18th Century In the 18th century many of the Irish landlords were absentee and therefore their estates were managed by middlemen. Sometimes there was ...
Cottiers The cottiers were the poorest of the Irish farmers who worked as labourers. They often had to give several days each year to the ...
Methods The methods and improvements which were introduced in the 18th century continued to be used for a very long time afterwards. Seeds were ...
Farming Methods and Livestock The farmers were mainly cattle farmers and all the prices and values of property were given in terms of cattle. These cattle grazed on ...
Horse-drawn Reaper In spite of the growth of Belfast and other towns during the 19th century when thousands of men and women moved to the city seeking ...
Hand Cutting Oats While the horse-drawn reaper reduced some of the back-breaking manual work done on farms, many smallholders continued to harvest cereal ...
Corn Stack When the corn had been harvested, it was tied into sheaves with the stems of the corn. As farming became more mechanised, this was done ...
Hay The great increase in cattle numbers in the second half of the 19th century forced farmers to sow more grass. In winter, hay which had ...
Horse Power Before the appearance of the tractor the horse was the farmer’s main source of power. Horses were used to power a simple horse ...
Threshing In the early part of the 20th century a new noise was heard throughout the winter days as the steam thresher set to work on Ulster’s ...
