48 



pervision ia France was 7,416,529 acres, of which 2,743,388 acres belong 

 to the state, and the remainder to communes and various public institu- 

 tions. Alsace and Lorraine, ceded to Germany, contained 395,257 acres 

 of public forest land. The Orleans family had previously recovered 

 61,915 acres that had been confiscated, making a reduction of 457,178 

 acres from the former area. On the other hand, 161,598 acres belonging 

 to the civil list of the late imperial regime have been transferred to the 

 state, making the net reduction only 295,580 acres. During 1847, 

 147,211 acres were replanted, making the present total area of forest lands 

 in France 7,593,740 acres, or nearly 6 per cent, of the national area. 

 The gross revenues of the French forests average about 15 francs per 

 acre, of which about 8 per cent, cover expenses of administration. The 

 Prussian forest service for 1873 reports a gross revenue of 8.!^6 francs 

 per acre, of which 22 per cent, are absorbed by the expenses. As the 

 French system was originally copied from the Prussian in 1827, this 

 difference of economic results is remarkable. 



Wine-culture in Italy. — The growth of the vinicultural interest 

 in Italy during the last few years has lately manifested itself by remark- 

 able results. At the London Exposition in 1862, of 130 kinds of Italian 

 wine exhibited, 45 received premiums. At the Vienna Exposition of 

 1873, of 230 Italian wines exhibited, 101 either received a premium or 

 an honorable mention. Italy devotes over 6,000,000 acres to vine- 

 culture, producing, in 1873, over 870,000,000 gallons of wine. Of 

 this amount about 250,000,000 gallons are credited to Naples and Sicily; 

 200,000,000, to Emilia, Umbria, and the Eoman marches; 200,000,000 

 to the older provinces. The average price, as ofdcially estimated by the 

 Italian statistical authorities, was about 19 cents per gallon, making the 

 total value of the wine-product about $165,000,000. The value of ex- 

 ports of Italian wine rose from $2,799,696 in 1871, to $4,692,672 in 1872. 

 France takes the largest proportion of this export ; next in order, Eng- 

 land, Switzerland, Austria, and the United States. Egypt takes a large 

 quantity in bottles, while considerable quantities of bottled wine are 

 shipped to Tunis, Tripoli, Brazil, and Holland. 



French sugar produtction. — Le Journal Officiel gives the follow- 

 ing comparative statement of sugar production of France during the 

 last two seasons : 



1874-75. 1873-74. 



Total product 304, 323, 230 pomids. 265, 288, 313 pounds. 



Total consumption 124,033,247 pounds. 116,834,176 pounds. 



Stock on hand October 31 180, 129, 990 pounds. 150, 791, 873 pounds. 



Sugar-factories in action 514 499 



Sugar-factories inactive , 10 23 



Quantity of juice defecated 671,025,854 gallons. 475,419,519 gallons. 



Sugar-beets were more abundant, but the juice was somewhat less 

 rich in saccharine principles. Consumption, weighed down by taxation, 

 did not keep pace with production, whence raw sugar did not maintain 

 prices remunerating to producers. Beet cultivators, sugar producers 

 and refiners manifest an equal inquietude in regard to future legislation 

 affecting the sugar industry. 



British imports of alimentary substances. — The imports of 

 animal and vegetable food i^roducts into the United Kingdom during 

 October, 1874, amounted to £5,823,000, a loss, compared with October, 

 1873, of £1,061,000. Living animals amounted to £731,000, a gain of 

 £175,000 ; butter to £848,000, a gain of £135,000 ; cheese to £485,000, 

 a gain of £26,000; eggs to £182,000, a gain of £39,000; salt and dried 

 fish, £134,000, a gain of £20,000; meat, fresh and salt, to £128,000, a 

 gain of £34,000 ; rice to £308,000, a gain of £3,000. On the other hand. 



