the British name of which was Dyvnamnt, while the inhabitants were called Dymnonwyn, or inhabitants of low lands, formed a part of the district included in the appellation of Damnonium. The Romans included it in the district called Britannia Prima; but under the Saxons it was constituted a part of the kingdom of Wessex.

The county of Devon is the second in size of all the English shires, being exceeded by that of York alone. On the N. and N.W. it is bounded by the Irish Channel, on the W. by the rivers Tamar and Marsland-waters, on the S. and S.E. it has the British Channel, and on the E. and N.E. it is contemnous with the counties of Dorset and Somerset. Its figure is very irregular, but something like that of a trapezium. Its greatest extent from N. to S. is about 71 miles, and from E. to W. 72; and its circumference is about 287; its area is 2585 square miles, being equal to 1,654,400 acres of land, of which about 1,200,000 are in cultivation; containing 33 hundreds, 465 parishes, and 36 market towns. The population in 1801 was 340,308; in 1841, 532,959; and in 1851, 557,098, being an increase of 66 per cent. in 50 years.

The county of Devon is in the see of Exeter, and is included in the western circuit. The assizes are held at the county town, Exeter.

A county of so great extent as Devonshire must present a great variety of surface. The mountains in the vicinity of Dartmoor rise to 1500 and 1800 feet above the level of the sea. On the south and south-east are extensive wastes, the surfaces of which are covered with rough masses of detached granite and immense rocks. To the north and north-west are large tracts of swampy ground, and many peat bogs of great depth. But that part called the Vale of Exeter, a district the area of which is about 200 square miles, consists of some very fine land; and though the soils vary considerably, the most prevalent are a strong red loam, foliated clay intersected with veins of ironstone, and a mixture of sand and gravel. The district called the South Hams is frequently termed the garden of Devonshire, from its fertility. It is strikingly diversified by bold swells and luxuriant vales, and in many parts towards the north the scenery is picturesque and romantic. The surface and soil of West Devon are remarkably uniform, the latter consisting of polished slate-stone, rubble, and mud, intermixed with a portion of loamy mould. Here the cultivated lands are all inclosed, and villages and farm-houses are frequent. North Devon, or the country round Bideford, Barnstaple, and South Molton, contains much productive land, and is greatly diversified with beautiful scenery. Although the climate of Devonshire varies much in different districts, still, from its situation between two seas, its immediate exposure to the south-west winds as they blow from the ocean, and the elevated summits of the surrounding mountains, it is upon the whole much milder than that of the other English counties. The winters are exceedingly mild, and proverbially favourable to the cure of pulmonary complaints. The air is generally dry and warm, and the harvest earlier than in any other parts of the west.

On the southern coast the myrtle flourishes in the open air.

The principal rivers of Devonshire are the Taw, the Torridge, the Tamar, the Dart, the Teign, and the Exe; and the lesser are the Tavy, the Plym, the Yealm, the Arme, the Aven, the Otter, the Sid, the Axe, and the Lyn. In some of them, particularly the Tamar and Tavy, the salmon-fishing is valuable. The royalty of the Tavy belongs to the Drake family, who have constructed a very large weir across the river, furnished with traps for taking the salmon on their way down after a flood. The Exe salmon is esteemed superior to that of any other river in this country. These streams furnish trout in great plenty; and plaice, the torpedo or electric ray, the ophid or king-fish, and the sepia or cuttle-fish, are found in and at the mouths of these rivers.

The Grand Western Canal connects the south-eastern coast and the Bristol Channel. Its length is about 35 miles, traversing through part of this county, and passing the towns of Exeter, Tiverton, Taunton, &c. The Tamar Canal follows the course of the Tamar River, on the southern coast of Devonshire. Its northern extremity is considerably elevated. It greatly facilitates the import of coals, lime, and manures, and the export of agricultural products. It commences in the Tamar River, at Morewellham quay, and terminates at Tamarton Bridge. Tavistock Canal follows a north-eastern direction for about four miles and a half in this county. It commences where the Tamar Canal finishes, and reaches the town of Tavistock where it ends.

