WEST DEVONSHIRE. 237 



obftlnate coftivenefs, which generally con- 

 tinues for feveral days, attended with the 

 moft excruciating pain : and, though the 

 firfl paroxyfm is feldom fatal, repetitions of 

 it too frequently are : firft bringing on a 

 lofs of the ufe of the limbs, particularly of 

 the hands, and, finally ending in the lofs of 

 life ; if the deprivation of life can be faid 

 to'be a lofs, under circumflances fo diftrefs- 

 ful. 



Notwithftanding, however, the accumu- 

 lation of evils arifing from the produd:ion, 

 ufe, and abufe of cider, the men of Devon 

 are more ftrongly attached to it, even than 

 thofe of HerefoVdfhire. Their Orchards 

 might well be flyled their Temples, and 

 Apple Trees their Idols of Worfhip. 



It is not my intention, or v/iih, to de- 

 preciate the Devonfhire Orchards below 

 their real value ; but to endeavour to fix 

 them at a proper flandard : to lower them 

 fo far, in the eftimation of owners and oc- 

 cupiers, as to prevent their interfering too 

 much with the more important operations 

 of Agriculture. Iwiih to fee them confined 

 to unculturable fites, and to have them 



confidered. 



