12 WESTMORLAND AGRICULTURE, 1800-1900 



feet." Clogs were generally worn on farms during the first half of the 

 century, leather shoes being reserved for Sunday wear and special occa- 

 sions ; they are still in daily use by female farm servants when about 

 their work, and many farm labourers and children also wear them regu- 

 larly — they are still made in exactly the same way as described in 1777. 

 The farm buildings, where they were not immediately joined to 

 or under the farmhouse, were placed against the hillside, in such a 

 position that an easy roadway could be made up to the level of tha 

 bam floor, which was always situated above the shippon and stable, 

 the ground for which was excavated at the back to allow of the roadway 

 being made. The barn was of sufficient size to allow the whole of the 

 hay and produce of the farm being stored in it. Stacks were unknown 

 in the county. The shippons and stable were so low that it was 

 impossible to stand upright in them, they were entirely without light 

 or ventilation, and the floors were of beaten earth or paved roughly 

 with cobbles — little or no bedding was ever given to the horses, and 

 none at all to the cattle. Although in the greater valleys and better 

 agricultural districts the farm buildings have been remodelled, many 

 of these venerable structures still remain in the dales — a standing 

 monument to the hygienic theories of a past age, which are still strenu- 

 ously supported by many of their present-day occupiers, to the satis- 

 faction of their landlords and the joy of their agents. Ash bands 

 were in use for tethering the cattle in the byres, as they were also used 

 for the sheep in the pens. But few implements were in use on the 

 farm and these were usually home-made and of the simplest character. 

 The light wooden swing plough, drawn by three and sometimes two 

 horses, was in general use. Winnowing machines had also been intro- 

 duced, and were fairly common on the larger farms ; previous to their 

 introduction corn was winnowed without any sort of machine, the 

 farmer choosing a suitable day with a sufficiently strong wind to blow 

 the chaff from the corn on the nearest elevation, called the " deeting 

 hill." Many barns were constructed with a small door directly 

 opposite the larger entrance, for the purpose of creating a draught 

 sufficient to winnow the grain as it was poured over the edge of a 

 " weyt," a kind of shallow dish made of a sheep-skin fixed over a 

 narrow hoop. The up and down churn was in general use for the 

 production of butter. 



