Agriculture in Bavaria. 



485 



Complaint is made of high railway rates, and especially that 

 they affect Bavaria s export to Baden and Wurtemberg* 

 which can import timber cheaply from elsewhere, owing to 

 low river and sea freights. An important branch of the 

 timber trade is the oak and fir bark industry. The timber 

 trade in the district known as the Bavarian Forest benefited 

 by the trade revival of 1895-6, and higher prices were 

 obtained. Wages in the saw-works range from is. 6d. to 

 2s. 6d. per diem. In the Munich district building operations 

 caused a great demand for timber, and prices rose accord- 

 ingly. At the same time the Bavarian Forest glass industry 

 is stated to have suffered by the development of railways, 

 which facilitated the expert of timber and provided new 

 markets for it, causing a great rise in the price of the firewood 

 needed for glass making. 



Another important Bavarian industry is brewing. In the 

 year ending June 30, 1896, 4,017,000 bushels of malt are 

 estimated to have been used in the Munich breweries, while 

 about 66,000,000 gallons are annually produced in that city. 

 The total production of beer in Bavaria in 1896 was 

 356,359,000 gallons, of which 3,751,000 gallons were white 

 beer. The total amount of malt used was 19,670,000 bushels. 

 Exports amounted in the year to 55,891,000 gallons, 

 6,832,000 gallons going to foreign countries, while the con- 

 sumption per head of the population is estimated at 412 pints. 

 Some complaint is made of the competition from North 

 German breweries, which have considerably increased of 

 late years. It may be noted that the brewing of beer in 

 Bavaria is effected with water, malt, hops, and yeast only, 

 the addition of any other substance during or after brewing 

 being a punishable offence. Only germinated grain, i.e. y 

 malt, can be used in brewing, and the excise is based on 

 the volume of malt. The malt tax varies, according to the 

 quantity used by the brewer, between $s. and 6s. 6d. per 

 hectolitre (about 2\d. \.o^\d. per gallon). There is a drawback 

 of 2s. yd. per hectolitre [r^d. per gallon) on beer exported 

 from Bavaria. 



[Foreign Office Report on the Trade and Agriculture of 

 Bavaria for 1896-7. — Annual Series No. 2024. Price i\d.~] 



