324 



FRANCE. 



8,000,000 francs, as compared with the previous 

 year, only 308,000,000 francs of French produce 

 going to that country in 1888. The trade with 

 Italy showed the effect of the tariff war, the im- 

 ports of Italian goods falling from 308,000,000 

 francs in 1887 to 181,000,000 francs in 1888 and 

 the exports to Italy from 192,000,000 francs to 

 119,000,000 francs. The imports from British 

 India were 188,000,000 francs ; from Russia, 248,- 

 000,000 francs, showing an increase of 70,000,000 

 francs, due to the demand for wheat. The im- 

 ports from the Argentine Republic increased from 

 182,000,000 to 189,000,000 francs, while the ex- 

 ports to that country fell away from 144,000,000 

 to 134,000,000 francs. Algeria profited by the 

 cessation of commercial exchanges with Italy, 

 the imports into France from her colony advanc- 

 ing from 133,000,000 francs in 1887 to 158,000,- 

 000 francs in 1888, and the stimulus given to 

 production in Algeria caused the exports of 

 France to the colony, which had receded from 

 189,000,000 francs in 1886 to 153,000,000 francs 

 in 1887, to advance in 1888 to 176,000,000 francs. 



The transit trade in 1888 amounted to 549,- 

 500,000 francs. Of the total general trade of 

 1888, amounting to 9.485,000,000 francs, 1,752,- 

 000,000 francs passed through the port of Mar- 

 seilles, 1,680,100,000 francs through Havre, 782,- 

 100,000 francs through Bordeaux, 665,900,000 

 francs through Paris, 462,800,000 francs through 

 Dunkerque, less than 400,000,000 francs through 

 Boulogne, Rouen, and Cette, and less than 200,- 

 000,000 francs through Dieppe, Calais, Tourco- 

 ing and Belfort. 



The total value of the special imports in 1889 

 was 4,175,015,000 francs. In this sum food 

 products are represented by 1,407,279,000 francs, 

 raw materials by 2,060,185,000 francs, manufact- 

 ured goods by 574,905,000 francs, and other prod- 

 ucts by 132,646,000 francs. The special exports 

 amounted to the total of 3,608,582,000 francs, 

 in which food stuffs figure for 816,758,000 francs, 

 raw products for 784,92^,000 francs, manufact- 

 ures for 1,793,522,000 francs, and all other articles 

 for 213,375,000 francs. The imports of cereals 

 were 372,796,000 francs in value; exports, 20,- 

 686,000 francs ; imports of wines, 387,214,000 

 francs ; exports, 251,054,000 francs. The im- 

 portation of textile materials tends to increase. 

 The imports of raw cotton in 1889 amounted to 

 186,568,000 francs ; the imports of raw silk were 

 269,717,000 francs. In flax, hemp, and jute there 

 was a falling off. The imports of raw wool in- 

 creased to 378,110,000 francs, which was part- 

 ly counterbalanced by the increased exports, 

 amounting to 154,263*000 francs. The imports 

 of woolen yarns were 11,902,000 francs; of wool- 

 en fabrics, 63,586,000 francs; the exports of 

 yarns, 50,871,000 francs of manufactured woolens, 

 335,686,000 francs. The raw silk imports were 

 269,717,000 francs. The total value of the tex- 

 tile exports in 1889 was 776,790,000 francs, 

 against 714,547,000 francs in 1888. The export 

 of silk fabrics was 247,880,000 francs in value ; 

 of cotton fabrics, 113,905,000 francs ; of flax fab- 

 rics, 9,398,000 francs ; of jute fabrics, 4,736,000 

 francs; of cotton thread, 3,074,000 francs; of 

 linen thread, 11,240,000 francs. 



The total annual product of French industries 

 is estimated at 12,800,000,000 francs. There were 

 in 1886 1,926 woolen mills, with 3,283,580 spindles, 



45,951 power looms, and 28,446 hand looms em- 

 ploying 115,024 operatives and 42,849 horse-pow- 

 ers. The cotton mills numbered 1,000, running 

 5,124,140 spindles, 72,248 power looms, and 30,- 

 039 hand looms, with 62,381 horse-powers and 

 119,269 employes. In the silk manufacture 1,- 

 356 establishments were engaged, the number 

 of mills being 1,172, operating with 1,084,000 

 spindles, 50,500 power looms, and 55,500 hand 

 looms, and giving employment to 110,000 persons. 

 There were 365 establishments engaged in the 

 manufacture of flax, jute, and hemp. Flax and 

 hemp used to be cultivated much more exten- 

 sively than they are now, when only about 700,- 

 000 quintals are produced annually, while 1,700,- 

 000 quintals are imported, and in addition 400.- 

 000 quintals of jute. The production of silk is 

 again on the increase, 9,549.906 kilogrammes of 

 cocoons having been reeled in 1888. The export 

 of silk fabrics in 1888 was 178,000,000 francs 

 more than the import. The net exports of 

 woolen cloth and yarns were 288,000,000 francs 

 in value, the net exports of cotton cloth were 

 61,000,000 francs, while of yam there was a net 

 import of 23,000,000 francs. There were 375 

 sugar works and 24 refineries in 1887-'88, em- 

 ploying 54,100 people. The product for the 

 crop year was 400,000 tons of raw sugar, 106,000 

 tons less than in 1886-'87, which was the year of 

 greatest production. The coal output in 1889 

 was 24,588,880 tons, showing a progressive in- 

 crease. The product of pig iron in 1888 was 1,- 

 688,976 tons ; of finished iron, 833,839 tons ; of 

 steel, in 1887, 525,646 tons. 



Trade and production improved under the im- 

 petus given by the Universal Exposition and the 

 abundant harvests of 1889. The area sowed to 

 wheat in 1889 was 17,000,000 acres, being larger 

 than in any year since 1885, and the crop was 

 38,000,000 quarters, against 33,500,000 quarters 

 in 1888. The rye crop was larger by 9,000,000 

 quarters. The production of beet root and su- 

 gar likewise increased in a remarkable degree. 

 The wine crop was an exception to the general 

 prosperity. The total vintage was 511,150,819 gal- 

 lons, against 662,246,200 gallons in 1888. Phyl- 

 loxera invaded three new departments, Aube, 

 Sarth, and Hatite Marne. Mildew and black 

 rot were also destructive. In some districts rain, 

 in others drought, in still others early frosts, di- 

 minished the yield. In Champagne and Bur- 

 gundy the production was moderately good. 

 The quality was generally excellent. The vine- 

 yards ravaged by phylloxera are rapidly being re- 

 planted with American vines. There were 22,- 

 004 acres thus planted in 1881, and the area in- 

 creased to 273,770 acres in 1886, 409,015 in 1887, 

 530,739 in 1888, and 740,849 in 1889, a rate of pro- 

 gression that in four years would give France 

 a greater area of vineyards than she ever before 

 possessed. The vine in 1889 covered 4,524,000 

 acres. The importation of wine into France is 

 equal on the average to about half of the native 

 product, and is five times as great as the exporta- 

 tion. The chief source of supply is Spain, as Span- 

 ish wines blend best with the red wines of the Gi- 

 ronde. The importation from Spain in 1889 was 

 151,525,974 gallons ; from Algeria, 34.792,782 gal- 

 lons ; from Italy, 2,233,533 gallons, having fallen 

 by reason of the prohibitive duties from 24,45,9, 

 009 gallons in 1888 ; from Portugal, 18,757,054 



