374 



FRANCE. 



period in 1884, the imports of raw materials 

 being about the same, manufactured articles 

 12,000,000 francs less, and alimentary articles 

 3,480,000 francs less, although grain imports 

 were 3,600,000 francs more. The wine import 

 was 172,000,000 francs 18,000,000 less than 

 in the first six months of 1884, which showed 

 a decrease of the same amount as compared 

 with the corresponding part of 1883. There 

 were larger imports of sugar, coffee, meat, fats, 

 codfish, and cheese, and smaller imports of 

 olive-oil, rice, and cattle. The imports of silk, 

 hemp, guano, oil-seeds, timber, and coal showed 

 a decrease, and, among manufactured articles, 

 those of worsted, cotton, linen, and hemp 

 goods, paper, leather, machinery, tools, bard- 

 ware, furniture, and vessels. An increase is 

 noted in worsted thread, linen thread, and silk 

 goods. The total exports increased 46,113,000 

 francs. Jewelry, silk goods, and machinery 

 show a considerable falling off. The export 

 of wine increased 21,000,000 francs ; but sugar 

 shows a falling off from 57,000,000 francs in 

 the half-year of 1883 to 37,169,000 in 1884, 

 and 21,805,000 in 1885. The total exportation 

 of alimentary products was 4,000,000 less than 

 in the first half of 1884. 



Navigation. The total number of vessels en- 

 tered and cleared at French ports in 1883 was 

 58,198; their aggregate burden, 22,023,000 

 tons an increase of 1,693,000 tons as com- 

 pared with 1882. Over 48 per cent, of the 

 tonnage was French. The United States ranks 

 fourth among the countries having maritime 

 intercourse with France, the commerce of 

 Great Britain being represented by 7,490,000 

 tons of the total ; that with Algeria by 2,139,- 

 000 ; that with Spain by 1,772,000 ; that with 

 the Atlantic coast of the United States by 

 1,363,000; and that with Italy by 1,328,362; 

 Russia, Germany, India, the Argentine Repub- 

 lic, Turkey, and Sweden coming next in suc- 

 cessive order. The American tonnage entered 

 at French ports decreased rapidly from 138,447 

 in 1880 to 33,500 in 1883. The French mer- 

 cantile marine numbers 14,327 sailing-vessels, 

 inclusive of 10,859 under thirty tons, employ- 

 ing 43,803 seamen. Their aggregate tonnage 

 is 536,191; the number of seamen, 76,403. 

 The steam fleet numbers 895 vessels, of an 

 aggregate tonnage of 467,488 tons, employing 

 6,430 engineers and firemen and 11,856 sea- 

 men. Of the 1,003,679 tons of the merchant 

 fleet, steam and sail, in 1883, 513,687 represent 

 the vessels engaged in long voyages, 212,191 

 those plying in European and Mediterranean 

 waters, 108,844 those employed in the coast- 

 ing trade, and 168,957 those employed in bank 

 and coast fishing, pilotage, towing, and pleas- 

 ure-sailing. Of the 13,685,445 entered in 1883, 

 5,605,677 were British, 4,553,272 French, 812,- 

 996 Italian, 673,972 German, 590,451 Norwe- 

 gian, and 444,254 Spanish. 



Agriculture and Industry. The area sown to 

 wheat decreased from 7,034,087 hectares (1 

 hectare = 2 acres) in 1869 to 6,803,821 in 



1883, and the production from 107,941,553 to 

 103,753,426 hectolitres. The wine production 

 decreased from 70,000,000 hectolitres in 1869 

 to 25,000,000 in 1879, and then increased to 

 36,000,000, or 951,030,000 gallons, in 1883. 

 The production in 1882 was 815,915,562 gal- 

 lons ; the importation, 199,104,929 gallons; 

 the exportation, 69,159,706 gallons. Consid- 

 erable quantities of wine have been manufact- 

 ured of late years from imported raisins: 

 2,681,000 hectolitres in 1883, and 1,630,000 in 

 1884, and from the residuum of the wine- 

 press, by adding sugar and water, 1,255,000 

 hectolitres in 1884. The wine-crop of 1884 

 was 34,780,726 hectolitres; the area planted 

 to vines was 2,040,759 hectares 405,241 less 

 than in 1874, and 65,000 less than the pre- 

 ceding year. The production of refined sugar 

 was 242,000,000 kilogrammes in 1869. In 

 1875 it reached the highest point, 473,000,000 

 kilogrammes, and subsequently declined to 

 396,000,000 in 1883. There were 1,204,145 

 acres under beet-root in 1883, yielding 322,- 

 303,120 cwt. of sugar. The product of wool in 



1882 was valued at 83,272,543 francs ; of lard, 

 18,274,495 francs. The product of the New- 

 foundland codfisheries in 1883 was 46,993,370 

 Ibs. ; of the Iceland codfisheries, 28,841,701 

 Ibs. ; the catch of herring, 81,249,460 Ibs. ; of 

 mackerel, 14,624,227 Ibs. The estimated wheat 

 product of 1884 was 315,368,485 bushels ; acre- 

 age, 17,239,175; the rye product, 72,321,033 

 bushels; and the maslin product, 19,306,489 

 bushels. The alcohol product in 1883 was 

 53,125,010 gallons. The output of coal in 



1883 was 21,446,199 tons; the importation, 

 9,258,112 tons; the exportation, 438,434 tons. 

 The production of iron was 968,068 tons; of 

 steel, 500,045 tons ; of castings, 2,067,387 tons. 

 The live-stock in 1883 included 2,868,728 

 horses, 11,756,482 cattle, 23,405,845 sheep, 

 and 5,710,775 hogs. The cultivable land in 

 France is divided into 5,550,000 separate prop- 

 erties. The surface of the country is classi- 

 fied in the cadastral survey as follows: land 

 of superior quality, utilized for orchards, gar- 

 dens, etc., 695,929 hectares; cultivable lands 

 and lands estimated as such, including build- 

 ing-lands, railroads, canals, etc., 26,173,657; 

 meadow and pasture lands, 4,998,280; vine- 

 yards, 2,320,533 ; woods, 8,397,131 ; unculti- 

 vated lands, 6,746,800; land under various 

 cultures, 702,829 hectares. Of the cultivable 

 lands, 37,039,040 acres were, in 1883, under 

 cereal and leguminous crops, yielding 742,176,- 

 807 bushels. The value of the mineral product, 

 including salt, was, in the census year, 290,- 

 000,000 francs; of the metallurgical product, 

 553,000,000 ; of the sugar product, 211,000,005 

 The national income is estimated at 23,711,- 

 500,000 francs; the total value of lands and 

 buildings at 128,692,500,000 francs. 



Railroads. The railroad system of France 

 increased from 9,086 kilometres in 1860 t 

 27,191 in 1884. The state advanced to the 

 companies .809,931,473 francs, in capital and 



