AGRICULTURE.
While the Scandinavian element is regarded by modern writers as the
predominating feature in the composition of Englishmen, the Danish
has been the pre-eminent force in forming the character of the race
which dominates the Lancashire people of to-day. In our survey of
the progress of the race, from the earliest settlement of the Danes,
we find the impression of their footprints in the place-names of the
county, which are our oldest and most enduring monuments. Following
their character of daring and venture, we have established a maritime
power which is the envy of the world. The same spirit which formed our
early settlements in Lancashire has founded colonies in every quarter
of the globe. The enterprise of the early "copemen" has developed into
our mercantile fleet, which controls the carrying trade of the seas.
The voice of their language still resounds in the names of our laws,
the "hundreds" of the county, and in our system of administration, and
also in the political freedom which has established the saying that
"What Lancashire says to-day, England will say to-morrow."
In the earliest record of agricultural progress we find the Danes have
given us the name of "husbandry," and the modern implement called the
"plough." Therefore, in forming an estimate of the benefits which have
resulted from our intercourse with the Danes, the primary industry
of agriculture and dairy produce must not be omitted. In all other
branches of commercial activity, by the application of scientific
methods, unbounded progress has been achieved. Has the oldest industry
of the county had a share in this attainment of wealth, or its rural
population derived advancement? For a period of half-a-century our
agricultural leaders have held competitions known as agricultural
shows, where valuable prizes have been given for live stock of all
descriptions, and rewards for every design of mechanical appliance for
agriculture. To a stranger visiting these shows, it would appear that
we brooked no rival in the production of dairy produce. What are the
facts disclosed by the figures for the past 25 or 50 years? In the
"Year Book of the Lancashire Past Agricultural Students' Association"
we are told that Parliament handed over, in the year 1890, to local
authorities, large sums of money for purposes of technical instruction,
and that "this marks the really substantial beginning of agricultural
education in Lancashire."
With this statement, made at the opening of the twentieth century, it
may be interesting to notice the increase of our imports of Danish
dairy produce for a period of eleven years:--
Year. Imports. Exports.
1897 £10,968,397 £3,476,663
1898 £11,703,384 £3,919,326
1899 £12,432,977 £4,399,025
1900 £13,187,667 £4,724,181
1901 £14,234,102 £4,163,478
1902 £15,556,780 £4,033,897
1903 £16,594,565 £4,398,088
1904 £15,911,615 £3,925,836
1905 £15,416,456 £4,476,624
1906 £16,433,648 £5,162,428
1907 £18,262,542 £6,124,039
DANISH AGRICULTURE.
During the past ten years, says Mr. Consul L. C. Liddell in his report
for 1908, Denmark has witnessed a considerable increase.
The exports of agricultural produce, which in 1904 were worth
£18,400,000, reached £22,400,000 in 1908. The amount of butter exported
to the United Kingdom reaches 96.1 per cent. of the total; of bacon,
97.5 per cent.; and of eggs, 98.8 per cent. The remainder of the butter
and bacon goes principally to Germany. Nearly the entire export of
horses and cattle is absorbed by the German market, whilst three-fifths
of the beef also finds its way thither, the remainder going to Norway.
The labour question has, as in other years, attracted much attention.
The number of Swedish and Finnish labourers is decreasing, and it is
from Galicia that Denmark would now appear to recruit her farm hands.
The number of Galician "season" labourers in 1908 reached 8,000,
or about 1,000 more than in 1907. The co-operative organisations
approached the Prime Minister with the proposal that free passes should
be granted on the State railway system to any unemployed at Copenhagen
having a knowledge of field work to help in farming. This attempt to
organise a "back to the land" movement is not expected to be attended
with success.
These figures show an increase of nearly double in eleven years, or an
increase of eight millions, and an increase of two millions from 1906
to 1907.
It must be remembered that the bulk of Danish produce comes to the
Manchester market, and is distributed from that centre. An analysis
of the 1907 imports from Denmark gives the following details:--Butter
£10,192,587, eggs £1,774,319, fish £91,031, lard £17,723, bacon
£5,385,275, pork £200,000. The item of bacon for 1907 shows an increase
of one million pounds over the year 1906.
The import of Danish produce began in the early sixties of last
century, and the quality was so indifferent that we are told it
was fortunate if two casks of butter were good out of every five.
Even then the quality was superior to Irish butter in its taste and
appearance. The population of Denmark is two and a half millions, and
the cultivated area of land is seven million acres. The yield of crops
to the acre is 28 bushels of wheat, while in England it is 33 bushels.
In barley the yield is 30 bushels to our 35 bushels, and in oats it is
33 bushels to our 42. These figures show the comparative fruitfulness
of the land to be in favour of England. The live stock per 1,000
population in Denmark is 711 cattle to our 267, and pigs 563 to our 82.
The total imports for twenty years show that our dairy produce from
abroad has doubled, and is increasing at a rapid rate.
Comparisons of Danish methods of farming to-day cannot be made with
the present conditions existing in Lancashire or Yorkshire, but can
only be made by the modern conditions now obtaining in Essex under Lord
Rayleigh.
CROPS DIMINISHING.
What has been the course of our agriculture for the past sixty
years? Mr. Cobden maintained that Free Trade would do no injury to
agriculture. The following is a comparison of prices in the years 1845
and 1907:--
1845. 1907.
[E]4lbs. loaf of Bread 6d. 5-1/2d.
