As to the sources of his information, Mrs. Dufton says that his account of the manorial disputes was derived from a collection of old parchments in the possession of Mr. Salkeld of Meaburn Hill, his great-uncle; representative of a family which had been resident in the locality since the reign of Elizabeth. To attack sixteenth century documents for information must have required a great deal of enthusiasm, especially in one with such a love of outdoor life; for these documents are dreary things, and, as Mrs. Dufton observes, they were very hard to read. Another instance of the thoroughness of his work is shown in the fact that he reproduces the heading of one of these in the old writing, an undertaking by no means easy; and an excellent reproduction it is. He had evidently read a great deal, and had gone carefully through most books that describe his neighbourhood, and he collected and stored up what was related to him by his friends. His industry was extraordinary, and he is said never to have wasted a moment of time. He probably owed much to Canon Weston, then vicar of Crosby Ravensworth, who took a kindly interest in his work, and used to invite him to the vicarage when he had visitors interested in science or archæology. Among those whom he met were Canon Simpson, first President of the local Archæological Society, who was then incumbent of Shap; and Professor Harkness, who once filled the Chair of Geology at Queen's College, Cork. He was also appreciated and helped at Lowther, where he saw the paintings by Lady Mary Lowther (wife of the famous "Sir Jammy," the first Earl) some of which he copied; while no doubt he learned a great deal from his uncle, Thomas Bland. The latter, a man of varied talents, also deserves some notice here. He was famous for his Italian garden at Reagill, which he laid out and decorated with statues and oil paintings in the alcoves, all his own work; he was an excellent artist in black and white, and reputed to be a musical composer of merit. His nephew tells us of his sculpture commemorating Charles the Second's halt at the head of the Lyvennet, and of the stone he set up to mark the place where the forefathers of the famous Joseph Addison had their home in days gone by. But there is another work which can be seen by everyone; a pedestal and pillar surmounted by a figure of Britannia, executed by him, and erected at his expense, on the hill facing Shap Wells Hotel, to commemorate the accession of Queen Victoria. It was placed there in 1842; the railway close by was opened in December, 1846; so it stands within the view of all. Mr. Bland did not attempt to immortalise himself by putting his own name upon it; it is a pity that persons visiting it have not been equally modest; for the pedestal, which bears bas-reliefs and an inscription, has been defaced by idlers for more than half a century, as their dated scratchings show.