146 



Farming of South Wales. 



since Mr. Davies made his report much more has been taken in. 

 The principal wastes which still remain unenclosed are too ele- 

 vated and rugged to be successfully cultivated, and, taking the 

 whole district, there is not now so much open improvable land as 

 in many parts of England. But there are nearly 5000 acres oifen 

 and marsh land near Tregoran, and about 6000 more by the 

 mouth of the Dovey, both in Cardigan. These moors remain in 

 the same state as mentioned in 1814, though, if drained, they 

 could be made some of the best land in that country. The ine- 

 qualities of the surface of the country render it in a peculiar 

 manner adapted to the growth of timber, and, if the mountain 

 sheep and cattle are fenced out, the rough declivities will soon be 

 crowded with oak, ash, or alder. The beautiful slopes and 

 dingles of the Wye afford continual instances of these natural 

 plantations. Even Pembroke, whose exposure to the westerly 

 winds is now considered unfavourable for timber, was once covered 

 with woods, but they have gradually become less and less. 

 Thus, in the time of Elizabeth, the Lord of Kemmes, in his 

 M. N. S. History, says, " This country groneth with the general 

 complainte of the decreasing of woods ;" and a Mr. Lewis, in the 

 reign of Queen Anne, observes on this, " If there was such cause 

 ay of complaint then, how is that cause increased in the course of 

 another century!' 1 Mr. Hassell, in 1793, says, " The stock of 

 timber is so much reduced, that in a few years more the farmer 

 must import wood for the purposes of husbandry," which he must 

 certainly do now, did not the monthly sale of refuse timber at the 

 Dockyard furnish a regular supply. Many of the woods mentioned 

 in the last report have since been felled. If there was such a 

 quantity of timber in Wales in old time, why cannot it be 

 grown now ? Let the plantations of Stackpole and Brownslade, 

 flourishing on the edge of the Atlantic, furnish a reply. Oak is 

 the principal timber grown, and this is raised from the old stump, 

 or stools, which are cut every fifteen or twenty years ; and when 

 the poles are peeled, they are easily disposed of for colliery 

 purposes. 



No part of the kingdom requires draining more than South 

 Wales. The whole of the coal measures, and many soils on the 

 red sandstone, are wet from innumerable springs which arise from 

 the fissures of the rocks. The clay-slate formation and millstone- 

 grit are also wet from this cause and surface-water ; and, in fact, 

 no large district of the country, except the limestone soils, can 

 boast of being sufficiently dry. The West of England and South 

 Wales Draining Company have commenced a move in the right 

 direction in the eastern part of the Principality, but the effect of 

 that progress is not felt in the interior or western portions ; indeed, 

 very rare instances of regular drainage have been attempted. 



