NOTES.

Sugar Industry in France.-Commercial Agent Atwell sends the following from Roubaix, under date of March 12, 1898:

The Department of Excise Revenue has just published the statistics of the home crop up to the 15th of February, 1898.

Three hundred and forty-four mills in active operation this season have worked 6,402,058, 179 kilograms (14,084,527,993 pounds) of beet root, against 6,764,559, 273 kilograms (14,882,030,401 pounds) during 1896-97. The weight of sugar extracted from the turbines and afterward refined was, on February 15, 656,750,450 kilograms (1,444,850,990 pounds), against 589,236,537 kilograms (1,296,320,381 pounds) in 1897, making a difference of 67,213,913 kilograms (148,870,609 pounds). This difference is due to the superior quality of beet root in general and the rapid working of the poorer produce.

The returns for this season show that 10.26 per cent of the weight of beet root employed has been rendered in refined sugar, whereas the returns for the season of 1896 showed a percentage of only 8.71 per cent of the weight employed, making a surplus of 1.55 per cent for the season of 1897–98.

According to the last returns, the production of refined sugar this season amounts to 690,000 tons in round figures, against 633,390 tons in 1896-97, an increase of 56,000 tons.

The production of refined sugar from molasses will amount approximately to 720,000 tons this season, against 668,515 tons during 1896-97.

The Increase in Sugar Production.-Under date of March 29, 1898, Consul Morris, of Ghent, says:

The Bulletin Consulaire publishes an article which is translated as follows:

One of the most significant symptoms of the growth of prosperity among all classes is the unprecedented increase in the consumption of sugar. Not very long ago sugar was regarded as a luxury; to-day it has become, we may say, one of the prime necessities.

The Bulletin of Statistics has printed a series of tables which merits attention. Ten years ago the production of sugar in the entire world was only 4,948,000 tons. In 1896-97 the production amounted to 7,205,000 tons. Of this amount, cane sugar

figures for 2,432,000 tons and beet sugar for 4,772,000 tons. The production of cane sugar has increased 25 per cent and that of beet sugar 50 per cent.

What first strikes us in the statement is the commanding position of Germany, which alone produces more than one-fourth of the total quantity produced in the entire world. The German sugar industry in 1896 threw 1,839,000 tons of sugar upon the market, and every day the number of its factories is increasing. France and Russia each produced 700,000 tons, while Austria-Hungary shows 930,000 tons. For cane sugar, Cuba was, before the insurrection, the principal center of manufacture. In 1887 it produced 1,100,000 tons; in 1896 the production had fallen to 200,000 tons. Java has profited the most by this misfortune; from 390,000 tons in 1887 its production increased to 500,000 tons in 1896. If it be considered that when peace is reestablished Cuba will not be long in equalizing its former output, that Java will probably not care to lose the markets acquired, and that, owing to expor bounties, the production of sugar is annually developing in large proportions, it is easily seen what a terrible competition there will soon be in all the markets of the world. The most curious feature is that this competition specially benefits the only country in Europe not producing sugar-England. At the present moment French sugar is quoted at 2 cents per pound on the London market. To what price must it fall when Cuba once more begins to manufacture and when the German factories reach their full capacity?

Sugar Trade in Japan.-The following, bearing date of Yokohama, March 4, 1898, has been received from Consul-General Gowey:

The following extracts from the Japan Herald of March 2, 1898, give a summary of the condition of the sugar trade of Japan, with statistics of imports of refined and brown sugar from the year 1888 to the year 1897:

It goes without saying that, as the standard of living advances, the consumption of sugar augments steadily year by year, a phenomenon especially marked since the late war with China. Even previous to the restoration, brown sugar was imported by Chinese merchants at Osaka and Yokohama. But as the production

of sugar was then stimulated in Kagoshima and Shikoku, while sugar cane was planted in various parts of the country, the quantity imported was not very considerable. A great blow was, however, given to the sugar industry at the time of the Kagoshima rebellion, and as after that sugar did not advance in price in the same proportion as rice, many turned their sugar plantations into rice fields, whereby an impulse was given to the import of foreign sugar. In 1885, the Department of Agriculture and Commerce having adopted the policy of stimulating the planting of sugar cane, the area of plantation was extended, and several promoters established sugar refineries with foreign machinery in Osaka. Although the consumpion of sugar is increasing, it is still far behind that of European countries. According to an examination made the year before last, the per capita consumption of sugar in the United States was 37 pounds per annum, while in Europe it was 18 pounds on an average, and only some 8 pounds in this country. In view of these figures, it is evident that the demand in Japan must augment still further. If, for example, machinery of the newest pattern be set up and sugar imported from Manila and the Straits Settlements be refined, a profitable business may be done, and the existing depression should not occasion real concern. China has heretofore ex

ported brown sugar, and Hongkong and other places have exported the refined article to Japan. But since 1855 the import of German refined sugar produced from beet

root has greatly increased and has now almost monopolized the market. The following are the returns showing the import of refined and brown sugars for the last ten years:

*NOTE BY BUREAU OF FOREIGN COMMERCE.-The reductions have been made on the basis of the quarterly valuations given by the United States Director of the Mint, the average for the year being taken.