The Bristol and Exeter Railway enters this county at Beam Bridge. At Exeter the South of Devon line, 58 miles in length, commences, and proceeding in a southerly direction to Teignmouth, turns inland to Newton Bushel (whence there is a branch to Torquay), and keeps a south-westerly course to Totness, Plymton, and Plymouth.

The mineral waters, which are all chalybeate, are numerous, but inconsiderable. The principal of them are those of Gubb's Well near Cleave, Bella Marsh near King Steignton, Ilsington near Totness, Brook near Tavistock, and Brampton.

The ores of iron, lead, tin, and manganese, are found in considerable quantities in Devonshire; and gold, silver, copper, bismuth, antimony, and cobalt, have been sometimes discovered in small quantities. Ironstone is common in many districts, but it is not of a quality that yields much metal. It is supposed that the inhabitants of this county were in the habit of working the iron, as well as the other metallic mines, before the arrival of the Romans. The lead ore of this county is of many kinds, but principally of a grayish-blue colour. The potters' or tesselated ore is of a shining, rectangular, tabulated structure, always breaking into cubical granules; another kind is of a flaky, smooth, and glossy texture, breaking into ponderous fragments; and a third sort is more closely grained, with the fracture sparkling and uneven, and very rich in silver. The tin-works were anciently numerous and valuable; but the Cornwall mines being much more productive, those of Devonshire are nearly abandoned. Native silver has been found in different substances and in various forms. Cobalt, interspersed with numerous filaments of silver, has been found at Sampford in great abundance. Antimony of a dark lead colour, full of long, shining, needle-like striae, has been discovered at Chudleigh, Hennock, and South Bovey. Lime-stone of almost every description is found in different parts of the county. In the eastern parts it has a good deal the appearance of chalk. In the neighbourhood of South Hams it is hard, beautifully veined, bears a fine polish, and resembles the Italian marble. In other districts it is manufactured into black marble, variegated with streaks of white; into a flesh colour, having streaks of brown; into a pale red, blue, and indeed into almost every variety of colours. Gypsum is found, but not in abundance, in the neighbourhood of Plymouth, Salcombe-Regis, and Exeter. Fluor spar is produced in great plenty in the mines of Beer-Ferris.

Among the argillaceous substances of the county are fine pipe-clay, found in great abundance at Wear-Gifford; potters' clay in the Vale of King-Stegnton; and slate of an excellent quality near Slapton Sands and East Alwington. The siliceous clay of this county contains quartz crystals of a small size; and flints in great abundance, but particularly in the mountainous tract of Haldon. Freestone of various kinds is dug up in the parishes of Salcombe, Branscombe, and Beer. Whinstone, basalt, and a substance like the Derbyshire loadstone, are found in different parts of the county. Granite is met on Dartmoor, at which point commences the range which extends into Cornwall.

Coal of various sorts is found in Devonshire. That procured at Bovey-Heathfield, and thence called Bovey coal, is a singular production. Its strata extend about 9 miles in a southern direction, the uppermost of which rises to the surface, and is from 18 inches to 4 feet thick, but increases in thickness downwards, until the lowermost stratum of coal is 16 feet thick. This stratum lies on a bed of clay, under which is a sharp green sand, from which rises water of a vivid green colour, abounding in sulphur and vitriol, and as warm as some of the Bath springs. The exterior parts of this coal, which lie nearest the clay, have a great mixture of earth, and are generally of a dark-brown colour. The veins which lie nearer the centre are more compact and solid, and in colour and weight are like common pit-coal. The stratum called the wool-coal is a vein sometimes of chocolate colour and sometimes of black coal, consisting of a number of laminae or thin splinters, which divide like whalebone, and is generally dug out in pieces of three or four feet in length. Pyrites, in globular balls of various sizes, are obtained in different parts of the county.

