FRANCE. 



the 



Q connected with the raising of animals, 

 iiinl ~i;-s per cent. manufacturing i 

 irnltnrc. -Oul of :;r.!i:;o. ;.v.i 

 i.i>|iiilati(iii of France in 

 ..pendent mi agriculture. 'ii in- 



dlisll". ''-I nil commerce. 'J.',.".l.">,!li;i; oil 



cl savings. l.d-JM,?:.'! on transportation, 



'i i. n mini! were of no known oc- 



>ii, 71 l.d-j: \\eiv su|ij>ort cd by public office, 



'..' constituted iln- public forces, :54H,527 

 depended on teaching, 224,057 on religious wor- 

 ship, v;<i7.4iM (-11 the law, 101,032 on the medi- 

 cal m-ofe-Mon. and I.Vj.nii! olitnined their liveli- 

 hood from literature, science, and the arts. The 

 fai-miiii,' da>s thus constitutes nearly half of the 

 population. In 1889 the crops were generally 

 abundant. There were 7,038,908 hectares sown 

 to wheat, producing 108,819,771 hectolitres of 

 grain (the hectare is 2'47 acres, and the hecto- 

 litre. dry measure, is equal to 2*84 bushels). The 

 barley crop was 15,805,530 hectolitres, on 873,499 

 hectares ; rye, ^I.K'fi.HOO hectolitres, on 1,599,- 

 4!)<i hectares; oats, 85,259,511 hectolitres, on 

 ".49 hectares ; buckwheat, 9,334,800 hecto- 

 litres, on 590,8.1 1 hectares; Indian corn and 

 millet, 9,683,594 hectolitres,'on 603,292 hectares. 

 Of potatoes, 106.998,419 metric quintals were 

 grown on 1,454.794 hectares. The area given 

 up to t lie sugar beet was 226,341 hectares, yield- 

 ing 71,445,200 quintals, and 80,374,285 quin- 

 tals of other roots were raised on 316,838 hec- 

 tares. The colza crop covered 01,091 hectares ; 

 ilax, 34,258 hectares: hemp, 53,825 hectares. 

