Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/550

Rh 516 W E S W E S Agriculture. According to the Agricultural Returns for 1887 the total extent of green crops was 10,232 acres ; of corn crops, 19,124, whereof 17,320 were of oats, and only 469 of wheat, and 118 of rye; seed-grasses, 14,951; and 207,017 acres of permanent pasture. The total number of horses is given as 8547 ; of cows and heifers in milk or in calf, 24,097; of other cattle, 39,225; of sheep, 334,978; and of pigs, 4731. There were 59 holdings of less than an acre ; 495 of from 1 to 5 acres ; 792 of from 5 to 20 ; 819 of from 20 to 50; 790 of from 50 to 100; 641 from 100 to 300; 64 from 300 to 500; 31 from 500 to 1000 ; and 3 holdings of above 1000 acres. The total number of owners is stated in the Ecturn of Owners of Land, 1873, as 4376; the extent of lands held by them was 335,160 acres, with a gross estimated rental of 442,320, while 114,282 acres were commons or Avaste land. Seven pro prietors then owned more than 5000 acres each : earl of Lonsdale, 39 229; Sir H. J. Tufton, 16,094; marquis of Headfort, 12,851; Hon. Mary Howard, 8868; W. Wilson, 8690; G. E. Wilson, 7630; W. H. Wakefield, 5584. A large part of Westmorland was for merly in the hands of what are called &quot;statesmen,&quot; whose hold ings were usually of small extent, but were sufficient, with careful management, for the respectable maintenance of themselves and their families. The proportion of landowners of this class is now, however, comparatively small. The meadow-land yields grass of first-rate quality. Grass of inferior value characterizes the pasture- lands; while on the fell (or unenclosed) land, except in limestone areas, the herbage consists chiefly of the coarser kinds of grass, bents, and heather. These, however, furnish nourishment for the hardier breeds of sheep, which are pastured there in large numbers. It is from the sale of these, of their stock cattle, horses, and pigs, and of their dairy produce that the staple of the farmers income is derived. Manufactures. The manufacturing industries, owing to the absence of any large supplies of native fuel, are not numerous. The principal is woollen manufacture in one form or another, and this is chiefly confined to the low country in and near Kendal. Bobbin-making, fulling, snuff -grinding, and several small industries are carried on at a profit, owing to the water-power available at so many points. Paper-making is also carried on. Administration. There are five lieutenancy subdivisions, and two police divisions. There are 109 civil parishes in the county. It is in the diocese of Carlisle, is in the York military district, and forms part of the northern circuit. There is one court of quarter sessions for the county, and five petty sessional divisions. The assizes are now held at Carlisle. The principal town is Keudal, which had in 1881 a population of 13,696. Other towns, all much less important as regards both size and population, are Appleby, Kirkby Lonsdale, Bowness, Kirkby Stephen, Ambleside, Shap, and Orton. The county sends two members to parliament, representing the Northern (or Appleby) and the Southern (or Kendal) Divisions respectively. Population. According to the census of 1881 there were 64,191 inhabitants (31,515 males, 32,676 females), the decrease since 1871 being 819. The proportion of population to acreage is 1 person to 7 80 acres. The people of Westmorland may be described as a prevalently tall, wiry, long-armed, big-handed, dark-grey-eyed, fresh-coloured race. In disposition they are a cautious, reserved, staid, matter-of-fact, sober-minded, unemotional race, somewhat slow-witted, but not by any means dull, and are thrifty beyond measure. The general character of the dialects of Westmorland is that of a basis of Anglian speech, influenced to a certain extent by the speech current amongst the non-Anglian peoples of Strath - clyde. This is overlain to a much greater though variable ex tent by the more decidedly Scandinavian forms of speech intro duced at various periods between the 10th and the 12th centuries. Three well-marked dialects can be made out. Antiquities and History. Amongst the oldest monuments of Westmorland are the circular earthworks called King Arthur s Round Table and Maybrough, both close to Penrith. Barrows and tumuli are common in the wilder parts of the county, more espe cially along the limestone hills near Orton. Traces of earthworks, regarded as Celtic, occur near Crosby Ravensworth, and at a few other places. Rude stone circles and other structures of the same nature exist at several places between Raveustonedale and Shap. Stone implements of the Neolithic type and implements of bronze have been found all over the county. Cup-marked stones have been noticed near Penrith. At Brough church was found a slab