DARTMOOR, a granitic table-land in the south-western part of the county of Devon, remarkable for its wild and rugged scenery, its towering rock-capped hills, the numer-' ous streams that have their source in its boggy soil, and the many cyclopean relics of the aboriginal inhabitants that are scattered over its solitary wastes, where the deep silence is broken only by the sudden flight of the ring-onzel, the screams of the curlew, or the shrill whistle of the lapwing, dotterel, or stone-plover. D. proper (or the ancient and royal forest of that name) and its adjuncts, including the outlying common landS that present the same physical features, extend about 20 m. from e. to w., and 22 m. from n. to s., occupying one fifth of the entire area of the county of Devon, or more than 130,000 acres. This moorland region, encircled by a natural rampart, ntoated by deep valleys, has a very considerable elevation above the surrounding country, and culminates in Yes Tor, 2,050 ft. above the sea-level. Its broken uneven surface has been compared, not inaptly, to "the long rolling waves of a tempestuous ocean, fixed into solidity by some instantaneous and powerful impulse." The most important rivers that rise in northern D. are the Dart, the Teigu, the Taw,, the West Oekinent or Okement, the Lyd, the Tavy, and the Walkhaim; while from the swamps of southern D. spring the Plym, the Yealm, the Erme or Aime, and the Avon, Aven, or Anne.
Geologically, D. is formed, for the most part, of granite rock, which has been traded through the shales, slates, and sandstones of the Devonian system, Large masses of trap occur at White Tor, Cock's Tor, and other localities. Tin, copper, and manganese are found amongst the granite, of which four varieties—common, finer, red, and compact—are distinguished. These, as well as the several kinds of trap-rock, aro much used for economical purposes. At Wheal, Duchy, and Birch Tor are productive tin mines. The soil of D. is composed chiefly of peat, which in the bottoms has accumu lated in some places to the depth of 25 ft.; it rests on a subsoil of fine sand. Many of the well-watered dells and ravines are fertile, while the whole moor affords pasturage for cattle, sheep, and horses. Amongst the mosses and lichens, with which the regioq abounds, arc the lecanora perella and the L. tartarea, or cudbear lichen. See Curl MAIL Some years ago, both these lichens were largely exported; and it is said that, from 1762 to 1'767 inclusive, nearly 100 tons of the L. tartarea were collected from the tors of the moor. Wistman's wood, a grove of stunted oak-trees, avera,ging about ten
feet in height, is of venerable antiquity. It stands on a rocky declivity about 400 yards in length, and measures less than 100 yards across the widest part. The ornithology of D. is more limited than formerly; the progress of cultivation and the preservation of game are driving away the eagle, the bustard, the crane, and the kite, which are now rarely seen. The blaekcock is likewise becomino. extinct. Dr. Moore says: "The fro. quenters of the uncultivated parts are now chiefly the sparrow-hawk,•the hobby, the goshawk, the hen-harrier, the brown or marsh harrier, and the buzzard." The anti quities of D., as illustrating ancient periods of British history, are worth an attentive study; of these, the Gray Wethers, below Sittaford Tor—a fine specimen of what is usually styled a Druidical circular temple—the vestiges of a large aboriginal village at Grimspound, the cromlech at Drewsteignton, the logan-stones and stone-avenues, the kistvaens, barrows, cairns, rock-pillars, and ancient trackways, whose story the old tors alone could tell, are examples. Many legends and stories of moorland adventure are related; but the most famous is that of the bold hunter, Childe of' P]ymstock, whose fate Carrington has celebrated in a spirited ballad. See Carrington's Poems, Mrs. Bray's Tamar and Tavy, and article " Lost on Dartmoor," Ghambers's Journal, vol. i, p. 350.
During the long war with France, consequent on the great revolution and the career of Napoleon, a prison was erected in the center of the western quarter of D., at, about 1400 ft. above the sea-level, for the accommodation of prisoners of war. The first stone was laid on the 20th Mar., 1806, and the building was finished at a cost of £127,000. Prince Town sprang up close by, and soon became a thriving place. The prison is now used as a depot for convicts, who are employed in cultivating the adjacent moor.
The castle, manor, and forest of D. were granted by Henry III. to his brother Richard, earl of Cornwall; and since 1337 A.D., D. has been permanently annexed to the duchy of Cornwall.
See De In Beche's Report on the Geology of Cornwall, Devon, and West Somerset (Lond. 1839); and for a full account of D. A Perambulation of the Ancient and Royal Forest of Dartmoor,. etc., by Rev. S. Rbwe (Plymouth and Iona 185G); also Papers on the Geology, Soil, Botany, and Ornithology of Dartmoor, by Ed. Moore, M.D., etc., in appendix of the above work.