ERY HISTORY:
database file source="h:/!Genuki/RecordTranscriptions/YKS/ERYHistory.txt"
SOIL, AGRICULTURE, &c.
The various soils of a country are due to geological
differences in its conformation. The East Riding consists of three great natural
or geological divisions, each possessing its characteristic soil, and requiring
different treatment to produce the best agricultural results. On the west, between
the Ouse and the Wolds is the Vale of York, a low level tract of land, described
by Chevalier Bunsen, in somewhat extravagant language, as "the most beautiful
and romantic vale in the world, the Vale of Normandy excepted." This level
band rests on the new red sandstone, but is covered with diluvial matter of
varying depth. It is crossed in two or three places by beds of drift, gravel, and
clay. In the southern part of the vale, near Howden, the soil is warp, on which
flax is extensively cultivated.
On the Wolds, which stretch through the centre of the Riding, the soil is a
chalky loam, very thin in some places, but from eighteen inches to two feet deep
in others. The four-course system of cropping is generally adopted, and by a
liberal use of manure the once barren moors have been converted into one of the
most fertile tracts in England.
Eastward of the Wolds, and extending to the coast, is the plain of
Holderness, which is covered with a deep rich deposit of alluvial soil, forming
excellent farming land. Some portions of it lie very low and were formerly
extensive marshes, called Carrs, utterly useless except as a shelter for the bittern and
the heron. Under powers of an Act of Parliament, obtained in 1761, the Beverley
and Barmston drain was constructed, which carried off the supernatant water
and conveyed it into the Humber, and now there are rich waving corn fields
where, formerly, there were nothing but flags, reeds, and water fowl. In the
south, bordering on the Humber, are some thousands of acres of warp land,
regained from the estuary and protected by embankments.
The farms vary much in size in different parts of the Riding, but taken on
an average they run about 82 acres, whilst in the North Riding they are a little
over 59 acres, and in the West Riding only 39 acres. Compared with English
farms in general, those of the East Riding are about 24 acres above the average.
The total area of the Riding, including water surface and the city of York,
as given in the Agricultural Returns, issued by the authority of parliament, is
804,798 acres, and the total quantity of land under all kinds of crops (exclusive
of nursery grounds and woods), bare fallow and grass, in 1890, was 668,626
acres, which were held by 8,119 occupiers. Of these occupiers, 6,931 rented the
land, 857 were owners of land, and 331 owned and rented land. The following
table exhibits the extent of land under the various kinds of crops in 1890
CORN CROPS. Acres.
Wheat 72,771
Barley or Bere 66,497
Oats 94,796
Rye 1,977
Beans 7,093
Peas 9,933
Total corn crops 253,067
GREEN CROPS Acres.
Potatoes 11,668
Turnips and Swedes 74,968
Mangold 4,155
Carrots 673
Cabbage, kohlrabi, and rape 7,444
Other green crops 6,108
Total green crops 105,016
Clover, sainfoin, and grasses under rotation
For hay 24,182
Not for hay 67,682
Total 91,814
Permanent pasture or grass not broken up in rotation, exclusive of heath and mountain land
For hay 46,199
Not for hay 153,838
Total 200,037
Woods and Woodlands 16,310
Arable land used for fruit trees of any kind 714
Land used by market gardeners 536
Land used as nurseries for growing trees, shrubs, &c 61
Yorkshire holds a distinguished place among the cattle breeding counties of
England; and for its horses, both draught and thorough-bred, it stands unrivalled.
The fairs are visited by buyers from all parts of this country and the continent,
and from its training stables have gone some of the fleetest and finest race horses
of modern times. Holderness had once its distinctive breed of cattle, which
were described by Mr. Strickland, in 1812, as "remarkable for their size and
abundant supply of Milk"; but these have been almost entirely superseded by
the introduction of Tees Water and other shorthorns. Immense numbers of
sheep are fed on the Wolds. The original breed was small and hardy, accustomed
to travel far in search of food, and possessing a short, thick, close fleece, which
enabled it to resist the cold experienced in the higher parts of the district. This
breed has been very considerably improved by crossing with the long-woolled
Leicester. It appears, from the Agricultural Returns before mentioned, that, in
the year 1890, there were in the East Riding 17,004 unbroken horses and mares
kept solely for breeding; and 23,064 horses used solely for agricultural purposes.
The number of cattle in the same year was 83,989, and the number of sheep
483,338.
The minerals of the East Riding are neither many, nor of great commercial
value. Chalk is abundant, and is used to some extent for building purposes, and
some is burnt into lime. There are beds of limestone in the valley of the Derwent,
but it is of little value either for building or burning. Ironstone is met with at
three or four places in the vicinity of the Derwent, but the amount is too
inconsiderable to be of any commercial importance.
Data transcribed from:
Bulmer's East Riding
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