[F]1lb. Butter 7d. 1/1.
[F]1lb. Cheese 2d. 9d.
[F]1lb. Bacon 3d. 9d.
[F]1lb. Beef 4d. 8d.
Sixty years ago home-grown wheat produced flour for twenty-four
millions of our population.[G] To-day it produces flour for four and
a half millions. The acreage under wheat has been reduced in the
last thirty years to one-half in England, to one-third in Scotland,
and to one-fifth in Ireland. The same is true of green crops. Nine
hundred thousand acres less are under crops than were thirty years
ago. The same may be said of the area under hop cultivation, which has
been reduced every year. The only bright spot in the review of our
agricultural position, extending over many years, is to be found in the
growth of fruit, although this has not increased as rapidly as foreign
importations.
The result of these changes during the last thirty years has been an
increase of imports of agricultural produce of eighty millions. Our
imports of wheat have increased by thirty-two millions, our imports
of dairy produce have increased by twenty-one millions, and eggs
alone have increased by four millions sterling a year; while fruit
and vegetables have increased by ten and a half millions. The effect
of this must be the increased dependence of our population on foreign
supplies. Agriculture finds employment for a million less than it did
sixty years ago. These are facts and not opinions, and we are compelled
to use the figures of the general national imports, as the details of
the counties are not available.
NATIONAL SAVINGS.
Statesmen tell us that the Post Office Savings Bank deposits are a fair
indication of the industrial prosperity. In the report of these Post
Office Savings Banks we find that Denmark heads the list with £15 11s.
per head of the population, while the United Kingdom comes ninth in the
list with a sum of £4 11s. per head of the population.
The economy of waste has been the keynote of wealth to many industries,
and the adaptability of labour to changed conditions has marked the
survival of more than one centre of commercial activity. Individual
cases are not wanting to prove that men who have been found unfit to
follow their work in mills and town employments through weak health or
the effect of accidents, have succeeded, by the aid of a small capital,
in becoming model farmers, and have demonstrated the variety of crops
and stock which can be raised on a single farm. The bye-products of the
manufacturers are often the source of success, and these are the most
neglected in the itinerary of the farmer.
The greatest problem which confronts our municipal authorities is the
profitable disposal of sewage. Where sewage farms are maintained they
are invariably conducted at a heavy loss to the ratepayers, while the
adjoining farm tenants often succeed in making profits. To reclaim
the land which has gone out of cultivation, by the application of
unemployed labour and the disposal of waste and sewage, provides the
solution of a difficulty which may become a source of wealth, and
restore the prosperity of a lost industry.
COST OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.
A White paper just issued by the Board of Education gives particulars
as to the amount spent by County Councils in England and Wales on
agricultural education.
The amounts vary considerably in the different counties for the year
ending March, 1908. In England, Lancashire takes the lead with £7,485,
and in Wales the county of Carmarthen is prominent with £597.
The gross total amounted to £79,915, of which £21,662 was in grants to
schools and colleges, £9,876 for scholarships, and £12,433 for dairy
instruction.
The figures are approximate owing to the difficulty of analysing
education accounts.
There are not wanting those who say that farming cannot be made to pay
in England. Essex has quite a different experience. For here farms,
varying in size from 250 acres to 5,000 and over, have been made to
return very good profits. The whole secret lies in the work being
conducted on scientific principles, and the careful watching of every
penny expended, as well as giving the labourers a direct interest
in getting good results. On Lord Rayleigh's estate, Terling, which
comprises about 5,000 acres, striking results have been obtained during
the past twenty years, his successes being attributed to the use of
business and scientific methods. For many years past his lordship's
brother, the Hon. E. G. Strutt--probably one of the most experienced
practical farmers in England--has had the management of the property,
and has shown that farming can be carried on with a profit in this
country.
Essex is described as flat, but in the neighbourhood of Terling, which
abuts on the Great Eastern Railway line at Witham, there are numerous
gently undulating plains, and even at this time of the year a stroll
along the lanes in the neighbourhood reveals many pleasant surprises.
Here and there the hedgerows are already bursting into delicate green
buds, and in some places the crops sown during the early winter for
spring are showing above the rich dark brow soil. And many are the
birds which are already, as it were, getting into voice for the spring.
The county hereabouts is heavily wooded, the chief trees being oak,
ash, and elm. Many of these are veritable giants and monarchs of the
forest, now standing out alone on the sky-line in all their nakedness
of winter outline, then in small groups, again in such numbers as to
become forests. On every hand are signs of activity. Ploughing for the
moment is all over, though there are still fields of stubble which have
to be turned over and prepared for crops in the near future. Fields
which have already been ploughed are being heavily manured in readiness
for sowing. And herein lies one of the secrets of the successful
farming prevailing in this favoured neighbourhood. Everyone knows, but
not everyone acts upon the knowledge, that as the fertility of the soil
is exhausted fresh nutriment must be given. The observance of this rule
brings its own reward, as many have learned to their advantage. Hedging
and ditching are in progress, and by the time that all hands will be
required on the land for ploughing, scarifying, harrowing, and sowing,
hedges will have been trimmed and ditches cleaned.
