246 FURNESS AND THE LAKE DISTRICT 



and are protected by a sea wall and drained. The 

 upland farms, mostly in grass, are of varied size 

 though rarely large, and are rented at about 1 per 

 acre ; to them are often attached allotments wide 

 areas of rough grazing where the fells run up to some 

 considerable elevation. Most of the farms possess a 

 small proportion of arable land on which a rotation of 

 oats, seeds, turnips and potatoes is followed, though the 

 seeds are left down for several years. Indeed, the 

 farmer may be said to move a three-year shift of 

 cultivation slowly over all the better fields that are fit 

 to put under the plough, because in this moist, mild 

 climate no difficulty is experienced in establishing a 

 good pasture immediately after it has been sown down. 

 A few fields of wheat were to be seen, but barley has 

 practically disappeared from the district. 



On one farm we visited the production of milk was 

 the chief industry, and a large proportion of it was 

 made into butter, for the fringe of small watering- 

 places round Morecambe Bay provides a good local 

 market for dairy produce. We argued out the old 

 question of the profitableness of butter-making when 

 a gallon of milk can be sold wholesale for ?d., yet, 

 under the best of local conditions, a pound of butter 

 for which nearly three gallons of milk are required will 

 not produce more than is. 3d., on the average for the 

 year. Butter-making can only be a poor business, 

 unless a very exceptional profit can be made out of 

 rearing calves on the separated milk. The farmer's 

 wife whom we visited had learnt to make first-rate 

 butter by modern methods, and had no doubt about 

 its profitableness, but that was only because she was 

 obtaining is. 2d. a pound when lod. was the ordinary 

 price for country butter. Even her price was a poor 

 return for the milk, considering that the butter-making 



