Anglo-Norman Islands. 231 



JERSEY. 



The island of Jersey, situated at a distance of 12^ miles 

 from Portbail, has the form of a parallelogram with its borders 

 irregular and pretty deeply cut. Its greatest length, from the 

 south-eastern extremity to the north-east point, that is to say 

 from the Pointe de la Rocque to Cape Gros-Nez, is 12 miles, 

 from Corbibres Point to the Pointe de la Coupe, which are the 

 extremities of the other diagonal, the distance is a little less. 

 Its width varies between 4^ and Q^ miles, the island being- 

 wider at the two extremities than in the middle, where it is 

 deeply excavated by St. Aubin's Bay. 



The island of Jersey slopes from the north to the south and 

 south-east. The northern region in fact attains an elevation 

 of 200-270 feet above the level of the sea, and in proportion 

 as we depart from the north coast to descend towards the 

 south we find the altitude regularly diminish, especially in the 

 southern and south-eastern regions, where the ground, which 

 is not much elevated, is continuous with the extensive sands 

 of the bays of St. Aubin, St. Clement, and Grouville, whilst 

 to the south-west the coast is more elevated and forms some 

 escarpments between Sainte-Brelade and Corbi^res Point. 



The island of Jersey is composed of very various ancient 

 rocks, the study of which is of much interest, and which are 

 known to us thanks to an already old memoir by Transon * 

 and especially to a very recent paper by M. de Lapparent f. 

 " The most ancient stratified rock in the island," says M. de 

 Lapparent, " is a schistose grauwacke, often very hard, which 

 occupies the central part of Jersey, and which is surrounded 

 by three massifs of a granitic rock which authors have called 

 syenite. This rock, composed of reddish felspar, vitreous 

 quartz, and partially decomposed greenish mica, often becomes 



who has established a natural-history repository at St. Helier, and knows 

 the shores of the island very well ; he has given me valuable information 

 which has certainly saved me a very considerable loss of time. I am 

 very grateful to Mr. Sinel for the indications he gave me, thanks to which 

 my investigations were rendered easier, since I was able to profit by the 

 experience which he has been acquiring for several years ; the remarks 

 which I have been able to make upon the absence, the presence, and the 

 disti'ibiition of certain species thus acquire a greater value than if I had 

 been left entirely to mj own resources. 



* " Description g^ologique de I'ile de Jersey," in Annales des Mines, 

 4® serie, tome xx. p. 501. 



t " Notes sur les roches eruptives de Jersey," in Bull. Soc. G6ol. Fr. 

 3^ s^rie, tome xii. p. 284. 