Some eighteen or twenty years ago Lord Rayleigh decided to offer all
his farm labourers, who number about 250, bonuses on the profits of
their industry. This scheme proved eminently successful; so much so,
indeed, that Lord Rayleigh has now gone a step further and offered
to give every man who cares to invest his savings in his farms 4 per
cent. interest on such money, and a share in any profits which may
accrue after that dividend has been paid. A very large proportion of
the men employed have taken advantage of this offer, which gives them
close upon 2 per cent. more than they were getting from the Post Office
Savings Bank, where they had been in the habit of putting their money,
for they are a thoroughly respectable, self-respecting, and frugal
community. It is now just a year since this offer was first made, and
the employees put up over £1,000, in sums ranging from £1 to £100, the
latter sum coming from a man who had banked all the bonuses he earned,
along with savings from twenty-five years' earnings.
Lord Rayleigh's idea was to get the men not only to study thrift,
but to take a keener interest in their daily work. It has been said
that that man is a public benefactor who gets two blades of grass to
flourish where but one grew before. His lordship has a far higher
satisfaction in advancing the position of the men in his employment.
In effect this is what he said to them: "My farms represent so much
money to me; now for every £1 which you put in I will guarantee you 4
per cent. After we have all had our 4 per cent., such surplus profit
as may be left, if any, will be divided between us _pro rata_." The
result of the first year's farming under this form of co-partnership
has been very satisfactory. Everyone has not only been paid the
guaranteed 4 per cent., which was distributed recently, but each
labourer has also received a share in the sum which was over after
paying out that amount. While Mr. Strutt declined to disclose the exact
amount of the remaining profit, he hinted that the extra interest
might quite possibly be as much as a further 4 per cent. Whatever it
is, every labourer who put his savings into Lord Rayleigh's hands is
congratulating himself upon his good fortune, and, as saving begets
saving, there is a prospect that none of these beneficiaries will ever
need the old age pension.
Lord Rayleigh has made only two stipulations with his men, both aimed
at unity of administration. One is that they cannot have any voice in
the management of the estate, which Mr. Strutt naturally works to the
best advantage, and the other is that only the savings of the labourer
himself and his wife may be offered for investment in the farms.
Probably there is no farm where such intricate or such useful books are
kept as on the Terling estates. Practically every field is treated as a
separate farm in itself. Say, for instance, a field is to be sown with
wheat. It has to be ploughed, the cost of which is charged in the book
against that field, as also the value of the manure used, the price of
the seeds sown, and all the time occupied in preparing the land, and,
later on, in cutting the wheat, threshing, and sending it to market.
On the opposite page of the ledger is put the amount obtained for the
grain, and the value of the straw, whether sold or used on the farms. A
balance can then be struck, and the profit or loss shown at a glance.
On the profit shown, those who did the various necessary labours
receive their bonus. So with every field. But the system does not end
here. A most careful record is kept, for example, of every cow--the
original cost, if bought, the amount of milk she yields per year, of
her calves, and what they fetch when sold, or their value if retained
on the estate. Every Friday, the morning and evening milkings are
accurately measured, and at the end of the year these figures are added
up and multiplied by seven for the seven days of the week. In this way
it is known exactly how much milk each cow gives. The annual average
should be about 800 gallons, which is regarded as a very fair amount.
There is, however, one cow, Lilac by name, which seems to despise that
average. Last year her yield of milk was no less than 1,457 gallons,
which is a big record, even on the Terling estates.
Mr. Strutt reckons that a cow should give on an average 650 gallons of
milk per year, and the cowmen get a bonus when the yield of the cows
in their charge average that amount. The advantage of such records are
enormous. If a cow does not give 650 gallons of milk per annum, she is
at once sold, as she does not pay for her keep. As there are no less
than 800 cows on the estate, the keeping of such records involves an
enormous amount of work, but it is work which has a profitable result,
facilitating, as it does, the weeding out of poor dairy stock.
The same attention is paid to other departments. Records are kept of
the sheep, of which there are considerable flocks scattered over the
fifteen farms comprised in the estate. It is the same with poultry,
of which there are thousands roaming about the farms, grubbing much
of their food, but, of course, some is thrown down for them in the
various poultry yards. No hens are penned up on the estate. While that
course is necessary where prize-show birds are reared, in the case of
table poultry and poultry kept for eggs pens are neither essential
nor profitable. With freedom the birds lay more regularly, and are
generally in better condition for the table.
Asked as to whether eggs were not lost owing to the hens laying in the
hedges, Mr. Isted, who is in charge of the office where all the various
books of record are kept, said that few, indeed, if any, are overlooked
by those responsible, because of the system of bonuses given by Lord
Rayleigh, to which reference has already been made. Those in charge of
the hens receive a reward on every score of eggs brought in. Every head
of poultry reared also means a monetary benefit to the workers.
Daily between 60 and 80 17-gallon churns of milk are despatched to
London. It is said that from no station along the Great Eastern
Railway line is more milk sent to the Metropolis than from Witham. At
present about 100 of these churns leave the station every day, all
the milk coming from the immediate neighbourhood. Eggs are also sent
to the Rayleigh Dairies in vast quantities. Every egg is carefully
tested before it leaves the estate. The poultry is disposed of through
middlemen. Other produce is sold in the Essex markets--at Chelmsford,
Colchester, Witham, and Braintree. This would include all the cereals
not used on the farm, and such hay as was not required for the stock
during winter.
