Agriculture.— The land is generally better adapted for pasturage than for tillage, although there are considerable tracts of rich soil in the south-eastern districts. The total number of holdings in 1886 was 10,188, of which 26 were above 500 acres in extent, 1029 between 100 and 500 acres, 1660 between 50 and 100 acres, 2726 between 15 and 50 acres, 2530 between 1 and 15 acres, and 2217 did not exceed 1 acre. Out of a total of 456,198 acres only 83,968 acres, or 18⋅4 per cent., were under crops, 235,801 acres, or 51⋅7 per cent., were under grass; 330 acres fallow; 19,317 acres, or 4⋅2 per cent., woods and plantations; 22,791 acres, or 5⋅0 per cent., bog and marsh; 76,137 acres, or 16⋅7 per cent., barren mountain land; and 17,854, or 3⋅9 per cent., water, roads, fences, &c. Since 1859 the area under crops has decreased nearly a third, the amount in that year being 116,940 acres. Corn crops occupied 59,848 acres in 1859 and only 35,461 in 1886, the areas under wheat in these years being respectively 23,671 and 1326 acres, under oats 32,526 and 32,795 acres, and under barley, here, &c., 3651 and 1340 acres. The area under green crops in 1859 was 38,213 acres, and in 1886 it was 24,436 acres, the areas under potatoes in these years being respectively 23,385 and 14,361 acres, under turnips 10,886 and 6171 acres, and under other green crops 4042 and 3904 acres. Horses between 1859 and 1886 diminished from 14,184 to 12,794, of which 9122 were two years old and upwards, but cattle increased from 84,440 to 102,878, of which 39,428 were milch cows, and sheep from 42,408 to 55,805, while pigs decreased from 55,701 to 44,510. The number of mules in 1886 was 942, of asses 4319, of goats 5510, and of poultry 258,058.

In 1876, according to the Return of Owners of Land, Waterford was divided among 814 proprietors, possessing 454,937 acres at an annual valuation of £276,642, or an average of about 12s. 2d. per acre. The estimated extent of waste lands was 880 acres. Of the owners 600 possessed one acre and upwards. The number of large estates is exceptionally great. The following possessed upwards of 8000 acres :—marquis of Waterford, 39,884; Lord Stuart de Decies, 30,823; duke of Devonshire, 27,484; R. A. Chearnley, 18,166; Edmond De La Poer, 13,448; John Palisser, 9825; Lord Ashtown, 9435; Sir J. H. Keane, Bart., 8909; and Sir R. J. Musgrave, Bart., 8282.

Manufactures and Trade.— The woollen manufacture, except for private use, is now practically extinct, but the cotton manufacture is still of some importance. There are also breweries, distilleries, and a large number of flour-mills. Sea-fishing is prosecuted chiefly at Dungarvan. There are valuable salmon fisheries on the Blackwater and the Suir.

Railways. — From the city of Waterford the Waterford and Central Ireland line goes northwards by Kilkenny, the Waterford and Limerick by Carrick-on-Suir and Clonmel to Limerick, the Waterford and Tramore to Tramore, and the Waterford, Dungarvan, and Lismore to Lismore, where it joins a branch of the Great South-Western.

Administration and Population.— From 119,457 in 1812 the population increased by 1841 to 196,187, but by 1861 it diminished to 134,252, by 1871 to 123,310, and by 1881 to 112,768 (males 54,618, females 58,150), or 8⋅5 per cent. less than in 1871. The total number of emigrants from 1st May 1857 to 31st December 1878 was 67,080, and to 31st December 1885 it was 79,240. In 1880 the number reached 2675, and in 1885 it was 1333. The county is divided into 8 baronies, with 82 parishes and 1557 townlands. The principal towns are Waterford (population 29,181), Dungarvan (6306), Tramore (2036), Portlaw (1891), and Lismore (1860). Before the Redistribution Act of 1885 the county returned two members to parliament, the borough of Waterford two, and Dungarvan one,—Clonmel, which is partly in Waterford, also returning one. The county now returns two members, for the East and West Divisions respectively, while the county of the city of Waterford returns one member, and Dungarvan and Clonmel have been disfranchised. It is in the Leinster circuit, and assizes are held at Waterford, and quarter sessions at Lismore, Dungarvan, and Waterford. It is in the Cork military district, and there is a brigade depôt at Clonmel, and barrack stations at Dungarvan and Waterford. The Catholics formed 94⋅8 per cent. of the population in 1871 and 95⋅0 in 1881, the Episcopalians in the same years 4⋅1 per cent. The proportion of persons who could read and write in 1871 was 35⋅7 per cent., and in 1881 it was 45⋅8; in 1881 10⋅6 per cent. could read but could not write, and 43⋅6 could neither read nor write,—14⋅3 per cent. being under seven years of age.

