90 Tlie Agriculture of Pembrokeshire. 
is not pitched off the cart on to the rick, but is upset by the side 
of the rick, and pitched from the ground. Tlie custom looks 
rather slovenly to strange eyes, but the expedition with which 
a large rick of hay is carted and put up is surprising. Three 
carts, with one horse each, are usually the complement where 
the distance is not great, and these are kept constantly on the 
move. The elevator is a great help to Pembrokeshire farmers, 
and is very commonly seen at work. 
The quantity of hay per acre is most variable, both in respect 
of locality and season. A great mistake is often committed by 
attempting to ensure a greater yield ; it is to allow the grass 
to remain too long before cutting, the result being that the 
earlier grasses are spoilt, and the soil is exhausted unnecessarily. 
There is one implement which is of great value on some 
pastures where moss prevails, and which is much used, viz., 
the grass-harrow. 
Manures. — Having now in a general way indicated the usual 
customs with the most important crops, it will be well to 
mention that, where obtainable, many manures are used which 
are scarcely known in other parts of the country. The value of 
sea-weed for potatoes, or as a top-dressing for grass, is well 
known to those who live near any accessible bit of shore ; sea- 
sand is often added to a compost heap when going on stiff 
land. 
In the more mountainous parts paring and burning the sur- 
face is a common practice. Then, again, the usual fuel of the 
county being a mixture of anthracite coal and clay produces 
an ash which is an excellent manure. Where gorse has become 
old and full of rank grass, it is customary to set fire to it, when 
dry, in late autumn or early spring, with the result that the 
young growth following is eaten more readily by the stock. In 
general the farmyard-manure is made in open yards, in which 
perhaps the young cattle run, and into which the cleanings of 
the various sheds are brought. Usually there is a good ^eal 
of straw supplied to the cattle, a large proportion of which is 
trodden under foot. This yard is exposed to rain, and usually 
any drainings from it or the sheds are conducted to the adjoin- 
ing meadow, where probaldy a single furrow has been turned by 
the plough, and this forms an irrigating channel. After the 
cattle and horses are all out, as opportunities offer, the manure 
is carted to a convenient spot, either in the field where it is to 
be used or to an adjacent bit of waste ground, and packed in 
a squarish flat-topped heap. 
Labour . — The labour of the Pembrokeshire farm generally 
comprises boys and young men, who sleep on the premises, and 
receive in wages some lUZ. to Ibl. a year and their food ; and 
