President's address

Abstract

The Agricultural Statistics of Ireland were, as you are aware, from my last year's address, first systematically collected in the year 1847, immediately after the famine. They were, like all new undertakings, not as complete as could be desired, and in the year 1848 they were not collected in a complete form, owing to the unsettled state of the country. Allowing, therefore, for disturbing causes during the first five years of the collection of the Agricultural Statistics, I consider it advisable to commence this review with the figures furnished in the year 1851, thus giving us thirty-eight clear years of agricultural returns, which, I believe, are as accurate as any such large series of figures are likely to be in this or any other county.