346 EXTRACTS FROM DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR [March 1895. 



REPORTS. 



consumption of meat, the promising exportation of cattle in 

 1882 and 1883 can all be held as arguments in favour of this 

 inference. The result would then be that the number of head 

 of cattle at present in Italy is about 5,000,000. 



The returns drawn up by the Italian Ministry of Agri- 

 culture show the live weight of the cattle in the kingdom. Some 

 of these returns have been drawn up on the basis of the weight 

 of live cattle taken to the slaughter-houses, others on weights 

 established for the purpose. The average weights per head as 

 given in the Report range from 34^ stone for Sardinian cattle 

 to 7Bi stone for Piedmontese lowland breed ; while the mean 

 live weight per head of cattle of all breeds works out to 57 stone. 



\Foreign Office Report, Annual Series, No. 1485. Price S^d] 



Canals in France. 



A Report on the Development of Canal Traffic in France has 

 recently been prepared for the Foreign Office by the Hon. C. 

 Hardinge, Second Secretary to Her Majesty's Embassy at Paris. 



In 1892, there were in France 7,747 miles of canals and inland 

 waters open to navigation, of which 3,003 miles were canals in 

 the simple sense of the word, the remaining 4,744 miles being 

 navigable rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds. Nearly the whole of 

 the system of inland navigation is administered by the State, 

 only a very small portion being conceded. Thus out of 7,747 

 miles, only 536 miles have been handed over to concessionaires, 

 against 7,211 miles which are managed by the State. 



A law was passed on 5th August 1879 by which the water- 

 ways forming the chief lines of communication should be divided 

 into two classes, viz., principal lines, and lines of secondary 

 importance. According to the text of that law, it is necessary 

 that on the principal lines there should be at least a depth of 

 6i feet 'of water, and the locks should be at least 126 feet long- 

 by 17 feet broad. 



Thanks to the improvements made since 1879, a great impetus 

 has been given to the carrying trade by inland waters. Thus 

 the weight of goods carried on canals rose from 19,740,000 tons 

 in 1881 to 25,200,000 tons in 1891. In 1892, agricultural and 

 alimentary products absorbed 14 J per cent., and manures 5 1 per 

 cent., of the total tonnage transported by inland navigation. 



The tra-ction of barges on rivers like the Seine is performed^ 

 by steam tug- boats and steam towers by means of a sunken' 

 chain, and leaves, on the whole, little room for improvement. 

 This is not the case, however, on the canals where traction by 

 steam tugs is not practicable owing to the great number of the 

 locks. 



