318 CARMARTHEN AND CO-OPERATION 



marthen is very open and mild, and the cattle are 

 out, through the day at least, all the winter through. 

 The chief industry of the valley, as also of our host, 

 is the production of milk, most of which is sold as 

 whole milk to the colliery districts at an excellent 

 price. Some men convert a portion of their milk 

 into butter or cheese, using the separated milk or 

 the whey for feeding calves raised on the farm with 

 others bought from the men who sell the whole of 

 their milk. At the present time all the dairy farmers 

 depend upon Shorthorns, which, as the only really 

 dual purpose cow, seem to be extending their range 

 yearly, even into the strongholds of the other breeds. 

 Thirty years ago our host told us the valley was full 

 of the black South Welsh cattle, but they have almost 

 entirely disappeared at the present time, and the 

 Shorthorn holds the field. The butter and cheese 

 are all sold locally, the usual cheese being Caerphilly, 

 though a certain amount of what is called locally 

 " Welsh cheese " is made from separated milk. An 

 effort is being made to establish a central cheese 

 factory at Llandilo, in order to find an outlet for 

 the surplus milk at times when the farms are producing 

 more than the supply for which they have contracts 

 running with milk sellers in the colliery districts. 

 Even though the returns for the cheese may not in 

 themselves be very profitable, it is thought that the 

 factory would still be valuable by keeping the surplus 

 milk off the market and maintaining a reasonable 

 price. 



In this district co-operation generally has made 

 very considerable strides ; and though the efforts of 

 the society are still in the main confined to purchasing 

 in bulk for its members and saving them the excessive 

 profits that the middleman generally takes from the 



