The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard

AGRICULTURE. (Xo. 3.) IN some parts of South Wales, and especially in great coal and iron producing neighbourhoods, farmers have been induced to pay more attention to dairy and garden produce than is paid in the less thickly populated portions of the Principality. In many districts the growth of vegetables is so neglected that they are brought in large hampers from England to the small country towns of Wales! The demand for eggs, fowls, ducks, fresh butter, fruit, and vegetables of all sorts is so pressing in the large towns of the South that it is not surprising some of these articles should be imported from England and elsewhere, but it is scarcely satisfactory that towns like Aberystwyth, Dolgelley, Portmadoc, Wrexham, Carnarvon, &c., should be compelled to go over the border for produce which Welsh farmers ought to supply in abundance, not only for local consumption, but for transmission to the English markets. If Welsh farmers, instead of putting butter down in salt, took it to the market towns they would soon find local customers, or dealers from a distance would take it awav to the great centres of population. There is no good reason in these days of railways for salting butter and keeping it until it is worth twopence or three- pence a pound less than if it had been sold fresh. In the old times, before railways were made, when butter had to be kept five or six months at the farm, and then sent a long slow journey in a cart, it was highly necessary to encourage the manu- facture of salt butter, but now-a-days, when there are fitst through trains to every part of the king- dom for perishable goods, it i; of doubtful utility to give prizes at agricultural shows for ilaIt butter, which would have fetched twopence or threepence a pound more without the salt. It is possibh, no doubt, to say something on behalf of the old custom of salting butter, but that fact is not of much consequence, for the simple reason that there are few bad cus. toms respecting which something favourable may not be said but these customs cease to be ob- served by sensible men, when new customs are proved to be more advantageous than the old ones. The shrewder section of agriculturists no longer make salt butter, but find a ready market for it at enhanced prices whilst fresh. The average Welsh farmer is not a man who, accom- panied by his wife or daughter, drives his cart into market every week, loaded with butter, eggs, fowls, vegetables, &c. He probably attends the horse fairs of the neighbourhood with some degree of regularity, but the butcher comes round to bargain him with for sheep and cattle, and the egg collectors fetch the eggs he has to dispose of. 0 His hens are not well cared for. They roost in the cowhouse, probably, and pick up a pre- carious living as best they can. The garden, 0 again, a piece of gronnd not wel! enough fenced to keep out the pig. is planted with potatoes in the spring, perhaps, but no attempt is made to grow fruit or winter vegetables. How much may be (lone with a garden towards making a small farm profitable Is too weU known to need recapitulation here. and it is very much to be re- gretted that in Wales gardens are not more highly estimated. In many parts of the Princi- pality gardening is altogether neglected except 0 by large landowners and labourers, to whom the 0 towns are mainly indebted for constant supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables. How it happens that poor Welsh farmers do not generally pay that attention to those small sources of profit which are seldom neglected by the same class in other parts of the kingdom is a question well worth 0 investigation. One of the chief reasons is that farmers in Wales do not ponlov a sufficient number of labourers to attend to the ordinary work on the land, especially when it is remem- bered that every ounce of turnip, hay, &c., has

COTTAGERS' IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY. FROM time to time attention has been called in these columns to the great need for improvement in the cottages of the poor. How great that need is, only those can know who move in and out among the labouring population, and those only can correctly estimate the difficulties that lie in the way of improvement. The inception of the idea of establishing a Cottagers' Improvement Society, and of holding annual exhibitions of flowers, fruit, and vegetables, at Aberystwyth, was a fortu- nate thing for that town and neighbourhood. Aided by a committee of ladies, Sir PRYSE PRYSE, Bart., and Captain COSENS have made the Cottagers' Show one of the most interesting and best managed gatherings of the year. The grow- ing and prosperous village of Bow Street alone affords conspicuous evidences of the Society's beneficial effects. Sir PRYSE PHYSB grants long building leases on very easy terms to the cottagers, and altogether the village is a great credit to Gogerddan. It is impossible to over-estimate the good that owners of estates may do simply by encouraging the erection of decent cottages, and manifesting interest, in the way they are kept. Sir PRYSE from the first has taken great interest in the Cottagers' Improve- ment Society, iind on the day of the show enjoys ment Society, nnd on the day of the show enjoys the successes of his humble neighbours with con- Itagious heartiness. The few who happen to know how great and how thorough is the know- ledge of Captain COSENS in horticulture and Dotany are not surprized at the success the shows have achieved. Captain COSENS is one of those unobtrusive workers who claim nothing for them- selves, and yet to whom much is due. He felt that the cultivation of flowers in this district