Jersey, the chief of the Channel Islands (q.v.), 14 miles from the Norman coast, 133 from Southampton, 95 from Weymouth. Measuring 11 miles by , it is 45 sq. m. in area, of which nearly two-thirds is cultivated. Pop. (1806) 22,835; (1851) 57,020; (1881) 52,455; (1891) 54,518—one-half rural, the rest in the capital, St Helier, and suburbs. The land rises to the north, sloping to the south and west. On all sides are large open bays; Boulay on the north is capable of becoming a fine harbour, which is at present much wanted, that of St Helier being dry at low-water. The highest point, Mount Mado, is 473 feet high; its mass is a porphyroid granite which extends south as far as St Peter's. Smaller masses of the same are found in the south-east. The north-east part is conglomerate, and the rest of the island is chiefly divided between siliceous and schistose rock; the lower levels are covered with clay and blown sand. The rocks on the coasts, being mixed with veins of greenstone and shale, have been eroded by the sea, which has left a number of caverns and pinnacles of fantastic form. About the south-east are numerous reefs of primitive rock which render the approach dangerous. Between Jersey and the French shore the Ecrehos, Beuffetins, and Minquiers indicate a former connection with the mainland, and thus confirm the traditions which tell of a separation in comparatively recent times. It is also noticeable that moles and toads are found in Jersey, as also in Alderney, while there are none in Guernsey. Agriculture is pursued on small farms held on feudal tenures resembling copyhold. The chief present staple is the potato, the early produce of which comes into the London market a fortnight before that of the west of England, and thus commands a high temporary price. Consequently other cultivation has been much neglected, and the land greatly stimulated by artificial manures. The potato export exceeds 60,000 tons yearly, of a value of £264,000. The rearing of cattle is also lucrative; it is estimated that there are fifty-eight head of cattle to every 100 acres—nearly three times the ratio of the United Kingdom. The purity of the breed is maintained by careful official registration, and the stock fetches high prices from breeders in England and America. The number of cattle exported averages nearly 1600 head annually (see CATTLE, Vol. III. p. 22). The imports consist largely of potatoes and butcher-meat, from France and England, as the island produces little food for its own consumption. There is a large and well-kept market in St Helier, and a number of good shops. There are twelve parishes in all, of which the rectors and constables are ex-officio members of the 'states,' the rest of the assembly being elected deputies, with the addition of the twelve jurats, or judges of the royal court, whose chief is the bailiff, a trained lawyer. The language of deliberation and judicial business is French, though the people among themselves either use English or a form of the ancient Norman. The parish churches are old, but have lost many traces of their primitive architecture in frequent restorations. The royal court is a large but ill-lighted building containing some pictures, the best of which is a full length portrait of Marshal Conway, by Gainsborough. The character of the people is orderly and frugal, the deposits in the savings-bank exceeding £300,000. There is little pauperism and hardly any serious crime.
See Ansted and Latham's Channel Islands (Lond. 1862); also articles in the Fortnightly Review by the Right Hon. G. Shaw-Lefevre and Rev. Barham Zincke, and one by the present writer in the English Historical Review for 1887.