20 



Switzerland, United States, Canada, Austria, Grand Duch}- of Luxem- 

 burg, and Spain, in order of importance/' 



The acreao-e of orchards in France can not be stated with any cer- 

 tainty, but from estimates'^ of the total apple trees in Brittany, 

 made by Frere Martial, of the Christian Brothers, of the Institute 

 of Ploermel, it appears that in this proyince alone there are about 

 24,500,000 trees, and as this proyince makes about one-third the cider 

 of France, a like ratio would carry the total number of trees up to 

 about 75,000,000 for the entire cider country. 



After seyeral tours of the cider country of France the writer is pre- 

 pared to belieye that this g-rand total is not too high. In the Calyados 

 country, at some places, the face of the country is a forest of fruit trees, 

 and frequentl,y the highways are also planted on both sides (Plate II). 



The product of cider yaries naturally with the quantity of fruit 

 ayailable from year to year, but the mean annual production of France 

 for twenty years (1879-1898) was 297,946,030* gallons, and the maxi- 

 mum product during this time reached 695,388,430 gallons in 1893. 

 From the French Goyernment reports it appears that 1,021,090 

 persons were entered as manufacturers of cider in 1898. The year 

 1900 saw one of the greatest haryests eyer known in France, and 

 without doubt the fruit product surpassed all preyious figures. 

 Consul-General Hertslet, of the British consular seryice,'" reporting in 

 May, 1901, says that the production of cider in the 68 departments of 

 France, in which apples are grown for this purpose, amounted to 

 647,000,000 gallons, in round numbers, from the apple haryest of 1900; 

 but this estimate is doubtless not based on the final reports. 



The aboye figures as to production, except the last statement, are 

 taken from those published by the French juinistry of agriculture, 

 and are in no sense complete as to grand total. They represent the 

 quantity w hich finds its way into commerce, so as to be reported to 

 the Goyernment, but take no ac(?ount of the enormous quantity locally 

 consumed. Each family m the great cider proyinces of Picardy, Nor- 

 mandy, and Brittany, as a usual thing, makes its own cider or pro- 

 yides for the same in such a manner that it does not enter into the 

 figures reported to the Goyernment. It is probable that the ofticial 

 figures include yery nearly the total of pure ciders, but the ''boisson," 

 or low-grade ciders, are practically not represented in these statements. 



THE CHIEF CIDER-PRODUCING DISTRICTS. 



There are many statements current in the diflerent countries of 

 Europe ab to the peculiar importance of certain districts as regards 



« Truelle, address before International Congress on the Cider Industry, Paris, 1900. 

 '' International Congress on the Cider Industry, Paris, 1900, pp. 72 and 87. 

 <• British Diplomatic and Consular Reports, Miscellaneous Series, No. 552, May 

 6, 1901. 



( 



