344 



FRANCE. 



ery, metal goods, arms, etc., the imports were 

 552,091,000 francs, and the exports 1,693,567,- 

 000 francs. Of miscellaneous products, the 

 value of the imports was 119,458,000 francs, 

 and that of the exports, 187,645,000 francs. 

 In the total foreign commerce of France for 

 1886, amounting to 7,456,900,000 francs, ex- 

 clusive of specie, the imports amounted to 

 4,208.100,000 francs, and the exports to 3,248,- 

 800,000 francs. The imports of coin and 

 bullion were valued at 443.517,878 francs, and 

 the exports at 333,262,342 francs. The transit 

 trade amounted to 585,000,000 francs in 1886. 

 The trade of France with other countries in 

 1886 was, in millions of francs, as follows: 



The number of silk-culturists in 1887 was 

 136,388, against 136,706 in 1886. In 1886 there 

 was imported into France 154,994,874 kilo- 

 grammes of sugar, while the home manufact- 

 ured sugar amounted to 412,161,821 kilo- 

 grammes. The product of wheat in 1886 was 

 290,000,000 bushels, and in 1887 it was 322,- 

 000,000 bushels. The yield of wine in 1886 was 

 692,584,728 gallons; in 1887, 536,000,000 gal- 

 lons. In 1887 232,800,000 gallons of wine were 

 imported, and 48,114,000 gallons exported. In 

 1886 the live-stock in France included 2,911,- 

 392 horses, 13,104,970 cattle, 22,616,547 sheep, 

 1,483,000 goats, and 5,681,088 swine. The num- 

 ber of persons who were gaining their liveli- 

 hood by agriculture in 1882 was 6,913,000, 

 which was four per cent, less, as compared 

 with the total population, than in 1862. The 

 total number of agricultural holdings was 5,- 

 672,007, of which 2,167,667 were under 2J. 

 acres, 2,635,030 between 1 and 25 acres, 783,- 

 641 from 25 to 125 acres, 56,866 from 125 to 

 250 acres, 20,644 from 250 to 500 acres, 7,942 

 from 500 to 1.250 acres, and only 217 larger 

 than 1,250 acres. The number of owners of 

 land was 4,835,246, which was 405,269 less than 

 in 1862, a part of the decrease being accounted 

 for by the transfer of Alsace-Lorraine, with 

 187,000 land-owners to Germany. Nearly 80 

 per cent, of the cultivators are owners of their 

 farms, 14 per cent, are tenants, and 6 per cent, 

 are metayers, dividing the profits with the land- 

 lord, who furnishes the land and the capital. 

 The number of proprietors had increased, and 

 the number of tenants and metayers had de- 

 creased in twenty years. 



Navigation. In 1886, 100,796 vessels of all 

 descriptions were entered at French ports, hav- 

 ing an aggregate tonnage of 18,490,692. Of 

 this number, 79,112, of 9,994,889 tons, sailed 

 under the French flag. The number of vessels 

 cleared during the same year was 102,386, of 

 19,023,334 tons, of which 80,151, of 10,368,362 

 tons, sailed under the French flag. 



In 1885 there were engaged in the French 

 fisheries 85,915 men, with 23,877 vessels. The 

 value of the fishery product was 51,469,080 

 francs. In January, 1887, the mercantile navy 

 consisted of 14,100 sailing-vessels and 951 steam- 

 ers. The sailing-vessels had a tonnage of 492,- 

 807, and their crews numbered 74,129 men. 

 The steamers had an aggregate burden of 500,- 

 484 tons, and employed 12,790 men. 



Railroads. The railroads of France in Janu- 

 ary, 1888, had a total length of 32,248 kilo- 

 metres. The state is the owner of only 2,597 

 kilometres, and does not operate more than 

 half of its lines. The receipts of all the rail- 

 roads in 1887 were 1,021,424,230 francs, against 

 1,007,137,227 francs in 1886. The gross re- 

 ceipts of the state lines are estimated at 30,- 

 084,000 francs, and the expenses at 25,203,000 

 francs. During the fiscal year 1887-'88 the 

 Government built 791 kilometres of additional 

 railroads. 



Telegraph and Postal Service. On Jan. 1, 1885, 

 there were 86,868 kilometres of telegraph lines, 

 with 258,202 kilometres of wire. In 1885 were 

 sent 23,091, 360 telegraph messages, 21,150,444 

 of which were inland, and 1.940,916 foreign. 



The number of letters and postal cards for- 

 warded in 1885 was 679,145,983; of journals, 

 413,981,338; of samples, circulars, etc., 433,- 

 024,173. 



The postal and telegraph receipts in 1885 

 were 166,578,653 francs, and the expenses 134,- 

 424,235 francs. The telegraphs have been 

 worked at a loss to the treasury ever since the 

 Government telegraph service was established 

 in 1851. 



Finances. The estimated revenue for the year 

 1887 was 3,134,336,415 francs, and the expen- 

 diture 3,133,731,289 francs. The budget for 

 1888, presented in February, 1887. calculated 

 the ordinary revenue at 3,253,583,183 francs, 

 derived from the following sources: Indirect 

 taxes, domains, and state monopolies, 2,778,- 

 829,689 francs; direct taxes, 474,753,494 francs. 

 The estimated ordinary expenditure is 3,253,- 

 104,738 francs, the principal heads being: Min- 

 istry of War, 694,934,530 francs; Ministry of 

 Marine, 219,883,311 francs; Ministry of Public 

 Instruction, 133,048,190 francs; Ministry of 

 Public Works, 176,046,604 francs; other min- 

 istries, 256,322,445 francs; expenditure on the 

 public debt, 1,337,275,671 francs; administra- 

 tion and salaries of the President, senators, and 

 deputies, 345,860,097 francs. The extraordi- 

 nary expenditures, balanced by receipts from 

 special sources, were 473,605,131 francs for the 

 home office, treasury, and other special votes, 

 and 83,796,200 francs for special state expenses. 



