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020 
Fells. The vallies in which the rivers run are tolerably 
fertile ; and in the north-eastern quarter there is a consider¬ 
able tract of cultivated plain. The south-western side is 
fertile, with a warmer climate than the eastern. These two 
sides of the county, where the fertility lies, are divided by 
lofty fells and barren moors, intersected with pastoral vales. 
The air is pure and healthy, but, in the mountainous parts, 
cold and piercing. According to an estimate of the bishop 
of LlandafF, three-fourths of Westmoreland consists of un¬ 
cultivated lands; but very extensive inclosures have taken 
place since this calculation. The fanners of Westmoreland 
were longof opinion that their lands were better suited to grass 
than to corn; and they were ploughed for three or four years, 
not with the expectation that the corn would be more profita¬ 
ble than grass; but in order to renovate them for grass, and 
to destroy the moss. These notions, however, are now in a 
great measure antiquated. The clover and turnip husbandry 
has made great progress, and considerable quantities of wheat 
are now annually grown, though oats is the grain principally 
cultivated. That Westmoreland has been a wooded county, 
is evident from trees found in mosses on the highest hills; 
and statutes of regulations made long after the conquest, 
since which time the climate has not been changed for the 
worse, are full of the mention of forests. The valuable 
woods of the earl of Lonsdale, in the neighbourhood of 
Lowther, shew how well the soil and climate of this county 
are adapted for the growth of trees; and detached groves of 
ash and sycamore round the dwelling-houses in the dales, 
situated near the heads of the mountains, are proofs of the 
advantages to be derived from planting grounds of high 
elevation. The strata of this county are of various sorts; 
but divide themselves into two very distinct kinds. Lime¬ 
stone, freestone, and a soft laminous schistus, horizontally 
stratified, and abounding with remains of organized bodies, 
prevail on the east side of a line drawn from Powley-bridge 
to the river Lowther, a little below Knipe, and up the Low¬ 
ther, by the abbey of Shap, to the head of the first streamlet 
south of Shap thorn ; then to Shapwells, down the Birbeck 
and Lune, through the parish of Orton; and from thence, 
by an irregular line, to the river Winster, opposite the north 
end of Lithefell. The west side of this line consists chiefly 
of the schistus and trap genera, classed in layers nearly per¬ 
pendicular to the horizon, and destitute of every species and 
appearance of fossils, A very coarse species of granite also 
appears in many parts of this county, especially a little to the 
south of Patterdale-Chapel. Immense lines of basalt, or 
whin-stone, also appear through the whole of this district; 
and a series of hills running parallel to Dunfell, and the rest 
of the chain of the western mountains, is formed of this 
species of rock. This county has little or no advantage from 
navigable rivers. The tide, indeed, visits the mouths of the 
Winster, Kent, and Betha, in Moricambe bay; but the 
country having a considerable rise on all sides from the shores 
of the bay, the channels of these rivers soon become too 
rapid and stony to admit the use of boats upon them. This 
want is, however, in a degree counterbalanced by the facility 
with which the numerous brooks that irrigate the vales of 
Westmoreland, can be applied to the purposes of commerce 
and agriculture. Of these, the principal are the Eden, 
which has its source on the borders of Yorkshire, and flows 
past Appleby. Near the source of the Eden also rises the 
Lune, a beautiful river, flowing southward, and forming the 
boundary from Yorkshire. The river Ken flows by Kendal, 
and discharges itself into the sandy Wash of Lancashire; 
near its mouth is a cataract. The Egmont, which flows from 
lake Ullswater, joins the Eden, and forms the boundary of 
the county for a short space. Westmoreland is celebrated for 
its extensive lakes, which during the summer season attract 
numerous visitors. Such is the beauty and variety of the 
scenery, that it has become fashionable to make the tour of 
this interesting portion of country. Winandermere is the 
'most extensive piece of water in England, being 10j miles 
in a straight line down its middle, and from 1 to 2 miles in 
breadth. Its depth is 13, 23, and 29 and 31 fathoms. It 
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contains 13 islands, and about 4534 acres of water. Ulls¬ 
water is about 9 miles in length, and varies in breadth from 
a quarter of a mile to 2 miles. There are various other 
smaller lakes. This county is divided into four wards, in¬ 
stead of hundreds, viz. East, West, Kendal, and Lonsdale 
wards, containing one borough, Appleby, and seven market 
towns. 
