£2 HORSES, DEVONSHIRE, 1845.

James Barnes was the head gardener of Bicton Gardens who wrote a letter to The United Gardeners and Land Stewards Journal The 25th Number) in July(?) 1845 professing to give a correct account of Devonshire Farming.   According to a letter to the Editor of The Exeter Flying Post published on of 24th July 1845 and written by J.W. Harvey, Collector of Taxes at Ottery St. Mary, Mr. Barnes did not think highly of Devonshire farmers.  below is an extract from Mr. Harvey's letter:

"Of Devonshire Farming he asserts there is no drilling or hoeing, except in Turnips, which occasionally get hoed once.  That the Turnip bulbs do not on an average exceed a goose's egg in size.  That there is rarely  a drain cut for any purpose - that it is rare to hear of more than 9 Bushels of Wheat to the Acre, all other produce averaging the same ratio, that the Horses do not average Two Pounds each, that they seldom get Cleaned or Groomed in any way, that there is no chaff-cutting.  That the Harness is never Cleaned or Mended except being tied with Rope Yarn, in short the Devon Farmer is Careless, Dirty, Lazy, Improvident, Gossiping, slack in his payments, buys altogether on credit, and he concludes his description with the following elegant sentence.  Therefore he seems a poor Manager, a poor Husband, a poor Father, a poor Neighbour, a poor Citizen, a poor Christian, and not much fit for a Farmer some would I dare say imagine."

There was naturally reaction to this attack.

  One such letter, from a Mr. N. Tucket of 168, Fore-street, Exeter, (The Exeter Flying Post, 7th August 1845) gave a pleasant description of  Exeter's busy quay.

"....if he (Mr. Barnes) had been st Exeter Quay for the last fortnight, he would certainly have been astonished to have seen the thousands of bushels of wheat shipped daily from this poor, insignificant, half-starved county; after all, I will tell Mr. Barnes as a well known fact, that Exeter is the best supplied and cheapest market for corn and particularly wheat and barley, in England."

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Bicton Gardens:  today are much visited and famed for  their great beauty.  Beauty to which the disparaging Mr. Barnes made a great contribution.  At the time, these were the gardens of Bicton House (today an Agricultural College) the home of the formidable Lady Rolle, one of the wealthiest landowners in the country.

The United Gardeners' Journal:  I need to say that I have not seen Mr. Barnes' original letter but I imagine it was quite as insulting as described.

Rope yarn:  O dear!  In Devon they tied up their harness with string! I would believe this to be a seed of Exeter's current decadence if I did not believe every city throughout our nation has become equally decadent.

Mr. Tucket concluded his letter from Fore-street thus:

"I should like to shew this Mr. Barnes the farms of many gentlemen around 10 miles of Exeter, those of renting farmers; he would then soon repent and throw down the charge."

I rejoice in Mr. Harvey's use of capital letters.

James Barnes worked at Bicton for 30 years.  He lived in the Garden House at Bicton with his wife an son and servant,  He was a strict disciplinarian said to have transformed the Gardens and greatly improved the work force.

Mr. N. Tucket: was a wealthy Exeter merchant with warehouses on the Quay and a leading member of the Exeter Agricultural Society.