DEVONIAN SYSTEM 



DEVONSHIRE 



7-1 



judgment on a perjuie*M in 1733; a fountain with 

 a statue of Sotlu-m Kstcourt (1879); u good 

 HIM-. '11111 ; and a large corn exchange (1857). It 

 In- manufactures of MI nil iintl mall, ami is t lie teat 

 of an important on n market. From Henry VIII. 'H 

 tiiii>- till about 1820 Devizes wa a great cloth 

 mart; now its chief manufactures are snull and 

 agricultural implements. It returned two im-m 

 ber, till IstiT, tli>-n oM.Mill 1KST). 1'op. ( 1851 ) 0354 ; 

 ( 1891 ) 6426. See A History of Devize* ( 1859). 



Devonian Svsteill. The name proposed 

 by Murrhison and Sodgwick to replace tlie more 

 characteristic and older tertn GUI lied Sandstone, 

 because the slaty and calciferous strata in Devon- 

 shire contain a much more copious and rich fossil 

 fauna than the red arenaceous rocks of Scotland, 

 Wales, and Herefordshire, with which they are 

 believed to be upon the whole contemporaneous. 

 The physical condition under which the strata in 

 Devonshire were deposited differed greatly from 

 those which marked the accumulation of tne Old 

 Ked Sandstone, and there is still some doubt as to 

 the precise correlation of the two sets of strata. 

 Geologists, therefore, retain both names, and speak 

 of the Devonian and Old Red Sandstone system, or 

 Old Red Sandstone and Devonian system. See 

 OLD RED SANDSTONE. 



Devonport (before 1824 called PLYMOUTH 

 DOCK), a parliamentary and municipal l>orough, 

 maritime town, and naval arsenal, in the south-west 

 of Devonshire, on the east shore of the estuary of 

 the Tamar (which is. 4 miles long by 4 mile broad, 

 and called the Hamoaze), 2 miles WNW. of Ply- 

 mouth. It stands on high ground, and is separ- 

 ated from its growing suburbs of Stoke and Morice 

 Town by the glacis of its fortifications, once im- 

 portant, but now dismantled. The streets are 

 regular, and the footpaths of marble. Devonport 

 is supplied with water from Dartmoor by a circuit- 

 ous route of 30 miles. It owes its existence to the 

 dockyard established here by William III. in 1689, 

 and is one of the chief naval arsenals in Britain. 

 The government establishments now stretch for 

 nearly 4 miles along the left bank of the Ham- 

 oaze. The original dockyard, extended from time 

 to time until it contained six building-slips, 

 was supplemented in 1844 by the formation at 

 Morice Town of the Keyham Steam Yard and 

 Factory, which communicates with the dockyard 

 and gun-wharf (designed by Vanbrugh) by a tunnel. 

 Partner up the river are an engineers' college, sea- 

 men's barracks, magazines, and powder-works ; 

 and the Hamoaze itself contains many men-of-war 

 lying in ordinary, besides those in actual son ire. 

 The oHicial residences of the admiral of the port 

 and of the lieutenant-governor of the western dis- 

 trict are at Mount Wise, which is fortified. Here 

 also are the chief barracks of the troops which 

 garrison the ' three towns ' of Plymouth, Devon- 

 port, and Stonehouse. The military hospital is on 

 Stonehouse Creek. There are extensive commer- 

 cial wharves with railway communication on Stone- 

 house Pool. Pop. of municipal lx>rough (1841) 

 33,820; (1881) 48,939; (1891) 64,803; of parlia- 

 Bientary borough, which includes the adjacent town- 

 ship of East Stonehouse, 70,204. Devonport returns 

 two members to parliament. 



Devonshire, a maritime connty, in the south- 

 west peninsula of England, between the Bristol 

 and the English Channel. Its greatest length is 

 70 miles ; its greatest breadth, 65 ; and it contains 

 2386 sq. in., of which about three-fourths are under 

 cultivation. The coast-line approaches 130 miles. 

 The north coast is the boldest, with several hills 

 over 1000 feet. Its chief indentation is Bideford 

 Bay, 18 miles broad and 8 deep, into which fall the 

 Taw and the Torridge. The south coast is also 



lined with HinX rhii-f among them being tin- bold 

 pioiii'Mitoiial ill-it i i. t of tin- I loll Hi-mi Hlid Kurt 

 Point, thi* wealetn horn of tin- gri-nt liny of wlm-h 

 Portland in tin- eastern. Tor Bay in 3 by 3} nul<-. 