Down in Essex wages are regarded as generally good by the farm
labourers. At least there is a distinct tendency on the part of the
men to remain on the soil. Horsemen receive 14s. a week, cowmen 14s.
and 15s., the head cowmen getting generally 18s. and 20s., while other
farm hands earn from 13s. to 15s. Living is very cheap, and rents are
low. A good, comfortable cottage, with a decent bit of garden, where
vegetables can be grown, can be had for £4 or £5 a year. Should a man
require more ground he can get it at a nominal annual rent of 3d. per
rod--that is, a piece of ground measuring 5-1/2 yards each way. Quite
a number of men avail themselves of this offer, and as they knock off
work at five p.m., they put in their evenings on their own "estate."
It is true that Lord Rayleigh has only tried his new system of
investment, as well as interest in the farms, for a year, but the
results amply justify the experiment. So satisfied are the men
themselves that many have asked to be allowed to invest their share
of the interest earned and their new bonuses in the estate. It would
seem that here, at least, is a possible project for checking the
ever-increasing rush of young men to the towns, where, while wages
may be higher, the conditions are not conducive to either personal or
patriotic well-being. The great feature of Lord Rayleigh's plan is
that it is a distinctly profit-sharing one, for no reform, however
attractive, can be economically good unless it is financially sound.
With wheat in a rising market at 50s. a quarter, the granaries of the
world holding back supplies a considerable proportion of which are
already cornered in America--and bread dearer than it has been for many
years, the question of the moment is, Can England become her own wheat
grower?
Fourteen weeks after harvest the home supplies are exhausted. Britain
needs altogether, both home and foreign, 30,000,000 quarters of wheat
per annum to provide her people with bread. Out of the total area of
32,000,000 acres under crops of all sorts in the country only 1,625,000
acres are devoted to the growth of wheat. English climatic conditions
can be relied upon to allow an average production of three and a half
quarters per acre.
The solution of the problem, therefore, is simplicity itself. A matter
of 8,000,000 acres taken from those devoted meantime to other crops, to
pasturage (to say nothing of deer forests, grouse moors, golf links),
or even lying waste, and developed for wheat growing would produce,
roughly speaking, the extra 28,000,000 necessary to our annual national
food supply.
Millions of acres of the land at present in other crops has grown
wheat at a profit in the past. In the sixties and seventies the staple
commodity was at its most remunerative price. In 1867 it touched the
enormous average of 64s. 5d. per quarter, while later, in 1871 and
1873, it stood at 56s. 8d. and 58s. 8d. per quarter.
With the countries of the East--India, China, Japan--awakening to the
potentialities of wheat as a food in place of rice, with America's
prairies becoming used up and her teeming millions multiplying, and
with Canada, Australia, and Argentina remaining at a standstill as
regards wheat production, it is clear that England ought to become
self-sufficing.
To attain the desired end the vast possibilities of the agricultural
science of to-day must be appreciated and developed by every possible
means.
What can be done within England's own borders is the chief point to be
considered, and some experiments and experiences may point the way.
The first question is, would home produced wheat pay? Farmers tell
us that at 30s. a quarter wheat is just worth growing, but that each
shilling over 30s. means about 5s. clear profit. Would not wheat at
40s. an acre be worth cultivating?
As to the practical ways and means of obtaining this sum out of the
soil, I must detail some of the more modern scientific methods in
agriculture.
I have said that 8,000,000 acres of the present area under crops could
make us independent of foreign supplies. By applying certain simple
rules of selection regarding seeds, a much smaller area of land would
give the same result.
Instead of 3-1/2 quarters per acre--the present average--the yield
could be doubled, or even trebled. Thirty years ago, in France, three
quarters an acre was considered a good crop, but the same soil with
improved methods of cultivation nowadays yields at least four quarters
per acre; while in the best soils the crop is only considered good when
it yields five quarters to six quarters an acre.
The work of the Garton brothers and of Professor Biffen, of Cambridge
University, has clearly shown that by careful selection and crossing of
the best breeds of wheat the yield can be actually quadrupled.
Hallet's famous experiments in selection demonstrate that the length of
the wheat ear can be doubled, and the number of ears per stalk nearly
trebled. The finest ear he developed produced 123 grains, as against 47
in the original ear, and 52 ears to one plant, as against ten in the
original.
In agriculture, as in other matters in which England claims to take a
leading part, we have something to learn from the Continent. France,
Belgium, and Germany have adopted a system of co-operation which has
reduced the cost of farming to the smallest possible limit. From a fund
supplied partly by the Governments of these countries and partly by the
farmers themselves, small farms, manures, seeds, machinery, etc., are
provided on a co-operative basis. Would not a system on similar lines
have far-reaching results in this country?
Perhaps the most interesting suggestion, the newest in the fields of
scientific agriculture research, is the inoculation of the soil with
bacteria. Through these wonder-working germs which live in the nodules
of plant roots multiplication of the free nitrogen in the air goes
on with great rapidity, and this, united with other elements, forms
valuable plant food.
Recent experiments, the results of which have not yet been made public,
show that good crops of wheat may be grown in the poorest soil; indeed,
the Scriptural injunction about sowing seeds in waste places no longer
bears scientific examination. On an area which was little more than
common sand crops inoculated with bacteria gave an increased yield of
18 per cent.
Wheat grown on the lines I have touched upon within the United Kingdom,
and paying the grower 40s. per quarter, would go far to solve every
social and economic problem known. There would be work for all in
the country districts, and consequently less poverty in the towns,
and to the nation's resources would be conserved the enormous annual
expenditure on foreign wheat of £67,000,000.
OCCUPYING OWNERSHIP.
