LAN'CASHIRE, one of the largest and the most populous counties in England, is bounded on the e. by Yorkshire, and on the w. by the Irish sea; on the a. by Cumber land and Westmoreland, and on the s. by Cheshire. Area, 1,207,026 statute acres. Pop. 2.819,995. Increase in 10 years, from 1861 to 1871, 390,055 souls. Annual value of property, rated under schedule A, in 1871, £12,888,601; annual value upon which direct taxes were paid in 1871, including property, land, occupiers, and income taxes, railways, canals, mines, etc., £27,923,057. An outlying portion of the county, called Furness, whose greatest length is 25 In. and greatest breadth 16 nu., is separated from the main portion by Morecambe bay. The larger division is intersected in the n. and e. by branches of the hill system which runs southward through the counties of York and Derby, while Furness has on its eastern border the Cumbrian range. Towards the coast On the w. the surface is flat, 'particularly in the larger division, with a curving outline and large stretches of sand, over which in various places the sea seems to be extending its dominion. The chief rivers are the Mersey, Ribble, Lune, Wyre, Leven, and don, all of which enter the Irish sea by estuaries more or less important; Morecambe bay being the chief indentation. The climate is moist, but mild, the soil being peaty in the upland districts, but a fertile loam for the most part in the flats. Oats and potatoes are general crops; wheat also grows well in the southern division. Coal is the chief mineral product (the coal-field being estimated at 400 sq.m. in extent); lead and copper also occur, and iron is plentiful in Furness. The whole surface is covered with a net work of canals and railways, which connect the principal manufacturing and commercial centers. See MANCHESTER, LIVERPOOL, PRESTON, BLACKBURN, etc. Lancashire is
famous for its immense cotton manufactures, which in 1870 numbered 1789, giving employment to 326,801 persons. The other textile manufactures are likewise of consid erable importance. The manufacture of all kinds of machinery is extensively carried on; and ship-building, sail making, and kindred trades are in a flourishing condition. Lancashire returns 8 members to parliament for the county, and 24 for boroughs within the county.' The district of Furness presents many attractions to the tourist. On its north-eastern border stretches the beautiful lake Windermere, westward from which is Easthwaite Water; and further w., Coniston lake, and the " Old Man of Coniston," with a height of 2,577 feet. In the peninsula between the rivers Duddon and Leven is Furness abbey, a noble ruin, the effect of which is enhanced by the pic turesque beauty of Cie scenery in the vicinity. The abbey was founded by Stephen, earl of Mortagne or Mortoil, and afterwards king of England in 1127. The church is 287 ft. long, the nave 70 ft. broad. In the township of Whalley, in the e. of Lanca shire, is a very old church, and in the churchyard are three crosses, apparently of Saxon origin. In the vicinity are the ruins of an abbey of about the same age as Furness. A few miles from Whalley is the Roman Catholic college of Stonyhurst. Time only islands along the coast, of Waltiey island is the largest, are off the southern extremity o?Furness.
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