A measure of ground, two and a half of which complete an English acre. A vergée lets from 1l. to 6l. per annum, and may be purchased from 20l. to 100l.; but the purchaser may either pay the whole or in part, when the remainder stands over as mortgage, which is divided into quarters and called "rents."
Vraic—
Is sea-weed, and is eagerly sought after by the farmers, both as fuel and manure for their grounds, than which, they uphold nothing can be better. The ashes, as a manure, are certainly unrivalled, and so appreciated are their value, that "no sea-weed, no corn," has passed into a proverb. They are sold at about 1s. 6d. the Guernsey bushel.
Weights and Measures.—
The pound is two ounces more than the English; thus, twenty-eight ounces Guernsey, are thirty and a half avoirdupois. The weights at the meat-market are under the direction of the States. They are of solid brass, beautifully bright, with their numbers engraved on them, and are locked up every night by the clerk of the market. Defalcations of weight in meat, butter, or bread, is punished with a heavy penalty, and if among the butter women, the whole of their stock is seized by the constable whose duty it is to investigate the matter, and confiscate it for the benefit of the town hospital.
Wheat, Oats, and Barley.—
The red wheat is preferred on account of its producing heavier crops, and being less subject to the ravages of small birds, which are very numerous here, especially sparrows. Wheat, during the last twenty years, has been about two-thirds of the price at which it has been sold in England. In the summer of 1830, wheat was twenty shillings per quarter, Guernsey measure; whilst the price in England at the same time was sixty or seventy shillings per quarter. At one time, the rigorous corn-law was about to be extended here; but the inhabitants bestired themselves, and succeeded in warding off the terrible blow, for which they were greatly indebted to the exertions of the late venerable Baillif.
Barley generally follows wheat, and is considered by agriculturists of an excellent quality, so much so, that when Quail wrote, one would have thought that it was chiefly used for bread. It is sold to the brewers for malting, at 3s. the Guernsey bushel, (56 lbs. English.)
Oats and rye are not much grown, as they are obtained on the Continent much cheaper than they can be raised, and in respect to the keeping of a horse are much more reasonable than in England.