Tko Faruihuj of Westmorland. 
9 
one. There are now very numerous farms of 200/. to 300/. 
a-year rent, and several from 500/. to 700/., or upwards. Some 
of these are very extensive, such as Forest Hall, 4350 acres ; 
Sliap Abbey, 2830 acres; Helbeck Hall, 2000 acres; Rydal 
])emesne, 1900 acres ; but these of course include a large pro- 
portion of mountain or fell land. A large numl)er of small 
farms are left, rented at 30/. or 50/., and upwards. 
Good farms about Kendal, Natlantl, Hcversham, Milnthorpe, 
Barton, and Kirkby Thore, average from 33s. to 42.?. per acre; 
dairy-farms near Kendal, 40s. to 50.s\ In the immediate vicinity 
of towns and villages, accommodation fields of old grass let at 
from 3/. to 6/. per acre. On the poor clays lying between the 
central ridge and the Eden, 15s. may be an average. Hill-side 
pastures, capable of summering young stock, from 8s. to 16s. ; 
higher pastures, 3s. 6r/. to 7s. 6f/. ; and fell lands, all the way 
from 4rf, to Is. 6rf. per acre. 
The rent of grass and stock farms has increased 20 per cent, 
within the last 15 years. 
In the neighbourhood of CrosthAvaite, Lyth, Underbarrow, and 
Witherslack, a noteworthy feature is the considerable extent of 
fine orchards, whence large quantities of fruit are sold south- 
wards. In the same neighbourhood are extensive hazel coppices, 
fruitful of nuts, which, with the orchards, form material ingre- 
dients in the value of the farms. 
Influence of Climate, &c. 
From its physical conformation Westmoreland is not, nor ever 
can be, an arable county to any extent ; but even if it could, other 
causes, viz., its climate and rainfall, cannot be over-looked, as 
restricting tillage to a limited area. 
The Lake mountains, and the central ridge or " backbone," 
act as magnets in attracting the rain-clouds, brewed up by the 
Gulf Stream and neighbouring Irish Channel. These, careering 
hastily up the steep mountain sides, and there entering a cooler 
temperature, scatter their contents wholesale on the country 
beneath, often when not wanted ; but on attaining the summit 
they have usually spent most of their store, before starting a 
fresh race across the valleys and plains beyond. The prevailing 
winds are S.W. From these causes the eastern and northern 
sides of the county have a much less rainfall than the south and 
west. The v/riter has often left Kendal by rail, in a gloomy 
down-pour of rain, and found a fine day an hour afterwards, on 
getting over the Shap summit. 
Few towns in England, perhaps, can, like Kendal, produce a 
