MONTGOM ER YSII IRE, an inland county in North Wales, on the north touches on Denbigh and Merion ethshires ; from the former, it is in part divided by the river Tannatt ; on the south, it is bounded by Radnor shire ; on the west, by Merionethshire and Cardigan shire ; and on the east, by Shropshire. It measures in length from north to south about 35 miles, and in breadth, from east to west, 30 miles. It is the largest county in Wales, measuring, according to Templeman, 444.800 acres; and, according to Evans, 491,000 acres. Of these, only 60.000 are arable, 180,000 are under pasture, and the rest are in a great measure waste and unculti vated. It is divided into nine hundreds, and contains 47 parishes, and seven market towns, viz. Montgomery, a borough, and the county town ; ‘Nrelspool, Llanfair, Machynleth, Newtoun, and Llanydloes. It re turns two members to Parliament, one for the shire, and one for Montgomery ; is in the province of Canterbury, and dioceses of St. Asaph, Bangor, and Hereford.
This county possesses a larger proportion of fertile vales and plains than most of the Welsh counties. The vale through which the Severn flows, is by far the most considerable, and in general the most fertile ; there are likewise smaller, though equally fertile vales, through which several of the tributary streams of the Severn flow. The greater part of the county, however, is mountainous, and the mountains are in general very bleak in their appearance, as well as sterile. A chain, commencing at Plinlimmon, in the south-west, and run ning north-west, with some deviations, till it terminates in the vale of Festiniog, may be called the back-bone of this county and Metioneth. Nearly 50 miles of this chain might be traversed without crossing a single stream ; and a farm-house on it is so situated, that the rain which falls on the west side of the roof, flows into Cardigan hay, while that which falls on the east side, flows into the sea near Chester. The main streams on the west side of this chain, are the Dovey, the Maw, and the rivulet that flows through the valley of Festiniog ; on the east side, are the sources of the Wye, Severn, Dee, kc. The ‘Vye rises on the south side of Plinlim mon, and taking an east, and afterwards a south-east course, leaves the county. The Severn soon loses its
character of a mountainous stream, forming large val leys, and generally flowing between deep banks. At Llanydloes, it ceases to be a torrent, and thence forms a delightful valley ; as it inclines near Montgomery to the north, the valley expands, and it soon after wards en ters Shropshire, near the Brythen hills. Of the streams which join the Severn in this county, the largest are the Fvrnwy and Tatman. The former is composed of two uniting branches of the same name, which cross the county from the west, and join the Severn near Llandrinio. The Tannatt meets it before its junction with the Se vern. This latter is of the greatest importance as a na vigable river, as it has a conveyance from Montgomery shire into South Wales, through Shropshire, Worcester, and Gloucester, to Bristol. Plinlimmon has been inci dentally mentioned : it lies partly in this county, and partly in Cardiganshire, belonging, however, more pro perly to the latter. Its perpendicular height is far infe rior to that of Snowden and Cader Idris, and it is indeed a very dreary spot. The view from its summit, how ever, is very extensive, and in some points very grand. There is one canal in Montgomeryshire, which begins at Portymain limeworks, in Shropshire, where it unites with the Ellesmere canal. It afterwards crosses the Fyrnwy, and joins another part of the Ellesmere canal. There is a cut to Welspool, and from thence it goes parallel to the Severn, till it joins it at Newton. It is 27 miles long, besides the cuts, and the lockage is '225 feet. The soil of the valleys is principally a strong loam ; that of the mountains a thin and cold clay. Lime stone is only found at the termination of a ridge which runs from the north-west of Anglesey through Caernar vonshirc and Denbighshire, and near the confluence of the Severn and Fernwy : on a limestone rock here, im mense quantities of lime are burnt. The climate of this county varies The midland, west, and south-west parts, are very cold and ungenial, in conse quence of their elevation ; the climate of the valleys, and of the fine arable land that lies on the cast side of the county, is mild, The strongest winds blow from the south-west and north-west. The west wind blows nine months in the year.