rendering--according to how they regarded it--military service when required, not to the _flaith_ as a feudal lord, which he was not, but to the clan, of which the _flaith_ was head and representative. The uncultivable, unreclaimed forest, mountain, and bog-land was common property in the wider sense that there was no several appropriation of it even temporarily by individuals. It was used promiscuously by the clansmen for grazing stock, procuring fuel, pursuing game, or any other advantage yielded by it in its natural state. Kings and _flaiths_ were great stock-owners, and were allowed to let for short terms portions of their official lands. What they more usually let to clansmen was cattle to graze either on private land or on a specified part of the official land, not measured, but calculated according to the number of beasts it was able to support. A _flaith_ whose stock for letting ran short hired some from a king and sublet them to his own people. A _féine, aithech_, or _ceile_ (kailyeh), as a farmer was generally called, might hire stock in one of two distinct ways: _saer_-"free", which was regulated by the law, left his status unimpaired, could not be terminated arbitrarily or unjustly, under which he paid one-third of the value of the stock yearly for seven years, at the end of which time what remained of the stock became his property, and in any dispute relating to which he was competent to sue or defend even though the _flaith_ gave evidence; or _daer_--"bond", which was matter of bargain and not of law, was subject to onerous conditions and contingencies, including maintenance of kings, _flaiths_, or brehons, with their retinues, on visitations, of disbanded soldiers, etc., under which the stock always remained the property of the _flaith_, regarding which the _ceile_ could not give evidence against that of the _flaith_, which degraded the _ceile_ and his _fine_ and impaired their status; a bargain therefore which could not be entered into without the sanction of the _fine_. This prohibition was rendered operative by the legal provision that in case of default the _flaith_ could not recover from the _fine_ unless their consent had been obtained. The letting of stock, especially of _daer_-stock, increased the _flaith's_ power as a lender over borrowers, subject, however, to the check that his rank and _eineachlann_ depended on the number of independent clansmen in his district. Though workers in precious metals, as their ornaments show, the ancient Irish did not coin or use money. Sales were by barter. All payments, tribute, rent, fulfilment of contract, fine, damages, wages, or however else arising, were made in kind--horses, cows, store cattle, sheep, pigs, corn, meal, malt, bacon, salt beef, geese, butter, honey, wool, flax, yarn, cloth, dye-plants, leather, manufactured articles of use or ornament, gold, and silver--whatever one party could spare and the other find a use for.