Agriculture.— According to the Return of Owners of Land, 1876, Westmeath was divided among 668 proprietors possessing 430,003 acres, at an annual value of £301,696, or about 14s. an acre. There were also 4262 acres of common or waste lands. Of the proprietors only 111 possessed less than one acre. The following possessed over 8000 acres:—earl of Longford, 15,014; John Malone, 12,555; Lord Castlemaine, 11,445; Lord Greville, 9784; Captain Thomas Smyth, 9779; Patrick Edward Murphy, 9694; Sir Benjamin Chapman, Bart., 9517; G. A. Rochfort-Boyd, 9431; Charles Brinsley Marley, 9060; and Sir John Ennis, Bart. , 8775. The soil is generally a rich loam of great depth resting on limestone, and is well adapted both for tillage and pasturage. Even the hills when not under tillage are clothed with a rich pasturage to their summits. In 1886 22 - 2 per cent, of the entire area was under crops, 62 - 3 per cent, under grass, ’ 1 per cent, fallow, 1 ’ 8 per cent, woods and plantations, 9 - 4 per cent, bog and marsh, Ί per cent, barren mountain land, and 4T per cent, water, roads, &c. The total number of holdings in 1886 was 10,992, of which 42 were above 500 acres in extent, 281 between 200 and 500 acres, 535 between 100 and 200 acres, 1094 between 50 and 100 acres, 3589 between 15 and 50 acres, 2466 between 5 and 15 acres, 1698 between 1 and 5 acres, and 1287 not exceeding 1 acre. Within about the last forty years the area under crops has diminished nearly a third. In 1849 it was 130,913 acres, and in 1859 it was 122,684. Between 1876 and 1886 it has been fluctuating rather than decreasing; in the former year it was 98,959, and in the latter 96,287. Only in the area under meadow and clover has there been an increase: in 1849 it was 35,359 acres, and by 1859 it had increased to 41,535, by 1876 to 51,262, and by 1886 to 56,619. The decline in the area under green crops has not been marked: in 1876 the area was 21,369 acres, and in 1886 it was 19,292; but since 1849, when it was 76,173 acres, the area under corn crops has declined more than two-thirds, and the decline has been continuous, the area in 1876 being 26,305 acres, and in 1886 only 20,375. More than half the area under green crops is occupied by potatoes (11,948 acres in 1876, and 11,106 acres in 1886), turnips occupying in these years respectively 6155 acres and 5362 acres, mangel-wurzel, &c., 1232 and 1129, and other green crops 2534 and 1695. The bulk of the area under corn crops has always been occupied by oats, but their area has declined from 59,424 acres in 1849 to 25,709 in 1876, and 19,969 in 1886. The areas under other corn crops are inconsiderable. The number of horses in 1886 was 13,014, of which 883 were kept for amusement and recreation. Mules numbered 659, and asses 4391. Cattle numbered 102,878, 15,806 of them milch cows, and 45,915 other cattle above two years of age. The number of sheep was 118,401, of which 44,265 were under one year old. Pigs numbered only 17,303, goats 6811, and poultry 265,759, including 21,014 turkeys and 36,908 geese.

Manufactures. — The occupations are almost wholly agricultural, dairy farming predominating. Flour and meal are largely made. The only textile manufactures are those of friezes, flannels, and coarse linens for home use. The only mineral of any value is limestone.

Administration and Population.— De Burgo in 1760 placed the population at 50,340; in the parliamentary census of 1812 it was given as 112,000; in 1821 it amounted to 128,819, in 1841 to 141,300, in 1861 to 90,879, and in 1881 to 71,798 (males 36,478, females 35,320). Between 1841 and 1881 the decrease has thus been 49'18 per cent. Roman Catholics in 1881 numbered 92 - 2 per cent, of the population, and Protestant Episcopalians 6 ’ 9. In 1881 54 per cent, of the population could read and write, 14 ’ 7 per cent, could read but could not write, and 31 ’ 3 per cent, could neither read nor write,—14 ’ 8 per cent, being under seven years of age. There were none who could speak Irish only; 828 could speak Irish and English. By the Act of 1885 Westmeath, which formerly returned two members to Parliament, was formed into two parliamentary divisions, North and South, each returning one member; and, Athìone having been disfranchised, that part of the borough within the county was included in the South Division. The principal towns are Athione, of which about half (3072 inhabitants out of 6755) is within the county, the remainder being in Roscommon, and Mullingar (4787), the county town, a Catholic cathedral city, and an important railway junction. The county is divided into 12 baronies, and contains 63 parishes and 1356 townlands. It is in the home circuit, and assizes are held at Mullingar, and quarter sessions at Mullingar and Moate. There are 16 petty session districts. The county is within the Dublin military district, and forms part of No. 67 sub-district, the brigade dépôt of which is at Birr. There is a banack station at Mullingar.

History and Antiquities.— Westmeath was included in the kingdom of Meath formed by Tuathal, overlord of the Scoti (ob. cir. 160 A.D.), to serve as his mensal land. The district suffered much in the 10th and 11th centuries from the Danes, who burnt the town and abbey of Fore. In 1153 the northern region was the scene of a bloody battle under the leadership of the two sons of Dermod O’ Brien, after which Turlough, having obtained the victory, put out his brother’s eyes. On the settlement of the English in Leinster it formed part of the palatinate of Hugh de Lacy, who received about 800,000 acres from the king, and allotted large tracts to his followers. In the reign of Henry VIII. the palatinate was divided into two parts, the western of which was distinguished by the name of Westmeath. In the latter division a portion of Longford was included until this district was formed into a separate county by Elizabeth. The plan for the insurrection of 1641 was concerted in the abbey of Multifarnham, and both in the wars of this period and those of 1688 the gentry of the county were so deeply implicated that the majority of the estates were confiscated. There are a considerable number of old raths: one at Rathconrath is of great extent; another at Ballymore, originally a Danish fort, was fortified during the wars of the Cromwellian period and those of 1688, and afterwards was the headquarters of General Ginckell, when preparing to besiege Athione; and there is a third of considerable size near Lough Lene. The ruins of the Franciscan abbey of Multifarn-ham, founded in 1236 by William Delaware, picturesquely situated near Lough. Dereveragh, include a tower 93 feet in height. Others of less importance are at Fore, Kilmocahill, and Kilbeggan.