appear in the
fields--a crop almost peculiar to the neighbourhood of Belfast. It is
a plant with a very slender erect green stem, which, when full grown,
branches at the top into a loose corymb of blue flowers. This is the
flax plant, the cultivation and preparation of which gives employment
to a great number of persons, and is to a large extent the foundation
of the prosperity of Belfast.

The first appearance of the linen industry of Ireland, as we approach
Belfast from the west, is observed at Portadown. Its position on the
Bann, with its water power, has enabled this town, as well as the other
places on the river, to secure and maintain their due share in the
linen manufacture. Factories with their long chimneys begin to appear.
The fields are richly cultivated, and a general air of well-being
pervades the district. Lurgan is reached, so celebrated for its
diapers; and the fields there about are used as bleaching-greens.
Then comes Lisburn, a populous and thriving town, the inhabitants of
which are mostly engaged in their staple trade, the manufacture of
damasks. This was really the first centre of the linen trade. Though
Lord Strafford, during his government of Ireland, encouraged the flax
industry, by sending to Holland for flax-seed, and inviting Flemish
and French artisans to settle in Ireland, it was not until the
Huguenots, who had been banished from France by the persecutions of
Louis XIV., settled in Ireland in such large numbers, that the
manufacture became firmly established. The Crommelins, the Goyers, and
the Dupres, were the real founders of this great branch of industry.[18]

As the traveller approaches Belfast, groups of houses, factories, and
works of various kinds, appear closer and closer; long chimneys over
boilers and steam-engines, and brick buildings three or four stories
high; large yards full of workmen, carts, and lorries; and at length we
are landed in the midst of a large manufacturing town. As we enter the
streets, everybody seems to be alive. What struck William Hutton when
he first saw Birmingham, might be said of Belfast: "I was surprised at
the place, but more at the people. They possessed a vivacity I had
never before beheld. I had been among dreamers, but now I saw men
awake. Their very step along the street showed alacrity. Every man
seemed to know what he was about. The town was large, and full of
inhabitants, and these inhabitants full of industry. The faces of