ows,
the Teifi has from the earliest times been celebrated for the quantity
and quality of its salmon, which are netted in great numbers on Cardigan
Bar. Trout and sewin (a local species of sea-trout) are also plentiful,
so that the Teifi is much frequented by anglers. This river is also
believed to have been the last British haunt of the beaver (_afangc,
lost-llydan_), for the slaying of which a very heavy penalty was exacted
by the old royal laws of Wales. Giraldus Cambrensis, Michael Drayton,
and other writers allude to this circumstance, though at what date the
beaver became extinct in these waters is quite uncertain. On the Teifi
may frequently be observed fishermen in coracles. Other rivers worthy of
mention are the Dovey (Dyfi), separating Cardigan from Merioneth in the
extreme north; the Rheidol and the Ystwyth, which rise in Plinlimmon;
and the Aeron, which has its source in Llyn Eiddwen, a pool in the hilly
district known as Mynydd Bach. All these streams flow westward into
Cardigan Bay.

The valley of the Teifi presents many points of great beauty and
interest between Llandyssul and the sea. The rapids of Henllan, the
falls of Cenarth and the wooded cliffs of Coedmore constitute some of
the finest scenery in South Wales. The valley of the Aeron is well
wooded and fertile, while the Rheidol contains amidst striking
surroundings the famous cascade spanned by the Devil's Bridge, which is
known to the Welsh as Pont-ar-Fynach (the Monks' Bridge).

_Geology._--The rocks of Cardiganshire consist of shales, slates and
grits which have been folded and uptilted so that nowhere do they
retain their original horizontality. They belong entirely to the
Ordovician and Silurian periods; they have yielded few fossils, and
much work remains to be done upon them before the stratigraphical
subdivisions can be clearly defined. Many metalliferous lodes occur in
the rocks, and the lead mines have long been famous; it was from the
profits of his mining speculations, carried on chiefly in this county,
that the celebrated Sir Hugh Myddleton was enabled to carry out his
gigantic project for supplying London with water by means of the New
River. Copper and zinc ores have also been obtained. Tregaron is the
centre of the mining district, and the Lisburne, Goginan and Cwm
Ystwyth mines are among the most important.

The slates have been worked at Devil's Bridge, Corris, Strata Florida,
Goginan, &c. Glacial