FOODS — HUMAN NUTRITION. 465 



Cost of living in German towns, A. W. Fox {London: Govt., 1908, pp. 

 LXI+5-i8, mill) 1). — Investigations siuiilur to the above were made by the 

 Board of Trade of Great Britain iu 33 of the industrial towns of the German 

 Empire relative to working-class rents, housing, retail prices, etc. Detailed 

 I'eports and appendixes with data regarding wages and hours of labor, weekly 

 rents, housing and lodging house regulations, regulations regarding the inspec- 

 tion and sale of food, and similar topics are included in the report and there 

 is an introduction by II. L. Smith and a summary by the author. 



The average weekly income ranged from under $5 to over $10, and iu the 

 greatest number of families was from $6.25 to $8.75. The budgets show that 

 the total weekly expenditure on meats of all kinds, including fish, bacon, etc., 

 was from 97 cts. in families with the lowest incomes, to $2.24 in the case 

 of families with incomes above $10 per week. Similar data are given for other 

 foods. 



•' Between the United Kingdom and Germany the differences iu some respects 

 are very marked. The prevalent type of working-class housing in England 

 and Wales, and to a lesser degree in Ireland, is a self-contaiued two-storied 

 dwelling, possessing generally 4 or 5 rooms and a separate scullery; iu Germany 

 the predominant type is a flat of 2 or 3 rooms with appurtenances, in a large 

 tenement house. The German housing system thus approximates more closely 

 to the Scottish type — blocks of flats of 2, 3, or 4 stories — than to the English. 

 English, but not Scotch, rents of working-class dwellings usually include local 

 taxation, which is based on the rentable value of the dwelling; in Germany 

 local taxation is levied ou an entirely different basis, and is not included iu 

 rent. In regard to food the British workman's meat consists mainly of beef 

 and mutton, whilst pork (even including bacon) is relatively small in amount; 

 the German workman, on the other hand, eats chiefly pork (including sausage) 

 and beef, and only a very little mutton. The pure wheat bread eateu by the 

 workiug-classes of the United Kingdom is replaced in Germany either by pure 

 rye bread, or more commonly by some mixture of I'ye and wheat." 



Cost of living in French towns, A. W. Fox (London: Govt., 1909, pp. LIV-\- 

 430). — The results are reported of an inquii'y similar to the above, as carried 

 ou by the Board of Trade of Great Britain relative to the cost of living in 

 the principal industrial towns of France. Besides the general rei)ort, the 

 volume includes detailed rei)orts for the different towns, and summaries of data 

 on municiiial regulations and legal enactments regarding food and lodging, 

 specimen factory rules, and similar sub.iects. 



" The main subjects of investigations were the principal types of housing for 

 the industrial population, the customary standards of accommodation and the 

 rents commonly paid by working-class tenants; the kinds of food usually con- 

 sumed by working-class families and the prices most generally paid ; and wages 

 and hoTU'S of labor in the principal occupations in each town. In order to 

 arrive at some estimate of the standard of living prevalent among the French 

 industrial classes, over 5,(M)0 budgets showing the expenditure on food by work- 

 ing-class families in a normal week, and representative of numerous occupa- 

 tions and of all grades of working-class incomes, were obtained from the 

 various towns and are analyzed in the present volume. . . . 



"In regard to food, the meat dietary of the French working-class family 

 shows a much greater variety than that of either the English or (ierman 

 family of the same class; horseflesh appears to be more largely consumed 

 (chiefly for reasons of taste) iu France than iu (iermany, whilst poultry is 

 much more conspicuous iu the food bill of the Fi'euch than of the English 



