CARDIGANSHIRE, a county of Wales, is divided from Caermarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, along the greatest part of its southern side, by the Tivey; on the north it is divided from Merionethshire by the river Dory, and from Montgomeryshire by an artificial boundary. The boundaries on the east, between it and Radnorshire and Breconshire, are also artificial. On the west it stretches along the sea-coast in a bending line, from north-east to south-west, forming part of the shore of Cardigan Bay. Its extent, measured along the shore, is nearly forty miles; its breadth does not average twenty. It contains 726 square miles, or 464,640 acres, and is divided into five hundreds. The market-towns are Aberystwith, Cardigan, Llanbodarnvawr, Llanbeder or Lampeter, and Tregaron. The number of parishes, according to the last parliamentary returns respecting the poor’s rates, is ninety-seven. It sends one member to parliament, lies in the province of Canterbury and diocese of St David’s, and is in the North Wales circuit. The coasts of Cardigan Bay (which is formed by the projecting counties of Caernarvon on the north and Pembroke on the south, with the coasts of Merioneth and Cardigan in the centre) have, according to tradition and appearance, suffered greatly from the depredations of the sea, especially on the Cardigan shore. The tradition of the country is, that there was formerly a sixth hundred, which is now covered by the sea; and there are still to be seen at low water several ridges of rocks, called causeways, which seem to confirm the truth of this tradition. Of these the most remarkable is St Patrick’s Causeway, which extends from within a mile of the point of Mochras, south of Harlech, twenty-two miles into the sea, in a serpentine line. It is formed of rough stones, twenty-four feet broad; and at the extremity there is a round head, formed of sixteen great stones, one of which is four yards in diameter. Trunks and roots of trees are also found at a considerable distance from the shore.

The principal rivers are the Tivey, the Rydiol, the Ystwith, and the Aeron. The Tivey rises in Llyn Teefy, or Tivey Pool, in a mountain in the north-east of the county. On the top of this mountain there are five lakes, of which Tivey Pool is the principal. It is about one mile and a half in circumference, is surrounded by high and perpendicular rocks, and is said never to have been fathomed. The Tivey at first flows through a rocky district; afterwards, forming a regular channel, it passes Tregaron; and at Llanbeder it becomes the boundary between Caermarthenshire and Cardiganshirc. It falls into the sea about two miles below Cardigan. The Rydiol rises on the south-west side of Plinlimmon; its course is about south-west; and it falls into the sea near Aberystwith. About twelve miles above this town is the Devil’s Bridge, called by the Welsh Pont y Monach, or the Monks’ Bridge, and Pont ar Fynach, from the confluence here of the Fynaeh with the Rydiol. There are two arches, one above the other. The uppermost is between twenty and thirty feet in the chord, and the other less than twenty. The upper one was built in 1753; the date of the building of the lower one is not known. Near this bridge are the falls of the Fynach. The first fall takes place where the river is much confined by the rocks. The water is carried about six feet over them, into a basin eighteen feet below. The next fall is sixty feet, the third fall is twenty, and the last is 110 feet. Near this is the fall of the Rydiol, the scenery around which is considered as very striking and grand. The Ystwith rises among the hills on the eastern side of the county, and falls into the sea at Aberystwith. The Aeron is between six and seven miles in extent, receives six tributary streams, and forms, during the whole of its course, nearly the are of a circle. It falls into the sea at Aberaeron.

That part of the country which lies along the sea is level, especially the south-western extremity; but the'northern and eastern parts are very rugged and mountainous. The soil of the low lands is either a light or a strong loam, lying on slate. The soil of the mountainous division is in general thin and poor, except in the narrow valleys, where it consists of clay or peat. The tract along the sea-coast produces good crops of wheat, barley, turnips, potatoes, and oats. The quality as well as the produce of the barley grown in some parts of this tract is very remarkable. Between Aberaeron and Llanrysted is an extensive flat, extending from the sea to the east mountains, which produces from sixty to eighty bushels of fine barley per acre. This land is constantly under this .crop, and has been so for at least half a century. It is manured every three years with sea-weed. Potatoes arc grown on the peat mosses in such a manner as at once to secure good crops and to drain the land. The potato sets are laid on the surface of the bog, a little manure is spread over them, and they are afterwards covered with earth dug out of the trenches.

Very few sheep are kept on the low land, but on the mountains they are numerous. They are in general the native breed, and very inferior both for wool and carcass. Cattle are kept in all parts of the county; in the low lands, and in the vales of the mountainous district, principally for butter and cheese; in the other parts they are bred for the English drovers. Of the 464,640 acres which this county contains, it is calculated that 100,000 are in tillage, 145,000 in pasture, and the rest waste land.

Cardiganshire was formerly famous for its mines of lead, but at present they are not very productive; the principal are two in the vicinity of Cwmystwith. Near Tal-y-bont are some that used to be very productive, but are now almost exhausted; the matrix of the ore is carbonate of lime. There are also veins of copper, but these are not wrought. The want of coal, of which there is none in the whole county, the rugged nature of the country, and the badness of the roads, are probably the chief causes why the mines arc not worked. Near Aberystwith are large slate quarries; the slates lie in alternate strata with shale, and are in compact masses, of a coarse texture; the inclination of the strata varies very much, following the general irregularity of shale. The slate that is found near the seacoast, not being mixed with shale, lies in perpendicular strata. There are some very extensive tracts of peat, especially on the coast beyond Aberystwith, bordering on the river Dovy; and from Strata Florida, near the Tivey, to Llyn y Maes, or the Lake of the Flood; the latter tract is one continued marshy bog, abounding in turbaries as far as Tregaron. According to tradition, a town once stood in this marsh. As connected with the natural history of this county, it may be remarked, that Mr Aikin observed, near the banks of the Rydiol, a moor-buzzard, and the horse-ant, the largest species of ants that are natives of Britain. The angel-fish is found in the bay of Cardigan,.
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There are few manufactures in this county; but at Llech-wydol, near Cardigan, are iron and tin works. Black cattle, pigs, butter, barley, oats, flannels, Welsh webs, bark, iron, tin, slates, and ale, are exported from Aberystwith and Cardigan. There is a great fair for cattle and sheep at Rhos, near the source of the Tivey.

Cardiganshire is celebrated in the literary history of Wales for having given birth to David ap Gwylim, who flourished between 1330 and 1370. From the poems of this author, the modern literary dialect of Wales has been chiefly formed, and this dialect is spoken with greater purity in the county of Cardigan than in any other part of the principality.

In Cardiganshire a custom prevails resembling the penny-weddings among the peasantry of Scotland. Before marriage a bidder goes from house to house inviting the inhabitants to come to the wedding, and to bring money and cheese and butter. The marriage always takes place on the Saturday, and the guests assemble on the Friday with their presents. All these are set down on paper, that, if demanded, they may be repaid; but this seldom happens. The furnishing of the woman is also brought home on this day. On Saturday, ten or twenty of the man’s friends who are best mounted, go to demand the bride, who is placed on a horse behind her father, and rides off as fast as she can. She is soon, however, overtaken. Presents continue to be received on the Saturday and Sunday; on Monday they are sold, frequently making, with the money presented, the sum of L.50 or L.60.

In 1803 the poor’s rates amounted to L.10,167; in 1815 there was collected from 92 parishes L.15,409 8s. 6d.
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