Long ago Ireland was covered with forests. The people hunted and fished for food. The country was full of wild animals, rivers and lakes which were full of fish. But, at that time, no one thought it sport to hunt foxes and hares as they do now.
In carious parts there was much pasture and tillage and different kinds of vegetables were grown. There was more pasture than tillage and the pasture land was fenced in. The law was very particular in lying down rules about the fences of tilled lands, that they should be properly made and that (when two fences) each man should make hald the boundary fence. Oxen were generally used for ploughing, horses seldom. While one man held the plough another walked in front to lead the horses.
The people lived in houses made of wood, generally round shaped but sometimes four cornered and oblong like out present house. In order to help to keep off wild beasts and robbers there