Farmin(j of Yorksldrc. 
105 
in tho llidin^:. Operations !vro coinnicuccd by clralniiis>;, for, 
witliout that, ploughing- would be in vain ; roads arc then made 
over these hitherto wild tracts, fields enclosed, farmhouses built, 
and, where a f(nv years ago the sportsman wandered in quest of 
wild game, crops of corn are now found, with the usual accom- 
paniments of cultiv.'ition. 
On tho limestone hills, in the neigld)()urhood of S(>ttle, there 
has been no change in the leases, which differ in no material 
respect from those of sixty years ago, and contain the same 
restrictions Avith regard to ploughing. Draining, except in a 
few instances, is not improved ; the old mode of carrying the 
drains across the hills being still adhered to. We must not, 
however, omit to mention the great attention which is here given 
to the improvement of the grass-land ; it has been carefully 
attended to, and appreciated, even from time immemorial. 
The consumption of animal food, bread, and other necessaries 
of life, is very large, and still increasing in this Riding ; Wake- 
field, Leeds, Rotherham, Doncaster, and Pontefract furnish the 
chief weekly markets, where tlie corn, cattle, and sheep from the 
other Ridings find ready purchasers, the railways affording 
great facilities for the conveyance of these articles from the most 
distant farms. 
Of the high-lands in the North Riding it may be said that 
more improvement has taken place here, since the report given 
by Milburn, tlian in any other part. Nearly all the draining 
there required has now been done effectually, either by the landlord 
and tenant jointly — the one finding the materials, and the other 
the labour ; or by Government loans, the tenant carting all the 
matei'ials and paying 7 per cent, on the money expended. These 
improvements have been made at a cost which cannot be 
estimated with accuracy, but three-fourths of the outlay has been 
expended by the tenant. We must, however, mention that 
tenants have not always had the benefit of a landlord's assistance 
in carrying out their improvements. When draining has been 
done with Government money, they have carted all the materials, 
stubbed up old fences, planted new ones, filled up ditches, and 
made new i-oads at a considerable cost. In some districts more 
improvement has taken place during the last few years than 
during the previous half-century, by manuring more heavily, by 
cropping more frequently, by economising horse and manual 
labour, and by means of improved implements ; yet the ungenial 
belt of millstone grit and limestone shale is still a barrier to 
profitable or extensive cultivation, although the beds of ironstone 
lately discovered give a value to these hills which was little 
anticipated. 
Much improvement is made in the system of feeding cattle 