WESTMORELAND, a post township of the United 
Slates, in Cheshire county. New Hampshire, on the Con¬ 
necticut ; 9 miles west of Keene, and 65 west-south-west of 
Concord.—2. A post township of Oneida county, New 
York; 10 miles west of Utica.—3. A county of the United 
States, in the south-west part of Pennsylvania, bounded on 
the north-east by Armstrong and Indiana counties; on the 
east-south-east by Cambria and Somerset counties; on the 
south by Fayette county ; and on the west by Washington 
and Allegany counties. Chief town, Greensburg.—4. A 
county of the United States, in the north-east part of Virginia, 
bounded on the north and north-east by the Potomac ; on 
the east by Northumberland county; on the south by Rich¬ 
mond county and the Rappahannock ; and on the west by 
King George county. Chief town, Leeds. 
WESTON, a township of England, in Cheshire, near 
Frodsham.— 2 . A hamlet in the parish of Branscombe, De¬ 
vonshire.—3. A hamlet in the parish of Marshfield, Glou¬ 
cestershire.—4. A township in Cheshire; 6 miles east-by¬ 
north of Nantwich.—5. A parish in Hertfordshire; 4 miles 
north-east-by-north of Stevenage.—6. A parish in Lincoln¬ 
shire; 4 miles north-east of Spalding.—7. A parish in Nor¬ 
folk ; 5 miles south of Reepham.— 8 . A hamlet in Nor¬ 
thamptonshire; 7 miles west-by-south of Towcester.—9. A 
township in the parish of Burford, Salop.—10. A parish in 
Somersetshire; 2 miles north-west-by-west of Bath.—11. A 
hamlet in the Isle of Wight, Southamptonshire.—12. A 
parish in Suffolk ; 3 miles south of Beccles.—13. A town¬ 
ship in the West Riding of Yorkshire; 2 miles north-west- 
by-west of Otley.— 1 4. A post township of the United States, 
in Windsor county, Vermont; 30 miles west-south-west of 
Windsor.—15. A post township of Middlesex county, Mas¬ 
sachusetts ; 15 miles west of Boston.—16. A post town¬ 
ship of Fairfield county, Connecticut; 9 miles north of Fair- 
field. 
WESTON ALCONBURY, a parish of England, in Hunt¬ 
ingdonshire; 5 miles north-west of Huntingdon. 
WESTON-UPON-AVON, a parish of England, in Glou¬ 
cestershire ; 9 miles north-by-east of Chipping Campden. 
WESTON, Baggard, a parish of England, in Hereford¬ 
shire ; 5 miles east of Hereford. 
WESTON, Bampfylde, a parish of England, in Somer¬ 
setshire; 4i miles south-south-west of Castle Cary. 
WESTON, Best, a parish of England, in Gloucester¬ 
shire ; 3i miles south-west-bv-south of Telbury. 
WESTON IN THE CLAY, a parish of England, in Not¬ 
tinghamshire ; 3 miles south-east of Tuxford. 
WESTON, Cold, a parish of England, in Salop; 7| 
miles north-east-by-north of Ludlow’. 
WESTON COLNEY, a village of England, in the county 
of Stafford, near Caresw’ell. 
WESTON, Colville, a parish of England, in Cam¬ 
bridgeshire; 5| miles north-north-east of Linton. 
WESTON, Coney, a parish of England, in Suffolk; 13 
miles north-east-by-north of St. Edmund’s Bury. 
WESTON, Coyney, a township of England, in Stafford¬ 
shire ; 4 miles west of Cheadle. 
WESTON UNDER EDGE, a parish of England, in Glou¬ 
cestershire; 2 miles west-by-north of Chipping Campden. 
WESTON FAVELL, a parish of England, in Northamp¬ 
tonshire; 2 } miles east-north-east of Northampton. 
WESTON IN GORDANO, a parish of England, in So¬ 
mersetshire ; 10 miles west-by-north of Bristol. 
WESTON ON THE GREEN, a parish of England, in 
Oxfordshire; 4^ miles south-west-by-west of Bicester. 
WESTON, Jones, a township of England, in Stafford¬ 
shire; 5 miles from Newport. 
WESTON,. 
