105 



(d) Shropshire and Worcestershire supply the potteries 



of the country and the woollen industry of Kidder- 

 minster. 



(e) Forest of Dean provides coai for local iron smelting 



and forging. 



(f) Bristol supplies the West of England manufacturing 



centres. 



The presence of coal near the coast has led to specialisation 

 in these fields of the industry of shipbuilding, whilst inland the 

 demands for machinery of all kinds for textile manufactures have 

 led to a specialisation in these centres in this direction. In 

 Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Derbyshire machinery is urgently 

 required for cotton and woollen industries. Further inland this 

 import of raw material is not so easy, and the result is seen in the 

 manufactures of the Staffordshire coalfield, where the special in- 

 dustry lies in articles whose chief value is in their workmanship, 

 articles which demand a considerable amount of labour upon a 

 small amount of raw material, e.g., screws, needles, pens, watch 

 springs, etc. For a similar reason Birmingham and Coventry 

 have specialised in bicycles, Sheffield in cutlery. The latter 

 specialisation has been accentuated undoubtedly by the presence 

 of millstone grit, which naturally suggests grindstones and 

 grindery. 



Coal has had its voice in the distribution of population in our 

 great cities. The western portion is usually residential, whilst the 

 eastern is comprised of factories and large smoky chimneys. 

 When we consider that our prevailing wind is from the S.W. it is 

 easy to see how this natural selection came about. 



A very hard variety of coal which allows of its being cut and 

 polished is responsible for another somewhat spec'alised and local 

 occupation. Jet, which is found at W r hitby, has given rise to the 

 jet industry. In Aude, in France, it gives employment to numer- 

 ous artisans, who work it into brooches, bangles, rosary beads, 

 etc. 



The scenic effects of the local measures is practically nil. 

 Nevertheless peat offers a few which are unique to itself. The 

 bogs are usually dark in colour and have become filled with 

 sphagnum, hypnum, and other mosses, which give rise to peat. 

 Though bogs are useless for agriculture, the peat obtained from 

 them gives rise to an important industry. Besides being useful 

 as a fuel, peat promises to become a source of " peat gas," a fuel 

 and illuminant which gives good assurance for the future. It 

 has been manufactured into blankets, carpets, wadding and paper. 

 Gardeners use it also for the growing of heaths, rhododendrons, 

 and azaleas, whilst peat briquettes are supplementing coal as a 

 household commodity. 



The type of fenland associated with peat is intersected with 

 ditches, from which the peat is excavated to a depth of 30 feet. 

 The pits are lined with stacks of peat blocks drying for the market. 

 A unique fancy industry has sprung up in these areas. The roots 



