Journal of the Bath and West of England Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures and Commerce- Vol. Vii

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1859 edition. Excerpt: ...of its wool. Indeed, while for size and shape the French breeds are far inferior to our own, French mutton is generally superior, and would be as good as our favourite Welsh joint. One article of French produce must not be forgotten here--chesse made from sheep's milk, which, says M. de Lavergne, deserves to be better known. In the porcine tribe England again takes precedence of her neighbour. A large importation of foreign breeds would be very desirable for a country where the flesh, under various forms, constitutes a third of the national food. In France goats form a larger portion of the live-stock than with us. The gross annual produce of the goat of Mont d'Or, in the neighbourhood of Lyons, is reckoned at 125 francs (5/.) per annum: no extravagant estimate when it is remembered that this animal yields 600 quarts of milk each year, and that the cheese made from goat's-milk is a very favourite article of diet, The French poultry is as much superior to the English as our pigs are to those of France. The care which we have bestowed upon the one, our neighbours have given to the other. Nor is this trouble without its reward. The egg-produce alone is reckoned in France at 8,000,000/. per annum. M. de Lavergne recommends us to obtain our breeds from his country, instead of sending to India, China, and Malay. Having thus briefly reviewed the live-stock of France, let us look for a few minutes at her vegetable produce: and here the first thing that will strike us is the great variety of French produce. Accustomed to the ordinary routine of cereals and roots, we are astonished when we come to view the French oils, vines, textile plants, sugar-yielding plants, and a host of others. The next point that will arrest our notice is, that while in...