The total number of agricultural holdings in Devonshire, in 1908, was nearly 15,000, or about one-twentieth of those in all England. This is greater than that of any other county except Lancashire, Lincoln, and Yorkshire. Nearly 3000 holdings are of five acres or less, and there are only six other counties which have more of these small farms.
A Water-mill at Uplyme
The numbers of the various kinds of live stock in Devonshire are large, and the county ranks very high under the four main heads. In cattle (295,000, or 2000 less than in 1907) it stands second in all England, being surpassed only by Yorkshire; in horses (59,000, or 1500 less than the previous year) it is fourth; in sheep (900,000, or 29,000 more) it is fifth; and in pigs (106,000, or 5000 more) it is sixth. The average price per stone of fat Devon cattle was higher in 1908 than that of any other breed in England, and the value per head of three-year-old Devon store cattle was only exceeded by that of Herefords.
There is no cheese made in Devonshire to compare with the famous "Cheddar" of the neighbouring county; but Devonshire cream, although closely rivalled by that of both Cornwall and Somerset, is known all over the kingdom.
[14. Industries and Manufactures.]
Devonshire, although in former ages famous even on the continent of Europe for its cloth-weaving, no longer ranks as a manufacturing county. Apart from agriculture and fishing, its industries are now mainly confined to the making of lace and cider, to ship-building, and to the manufacture of earthenware.
The prevalence in the county of the names of Webber and Tucker is some evidence of the extent and antiquity of the woollen trade, which, from very early times, flourished all over Devonshire until the closing years of the eighteenth century, when it was greatly checked by the introduction of cotton fabrics. One of the most important seats of the manufacture was Tiverton, where the industry was established in the fourteenth century, and reached perhaps its greatest height in the sixteenth. It was his success as a cloth-merchant which enabled Peter Blundell to found here his famous school. The chief woollen market of the county was originally at Crediton, but it was removed in the sixteenth century to Exeter, which long ranked second only to Leeds, and in its palmy days exported annually more than 300,000 pieces of cloth. Other important centres of the trade were Barnstaple, where towards the end of the sixteenth century improved methods of weaving were introduced by French refugees; Tavistock, whose kerseymeres had a European reputation; Honiton, Cullompton, and Totnes. Now Ashburton and Buckfastleigh, where there are some manufactures of blankets and serges, are the only towns where the industry survives.