CARDIGANSHIRE is divided from Caermar thenshire and Pembrokeshire, along the greatest part of its-southern side, by the Tivy ; 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 Radnor shire and Breeenshire, 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 40 miles. Its breadth does not average 20. It contains 720 square miles, or 464,040 Ewes. It is divided into five hundreds. The market towns are Aberystwith, Cardigan, Lien bodariasser, Llanbeder, and Tregaron. The num ber of padhea, according to the last Parliamentary returns respecting the poor's.ratea, is 97. 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 coast of Cardigan Bay ' (which is formed by the projecting counties of Caer. narvon on the north, and Pembroke on the south, with the coasts of Merioneth and Cardigan in the centre), according to tradition and appearance, have 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 hun dred, 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 remark able is St Patrick's Causeway, which extends from within a mile of the point of Mochras, south of Harlech, 22 miles into the sea, in a serpentine line. It is formed of rough stones, 24 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 Tivy, the Rydiol, the Ystwyth, and the Aeron. The Tivy rises in Llyn Teefy, or Tivy Pool, in a mountain in the north east of the county. On the top of this mountain there are five lakes, of which Tivy Pool is the prin. cipal. It is about one mile and a half in circum ference, is surrounded by high and perpendicular rocks, and is said never to have been fathomed. The Tivy at first flows through a rocky district afterwards, forming a regular channel, it passes Tr.• garen ; and, at Llanbeder, becomes; the boundary between Caermartbenshire and Cardiganshire. It
falls into the sea about two miles below Cardigan. The Rydiol rises on the south-west side of Min Emmen ; its course is about south-west ; and it falls. into the sea near Aberystwyth. About 12 miles above this town is the Devil's Bridge, called by the Welch, Pont Monach, or the Monks' Bridge, and Pont ar nach, from the confluence here of the Fynach wi the Rydiol. There are two arches, one above the other. The uppermost is between 20 and SO feet in the chord ; and the other less than 20. The upper one was built in 1758 ; 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 18 feet below. The next fall is 60 feet, the third fall is 20, and the last is 110 feet. Near this is the fail of the Rydiol, the scenery round which is considered very striking and The Ystwyth rises among the hills on the eastern side of the county, and falls into the sea at Aberystwyth. The Aeron is be tween six and seven miles in extent, receives six tri butary streams, and forms, during the whole of its course, nearly the arc 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 bat the northern and eastern pasts 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 an4 poor, except in the narrow values, where it consists of clay or peat. The tract along the sea toast pro ' duces good crops of wheat, barley, turnips, potatoes, and oats. The quality, as well as the produce of barley grown in some parts of this tract, are 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 con stantly under this crop, and has been so for at least half a century. It is manured every three years with sea-weed. Potatoes are grown on the peat mosses in such a manner as at once to secure good crops, and to drain the land. The potatoe sets are laid on the surface of the bog, a little manure spread over them, and they are afterwards covered with earth dug out of the trenches.