194 The Agriculture of Glamorganshire. 
referred to consists chiefly of West Highlanders, and otherwise 
of crosses between the Shorthorn bull and the West Highland 
heifer. These are bred on the farms, and in addition a number 
of Hereford steers are bought annually to graze the aftermath in 
the autumn, and are finished off on roots and cake. On the 
most exposed farms, pure Highlanders are bred, whilst Highland 
crosses are reared on a better class of hill farms, and they are 
eventually brought down to the meadows to be fed off in the 
company of the Herefords. The West Highland cattle suit 
the district well, as, being hardy, they can as stores remain out 
all the winter on a moderate allowance of inferior hay in addi- 
tion to what grass they can pick up on the pasture land. 
Where shedding accommodation is inadequate, and it is gene- 
rally so over the whole of the hill districts, the inconvenience 
is greatly lessened by breeding a class of cattle that can in 
a great measure dispense with it. The West Highland cattle 
do not come up to the weights of some other breeds, but they 
are reared at correspondingly less cost. Haymaking, in a 
changeable and damp climate like that of Glamorganshire, is 
often a tedious and expensive process. On the group of farms 
under review, great practical benefit has been realised during 
the last two years by the adoption of the Neilsen system of 
drying hay in the rick, A fan has been attached to a fixed 
steam-engine (used for cutting chaff and bruising corn for 
horses), and by piping has been connected with a range of 
sheds or Dutch barns, which hold more than 200 tons of hay. 
The plant, with all labour, cost about 60/., and was supplied 
by Mr. C. D. Phillips, of Newport, Mon. At no additional 
cost beyond the first outlay the fan can, by opening or shutting 
the dampers underneath the ricks, be applied or shut "off from 
any portion of the range. It is not contended that this system 
can make hay in wet weather, or even dry it satisfactorily when 
put together in a wet state, but its utility consists in enabling 
hay to be carried two or three days before this could be done 
with safety where no appliance of the kind exists. The risk of 
over-heating can be counteracted and regulated at pleasure. 
The benefit of being able to carry a lot of hay quickly, and so 
avoid being overtaken by an impending storm of rain, has-been 
fully proved by experience. 
Silage. — Silage has also been tried on a small scale. In thi 
early autumn of 1883, two pits, one above ground, the other 
under ground, were filled respectively with grass and vetches, 
and weighted with pig-iron. The above-ground silo, filled wit' 
grass in a green and succulent but dry state, proved a grcn 
success ; the other, filled with vetches half ripe, proved a con' 
parative failure. The dry and withered vetches were found to 
be ill-adapted for the system. 