is neglected, and is trying, not unsuccessfully, to remedy the defect. Since the establishment of the Cottagers' Improvement Society there has been a marked change for the better in the surroundings of the cottages of the district. The humanizing influence of flowers is greatly underrated. Children everywhere are fond of flowers, and the passion never completely dies out in the grown man. Happily, flowers are part of our common heritage. They bloom, not altogether unheeded, in every hedge row and on every moor. There is no mountain side so bleak that they cannot find sustenance, and no bog so dreary that they do not give to it a dash of glory. There are, it is true, Peter Bells, to whom primroses are nothing but yellow flowers on a river's brim, but even these prosaic mortals would admit that this spring the primros.es were larger and yellower than usual. The show, fixed for the same day as the agricultural show, will again be held in Mr. JOHN JAMES'S extensive business premises, in Ter- race Road,which have been placed at.the service of the committee free of charge. How well-adapted these premises are for displaying fruit, flowers, and vegetables is well-knowij. Last year the town of Aberystwyth was not well represented in the list of exhibitors whether this was the result of misunderstanding or indifference there is no means of knowing, but we trust exhibitors from the town will come forward next autumn in greater force. One very pleasant feature of the show is the collections of ferns, greenhouse plants, flowers and fruit sent by the surrounding gentry, at considerable expense, for exhibition. That the show will be successful and tliat it will be well worth visiting may be taken for granted, and we believe that great as was the success last year, the forthcoming exhibition will indicate progress both in quantity and quality of entiies. Gardening is becoming more popular in the neighbourhood of Aberystwyth than it used to be, and we trust that the Aberystwyth district Cottagers' Improvement Society will not long remain the only one for many miles round. At this show there is an industrial department, limited we believe to knitting and sewing, but there would be no harm if specimens of handicraft, were sent in, as landowners' ferns and flowers arc sent, not for competition." Captain COSEXS could himself do something in this line, and there are labourers and artizans who might contribute models, carved and engraved work, &c. We remembpr seeing, for instance, at a show of this kind, an excellent model and fac simile of an old country house and grounds. There is a con- siderable amount ot curious skill in out-of-the- way places if it could only be induced to come forward. A few extra prizes would probably be accepted by the committee if offered by persons interested in the show. A little depart- ment for singing birds, pets highly prized in many a cottage home, might be added with advantage. A few curiosites from the University College of TV ales Museum and from the country houses in the district, might be added. Even the wall space might be utilized in order to increase the attractiveness of the show. In another part of the paper will be found a report of the annual meeting of the committee, from which it will be seen that the society is not only out of debt, but has a small balance in hand. It is im- possible not to feel interested in a movement that does good work unobtrusively and has for its chief object the brightening of homes that are in no danger of suffering from too much sweetness and light.

INVESTIGATION AT ABERYSTWYTH WORKHOUSE. ON Saturday last the House Committee, presided over by Mr. H. C. FRYER, investigated furtliel- serious allegations amounting to fraud, brought 0 by Mr. THOMAS GRIFFITHS, grocer, against Messrs. D. P. and W. RICHARDS, the late con- tractors for provisions at the union. At the outset it should be known that the accusations utterlytbroke down. Not a tittle of evidence from first to last was adduced in support of them. Messrs. D. P. and W. RICHARDS were so completely vindicated that it was felt the alleged charges ought never to have been brought. The imputations at the first enquiry against Messrs. D. P. and W. RIClIARDS were that they had professed to supply, and had charged for, a. certain amount of mustard in tins of a size which did not exist, and a certain quantity of soap in boxes of a capacity that never came to Aberystwyth. One of the mustard tins that it was said did not exist was produced, as were re- ceipts for boxes of soap containing the quantities charged for by the contractors. The allegations against the contractors broke down completely,but the investigation revealed the ftet that the Master had not kept a very strict account of the stores he had received and used, nor had the Clerk and As- sistant Clerk examined and checked the accounts, as they ought to have been examined and checked. We will return again to the Master and Clerks before the close of this article, but now let us follow the contractors, against whom the charges were first brought, and against whom they were afterwards repeated. The accusations investigated on Satur- day last were, first, that a quantity of Bristol soap had been found in the Workhouse, and that therefore the exoneration of the contractors at the former enquiry was a mistake and, second, that there was a discrepancy of 142 bushels of wheat between the amount ground at the mill and the amount said to have been sent by the contractors to the Workhouse. The serious nature of this charge is so obvious that we need not say one word to aggravate it. As regards the discovery c'o of Bristol soap, the Master produced a receipt, which showed that he had purchased it