"A time there was, ere England's griefs began,
When every rood of ground maintained its man,"
Behold a change; where'er her flag unfurled,
It presaged forth--goods-maker to the world.
Then wealth from trade, pure farming handicapped
While glittering towns the youthful swain entrapped.
In trade, no longer, England stands alone,
Indeed, too oft, John Bull gets "beaten on his own."
Dependent on the world for nearly every crumb,
Is this a time when patriots should be dumb?
For England needs to guard 'gainst future strife
That backing up which comes from rural life.
Though all indeed may use both book and pen,
The nation's weal depends on robust men
Inured to toil--a hardy, virile band.
And these are bred where owners till the land.
SUPPLY OF WHEAT.
STRIDES IN THE SCALE OF LIVING.
Earl Carrington, President of the Board of Agriculture, presided at
a meeting of the Society of Arts, when a paper upon the production
of wheat was read by Mr. A. E. Humphries. His lordship gave some
very interesting jottings from family history, showing the great
advance that had taken place in the scale of living. The subject
of the lecture, he said, reminded him that over 100 years ago his
grandfather, who was President of the Board of Agriculture, made a
speech in which he said that one of the most important subjects with
which the Board had to deal was the scarcity of wheat. It was curious
that they were discussing the same subject to-day. His father, who
was born 103 years ago, had often told him that in the early part of
last century they did not have white bread at every meal, as it was so
scarce. If that happened at the table of old Robert Smith, the banker,
at Whitehall, what must the bread of the working classes have been like!
In the five years from 1878 to 1882, said Mr. Humphries in his lecture,
we produced 117 lb. of wheat per head per annum, and imported 238
lb., while in the years from 1903 to 1907 we produced only 68 lb.
per head, and imported 284 lb. For many years British wheat had been
sold at substantially lower prices than the best foreign, and in the
capacity of making large, shapely, well-aerated and digestible loaves
the home-grown grain was notably deficient. It was commonly attributed
to our climate, and people said that Great Britain was not a wheat
producing country. The real reason was that farmer did not grow the
right kind of wheat. It was not a matter of climate or of soil, but
of catering for the particular kind of soil in which the grain was to
be grown. The crux of the whole question was to obtain a variety of
seed that would suit the environment. Farmers, instead of aiming at
quality, had striven to get as large a yield per acre as possible.
The Hon. J. W. Taverner, Agent-General for Victoria, said that he had
heard a lot of talk about the efficiency of the Territorial Army and
the safety of the country. If only the men were fed on bread baked from
Australian wheat England had nothing to fear, for the men would be
equal to anything.
FOOTNOTES
[A] From an article by the late John Just, M.A., of Bury.
[B] Knott is also used for the name of a mountain or hill, as in
Arnside Knott, in Westmoreland, but near the Lancashire border.
[C] From Darvel--death and öl--feast.
[D] The ancestors of the poet were, however, more likely "Chaussiers,"
makers of long hose.
[E] From "Free Trader," issued by the Liberal Free Traders, Dec., 1904.
[F] From "The Hungry Forties," written by Mr. Cobden's daughter.
[G] From Report of Agricultural Committee of the Tariff Commission.
INDEX
Acle, 28.
Adamson, 63.
Adalis, 32, 38, 39.
Aella, King, 24.
Agriculture, 215.
Ainsdale, 7.
Aire, 159.
Ale, 16.
Alexandria, 152.
Alfgier, 38-39.
Alfred the Great (illust.), 26, 33.
Altcar, 23.
Amleth, 173.
Amounderness, 5.
Anastasius, 68.
Anderson, 63.
Angel choir of Lincoln, 170.
Anglian population, 17.
Anlaby, 13.
Anlaf, 25, 32, 35, 36, 37, 41.
Anstice, 68.
Aradr, 112.
Aratum, 112.
Arcle, 28.
Arnside Knott, 48.
Arncliffe, 27.
Art, 174.
Athelfloed, Lady of the Mercians, 104.
Athelstan, 26, 30, 33, 34, 35, 37, 49.
Asia, 158.
Augustin, 68.
Austin, 68.
Australia, 158.
Austria, 158.
Axle, 28.
Ayton (great), 27.
Back o'th' hill, 40.
Bacup, 34.
Balder, 62.
Ball (Olaf), 53.
Ballads and War Songs, 172.
Ballr, 53.
Balderstone, 62.
Bamber, 84.
Banbury, 31.
Bannister, 68.
Barker, 68.
Barrowford, 32.
Basket making, 140.
Bath-day, 15.
Battlefield, 37.
Battlestone, 37.
Beck, 69.
Beckett, 69.
Bede, 49.
Beer, 16.
Bellum Brun, 35.
Bernicia, 24, 25, 50.
Bessingby, 18.
Billingr, 62.
Birkdale, 7.
Birket, 22.
Bishop's House Estate, 37.
Bishop's leap, 31, 35.
Blagburnshire hundred, 5.
'Blakogr,' 28.
Blawith, 28.
Blowick, 28.
'Boer,' 84.
'Bois,' 69.
'Bondr,' 24.
Bonfire hill, 40.
Booth, 84.
Boulsworth, 32.
Boys, 69.
Bractaetes, 174.
'Breck,' 67.
Bridlington, 18.
Britons, 1.
---- of Strathclyde, 34.
Broadclough Dykes, 41.
Broad Dyke, 34.
Broadbank, 35.
Brock, 69.
Brincaburh, 30.
Brinkburn, 30.
Bromborough, 31.
