The Bedrock of Ireland
Here is something which I find fascinating, found while flicking through this book at the house of my dear old friend Patsy Grant, the stonecarver of Roughan.
Apologies for the dodgy photos, but here is a great bit of hand-drawn cartography, showing our geological make-up in Ireland.
This is something that I love explaining to the children. As we can see, the larger part of the island is built upon LIMESTONE, and this contains calcium. When calves, foals and lambs are born in the spring, all the farmers want them out in the fields as soon as possible. This gets their mothers eating good freshly grown grass, which is full of the vitamins and minerals needed in their milk, to grow strong bones and healthy babies. Ireland is world famous for its livestock. As with the Bluegrass of Kentucky, the chalky land around Newmarket, Islay in Scotland and the lush ranges of New Zealand, young animals reared on grass grown from this type of rock have stronger skeletons, which can support more muscle for sport and meat.
