THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



309 



deaux, Nantes, and Toulouse ; and the much larger 

 proportionate quantity drank in Lille, Strasbourg, and 

 Metz. 



The following figures will servo, by way of com- 

 parison, to show what has been the progress of beer 

 consumption in this country, calculating the beer in 

 barrels of 36 gallons : 



183G .... 10,330,016 



1840 15,883,311 



1845 14,024,854 



1850 ... 15,243,081 

 1855 16,581,985 



So much for beer ; and now let us look at cider, 

 which finds much more favour in France, although it 

 scarcely holds its extended progress, and competes but 

 slowly with wine, which is more abundant, and 

 generally cheaijcr. 



Thirty years ago as many as forty of the departments 

 of France, comprising nearly half of the teri'itory of 

 the State, grew apples specially for the manufacture of 

 cider. Of these districts one-half were situated in the 

 north of France, one-tenth in the western regions, or 

 rather to the north-west, a fifth part in the centre of 

 the country, three only in the east, and the same num- 

 ber in the south. The production then in the twelve 

 departments of the east, the south, and the centre, 

 which manufactured cider, was only about 15,000 hec- 

 tolitres; those of the north and noith-east produced 

 7,000,000 to 8,000,000 hectolitres ; and of this quan- 

 tity the five departments of Normandy made fully one- 

 half (4,000,000 hectolitres), valued at about £1,500,000 

 sterling. The five departments of ancient Brittany 

 produced annually 2,000,000 hectolitres. The most 

 productive department was that of the Seine Inferieure? 

 which made annually about 1,700,000 hectolitres; 

 then followed iu importance the department3 of Cal- 

 vados, Ille-et-Vilaine, L'Eure, La Manche, Mor- 

 bihan, L'Orme, Sarthe, Somme, Eure-et-Loire, and 

 Aisne. 



The ciders of Normandy are divided into three 

 classes, 1. That of Ange, or gros cider, which when 

 kept several years, is excellent, deep -coloured, rough- 



flavoured, and containing a large portion of spirit, six- 

 teen litres yielding one litre of alcohol. The mos* 

 esteemed ciders of the valley of Ange are those 

 of Annebault, Dogule and Pont-Levergne. 2. The 

 cider made in the neighbourhood of Bayeux and Co- 

 tentin, which contains less alcohol, is of a mild flavour? 

 and has the double advantage of being pleasant alike 

 to the eye and the palate, being of a bright amber 

 colour. 3. The cider of Bocage, which has much of 

 the character of Brittany ciders, is weak and thin, soon 

 turns sour, and will not keep long. The ports of 

 Granville and St. Malo take a considerable quantity of 

 the ciders of La Manche for the use of vessels engaged 

 in the whale and cod fisheries. Cider pays a uniform 

 tax of fifteen centimes at each removal of the article. 

 Beer is only subjected to a single duty called " droit 

 de fabrication," of two francs forty centimes per hecto- 

 litre for strong beer, and sixty centimes for small beer, 

 levied at the brewery. 



The pi'oduction of cider now would scarcely seem to 

 be so extensive as it was formerly, for the quantity both 

 of cider and perry which paid duty in tlie last ten years 

 did not average 5,000,000 hectolitres. Cider in France 

 is subject to gi-eat fluctuations, according to season and 

 circumstances. The average production now is stated at 

 9,500,000 hectolitres (209,000,000 gals.) perannum, viz ., 

 2,000,000 hectolitres in the Seine Inferieurej 1,000,000 

 in Manche, Calvados, Eure, and Ille-et-Vilaine; from 

 300,000 to 700,000 in the Orne, Oise, Morbihan, Cotes 

 du Nord, Aisne, Sarthe, Somme, and Mayenne ; from 

 50,000 to 150,000 in the Eure-et-Loire, Seiue-et-Oise, 

 Finisterre, Ardennes, Loire Inferieure, Marne-et-Loire, 

 Pas du Calais, Seine-et-Marne, and Nord ; and from 

 10,000 to 20,000 hectolitres in Loiret, Marnc, Bas 

 Rhin, Aube, Haute Vienne, Yonne, and Loire-et-Cher. 



In 1829 the total production reached 14,000,000, in 

 1847 22,000,000 hectolitres, in 1849 16,000,000, and 

 in 1851 18,500,000 hectolitres. In 1858 the largest pro- 

 ducing departments were Orne, 1,307,000 hectolitres, 

 Calvados, Cotes du Nord, Ille-et-Vilaiue, and Oise 

 700,000 to 800,000 each. 



CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



MEETING AT PENRITH, AUGUST 1/, 



The continued wet, which drove away the spectators 

 the very moment the jumping was over, a full hour be- 

 fore the usual breaking-up time, spoilt what otherwise 

 would have been a very nice meeting. The horse- 

 entries were numerous, but the animals themselves were 

 not of very remarkable quality. Three hunters were 

 entered for Mr. Howard's prize, and did their fences in 

 very good style. The winner, a bay of Mr. A. Falder's, 

 of Frenchfield, was steered by that gentleman's young 

 son, who has won several prizes of this kind in the dis- 

 trict. His quiet mode of handhng his horse was a per- 

 fect study, and he bids fair to be " a top sawyer" across 

 country. A new feature was introduced into the pro- 



gramme by Mr. Howard's prize for ponies under thir- 

 teen hands. Five were entered ; but they had no chance 

 with the winner, a very beautiful little three-year-old 

 bay, the property of Captain Spencer, of Distington, 

 which was bought by that gentleman at the time of the 

 Chester Show. In height he is barely twelve hands, and 

 looks as if he would turn round sixpence, or go up a 

 step-ladder. The ladies might well pronounce him " a 

 perfect love," and stand round and caress him, quite re- 

 gardless of the rain. 



The prize in the first-class of shorthorn bulls was 

 adjudged to this gentleman's Young Ben, a first-prize 

 winner at Dublin Spring. This Son of Benedict has fine 



