322 Report on the Farm-Prize Competition of 1872. 
this uncertainty of tenure : it seriously retards the progress of 
agriculture, diminishes outlay by the tenant in permanent im- 
provements, checks the liberal application of permanent manuring 
substances, and therefore hinders the thorough development of 
the resources of the soil. 
Picturesque though primitive, prettily though often incon- 
veniently placed, the Welsh homesteads are more especially 
conspicuous by means of the profuse covering of whitewash 
with which not only the walls, but even the roofs of the 
buildings, are commonly besmeared. This outside coating 
of the slates, resembling very much our North Country " ren- 
dering " of the inside, besides imparting an air of cleanliness, is 
useful alike in keeping out the driving storms of winter, and in 
giving additional coolness during the summer months. The farm 
premises, as a rule, are deficient ; the large open yards have too 
often insufficient shed-room : spoutless buildings help to dilute 
more effectually the already well-washed manure ; the animal 
heat, instead of being sustained as far as possible by artificial 
means, is wasted by undue exposure to cold and damp. We 
have had occasion, in the earlier part of this Report, to complain 
of the inferior quality of the cattle, both in Monmouthshire and 
South Wales. This defect, need we add, is, in some degree, 
traceable to the careless and improper manner in which the 
young stock especially are housed during the winter. There 
are, however, exceptions to this state of things. Some tenants, 
having undertaken to do the haulage free, and, in rare instances, to 
bear a further share of the expense, have recently had admirable 
additions made to their steadings. None of the principal land- 
owners withhold any reasonable expenditure in necessary im- 
provements, and we therefore believe that what we have here 
said respecting the want of shelter for the cattle-stock will not iiv 
a few years' time apply. 
Agricultural labour, at all times forming a very heavy item in 
the expenses of a farm, has, during the last six or eight months, 
been a source of real anxiety, if not of alarm, to the arable 
farmer. Strikes and labour-unions, although they have not yet 
extended into the Principality, have had their natural influence ; 
and wages, both here and in Monmouthshire, have, since 
Christmas, advanced about 15 per cent. Proximity to mines 
and thriving manufactories, the rapid extension of railways, and 
the springing up of a large export and import trade, have for 
some years absorbed surplus labour, and wages have been con- 
siderably higher than in the southern and midland counties. 
Good ploughmen and waggoners, where no perquisites are given, 
are now earning 15s. per week ; while those for whom cottages 
are found are paid generally \Zs. or 13*. 6rf. Ordinary labourers, 
having task-work occasionally, but no extras, receive 13*. to 145. 
