308 Report on the Dairy- Farming of the North-west of France.^ 
chiefly Brazil and the South American Republics. Messrs. 
Bre'tel Brothers, of Valogne, whose name is so well known on 
the London market, have also made a beginning in the same 
direction. 
The extent of business done by some of the French butter- 
merchants is astonishing. For instance, the firm of Lepelletier, 
of Carentan, whose trade is solely with England, send the butter 
over in their own vessels, and in 1877 their exportation exceeded 
4000 tons, and the estimated average value in France for the ten 
years then ended was nearly half a million sterling per annum. 
They estimated that in 1878 their trade would show an increase 
of about 30 per cent, over its average amount in the previous 
ten years. The following figures, showing that the trade of 
the house has doubled during the last twelve years, have been 
published by the firm as given by the Custom House authori- 
ties : — 
1 
Year. 
1 
Number of 
Packages. 
Net Weight of 
Contents. 
1865 
1866 
1867 
71,603 
97,593 
108,056 
Kilogrammes* 
2,106,184 
2,732,604 
3,025,564 
1875 
1877 
120,200 
131,333 
3,435,025 
4,230,527 
Packing. — French butter is sent to market in a great variety 
of packages, according to the requirements of each locality. 
For the London market, kegs holding about 70 lbs. each, crocks 
holding 50 lbs., and boxes containing one dozen 2-lb. rolls are 
most frequently seen. Extreme cleanliness and a refreshing 
neatness (amounting almost to what the French call coquetterie), 
are characteristic of all the methods, and they are further dis- 
tinguished by the free and almost lavish use of clean linen 
linings. The kegs and linen linings cost about Is. 9<f. each ; 
the crocks, which are protected by an outside basket, and also 
lined with linen, cost about 2s. each, including everything; 
and the boxes holding a dozen rolls cost about 9f/. each, in- 
cluding linen and paper. In the hottest weather the boxes are 
sometimes double, the space between the two boxes being fille<l 
with cotton wadding. In fact, the French butter-merchants 
thoroughly realise the importance of delivering their wares in 
an attractive condition, entailing neither trouble nor waste upon 
* For rmifi;!) practical puviioac.s 1000 kilogrammes may be taken to rcpresont 
one toil avoir(luj)ois. 
