Farming on the Island of Jersey. 



By F. S. Peer, Author of " Soiling, Ensilage and Stable Construction." 



To say fthe peasant farmers on the Island of Jersey (many of 

 whom can neither read nor write) are the best and most scientific 

 farmers in the world, sounds like a contradictory statement, a 

 very boastful one to say the least. I make the statement on my 

 own account, for I have never heard it said of them nor do the 

 islanders set up any such claim. They are quite unconscious of 

 the fact themselves, as only a very small proportion have ever 

 been away from home to the extent of crossing the channel that 

 separates the island from France or England. I call them the 

 best farmers in the world for the simple reason that they make 

 their farms produce more per acre than any other farmers I ever 

 saw or heard of. To grow large crops on land that has been 

 under cultivation since long before " the morning stars sang to- 

 gether" may be called the art agriculture, and if, as Lockhardt 

 says, the science of farming is to take large crops from the soil 

 and leave the soil in better condition for the succeeding crop 

 than it was before the crop was taken, then of all men the 

 peasant farmers of the channel islands must be considered most 

 scientific, for the fertility of their farms has steadily increased to 

 meet the requirements of their increasing numbers and their in- 

 creasing wants. 



The little Island of Jersey is only fourteen miles long and four 

 to seven miles wide, a good sized western farm. There is, how- 

 ever, a resident population of 55,000, and that this island is able 

 to support its own inhabitants and feed 40,000 to 50,000 visitors 

 annually, is something wonderful. When I tell you that in addi- 

 tion to this there is exported from the island yearly between 

 three and four million dollars worth of farm and garden produce, 

 no one will question that these island farmers deserve the dis- 

 tinction that I have given them. 



