Glimpses of Farming in the Channel Islands. 3(57 
of population in all but two of the twelve parishes into wliicli 
the island is divided. If this decrease stood alone, it might, 
perhaps, be accounted for by the fact that the population was 
temporarily swollen by French refugees during the Franco- 
German War; but as there was a fall between 1851 and 1861, 
and, in spite of a rise in 1871, a further fall between 1861 and 
1881, this explanation is not sufficient. The point is of im- 
mediate interest in connection with my subject, because the 
decrease in population during a period of great prosperity in 
Jersey seems to show that the tendency to the subdivision of 
landed property fostered by law, which forbids the willing 
of land and requii-es its division among all the children of 
a deceased owner, has been counteracted by sensible family 
arrangements. 
"Whether the land is more or less subdivided than it was 
when Colonel Le Cornu wrote his prize essay, I am not able 
positively to determine ; but, probably, it may be concluded 
from the evidence just cited that there is not much difference. 
At any rate, the average size of a holding is small enough ; for, 
according to the Official Return of 1887, the 19,62G acres of 
occupied land were divided among 2.64:6 occupiers, partly owners 
and partly tenants, or in the ratio of almost exactly 7i acres 
per occupier. In 18-59, Colonel Le Cornu wrote : — 
" Very many house? will he found to wbicli only 2 or 3 acres are attached, 
whilst others have 20 or 30 ; but an estate wliich contains lo acres is by no 
means considered a small one, and rarely do any exceed 50 to 00 acres ; there 
may, perhaps, be sis or eight such in the whole island.'' 
This statement, I believe, holds good for the present time, 
except that I could not hear of as many as six or eight farms of 
50 acres and upwards. A farm of 50 vergees (2| to the acre), 
or about 22 acres, is reckoned a large one ; and the owner of 
106 vergees (47 acres), which he cultivated till he let half of the 
land, informed me that he knew of only one larger farm in his 
part of the island. 
The law as to the succession to landed propertv is as fol- 
lows : — The eldest son takes as his birthright the house and 
premises, with a little more than two acres of land adjoining, 
and about twenty Jersey perches, or two-ninths of an imperial 
acre, for every man he is bound by ancient law to provide in 
case of war. The rest of the property is valued in rents, and 
the eldest son takes one-tenth, the remainder being shared 
two-thirds among the sons, including the eldest, and one-third 
among the daughters. "When there is only one son he takes all 
that is above referred to as going to the eldest and other sons. 
When the number of daughters is so small that each, if more 