 The area sown to clover was 1,429,952 hec- 



. and 4,822,261 hectares were laid down 

 in meadow or permanent pasture. The tobacco 

 crop amounted to 205,929 quintals, raised on 

 10,264 hectares. Vineyards occupied 1,836,800 

 hectares, and wine crop amounted to 24,328,000 

 hectolitres (1 hectolitre = 22 gallons). The pro- 

 duet ion of cider in France is large, though fluct- 

 uating, amounting in 1889 to 11,095,000 hecto- 

 litres In 1890 the area under vineyards showed 

 the contraction that has been going on for years, 

 being 1,827,730 hectares, yet the success of the 

 vine growers in arresting the spread of the phyl- 

 loxera pest was evidenced by a larger vintage 

 than in the preceding year, amounting to 27,- 

 416,000 hectolitres. The wine product does not 

 suffice for the needs of the country, which im- 

 ported 10,242,549 hectolitres in 1889. The for- 

 eign wines are improved and mixed with French 

 vintages by the wine-makers, and the French 

 exports of wine, though small in quantity, being 

 2,1:50.197 hectolitres, offset in value a great part 

 of the excess of imports. Of the wine imported 

 for blending and other purposes, two thirds is 

 brought from Spain, and most of the rest from 

 Algeria, whose product takes the place of the 

 Italian imports, which have almost ceased since 

 the expiration of the commercial treaty. The 

 quality of the Algerian wine is inferior, being 

 earthy and strongly alcoholic. The value of 

 nuts, olives, and prunes gathered in 1889 was 

 estimated at 109,516.741 francs. The exports 

 of olive oil from Nice formerly contained 

 twice as much of the fruitier Neapolitan oil as 

 of the finer oil for which the district is cele- 

 brated. The trade of mixing oils for the foreign 

 markets is threatened with extinction, owing to 

 the raising of the duty on Italian oils from 8 to 

 VOL. xxxi. 30 A 



15 francs per quintal, and already cotton-seed 

 oil, disguised by a chemienl procew, lit being in- 

 troduced into tlie manufacture. Tin- niimlxT of 

 horaeiii France in I 1 -- J1.153; of cuttle, 



18,608,252; of sheep. 21, 990,731 ; of hogs, 6,037,- 

 743; of gout-, !.."< i.Vi ?o. Sheep have decreased 

 84 percent, and hogs have increased 1- 

 in ten years. Silk culture i curried on in the de- 

 partments of Drome, (iard, Ard.Vlic, Vaucliue, 

 and less extensively in nineteen other <!< 

 incuts. In 1889 the production was 7,409,830 

 kilogrammes of cocoons. There were exported 

 951,830 kilogrammes, of the value of 9.750,258 

 francs, besides 71,428 kilogrammes of h ilk worm 

 eggs, valued at 5,714,240 francs. 



The wheat crop of 1890 was 821,518,670 bush- 

 els. The cold and ruin during the winter of 

 1890-'91 destroyed a large part of the growing 

 crop, and consequently the area under wheat 

 was reduced to 5,819,507 hectares, or 14,548,707 

 acres, which was 3,105,580 acres less than in 

 1890, and the yield was estimated to have fallen 

 to 81,889,070 hectolitres, equal to 225,194,000 

 bushels, nearly a third less than the previous 

 crop. The rye crop also was estimated at 8,299.- 

 582 bushels less than in 1890, when it amounted 

 to 00,408,453 bushels. To supply domestic needs 

 it was computed that France would have to im- 

 port from abroad over 40,000,000 hectolitres of 

 wheat at a cost of nearly 1,000,000,000 francs. 



Navigation. The total number of vessels 

 entered at the ports of France in 1889 was 97,- 

 653, of 19,547,133 tons, of which 70,844, of 10,- 

 822,585 tons, were French, and 20,809, of 8,664,- 

 548 tons, were foreign. Of the French vessels, 

 67,891, of 6,122,837 tons, were engaged in the 

 coasting trade, and 8,953, of 4,759,748 tons, in 

 the trade with foreign countries or the colonies 

 or in the maritime fisheries. Of the coasting 

 vessels, 54,716, of 5,266,949 tons, arrived with 

 cargoes, and 13,175, of 855,888 tons, in ballast 

 Of the French vessels engaged in ocean com- 

 merce, 8,457, of 4,645,355 tons, and of the foreign 

 vessels 18,455, of 8,190,494 tons, arrived with 

 cargoes, while 496 French vessels, of 114,393 tons, 

 and 2,354 foreign vessels, of 474,054 tons, arrived 

 in ballast. The total number of vessels cleared 

 at all the ports was 98,805, of 20,075,836 tons 

 Of 9,013 vessels of French nationality engaged 

 in the foreign trade, of 5,126,445 tons, 7,883, of 

 4,530,636 tons, sailed with cargoes and 1,730, of 

 595,809 tons, in ballast, and of 21,301 foreign 

 vessels, of 8,826,554 tons, 13,824, of 4,866,003 

 tons, sailed with cargoes and 7,477, of 2,959,951 

 tons, in ballast. 



The French merchant navy on Jan. 1, 1890, 

 comprised 14,128 sailing vessels, of 440,001 tons, 

 having 09,651 men in their crews, and 1,066 

 steamers, of 492,684 tons, with crews numbering 

 13,447 men. Of the sailing vessels, 292, of 34,963 

 tons, were engaged in the European trade, and 

 892, of 151,051 tons, in ocean commerce, all the 

 others being employed in the coasting trade or 

 in the fisheries. The number of steamers navi- 

 gating between France and other European coun- 

 tries was 246, of 166,572 tons, and the number in 

 the transoceanic service was 178, of 293,820 tons. 

 Of the total number, steam and sail, as given 

 above, 12,791 were under 50 tons. 



Railroads. The French railroad system in 

 March, 1890, had a total length of 83,189 kilo- 