A society for the improvement and encouragement of Agriculture was established in Devonshire in the year 1791, and has been of considerable service in spreading a knowledge of the most improved modes of practice adopted in other parts of the kingdom. The forest of Dartmoor contains considerable tracts capable of much improvement; and the land in the vale of Exeter, which is the best in the country, is cultivated with wheat, barley, beans, peas, and some little flax. The pasture lands are chiefly appropriated to supply the dairy; but in some parts considerable attention is paid to breeding sheep and cattle. Orchards, and apple trees in hedges, are common in most of the farms; oats, turnips, and potatoes, are also cultivated in many districts. In West Devon two-thirds of the inclosed lands are employed alternately in raising corn and the grasses; red clover, rye-grass, and sometimes white clover and trefoil. Irrigation is common, and so is also peat-burning. In North Devon the soil is productive, the orchard grounds are extensive, and the inclosures tolerably large. The farms in Devonshire are held generally by a lease of three lives, or for ninety-nine years. As the lives drop, new ones are put in on payment of an adequate sum. Landed property seems to be more regularly divided in this county than in most others, there being very few large freeholds; and the inhabitants live sociably and independently upon their own moderate-sized tenements. Their principal manures are lime, sea-sand, seaweed, and dung. The pro- duce per acre of wheat varies from 16 to 25 bushels; and of barley from 35 to 50.

Besides the productions of Devonshire which it has in common with other counties, its cider deserves notice. It is traditionally said that the planting of orchards commenced between two hundred and three hundred years ago, at Buckland Priory. A great quantity of cider is now manufactured, and it is in general of a good quality; but differs according to the districts in which it is made; that of the neighbourhood of Exeter and the contiguous places being the most esteemed. The best orchards yield about 3½ cwt. of cider per acre.

In these parts also a considerable quantity of butter is made. The average produce from each cow is about a pound a-day. Cattle and sheep are bred and fattened here in great numbers. The stock of moor sheep averages about 630,000, the yield of wool being 15,500 packs. The fish which abound in the rivers and on the coast of Devonshire, besides the home consumption, afford considerable exports to the Bath and London markets. The oyster-beds in the neighbourhood of Lympstone are said to be a hundred acres in extent.

Devonshire cows are celebrated throughout the island. When in a state of the greatest purity, they are distinguished by a high red colour, without any white spots; by a light dun ring round the eye; by being fine in the bone and clean in the neck; by the horns being of a medium length, bent upwards; by the tail being small and set on very high; by being thin-skinned and silky in handling; and by the property of feeding at an early age. The North Devon variety is in high estimation for the fineness of the grain of the meat; and the superiority of the oxen over most other breeds, in possessing more activity, being better calculated for labour, and having more blood, is generally admitted. A good Devonshire cow will yield for the first twenty weeks after calving about three gallons of milk daily. The oxen weigh from 50 to 60 stone; and the cows from 30 to 40.

The native horses are small, but hardy, and much accustomed to the pack-saddle. The breed of sheep is various; mostly of the Dorsetshire kind as to weight of carcass and length of wool, but characterized by a great variety of heads, some having horns, some having none, and others having nobs. Leases of farms usually run from six to ten years. The extent of farms averages 100 to 200 acres.

Devonshire was long a manufacturing county for thin woollen goods; but the trade has of late years rapidly declined. The greater part of the woollen trade with Spain was carried on from Exeter; but scarcely a vestige of it now remains, and that little is chiefly with Bilboa. The only article now demanded is a species of serge, known by the name of long ells, which is spun and woven at Collumpton, Crediton, North Tawton, and in the villages surrounding these towns. Of late years the manufacture of linen goods, and the spinning of linen yarn by machinery, has been introduced on the streams which had previously been applied to work fulling-mills. The riots of the Luddites in Nottinghamshire drove some capitalists from that county to Tiverton, where machinery upon a prodigious scale is in activity, producing lace and lace-net, for which there is a great demand in France, Germany, Italy, and most parts of the Continent. The great manufactory is, however, in the King's Dock-yard at Plymouth, where all the stores for building and equipping ships of war are prepared; and much private ship-building is carried on in other parts of the county. The number of persons employed in manufactures in 1841 was about 2448 in serges and other woollens, 763 in gloves, 398 in cotton, 355 in silks, and 1821 in lace; besides shoemakers, carpet-weavers, and others, amounting in all to 7000.

