MÜLHAUSEN.

365

the  town  they  may  be  confiscated,  as  also—by  way  of  surety—the  vehicles  in
which  they  are  brought,  unless  the  offenders  at  once  deposit  the  maximum
penalty,  viz.,  £8.  Goods  and  animals  in  transit  are  free,  but  persons  passing
through  the  octroi  area  and  carrying  dutiable  articles,  or  wishing  to  remain
longer  than  24  hours  within  the  area,  must  be  provided  with  certificates  setting
forth  the  character  and  destination  of  the  articles  ;  they  may  also  be  required  to
deposit  the  usual  duty  or  give  surety  for  the  amount  until  the  articles  in  transit
have  been  removed  from  the  town.  The  gross  proceeds  of  the  octroi  in  1905
were  £94,078,  equal  to  £l  per  head  of  the  population.  Beer  yielded  £21,500
in  1904,  wine  £12,433,  live  stock  and  meat  £11,050.
The  following  Table  summarises  the  prices  of  groceries,  &c.,  in  October,
1905,  and  August,  1906  ;  little  change  had  occurred  in  the  interval  :—

Predominant  Prices  paid  by  the  Working  Classes  in  October,  1905,  and
August,  19Ó6.

Commodity.

Ooffee
Sugar  :—
Loaf
White  Granulated
Bacon  :—
Fat
Streaky  ...
Eggs
Cheese  :—
Münster  ...
Swiss
Butter
Margarine  ...
Potatoes
Flour  (Household)
Bread,  White
Milk
Coal
Coke  ...  ...
Paraffin  Oil  (American)

per  lb.

per  Is.
per  lb.
per  7  lb.
per  4  lb.
per  quart
per  cwt.
per  gallon

Predominant  Price.

October,  1905.

lid.
2\d.
2|d.
8  d.
8d.
13  to  16
8fd.  to  9fd.
Is.  Ofd.  to  Is.  3fd.
Is.  Id.  to  Is.  2d.
Id.
3d.  to  3\d.
Is.  3\a.
5Id.  to  6d.
"2§d.
Is.  9\d.
Is.  8&d.
lOd.  to  lid.

August,  1906.

lid.
2&d.
2^d.
82d.
8|d.
12  to  14

8%d.  to  9|d.
Is.  Ofd.  to  Is.  3f  d.
Is.  Id.  to  Is.  2|d.
7  d.
3d.  to  3\d.
Is.  3£d.
5\d.  to  6d.
2\d.
Is.  10\d.
Is.  8\d.
lOd.  to  lid.

Meat.
The  meat  consumption  of  the  working  classes  of  Mülhausen  does  not
appear  to  be  large.  The  consumption  per  head  of  the  whole  population  was
estimated  in  1905  at  114T5  lb.,  showing  a  decline  as  compared  with  recent
years.  The  consumption  per  head  shown  by  the  budgets  collected  in  connection
with  the  present  inquiry  from  71  families  was  25  ounces  per  week,  which  would
be  equivalent  to  about  81  lb.  per  annum.  The  proportions  of  the  chief  kinds
of  meat  consumed  to  this  total  were  :—beef  34  per  cent.,  pork  and  bacon  31  per
cent.,  and  sausage  28  per  cent.
Nearly  half  the  town’s  meat  supply  is  beef  (ox  and  cow  flesh)  ;  pork
follows  not  far  behind,  while  the  amount  of  mutton  consumed  is  very
small  and  tends  to  decrease.  The  supplies  of  beef  come  for  the  most
part  from  Switzerland,  but  also  from  North  Germany  through  the  Frankfort
and  Mannheim  markets  ;  Alsace  supplies  but  little.  Mutton  comes  chiefly
from  Wurtemberg,  and  a  small  quantity  only  from  the  vicinity.  Pork
comes  chiefly  from  the  Baden  Oberland  (north  of  Lake  Constance),  but
also  from  the  Berlin  and  Hamburg  markets,  and  veal  from  the  Baden  Oberland
and  Switzerland.  The  horses  killed  in  the  local  abattoir  come  from  the
vicinity,  and  as  is  the  case  with  the  supply  of  meat  generally,  great  care  is  taken
that  only  healthy  animals  pass  into  the  market  as  human  food.
The  working  classes  chiefly  buy  pork  and  the  cheaper  cuts  of  beef.  The
consumption  of  mutton  is  very  small  in  general,  and  the  working-class  shops  do
not  sell  it  at  all.  While  the  workman  eats  as  much  meat  as  he  can  afford  he
buys  in  small  quantities  ;  J  lb.  per  head  is  a  common  allowance  for  a  week-end