YORKSHIRE. 
790 
Knaresborough, and Ripon; and supplies from its laminatad 
upper part a lime valuable as manure; while the lower or 
freestone part is excellent for building. 3. The Coal tract, 
occupying the most populous part of the Riding, and charac¬ 
terised by successive parallel ranges of high ground, whose 
longest general course is nearly north and south. 4. The 
Moorlands and Metalliferous Limestone or Mining dis¬ 
tricts, comprehending the wide and barren heaths west of 
Sheffield, Peniston, Huddersfield, Bradford, Otley, Harrow- 
gate, Ripley, and Masham. Of these four parts, if we sup¬ 
pose the entire Riding to be divided into 100, the proportions 
are 20, 8, 21, and 51 respectively. 
The climate of the West Riding is as various as its surface. 
Towards the banks of the Ouse, it resembles that of the East 
Riding on the opposite side of the river; and damps and 
fogs frequently prevail. In the middle district the air be¬ 
comes clearer and more healthful. On its western margin 
rains and storms are predominant. At Sheffield the average 
gage of rain is 33 inches, exceeding the mean between the 
quantities which fall on the eastern and western coasts re¬ 
spectively. The general average throughout England is 
stated at 28 inches. Blackstone Edge and the mountains of 
Craven are the foggiest and most tempestuous districts in 
England ; although, from the high winds which agitate and 
purify the atmosphere, the climate is salubrious to sound 
constitutions, and the inhabitants have a robust and health¬ 
ful appearance. 
In the middle and western divisions of the West Riding, 
are found great quantities of coal, ironstone, and lead, with 
vast quarries of limestone. This begins at the imaginary 
line above mentioned, extending from Doncaster to Tad- 
caster ; and, at different depths, pervades almost the whole 
county westward. The coal mines abound most in the tract 
between Leeds and Wakefield, and in the neighbourhood of 
Bradford, Barnesley, and Sheffield; although there is coal 
likewise in other parts of the Riding. The neighbourhood 
of Bradford is rich in iron, which often occurs intermixed 
with coal. The upper coal, however, is, in such cases, of an 
inferior kind, and sells at little more than half the price of 
the lower seams. The principal lead mines are at Grassing- 
ton, about ten miles west of Pately Bridge, in the manor of 
the duke of Devonshire. 
The soil in this extensive district includes almost every 
variety, from the deep strong clay and rich loam, to the most 
barren species of peat earth. In the eastern parts the clay 
and loam preponderate, though occasionally intersected by 
sandy or moorish tracts. The middle portion consists chiefly 
of a loam upon a limestone bottom, which prevails, indeed, 
with the frequent mixture of moorland, to the western ex¬ 
tremities of the Riding. Almost all the arable land is in¬ 
closed with hedges or stone walls ; the former prevailing in 
the eastern, and the latter in the western parts. Upon these 
lands, wheat is the general produce ; oats, indeed, are culti¬ 
vated to a considerable extent; but little attention is bestowed 
upon procuring the best kinds for seed, though in the west¬ 
ern districts oatmeal forms the principal food of the lower 
classes. Fields of rye or peas occur but seldom; and few 
beans are grown, except upon the strong soils in the vicinity 
of the Don or the Ouse. The turnip husbandry has been 
generally adopted throughout the Riding; but the mode of 
sowing is generally the slovenly one of broadcast, and the 
plants are imperfectly hoed or cleaned. In the eastern part, 
and particularly in the tract denominated Marshland, (which 
lies along the banks of the Ouse, below its junction with the 
Aire) potatoes form a great object of attention. These, 
chiefly of the kidney kind, are sent in great quantities by 
water-carriage to the London market. Flax is also extensively 
cultivated in the same neighbourhood. 
In the wapentake of Barkston Ash, which comprehends 
the eastern boundary of the West Riding, teazles (a produc¬ 
tion almost peculiar to this part of the county) are grown to 
a considerable extent, and are purchased by the cloth- 
dressers, tor the purpose of raising the nap on the cloth, 
before it is submitted to the operation of the shears: and 
liquorice is produced in great perfection, in the deep loamy 
soil of Pontefract; and though mustard has become a valua¬ 
ble article of cultivation in the Ainsty, it is still deemed 
to be chiefly the produce of the county of Durham. Cra¬ 
ven deservedly ranks high as a grazing district, for its horn¬ 
ed cattle; and the sheep of this Riding have been much 
improved by the introduction of the Dishley breed out of 
Leicestershire. The horses, however, for which the county 
has long and justly been celebrated, are principally bred in 
the East and North Ridings. 
