323 
1873.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Hew York, September, 1878. 
Agricultural Notes from Channel Islands. 
From our Special Coirespondent. 
Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark, lying just 
off the coast of Normandy, France—mere rocky 
isles, sprinkled about with hundreds of lesser rocks 
—are the so-called Channel Islands, dependencies 
of Great Britain, but not colonial possessions, and 
these together constitute one of London’s most 
noteworthy kitchen-gardens, though three of them 
are known in America mostly for their cattle. 
Potatoes are Jersey’s great specialty, the season 
for which extends from the latter part of May to 
the middle of July, and a special potato steamer 
leaves St. Heliers daily for London. Guernsey’s 
specialties are grapes, plums, figs, pears, cut flow- 
oxen and one or two pair of horses, followed by 
the farmers with their hooks and forks, is a pic¬ 
turesque sight. Below is an illustration of such a 
team ; it shows the peculiar cart and an odd form 
of yoke, which is a straight piece fastened behind 
the horns, with a straight rod extending half down 
each side of the neck, and a cord underneath, to 
serve as a bow. The number of men to each team 
shows an abundance of labor, which would hardly 
be economical in America. The price of Herm 
vraic, delivered in Sark, is from five to six shillings 
per ton, and it requires from 22 to 25 shillings’ 
worth ($5.50 to $6.25) to manure an English acre. 
Over 100 tons of grapes will be shipped from St. 
Peter Port, Guernsey, to London, this season. 
Hamburghs and Muscats are the chief varieties, 
and these are raised in greenhouses without arti¬ 
ficial heat. We visited one vinery comprising 11 
greenhouses, which will produce this year over 
four tons. Several hundred weight have already 
been shipped to London, where they brought from 
2s. 6d. to 3s. 6 d. (62 to 87 cts.) per pound, whole¬ 
sale, and at this time they retail in London from 5 
to 8s. per pound. The vines are placed about one 
neys, to which they are similar in color and phys¬ 
ique, but the Guernseys are generally larger and 
finer, and give more milk. The Guernseys are 
larger than the Jerseys, and in color are usually 
reddish-yellow and white, often curiously spotted 
with white, and have uniformly yellow skins. They 
give more milk than the Jerseys, and the butter is 
higher colored—indeed, so marked is the yellow 
hue that it is wrongly supposed by strangers, 
that Guernsey butter is artificially colored. An¬ 
other important advantage claimed for them over 
the Jerseys is that they can be fattened for beef 
after having served their time as dairy cattle. 
Pasture land is scarce and expensive. Grass 
must be economized, so all the cows are tethered. 
By this means their rations are given in known 
quantities, and they make the most of what comes 
within the scope of their tethers, instead of wan¬ 
dering about picking up the daintiest morsels and 
trampling down the rest. They are generally much 
petted, and are as docile as kittens. Singularly 
enough, considering the affection of their owners 
for them, they are seldom given proper names. In 
conversation, they are distinguished by such 
COLLECTING SEA-WEED FOR MANURE IN THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
ers, including camellias which flourish in the open 
air, and fresh fish. Sark supplies fish and rabbits, 
and the little island of Herm, rabbits, and vraic or 
sea-weed. The rabbits live among the furze, and 
are bred in immense numbers. During a recent 
season one boatman carried 7,000 from Herm to the 
Guernsey market, where they were sold for 10 pence 
(20 cents) apiece. Meat, with the exception of rab¬ 
bits and chickens, is scarce in Sark and expensive, 
and milk brings 4 pence (8 cents) a quart ; butter, 
Is. 6 cl. (37 cts.) a pound; eggs, 1 shilling (25 cts.) 
a dozen; and a six-pound loaf of wheat-bread, 
from 1 shilling 3 farthings to Is. 2 d. (26 to 29 cts.). 
Jersey produces a remarkable variety of cabbage, 
called the “Jersey Cow Cabbage,” which grows to 
the height of four to six feet, and is cultivated for 
fodder. The stalk, which is tall and straight, is 
often made into walking sticks ; this, when smooth¬ 
ed off and varnished, is similar in appearance 
to a bamboo cane, and most travellers who visit • 
the island carry away a cabbage walking stick. 
There is an old proverb current in the Channel 
Islands: 11 Point de vraic, point de limit yard! ” 
which, being translated, means : “No sea-weed, no 
wheat-field 1 ” Vrai@ is the local name for the sea¬ 
weed, which grows'in immense quantities along the 
rocky shores, and which 1 is used for manure. The 
season for gathering it is limited by law, and ex¬ 
tends, I believe, from Feb. 1 to August 15. The 
live weed is torn from the rocks, and heaped upon 
the beach to dry, after which it is conveyed by carts 
to the fields. A vraic cart, drawn by a yoke of 
foot apart, and are trimmed close, allowing the 
sunshine to enter freely. While green, the berries 
are thinned very severely at two different periods, 
consequently the berries are very large, perfect in 
shape, and highly flavored. Most of the plants 
that I have seen were remarkably healthy, but the 
red spider is common in the Guernsey vineries, and 
does much injury. K ;eping the leaves abundantly 
showered with water, though it is but partially 
effective, is considered the only feasible remedy. 
The farms in these Islands are, without exception, 
small, the dairy work generally managed by wo¬ 
men, and the implements and mode of work simple, 
even primitive. Much of the work is also performed 
by women, who receive a franc or a franc and a half 
(29 or 30 cts.) per day. I saw no cattle market. The 
industry for which the Islands are specially noted 
abroad—cattle breeding, is mostly controlled by an 
agent in England, who takes orders from foreign 
stock fanciers, which he refers to local dealers in 
the Islands who are good judges of cattle. In the 
Channel Islands, one hears little of “Alderney” 
cow's ; Jerseys and Guernseys are the two stand¬ 
ards, and they differ widely in their characteristics. 
The Jerseys resemble the cattle of Brittany, from 
which they are said to have been bred. They are 
small, symmetrical, and with graceful proportions; 
they have deer-like heads, and are generally mouse- 
colored, with black points, and always black snouts. 
Alderney has given its name to a breed of cattle, 
but comparatively few are exported. The Guern¬ 
seys are said to have been bred up from the Alder- 
phrases as “the old cow,” or “the big cow,” or 
“ the last calf.” Some of the prize Guernseys give 
20, 24, and even 28 quarts of milk per day. In 
Guernsey, during summer, the cows are generally 
milked at morning, noon, and night. The milking 
is usually done by women. No calf is allowed to 
be scut from Sark to the neighboring islands with¬ 
out a certificate from the Seigneur (the Lord of the 
Manor), giving a permit, and statiug the animal’s 
pedigree, nor from the other islands without a 
similiar document from the proper authorities. 
“La Grande Charrue” (the Great Plow), is an 
institution in Guernsey. It is used for deep plow¬ 
ing, and is large and clumsy. Several farmers 
club together to use it—the team being made up 
of all the oxen and horses which the party can 
muster. The Great Plow is frequently honored 
with a team of four oxen and six or eight horses, 
or two oxen and ten or twelve horses, making 
quite an imposing turnout. After each day’s plow¬ 
ing, the farmers who have taken part, hold a festi¬ 
val in the evening. Some of the small plows in 
common use are awkward in the extreme, resem¬ 
bling one of our ordinary one-liorse plows; but, 
between it and the team of two horses, a low¬ 
wheeled carriage-part with pole is introduced, by 
which means the plow is removed far from the 
horses, half of their force being expended in lifting 
the carriage, which is below the line of traction; and 
were the strength of the team sufficient, I should 
expect to see the two wheels dangling in the air 
Sark, July 15th, 1878. G. W. W. H 
