Cork Climate

The climate is remarkable for the mildness of its temperature, never reaching those extremes of heat and cold to which the same degree of latitude is subject even in England. This arises from its proximity to the Atlantic, across which the prevailing winds come loaded with vapours, seldom objectionable in winter, but often intercepting the maturing rays of the summer's sun; which circumstance renders the corn raised here, though good, generally inferior to that of a drier climate. The county, however, suffers much less in this respect than the neighbouring more western counties; and its climate has been decidedly improved by the draining of bogs and swamps.

The soils present no great variety, and may be distributed into four classes, each comprising several species differing in degrees of fertility, but united by a general resemblance of component parts. These are, — 1st. The calcareous soils, or those found in the limestone tracts, which exceed all the rest in richness and fertility, producing the finest herbage and best wheat, and having always a crumbling and mellow surface. — 2nd. The loamy soils not calcareous, comprising the deep and mellow loams remote from limestone, occurring in several of the less elevated parts, especially towards the south, where they constitute the best lands: they are next in quality to the former, to which some of the best bear a close affinity both in texture and fertility; they generally rest on clay-slate. — 3rd.

The light and shallow soils resting upon an absorbent bottom, as gravel, or rubbly stone, which have a much shallower and less vigorous arable surface than the preceding, but commonly afford a short sweet herbage peculiarly adapted for sheep, and produce the best corn in wet seasons. — 4th. The moorland or peat soil, the usual substratum of which is a hard rock or coarse retentive clay, and is of greater extent than any of the preceding classes, occupying both bog and mountain, and even several tracts of elevated land, which, though improved by culture, still exhibit sufficient traces of their origin: though inferior in fertility, some portions of this class may be rendered productive of good crops of grass, oats, and potatoes; but the. most elevated portions can never afford any thing better than coarse summer pasturage. Sands occur only on the sea-shore, and are most extensive in the bays of Courtmasherry, Bantry, Kinsale, Clonakilty, and Ross.