190 Tlie Agriculture of Glamorganshire. 
divided. The older sheep guide the younger to places of shelter 
in a storm, and also to the better herbage on the mountain. 
Few, comparatively, of the Welsh hills are enclosed, the 
boundary of the farms being the remains of an old wall, or a 
stone set on end, or no boundary at all. The parties interested, 
however, know the line to which their stock can graze. The 
sheep are often disturbed more than necessary by doggings and 
coursings on the boundaries of the various farms. Many of the 
mountain farmers of Glamorganshire are content, not only to let 
their whole flock graze together all the year round, but to leave 
the management in a great measure to nature and chance. With 
the exception of shearing, dipping, and one or more operations 
of absolute necessity, the rest is left to fate. In the autumn the 
flock is gathered, and the small draft of, say, 30 or 40 ewes, and 
the like number of wedders, is taken from the stock for sale. The 
rams are allowed, in very many instances, to graze with the flock 
the whole year round. The result is that a few straggling lambs 
begin to appear about the beginning of February, and lambing is 
continued at intervals till May. The early lambs are generally 
the produce of ewes which have been barren the previous year. 
There is little or no attempt at management in this direction, and 
it must be confessed that its want is much too general. The rams 
should not be put to the ewes till the end of October, and the 
bulk of the lambs should be dropped in April. The Welsh 
mountain ewe is a capital nurse, and on very scanty fare it is sur- 
prising how well she rears her -lamb. In my own opinion all the 
lambs should be weaned by the middle or end of August, and, 
after being kept three weeks or a month from their mothers, they 
may be allowed to return to the hill if accommodation elsewhere 
is not convenient. In some cases this may be quite impracticable, 
but it is none the less desirable. It is very seldom practised 
under any circumstances. The weaning is left to nature, 
excepting when a portion of the lambs are sent off in October "to 
tack " for the winter upon lower lying farms where few or no 
sheep are kept. Tacking is becoming much more general, as it 
is found that the reduced death-rate gained by it compensates for 
the outlay of As. Gf/. to 5s. per head for the winter's keep. It is 
also found that those which have been " boarded out " grow into 
heavier and better sheep than those that have never been away 
from their native hill. The hill districts of Glamorgan did not 
escape the ravages of liver-rot so prevalent throughout the 
country in 1879 and subsequent years. The losses were in many 
cases excessive, amounting to 20 and 30 per cent, of the entire 
flock. There are many flocks still more or less tainted, so that 
a few dry seasons will yet be required to bring them to a nor- 
mally healthy condition. The hill-farmer of the county does 
