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Physical Geography: France
COMMERCE AND RAILROADS.-France has a large commercial marine, including over 15,000 vessels of more than 900,000 tons. Since 1873 there has been a decline in the mercantile navy. The entrances to and clearances from her ports each year include over 60,000 vessels of over
12,000,000 tons. There are 240 ports, of which the chief are Marseilles, Havre, Bordeaux, Rouen, Honfleur, Dunkirk, Rochefort, Calais, and Brest. The chief exports consist of silk and woolen goods, sugar, glass, cutlery, leather manufactures, paper, porcelain, wines and brandies, and manufactured goods generally; and the imports, of cotton, wool, sugar, coffee, hemp, flax, coal, hides, and metals. Spices, raw silk, colonial produce, and the like, are also largely imported. France buys from and sells to Great Britain, Belgium, the United States, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, and Turkey principally, but its commerce also extends over the remaining European States, South America, and the West Indies. There is a large and well-regulated railroad system, owned by corporations but subject to a Government control. The great trunk lines afford direct communication between the metropolis and all the divisions of the country, and connect with the seaports and the German, Swiss, Belgian, and Italian railroad systems. France possesses an immense mileage of splendid roads, and a canal system extending over 3000 m. The chief agricultural products are wheat, barley, rye, maize, oats, potatoes, beet-root, for the manufacture of sugar, hops, etc. The most important manufactures are of metals, watches, jewelry, cabinet-work, carving, pottery, glass, chemicals, dyeing, paper-making, woolens, carpets, linen, silk, and lace. Its oyster fisheries are an important industrial feature. The imports consist largely of food and raw materials; the exports of manufactured goods. The most important among the former are cereals and flour, wine, (the imports of which exceed the exports), wool, raw silk, timber, hides and skins, cotton, coal, live animals, cotton yarns, and manufactures. The exports rank thus :woolens, wine, silks, hides and skins, raw silk, leather wares, haberdashery, etc., cheese and butter.
WINE INDUSTRY. -The wine industry of France is such an important one not only for France but for the whole world, that some statistics are necessary. In spite of this the supremacy of France in the wine trade of the world seems to be threatened. Here are the figures :- Country.
France.
Italy Spain Austro-Hungary Portugal Russia ... ... .... ......
Average Production from 1880 to 1888.
Country. 671,000,000 gals. Germany. " 665,000,000 Turkey (in Europe) and 630,000,000 " Cyprus " 225,000,000 Servia. 125,000,000 " Greece..... 75,430,000 " Switzerland Roumania ... ... ... .. .... .....
Average Production from 1880 to 1888.
75,000,000 gals. " 58,500,000
45,000,000 “ 32,000,000 " 24,750,000 " 15,750,000 "
THE PEOPLE.-In population France ranks third among the great European States, being inferior in number only to Russia and Germany. At the last census, there were 36,469,836 inhabitants, Paris has a population of nearly 2,344,550, and the next largest cities are Lyons, Marseilles, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Nantes, St. Etienne, Rouen, Havre, in the order given. The old distinctive names, as Normandy, Burgundy, etc., are no longer used except in a general way, the country being divided into 87 departments, which are again subdivided into arrondissements, cantons, and communes. The population of France increases much more slowly than any other European nation, although there is little emigration. The French are usually considered as belonging to the Latin race, but there is a large admixture of Celtic blood. In Brittany the characteristics of the ancient Celts are still retained, and the barbarous Breton tongue is yet spoken. The Basques of the Pyrenees also retain their primitive language, and the dialects of many of the departments differ widely from Parisian French. There are a number of Walloons in the N.-E., many Italians in Corsica, Savoy, and Nice, while Spaniards, Flemings, Jews, and other minor races are widely scattered. The vast majority of the population belong to the Roman Catholic Church, and there are 17 archbishops and 69 bishops of that church. Some of the Protestant and Jewish communions receive Government aid. Public instruction is provided by a great number of colleges, academies, and lyceums, and there are over 70,000 primary schools. The Government exercises a general supervision over educational matters. The degree of education in France is shown by the last Government inquiry which showed the following percentages of the total population-36,305,788: Unable to read or write-under 6 years, 88.86; from 6 to 20 years, 23.89; above 20 years, 33.37; average above 6 years, 30.77. Able to read only-under 6 years, 7.34; from 6 to 20 years, 13.48; above 20 years, 9.99; average above 20 years, 10.95. Able to read and write under 6 years, 3.80; from 6 to 20 years, 62.63; above 20 years, 56,64; average above 20 years, 58.28, Setting aside the
4,000,000 of children under 6 years of age, it may be said that
30 per cent, of the population of France are entirely devoid of education. The population of France is almost at a standstill, and in a year or two it will probably begin to retrograde. The agricultural population have more children than the industrial. It also seems assured that fewer children are born to families where the fathers follow a liberal profession, and to those living in urban centres, than to those families the heads of which earn their living by manual labor.-