In Belgium, according to the statistics of 1894, over 4,630 kilometers of roads were planted with 741,571 fruit trees, which furnished the almost incredible sum of $2,000,000. In France, the production of fruit trees is estimated at $60,000,000.

In Westphalia, in the duchies of Baden and Saxe-Weimar, in Alsace-Lorraine, Switzerland, etc., the employees of the administration of roads and bridges and the road supervisors are instructed in fruit arboriculture. In some of the southern departments of France the roads are bordered with cherry trees, producing the small fruit called merise (wild cherry) much appreciated for making wine sui generis, preserves, and even alcohol.

In the Touraine, plum trees dominate; while in the Allier and the Limagne, the walnut trees transform the roads into shady walks. In Auvergne, the chestnut tree flourishes; while in Normandy, place is naturally given to the apple tree.

Some twenty years ago, the picturesque roads of the northeast of France were lined with stately poplars; but, although ornamental, their roots went far and wide, rendering the adjacent meadows sterile, and plows were continually stopped by offshoots lying almost at the surface of the soil. The farmers appealed in such strong terms that the communes decided the fall of the poplar, and soon axes and saws were brought into requisition and the roads cleared of these trees in favor of the humble, but more useful, mirabelle (small plum), to the great satisfaction of the villagers. Thousands of baskets of this fruit are shipped to Paris daily.

Some thirty years ago, the distillation of the mirabelle was unknown in the country districts; the people plucked it as food for their swine; but to-day, they have learned to make more profitable use of it. They distill it in large quantities and find a ready market for it. A quart of this alcohol, slightly perfumed, sold five or six years ago for only 20 or 30 cents; to-day, it brings not less than 50 or 60 cents, while in Paris the best kind can not be obtained under $1. HILARY S. BRUNOT,

ST. ETIENNE, August 10, 1899.

Consul.

STREET-CAR STRIKE IN NANTES.

Three weeks ago, all the employees of the tramways of Nantes quit work and demanded an increase in wages, an opportunity for promotion, three holidays during each month, and a decrease in the daily hours of service. After a week's idleness, work was resumed, the men having been conceded nearly all they demanded.

The cars are propelled by compressed air. The men who ma

nipulate the machinery from the front platforms of the cars are called conductors, and those who collect the tickets and punch the same are known as receivers. The fare is not uniform for all distances, as is the case in most American cities, but passengers are charged so much per section-2 sous, or about 2 cents, for one section, a distance of nearly a mile; three sous for two sections; and so on until 6 sous are charged, which is the maximum price for the entire route, being a distance of about 4 miles. The cars are not so well patronized as those in American cities, and the service is poorer, persons being often obliged to wait ten or fifteen minutes for a car.

Previous to the strike, the men were obliged to work twelve or fifteen hours per day. The conductors received 4 francs (77 cents) per day, and those of the first grade 4.50 francs (87 cents) per day. Receivers were paid 3 francs (58 cents) for the second grade, and 3.50 francs (68 cents) for the first grade. The tram cars stop running at 9.30 in the evening, and resume business at 6 in the morning, the same men being on duty during the entire time. After several conferences between the company and the employees, the service was resumed, the company agreeing to pay the following prices:

The men have been granted three holidays during each month, but without pay, and twelve hours are considered a day's work. During the strike no riots occurred, but no attempt was made to start the cars, although the company claimed that new men could have been procured for the service.

NANTES, August 7, 1899.

No. 2304.

JOSEPH I. BRITTAIN,

Consul.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY IN BORDEAUX.

American manufacturers of electric-railway supplies may find it to their interest to note the fact that the Tram and Omnibus Company of Bordeaux, a company having the exclusive right to operate street cars and omnibuses in this city, whose charter had still several years to run, has recently sold out to a new company, which will operate under a new charter. It is understood that the old company is to receive 12,000,000 francs ($2,316,000) for its property and rights for the unexpired term of its charter, stockholders being allowed the option of stock in the new company on favorable terms instead of cash. The former company was English, with headquarters in London; the new one is French. The chairman of the

board of directors is M. Mercet, 10 rue de Londres, Paris. It is understood that the present managing director, M. Bretherton, will continue to hold the same position under the new management. As the legal formalities are not yet complete, the terms of the new concession can not be given. It is understood, however, that they require an immediate increase of the service in the city and vicinity, and that the new company will at once proceed to substitute electric power for horsepower, which has been used heretofore. Information can be obtained by addressing M. Bretherton, managing director, Tram and Omnibus Company, rue Tivoli, Bordeaux, France.

BORDEAUX, September 4, 1899.

ALBION W. TOURGÉE,

Consul.

NEW USE FOR AMERICAN DRIED APPLES IN

FRANCE.