Brownedge, 35, 40.
Brownend, 40.
Brownside, 35.
Brun, 28, 29.
Brunanburh, 28, 31.
Brunford, 30.
Brunton, 31.
Brumbridge, 30.
Brumby, 31.
'Bud,' 84.
Buerton, 84.
'Burh,' 31.
Burnley, 29, 48.
Burscough, 23.
Burton, 84.
Burton-on-Trent, 24.
Bushel-corn, 99.
'By-law,' 8.
'Byr,' 84.
Byrom, 84.
Byzantine Coins, 174.
Cairns, 185.
Calday, 22.
Calders, 22.
Calderstones, 22, 182.
Canute, 5, 177.
Candlemas, 155.
Capenhurst, 64.
Castle hill--Tunlay, 33-34.
Cat's cradle, 158.
Causeway, 33.
Carnaby, 18.
Castercliffe, 32, 35.
Celtic burial, 185.
Chapman, 64.
Cheap, 64.
Cheapside, 64.
Chepstow, 64.
Chester, 4, 23, 163-164.
Chester-le-street, 53.
Children's games, 158.
Childwall, 23.
Christian 'Sunday Letters,' 153.
Churches, 163-164.
Churchtown, 164.
Claughton-on-brock, 124.
Clitheroe, 32, 48.
Clog almanacs, 143.
---- ---- symbols, 144.
Coinage, 175.
Colne, 32.
Constantine, King of Scots, 30.
Copeland, 64.
Copeman, 64.
Copenhagen, 64.
Copethorn, 64.
Copley, 64.
Copynook, 34.
Corn spirit, 158.
Cottingham, 13.
Craik, Yorkshire, 51.
Crathorne, 26.
Crosby, 6, 23.
Crosses, 195.
Croxteth, 19.
Cuerdale, 7, 28, 175.
Cumberland, 53.
Cuthbert, Saint, 50, 53.
Cutherd, Bishop, 53.
Cup-cuttings, 182.
'Dale,' 7.
Danelag, 8.
Danes house, 41.
Darvel cakes, 66.
Darvel deathfeast, 66.
Dean, 69.
Deira, 9, 11, 12, 24.
Dell, 69.
Derby, 5.
Dialect, 69.
Drengs, 24.
Eadred, Abbot of Carlisle, 50.
Eanfrid, 25.
Easden Fort, 34.
Easington, 26.
Ecclesiologist, 156.
Ecfrith, 25.
Edward the Elder, 34.
Edwin, King, 24.
Egbert (illust.), 33.
Eglis, 39.
Egyptian scholars, 152.
Ellerburn, 27.
Elston, 62.
Elswick, 62.
Emmott, 41.
Enderby, 84.
'Endr,' 84.
Endrod, 84.
Entwistle, 84.
Equinox, vernal, 152.
Ernot, 35.
Everett, 68.
Everard, 68.
Extwistle Hall, 35.
Facid, 84.
Facit, 84.
Fairs and Wakes, 65.
Fawcett, 84.
'Feldkirk,' 31.
Fire and sun worship, 154.
Folklore for children, 157.
Formby, 6, 23.
Forseti, 84.
Foster, 84.
Fraisthorpe, 62.
Frankby, 62.
Fraser, 62.
Freyer, 62.
Frisby, 62.
Fry, 62.
Fryer, 62.
Furness, 164.
Fylde, 5.
'Gaard,' 75.
Galt, 65.
Gamelson, 84.
Gambleside, 84.
Gamul, 84.
'Gata,' 54.
Garnett, 68.
Garstang, 75.
Garswood, 75.
Garth, 75.
Garton, 75.
Geld, 65.
Godley, 32, 33.
Golden numbers, 144.
'Gos,' 69.
Gosford, 69.
Grave mounds, 184.
Grindalbythe, 18.
Guthred, King, 51, 52.
Hackenhurst, 39.
Haggate, 36.
Halfdan's death, 51.
Halfdene, 13, 15, 26.
Halton, 121, 125, 177-179.
---- Crosses, 179.
---- Torque, 177.
Hamilton Hill, 36, 40.
Hamlet, 173.
Hapton, 48.
Harbreck, 19.
Harkirke, 7, 177.
'Haugr,' 6.
Hay, 55.
Haydon Bridge, 51.
Hazel Edge, 36.
Hell Clough, 40.
Helm Wind, 208.
Heptarchy, 25.
Heriot, 107.
Hessle, 18.
Heysham, 121.
Highlawhill, 36.
'Hofs,' 6.
Horelaw pastures, 36.
'Hlith,' 48.
Hoe, 112.
Hogback stone, 105, 121, 179.
Hoop, 48.
Hope, 48.
Hopehead, 48.
Hopekirk, 48.
Hopeton, 48.
Howick, 55.
Hoylake, 55.
Hudleston, 96.
Hundred Court, 14.
Hutton John, 96.
Hurstwood, 35.
Husbandry, 111, 112.
Hustings, 8.
Huyton, 55.
Hyngr, the Dane, 37, 38.
Ida, King, 24.
Ingleby, 50.
Invasion and Conquest, 1, 2, 3.
Irby, 22.
Ireland, 180.
Irish Christians, 180.
Ivar, 22.
Jarls, 49.
Jarrow, 26.
Kell, 65.
Kellet, 65.
Kendal, 164.
Kingo, poet, 170.
Kirk Ella, 17, 18.
Kirk Levington, 27.
