AGRICULTURE OF THE FYLDE 53 



factory cheese-makers who are participating in the scheme convert during the 

 winter months about 20,000 gallons and during the summer months about 

 30,000 gallons of milk daily into Lancashire cheese. 



Pigs and Bacon. 



With the large quantities of whey available as a by-product of cheese-making, 

 pig-keeping is an important branch of farming in the Fylde. The Large White 

 is the popular breed, and many excellent herds of pigs are found in the district. 

 Owing to their high rate of breeding it is possible to rapidly adjust the numbers 

 of pigs kept in accordance with economic conditions, and as the Pigs Marketing 

 Scheme has brought a measure of stability to an industry which had been 

 subject to severe cyclical fluctuations in prices, there has been some increase in 

 the numbers of pigs kept in the Fylde. A number of farmers have erected 

 new pig-houses of the Scandinavian type, and closer attention is being paid to 

 efficiency in management and feeding, as it is recognised that the margin of 

 profit provided under the scheme is so small that only under a highly efficient 

 system of management will pig-keeping be found reasonably remunerative. 



There is no large curing factory in the area, but there are a large number of 

 comparatively small curers who cater for the demand for lean pork and fat 

 bacon which is met with in Lancashire. For this purpose a pig of 10 to 

 12 score carcase weight is required, from which before curing a length of lean 

 is cut out for sale as fresh pork, the thick back fat being cured for bacon. 

 Although the larger proportion of pigs are probably sold under contract through 

 the Pigs Marketing Board at seven to eight-and-a-half scores, a considerable 

 number are still fed to the heavier v/eight to meet the special requirements of the 

 Lancashire curer. 



Sheep and Horses. 



Sheep do not play an important part in Fylde farming, but small flocks are 

 kept on many of the farms. Ewes are purchased from Scotland or from the 

 hill districts further north and sold fat after one or two crops of lambs. The 

 ewes are mainly Mashams — the progeny of the Wensleydale ram and the 

 Swaledale ewe — or white-faced half-breds, the cross between the Border 

 Leicester and Cheviot. These ewes are usually crossed with a Suffolk tup 

 with the object of catering for the early fat lamb market. The Suffolk Masham 

 cross is very popular with the butcher. Lambing is common in February, and 

 the lambs are sold at carcase weights of 30 to 40 lbs. There is no root-feeding 

 of sheep, but many farmers buy half-bred lambs at the autumn sheep sales in 

 the north for feeding on seeds or aftergrass. 



Beef-production in the mam is confined to the feeding of cows no longer 

 required in the milking herd, but some farmers make a practice of fattening 

 a few cattle — mainly Irish stores — which are sold generally at about 8 cwts. 

 live weight. The beef subsidy has helped to check the tendency to change 

 over from beef to milk, and thus has indirectly helped the dairy farmer. 



Mechanisation on the land is not highly developed. Small farms and 

 small fields do not provide suitable conditions for the application of power to 

 farming, and cultivations are carried out mainly by horse labour. A few 



