Fanning in YorksJdrc 



177 



the third year a crop is frequently on the land. This 

 crop generally consists of seeds. They are hoed in 

 by hand, as the surface is too soft for horses to go 

 over. After lying \.\\o or three years in seeds the land is 

 drained, and is ready for ordinary cultivation.' The 

 seeds are generally grazed by sheep. After draining, 

 the chief crops gro\\n are wheat, beans, and flax. 

 On some warp land heavy crops of potatoes are gi'own. 

 Formerly large quantities %\'ere grown for the London 

 market, but now the lai-ge manufacturing districts in 

 the Midland counties take greatest part. Mr Here- 

 path found a sample of suspended matter in the water 

 used for warping, to consist in the anhydrous state of 

 the following : — 



Per Cent. 

 Organic matter . . . . 11.49 

 Soluble salts . . . . 3.2 



Carbonate of lime . . . 6. 94 



Carbonate of magnesia . . 5.02 



Alkalies from decomposed silicates 0.24 



Lime 0.75 



Magnesia . . . . . 3.27 



Oxide of iron and alumina . . 12.82 



Phosphate of iron . . . 1.22 



Insoluble silicious matter . . 55- 02 



99-97 

 Last year there was 626, 799 acres of land in this 

 Riding under cultivation, divided under the following 

 crojDS : — Corn crops, 269,307 acres ; green crops, 

 99,930 acres ; clover, &c., 86,889 acres ; grass, 

 145,849 acres. Of the corn crops 43 per cent, con- 

 sisted of wheat, 18 per cent, of barley, 30 per cent, of 

 oats, and the remainder of beans, peas, and lye. Of 

 the green crops, 69,159 acres were under swedes and 

 turnips, 9447 acres under potatoes, 10,029 acres 

 vetches, &c., 9379 acres cabbages, &c., and 1916 acres 

 mangolds and carrots; while the live stock consisted of 

 19,890 milch cows, 39,622 other cattle, 549,780 sheep, 

 and 60,020 pigs. 



The West Riding is noted more for its manu- 

 factories than for its agriculture, an abundant 

 supply of coal affording cheap fuel for the produc- 

 tion of the motive power required in the manufacture 

 of those products of industry for which this district is 

 so celebrated. The Yorkshire coal-field embraces at 

 the least one-third of this Riding. The surface of the 

 soil is very undulating, rising into high hills in the 

 west. The soils are veiy varied. In the vales 

 amongst the mountain limestone hills, near the western 

 boundaries, the soils are veiy fertile, and produce ex- 

 cellent pastures. As we approach the coal for.nations 

 they are more inferior, but, being better fanned, are 

 nearly as productive. In the manufacturing districts 

 the land is generally under pasture, the demand for 

 milk rendering the dairy a very remunerative branch of 

 farm management. Here and there, however, near 

 some of the large to%vns, we meet with arable fanns 

 very highly cultivated, indeed, more like market 

 gardens than ordinary fanns. On some of these fai-ms, 

 VOL. I, 



a large quantity of potatoes are grown ; manure 

 being plentiful and cheap in most of these dis- 

 tricts. The farmers seldom adopt any regular sys- 

 tem of rotation, but grow those crops that are the 

 most remunerative. A good deal of land has for a 

 long period been cropped with alternate crops of 

 potatoes and wheat, while there are some instances 

 where wheat has been grown on the same soil for a 

 long series of years without any intervening gi-een 

 crop or fallow. Along the valley of the river Wharfe, 

 past Ilkley, Otiey, and on to Harewood, the land is 

 very fertile; a large proportion of it is in grass, stocked 

 with shorthorns and Leicester sheep. At Harewood, 

 where the land rises, the soil is not so tenacious, and 

 is mostly under arable cultivation; it is well cultivated, 

 and produces excellent crops. On the magnesian 

 limestone, near Doncaster, Knaresborough, and Ripon, 

 the land is lighter, a larger area of turnips are grown, 

 and sheep farming more exclusively followed. Passing 

 from Doncaster northward towards Heddlesey, 

 past Hensall and Heck, the soil becomes very sandy. 

 Continuing northward it becomes more and more firm 

 and loamy in its character, and the district round 

 Boroughbridge is noted for the superior pasture and 

 arable land it contains. On the alluvial soils of the 

 banks of the tidal rivers that flow into the Humber, in 

 the south-east portion of this Riding, there is a large 

 area of fertile land— on these soils, besides the usual 

 com and green crops, flax, teazles, woad, rape, mus- 

 tard, &c., are grown. Near Selby and Goole a large 

 area of the land is annually under the potato crop. 



Last year 1,144,537 acres of land in this Riding was 

 under cultivation — under corn crops, 255,783 acres; 

 green crops, 105,523 acres ; clover, 98,375 acres ; and 

 permanent pasture, 656,716 acres. Of the corn 

 crops 38 per cent, consisted of wheat, 28 per cent, 

 barley, 25 per cent, oats, the remainder consisting of 

 rye, beans, and peas ; and of the green crops, 22,830 

 acres consisted of potatoes, and 65,773 acres of 

 Swedes and turnips. 



In the districts round Doncaster some good horses 

 are bred. The prevailing breed of cattle throughout 

 this Riding is the improved shorthorn. In the dairy 

 districts there are a good number of longhoms. There 

 are some good flocks of pure bred Leicester sheep, but 

 generally a cross with the Shropshire ram and Leices- 

 ter ewe is preferred, the produce of which is much 

 more valuable than the pure bred Leicester. In 1867 

 the live stock of this Riding consisted of the following 

 animals: — 91,610 milch cows, 119,565 otlrer cattle, 

 815,041 sheep, and 93,017 pigs. 



The rent of land varies greatly in this county, de- 

 pendent on the quality of the soil, the proximity to 

 good markets, &c. In the West Riding, in the dis- 

 trict round Wharfedale, poor arable land lets as low as 

 I OS. per acre, while the better land in gi-ass on the 

 banks of the river brings as much as 60s. per acre ; for 

 land situated near the large towns, and for the alluvial 

 flats, near Goole and Selby, much higher rents are 

 obtained. In the East Ridmg, or Sunk Island, rents 



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