Kirkby, 6, 18.
Kirkby in Cleveland, 27.
Kirkby Lonsdale, 164.
Kirkby Misperton, 27.
Kirkby Moorside, 27, 164.
Kirkby Stephen, 164.
Kirkdale, 5, 6, 19, 27.
'Kirkja' Church, 6.
Knott End Mill, 48.
'Knotta,' 48.
Knottingley, 48.
Knut, 48.
'Knutr,' 48.
Knutsford, 48.
'Lake,' game, 157.
Land Tenure, 90.
Laugardag, bath day, 15.
Lawmen, 23.
Lay of Norse gods, 173.
Leamington, 84.
Lethbridge, 48.
Levishan, 27.
Lindsey, 65.
Lindisfarne, 25.
Litherland, 48.
Literature, 168.
---- 'skryke of day,' 170.
---- sunrise, 170.
Lithe, 48.
Lithgoe, 48.
Liverpool, 23, 47.
Log-law, 81.
Long hundred, 13.
Long weight, 13.
Lonsdale, 4.
Loom, Danish, 80.
Lorton, 51.
Lorton-en-le-Morthen, Yorks., 33.
'Lug-mark,' 81.
Lunar cycle, 155.
Lund, 65.
Lyster, 65.
Mackerfield, 54.
Maeshir, 54.
Maiden Way, 51.
Manchester, 34.
Manorial exaction, 106.
Manx Inscriptions, 138.
Memorials, 161.
'Merchet,' 106.
Mercia, 25.
Mercians, Lady of, 34.
---- rule, 24.
Mereclough, 39.
Mersey, 34.
'Messe staves,' 142.
Moons, changes, 143.
Mythology, 189.
Names, Norse and Anglo-Saxon, 113.
Neilson, 56.
Nelson, Admiral, 56.
Norns, 189.
Norse Festival, 55.
Northumberland, --.
Northumbria, 25, 27, 70.
Nunnington, 23, 27.
'Occupying ownership,' 234.
Odin, 6, 197.
---- 'The descent of,' 199.
'Ol,' 16.
'Oller,' 62.
Olave, Saint, 63.
Oram, 63.
'Orm,' 63.
Orme, 63.
Ormerod, 63.
Ormesby, 27.
Ormeshaw, 63.
Ormside cup, 131.
Ormskirk, 23, 63.
Ormstead, 185.
Osmotherley, 27.
'Osric,' 25.
'Oswald,' 25.
'Oter,' 63.
Otter, 63.
Ottley, 63.
'Oxl,' 28.
Oxton, 22.
Paton, 85.
Patronymics, 60.
'Pecthun,' 85.
Penda, 25.
Peyton, 85.
Phauranoth, 152.
Physical types, 79.
Picton, 85.
Picts, 85, 115.
Picture, 85.
Piko, 115.
Place names, 14-47.
'Plogr. plov.,' 112.
Plough, 112.
Political Freemen, 89.
Preston, 23.
Prestune, 23.
Prim-staves, 142.
Prima-luna, 142.
Quakers, 99.
Raby, 22.
Rachdam, 84.
Ragnvald, 52.
Raven, 115.
Ravenshore, 115.
Ravensmeols, 23.
Rawtenstall, 48.
Red-Lees, 33-36.
Regnold of Bamborough, 34.
Ribble, 29-34.
'Ridings,' Yorkshire, 9.
Rimstock, 143-144.
'Rimur,' 143.
Rivington Pike, 115.
Roby, 23.
Rochdale, 84.
Roman days, 26.
Rooley, 39.
Rossendale, 84.
Round Hill, 40.
Royal Charters, Norse witnesses, 15.
Rûnâ, 137.
Runes, 137.
Runic Almanacs, 141.
---- Calender, 155.
---- Characters, 143, 153.
---- 'Futhork,' 139.
---- Inscriptions, 138.
---- Monuments, 181.
'Ruthlie,' 39.
'Saetter,' 22.
Sagas, 169, 174.
Salford hundred, 5.
Satterthwaite, 22.
Saxifield, 30, 35, 42.
Scarisbrick, 67.
Seacombe, 22.
Seascale, 22.
Seathwaithe, 22.
Sellafield, 22.
'Servi,' 103.
Settlements, 12.
Shakespere, 193.
Sherborne, 37.
Sheffield, 35.
Shotwick, 17.
Sieward, Earl, 163.
Sigurd-Story, 179.
Sinnington, 23.
'Sinfin,' 39, 40.
'Sithric,' King, 35.
Skelmersdale, 78.
Skelton, 27.
Skidby, 18.
Skipper, 55.
Slavery abolition, 103.
'Socage,' 16, 20, 21.
Sochman, 14, 20.
Sochmanni, 19, 91.
Sochmanries, 20.
Socmen of Peterboro', 105.
Sodor and Man, 83.
Solar cycle, 155.
Speke, 66.
'Spika,' 65.
Statesmen, 104.
Stainton, 26-7.
Steadsmen, 104.
Stigand, 68.
Stiggins, 68.
'Stockstede,' Croxteth, 23.
Stokesley, 26.
Stone Crosses, 119.
Storeton, 22.
Sudreyjar, 83.
Sun, 152.
Superstitions, 159, 205.
Sutherland, 83.
Swarbrick, 67.
Sweden 'lake' game, 156.
Swindene, 40.
S'winden water, 37.
S'winless lane, 35, 37.
