The geological formation of the county is mainly granitic, but the valley of the Barrow north, of Goresbridge presents the three formations of limestone observed in Ireland, and the great coal district of Leinster commences in the western edge of the county at Gallows Hill Bog (974 feet). The sandstone is frequently of such a nature as to split easily into layers, known in commerce as Carlow flags. Porcelain clay exists in the neighbourhood of Tullow; but no attempt has yet been made to turn this production to use.

The soil is of great natural richness. Agriculture is the chief occupation of the inhabitants, but is not so fully developed as the capabilities of the land would suggest. It will be observed from the following table that no progress has been made within the last twenty-two years in the acreage under tillage :— [table]

The pasture land is of excellent quality, and generally occupied as dairy farms,—the butter made in this county maintaining a high reputation in the Dublin market. The farms are frequently large, and great attention is paid to the breeding of cattle. Within the last twenty-two years a large advance has been made in the stock of the county, which was in 1852 and 1875 respectively as follows :— [table]

The staple trade of the county is in corn, flour, meal, butter, and provisions, which are exported in large quantities. There are no manufactures.

The peasantry dwell chiefly in detached cottages, or in small villages, there being but three towns—Carlow, Bagenalstown, and Tuliow—in which the inhabitants exceed 2000 persons.

The population has decreased within the twenty years ending 1871, at a slightly higher rate than that of the province of Leinster in general, owing probably to the want of manufacturing and mining industries. In 1851 the population was 68,078, andin 1871,51,650 (males 25,464, females 26,186), showing an average decrease of 1 ’ 2 per cent, per annum.

In April 1871 there were 6 superior and 99 primary schools in operation, attended by 6454 children, and at the same date the following was ascertained to be the state of elementary instruction :—24,496 could read and write , 9286 could read but could not write; and 17,868, or 34 per cent, of the population, could neither read nor write.

Of the whole inhabitants, 88 per cent, adhere to the Roman Catholic faith, the number professing that religion in 1871 being 45,621, while 5656 were Episcopalians, and 373 of various other denominations. As regards emigration the county has contributed more than the average of Leinster. During the five years 1871 to 1875, there emigrated 3881 persons, a number equal to 7½ per cent, of the population at the former date. The poor law union, which does not include the whole county, relieved in 1874, 3030 persons or 6∣ per cent, of the inhabitants. The county belongs to the diocese of Leighlin and to the military district of Dublin. The assizes are held at Carlow, and quarter sessions at that town and also at Bagenalstown and Tullow. Carlow returns three members to parliament, two for the county and one for the borough of Carlow.

Previous to the arrival of Strongbow, and for some time afterwards, what is now the county of Carlow was divided into the districts of Hy Cabanagh and Hy Drone, forming the northern portion of the principality of Hy Kinselagh. Its most ancient Irish families were the Kavanaghs (descended from the celebrated Macmurrough, king of Leinster), the O’Ryans, the O’Nolans, and the O’Mores, After the English settlement, the families of St Aubin, De la Frayne, Bermingham, Carew, De la Landes, Grace, and Butler, held extensive possessions here. In the time of Queen Elizabeth appear the families of Bagnal, Eustace, Burton, O’Brien, Ponsonby, Hamilton, Coke, Bernard, Vigors, Burdett, Bunbury, Beresford, Bruen,Bagot, and Browne.

Under the name of Catherlogh, the present county was made shireground in the reign of King John. It is now divided into seven baronies,—Carlow, Forth, Idrone East and West, Rathvιlly, and St Mullins Lower and Upper, and contains forty-seven parishes and parts of parishes. The relics of antiquity in the county comprise large cromlechs at Browne's Hill near Carlow and at Hacketstown, and a rath near Leighlin Bridge, in which were found several urns of baked earth, containing only small quantities of dust. Some ιelics of ecclesiastical and monastic buildings exist, and also the remains of several castles built after the English settlement. The ruins of a round tower existed at the commencement of the present century near the church of Kellystown, but they are not now visible.

Carlow, a parliamentary borough, and the capital of the county of Carlow, situated on the Rtver Barrow, which is navigable for small craft to its junction with the Grand Canal at Athy, is 45 miles (56 by rail) south-west of Dublin. It is a neat and in some parts a well-built town, of modern aspect. The pnncipal buildings are—the Roman Catholic College of St Patrick, a plain but spacious building , the parish church, an old building, with a handsome steeple of modern erection; the Roman Catholic chapel or cathedral, a large and elegant structure; the court-house where the assizes are held, an octagonal stone building with a handsome Ionic portico; the lunatic asylum for this and the adjoining counties; the county jail; the union workhouse; and barracks for cavalry and infantry.. The Wellington bridge over the River Barrow connects Carlow with the suburb of Graigue.

The industries of the place consist of brewing and flourmilling, and a considerable trade is carried on in the sale of butter and eggs.

Carlow was formerly of considerable importance. In the reign of Edward III. the king’s exchequer was removed thither, and £500, a large sum at that period, applied towards surrounding the town with a strong wall. The castle (supposed to have been founded by Hugh de Lacy, but sometimes attributed to King John), situated on an eminence overlooking the River Barrow, is still a chief feature of attraction in the general view of the town, although there is not much of the original building left. It consisted of a hollow quadrangle, with a massive round tower at each angle. In the early part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth it was taken, and the town burned by the Irish chieftain Rory Oge O’More. When summoned to surrender by Ireton, the Commonwealth general, during the disastrous war of 1641, Carlow submitted without resistance. In the insurrection of 1798 the castle was attacked by an undisciplined body of insurgents, many of whom were intoxicated. They were speedily repulsed, and suffered severe loss, no quarter being given; and, in the confusion of their flight, many of the insurgents took refuge in houses, which the king’s trocps immediately set on fire. After the slaughter, about 420 bodies were collected and buried.

The town obtained a charter of incorporation at an early period, and was re-incorporated, with enlarged privileges, by James I. The corporation, which was styled “The Sovereign, Free Burgesses, and Commonalty of the Borough of Catherlogh,” and was authorized to return two members to the Irish parhament, was extinguished by the Municipal Reform Act. The borough, which is under the Towns Improvement Act, sends one member to the imperial parliament. Population in 1851, 9121, inhabiting 1375 houses, and in 1871, 7842, inhabiting 1367 houses.