Yorkshire

Yorkshire, the largest of the English counties, as an area of about 6,000 square miles, being bounded E. by the German Ocean, W. by Cheshire, Lancashire, and Westmoreland, N. by Durham, and S. by the Humber and the counties of Lincoln, Notts, and Derby. It is divided into the East, West, and North Ridings (Riding = Trithing or third), each of which has peculiar characteristics. The East Riding (1,200 square miles), bounded N. by the Derwent, W. by the Ouse, and S. by the Humber, is mainly agricultural, growing wheat, barley, turnips, beans, and hay. There are ironworks at Beverley and Hull, and the latter is the chief centre of shipping trade with the Baltic. The West Riding (2,650 square miles) is the greatest manufacturing district in the world, containing between the Aire and the Don a great coalfield, about which cluster the industrial towns of Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Dewsbury, Huddersfield, and Sheffield. Agriculture prospers also to the N. and E., and in the N.W. are wide pastures and great dairy farms. The North Riding (2,100 square miles) is for the most part a pastoral country, being cut off from the East Riding by the Derwent and Rye, from the West Riding by the Ouse and Ure, and from Durham by the Tees. Iron is worked extensively at Middlesborough, which is a thriving seaport. Lead, limestone, alum, and jet are sources of considerable profit.