THE YORKSHIRE, DERBYSHIRE, AND NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COAL FIELD.—This coalfield occupies a great basin of which the western part alone is exposed, the eastern part lying concealed under an accumulation of Permian and later rocks. The exposed portion is bounded on the west by the Millstone Grit of the Pennines, and on the east by the outcrop of the Magnesian Limestone. Within these limits it extends from Leeds and Bradford in the north to Nottingham in the south. The coal varies in character, different seams having different qualities, but it includes varieties well adapted for locomotives and steamships, household purposes, and the manufacture of gas. The limits of the eastern or concealed portion of the field are only gradually being determined. On the east it has now been found to extend as far as a line running from Selby, by Thorne and Haxey, to Owthorpe, that is, nearly as far east as the Trent. In 1904 it was estimated that the unconcealed and the proved parts of the concealed coalfield (the latter not so extensively known then as now) contained in all 26,000,000,000 tons, while calculations of the contents of the unproved parts of the concealed area varied from 23,000,000,000 tons to 35,000,000,000 tons. An accurate estimate is impossible, however, until further investigations have been made. The present rate of production is 65,000,000 tons per year.
Upon the visible part of the coalfield numerous important indus tries have grown up. Partly as a result of geographical conditions, the woollen manufactures of England are established mainly in Yorkshire. The Pennine Chain was a great sheep-raising region in early times, and, as the manufacture of cotton made its way in Lancashire, that of wool was pushed over the mountains into Yorkshire, where it took firm hold. With the development of steam power the industry began to grow rapidly, and, as a result of the momentum which it thus acquired, drew to itself various branches of the woollen industry which had hitherto been settled in other parts of the country. It is mainly concentrated at the present time in the Yorkshire dales, on the eastern slope of the Pennines, between the Wharfe and the Calder. Considerable specialisation prevails. Wools vary greatly in length according to the breed of sheep from which they are obtained, and the geographical environment in which the sheep are reared. Short wools are carded, long wools are carded and combed, or combed only. Carded wools are made into woollen goods " the fibres of which, in the finished article, cross and recross one another " ; combed wools are made into worsteds, " the fibres of which lie parallel to one another." The former include coarse cloths, flannels, blankets, and tweeds, while the latter are generally lighter and of finer quality, and include the better kinds of dress material used by both sexes. The Bradford
district, Huddersfield, and Halifax are chiefly engaged in the manufacture of worsted goods. Leeds and Morley make woollens ; Batley and Dewsbury among other articles produce large quantities of shoddy (re-made woollen goods) ; Keighley and Dewsbury are engaged in spinning ; carpets are made at Heckmondwike and Halifax ; and so on. In addition to wool, it may be noted, both cotton and silk are used in the manufacture of certain fabrics. The wool is partly of domestic, but mainly of foreign origin. Of the latter, Australia and New Zealand are the chief sources of supply, though some comes from the Argentine, either directly, or by France or Belgium, in which two countries special methods have been devised for dealing with the very dirty wool that is produced by South America. Mohair is imported from Turkey and the Cape, and alpaca from South America. It may be noted here in passing that Leeds is the chief seat of the leather industry in Britain.
To the south of the wool-manufacturing region lies that in which iron and steel goods are produced. Sheffield is its centre, though the advantages of that town are shared to some extent by a number of others. The iron industry settled in this part of the country in early times, because iron ore, and wood for fuel, were within easy reach of one another. Coal has taken the place of wood, and, though some clay ironstone is still found in the locality, the chief supplies of native ore now come from Northampton, Lincoln, and Leicester. These ores are phosphoric, and can be made into basic steel, the Magnesian Limestone to the east being used for lining the converter or making the hearth. For the special kinds of steel in which Sheffield excels, however, hematite pig-iron has to be imported from Lancashire, Cumberland, and Spain, while, for the finest descriptions of steel goods, Swedish iron is used. Excellent ganister for the furnaces is found in the Coal Measure sandstone, some of which consists of almost pure quartz. Derbyshire limestone provides the flux, while the gangue left by the lead miners in the same county is now worked over for the fluor spar which it contains. This fluor spar is of great value in desulphurising the metal used in the manufacture of basic steel, and small quantities of it are sent to the United States for similar purposes. In addition, moulding sands with an admixture of clay are found in the upper Permian beds, fireclays are abundant, and excellent grindstones can be obtained from the sandstones of the Coal Measures. With all these advantages Sheffield has developed a great iron and steel industry, manufacturing engineering plant and machinery, armour plate and ordnance, cutlery, tools, and a great variety of other articles.