LANCASHIRE 253
has exceeded 18,000,000 tons, and in 1880 reached 19,120,294 tons. The amount of coal carried from Lancashire is about 11,000,000 tons, of which about 7,000,000 tons are shipped. The produce of the West Lancashire coal-field in 1880 was – coal 9,600,436 tons, fireclay 18,960 tons, and iron 1540 tons, the latter being obtained from the rubbish sent out of the pits. The coal is produced in the neighbourhood of Wigan, St Helens, and Prescot, and the fireclay in the St Helens district. In the North and East Lancashire district 9,519,858 tons of coal were raised, 110,379 tons of fireclay, 4830 of alum shale, and 579 of copper as lumps. Through the kindness of Mr Joseph Dickinson, inspector of mines for this district, we are enabled to give the produce of the field in seven principal divisions, viz.: – (1) the small detached field of Lunedale (lower series of measures), coal 410 tons; (2) the Burnley coal-field (lower and middle series), coal 1,036,015, fireclay 15,279; (3) an adjoining field lying south-east of a line drawn from Chorley to Blackburn (lower series), coal 388,274, fireclay 45,749; (4) a group lying further south-east and extending to Bacup, Rochdale, and Littleborough (lower series), coal 309,388, fireclay 13,298; (5) the part west of Chorley and southwards adjoining the Wigan coal-field (lower series), coal 2,030,027, copperas lumps 579; (6) the part east of the former division (middle and upper series), coal 4,789,495, fireclay 19,217; (7) the extreme south-east part, south of Rochdale, and east of the city of Manchester (lower and middle series), coal 966,249, fireclay 16,836, alum shale 4830. Rich red hæmatitic iron is obtained in great abundance in the district of Furness, the quantity raised in 1871 being 931,048 tons, and in 1880 it was 1,188,543 tons, Only a small quantity of sulphur-ore is raised, 2000 tons in 1879, valued at £900. Some copper is obtained in the Furness district, but the total quantity of ore raised in 1880 was only 442 tons. There are in various districts of the county large quarries for freestone and flagstone, the quantity raised in 1880 being 2404 tons. A fine blue slate is obtained in Furness. As much as 2973 tons of hydraulic limestone was in 1880 dug out of the Ardwick mine near Manchester. There is a mine of native oxide of iron at Warton, near Carnforth, from which, in 1880, 189 tons were obtained. Lead-ore and zinc-ore are being explored between Clitheroe and Chatburn, and rocksalt at Preesal near Fleetwood.
Climate and Agriculture. – The climate in the hilly districts is frequently cold, but in the more sheltered parts lying to the south and west it is mild and genial. From its westerly situation and the attraction of the mountains there is a very high rainfall, an average of nearly 50 inches annually being reached in the mountainous districts, while the average for the other districts is about 35. The soil after reclamation and drainage is fertile; but, as it is for the most part a strong clayey loam, it requires a large amount of labour. In some districts it is more of a peaty nature, and in the Old Red Sandstone districts of the Mersey there is a tract of light sandy loam, which is easily worked, and well adapted for wheat and potatoes. A considerable portion of country is still under peat, but the reclamations within late years have been very large, and at the same time great advances have been made in the methods of culture. In some districts the ground has been rendered unfit for agricultural operations by the rubbish from coal pits. A very large area is in pasturage, and dairy farming, owing to the populous character of the district, is very common.
The following table gives a classification of holdings according to size in 1875 and 1880: –
Years. 50 Acres and under. 50 to 100 Acres. 100 to 300 Acres. 300 to 500 Acres. 500 to 1000 Acres. Above 1000 Acres. Total. Xo. Area. No. Area. Xo. Area. Xo. Area. Xo. Area. Xo. Area. No. Aiea. 1875 1880 18,210 17,423 299,109 286,009 2,873 3,077 202,619 219,412 1,468 1,552 225,184 235,174 74 104 26,828 31,555 12 13 8,070 8,532 1 1 2,195 2,726 22,638 22,170 764,005 783,408
Nearly all the yearly tenants are subject to two years' notice to quit. Great freedom is allowed in regard to rotation and to sale of produce, and it is a frequent custom to sell hay and straw, and to purchase artificial manure for the meadow lands to about one-third of the value sold. According to the agricultural returns for 1881 the total cultivated area was 787,732 acres, a percentage of 65.2 instead of 60 in 1870. The area under corn crops was 101,651 acres; under green crops, 59,971; rotation grasses, 63,387; and permanent pasture, 560,143, more than two-thirds of the whole under cultivation. Only 2573 acres were fallow. Of the area under corn crops 59,373 acres, or considerably more than the half, were occupied with oats, wheat coming next with 26,492 acres, while barley occupied 11,559. The large area of 42,809 acres was under potatoes, turnips and swedes occupying only 10,867 acres.