Among the British antiquities of Devonshire are the numerous cairns on the eminence called Hall-down Hill, a cromlech at Drew-Stegnton, and at a little distance from it a lochan or rocking-stone. Several remains of British houses are scattered over Dartmoor.

The ancient castles, now in ruins, are Berry-Pomeroy, built by Ralph de la Pomeroy, who came to England with the Conqueror; Compton Castle; Rougemont Castle, formerly the seat of the West Saxon kings, in the vicinity of Exeter, and, according to tradition, built by Julius Caesar; the castle of Oakhampton, which stood about a mile southwest of the town; Plympton Castle, which was the residence of Richard de Rivers, earl of Devon, in the reign of Henry I. The same person was also in possession of Tiverton Castle, the ruins of which may still be seen, and of Totness Castle, erected by Judhinel de Totnais, to whom the manor was given by the Conqueror.

The remains of the abbeys and monasteries of Devonshire are those of Buckfastleigh, near Ashburton; Buckland Abbey, on the eastern banks of the river Tav; Dunkestwell, near Collumpton; the Cistercian Abbey at Axminster, the property of Lord Petre; Hartland Abbey, part of the present house of Paul Orchard, Esq.; the ruins of a priory of Benedictines at Moodbury; and Tor Abbey, a portion of the modern seat of G. Cary, Esq.

The venerable and magnificent cathedral of Exeter demands the first notice among the ancient specimens of ecclesiastical buildings. The variety of the styles discovered in this edifice proves that it was erected at various periods. It is supposed that the part called St Mary's Chapel is the ancient Saxon church, erected prior to the year 868. It is likely that the first considerable cathedral was planned by Bishop Warlewart, before the year 1138. It consists of a choir with side aisles, a nave also with side aisles, and two short transepts; besides a chapter-house, ten oratories, and a consistory court. The height of the Norman towers is 130 feet, and that of the roof 69. The entire length of the cathedral from east to west is 408 feet, walls included. At Bishop's Seighton is a church in the early Saxon style. Teignmouth church is a specimen of the earliest Norman.

The island of Lundy belongs to this county. It is rather more than three miles in length, about one in breadth, and contains 2000 acres of land, of which only 400 are under cultivation.

The county returns four members to Parliament, viz., two for the northern, and two for the southern division; Barnstaple, two; Tiverton, two; Ashburton, one; Dartmouth, one; Devonport, two; Exeter, two; Honiton, two; Plymouth, two; Tavistock, two; and Totness, two. Total, twenty-two.

Annual value of real property assessed to property-tax 1850-1, £2,736,361.

Places of worship belonging to the Church of England 549; sittings 221,989; other denominations, 748 places of worship, 157,898 sittings. Day-schools 1614, scholars 64,266; Sunday-schools 772, scholars 58,408.

The principal noblemen's and gentlemen's seats are, Castle Hill, seat of Earl Fortescue; Storar House, that of the Duke of Somerset; Endsleigh, that of the Duke of Bedford; Saltram, that of Earl Morley; Mount Edgcumbe, that of Earl Mount Edgcumbe; Bagtor, that of Lord Ashburton; Exeter Palace, that of the Bishop of Exeter; Bicton, that of Lord Rolle; Haldon Hall, that of Sir L. Palk, Bart.; and Escott, that of Sir J. Kennaway, Bart.

See Polwhele's History of Devon, and Beauties of England and Wales.