Tacitus, historian, 138.
'Tallage,' 107.
Tanshelf, Taddnesscylfe, 28.
Thane, 16.
Thelwall, 23, 34.
'Thing,' trithing, 8.
Thinghow, 28, 50.
Thingstead, 28.
Thingwall, 8, 13, 28, 50.
'Thor,' 62.
Thorley, 62.
Thornaby, 27.
Thorold, 38.
Thorolf, 38.
Thursby, 62.
Thurstaston, 62.
Thurston water, 38.
Tingley, 28, 50.
Torque, 177.
Towneley, 33.
Towthorp, 18.
Toxteth, 23.
Trawden, 48.
Tree-yggdrasil, 180.
'Trithing,' 7, 10.
Trithing Court, 14.
Troughton, 48.
Trowbridge, 48.
'Trow'-trough, 48.
Turketul, Chancellor, 39.
Turton, 62.
Tursdale, 62.
Twist hill, 40.
Tynwald, 8.
Ullersthorpe, 62.
Ullscarth, 28.
Ullswater, 28.
Ulpha, 23.
Ulverston, 62.
Unthank, 22.
Valkyrs, 199.
Valour, 199.
'Vë,' 62.
Verstigan, 143.
'Viborg,' 62.
Viking age, 178.
Wallhalla, 189.
Walkyries, 189.
Wallasey, 22.
Walshaw, 33.
Walton le dale, 5.
Wandsworth, 198.
Wansborough, 198.
Wanstead, 198.
Wapentake, 8-9.
Warcock, 28.
Warcock-hill, 36.
Warthole, 28.
Warton, 28.
Warwick, 28.
Warrington, 24.
Watling street, 33.
Wavertree, 22.
Wearmouth, 26.
Wednesbury, 198.
Wednesday, 198.
Wellborough, 27.
West Derby, 23.
---- ---- hundred, 5.
West Kirby, 23.
Whasset, 63.
Whitby, 17, 26, 27.
Whithorn, 51.
---- prior of, 165.
Wigton, 62.
Wigthorpe, 62.
Wilbeforce, 62.
Wild, 64.
Wilde, 64.
Wilding, 63.
Willerby, 13.
Willoughby, 62.
Windermere, 22.
Winewall, 35.
Winter Solstice, 211.
Widdop, 36.
Wirral, 12, 24.
Woollen manufacture, 64.
Worsthorne, 37.
Worsthorne, 36.
Wulfric Spot, 24.
Wycollar, 41.
Wydale, 62.
Wylde, 10.
Wyre, 62.
Yarborg, 84.
Yarborough, 84.
Yarm, 27.
Yerburgh, 84.
Yggdrasil, 189.
Yorkshire children's folklore, 114.
Yule, origin, 211.
Zinga, 181.
Zodiac, 152.
Zoni, 181.
Transcriber's Notes
Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant
preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.
Simple typographical errors were corrected; frequent unbalanced
quotation marks not remedied except as noted below.
Page 16: "hopped ale.'" either is missing an opening quotation mark or
has a superfluous ending one.
Page 36: 'is "Warcock Hill.' either is missing a closing quotation mark
or has a superfluous opening one.
Page 62: "descrip-names" was printed that way; may be misprint for
"descriptive names".
Page 65: Text beginning with '"Robert de Cowdray, who died in 1222' has
no closing quotation mark.
Page 71: "proposition" probably should be "preposition".
Page 72: Ending quotation mark added to "I's t'".
Page 73: "helder--preferably;" the semi-colon was printed as a colon,
but changed here for consistency with the rest of the list.
Page 80: "are also easily be recognised" was printed that way.
Page 80: "or clap-cake, form" probably should be "from".
Page 81: 'lögg mark."' either is missing an opening quotation mark or
has a superfluous closing one.
Page 106: Likely superfluous quotation mark after 'by commutation."'
Page 114: Missing quotation mark added after 'is in Norse "Stegger."'
Page 117: There is no "CHAPTER VIII" in this book, but the chapter
names match the Table of Contents.
Page 132: Paragraph beginning "The Bewcastle cross in the Gigurd shaft"
was printed as shown here.
Pages 144-151: Runic symbols appeared to the left of each entry in
the Clog Almanac on these pages, and between some of them. To avoid
clutter, this eBook does not indicate where those symbols appeared.
Page 147: "St. John Beverlev" may be alternate spelling for "Beverley".
Page 149: No entry for Sept. 6.
Page 158: "and has recently found" was printed that way.
Page 172: "songs and sages" may be misprint for "sagas".
Page 181: '"The Calder Stones near Liverpool' has no closing quotation
mark.
Page 182: "between 576 feet" is a misprint, possibly for "5&6".
Page 190: 'songs of the "Edda.' either is missing a closing quotation
mark or has a superfluous opening one.
Page 195: '"How the man Odin' is missing a closing quotation mark, or
its mate is on page 199.
Page 199: 'the sky and in the ocean."' is missing an opening quotation
mark, or its mate is on page 195.
Page 220: "last thirty years" was misprinted as "vast"; changed here.
Page 223: "rich dark brow soil" probably should be "brown".
Page 234: Unclear whether "Occupying Ownership" is a Section heading or
just the title of the poem.
Page 235: "but of catering" contained a duplicate "of"; changed here.
Some alphabetizing errors in the Index corrected here. Index references
were not checked for accuracy.
Page 243: No page reference given in the Index for "Northumberland, --".