HAMBURG.
269
two-thirds of which contain two living and bed rooms and a kitchen, and the
remainder three rooms and a kitchen. The rents of the three-room dwelling's
range from 4s. 3d. to 4s. 6ú?. per week, and those of the four-room dwellings
from 5s. 7e?. to 6s. '2d. One group of dwellings at Bahrenfeld has been built
in villa style, with gardens.
Retail Prices.
Groceries and other Commodities.
There are no large market halls in Hamburg, but in various parts of the
town open markets are held for the sale mainly of farm and country produce,
though household requisites and hardware are also retailed there. The town
has an abundance of special shops for the sale of butter, cheese, and milk, but
the first two of these articles are also to be had in most grocers’ shops. There
are several strong co-operative societies, the principal being the " Production ”
society, which is essentially a working-class society, with 46 shops (including
2 butcher’s shops and 2 baker’s shops) and a membership of 22,995, and the “ New
Society of 1856 for the Distribution of Necessities of Life,” having 40 shops
(three being for boots and shoes). The “Production” stores had a turnover
in 1906 of £195,400, but it would appear that nearly half the members bought
no goods ; the “ 1856 ” stores had a turnover of £294,369.
Many kinds of bread are consumed in Hamburg, some coming from a
distance, but the working classes almost exclusively eat “ Feinbrod ” or " fine
bread,” so called because to the rye flour of which it is chiefly made a portion of
wheat flour is added, and coarse “ black ” bread, consisting wholly of rye,
roughly ground. Wheaten rolls (Rundstücke) are also eaten, but as a rule
only at " first breakfast ” with coffee. Bread is not sold by weight but at
different prices, and the amount obtained for each price depends upon the ruling
price of flour. The loaves most commonly baked cost la., Gd., and M., and the
greatest demand is for the Gd. size. Thus in the year 1906 the “Production”
Co-operative Society baked 2,250 loaves at la., 527,099 at 6c?., 263,260 at 4c?.,
and 182,544 at 3c?. In the same year the “ 1856 ” Co-operative Society sold
1,840,826 lb. of "fine” bread and 2,758,082 lb. of ordinary rye bread. The
predominant price of “ fine ” rye bread in October, 1905, was 5cl. to 5¿c?. for 4 lb.
and of “ black ” bread 4c?. to 4\d. Since then the sizes of the several loaves
have been reduced owing to the higher price of corn, and in 1907 the 4 lb. loaf
of “ fine ” rye bread cost 5Jc?. to Gd. and the same of “ black ” bread cost 5c?.
In its report for 1906 the “ Production” Co-operative Society, which
baked bread in that year to the value of £26,779, states : “ The new duties
which came into force on March 1st fell most perceptibly on all. kinds of
bread corn, the result being an increase in the price of flour, in spite of the
extraordinarily good harvest. The duties per 100 kilog. (220 lb.) were
increased as follows :—On rye from 3s. Gd. to 5a., on wheat from 3g. Gd. to
5s. 6c/., and on flour from 7s. 3'Gd. to 10s. 2'4c?. While the good harvest
would without doubt have led to a fall in prices (but for the higher duties),
flour rose immediately, at times to the full extent of the duty and even beyond
Though we gave way to the pressure of higher prices but slowly, it was
necessary to reduce the weight to a small extent. ’
There is in Hamburg a large co-operative bakery, formed by journeymen
bakers and assistants, and it had in 1906 a turnover of £46,409.
No bread-baking is done at home, and the flour bought is used for cakes
and puddings. Wheat flour cost in October, 1905, from lO^c?. to Is. 0^c?. per
7 lb. according to quality, and rye flour from 7|d. to 9\d. for the same
quantity.
Coffee is usually bought in qualities costing in 1905 from 9\d. and 1 Id. per lb.,
but the latter is the quality in most demand at the co-operative stores. There
is, however, a large trade in substitutes. Thus the “ Production ” Co-operative
Society sold in 1906 134,620 lb. of “ surrogates ” of various kinds, against
202,619 lb. of pure coffee, and the “ 1856 ” Co-operative Society sold
339,053 lb. of “ surrogates ” against 408,142 lb. of pure coffee. Coffee is
usually bought in quantities of half a pound, and it is invariably ground at
home. The price of sugar in 1905 was 2\d. for loaf, which is always used with
•coffee, and 2\d. for white granulated sugar, used for cooking purposes. Fresh
