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JERSEY

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Originally appearing in Volume V15, Page 331 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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JERSEY , the largest of the Channel Islands, belonging to See also:

Great See also:Britain. Its See also:chief See also:town, St Helier, on the See also:south See also:coast of the See also:island, is in 490 12' N., 2° 7' W., 105 M. S. by E. of See also:Portland See also:Bill on the See also:English coast, and 24 M. from the See also:French coast to the See also:east. Jersey is the southernmost of the more important islands of the See also:group. It is of oblong See also:form with a length of ro m. from east to See also:west and an extreme breadth of 64 m. The See also:area is 28,717 acres, or 45 sq. m. Pop. (1901), 52,576. The island reaches its greatest See also:elevation (nearly 500 ft.) in the See also:north, the See also:land rising sharply from the north coast, and displaying bold and picturesque cliffs towards the See also:sea. The east, south and west coasts consist of a See also:succession of large open bays, shallow and rocky, with marshy or sandy shores separated by rocky See also:head-lands. The See also:principal bays are Greve au Lancons, Greve de Lecq, St See also:John's and Bouley Bays on the north coast; St See also:Catherine's and Grouville Bays on the east; St See also:Clement's, St See also:Aubin's and St Brelade's Bays on the south; and St Ouen's See also:Bay, the wide sweep of which occupies nearly the whole of the west coast. The sea in many places has encroached greatly on the land, and See also:sand drifts have been found troublesome, especially on the west coast.

The See also:

surface of the See also:country is broken by winding valleys having a See also:general direction from north to south, and as they approach the south uniting so as to form small plains. The lofty hedges which See also:bound the small enclosures into which Jersey is divided, the trees and shrubberies which See also:line the roads and cluster See also:round the uplands and in almost every nook of the valleys unutilized for pasturage or tillage, give the island a luxuriant See also:appearance, neutralizing the See also:bare effect of the few sandy plains and sand-covered hills. Fruits and See also:flowers indigenous to warm . climates grow freely in the open See also:air. The land, under careful cultivation, is See also:rich and productive, the See also:soil being generally a deep See also:loam, especially in the valleys, but in the west shallow, See also:light and sandy. The subsoil is usually See also:gravel, but in some parts an unfertile See also:clay. Some two-thirds of the See also:total area is under cultivation, great See also:numbers of See also:cattle being pastured, and much See also:market gardening practised. The See also:potato See also:crop is very large. The peasants take See also:advantage of every See also:bit of See also:wall and every 'isolated nook of ground for growing See also:fruit trees. Grapes are ripened under See also:glass; oranges can be grown in sheltered situations, but the most See also:common fruits are apples, which are used for See also:cider, and See also:pears. A manure of burnt sea-See also:weed (vraic) is generally used. The pasturage is very rich, and is much improved by the application of this manure to the surface. The breed of cattle is kept pure by stringent See also:laws against the importation of See also:foreign See also:horse to See also:Queen See also:Mary; and See also:lord See also:chamberlain to See also:William III. and animals.

The See also:

milk is used almost exclusively to manufacture Queen See also:Anne. In 1696 he represented his country at the See also:congress i See also:butter. The cattle are always housed in See also:winter, but remain out at See also:night from May till See also:October. There was formerly a small See also:black breed of horses See also:peculiar to the island, but horses are now chiefly imported from See also:France or See also:England. Pigs are kept principally for See also:local See also:consumption, and only a few See also:sheep are reared. See also:Fish are not so plentiful as round the shores of See also:Guernsey, but See also:mackerel, turbot, See also:cod, See also:mullet and especially the conger See also:eel are abundant at the Minquiers. There is a large See also:oyster See also:bed between Jersey and France, but partly on See also:account of over-dredging the See also:supply is not so abundant as formerly. There is a great variety of other See also:shell fish. The See also:fisheries, See also:ship-See also:building and See also:boat-building employ many of the inhabitants. See also:Kelp and See also:iodine are manufactured from sea-weed. The principal exports are See also:granite, fruit and vegetables (especially potatoes), butter and cattle; and the chief imports See also:coal and articles of human consumption. Communications with England are maintained principally from See also:Southampton and See also:Weymouth, and there are See also:regular steamship services from See also:Granville and St Maio on the French coast.

The Jersey railway runs west from St Helier round St Aubin's Bay to St Aubin, and continues to Corbiere at the south-western extremity of the island; and the Jersey eastern railway follows the See also:

southern and eastern coasts to Gorey. The island is intersected with a network of See also:good roads. Jersey is under a distinct and in several respects different form of administrative See also:government from Guernsey and the smaller islands included in the bailiwick of Guernsey. For its peculiar constitution, See also:system of See also:justice, ecclesiastical arrangements and See also:finance, see CHANNEL ISLANDS. There are twelve parishes, namely St Helier, Grouville, St Brelade, St Clement, St John, St Laurence, St See also:Martin, St Mary, St Ouen, St See also:Peter, St Saviour and Trinity. The See also:population of the island nearly doubled between 1821 and 1901, but decreased from 54,518 to 52,576 between 1891 and 1901. The See also:history of Jersey is treated under CHANNEL ISLANDS. Among See also:objects of antiquarian See also:interest, a cromlech near Mont Orgueil is the finest of several examples. St Brelade's See also:church, probably the See also:oldest in the island, See also:dates from the 12th See also:century; among the later churches St Helier's, of the 14th century, may be mentioned. There are also some very See also:early chapels, considered to date from the loth century or earlier; among these may be noted the Chapelle-es-Pecheurs at St Brelade's, and the picturesque See also:chapel in the grounds of the See also:manor of Rozel. The See also:castle of Mont Orgueil, of which there are considerable remains, is believed to be founded upon the site of a See also:Roman stronghold, and a " See also:Caesar's fort " still forms a See also:part of it.

End of Article: JERSEY

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