138 



Farming of South Wales. 



land to that of pasture is very small. The present management of 

 the meadows and pastures does not present any particular feature. 

 The land is principally stocked with cows and young cattle ; 

 comparatively few sheep are kept. Not a great quantity is cut 

 for hay, and then, to have the most, it is frequently left till it is 

 too old. Mowing the meadow generally begins in the middle of 

 July. All hay (clover as well) is scattered about as soon as 

 cut, and allowed to dry in the sun : not being cocked up at 

 night, but exposed to the heavy dews, &c, it soon loses the fresh 

 green appearance so much prized in England. When suffi- 

 ciently withered on one side, it is turned, afterwards raked into 

 rows, and put into small lumps, which, not being compactly 

 made, are easily wetted through. On a fine day these heaps 

 are thrown out and carted to the rick. The hay is not pitched 

 from the cart, but the load is tripped up, and the pitcher takes it 

 off the ground! When it becomes too high for this, a ladder is 

 placed by the rick and a labourer stationed on it : the pitcher 

 from below hands him a forkfull of hay, the same fork and the 

 hay pass up to the man above, who receives the burden and 

 returns the fork. It is not often that hay is well saved in South 

 Wales : the humidity of the atmosphere and the frequent rains 

 of July baffle and confound the most skilful management. 



Fogging is, I believe, peculiar to South Wales, and is still 

 practised extensively in some counties. Cattle are taken out 

 of the pastures in May or June, and the year's crop of grass 

 remains untouched till the following spring. It is asserted that 

 an acre of fog will keep more stock and in better condition than 

 an acre of hay, besides avoiding the risk and expense of hay- 

 making. Mr. Hassell, in his original Report of Pembroke, 

 says — " By this practice, the farmer provides a good stock of 

 keep for that season of the year when he stands most in need of 

 it, puts his cows into good plight for calving, saves a great deal 

 of hay, and improves his grass-land by the quantity of seeds shed 

 upon the surface by the fogged grass ; and his stock, being on the 

 fog by day and in his straw-yard by night, augments his dung." 

 The old grass shelters and draws up the tender shoot sooner than 

 if it were exposed to the bleak winds and frosty air of an early 

 cold spring. The old herbage combines beneficially with the 

 succulent young grass, and cows produce an immense increase of 

 milk when fed on it. Such are the grounds advanced by the 

 defenders of the system ; the arguments that are brought to bear 

 against it are too well known to be here repeated. However, in 

 the present state of farming, with no turnips, early vetches, rye, 

 &c, and a generally late spring, I am not aware how in this 

 district a more plentiful supply of early keep can be produced. 



Top-dressings are not often resorted to ; sometimes lime is 