It is a curious fact that the consumption of wine in France is steadily diminishing. This results from a variety of causes, prominent among which is a general belief among the common people that the product of the vine is apt to be deleteriously adulterated. Whether this is true or not, it is a matter of such universal comment that they naturally make it an excuse for discarding wine and indulging in a beverage which they declare is too cheap for anybody to dream of adulterating. Their first resort was to the product of the apple and pear orchards of Normandy and Brittany. In 1895, the consumption of cider in Paris amounted to 10,000,000 gal.

lons, but in consequence of the bad apple harvests of 1896 and 1897, this fell in 1898 to an utterly insignificant figure.

The importation of cider to meet the demand was impossible, because of the prohibitive duties of 8. 50 francs per hectoliter, amounting with the octroi duty to about 16 cents a gallon in Paris. Of course, no man could pay a tax of 4 cents a quart and furnish a drink cheap enough to meet the demand for cider, which could not be diluted to any extent with water and retain its peculiar “tang.” It became necessary, therefore, to find a substitute.

With the English or American taste, this substitute would probably have been found in a sort of beer or some mere alcoholic product. But the Frenchman, if he is not addicted to absinth, usually cares little for the alcoholic character of his favorite tipple. What he wants is, not to become intoxicated, but to have a pleasant drink which he can sip by the hour in company with his friends at the buvette. Two things are essential-first, it must have a pleasant, fruity flavor (if a little piquant, so much the better); and, second, it must not make too heavy a drain upon his purse. The bourgeois rarely allows his palate to make him forget his pocket. Cheapness and briskness are essential elements of a popular drink for the French people.

Out of these conditions, aided by the genius of some unknown mixer of drinks in Paris, was evolved "piquette," a sparkling, fruity beverage, composed of dried apples, raisins, and water, allowed to stand until fermentation takes place and then bottled, with the addition of a little sugar, or served directly from the cask. Two cents a glass is the ordinary charge at the buvette for this spicy and, as a rule, harmless beverage. A franc (20 cents) will furnish a man a “treat" which is good for a two hours' sitting at the buvette, but hardly develops enough alcoholic influence to perceptibly reduce the ordinary liveliness of the tongue.

The following is the receipt given me for its preparation by one of the leading manufacturers of Bordeaux:

PIQUETTE.

Five pounds of raisins, 5 pounds of dried apples, and 5 gallons of water. Put in an open cask and let stand for three days; bottle with a half teaspoonful of sugar and a bit of cinnamon in each bottle. Vary the flavor to suit the taste.

It is really a pleasant summer beverage and if made in the United States might take the place of some of our mysterious decoctions. with decided advantage to health.

The special American interest in piquette, however, is found at present in the fact that the dried apples out of which it is made are

imported from the United States.* In 1898, 50,000,000 gallons of this piquant beverage were consumed in France, against 35,000,000 in 1897. The dried apples used in its manufacture are the lowest grade of windfalls-sliced, including skins, cores, and "inhabitants,' without distinction as to quality or variety, except as follows:

(1) The thin slices must be well dried and securely packed, so as not to color or heat upon the voyage. The slices must be white and have a spicy odor or they will not sell.

(2) Decayed or over-ripe fruit should not be used, as it gives too dark a color to the product and will not bring a price sufficient to pay cost of shipment.

The consumption of this beverage is rapidly increasing in France, and it is said that the cider crop of this year is likely to be so short as to create an even greater demand for it. Made of carefully assorted fruit, it should be a valuable addition to our household drinks, since but little need be made at a time and it is both piquant and practically innocuous.

BORDEAUX, September 1, 1899.

ALBION W. TOURGÉE,

Consul.

AMERICAN WHEAT FOR THE

THE MANUFACTURE

OF

MACARONI.

The Department of State has received from the Department of Agriculture a letter addressed to it by Mr. James B. Simpson, of Dallas, Tex., requesting its assistance in forwarding samples of Texas wheat to the United States consul at Lyons, to be tested as to its fitness for use by French manufacturers of edible paste. Mr. Simpson's letter was referred to the Bureau of Foreign Commerce.' It is accompanied by another letter from him, which was printed in a Texas newspaper, in which he says:

The Department of State favors me by sending to my address reports from its consuls.

In the volume of reports for July last, I observed that Mr. John C. Covert, United States consul at Lyons, France, reports an enormous increase in the manufacture and consumption of macaroni and like edible pastes, not only in France, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland, but all over the globe.

This gentleman states in an interesting monograph upon this subject that a hard wheat containing a large percentage of gluten and relatively small percentage of starch is required, and that the millers and bakers of France are finding out that bread is much improved by putting into it a larger amount of gluten than is found in the French wheat, or in the ordinary starchy wheats from America.

*I would note in this connection that of 500 barrels of dried apples which I recently examined, 200 were a dead loss to the shipper, because of lack of care in drying and packing.

+ Consul Covert's report was printed in CONSULAR REPORTS No. 226 (July, 1899), pages 468–470.