Book I. 



AGRICULTURE OF YORKSHIRE. 



II 1 5 



3. Biiifdiiifrf. 



Mansions and farm-houses, as in the West RidinK> hut 

 cather inferior; cottages liccidedly inferior; small and low, 

 rarelif with two rooms ; damp and unwholsome hovels. Close 

 wainscoted beds used, as in the pt>orer parts of Scotland, which 

 are sources of insects and infection, and every way unwhole- 

 ome. 



4. Occupation. 



Farms on the whole small, many very small : farmers sober, 

 industrious and orderly; most of them have been educated, and 

 educate their children. Few leases. 



5. Implements. 



Rotheram or Dutch plough : hay sweep for drawitiR hay to. 

 gether, with a horse, and a simple sort of cart (Ji^'. 71) t a.) in 



794 



use, formed almost wholly of timber, and to be drawn b one, 

 two or three horses abreast {b) ; wheels entirely cf wood . () ; 

 *hen to le emptied, the shaft horse is taken out, but not the 

 others. Another variety for harvest work (./Z^. 79i.) 



fi. Arable Land. 



In the vale of York one-third in tillage ; about Cleveland 

 one-half ; on the moors much less. Culture and rotations as 

 in the West Riding. Rye more frequently Jiown than wheat 

 on the light sandy soils ; often mixed with wheat, and then 

 called Meslin. 



Tobacco much cultivated a few years prior to 1782 m the 

 vale of York and Ryedale. In the latter district it did not ex- 

 cite thg netice of regal authority ; and was cured and manu- 

 factured by a man who had formerly t>een employed upon the 

 tobacco planUtions in America ; who not only cured it pro- 

 perly, but gave it the proper cut, and finally prepared it for 

 the pipe- But in the vale of York the cultivators of it met 

 with less favorable circumstances. Their tobacco was pub- 

 lu;lv burnt, and themelves severely fined and imprisoned. 

 I'enalties, it was said, were paid to the amount of thirty 

 thousand pounds. This was enough to put a stop to the illegal 

 cultivation of tobacco. But, perhaps rather unfortunately, it 

 lias likewise put a stop to the cultivation of that limited quan- 

 tity half a rod, which the law allows to be planted for the pur- 

 IKjses of phvsic and chinirgery, or destroying insects. 



Mustard grown in considerable Quantities in the neighbor, 

 hood of York, and fields of it nia^ be met with in other parts 

 of the Riding. It is prepared f<)r use in the city of York, 

 where there are mills and machinery for the purpose; and 

 it is afterwards sold under the name of Durham mustard ; 

 sown either on land pared and burned, or prepared and ma- 

 nured as for ttimips. Seed, one to two pecks |>er acre broad- 

 taust, in the early part of May. No culture whilst growing, 

 except hand- weeding, if necessary. Shorn with the sickle in 

 Septemlwr, and generally stacked in the field, and threshed 

 out ujwn a cloth, at the convenience of the farmer. Two 

 quarters jier acre is thought a good crop. 



reu/e grown on strong soils; seetl, two pecks a little before 

 Afav-day ; surface dug or forked ovi-r in .June, < )ctpber, and 

 l.ady-dav ; rea>ed in August ; l(t pei tks an acre a good crop ; 

 ch pack IXW bunches, of ten teasleseach ; price, 3 to 5 

 guineas per pack. 

 7. Grass. 



Old pastures and meadows verv badly managed ; uplands 

 overrun with moss and ant-hills; meadows with rushes; and 

 -0 neglected, 'hat what would be <orth 'JQO/. under a proper 

 fionrsC of h-usbdndry, is dear at la. ; chielly devoted to the 

 dairy. 



8 Gardrs am/ Orcknrd.'!. 



Hav made but little ptogiccs m this Riding owing to the 



want of manufacturing towns to create a demand ; farmers ' 

 gardens, as in most places, nmch neglected. 



9. Woodlands. 



Of small extent; a good deal of timber in hedgerows in va, 

 rious places. 



10. Live Stock. 



Short horned cattle chiefly prevalent. Stall feeding carried 

 to less extent than dairying. Cows taken in at Martinmas, ar.d 

 fed on turnips, and straw or hay if there are no turnips ; but- 

 ter chiefly made and salted in firkins, and sold to the factors, 

 who ship it to J^ondon ; a good many cows brought u() for 

 London, and any surplus stock for the Lincolnshire graziers. 



Slieep. In the bleaker parts, the Cleveland breed, large coarse 

 boned slow feeders, and the wool drv and harsh. All the new 

 breeds introduced, and several professed rain breeders in the 

 vale of York. 



Hones. This Riding long famed for its horses, particularFy 

 those of Cleveland, in the northern part of the vale of York 

 a light breed for saddle and coach ; in Cleveland, a fuller 

 boned horse, very strong and active, and well adapted tor 

 either plough or coach. In all the other districts horses are 

 generally bred ; on the western moorlands Scotch galloways 

 are put to the stallions of the countrv, " and rear a hardy an* 

 strong race in pro|>ortion to their size." Before the war mules, 

 were bred and sent to the West Indies. Some farmers do not 

 breed, but buy colts and work them till four or five years oldv 

 and then shoe thein for the first time, and sell them to the 

 iiondon dealers for coach horses. 