bearing an inscription variously regarded as Greek, or Celtic, or Scandinavian. Well-marked traces of the occupation of the county by the Romans exist in their roads, their camps, their altars, and their coins. Monuments of later date, prior to the reign of Rufus, are exceedingly rare, and are chiefly confined to objects of an ecclesiastical character, which mostly owe their preservation to their having been worked up as building material in some of the older churches. Good examples are to be found at Kirkby Stephen, Long Marton, Bongate, and other churches. Vestiges of late Norman work, rarely earlier than 12th century, are preserved in several of the churches, and in a few of the castles. In the case of the castles especially it is evident that their sites had been used as strongholds through a long succession of periods, extending in some cases far back into prehistoric times. From the 12th century downward each period of the history of Westmorland may be said to be fairly well represented. (J- G. G.*) WESTON-SUPER-MARE, a watering-place of Somer set, England, is situated at the northern extremity of Uphill Bay, a recess of the Bristol Channel, and on a branch of the Great Western Railway, 138^- miles from London, 20 south-west of Bristol, and 20 north-west of Wells. It is built partly on level ground near the shore, and partly on the slopes of Worlebury Hill, which aids in sheltering it from the north and east. On this account, as well as from its bracing and dry air, it has won con siderable favour both as a winter residence and as a summer resort. Many villas have been built in it by persons engaged in business in Bristol. An esplanade about 3 miles in length has been constructed at a cost of 30,000. The pier, which altogether is 1040 feet in length, and includes the rocky island of Birnbeck, is north from the town at the extreme end of Worlebury Hill, where also are the Prince Consort promenade gardens. The church of St John, built in 1824, mostly on the site of the old one, contains some old monuments. The other principal public buildings are the town-hall in the Venetian style, the assembly rooms, the market-house, the Weston county club, the church institute, the hospital and dispensary, and the West of England sanatorium, which since its enlargement in 1882 contains 100 beds. The town has been long famed for its potteries. The population of the urban sanitary district (area 2770 acres) in 1871 was 10,568, and in 1881 it was 12,884. The town was included in an ancient British settlement, of which Worlebury Hill was the citadel. The ramparts of this fortress still remain, including a number of hut circles, beneath which skeletons and Celtic remains have been found. In Domesday Westone is described as held by the bishop. In the time of Edward the Con fessor it was held by Algar. In 1696 it was purchased by the Pigotts, the present lords of the manor. The growth of the town is entirely modern. About the beginning of the century it consisted of about twenty-four cottages inhabited by fishermen. A hotel for the re ception of visitors was erected in 1805, and an esplanade begun in 1825, since which time it has made rapid progress. WESTPHALIA (Germ. Westfalen), a province in the west of Prussia, is bounded on the N. by the province of Hanover, on the E. by the province of Hanover, the principalities of Lippe-Detmold and Schaumburg-Lippe, the duchy of Brunswick, the province of Hesse, and the principality of Waldeck, on the S.W. by Rhenish Prussia, and on the N.W. by Holland. Its greatest length from north to south is 110 miles, its greatest breadth is 124 miles, and its total area is 7800 square miles. The Lippe, an affluent of the Rhine, flowing from east to west across the province, divides it into two parts, dis similar in their character. The northern portion, a con tinuation of the plain of the Netherlands, is flat, with the exception of the east, which is occupied by the Weser Hills. South of the Lippe, on the other hand, the province is occupied by numerous small chains and groups of hills, enclosing many beautiful valleys. Between the parallel courses of the Lippe and Ruhr stretches the low chain of the Haar or Haarstrang (850-1050 feet), which is steep on its southern face, but slopes gradually down on the north to the valley of the Lippe, known as the Hellweg. The rugged mountain district south of the Ruhr is known as the Sauerland, and its eastern portion, the plateau of Winterberg, is the highest part of the province. The culminating point is the Astenberg (2760 feet). This plateau is connected with the Westerwald on the south west border by the Rothhaar or Rothlagergebirge. West phalia is divided between the basins of the Rhine, Ems, and Weser. The Rhine itself does not touch Westphalia, but its affluents, the Lippe and Ruhr, are the leading