252 THE BRITISH ISLES. 



iiaine, is protected by a spit of sand, and oft'ers great advantages as a naval station. 

 Amongst other watering-places along this coast licdvar and Salthurx-hy-tJie-Sea 

 deserve to be mentioned. 



The crescent-shaped range of the cretaceous York Wolds extends from the 

 Huraber above Hull to Flaraborough Head, and presents a bold escarpment 

 towards the vales of York and Pickering, at the foot of which lie the market 

 towns of Marhct Wi'i(j}ifon and Poc/i/ingfon. The towns along the inner rim, 

 which merges in the lowlands of Holderness, are far more important. Foremost 

 amongst them is Kingston-npon-IIull, usually known as Hull, from the small 

 tributary of the Humber at the mouth of which it has been built. Hull is the 

 great port of the whole region, and on the east coast of England it holds a place 

 analogous to that of Liverpool on tlie west coast. The great port of tlie Mersey 

 is fed by the manufacturing district of Lancashire ; that of the Humber is 

 the emporium of Yorkshire : the former trades in cotton and cottons, the latter 

 in wool and woollens. Hull, in certain respects, enjoys advantages superior 

 even to those of Liverpool, for the Humber and its many navigable tributaries 

 place it in facile communication with a considerable portion of Central England. 

 l>ut though possessing the advantage as regards the river and coasting trades, it 

 is less favoured with respect to the world at large. Hull can look only to 

 Germany, Scandinavia, and the Baltic to feed its commerce, whilst Liverpool faces 

 not only Ireland, but also the New World, and trades largely with Africa. 



This advantage of Liverpool, however, only revealed itself after America 

 had been discovered and distinct colonies established, and for a considerable 

 period Hull was her superior. In the fourteenth century it was the third port 

 of England, ranking next to London and Bristol. It furnished Edward IIL 

 with sixteen vessels, manned by 500 sailors, to be employed against France. 

 As long as England was a grain-exporting country — that is, until about 1770 — 

 large flotillas of barges laden with corn descended all the rivers which discharge 

 themselves into the Humber, and Hull was the natural emporium through which 

 the corn trade with Holland was carried on.* At the present time Hull ranks 

 fifth, and it imports corn, flour, and other agricultural produce, as well as cattle, 

 from Germany, Denmark, and the Baltic. Wool and tobacco likewise figure 

 largely amongst the imports, in return for which Hull exports the produce of 

 the numerous industrial inland towns as well as of its own machine shops, 

 chemical works, oil-crushing mills, and other factories. Lines of steamers place 

 Hull in regular communication with all the ports of the east coast of Great 

 Britain and of Northern Europe. Hull was one of the first towns to take advan- 

 tage of the maritime route to Siberia opened up by the persistent labours of 

 Nordenskjold. In 1877 a Hull steamer laden with coal and petroleum reached 

 Tobolsk. The docks, constructed since 1778, and the crescent-shaped roadstead 

 of the river, here 2 miles in width, are at all times crowded with shipping of 

 every description. There are ship -building yards, principally for the construc- 

 ♦ Halley, "Atlas' Maritimns ft Commercial is," 1728. 



