the capital of Devonshire, a city and county in itself, and a municipal and parliamentary borough on the Exe, 10 miles N.W. of its mouth in the English Channel, and 160 miles from London. It stands on the acclivity and summit of an eminence rising from the E. bank of the river, and is intersected by four principal streets, which meet in the centre. These are crossed in various directions by numerous smaller ones, which are generally narrow. The city, however, on the whole, is clean and well built. The best parts are beyond the line of the ancient walls, and the suburbs contain elegant streets and terraces and numerous detached villas. The surrounding country is very fertile, affording good corn, pasture, dairy, and fattening land, and abounding in fruit, especially apples, which yield plentifully the best cider. The beauty of the immediate neighbourhood, the contiguity of several favourite watering-places, and the cheapness of provisions, induce many families of easy but moderate circumstances to reside here. Exeter is supposed to have been a settlement of the Britons before the Roman conquest. By the Romans it was called Isca Dumnoniorum; and many coins, small bronze statues, tessellated pavements, and other relics of that people, have been discovered. During the Saxon period it was for some time the capital of Wessex, and was noted for the number of its religious establishments. It has undergone several sieges. Exeter was formerly the emporium of the thinner kind of woollen goods, such as serges, druggets, and long ells, which were spun and woven in the neighbouring towns, and dyed and finished in the city. Hence they were shipped to Holland, Italy, and especially to Spain, and many were supplied to the East India Company; but the introduction of machinery, and the lower price of fuel in the north of England have now nearly destroyed those branches of trade, with the exception of that for the supply of India, which is still considerable. As Exeter is a kind of metropolis for Devon and Cornwall, it has a considerable internal trade, and is the channel by which these counties are supplied with many foreign commodities. By means of a ship canal vessels of 300 tons burden can come up to the town; those of greater burden remain at Topham, three miles lower down; and those of the largest size lie at Exmouth; at the mouth of the river. On 31st December 1853 the vessels registered at the port were:—vessels under 50 tons 41, tonnage 1197; above 50 tons 146, tonnage 19,533. During 1853 the coasting vessels inwards were 598, tonnage 57,785; outwards 216, tonnage 9961; vessels in the colonial trade, inwards 98, tonnage 4392; outwards 25, tonnage 1415; in the foreign trade, inwards 128, tonnage 9645; outwards 40, tonnage 4372. Exeter contains two excellent market-houses. The market-days are Wednesday and Friday. There are few manufactures carried on in the city, the inhabitants being chiefly employed in the retail trade and in handicrafts. The city is governed by a mayor, 12 aldermen, and 36 councillors, and returns two members to parliament. Population (1851) of municipal borough 32,818; of parliamentary borough 40,688; registered electors 2501. The cathedral is a magnificent pile of building, and part of it of great antiquity, having probably been commenced soon after the see of Devon was transferred from Crediton to Exeter in 1049. It has, however, undergone numerous alterations and additions at different times. The W. front has a façade adorned with numerous statues in niches and a profusion of tracery, over which is a magnificent painted window. The interior is very striking, from its exquisite proportions and simple grandeur. A richly ornamented screen separates the nave from the choir, and is surmounted by a very large organ, the large pipes being nearly 23 feet in height and 4 feet in circumference. St Mary's chapel, the chapter-house, the bishop's throne of richly-carved black oak, and some of the ancient ornaments, deserve especial notice. The cathedral is surmounted by two massive Norman towers—the northern containing a clock curiously ornamented, and an immense bell weighing 12,500 lbs. (both gifts of Bishop Courtenay); and the southern having a peal of eleven bells. The see includes nearly the whole of Devonshire and Cornwall. Exeter contains a great number of parish churches, besides several chapels of ease and Dissenting places of worship. Near the cathedral, on the south-east, is the bishop's palace, a venerable building. On an eminence N.E. of the city are the ruins of the Rougemont castle, formerly the residence of the West Saxon kings. The guild-hall in High Street contains several valuable portraits. Among the other public buildings may be mentioned the custom-house on the quay, theatre, cavalry and artillery barracks, bridewell, county jail, and city prison. A handsome stone bridge has been thrown over the river at an expense of L20,000. Exeter contains also a subscription hall-room, a subscription library, a literary and scientific institution, with a valuable museum and library, a free grammar-school, with 18 exhibitions to either of the great universities, several national and charity schools, the Devon and Exeter hospital, deaf-mute institution, lunatic asylum, blind asylum, dispensary, eye infirmary, mechanics' institution, savings-bank, and several almshouses. It is connected with Bristol by railway.

EXFOLIATION; in Surgery, the separation of a piece of dead bone from the living part.