262 



CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 



FOOD CONSUMPTION IN FRANCE. 



I give below a table of the ordinary annual consumption of food in 

 the principal cities of France, per capita; also a table of the imports 

 and exports of cattle and their products in France for the last three 

 years : 



This table demonstrates that the people of Paris consume in average 

 the most wine and the least bread, and those of Lyons the most wine. 

 The inhabitants of Eouen and Lille consume the smallest quantity of 

 wine, owing to the absence of vineyards and the great consumption of 

 cider in the former and of beer in the latter place. The annual con- 

 sumption of beer in Lille is 213 liters and of cider 124 liters in average. 



IMPORT AND EXPORT OF ANIMALS FOR FOOD. 



The import and export of animals for food and their products for 

 France during the last three years : 



MEAT PRICES IN FRANCE. 



We have seen that the average price of good marketable beef on foot 

 at Paris is about 32 cents per pound, 28 cents for second class, and 24 

 cents for third class, while at Eouen the prices are 30 cents, 33 cents, 

 and 30 cents for the same ; the latter prices prevail at Lille. There 

 seems no reason why this discrimination should exist to the prejudice 

 of the latter cities, except that no person ever thinks of underselling 

 his neighbor here, and it would be torture to any vender to discover 

 that he had not obtained the highest possible price. 



THE FOOD DEFICIT OF FRANCE I WHENCE IMPORTED. 



From these tables can be seen that France does not produce its own 

 meat and dairy products, and never can. France is very far from fur- 

 nishing a good nourishing regimen. The average consumption of meat 

 among the rural population is about 57 pounds per headj in rural dis- 