Of the oak and ash wood produced in the West Riding, 
the shipping and manufacturing towns, with the mines and 
collieries, consume a large proportion ; and yet, in the vici¬ 
nity of Sheffield alone, the duke of Norfolk is supposed to 
possess not less than 1500 acres of woodland. 
This division of Yorkshire may safely be pronounced one 
of the greatest manufacturing districts in the world. From 
its local advantages, indeed, it is admirably adapted for 
that purpose. On every side the raw materials abound ; and 
coals, an article of indispensable necessity, are plentiful and 
cheap. These manufactures, carried on principally at Leeds, 
Wakefield, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, and the adjoin¬ 
ing country, comprise broad and narrow cloths of all qua¬ 
lities, shalloons, calimancoes, and flannels, with every kind of 
woollen goods. From Sheffield, cutlery, and plated goods 
are exported to all parts of the globe. In the vicinity of 
most of the above places, the soil was originally little better 
than waste ; but from the great increase of population conse¬ 
quent upon the introduction of manufactures, and its invari¬ 
able accompaniments, abundant manure, and a ready market 
for produce, the land has been rendered equal in value to 
that of districts which were naturally much more fertile; 
and the general face of the country has assumed a totally new 
aspect. 
The West Riding is likewise distinguished for its valuable 
rivers; the Ouse, the Don, the Calder, the Aire, and the 
Wharfe. Of these, the first, after receiving several streams 
below York, meets the Trent from Nottinghamshire, and 
forms the Humber. The Don is navigable to Sheffield. The 
Calder, the Still, and the Aire, which unite below Wakefield, 
and flow into the Ouse, near Armir, furnish access by water- 
carriage into the western interior of the country: and the 
swift Wharfe, rising at the foot of the Craven hills, after a 
course of 50 or 60 miles eastward, pours its tribute into the 
same river, near New-Appleton. Yorkshire contains, likewise, 
numerous canals, by which its produce is distributed through¬ 
out the kingdom. In addition to the towns above-mentioned, 
may be named as manufacturing places, Knaresborough, 
Keighley, Barnsley, Rotherham, and Pontefract. The West 
Riding is divided into ten wapentakes, viz. Osgoldcross, 
Barkston Ash, Skirack, Strafforth and Tickhill, Staincross, 
Agbrig, Morley, Claro, Eurcross, and Staincliffe; has five 
boroughs, Aldborough, Boroughbridge, Ripon, Knaresbo¬ 
rough, and Pontefract; the number of inhabitants is stated 
at 800,848. 
With respect to the antiquities, military and ecclesiastical, 
by which Yorkshire is distinguished, York can only boast of 
two,. Clifford’s Tower (near the castle), and St. Mary’s abbey. 
But there are castellated ruins at Conisbrough, west of Don¬ 
caster, Harewood, Knaresborough, Pontefract, Sandal (near 
Wakefield), Sheffield, and Skipton ; and of the 106 now de¬ 
cayed religious houses (viz. 14 abbeys, 44 priories, 7 alien 
priories, 13 cells, and 28 houses of friars of various orders) 
enumerated by Boston, in his Monasticon Eboracense, the 
abbeys of Fountain’s near Ripon, Kirkstall near Leeds, Bol¬ 
ton in Craven, Rivalx and Byland near Helmsley, and 
Whitby in the North Riding. To particularise the eminent 
men born within the circuit of this county, such as Constan¬ 
tine the Great, Wickliffe, archbishop Tillotson, Dr. Bentley, 
&c. would too widely diffuse an article which has already 
exceeded our accustomed limits. 
YORK SULPHUR SPRINGS, a post village of the United 
States, in Adams county, Pennsylvania. 
YORKTOWN, or YORK, a post town of the United 
States, 