American Flour in Scotland.-Consul Fleming, of Edinburgh, under date of March 28, 1898, says:

Articles which have appeared in the columns of certain milling and flour-trade journals of the United States regarding the adulteration of flour have been reproduced in one of the daily papers of this city, with editorial comments. The statements made by these American journals, as to the adulteration of wheat flour with corn flour, are taken by this paper as a text for sharp criticism of American milling and flour-trade methods. It is asserted that adulterated flour has been sent to this market. The effect of these publications is to put American flour under suspicion. I am informed by provision dealers in Edinburgh and Leith that no adulterated flour has been received by them; but they are somewhat disturbed by these reports from the United States, inasmuch as the British law relating to adulterated food products not only provides for the seizure of such products if discovered, but also fixes a heavy penalty for offering them for sale. Owing to the public agitation of this matter of flour adulteration, bakers and others are requiring flour dealers to give a guaranty that the flour sold is not adulterated. This causes much embarrassment and tends to demoralize the trade. Importers of flour express the opinion that the published statements about flour adulteration in the United States are largely exaggerations, but they say that the effect upon the trade is none the less serious. They declare that the injury done to the American flour trade here will be permanent, unless dealers and consumers can be assured of an effective prohibition by federal law of the exportation of adulterated flour.

Novel Gas-Leak Detector.-Under date of March 28, 1898, Consul Morris, of Ghent, says:

A Boston gentleman asked me yesterday to interview with him certain officers of the gas company of this city concerning the details of the system in force here. During the conversation, reference was made to the manner of detecting leaks in the mains and underground pipes. As the gentleman with me, who is well informed relative to gas matters, had never heard of this method, the details thereof may interest others also. The outfit for detecting leaks consists of a large hand drill or auger, several hollow tubes or pipes of the requisite length, a few corks fitted with quills through the center, a bottle of or-palladium, and a few bits of white paper.

The tubes must be long enough to enter the ground to a point about 15 to 20 inches above the main and to project above the street pavement a sufficient distance for observation, say 3 to 4 feet. They may be iron, such as common interior gas pipe, or, better still, brass, which is lighter to carry and more convenient to handle.

Several paving blocks are first removed for a space of about 2 yards immediately over the gas main, and holes are bored in the soil with the drill, care being taken to thoroughly loosen the earth and extract as much as possible. In each of these holes a piece of the hollow piping is planted. It should not be rammed down too deep, so as to be too near or below the gas main, or to become clogged with dirt. On the upper exposed end one of the corks is placed, with the quill in the center, running up and down parallel to the pipe. A small piece of the white paper is dipped in the or-palladium and pushed into the open quill. Twenty or thirty such detectors are put in position at one time. If a leak exists within, say, 2 yards of any of them, the effect of the escaping gas will be evident upon the paper, rendered sensitive by the reagent, and it will at once turn black. The effect of the action of the gas upon the detector first placed in position will be evident before the last one of a row of twenty is set up. It is a common sight to see two or three men in the streets of Ghent making experiments in this manner for the detection of leaks. Indeed, the gas company causes regular tests to be made in turn in all the streets of the city. The loss by leakage is now said not to exceed more than 3 per cent.

Goat-Milk Cure in France. In reply to an instruction from the Department of State, dated September 10, 1897, sent at the request of a Massachusetts physician,* Consul-General Gowdy, of Paris, under date of March 10, 1898, sends a report concerning the

*Copy of report has been sent to inquirer.

methods and management of alleged cures effected by the injection of goat serum in France. The report comprises translations from a recent publication by Dr. Bernheim-Immunisation et Serumtherapie.

In regard to the goat-milk cure, Consul-General Gowdy reports:

I can not discover that goat's milk is used for clinical purposes in France. It is, however, sometimes given to sickly children, when it is found that the milk of cows and the various prepared milks do not agree with them. Goat's milk is very rich in cream and nutritious substances, and there is a popular belief that it is a useful article of diet in pulmonic and anemic complaints. It is served at the domiciles from troops of goats which are milked on the spot, as it is believed that, to be efficacious, it must be drunk fresh from the animal.

Eggs in Spain.—Consul-General Bowen writes from Barcelona, March 25, 1898:

Spain imported, during 1896, 24,402, 183 eggs, principally from Morocco and Portugal, and exported 6,920,983, principally to Great Britain. Galicia, in the northern part of Spain, is the only exporting province. The southern provinces are the chief importers. Nowhere in Spain can the production of eggs be very large, for they sell for 2 pesetas a dozen when fresh and for 11⁄2 pesetas when more than four days old (a peseta now is equivalent to about 15 cents. gold). Recently, a poultry farm was started in Arenys de Mar, near Barcelona, and 10,000 chickens are annually raised there, and from 1,500 to 2,000 fowls of superior breeds are kept for sale.

German Trade Methods in China.-Under date of April 14, 1898, Consul Morris of Ghent, writes:

The skill of Germans in obtaining foreign trade is well known. Occasionally, however, new and interesting details of their methods. come to light. The latest information is furnished by Mr. Leroua, French consul at Hongkong, in a recent report to his Government. He states that the Germans have abandoned the idea of relying entirely upon the trade of Chinese wholesale houses; their principal efforts are now directed to retailers. He says:

As soon as German commercial travelers land, they begin to study the language; a slight knowledge obtained, they undertake with unequaled persistency to persuade some native merchant to give them a trial order. As soon as the goods arrive, they visit their client, and if he makes any complaint they assure him that the fault or error can be readily corrected or avoided in the next order; if necessary, they finally make a considerable reduction in the amount of the bill.

When the day of payment arrives, another visit is made.
No. 213-10.

This time the pur