 Plymouth Sound, the <-onil>iin-d ewtuary of tin- 

 Tamar and Plym, i- our of the lnn-t harbour* in 

 the kingdom, tin* anchorage ground extending 7 

 mill- inland from the breakwater (aee PLY1MM MI 

 by which the outer mail-lead in protected. Dex-.n 

 UN i.s hilly, the mo-i I. vated part* la-ing tin- table- 

 lands of Dartmoor in the Koulh -went, Kxmonr in 

 the north wot. running into Somerset, and Black- 

 down in the east. Tin-he are mainly ojx-n moor 

 lands. Dartmoor (u.v. ) in very nx-k\ : the lo*-r 

 hills graxsy. High WiilbAYM on Dartmoor '2039 

 feet), is the highest point. Devonian and Carbonif- 

 erous strata occupy the greater part of the couniy ; 

 next in importance are the granitic bom of Dart- 

 moor, and the Triassic rocks in the eastern quarter. 

 There are also arcluean nx-ks, probably Silurian, 

 with greensand, chalk, a Miocene deposit at l> 

 Tracey, and many exposures of igneous rocks, in- 

 trusive and intei-ln-ddi'd. Copper, tin, lead, iron, 

 and manganese occur in commercial quantities, 

 with ores of several other metals; china, terra- 

 cotta, potter's, and pipe clays ; granites, marble*, 

 anthracite, lignite, gypsum, and other earthy 

 minerals. The rivers of Devonshire are numerous. 

 The Tamar, 59 miles, is the longest, and divides 

 Devon from Cornwall ; the Exe, 54 miles, which 

 comes next, rises in Somerset. The other leading 

 rivers the Dart, Teign, Taw, Torridge, and Plym, 

 all from Dartmoor, have estuaries of commercial 

 importance, as have also the Exe and Tamar. The 

 reel deer still run wild on Exmoor, and are hunted. 

 The climate of Devon, especially in the south, is 

 mild and humid, and not liable to great extremes. 

 Hence, several of the towns on the southern and 

 eastern coasts have become famous as health retwirta 

 notably Torquay ; and, on the north coa.-t. llfra- 

 combe. Myrtles and aloes commonly flourish in the 

 open air ; and in specially favoured pools orange* 

 and lemons, with a little protection, will thrive and 

 fruit. The rainfall on Dartmoor is much greater 

 than elsewhere in Devon, and the winters colder 

 and more bracing. The climate is so invigorating, 

 however, that the Moor is rapidly growing into 

 repute as a summer sanatorium, and that the con- 

 vict prison is regarded as a health-station. The 

 county is most fertile, especially in the South 

 Hams*, and on the ' red land ' of the Vale of Exeter. 

 The pastures are very rich, and dairy-farming and 

 cattle-breeding are prominent in its agriculture. 

 The red Devon cattle are one of the lending breeds; 

 and the sheep and ponies of Dartmoor and Exmoor 

 have more than a local reputation. '('lotted 

 cream,' produced by scalding, is a special product 

 almost confined to* Devon and Cornwall. There 

 are extensive orchards, from which great quantities 

 of cider are made ; and various fruits are largely 

 cultivated in special localities and cent to (..union 

 and the Midlands bv rail. The fisheries are exten- 

 sive and valuable, the chief centres being Plymouth 

 and Brixhnm. Though in the main agricultural. 

 Devon has a varied industrial character. Mining 

 and quarrying and rlay working are of considerable 

 imjK>rtance : and l he manufactures include serges, 

 lace, gloves ; extensive jKitteriw ; manure, chem- 

 ical, and soap works; paper-mill*, breweries, and 

 distilleries. The chief towns are the city of 

 Exeter, Plymouth, Devonport, Torquay, Tiverton, 

 Barnstaple. Stonehouse, Ta\itock, Teignmoutli, 

 Newton, Dartmouth, and Brixham. Pop. (1801) 

 340,308; (1841) 532,959; (1881) 604,397 ; (1891 ) 

 631,767. Under the Reform Act of 1885 Exeter 

 returns one member, Plymouth and Devonport two 

 each, and the rest of the county is divided into 

 eight single-member constituencies. 



