2 



Farming of Lancashire. 



divide it into three parts; the Southern, Middle, and Northern 

 Divisions, of which the three principal rivers of the county, the 

 Mersey, the Ribble, and the Lime shall be the boundaries. The 

 Mersey forms the natural boundary to the south, between Lan- 

 cashire and Cheshire : the land lying 1 between this river and the 

 Ribble, which runs by Preston, I would call the Southern 

 Division, or No. 1. The tract of country from the Ribble to the 

 Lune, I would call the Middle Division, or No. 2, which includes 

 the whole of that peculiar and interesting district known as the 

 Fylde ; and from the river Lune, which flows by Lancaster, to the 

 northern boundary, which separates Lancashire from Westmore- 

 land and Cumberland, I would call the Northern Division, or 

 No. 3. Each of these great divisions is essentially different from 

 the others in important points, such as the character of the soil, 

 the climate, and the people, and I therefore would make this new 

 division, rather than adopt either the ancient boundaries of the 

 Hundreds or the Parliamentary Divisions, inasmuch as neither of 

 the latter are marked by any great natural features, nor are they 

 suggestive of any striking diversity in the soil or the inhabitants, 

 and would not convey to the general reader any distinct idea of 

 the districts as they are successively brought under his considera- 

 tion ; whereas, if we take the three great rivers and divide the 

 county by these nearly parallel lines, a moment's glance at the 

 map will show to any one the part then treated of. 



The difference between the Southern Division, and the two 

 others to the north of it, in its geology, in the nature of its soil, and 

 the character and habits of the people, is most striking, and ex- 

 ercises a very important influence on the farming of the whole 

 county. Its wealth, position, and extent deserve the first place in 

 considering the causes of the past and present state of farming in 

 Lancashire. 



In the Southern Division lie the great coal-fields ; these have 

 led to the extraordinary development of the cotton manufacture 

 and all its consequences, and have created a market for labour 

 and skill far beyond anything the farmer could offer, and the con- 

 sequence has been that all who were anxious to " get on" in the 

 world, to make their fortunes rapidly, to gain large profits and 

 quick returns on small investments, or who, tempted by high 

 wages and the prospect of regular work, were not content to plod 

 away their lives at the plough's tail, have been drawn into the 

 great vortex of trade, and now people the large towns of Liver- 

 pool, Manchester, Bolton, &c. ; and whether it be from the 

 constant and active intercourse between man and man, or the 

 greater exercise of skill and ingenuity, and the high premiums 

 offered for clever artisans in the towns, or from whatever cause it 

 be, I fear it must be admitted that the inhabitants of the towns 



