of the boundary with Nottinghamshire, divides the Isle of Axholme (q.v.) from the district of Lindsey, and falls into the Humber about 30 m. below Gainsborough. The Witham rises on the S.W. border of the county, flows north past Grantham to Lincoln, and thence E. and S.E. to Boston, after a course of about 80 m. The Welland rises in north-west Northamptonshire, enters the county at Stamford, and, after receiving the Glen, flows through an artificial channel into the Fosdyke Wash. The Nene on the south-east has but a small portion of its course in Lincolnshire; it flows due north through an artificial outfall, called the Wisbech Cut. Between the Wolds and the sea lie the Marshes, a level tract of rich alluvial soil extending from Barton-on-Humber to Wainfleet, varying in breadth from 5 to 10 m. Between the Welland and the Nene in the south-east of the county are Gedney Marsh, Holbeach Marsh, Moulton Marsh and Sutton Marsh.
The The Fens (q.v.), the soil of which has been formed partly by tidal action and partly by the decay of forests, occupy the Isle of Axholme on the north-west, the vale of Ancholme on the north, and most of the country south-east of Lincoln. The chief of these are the Holland, Wildmore, West and East Fens draining into the Witham; and the Deeping, Bourn, Great Porsand, and Whaplode Fens draining into the Welland.
The low lands adjoining the tidal reaches of the Trent and Humber, and part of those around the Wash have been raised above the natural level and enriched by the process of warping, which consists in letting the tide run over the land, and retaining it there a sufficient time to permit the deposit of the sand and mud held in solution by the waters.
Geology.—The geological formations for the most part extend in parallel belts, nearly in the line of the length of the county, from north to south, and succeed one another in ascending order from west to east. The lowest is the Triassic Keuper found in the Isle of Axholme and the valley of the Trent in the form of marls, sandstone and gypsum. Fish scales and teeth, with bones and footprints of the Labyrinthodon, are met with in the sandstone. The red clay is frequently dug for brick-making. The beds dip gently towards the east. At the junction between the Trias and Lias are series of beds termed Rhaetics, which seem to mark a transition from one to the other. These belts are in part exposed in pits near Newark, and extend north by Gainsborough to where the Trent flows into the Humber, passing thence into Yorkshire. The characteristic shells are found at Lea, 2 m. south of Gainsborough, with a thin bone-bed full of fish teeth and scales. The Lower Lias comes next in order, with a valuable bed of ironstone now largely worked. This bed is about 27 ft. in thickness, and crops out at Scunthorpe and Frodingham, where the workings are open and shallow. The Middle Lias, which enters the county near Woolsthorpe, is about 20 or 30 ft. thick, and is very variable both in thickness and mineralogical character; the iron ores of Denton and Caythorpe belong to this horizon. The Upper Lias enters the county at Stainby, passing by Grantham and Lincoln where it is worked for bricks. The Lias thus occupies a vale about 8 or 10 m. in width in the south, narrowing until on the Humber it is about a mile in width. To this succeed the Oolite formations. The Inferior Oolite, somewhat narrower than the Lias, extends from the boundary with Rutland due north past Lincoln to the vicinity of the Humber; it forms the Cliff of Lincolnshire with a strong escarpment facing westward. At Lincoln the ridge is notched by the river Witham. The principal member of the Inferior Oolite is the Lincolnshire limestone, which is an important water-bearing bed and is quarried at Lincoln, Ponton, Ancaster, and Kirton Lindsey for building stone. Eastward of the Inferior Oolite lie the narrow outcrops of the Great Oolite and Cornbrash. The Middle Oolite, Oxford clay and Corallian is very narrow in the south near Wilsthorpe, widening gradually about Sleaford. It then proceeds north from Lincoln with decreasing width to the vicinity of the Humber. The Upper Oolite, Kimeridge clay, starts from the vicinity of Stamford, and after attaining its greatest width near Horncastle, runs north-north-west to the Humber. The Kimeridge clay is succeeded by the Spilsby sandstone, Tealby limestone, Claxby ironstone, and carstone which represent the highest Jurassic and lowest Cretaceous rocks. In the Cretaceous system of the Wolds, the Lower Greensand runs nearly parallel with the Upper Oolite past South Willingham to the Humber. The Upper Greensand and Gault, represented in Lincolnshire by the Red Chalk, run north-west from Irby, widening out as far as Kelstern on the east, and cross the Humber. The Chalk formation, about equal in breadth to the three preceding, extends from Burgh across the Humber. The rest of the county, comprising all its south-east portions between the Middle Oolite belt and the sea, all its north-east portions between the chalk belt and the sea, and a narrow tract up the course of the Ancholme river, consists of alluvial deposits or of reclaimed marsh. In the northern part boulder clay and glacial sands cover considerable tracts of the older rocks. Bunter, Permian, and Coal Measure strata have been revealed by boring to underlie the Keuper near Haxey.
