ADDRESSES 175 



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 hi organic re- 

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

 the character 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 climate is one of the most equable 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 degrees. The 

 ground seldom freezes more than an inch or two, and the 

 slight snows serve to keep off the frost altogether. Winter 

 there is none, but the spring is usually cold and late. The 

 mean daily range of the thermometer is exceptionally small. 

 Taking the average of ten years, it is found to be but 8.1 de- 

 grees. The days of summer are not very 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 traveler. 



As a result of this, many kinds of plants and shrubs are 

 at least a fortnight earlier than even in the warmer parts 

 of England, and the ripening of fruit in the open air during 

 July, August and September is invariably some days ear- 

 lier than at Greenwich, although the summer is cooler than 

 at that place. Another striking peculiarity, which doubt- 

 less has its effect upon vegetation, is the rainfall. Taking 



