YORKSHIRE. 



147 



south, along the coast, the surface in general is flat 

 and marshy, and near Hornsea is a lake called Horn- 

 sea Mere. This tract terminates in the low narrow 

 headland called Spurn Head, westward of which is 

 Sunk Island, consisting of fertile meadowland, 

 nearly -5000 acres in extent, which has been chiefly 

 recovered from the sea since the beginning of the 

 seventeenth century. The western part of this 

 Riding, usually termed the Levels, is a fruitful tract, 

 but the scenery is tame and uninteresting. The 

 Ainstey of York, situated bet ween the three Ridings, 

 though comparatively inconsiderable in the point of 

 size, may be regarded as constituting a fourth dis- 

 tinct division. It is situated at the junction of the 

 three Ridings, and is divided from the North Rid- 

 ing by the rivers Nid and Ouse, from the East Rid- 

 ing by the latter river, and from the West Riding 

 principally by the Wharfe. The Ainstey was an- 

 ciently a forest, and in the character of its surface 

 and scenery it corresponds with the other parts of 

 the vale of York. 



The rivers of this county are numerous. They 

 in general rise in the mountainous borders of the 

 county, on every side except towards the sea, and 

 uniting as their streams flow toward the centre, 

 like the veins of a spreading leaf, at length tejmi- 

 nate in one main trunk, which opens into the estu- 

 ary of the Humber. The most important of these 

 rivers are the Northern Ouse, the Swale, the lire, 

 the Wharfe, the Derwent, the Aire, the Calder, 

 the Don, or Dun, and the Rother ; besides which 

 the Tees skirts the northern border of the county, 

 and the Ribble, which soon passes into Lancashire, 

 has its source in the western mountains of this 

 county. There are several small streams, which 

 rise in the northern part of the county and fall into 

 the Tees. Among those which empty themselves 

 immediately into the sea is the Eske, which has its 

 source in the eastern moorlands, and, passing east- 

 ward, enters the German ocean at Whitby. 



With regard to the agriculture of Yorkshire, the 

 soil of the North Riding is chiefly of brownish clay 

 and loam, and the hills along the coast, abound with 

 argillaceous schistus, or alum shale. In the district 

 of Cleveland the soil is a fertile clay and fine red 

 sand, and in the Ainstey of York its composition is 

 variable, but it is generally fertile. Swaledale con- 

 tains very rich land, while the eastern moorlands 

 are covered with morasses, peat-bogs, or loose 

 rocks. In the West Riding the soil varies in qua- 

 lity, from a deep strong clay, or loam, to barren ! 

 peat-earth. In the Wolds of the East Riding are > 

 300,000 acres of sheep-walks, the soil of which is a , 

 light gravelly loam ; and near the borders of the 

 Humber is found strong clay-loam, remarkable for 

 its fertility. In the North Riding, a considerable 

 part of the vale of York, and the district between 

 it and the sea, is under tillage. That portion of 1 ' 

 the West Riding extending westward from the 

 river Ouse to Leeds, Wakefield, and Rotherham, 

 consists principally of arable land, but little of which 

 is found in other parts of the Riding. In the East 

 Riding most of the land in the Wolds is under til- 

 lage, and also about one-third of the land in Holder- 

 ness and Howdenshire, but more in the former than 

 the latter. Wheat is raised in many parts in large 

 quantities, the quality of which is good, especially 

 in Cleveland ; barley is largely cultivated in the 

 Wolds ; and in Rycdule, and other parts of the 

 North Riding, big and bear are sometimes raised ; 

 rye is also cultivated on the lighter soils, sometimes, 

 together with wheat. Oats form a general crop in 



the North and West Ridings, and in the latter this 

 grain is frequently made into bread. Peas are chiefly 

 raised in the North and East Ridings, and beans on 

 the stronger soils. Swedish and other turnips are 

 cultivated in various parts, and in the East Riding 

 several kinds of cabbages are grown for feeding 

 cattle. The culture of potatoes is general, and on 

 the borders of the Ouse, and in Holderness, large 

 quantities are raised for exportation to London. 

 Rape is raised for seed in the North and West Rid- 

 ings, flax in several parts, woad in the neighbour- 

 hood of Selby, mustard around York, and teasels in 

 the wapentake of Barkstone Ash, in the West Rid- 

 ing. This county has long been noted for the ex- 

 cellence of its breed of horses, especially those of 

 the North and East Ridings. The coach and saddle 

 horses are generally sold at the fairs of Beverley, 

 Malton, York, and Howden, and distributed to dif- 

 ferent parts of the kingdom, and often sent to the 

 continent. The West Riding is famous for a breed 

 of long-horned cattle, called the Craven breed; but 

 in the northern part of the vale of York, and in 

 Cleveland, the cattle are of the short-horned kind, 

 called the Teeswater breed, known in the south of 

 England under the appellation of Holderness cattle. 

 Sheep kept here are of various kinds : on the Wolds 

 those of the South-Down variety have been intro- 

 duced ; on the moors of the West Riding is a breed 

 of sheep, supposed to be indigenous, called the 

 Penistone breed ; and great numbers of Scots sheep 

 are fed in the low parts of the county. 



The mineral productions of Yorkshire include 

 coal, iron, and lead ores ; alumstone, marble, lime- 

 stone, and alabaster. In the West Riding is one of 

 the most extensive coal-fields in the kingdom,, ex- 

 tending westward from a line, stretching from north 

 to south, between Ripon and Tickhill. The coal- 

 mines are most numerous between the rivers Aire 

 and Calder, and to the south about Barnsley 

 and Sheffield. Ironstone is found in great quanti- 

 ties in the eastern moorlands, and some strata of 

 this ore are worked in the vicinity of Whitby. At 

 Grassington, in the West Riding, are considerable 

 lead-mines, and there are others in Swaledale, Ark- 

 endale, and other parts of the western moorlands. 

 Copper-ore has been found in the North Riding, at 

 Richmond and at Middleton Tyas, where mines 

 existed about the middle of the last century. The 

 hills of Cleveland, and the rocks on the coast of 

 the North Riding, consist largely of strata of alu- 

 minous slate, and near Whitby, alum-works have 

 been long established. Marble occurs in the west- 

 ern mountains, some of which resembles in its veins 

 and texture the Derbyshire marble ; but it is used 

 only for making lime, or other common purposes. 

 Alabaster, or gypsum, is met with in the North 

 Riding; and there are quarries from which it is 

 procured near Thornton bridge, on the Swale ; it 

 is also found in the oth r Ridings. Near Knaresbo- 

 rough occurs a bed of Strontian earth ; and about 

 Whitby are found the fossils called cornua ammo- 

 nis, with some other curious productions of a simi- 

 lar kind. 



The manufactures of Yorkshire, especially those 

 of the West Riding, are of great national import- 

 ance. Woollen cloths and stuffs, of various descrip- 

 tions, have long been manufactured in the extensive 

 district around Halifax, Bradford, Leeds, Wake- 

 field, and Huddersfield. This manufacture former- 

 ly was principally confined to the coarser kinds of 

 cloth, but now broad cloths and kerseymeres are 

 largely made ; and, likewise, blankets, carpets, 

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