Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/613

ENGLAND 601 the latitude, and the heat of summer is often relieved by periods of cool weather. The at- mosphere is chilly and damp, and particularly moist in the western counties, but the E. coast is the colder. The mean annual temperature of the S. W. at sea level is about 52 ; at Green- wich, 49 ; at Penzance, 61-8. There is thus an increase of mean temperature from N. to S. and from E. to W. July and August are the hottest months ; December and January are the coldest, the thermometer in the latter two near London having a mean height of 3 9 '7. The W. and S. W. are the most prevalent and con- stant winds, but a blighting 1ST. E. wind blows in April and May on the E. coast, doing great damage to the crops and live stock of Norfolk and Kent. The dry parching character of the latter renders it deleterious to health, but the S. W. winds, which come from the Atlantic, are moist and genial, and it is on their greater fre- quency that the general salubrity of the climate depends. Notwithstanding the humidity of the climate, the average fall of rain is less than in the northern United States. For the British islands it is given as 32 in., while at Cambridge, Mass., it is stated by Prof. Guyot to be 38 in., and at the Western Reserve college, Ohio, it was found by Prof. Loomis to be 36 in. The general character of the soil is that of great fertility, and seven ninths of the land is availa- ble for cultivation. The principal cultivated crops are wheat, oats, beans, barley, rye, tur- nips, potatoes, clover, hops, and flax. Few of the forests are extensive, but the country is well wooded, most of the timber being found in small plantations belonging to private indi- viduals. There are some very large forest lands, however, such as the New forest in Hampshire, Dean forest in Gloucestershire, and Sherwood in Nottinghamshire, which are the property of the crown. The principal trees are the oak, ash, mountain ash, fir, beech, syca- more, maple, poplar, elm, larch, pine, chestnut, horse chestnut, and willow. There are not many indigenous fruits; the pear, crab, medlar,' wild cherry, bullace, raspberry, blackberry, goose- berry, currant, strawberry, and cranberry are the most important species. Foreign fruits, however, except such as require a powerful sun to bring them to maturity, are found to thrive. Of the small herbaceous plants, besides the common grasses covering the country with verdure which the winter seldom destroys, may be mentioned the daisy, primrose, cow- slip, violet, hyacinth, harebell, tamarisk, musk; gentian, foxglove, henbane, hemlock, and night- shade. Many of the wild animals which for- merly inhabited the forests, such as the bear, wolf, wild boar, and wild cat, have disappear- ed; and the stag, fallow deer, and roe have been preserved only by strict game laws. The other indigenous wild quadrupeds are the fox, badger, polecat, beech and pine martens, otter, weasel, stoat, hedgehog, mole, squirrel, hare, rabbit, dormouse, lemming, shrew, and several varieties of the rat and mouse. More than 270 species of land and water birds have been no- ticed, of which 20 are birds of prey and 80 are gallinaceous. The bustard seems to be the only bird which has become extinct. Of about 170 species of fish which frequent the coasts, riv- ers, and lakes, the chief are the herring, pilchard, mackerel, sprat, cod, and salmon. The sea fisheries are chiefly of cod, mackerel, oysters, and lobsters. The various improvements which modern science has introduced in agriculture are generally adopted in England, and under careful management the land, which once with difficulty supported a population of 10,000,000, now easily maintains more than double that number. The best systems of drainage are employed, not as formerly in marshy grounds alone, but on nearly all farms. Artificial ma- nuring receives due attention, and steeps which a few generations ago would have been thought waste land are now under profitable culture. English husbandry, however, has risen to its present high state very slowly. The farms are small, averaging in England and Wales about 111 acres each, but there are comparatively few land owners, most of the farms being held by tenants at will or by lease. The best tilled counties are those of the E. coast. The capi- tal used in agriculture is about 186,000,000; rent of farms, 60,000,000. Cattle raising is a most important branch of husbandry, and the country has been famous for live stock since the days of Csesar. Somewhat more than half the arable land is used for grazing, the best pastures being found in Buckinghamshire, Kent, Middlesex, and several of the western and mid- land counties. In the last are bred good dray horses. Yorkshire is noted for carriage horses, and an excellent breed for farm labor is raised in Suffolk. The English race horse is renowned for speed and beauty. Lancashire is noted for its long-horned cattle ; Northumberland, Dur- ham, Devonshire, Herefordshire, and Sussex, for their short-horned breeds; and Suffolk for its duns. Essex, Cambridgeshire, and Dorset- shire are celebrated for good butter ; Cheshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, other western coun- ties, and Leicestershire, for cheese. The well known Stilton cheese is made in Leicester- shire. The sheep are highly prized for the quality both of their flesh and of their wool. In 1872 there were in Great Britain 9,573,551 acres in grain crops, 3,616,383 in green and other crops, 4,513,451 in clover and grasses under rotation, and 12,575,606 in permanent pasture. There were 2,115,068 horses, 5,624,- 994 cattle, 27,921,507 sheep, and 2,771,749 swine. The manufactures of England are com- mensurate with her greatness in other re* spects. The most important is that of cotton, which employs more hands than any other in the kingdom, and furnishes about two fifths of the exports. The principal seats of this manu- facture are Lancashire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, and Yorkshire. The census of 1871 gives the statistics of the leading textile manufactures of England and Wales as follows :