Glimpses of Farming i)i the Channel Islands. 381 
that tlie price fell quickly to from Is. 8d. to 2.'^. 8d. a cahof, 
and the range of values did not long continue as high as 
that. Writing on July 28, Mr. Le Gros says : — 
As regards the potato crop, it has been almost a failure. Although 
there has been a heavy crop, the price has been so low that the loss to 
farmers is enormous. Durinor this vreek it has come down to 6^. a cabot, 
and many farmers have realised only from 9^. to 10/. a verr/ee, barely enough 
to pay the lent and labour." 
Sixpence a cahot is 26^'. a ton — certainly a ruinous price. 
As the expenses of freight and commission exceed this amount, 
it is to be presumed that JNIr. Le Gros has allowed for them, and 
that 6cZ. per cahot is the net price received by growers. Even so 
it is' ruinous in many instances, as it means a loss of over 20?. an 
acre where the cost of growing was nearly or quite 4-5/., and the 
receipts lOL a vergee, or 22?. 10s. an acre. 
In the prize essay already referred to, there is a table giving 
the exports of potatoes from Jersey in nearly every year from 
1807 — when the business commenced, and 600 tons were shipped 
—to 1867. The largest quantity was that for 1842—18,560 
tons. These were chiefly, if not entirely, fully-matured or old " 
potatoes. In 1845 the disease first affected the crop in the 
island, and then the exports fell to 3,822 tons. By 1867 they 
had risen to 6,251 — still, to a great extent, " old " potatoes. 
The figures given above for 1886 and 1887 show what a won- 
derful increase has taken place, especially when it is borne in 
mind that the exports consist entirely of early tubers, the ship- 
ping being finished by the end of August. 
Great numbers of Brittany peasants, with their wives and 
some children, migrate to Jersey for the potato harvest. The 
number is supposed to be from two to three thousand. This year, 
unfortunately, these poor people came over too soon, the crop 
being very late, and when I was there at the end of June 
there were great numbers of them in St. Heliers with nothing 
to do. Their case was a sad one, as they came over with scarcely 
any money, and they could not afford to pay for lodgings. Since 
in the previous year they had herded so thickly in the cheap 
lodgings of the town as to leave a great deal of disease behind 
them, the authorities had fitted up the cattle market, to the 
extent of putting straw in the sheds and pieces of sailcloth in 
front, for their reception. Over six hundred of them, men, 
women, and children, slept in these comfortless lodgings at the 
time referred to. As a rule, when they have work in the 
country, they sleep under hedges, when the weather is fine, or 
in sheds, or under stacks — any^vhere to escape the expense of 
proper lodgings. They earn very good wages, 25s. a vergee being 
