Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 14.djvu/678

 LINCOLN [COUNTY. Parliament for their drainage, enclosure, and division. The Holland Fen was the first to be dealt with, about 1768 ; in spite of renewed and riotous opposition from the &quot;stilt- walkers,&quot; all the fen lands were successfully drained and enclosed, and on the completion of the East, West, and Wildmore Fens (about 60,000 acres) the race of &quot; stilt-walkers &quot; became extinct. The low lauds adjoining the tidal ivaches of the Trent and Huniber, 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 of the deposit of the sand and mud held in solution by the waters. The general appearance of the county is very pleasing. The level tracts are richly cultivated ; the hills and dales are interspersed with wood and lawn ; and many spots on the Cliff or Wolds command extensive and charming views. The charms of the Fen districts are described as &quot; a beauty as of the sea, of boundless expanse and freedom&quot; (Kingsley). Not a few passages in the writings of Tennyson (a native of the county) bear the impress of the scenery and colour ings of the Fens. 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. 1. The lowest is the Triassic or New Red Sandstone found in the Isle of Axholme and the valley of the Trent in the form of marls, sandstone, and gypsum. The presence of the peroxide of iron which tinges the beds red seems to have been prejudicial to animal life ; therefore few fossils are found. Fish scales and teeth, with bones and footprints of the Labyrinthodon, are to be met with in the sand stone. 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 Rustics, which seem to mark a trans ition from one to the other. These beds 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 miles south of Gains borough, with a thin stratum of bone bed full of fish teeth and scales. 2. The Lower Lias comes next in order, with a valuable bed of ironstone now largely worked. This bed is about 27 feet in thick ness, and crops out at Scunthorpe, where the workings are open and shallow. The Middle Lias, which enters the county near Wools- thorpe, is about 20 or 30 feet thick, and is very variable both in thickness and mineralogical character. The Upper Lias enters the county at Stainby, passing by Grantham and Lincoln. It forms the west slope of the Cliff range, and is thickest upon the highest hills. The Lias thus occupies a band about 8 or 10 miles in width in the south, narrowing until on the Humber it is about a mile wide. 3. To this succeed the three Oolite formations. The Lower Oolite, somewhat narrower than the Lias, extends from the boundary with Rutland due north past Lincoln to the vicinity of the Humber. The Middle Oolite, very narrow in the south near Wilsthorpe, widen ing gradually about Sleaford, and then suddenly contracting again south of Lincoln, sends out a narrow band south-east towards Spilsby. It then proceeds north from Lincoln with decreasing width to the vicinity of the Humber. Tho Upper Oolite and Kim- meridge clay start from the vicinity of Stamford, and after attaining their greatest width near Horncastle, run north-north-west to the Humber. 4. In the Cretaceous system of the Wolds, the Lower Greensand runs nearly parallel with the Upper Oolite past South Willingham to the Huinber. The Upper Greensand and Gault 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. 5. All the rest of the county, comprising all its south-east portions between the Middle Oolite belt and the sea, all its north-east por tion 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. Minerals. 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 found and worked at Claxby near Caistor, and carried into Yorkshire to be smelted ; it is also worked at Frodingham, 9 miles north-north-west of Brigg. Rivers. The Humber separates Lincolnshire from York shire. Its ports on the Lincolnshire side are Barton, New Holland, and Grimsby. The Trent divides the Isle of Axholme from Lindsey, and falls into the Humber about 30 miles below Gainsborough. Like the Severn, it is noted for a tidal phenomenon called the &quot; eager &quot; or bore, which, at spring tides, rises to the height of from 6 to 8 feet. The Witham rises on the south-west border of the county, flows north past Grantham to Lincoln, and thence east and south-east to Boston, after a course of about 80 miles. This river was once noted for its pike. The Welland rises in north-west Northamptonshire, enters the county at Stamford, and, after receiving the Glen, flows through an artificial channel into the Fossdyke 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. Canals. The principal canals are the Stainforth and Keadby, connecting the Trent with the Yorkshire coal-field ; the Louth Navigation, from Louth to Tetney Haven; the Sleaford Navigation, connecting Sleaford with the Witham ; and the Grantham Canal, from that town to the Trent at Nottingham. The remainder are chiefly small rivers artificially deepened and embanked. Climate. The climate of the higher grounds is now noted for its salubrity, and meteorological observation does not justify the reputation for cold and clamp often given to the county as a whole. The mean annual temperature of the Fens as given by ten years observation (1864-73) is 47 9, l-6 below that of Greenwich. The rainfall of the Fen district is very small as compared with other parts of England. While the average of the whole country was little over 30 inches, at Boston the average fall from 1830 to 1849 was 23-58 inches, and from 1850 to 1869 22-08. At Wisbech south-west winds prevail on an average six months in the year, and north-east winds barely two months. Soil and Agriculture. The soils vary considerably, accord ing 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 divi sion ; 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 &quot; warping,&quot; occupies considerable low strips of land along the tidal reaches of the rivers. The wide grazing lands of Lincolnshire have long been famous, and the arable lands are specially adapted for the growth of wheat and beans. There is no generally recognized rotation of crops. 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 the metropolis. 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.