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stocked with cattle and sheep, and the metropolis is supplied with 

 beef from them in summer, and from the winter graziers in the 

 same counties during the remainder of the year. 



If a line is drawn from Berwick-on-Tweed to the centre of the 

 Isle of Wight, almost the whole of these counties will be found 

 on its eastern side. It is the arable portion of England, the corn- 

 growing area comparatively flat and lowlying, in comparison with 

 the more elevated tracts of the west. 



Upon the other side of this line will be found the other two 

 divisions. They are of a different nature, being subiect to a rainfall 

 of from 30 to 40- in., and in some cases to a great deal more. 

 They are less strictly agricultural, and are rather pastoral in cha- 

 racter. If, as in the case of Divisions I and II, we briefly review 

 them, we find in the counties of Dorset, Shropshire, and Wilts, 

 centres of first-rate arable farming. On the other hand, Glou- 

 cestershire, Hereford, and Somerset are famous grazing counties. 

 Cornwall boasts a mild and humid climate, which with Scilly con- 

 tributes large supplies of early vegetables for the London market. 

 In Devonshire agriculture is backward, but a redeeming feature is 

 found in the Red Cattle of the North and the lighter-coloured 

 South Devon breed. Worcestershire is the home of orchards, and 

 the source of the best cider and perry; while the market-gardening 

 around Evesham is well worthy of a visit. Some of the best land 

 in the county is found on the middle series of the Old Red Sand- 

 stone, in Hereford and Monmouth, and the Hereford cattle form 

 another most interesting feature. Herefordshire is celebrated for 

 its oaks, which have earned the title of Herefordshire weeds. 



In Division IV, Cheshire not only stands first on the list, but well 

 deserves its position as the theatre of the Cheshire cheese manu- 

 facture. The county was severely punished in 1866 by the cattle 

 plague, when no fewer than 32 148 cattle were compulsorily slaugh- 

 tered, or died, out of a total of 93 044. This must have been a 

 crushing blow, requiring years to recover from. Both the divisions 

 under consideration are mountainous or elevated in character. From 

 the fells and moors of Northumberland and Durham, the hills and 

 dales of West Yorkshire and East Lancashire, the Lake districts 

 of Cumberland, Westmorland and North Lancashire, we pass south- 

 wards into the Peak district of Derbyshire, and the high lands of 

 Staffordshire. Another feature is the distinctly mining and manu- 

 facturing nature of almost the whole area ". 



