THE OUTLETS 331 



and for express trains for journeys of 300 kilometres 

 (186 miles) as is customary in Germany. 



The reforms that are indispensable are so numerous 

 that it is wiser not to ask for too many at once. As 

 the distinguished president of an important provision 

 company recently remarked, if the railways would run 

 their fish trains a little more speedily and would treat 

 the shipments with a little more care, that in itself 

 would be a great advance. 



Ill 



In France more than in any other country the railway 

 freights and octroi duties ought to be unusually moderate. 

 The reason is simple, and takes the form of the French- ' 

 woman. She is too good a cook ; she is wonderful 

 in the preparation of all kinds of delicious dishes, in 

 the concoction of succulent sauces, in the production 

 of entrees based upon the baked meats or boiled of 

 the day before ; so that the Frenchman's menu is not 

 so narrowly restricted as the Englishman's or the 

 German's. They, deprived of the light and delicious 

 dishes known to the French housekeeper, eat fish almost 

 daily, principally as a matter of habit. People are 

 always saying that the modern young woman is no 

 longer the good housewife that our fathers knew. Per- 

 haps, in spite of the extremely learned lectures and classes 

 which she attends, she will be a less instructed cook ; 

 but what matter if the lamentations of mothers and hus- 

 bands are counterbalanced by the joy of our fishermen ? 



Experience proves, moreover, that the consumption of 

 fish increases with the improvement of transport. In 

 1887 the freight from Boulogne to Paris was ^3 145. 9^d. 

 Since 1900 it has been i 143. 3jd. Result, the ship- 

 ments of fish have increased from 8,925 tons to 27,363 



