429 



■Present prices are low, OAviug to tlie decrease of the manufactory of colored 

 cotton goods. 



Tobacco. — In consequence of the monopoly of tobacco production in France, 

 its cultivation is carried on under great difficulties and to a limited extent in many 

 districts, being controlled entirely by the revenue interests of the government. 

 The receipts of the latter from this source are constantly on the increase, advancing 

 from 79,499,379 francs in 1846, to 200,000,000 francs in 1861. It is a fact 

 derived from observations of the revenue officers that the consumption of tobacco 

 increases in about the same ratio with that of beer. 



Cattle. — The production of cattle in France has considerably. increased 

 wirhin the past few years, caused mostly by the large importation of cattle from 

 England, particularly of the short-horned breeds. 



Poultry and eggs. — The productijn of poultry and eggs is also carried on 

 extensively. The total value of such products for the year 1852 is estimated 

 at 44,000,000 francs, now increased to about 55,000,000 francs. The city of 

 Paris, in 1852, consumed poultry and game to the amount of 15,000,000 francs, 

 and in 1863 the figures had advanced to 21,000,000 francs. In looking back 

 we find that in 1789 but eight pounds of poultry and game to each person 

 were consumed, while in 1864 the amount had inci-eased to thirty pounds. The 

 adjoining countries, England in particulai', import large quantities of fattened 

 poultry from Finance. The best poultry is furnished from the vicinity of Bresse, 

 and fattened poulards (capons) bring about forty francs. In 1864 England im- 

 ported 277,000,000 of eggs, of which France furnished three fourths. Eggs are 

 not only used for food, however, but from them the albumen is extracted to mix 

 with coloi-s in calico-printing manufactories. The consumption of this article 

 in Alsatia is about 250,000 pounds a year, at a cost of $280,000. It takes the 

 white of 132 eggs to make one poimd of albumen. The Industrial Society of 

 Muhlhausen has offered a prize of $4,600 for the discovery of a substitute for al- 

 bumen, not valuable for the subsistence of human beings, and not derived from 

 the blood or spawn of fishes, the albumen from which is injurious to colors. 



Spirits. — The progress of the manufticture of spirits in Germany is rapidly 

 increasing, and it is claimed that Prussian spirits command a higher price, in con- 

 sequence of their fine flavor, than those manufactured in France or England. A 

 very fine ai-ticle of spirits is being produced from potatoes, containing from 93 

 to 95 per cent. It is made so clear that by mixing it with other fluids not the 

 least disagreeable flavor can be detected ; hence German spirits are now generally 

 used for adulterating purposes, being considered the best article produced. 



Wine — The wine production of France in 1864 was above the average in 

 most of the departments ; barrels became scarce, and one hectolitre (22 gallons) 

 of good table wine could be bought for eight or ten francs. The whole crop, 

 was estimated at from 800,000,000 to,900,000, 000 francs, about one-fifth of which: 

 was distilled for Cognac and Armagnac. The export of liquors to England in 

 1862 reached 8,213,723 gallons, and from January 1, 1864, to August 1, of 

 the same year, seven months, amounted to 11,086,580 gallons. France has 

 about 9,000,000 acres of land under wine culture. In but ten of the eighty-six 

 departments is there no wine produced. The largest yield is made in the de- 

 partments of Gironde and Charente. 



Silk culture. — The production of silk is of great importance in the south- 

 easteidy part of France, where, it is claimed, the best quality known is made, 

 the soil and management operating together in uniformity, and nature asserting 

 the old rule, that as a plant reflects the quality of the soil, so will all pi-odncts of 

 the animal which receives nourishment therefrom. The precious textures and. 

 the splendid white satins from Lyons, in demand from ail quarters of the globe,, 

 are manufactured mostly from French silks, the inferior kinds only being made 

 of foreign production. The silk-worm disease has served to discourage the silk 

 manufacturers to a considerable extent, and to obviate the difiiculty cocoons 



