328 CENTRAL WALES: MIXED FARMING 



plough, and as far as Aberystwith we saw little of 

 agricultural interest. 



Beyond Aberystwith we visited an interesting farm, 

 situated on undulating land in one of the wide valleys 

 that here lie between the great sheep walks of the 

 Phinlimmon range and the sea. The soil was derived 

 from a stony drift of glacial origin, and was light and 

 easy to work, with the result that about one quarter of 

 the farm was in corn a much higher proportion than 

 usually prevails in the district. The farm extended to 

 nearly 300 acres, an exceptional size, for as a rule the 

 farms thereabouts are only a hundred acres or less. In 

 addition, our host occupied some 500 acres of mountain 

 sheep walk at a distance, where his sheep lived during 

 the summer. 



In his cropping he followed the usual plan of leaving 

 down the seeds for from three to eight years, after 

 which time the grass gets thin and must be ploughed 

 up. Even for his short-period leys he sowed chiefly 

 alsike and white clover, as standing grazing better 

 than red. After the ley followed a rotation of wheat, 

 roots, and barley, in which the seeds were again sown, 

 though recently, because his land had improved, he 

 was beginning to take an oat crop after the wheat. 

 All the corn was consumed upon the farm, and some 

 of the wheat was sent to the local mill to be made into 

 flour for home consumption. There was again rather 

 an unexpected amount of barley on this and on the 

 neighbouring farms, but it was all consumed locally 

 and none exported ; indeed, we heard of rather higher 

 prices than prevailed in English markets, where farmers 

 so often sell the corn they have grown and buy the 

 cheaper foreign grinding barleys wherewith to feed 

 their stock. Here, as generally throughout Wales, the 

 barley grown belonged to a variety known as " old 



