canal, running through this fertile county, and through its arable and productive corn-lands, whence, even at this day, immense quantities of goods are carried, great advantages must arise from the cheapness of the carriage, the rates being only one penny a ton per mile on corn, grain, meal, malt, flour, potatoes, lime, sand, fuel, manures, ironwrought or unwrought, and all military bodies with baggage, arms, ammunition, and cannon on their route; one halfpenny a ton per mile on potatoes brought to the city of Dublin; and two pence a ton on all merchandizes and commodities whatever. only this county, but the nation at large must benefit when it reaches Tarmonbury, as coals, manufactured iron, clays, ores, &c. from Roscommon and Leitrim, and turf, stones, brick, millstones, &c. will thereby be conveyed to Dublin on the above-mentioned easy

terms.

Not

Since the above was written, the great spirit of the Royal canal committee has forced forward their great national undertaking, and gained the lakes and Mullingar country. Already the overgrown woods of Belvedere are (in contemplation) in Dublin, to the great advantage and emolument of the capital, of individuals, of the whole country, and of the deserving men, whose great spirit and perseverance have in so short a time nearly completed this great undertaking.

The

The Grand canal company have completed a floating dock to contain four hundred ships, with three large graving-docks for repairs.

Miles.

3

21

Main trunk of the canal to James's-street
Ditto from James's-street to Lowtown
Continuation of ditto to Baltimore, within
eighteen miles of Banagher and the river
Shannon

23

Ditto at Bog of Allen, with a reservoir at
Foranfan

The Earl of Fitzwilliam, for the improvement of his Wicklow estate, offered to subscribe 20,000%. towards the completion of a canal from Carlow: when the levels were taken, it was found that, from the low situation where it should commence, it would induce a locking up of two hundred feet to gain the object; that, and the great purchase of the excellent grounds of Carlow county, through which it was to pass, joined to the high purchase of lime at Carlow, one shilling and eight pence per barrel, made this work be deserted.

The Grand canal company have it in their power to meet the wishes of Earl Fitzwilliam, to their very great emolument; I have attentively viewed a line,

which