80 
The Agriculture of Pembrokeshire. 
qualities of the mountain-sheep, together with their splendid- 
quality meat, at the same time being much bigger. Farmers 
like to buy ewes of this breed, and put a Shropshire or Oxford 
Down ram to them. The small mountain-sheep, whose quali- 
ties as nurses — for hardiness, and for the price which their 
meat realizes on the market — are scarcely equalled by any other 
breed, are not much kept except on the higher land, in con- 
sequence of their one fault, that they are of such a roving 
nature that no fence stops them. 
Whatever sorts are kept, they are generally for breeding pur- 
poses, and the greater number of the lambs are sold in the 
autumn. In winter they are given whole swedes in the pasture- 
field, with a little hay if the weather is very bad. Hurdling is 
not much practised, though it has been found to answer well in 
the south of the county, the sheep only requiring to be turned 
out of the hurdles in exceptional weather. 
It is found that lambs do better if born early in the year, as 
April and May being usually cold, with bare, easterly winds, and 
no grass growing, are much against them ; therefore those who 
want to produce fat sucking lambs endeavour to stimulate 
early production. The following quotation of the management 
adopted by a gentleman who rents a farm on one of the red- 
sandstone ridges, will show that some pioneers in sheep-farming 
exist in the county. " After twenty-five years' experience of 
sheep, he has come to the conclusion that a cross of the Shrop- 
shire ewe with the Oxford Down ram meets the desiderata of 
early maturity, weight, and sufficient hardiness to stand the 
climate. His flock of 200 ewes, although they are usuallv 
nearly fat at the time, are turned on to corn-stubble preparatory to 
being divided into four lots, and one ram is apportioned to each 
lot of 50. These lots are kept separate for about six weeks, and 
are then united, to give the opportunity for any deficiencies to 
be made good. About a fortnight after, the rams are removed 
and the ewes turned into rough pasture ; and should the weather 
be rough and stormy, hay is given once a day ; roots, and more 
especially swedes, are avoided, as being detrimental to ewes in 
lamb. If the winter proves rough and cold, they get more hay, 
and in January are turned into keep specially reserved. As the 
time of lambing approaches, they are given about half a pound 
of oats and one or two mangolds apiece per day. Whilst 
lambing, they are shut in a well-strawed yard every night, and 
as the lambs drop, they, with their mothers, are put in hurdle- 
pens in a shed for a few hours, for the ewes to recover, and the 
lambs — more especially if twins — to know their mother and 
each other. The flock is then subdivided, to suit the oppor- 
tunities of keep, &c. When a month old, the lambs are docked 
