58 NATURE AND WOODCRAFT. 



Flax has long since ceased to be grown in the 

 field ; there is now no hempen cloth, and the 

 old methods of spinning have gone out. Into 

 some of the northern valleys, Mr. Ruskin — 

 striving after an unattainable idea of pastoral 

 peace and happiness — has re-introduced spin- 

 ning-wheels; but the whirr of them speaks 

 most of his eccentricities. Among the manu- 

 factures of the North were yarn, hose, horn 

 lanterns, and coarse druggets ; but they have 

 long ago been supplanted. Even the poorest 

 have turned their backs on honest homespun, 

 and now trick themselves out in webs of 

 draggled embroidery. The old "stuffs" are 

 gone, and materials with greater gloss and less 

 substance have taken their place. 



Up to the beginning of the present century, 

 which constituted an era in the history of the 

 dales, the domestic economy of the 'Statesman 

 class was in a backward condition. Their 

 houses were ill-contrived, and hardly in keeping 

 with modern notions of decency. The water 

 supply was, of course, indispensable; but, 

 instead of digging a well or conducting water 

 to their homesteads, these were invariably 

 built by the sides of the fell " becks." Con- 