History and Antiquities.— In the 9th century the Danes landed in the district, and afterwards made a permanent settlement there. There are in the county a considerable number of barrows, duns, cromlechs, and similar relics of the ancient inhabitants. At Ardmore there is a round tower 97 feet in height, and near it a huge rath and a large number of circular entrenchments. Waterford was one of the twelve counties into which King John, in 1205, divided that part of Ireland which he nominally annexed to the English crown. On account of the convenience of the city as a landing place, many subsequent expeditions passed through the county directed against disaffected or rebellious tribes. In 1444 the greater part of it was granted to James, earl of Desmond, and in 1447 it was bestowed on John Talbot, earl of Shrewsbury, who was created earl of Waterford. The county suffered severely during the Desmond rebellion, in the reign of Elizabeth, as well as in the rebellion of 1641 and during the Cromwellian period. Among the old castles special mention may be made of Lismore, originally erected by John, afterwards king of England, in 1185, but now in great part comparatively modern. The chief ecclesiastical remains are those of the chancel and nave of the cathedral of Ardmore, where a monastery and oratory were founded by St Declan in the 7th century. The see of Ardmore was abolished in the 12th century.

WATERFORD, a city, county of a city, municipal and parliamentary borough, and the chief town of the above county, is finely situated on the south bank of the Suir 4 miles above its junction with the Barrow, at the head of the tidal estuary called Waterford Harbour, and on several railway lines, which afford it convenient communication with all parts of Ireland. It is 32 miles west of Wexford, 76 north-east of Cork, and 97 south-south-west of Dublin. The Suir is crossed by a wooden bridge of thirty-nine arches, and 832 feet long, connecting Waterford with the suburb of Ferrybank. The town is built chiefly along the banks of the river, occupying for the most part low and level ground except at its western extremity. The modern Protestant cathedral of the Holy Trinity, generally called Christ Church, a plain structure with a lofty spire, occupies the site of the church built by the Danes in 1096. Near it are the episcopal palace and deanery. There is a handsome Catholic cathedral, erected at a cost of <£20,000; and the training seminary for priests called St John’s College deserves notice. The principal secular buildings are the town-hall, the county and city courts and prisons, the new custom-house, erected in 1876, at a cost of £9000, the barracks, and the union workhouse. At the extremity of the quay is a large circular tower, called Reginald’s Tower, forming at one time a portion of the city walls, and occupying the site of the tower built by Reginald the Dane in 1003. Near the summit one of the balls shot from the cannon of Cromwell while besieging the city is still embedded in the wall. There are a number of hospitals and similar benevolent institutions, including the leper house founded in the reign of King John, now possessing an income of £1000 a year, and made use of practically as an infirmary. The town possesses breweries, salt-houses, foundries, and flour-mills; and there is a large export trade in cattle, sheep, and pigs, and in agricultural produce. The population of the city (area 10,059 acres) in 1871 was 29,979, and in 1881 it was 29,181.

Waterford Harbour is a winding and well-sheltered bay, formed by the estuary of the river Suir, and afterwards by the joint estuary of the Nore and Barrow. Its length to the sea is about 15 miles. Its entrance is about 2½ miles wide, and is well lighted by a fixed bright light on the ancient donjon of Hook Tower (139 feet in height), by a red light on Dunmore pier, and by two leading lights at Duncannon. The quay, at which vessels of 2000 tons burden can discharge, was enlarged in 1705 by the removal of the city walls, and is about 1¼ miles in length. At Ferrybank, on the Kilkenny side of the river, there is a shipbuilding yard with patent slip and graving dock. By the Suir there is navigation for barges to Clonmel, by the Barrow for sailing vessels to New Ross and thence for barges to Athy, and by the Nore for barges to Inistiogue. The total number of vessels connected with the port in 1885 was 33, of 5246 tons. The number of British and foreign vessels that entered the port in the same year was 1784 of 530,092 tons, while 1255 of 412,326 tons cleared.

Anciently Waterford was called Cuan-na-groith, the haven of the sun. By early writers it was named Menapia. It is supposed to have existed in very early times, but first acquired importance under the Danes, of whom it remained one of the principal strongholds until its capture by Strongbow in 1171. On 18th October 1172 Henry II. landed near Waterford, and he here received the hostages of the people of Munster. It became a cathedral city in 1096. Prince John, afterwards king of England, who had been declared lord of Ireland in 1177, landed at Waterford in 1185. After ascending the English throne he in 1204 granted it a fair, and in 1206 a charter of incorporation. He landed at Waterford in 1210, in order to establish within his nominal territories in Ireland a more distinct form of government. The city received a new charter from Henry III. in 1232. Richard II. landed at Waterford in October 1394 and again in 1399. In 1447 it was granted by Henry VI. to John Talbot, earl of Shrewsbury, who was created earl of Waterford. In 1497 it successfully resisted an attempt of Perkin Warbeck to capture it, in recognition of which it received various privileges from Henry VII., who gave it the title of urbs intacta. In 1603, after the accession of James I. to the English crown, the city, along with Cork, took a prominent part in opposition to the Government and to the Protestant religion, but on the approach of Mountjoy it formally submitted. From this time, however, the magistrates whom it elected refused to take the oath of supremacy, and, as by its charter it possessed the right to refuse admission to the king’s judges, and therefore to dispense with the right of holding assizes, a rule was obtained in the Irish chancery for the seizure of its charter, which was carried iuto effect in 1618. In 1619 an attempt was made to induce Bristol merchants to settle in the city and undertake its government, but no one would respond to the invitation, and in 1626 the charter was restored. The city was unsuccessfully attacked by Cromwell in 1649, but surrendered to Ireton 10th August 1650. After the battle of the Boyne James II. embarked at it for France (July 1690). Shortly afterwards it surrendered to William, who sailed from it to England. It sent two members to parliament from 1374 to 1885, when the number was reduced to one.