m | 259,300 | 526,000 |
+--------------------------+--------------+---------------+

The distribution of the industry has varied greatly in the two periods.
If it had remained constant Lancashire would only have contained 300,000
operatives in 1899, instead of the actual 400,000. Scotland, on the
other hand, only contained 30,000 instead of 70,000, and in Ireland the
numbers were one-tenth of what they should have been. The percentage of
operatives in Lancashire in 1838 was 58.5, but this increased to 75.7 in
1898.

Lancashire advantages.

Why, we may naturally inquire, did not the cotton industry localize in
the West Riding or Cheshire and the woollen industry maintain its
position in Lancashire? Accident no doubt partly explains why the cotton
industry is carried on where it is in the various parts of the globe,
but apart from accident, as regards Lancashire, it is sufficient answer
to point to the peculiarly suitable congeries of conditions to be found
there. There is firstly the climate, which for the purpose of cotton
spinning is unsurpassed elsewhere, and which became of the first order
of importance when fine spinning was developed. In the Lancashire
atmosphere in certain districts just about the right humidity is
contained on a great number of days for spinning to be done with the
least degree of difficulty. Some dampness is essential to make the
fibres cling, but excessive moisture is a disadvantage. Over the county
of Lancashire the prevailing west wind carries comparatively continuous
currents of humidified air. These currents vary in temperature according
to their elevation. Hot and cold layers mix when they reach the hills,
and the mixture of the two is nearer to the saturation point than either
of its components. The degree of moisture is measured by the ratio of
the actual amount of moisture to the moisture of the saturation point
for that particular temperature. Owing to the sudden elevation the air
is rarefied, its temperature being thereby lowered, and in consequence
condensation tends to be produced. In several places in England and
abroad, where there is a scarcity of moisture, artificial humidifiers
have been tried, but no cheap and satisfactory one has hitherto been
discovered. To the advantages of the Lancashire climate for cotton
spinning must be added--especially as regards the early days of the
cotton industry--its disadvantages for other callings. The
unpleasantness