The minuteness of the Catiaaral survey has led to official calculations in France of products which have not yet engaged the attention of other govern ments. Madder is cultivated on a small scale, partly in the north, partly in the south of France; its chief use is in dyeing woollens and cottons. Wood is used for yellow and green colours; saffron, cultivated formerly to a great extent, is now confined to one district (the Gatinois) in the south of France; hops are raised only in Picardy and French Flanders.
Value of the following articles produced annually in France : 40,800,000 Of the following articles, similar to the produce of our own soil, we subjoin not the value merely, but the quantity and average price: Of the pasturage ground of France, occupying one-eighth of its territory, the chief part is in Nor mandy, Brittany, and other humid quarters of the north and west. In the south, the natural pasture is confined to particular districts, chiefly mountain in the low grounds, the grass, whether natural or sown, is brought forward only by means of irri. gation. Clover and sainfoin are cultivated in France, but chiefly in the north and north-east; lucerne is much more general, being raised not merely in the north, but in the central and southern provinces, wherever irrigation is practicable and the soil and climate are favourable. The art of improving cattle by breeding is little understood in France, nor is there much judgment shown in gradually fattening them by a removal to richer pastures. Still the beef and mutton of the north and west are very good, their price varies from province to province, but very seldom from year to year; the general Kate is 30 per cent. less than in England. Batter is made and used throughout the chief part of France as in England, but cheese comparatively little. In the south, however, even butter is little known, and its place in cooking is supplied by olive oil, an unwel come ingredient to a northern palate.
One of the latest novelties in French pasturage is the introduction, in 1819, of a large flock of Cash mere goats, which were sent to browze in the East ern Pyrenees, and are said to experience little in convenience from the change of climate.
In the number of horses, as well as in their size and beauty, France is greatly inferior to our coun try. In the performance of labour, however, the
inferiority is much less conspicuous; large, old. fashioned carriages, drawn by four or six horses, are seen proceeding along a paved road much more easily than we should anticipate from the weight of the vehicle, the knotted harness, and the diminutive size of the animals. The same observation is applicable to the ploughs, the carts, the waggons of France,—all awkwardly built, but all dragged on with expedition, —the strength of the horses surpassing the-promise of their appearance ;—a strength, however, attended by a circumstance of no slight inconvenience, very few of these animals being gelded. A French mail coach performs only five instead of seven miles an hour As with us ; but this is owing less to inferiority in the horses, than to the state of the roads, and to general want of dispatch at post-houses.
Of the aggregate of horses in France (about 1,500,000) more than half belong to the northern provinces, viz. Normandy, Brittany, Picardy, Al sace, and the Isle of France. In the central and southern departments, a great proportion of the work is done by oxen, which are more suitable to petty farms, and mountainous districts. The total of horned cattle in France, in 1812, was reported officially as follows :—(Cbaptal, Vol. I. p. 197.) Sheep are reared in almost every province, the gentle elevations of the north, and the mountains of the south being alike favourable to them. The mutton is good ; but, in the art of improving the fleece, the French have as yet much to learn. Me rinos were first brought from Spain in 1787, and formed into a royal flock at Rambouillet. The qua lity, originally good, has been progressively improv ed, and distributions of Merinos have been succes sively made to proprietors of sheep pastures in all parts of the kingdom. The consequence has been, that, in many districts, the weight of the fleece has been nearly doubled. Still, in the more backward parts of France, very little attention is paid to the care of sheep, or to the improvement of the wool. Tie animals are not folded during night, but crowd ed into covered buildings (bergeries), and exposed, particularly in winter, to much injury from going suddenly into the air.