ALDERNEY ALGIERS. 



201 



of converting alcoholic fluids into vinegar. As 

 this process is conducted in Germany, the wine is 

 permitted to percolate through a false bottom in a 

 barrel ; there is a constant circulation of air, and 

 in the course of a very few hours the wine is en- 

 tirely converted into vinegar. Now from the loss 

 that is observed when there is a limited supply of 

 air, it is thought by Liebig that part of the alcohol 

 has been only so far oxidised as to have become 

 aldehyd, which has escaped from its volatility. 



ALDERNEY, (a); one of the Channel islands, 

 is distant from Guernsey (north-east by north) 

 about fifteen miles, or twenty from port to port ; 

 from Jersey about thirty-three miles from coast to 

 coast, and forty-five from port to port ; and about 

 fifty-five or sixty miles south by east of Portland 

 Bill, the nearest point of England. The communi- 

 cation with Guernsey is much more frequent and 

 regular than with Jersey. Alderney possesses four 

 vessels, the total burthen of which is only 150 tons. 

 During the oyster season some of them ply on the 

 French coast ; but two, at least, run regularly to 

 Guernsey, paying a visit occasionally to Jersey. 

 The island is about 3^ miles long, from north-east 

 to south-west ; about If broad ; and about 8 miles 

 in circuit. The south-east coast is formed by pic- 

 turesque and lofty cliffs, from 100 to 200 feet high ; 

 but as the island shelves towards the north-east, 

 the coasts in that direction are of less elevation, 

 and more indented with small bays, such as those 

 of Longy or Catel (query, Chatel Castle?) bay 

 on the east, and of Braye on the north-west. The 

 last affords good anchorage, and near it is the only 

 harbour in the island, that of Crabby, which, how- 

 ever, is fit for none but small vessels. 



The town of St Anne (the only town in the 

 place) contains nearly the whole population of the 

 island. It is customary for the agricultural part of 

 the community, as well as the commercial portion, 

 to reside in it ; and hence the place resembles 

 rather a collection of farm-houses than a town. 

 The jurisdiction of Alderney is carried on by a 

 governor and one or two officials, though all crimi- 

 nal causes are decided in the courts of Guernsey, of 

 which the other island is a dependence. St Anne 

 can boast of very few good houses, and these are 

 all of them the residences of the king's officers, or, 

 it may be, of the minister or surgeon. The town 

 has a very deserted look, and this may well be, see- 

 ing that so many of its inhabitants do really leave 

 it during the day for their labours in the fields. At 

 one time the farmers of Alderney profited highly by 

 their celebrated breed of milch cows, but long since 

 the British islands have been supplied with the breed 

 sufficiently to render any reference to the original 

 source unnecessary. The cows are small, but pro- 

 duce an immense quantity of milk ; and fourteen 

 pounds of butter per week is not uncommon from 

 one animal. Though the town of St Anne, from 

 the circumstances we have mentioned, is by far the 

 most important point in the island, what may be 

 called the country presents many objects worthy of 

 attention. " The appearance," says Mr Inglis, " of 

 the cultivated part of the island, is singular, owing 

 to the very minute properties, and the odd way in 

 which the proprietors have sown their crops. It 

 is all laid out in narrow stripes of different sorts of 

 grain, and in lucerne, potatoes, clover, tares, &c. 

 These lie in all different directions, straight across 

 and transversely ; and to so great an extent has the 

 division of property extended, that, in looking at a 

 proprietor ploughing his stripe, it is difficult to see 



how he will find room to turn his plough on his 

 own land. The ploughs which I saw at work were 

 small wheel-ploughs, worked by three hjrses and 

 two men. The total absence of farm-houses and 

 cottages, and the total absence of trees or planta- 

 tions of any kind, give to the island a bare aspect. 

 Still, under a bright sun, there is beauty every 

 where ; and the spangled grass, and furze hedges, 

 covered with their bright and fragrant blossoms, 

 and the song of innumerable larks, and the pretty 

 cows tethered among their clover, were sufficient 

 for any travellei, unless for the churl who can 

 walk from Dan to Bersheeba, and say, ' all is bar- 

 ren.'" 



The population of Alderney is decreasing by emi- 

 gration, which is attributed to want of trade and 

 employment. The majority of the emigrants go to 

 Guernsey and Jersey, some to America. The po- 

 pulation was, in 1813, 1308; in 1821, 1151; in 

 1823, 1060; in 1831, 1U45; in 1841, 1030;of whom 

 a considerable majority were females. The inhabi- 

 tants are much engaged in fishing. 



ALGIERS, (a. to the article Sarbary States.) 

 The town of Algiers is situated in 36 49' N. lat. 

 3 25' E. Ion. on the southern shore of the Medi- 

 terranean sea, the waves of which wash its walls. 

 It is built in the form of an irregular triangle, the 

 base of which is formed by the sea-coast. The 

 streets of the town are remarkably narrow, filthy, 

 and uneven ; very few of them cross others at right 

 angles, and very few are straight. The principal 

 street extends from east to west, traversing the 

 town in its greatest breadth : its length is 1200 

 paces, and its breadth twelve. It contains the 

 best shops, the houses of the principal merchants, 

 and the market for corn and all provisions : in all 

 the other streets it is rarely that two persons can 

 pass abreast. The inconvenient construction of 

 the streets manifests not only the bad taste of the 

 inhabitants, but indicates the absence of those 

 numerous and complicated relations which are found 

 in modern European towns, as well as the want of 

 vehicles of burthen or convenience. Similar causes 

 produced towns of a similarly bad construction in 

 Europe in the middle ages. The houses, as in most 

 other Moslem towns, are square, enclosing an open 

 court in the middle, into which, and not into the 

 street, all the windows open. The roofs, as in most 

 southern and oriental towns, are flat, and in the 

 evening the families resort to them to enjoy the 

 sea-breeze. Formed into terraces, they often sup- 

 port gardens with pavilions, or closets, to which 

 the master of the house withdraws at the hour of 

 the siesta; and, reclining upon a sofa, amuses him- 

 self by smoking the tobacco of the Levant, or by 

 chewing opium, while his attention seems directed 

 to the sea, the softened roar of whose waves lulls 

 him to slumber. As the houses are contiguous, a 

 person may walk from one end of the town to the 

 other along the terraces ; but it is, nevertheless, 

 very rare that any one complains of having his 

 house robbed. Some few houses are of a very 

 superior description, being paved with marble, and 

 lined with wainscot, carved with some elegance, 

 and gilt or painted ii: the best style of Moslem 

 taste. There are some handsome buildings with- 

 out the town, and a great number of tombs, some 

 of which are furnished with oratories, to which the 

 inhabitants resort every Friday. 



The numerous expeditions fitted out to curb or 

 punish the Algerine pirates have been noticed ir 

 the article Barbary States. In 1829, France fitted 



