ZWICKAU. 
489 
Predominant Prices paid by the Working Classes in October, 1905, and 
October, 1906. 
Predominant Price. 
Commodity. 
Coffee ... ... ... 
Sugar (White granulated) 
Bacon :— 
Fat 
Streaky 
Eggs 
Cheese (Limburg) 
Butter ... 
Potatoes 
Flour :— 
Wheat 
Bye ... ... 
Bread, Rye 
Milk 
Coal 
Paraffin Oil 
per lb. 
per Is. 
per lb. 
per 7 lbs. 
per 4 lbs. 
per qt. 
per cwt. 
per gallon 
October. 1905. 
11 d. 
2d. 
lid. 
lid. 
17 
4|d. 
Is. 2\d. 
2#. 
11 \d. to Is. 31d. 
11 \d. 
5jd. 
2#. 
lOfd. 
lOd. 
October, 1906. 
lid. 
2d., 2\d. 
lid. 
lid. 
17 
5 \d. 
Is. 2#. 
2\d. 
11#. to Is. 3# 
11# 
5jd. 
2§d. 
ll|d. 
lOd. 
The coffee most generally bought by workpeople is the cheapest sort 
labelled " Santos,” “ Guatemala,” or “ Campinas,” or else a mixture of “ Cam 
pinas ” and " Caracas.” Partly for economy and partly as a matter of taste 
the coffee, before being brewed, is mixed with malted barley, or some other 
substitute purchasable at about one-fourth the price of the real article. With 
regard to bacon, what has been stated of other German towns (e.g., Dresden, 
Barmen, Königsberg) is also true of Zwickau ; only flank or belly pieces are 
made into bacon. What is known in England as “ back of bacon ” is not 
sold, the fat being cut from the back and disposed of separately (either 
smoked or green) as “ fetter speck.” In this form (of pure fat) it fetches the 
same price (lid. per lb.) as streaky bacon, and is used for giving body to 
various dishes of cooked vegetables, such as cabbage, beans, &c., or to soup. 
The lean portion of the back is sold fresh as pork chops. 
Butter is a somewhat important item in the family budget of the working 
classes in Zwickau, as in Saxony generally. Returns furnished for the purposes 
of the present inquiry by 76 typical workmen’s families in Zwickau showed an 
average weekly consumption of about 2-£ lbs. of butter and 1 lb. of margarine, 
the former costing about Is. 2^d., and the latter about Sd. per lb. 
The price of fresh milk in Zwickau was 20 pfennige the litre, or 2Jd. per 
quart, as shown in the table. Skimmed milk was sold for 8 pfennige the litre, or 
about Id. per quart, and the fact that the average cost of the milk consumed by 
the 76 families referred to above was 13§ pfennige per litre, or about lfd. per 
quart, would suggest that the cheapness of skimmed milk induces the working- 
class wife to use a fair proportion of it. Coal is cheap in Zwickau, yet not so 
cheap as might be expected having regard to the fact that it is produced on the 
spot. The cost retail was iOfd. per cwt. in October, 1905, and llfd. in 
October, 1906. For the families of coal-miners it is much less, for they obtain 
it at pit-mouth price. 
Meat. 
The meat consumed in Zwickau consists entirely of German produce, and 
its increasing dearness, which is a subject of loud complaint amongst all classes 
of the population, is reflected in the declining consumption. The total amount of 
meat eaten in Zwickau in 1905 was 3,679 tons, or 121 lbs. per head of population, a 
decline of 5 J per cent, as compared with the previous year, when the per capita 
consumption amounted to 128 lbs. The staple flesh food is pork, which in one 
form or another represented more than one-half (53 per cent.) of all the meat 
3 Q 
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