498 



CUMBERLAND. 



Cumber- about, by which means they tread down the snow and 

 ,f^" d ' keep above it. The other kind of sheep are the black- 

 • faced, coarse woolled, heath sheep, the flesh of which 



is of a most delicate flavour. Of the manures used in 

 Cumberland, the only one requiring notice as peculiar 

 to this county, is mussels : these are laid on the land 

 in the neighbourhood of Ravenglass, at the rate of five 

 or six cart loads per acre: they are found in great abun- 

 dance on the lands adjoining the coast. It has been 

 accidentally discovered on the estate of Lord Mun- 

 caster in this county, that sea-sand will destroy moss, 

 but it is not used as a manure. 

 Manufac- Manufactures are not extensive or numerous in Cum- 

 rures. berland : the principal are the spinning and weaving of 



cotton into calicoes, corduroys, and other articles. Cot- 

 ton spinning was first introduced at Dalston, from 

 which place it has extended to Carlisle, Warwick-bridge, 

 Corby, Comersdale, and a few other places. There are 

 small manufactories of checks and coarse linens in some 

 of the market towns. Cotton printing is carried on at Car- 

 lisle on a pretty large scale. At Whitehaven and Egre- 

 mont, there is a manufacture of sail cloth. There are also 

 -a few paper-mills, and a manufactory of coarse earthen 

 ware near Dearham. On the borders of the Derwent, 

 above Workington, are the Seaton iron works, which em- 

 ploy several hundred men. They were erected in 1 763. 

 They consist of two blast furnaces for meltingiron ore; a 

 mill for the rolling and slitting of bar iron, and a double 

 forge for refining and drawing it; a foundery with various 

 small furnaces, for casting cannon and iron work of all 

 kinds ; a mill for boring cannon, cylinders, and many 

 other contrivances suitable to the nature of the manu- 

 facture. The exports of this county consist principally 

 • of coals from Whitehaven, Workington, and Maryport, 

 Commerce, to Ireland. In 1 566, there was but one vessel belong- 

 ing to Cumberland that was of 10 tons burden; now 

 there are upwards of 300 from 60 to 120 tons employed 

 in the coast trade alone. In 1566, the whole exports con- 

 sisted °f a small quantity of herrings and cod fish, andthe 

 only thing imported a little salt. In 1582, on a survey 

 being taken of the ships and mariners within this coun- 

 ty by the Earl pf Lincoln, who was at that time Lord 

 High Admiral, the vessels amounted only to twelve, 

 -and one of which was of 80 tons burden ; the mariners 

 and fishermen were 198. In 1607, Workington was 

 the principal seaport. Criminals sentenced to banish- 

 ment in Ireland, were shipped from hence. Besides 

 coals, butter, bacon, and hams are also exported, most 

 of which, and likewise some salmon, go to the London 

 market. 

 Mountain- To the admirer of the grandeur and beauties of na- 

 nus scene- ture, the mineralogist, and the antiquarian, Cumberland 

 '■'?■ is a very interesting county. The mountains of Cumber- 



land not only afford very extensive and grand views, 

 but many of them are of singular structure, and im- 

 mense elevation. As we enter the county at the south- 

 west corner, a high conical-topped hill, with smooth 

 and cultivated sides, affording an extensive view from 

 its summit, presents itself. It is called Blackcomb. On 

 the southern borders of the county are Hardknot and 

 Wrynose ; and on the margin of Bassenthwaite lake the 

 roots of Skiddaw lie. This majestic mountain is near- 

 ly 3500 feet in perpendicular height above the level of 

 the lake. The prospect from its summit is uncommon- 

 ly varied and extensive. On one side the Irish Chan- 

 nel, on the other side the German Ocean, may be seen. 

 On a clear day, the shipping in the Solway Frith, 

 though at the distance of up wards of fifty miles, may be 

 distinguished. On Bouscale Fell, to the north-east of 



Skiddaw, is a spacious lake of water so completely en- Cumber- 

 closed by a ridge of rocks, that, during months in win- lan(l < 

 ter, the rays of the sun never reach its surface. On *^^ 

 Souter fell, which is nearly 900 yards high, extraordi- Mountain- 

 nary phenomena appeared towards the middle of the ous sce »«- 

 last century, which gave rise to much speculation, and T J' 

 created no small degree of alarm and apprehension. Ap- 

 pearances of armed men, on foot and horseback, were 

 seen. They moved in regular troops along the side of 

 the fell, describing a kind of curvilinear path, their first 

 and last appearance being bounded by the top of the 

 mountain. From the description given of these pheno- 

 mena, they seem to have been similar to the spectre of 

 the Brocken, an aerial figure that appears among the 

 Hartz mountains in Hanover, and were probably pro- 

 duced by the same cause. Saddleback, on the western 

 side of Souter fell, seems to have been in a volcanic 

 state ; and a lake on the upper part of it, from the lava 

 and burnt stones found in its neighbourhood, is conjec- 

 tured to have been the crater. The views from the 

 summit of Saddleback are very extensive ; but it is 

 scarcely possible to look down its sides without experi- 

 encing the most awful and shuddering sensations. The 

 height of this mountain is 3324 feet. In the vale of 

 Wanthwaite, which stretches at the bottom of the south- 

 ern declivity of this mountain, is a singular piece of 

 scenery. A castle of great antiquity, and in ruins, 

 seems to stand on the summit of a little mount. It 

 shews a front of various towers, with lofty turrets and 

 ragged battlements. Even the galleries, the bending 

 arches, and the buttresses, may be traced. Such it ap- 

 pears when viewed from the widest part of the dale ; 

 but as it is approached its figure changes, and it is 

 discovered to be a massive pile of rocks, disunited from 

 the adjoining mountains. The inhabitants called them 

 the castle rocks of St John, and believe them to be an 

 aitificial but antediluvian structure. The rocky chasm 

 of Borrowdale opens from the centre of the amphithe- 

 atre, that binds the head of Derwent- water. " Dark 

 caverns yawn at its entrance, terrific as the wildness of 

 a maniac, and disclose a narrow strait running up be- 

 tween mountains of granite, that are shook into almost 

 every possible form of horror, and resemble the accu- 

 mulations of an earthquake, splintered, shivered, piled, 

 amassed." " This region of desolation furnishes a suc- 

 cession of such romantic and picturesque scenes, as can 

 hardly be equalled in the island. Near the entrance of 

 the pass into Borrowdale, is a detached mountain called 

 Castlecrag, the views from which are very peculiar. 

 On one side, every thing indicates civilization and re- 

 pose, and fills the mind with soft and mild emotions ; 

 the vale and lake of Keswick, with villages, seats, and 

 farm-houses. On the other side every thing is terrific, 

 and bespeaks the convulsions of nature ; immense rocky 

 mountains huddled together in the most singular arrange- 

 ment, as if emerging from, or returning to, the wildest 

 chaos; rock rests over rock, and mountain triumphs 

 over mountain." In one of the recesses of Borrowdale, 

 and nearly opposite Castlecrag, is a gigantic rock called 

 the Bowder Stone. It lies almost hollow, resting on 

 some fragments of rock. Its veins are exactly similar 

 to those of the adjoining precipice, though it is not easy 

 to conceive how, if it ever formed part of it, it could 

 have reached its present position. Its length is about 

 31 yards, and it is computed to weigh nearly 1800 tons. 

 Helvellyn, which lies to the south- east of Borrowdale, is 

 partly in Westmoreland. Its height is 3324 feet. On 

 account of its being at a greater distance from the sea, 

 the snow lies longer on it than on Skiddaw. The pros- 

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