The total number of horses in 1881 was 38,484, of which 24,567 were used solely for agricultural purposes. Cattle numbered 222,988 (122,683 being cows), an average of 18.5 to every 100 acres under cultivation. They are mostly polled Suffolks, red Yorkshires, and Leicesters. Sheep numbered 284,317, an average of 23.6 to every 100 acres under cultivation, the average for England being 62.4. Cheviots are kept on the higher grounds, on the low grounds Southdowns and Leicesters. Pigs in 1881 numbered 37,700.
The county in 1872-73 was divided among 88,735 proprietors, possessing 1,011,769 acres, with an annual valuation of £13,878,277. Of the owners 76,177, or 87 per cent., possessed less than 1 acre, and the average value, including minerals, was £13, 14s. 4d. per acre. Nineteen proprietors owned upwards of 5000 acres, the largest proprietor being the earl of Derby, who possessed 47,269 acres, with a rental of £156,735. Among other large proprietors are the duke of Bridgewater's trustees, the duke of Devonshire, the Marquis de Casteja, the earl of Stamford and Warrington, the earl of Wilton, the earl of Sefton, Lord Lilford, and Lord Skelmersdale.
Manufactures. – Lancashire is the principal seat of the cotton manufacture, not only in England, but in the world. The history of the industry in the county, and statistical details regarding it, will be found in the article COTTON, vol. vi. 489 sq. In 1879 the total number of factories was close on 2000, and the number of persons employed in these was nearly 370,000. The centre of the industry is Manchester and the neighbouring towns, especially Old- ham. Previous to the American war it employed nearly 100,000 more persons than at present. The woollen, silk, and linen manu- factures employed in 1879 about 50,000 persons. There are a great variety of industries dependent on these staple manufactures, such as bobbin making, the preparation of dyes, calico printing, and the manufacture of machinery and of steam engines. Barrow-in-Furness is noted for the manufacture of iron and steel. Warrington has a large trade in sole leather. St Helens is celebrated for its crown, sheet, and plate glass, and Prescot for its watches. Chemicals are largely manufactured in several towns. The principal seaports are Liverpool, Barrow, Ulverstone, Lancaster, Fleetwood, and Preston, to the separate articles on which the reader is referred for particulars regarding shipping, trade, and shipbuilding. The principal watering-places are Blackpool, Lytham, Morecambe, and Southport.
Railways. – The London and North- Western, Midland, and Lancashire and Yorkshire Railways pass through the county, and it is intersected in all directions by a network of branch lines.
Population and Administration. – The population in 1881 was more than five times as great as in 1801. In that year it was 673,486, or only a little more than the population of Liverpool at the present time. In 1861 it amounted to 2,429,440, in 1871 to 2,819,495, and in 1881 to 3,454,225, of whom 1,667,979 were males and 1,786,246 females. The population of the northern parliamentary division was 273,417, of the north-eastern division 238,544, of the south-eastern 534,963, and of the south-western division 482,148, – the population outside the limits of parliamentary boroughs being thus 1,529,072, and that of the parliamentary boroughs 1,925,153. Liverpool (552,425) is represented by three, members, Manchester (population of municipal borough 341,508, of parliamentary 393,676) by three members, Salford (176,233) by two, Oldham (mun. 111,343, parl. 152,511) by two, Bolton (mun. 105,422, parl. 105,973) by two, Preston (mun. 96,532, parl. 93,707) by two, Blackburn (mun. 104,012, parl. 100,618) by two, Wigan (48,196) by two, Burnley (mun. 58,882, parl. 63,502) by one, Rochdale (68,865) by one, Bury (mun. 51,582, parl. 49,746) by one, Ashton-under-Lyne (mun. 37,027, parl. 43,389) by one, Warrington (mun. 41,456, parl. 45,257) by one, and Clitheroe (mun. 10,177, parl. 14,463) by one. As each division of the county has also two members, the total representation for the county is thirty-two members. The parliamentary boroughs of Staleybridge and Stockport are chiefly in Cheshire. The other principal municipal boroughs are Accrington (31,435), Barrow-in-Furness (47,111), Blackpool (14,448), Bootle-cum-Linacre (27,112), Heywood (23,050), Lancaster (20,724), Over Darwen (29,747), St Helens (57,234), Southport (32,191), Swinton and Pendlebury (18,108), and Todmorden, chiefly in Yorkshire (23,861). There are besides a large number of other towns of over 10,000 inhabitants. The county palatine comprises six hundreds. It is attached to the duchy of Lancaster and so to the crown. It is in the northern circuit, and assizes are held for North Lancashire at Lancaster, and for South