at his own expense in order to make up the amount he had debited himself with from time to time. Mr. GRIFFITHS, it is true, ventured to doubt that this receipt was genuine, but after what has trans- pired we should not like to put much reliance on what he will venture to do. The receipt was, of course, accepted by the Chairman and the Board as conclusive proof that Messrs. D. P. and W. RICHARDS were free from all blame, and that the decision arrived at during the investigation a fortnight ago was not affected in the slightest degree by the discovery of the Bristol soap. As regards the wheat the explanation was equally simple and satisfactory. The master's books showed that the contractors had either supplied wheat or flour to the very pound charged for. The master's books were a complete answer to the charge brought against the contractors, and the allegations of fraud had therefore to be altogether abandoned. We now come to what may be termed the side issues cf the enquiry. The master, having taken upon himself all the respon- sibility respecting the Workhouse stores, the question will naturally be asked whether in his case there was anything approaching to dis- honesty. The answer that must in justice be given to this question, will be gathered from the facts, which we venture to think on the whole re- flect credit upon him, although they may prove that he is not quite hard-hearted enough for a perfect Workhouse master, nor quite careful enough to obtain honour in a position as storekeeper. The dietary tables allow certain quantities of iuod for each pauper daily, bat the Master, instead of weighing out these quantities, has debited himself with all the stores he received, and credited him- self only with tho regulation allowances. The result is a deficiency in the stores in stock, a de- ficiency which the Master will have to make good out of his own pocket. The in-door paupers have, in short, received extra allowances at the expense of the Master. This is undoubtedly an irregularity which ought not to have existed, but it is one that detracts from his business reputa- tion rather than from his character for honesty. The books prove the Master's honesty as clearly as he has vindicated that of the contractors. Of course there is a class of people who will think "there is something in it," and who will ask why the Master did not do this or that or the other if he was not to blame. With these people it' is only necessary to heap up accusations, however groundless, in order to prove that something is wrong. Happily the Aberystwyth Board of Guardians is not composed of men of this kind. The investigation has been so conducted as to re- flect great credit upon the Board, which will in future take a much higher place in public estima- tion than it ever before occupied. Mr. EDWARD HAMER, one of the new Guardians, when he said the Master had been dealing with a fictitious balance, clearly put the Master's actual position in the fewest possible words. The great fact in favour of the Master, as was pointed out by the CHAIRMAN and Mr. LEWIS PUGH PUGH, is that he has debited himself with a balance of stock which he will have to make good if it is not in his possession, and which if his books had not shown it, could only with great difficulty have been proved against him, if it could ever have been proved at all. Just in proportion as the Alaster 1 has debited stock against himself, which he has consumed in the house, does he at once prove his carelessness and his honesty, and it will be a question for the Guardians and the ratepayers whether the one ought not to be set off against the other. The Master in future will see that the paupers obtain nothing beyond the regt11ation, allowance, and when the clerk reads the minutes, and says he has examined the Master's day book and the other books kept by the Master and found them accurate," the words will mean some- thing more than a mere formal observance of a rule. As we have before intimated, the assistant clerk is to blame for not examining the bills be initialled, but the House Committee is still more to blame for not having taken stock at the end of each quarter. Of course it is easy to be wise after the fact. Everybody can see after the horse has been stolen that the stable door ought to have been locked. The censure, however, to be dealt out to the House Committee and to the officials generally, in the absence of fraud or diei- honesty of any kind, need not be unduly severe, especially when it is remembered that if the dietary tables had been strictly adhered to, and the Master had been hard and inflexible in his treatment of the Door. nerhans the Workb rtnfiA I test could not have ben itpp-lid with that success which has characterized the labours of the past seven years. The position of the contractors and the Master of the Workhouse is preferable to that of the prime movers in the investigations which have been held. That the late contractors should havebeen accused of very grave offences absolutely without reason is a mrtter that Mr. THOMAS- GRIFFITHS and Mr. MORRIS DAVIES must settle with Messrs. D. P. and W. RICHARDS and the public as best they can. In another part of the paper will be found a full report of the enquiry on Saturday last, and we are greatly mistaken if the verdict of the public does not endorse that of the committee, which has acquitted the contrac- tors and the Master of anything like dishonesty. It must not be understood that we are defending either the Master, the Clerk, or the House Com- mittee, but when dishonesty is imputed to trades- men and officials it is an act of simple duty to see that justice is done, and that the accused are vindicated as publicly as they are accused.