Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/734

698 CUMBERLAND [COUNTY. salmon-fisheries belonging to different owners. The Derwent rises among the picturesque crags at the head of Borrowdale, in the south-west group of mountains, whence it dashes from rock to rock until it reaches Derwentwater Lake, from which it again flows onward through the vale of Keswick, thence through Bassenthwaite Lake, and, after being joined by the Cocker, near Cockermouth, falls into the sea at Workington. The basin of the Derwent includes within its area six lakes and about a dozen mountain tarns, all of which lie embosomed in the midst of scenery unsur passed in loveliness and grandeur in Great Britain. The Caldew rises on the south-east side of the Skiddaw and enters the Eden near Carlisle after a course of 2-1- miles, in which it gives motion to many corn and cotton mills. The vale through which it flows in its lower part is very beautiful and well-wooded. The Esk enters Cumberland from Scotland near a place called the Moat, and, flowing westerly by Longtown, falls into the Sol way Firth. The Liddel, another Scottish river, which in one part separates Cumberland from Scotland, joins the Esk after the latter has passed into England. Landed property is much divided in this county, and the smaller holdings were formerly generally occupied by their owners, who were known as " statesmen," i.e., " estates- men," a class of men long noted for their sturdy indepen dence and attachment to routine husbandry. Most of these estates were held of the lords of manors under customary tenure, which subjected them to the payments of fines and heriots on alienation as well as on the death of the lord or tenant. According to the Agricultural Survey printed in 1794, about two-thirds of the county was held by this tenure, in parcels worth from 15 to 30 rental. On large estates, also, the farms were in general rather small, few then reaching 200 a year, held on verbal con tracts, or very short leases, and burdened like the small estates with payments or services over and above a money rent ; but a great change has taken place in all these respects within the last forty years. The " statesmen " have been gradually becoming extinct as a class, and many of the small holdings have fallen into the hands of the larger landed proprietors. According to the Owners of Land Rdurn, 1873, the county was divided among 15,513 separate proprietors, the total value of the land being estimated at 1,201,980. There were 9617 owners of properties which did not exceed 1 acre in extent, 1764 owners of properties from 1 to 10 acres, 1061 owners of 10 to 50 acres, and 3071 owners of 50 acres and upwards, the largest possessing 47,730 acres. From the above-mentioned return it appears that 62 per cent, of the total proprietors in Cumberland hold less than 1 acre ; while in the neigh bouring county of Westmoreland only 39 per cent, belonged to this class, and in all England the average is 71 per cent. The average extent of the properties in Cumberland was 47 acres against 34 acres in all England, and the value per acre was 1, 12s. lid. as against 3, Os. 2d. throughout the whole country. There were five proprietors in the county owning more than 10,000 acres, viz., the earl of Carlisle (Castle Howard), 47,730 acres ; earl of Lonsdale (Lowther Castle), 28,228 ; Sir F. U. Graham (Nctherby) 25,270 ; Henry Howard (Greystoke Castle), 13,008; and Lord Leconfield (Cockermouth Castle), 11,147. Farms are commonly let upon leases of seven or fourteen years, and the farmers can compare favourably with those of neighbouring counties in intelligence and skill in husbandry. The live stock consists of horses of rather a small sizo; the longhorned breed of cattle, for which Cumberland was noted, has been entirely supplanted by the improved shorthorns, of which the stocks of several of the large proprietors include animals from the best blood in the kingdom ; Galloways, Ayrshires, and cross-breeds are Grass under rota tion. Under all Percentage kinds of of area cultivation, of county 541,681 55f 549,590 56| also kept on dairy-farms. The sheep on the lowland farms are generally of the Leicester class or cross-bred between the Leicester and Herdwick, with a few South-downs. Throughout the mountainous districts the Herdwick has taken the place of the smaller black-faced heath variety of sheep once so commonly met with on the sheep farms. They are peculiar to this part of England ; the ewes and wethers and many of the rams are polled, the faces and legs are speckled, and the wool is finer and heavier in fleece than that of the heath breed. They originally came from the neighbourhood of Muncaster in the Duddon and Esk dis trict, and are said to be sprung from parents that escaped from a wrecked ship of the Spanish Armada. In general they belong to the proprietors of the sheep-walks, and have been farmed out with them from time immemorial in herds of from 300 to 1000, and from this circumstance it is said they have obtained the name of "Herdwicks." From the agricultural returns for the years 1873 and 1876 it will be seen that the numbers of live stock remain pretty stationary, with the exception of sheep, which have apparently decreased latterly these returns, however, are not so complete as they might be. Cattle. Sheep. " Pigs. Horses. 1873 128,538 561,513 28,229 19,071 1876 128,409 516,305 27,178 19,838 Grain is not so much grown as formerly, a great- propor tion of the land being laid down in grass for the breeding and rearing of cattle ; butter and bacon are largely exported to the populous districts of Lancashire and Yorkshire. ACI eage Under Corn Crops. Green Crops. 1873. ..100,704 50,676 99,958 1876... 94,794 48,207 96,317 Nearly three-fourths of the corn crops consist of oats, and about one-fifth wheat, while two-thirds of the green crops are turnips, and a fifth potatoes. That excellent variety of oats called the potato-oat was first dis covered in Cumberland in 1788, whence it has now spread over every part of the United Kingdom. Among the farm implements the single-horse cart deserves to be noticed, as being almost exclusively used, and with great advantage, as it is not only the most convenient and economical carriage for the farmer, but is much less in jurious to the public roads than the waggons and heavily- loaded carts used in many other English counties, which could not easily travel the hilly roads of many parts of Cumberland. The principal manufactures of this county are calicoes, ginghams, corduroys, and other cotton fabrics, established at Dalston, Carlisle, Warwick Bridge, and a few other places. Cotton printing is carried on to some extent in Carlisle. Cockermouth possesses a large new mill for the manufacture of tweeds, and also an old-established thread manufactory. A manufactory of coarse earthenware near Dearham, pencil mills at Keswick, and paper mills at Egremont, with breweries, tanneries, soap and biscuit manufactories at Carlisle, comprise all the other chief manufacturing establishments of any note in Cumberland. Coal is found at different places in the eastern mountains, and also near Brampton in the northern part of the county, but in greatest abundance on the west of the Calder, and thence through the Maryport, Workington, and Whitehaven districts ; in 1871, 4596 persons were employed in the pits. Owing to the development of the iron trade in the west of the county the consumption of coal is very considerable ; but a large export trade is still carried on from the Cumber land seaports to Ireland. Mining operations have taken a new direction in recent years. The discovery and opening out of immense beds of iron ore in the Cleator district have

given increased employment to the population. This ore is of