Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/384

 372 FRANCE Nimes, and Tours are the principal seats of this important manufacture, the excellence of which is sufficiently proved by the fact that four fifths of its products are exported. In the manufactures of jewelry and bronze goods France exceeds every other country of the globe ; their principal seat is Paris. The capital is also the great centre of the fabrication of surgical and philosophical instruments, books, and what is especially called I 1 article-modes. The publishing business is also carried on with some activity in Lyons, Tours, and several other large cities. Lace, tulle, and embroid- eries are mostly manufactured in and around Nancy and St. Quentin. Iron works are to be found in various parts of France; the most important are at Creuzot, Nevers, and St. Etienne ; the product of pig iron has been on the increase, but is not yet sufficient to supply all the manufactories. The making of cutlery is principally carried on at Paris, Langres, Chatellerault, Moulins, and Thiers ; hardware is produced at the same places, as well as St. Etienne, Charleville, &c. There are manu- factories of fine porcelain and earthenware at Sevres, Limoges, Nevers, and Montereau ; the porcelain of Sevres is much and justly es- teemed. Watches are made at Besancon, Mont- beliard, Pontarlier, and Versailles. Leather is exported from France in larger quantities than from any other country of Europe ; the best manufactures of leather ware are at Paris and Grenoble. The woollen manufacture is of para- mount importance ; its chief seats are Sedan, Louviers, and Elbeuf, for cloths ; Vervins, Eheims, Amiens, Arras, St. Omer, Roubaix, and Tourcoing, for flannels and other coarse stuffs ; Paris, Beauvais, and Aubusson, for car- pets ; the number of spindles employed is about 2,500,000. The cotton manufacture, employ- ing about 4,500,000 spindles (after the cession of Alsace and Lorraine, which had over 2,000,- 000 spindles), and including all kinds of fabrics, is mostly carried on in the departments of Le Nord, Aisne, Seine-Inferieure, Pas-de-Calais, and Vosges. Linens are manufactured princi- pally-in the northern provinces. St. Quentin, Valenciennes, and Cambrai produce the best cambrics ; Lyons and Alencon, the best muslins. Mirrors of superior quality are manufactured at St. Gobain, St. Quirin, and Cirey. There were in April, 1873, about 514 houses for the manufacture of beet-root sugar, giving an an- nual product of 350,000,000 kilogrammes. Ship building is principally carried on at Cherbourg, Brest, Eochefort, Marseilles, Toulon, and Bor- deaux. The manufacture of tobacco is car- ried on in 16 establishments belonging to the state. The total number of steam engines used in France in 1868 was 29,435, of an aggre- gate of 790,194 horse power ; of these 23,450, of 289,676 horse power, were used in 19,887 industrial establishments. The great articles of export consist of silk, woollen, and other manufactured goods, wines and brandies, join- ers' and cabinetmakers' wares, leather, bronze, steel, and iron wares, paper, refined sugar, china, earthen, and glass wares ; while the im- ports comprise all sorts of colonial produce, cotton, wool, sugar, coffee, spices, dyestuffs, raw silk, woollen, hemp, flax, coal, copper, cattle, hides, &c. These are mostly brought to Marseilles, Havre, Bordeaux, Nantes, Ro- chelle, Dunkirk, Boulogne, St. Malo, Lorient, Bayonne, Cette, &c., which are also the outlets of exportation. The following tables, compiled from recent official publications, show the so- called " actual " values of the commerce of France, distinguished as " general " and " spe- cial ;" the former term comprehending all the imports and exports, and the latter only the imports for domestic consumption and the ex- ports of French produce and manufactures. The " official " value, which is that fixed by law in 1826, is somewhat smaller. The sums are given in millions of francs : YEARS. GENERAL COM- MERCE. SPECIAL COM- MKECE. PRECIOUS METALS. Imports. Exports. Imports. Exports. Imports. Exports. 1866 1869 1870 1871. 4,258 4,008-7 8,498 3,721 3,993-6 3,456 8,803-7 8,168-1 2,867-4 8,893-2 3,447-5 2,789-9 8,074-9 2,802-1 2,865-6 8,679-0 687 647 416 286 400 865 264 261 629 333 1872 The following table exhibits the principal arti- cles of the special commerce in 1872 (values expressed in millions of francs) : ARTICLES. Imports. ARTICLES. Exports. Silk 418-8 Manufrs of silk 488-0 Wool 811-5 Manufrs. of wool. 290-5 Cotton. . 202-6 Flour and grain 264-2 Animals 175-2 Wines 254-8 Grain 167-6 Leather and mfrs. of 225-2 Hides .. 185-0 Small wares. 146-8 Wood 129-8 Silk 182-5 Coal 128-7 Refined sugar. . . . 117-9 Sugar. 117-6 Confectionery. 107-3 Manufrs. of wool. . . 100-1 Spirits 82-0 Manufrs. of cotton. 84-4 Wool 81-0 Flax. 84-3 Hardware. 72-6 Tallow Oilseed 74-2 66-6 Eaw sugar Manufrs. of cotton 69-4 69-2 Cotton yarn. . . Oils 45-0 39-1 Cheese and butter Cotton 58-7 49-4 The following table represents the special com- merce of France with the countries most large- ly interested in her trade in 1870, the actual values being given in millions of francs : EXPOETS. COUNTRIES. Value. COUNTRIES. Value. Great Britain 842-8 Russia. 28-4 Belgium 810-8 Hanse Towns 23-2 United States 806-8 Uruguay 22-8 Switzerland 262-8 Peru. 201 Italy. 193-6 United States of Co- Algeria 109-5 lombia 18-8 Spain 91-0 Spanish colonies in 80-6 America 16-5 Turkey 64-4 Austria 18-8 Argentine Republic 62-4 Martinique 11-6 Brazil 54-0 Portugal 11-2 Egypt 41-2 Greece 10-9 Netherlands 84-2 Reunion.. 10-2 Chili 88-1 Mexico 10-0