No. 4.] THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 101 



As you approach the Jersey coast nothing more picturesque 

 can be well imagined. Ten miles of granite cliff stretching 

 along its northern exposure two hundred and forty to four 

 hundred and eighty-five feet in height, while on the south 

 eifiht miles of similar formation rise from two hundred to 

 two hundred and fifty feet, and against this the waters madly 

 foam and break and dash their spray far up the sides, rend- 

 ing and rifting them in every possible manner, or wearing 

 out dark chasms and overhanging arches. There results 

 from this formation a general slope and exposure to the 

 south very favorable to vegetation. Furthermore, the whole 

 island is intersected from north to south by a succession of 

 ravines or valleys, gradually widening and increasing in 

 depth, and forming a natural channel for the small streams 

 taking their origin in the springs which everywhere abound. 

 It has been said that the three primary elements necessary 

 to the success of agricultural operations are skilful hus- 

 bandry, a well-constituted soil and a genial climate. All 

 three of these requisites Jersey possesses in the highest 

 degree. Though resting on a bed of primary rocks of gran- 

 ite, syenite and schist absolutely wanting in organic remains, 

 yet the soil is a rich loam, varying in lightness with the char- 

 acter of the underlying stratum. Even in the bays, where 

 the sand driven by the winds has encroached upon the soil, 

 the land is so successfully tilled, that St. Clements Bay has 

 won for itself the title of the " Garden of Jersey." The cli- 

 mate is one of the most equal>le and mild in the world. 

 Rarely does it fall below the freezing point, and there is but 

 one instance on record of its reaching 83*^. The ground sel- 

 dom freezes more than an inch or tw^o, and the slight snows 

 serve to keep off the frost altogether. Winter there is 

 none, but the spring is usually cool and late. The mean 

 daily range of the thermometer is exceptionally small. Tak- 

 ing the average of ten years, it is found to be but 8.1°. 

 The days of summer are not xevy hot, but the nights are 

 comparatively warm, and there is hardly any chill in the 

 night air at any season of the year. There is no recorded 

 climate, and probably no climate whatever in north temper- 

 ate latitudes, on either side of the Atlantic, that presents so 

 small a daily range of the thermometer. Such is the opinion 

 of an enthusiastic traveller. 



