84 



Imports of Cider and Perry. 



Imports of Cider and Perry. 



The imports of cider and perry into the United Kingdom 

 were first distinguished in the annual statements of trade 

 for 1893, when 558,108 gallons were imported, of the declared 

 value of ^23,814. In the following year the importation was 

 431,155 gallons, of the value of 1 7,309 ; in 1895 it rose 

 to 603,190 gallons, valued at £21^826, but in 1896 it fell to 

 321,016 gallons, of the value of;£ 11,036. 



The bulk of the imported cider and perry consumed in the 

 United Kingdom is produced in the United States, whence 

 we received 307,816 gallons in 1896. France contributed to 

 our supply 11,664 gallons, and the Channel Islands sent 

 851 gallons. The average declared value of the American 

 cider and perry was about 8d. per gallon, while that of the 

 Trench consignments was just over is. per gallon. 



A French Agricultural Co-operative Society. 



In his last annual report to the Foreign Office, Mr. E. Cecil 

 Hertslet, Her Majesty's Consul- General at Havre, states that 

 the Agricultural Syndicate of Calvados, which has done good 

 work since it was established in 1885, made a new departure 

 in 1897, and founded a co-operative association under the 

 title of the " Societe Co-operative Agricole Centrale de Nor- 

 mandie." The Society draws its members from all the agri- 

 cultural syndicates of Calvados, and its objects are: — (i) To 

 sell and purchase for its members all food stuffs used for man 

 or beast ; (2) to sell every kind of agricultural produce 

 of its members ; (3) to facilitate the direct exchange of farm 

 produce between its members ; (4) and by every means in 

 its power to facilitate the direct relations between producer 

 and consumer, so that both may profit by the suppression of 

 the middleman's commission. 



Mr. Hertslet, in describing the premises which the Society 

 has recently opened, speaks of them being a miniature agri- 

 cultural exhibition. The price list comprises every possible 



