Jersei/, Guernsey, Aldemey, and Sark. 65 
miles, and its breadth one and a half miles. The soil is pro- 
ductive : it rests on grit, porphyry, and granite, but it is only of 
late years that much land has been cultivated. That part called 
the Braye is that which is most tilled ; its appearance is singular, 
owin? to the very minute properties, and the strange way in 
which the crops are sown : you will see long narrow stripes 
of different sorts of produce lying in different directions, and 
some of them so narrow that it is a puzzle to find out how the 
farmer can turn his plough. The small town of St. Anne com- 
prises, with very few exceptions, all the houses in the island : and 
the want of houses scattered over the surface gives the island a 
deserted aspect. The agriculture of Alderney is certainly not 
equal to that of the other islands, though the land is good ; it is 
chiefly light, but in some of the valleys becomes stiff. For- 
merly, before the increase of population, sufficient corn and 
other produce was grown for the maintenance of the inhabitants. 
There are three farms only which deserve notice ; these are tilled 
as in Guernsey, and excellent crops of wheat and grass are pro- 
duced. Vraic or seaweed is quite as much prized in Alderney 
as in either of the other islands for manure, its moisture being 
particularly adapted for the soil. The Alderney cow, of which 
so much has been said, is not unlike the animals in the other 
islands, in size only do they differ ; their horns also are parti- 
cularly small and curved in : about one hundred are annually 
exported. Horses are generally indifferent. It has been said of 
their pigs that many when fat will weigh as much as their well- 
fed cows. As in Sark, several of the inhabitants unite agri- 
culture with fishing. The mode of life in Alderney is primitive, 
though not more so than in Sark or in some of the country 
parishes of the other islands. There are some few Englisli 
resident half-pay officers, who here enjoy the quietude and hap- 
piness of life. A tolerable house may be had at from 10/. to 
15/. a-year, and meat and poultry are somewhat cheaper than 
in Guernsey. 
In concluding these remarks, a few words may be said of the- 
constitution of Alderney. It consists of an assembly called the 
States, and of a Court of Judicature, which, however, has no 
power in criminal cases, all such being tried in Guernsey. The 
States are composed of six jurats, named by the ratepayers, and 
of a president named by the Crown, and also of the douzainiers^ 
who are consulted, but have no vote. In reality, the States and 
Court are the same body. 
VOL. XX. 
