OF ALL COUNTRIES. 65 



CHAPTER VII. 



A GLANCE AT FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



Winged ships . . . and thousand fishers. 



Spencer. 



France with her coast-line of 1500 miles and her traditions 

 of adventure, naturally claims to be one of the first rank in 

 all matters relating to maritime affairs, and has held no less 

 than three special exhibitions at Boulogne, at Arcachon, 

 and at Dieppe, with a view to promoting her interests in 

 this direction. Out of 90,000 sailors constituting her fine 

 navy, not less than 65,000 are fishermen, a proportion well 

 illustrating the expression, so often recurring in our own 

 annals, to the effect that the fisheries are the nurseries for 

 seamen. Whaling is the principal occupation of the major 

 portion of this fleet, and a very remunerative employment 

 it is. Establishments for the manufacture of fish products 

 are found in France, as in Norway and Newfoundland : and 

 yield excellent returns. The seas about Iceland and the 

 rich banks of Newfoundland attract another larg-e section of 

 French vessels. In 1866, no less than 448 ships with 10,000 

 to 12,000 men on board, a formidable squadron of the naval 

 nursery, left the shores of France for the cod fishing in the 

 north-west Atlantic ; the wages of the men varying from 

 ;^3 I2J-. to £^ a month. The presence of the French in 



F 