Gypsum is dug in the Isle of Axholme, whiting is made from the chalk near the shores of the Humber, and lime is made on the Wolds. Freestone is quarried around Ancaster, and good oolite building stone is quarried near Lincoln and other places. Ironstone is worked at several places and there are some blast furnaces.
At Woodhall Spa on the Horncastle branch railway there is a much-frequented bromine and iodine spring.
Climate, Soil and Agriculture.—The climate of the higher grounds is healthy, and meteorological observation does not justify the reputation for cold and damp often given to the county as a whole. The soils vary considerably, according to the geological formations; ten or twelve different kinds may be found in going across the country from east to west. A good sandy loam is common in the Heath division; a sandy loam with chalk, or a flinty loam on chalk marl, abounds on portions of the Wolds; an argillaceous sand, merging into rich loam, lies on other portions of the Wolds; a black loam and a rich vegetable mould cover most of the Isle of Axholme on the north-west; a well-reclaimed marine marsh, a rich brown loam, and a stiff cold clay variously occupy the low tracts along the Humber, and between the north Wolds and the sea; a peat earth, a deep sandy loam, and a rich soapy blue clay occupy most of the east and south Fens; and an artificial soil, obtained by “warping,” occupies considerable low strips of land along the tidal reaches of the rivers.
Lincolnshire is one of the principal agricultural, especially grain-producing, counties in England. Nearly nine-tenths of the total area is under cultivation. The wide grazing lands have long been famous, and the arable lands are specially adapted for the growth of wheat and beans. The largest individual grain-crop, however, is barley. Both cattle and sheep are bred in great numbers. The cattle raised are the Shorthorns and improved Lincolnshire breeds. The dairy, except in the vicinity of large towns, receives little attention. The sheep are chiefly of the Lincolnshire and large Leicestershire breeds, and go to the markets of Yorkshire and London. Lincolnshire has long been famous for a fine breed of horses both for the saddle and draught. Horse fairs are held every year at Horncastle and Lincoln. Large flocks of geese were formerly kept in the Fens, but their number has been diminished since the drainage of these parts. Where a large number of them were bred, nests were constructed for them one above another; they were daily taken down by the gooseherd, driven to the water, and then reinstated in their nests, without a single bird being misplaced. Decoys were once numerous in the undrained state of the Fens.
Industries and Communications.—Manufactures are few and, relatively to the agricultural industry, small. The mineral industries, however, are of value, and there are considerable agricultural machine and implement factories at Lincoln, Boston, Gainsborough, Grantham and Louth. At Little Bytham a very hard brick, called adamantine clinker, is made of the siliceous clay that the Romans used for similar works. Bone-crushing, tanning, the manufacture of oil-cake for cattle, and rope-making are carried on in various places. Grimsby is an important port both for continental traffic and especially for fisheries; Boston is second to it in the county; and Gainsborough has a considerable traffic on the Trent. Sutton Bridge is a lesser port on the Wash.
The principal railway is the Great Northern, its main line touching the county in the S.W. and serving Grantham. Its principal branches are from Peterborough to Spalding, Boston, Louth and Grimsby; and from Grantham to Sleaford and Boston, and to Lincoln, and Boston to Lincoln. This company works jointly with the Great Eastern the line from March to Spalding, Lincoln, Gainsborough and Doncaster, and with the Midland that from Saxby to Bourn, Spalding, Holbeach, Sutton Bridge and King’s Lynn. The Midland company has a branch from Newark to Lincoln, and the Lancashire, Derbyshire, and East Coast line terminates at Lincoln. The Great Central railway connects the west, Sheffield and Doncaster with Grimsby, and with Hull by ferry from New Holland. Canals connect Louth with the Humber, Sleaford with the Witham, and Grantham with the Trent near Nottingham; but the greater rivers and many of the drainage cuts are navigable, being artificially deepened and embanked.
Population and Administration.—The area of the ancient county is 1,693,550 acres, with a population in 1891 of 472,878 and in 1901 of 498,847. The primary divisions are three trithings or Ridings (q.v.). The north division is called the Parts of Lindsey, the south-west the Parts of Kesteven, and the south-east the Parts of Holland. Each of these divisions had in early times its own reeve or gerefa. Each constitutes an administrative county, the Parts of Lindsey having an area of 967,689 acres; Kesteven, 465,877 acres; and Holland, 262,766 acres. The Parts of Lindsey contain 17 wapentakes; Kesteven, exclusive of the soke and borough of Grantham and the borough of Stamford, 9 wapentakes; and Holland, 3 wapentakes. The municipal boroughs and urban districts are as follows:—
1. Parts of Lindsey.—Municipal boroughs—Grimsby, a county borough (pop. 63,138), Lincoln, a city and county borough and the county town (48,784), Louth (9518). Urban districts—Alford