The farmers mho breed horset, generally breed from those 

 mares which are employed in the busiiiess of the farm ; 

 these are often worked until the very time of foaling, after 

 which they have usually two or three weeks rest, before thev 

 are again taken to work : the foal, during the time the dain 

 is working, especially whilst it is young, is shut up in a stable ; 

 and it is the practice of some, before she is sutfiered to go t* 

 the foal, after returning from work, to bathe her udder with' 

 cold water, and to draw most of the milk from it, to prevent 

 the milk, which may have been heated bv labor, from hav- 

 ing any hurtful elf'ect upon the foal. Some' continue this 

 practice as long as the foal sucks : others, after the foal has 

 got sufficient strength to travel along with the mare, Uke it 

 along with her into the fields, and frequently suffer it tosucky 

 horn an opinion, that by the milk being frequently drawn, les 

 danger arises of its being heated, or of posses.sing any quality 

 prejudicial to the foal. The general time of foaling is about 

 May-day (from which day the age of all horses is reckoned), 

 a.id that of weaning, about Michaelmas, when the foals are 

 put into good after-grass, or the best pasture the farmer pos. 

 sesses : tiiey remain there as long as the weather permits (if 

 there be sufficient food), and, on the a}iproach of winter, have 

 a little good hay given them, where there is a stable, or hovel, 

 that they can go into at their pleasure. The colts are usual, 

 ly geldetl in the si>riiig following, and in summer are allowed 

 only an inferior |)asture ; the next winter they make thein 

 living in the fields, or in the straw-yard, except they are in- 

 tended to work in the spring, which is frequently expected ot 

 those of a strong kind : such are rather better kept as the time 

 of labor draws nigh, and are only put to light and easy work, 

 and generally work only half a day at once. Some keep their 

 colts a year longer, before the operation is performed, and find 

 that such become the stronger and handsomer horses. The 

 foal always receives a great check by being weaned, which it 

 does not well recover before it gets the fresh pasture of the 

 following summer. The foals which are gelded at one year 

 old, receive a second check, at the very time they should be- 

 gin to recover from the first; whereas, at two years old, they 

 appear to be in the best condition for the operation, and re- 

 cover at least as well as at one year old, and are much im- 

 proved by the keeping of the preceding year. 



ExporlaHon of horses. The horses which are sold for the 

 London market, if for the carriage, are chiefly bay geldings, 

 with but little white on their legs and faces , those which 

 have much white, with chestnut, roan, and other unusually 

 colored horses and mares, generally do not bear an equal price 

 ill the London market ; but with other slight and under- 

 sized horses, are more sought after by foreigners, and eagerly 

 purchased by them for exportation ; or are exportfd by people 

 of this country, who carry them to the foreign markets, and 

 ultimately obtain a price equal to that obtained for those 

 sold at home : by these means the exportation, contrary t<> 

 an usually received, but ill founded opinion, has a strong; 

 tendency to reduce the price of those horses which are calcu- 

 lated for the home maiket; and since as many fillies as 

 colts are naturally hretl, and one-third of the colts at least 

 will either have too much white for the home market, or be 

 of .some other color than that which is fashionable at the 

 lime, if the breeder had not a market for those, which ap- 

 jiear to be two-thirds at least of all he unavoidably breeds, he 

 would be compelled to put such a price upon the one-third 

 which hap)>ened to suit the home market, or variable taste 

 of the moment, as would jiay for the other two-thirds ; which 

 last would either be unsaleable, or fetch very inadequate 

 prices. The consequence naturally flowing from this would 

 be, that the price of horses use<i at home would be far 

 greater than at present, when a foreign demand procures ta 

 the breeder nearly as good a price for the horses that would 

 otherwi.se be useless and unsaleable, as for those which are 

 valued at home. 



RtUiliitm are kept in one or two warrens ; in one the silver 

 grey is kept ; the skins <jf this variety being worth double 

 those of the greys : not used for felts like the common skins, 

 but dressed as "furs, and exported to China to be worn by 

 the Mandarin.s. 

 11. Political Economy. 



Roads in an improving state; bridges better attended tor 

 than in most counties ; but guide-posts neglected, whicli an 

 annotator on Tuke's report justly remarks, is a sort of revert- 

 ing to barbarism ; as an attention to these sort of minutis, 

 is one of the most siriking marks of civilization. Various- 

 canals. 



Mart'ifartiires of sail cloth and cordage at M'hitby and 

 Scarborough ; at various places in its neighborhood, alum 

 works ; 4000 tons of this article annually shipjied from WWl- 

 by ; linens, cotfon^, woollen, nd paptr manufactured ii 

 vdriuus places. 



