Tlie FarmiiH/ of ll cdinorland. 
17 
miles of boiindiu j-fonce !i<r;unst adjoining parishes, is the great 
obstacle to further enclosures. Where A wishes to inclose, there 
is no power to compel 1? or C adjoining to contribute a fair pro- 
portion of the cost of erecting a boundary-fence. The Inclosuro 
Acts certainly point out one way for A to evade making the 
boundary-fence ; but it mends matters very little, the full benefit 
of any inclosure being unattainable till each owner can have the 
full and exclusive control of his own land, to lock his gate, and 
stock the ground at his pleasure. 
Wherever an inclosure cannot be accomplished within a reason- 
able cost, the common may be stinted or converted into a regu- 
lated pasture at a very light expense. Afterwards the smaller 
owners mav sell their stints to the larger, and in course of time, 
all getting into fewer hands, the extent of subdivision-fences may 
be materially reduced, so as to justify the expense of a complete 
inclosure. 
The hill and rough pastures cover 21^ per cent, of the whole 
area of the county. Many of these wei'e originally or till lately 
common, and remain pretty much in their original condition, 
being used mainly for " half-bred lambs " and wintering sheep. 
The ancient meadows and. pastures are nearly one-third of the 
entire area. Of first-class feeding or " bullock-land " very little 
is found in the county. Good pieces of old meadow and pasture 
exist about Kendal, Milnthorpe, Kirkby Lonsdale, and Amble- 
side. From to 2 tons per acre is considered a good crop of 
hay. A large breadth of hay is cut in the valleys, and in the 
neighbourhood of Orton, Ravenstonedale, and Kirkby Stephen ; 
and a deficient or a badly secured hay-crop is a great drawback, 
as the winters are very long, and cattle must be foddered. The 
very dry and hot year of 1859, with its scant hay-crop, was fol- 
lowed by one of the opposite extreme — a very backward spring, 
deluges of rain, snow-storms, and absence of sunshine ; and if 
there had been no railways to fetch hay from Lancashire and 
greater distances, many of the sheep and cattle in Westmorland 
must either have been starved to death or sent away for fodder. 
The meadows are usually covered with farmyard-manure in 
alternate years. On mixed farms the " muck " is saved for the 
meadows, and the crops treated Avith "artificials." 
Lime has always been the favourite top-dressing for pasture- 
land, especially on the slate-rock formation, where it acts magic- 
ally in producing a fine sweet herbage. Limestone is generally 
abundant over the county. Public kilns are established at 
Kendal, Ravenstonedale, Stainmore, Morland, &c., and on the 
formation nearly every farm has its own quarry and kiln. The 
usual dose for a strong, heathy, rushy, or benty pasture is from 
200 to 300 imperial bushels per acre, an under-allowance being 
VOL. IV. — S. S, C 
