barmen.
75
The above prices call for no special comment except in the case of bread,
which, as in other Rhineland towns, is offered for sale in great variety of shape
and quality. There are two qualities of black bread ; one consists wholly of rye
flour with the husk retained and is baked in loaves of 7 or of 3^ German pounds
costing 70 or35 pfennige respectively, that is to say, 4^d. per 4 lbs. avoirdupois.
This is the cheapest kind of black bread, and is extremely solid, and said to be
the most nutritious of all the breads sold. Little of any other kind of bread
was eaten by the working classes twenty-five years ago, and most of the old
people still prefer it to any other and deplore the “ fastidiousness ” of the
present generation. This kind of black bread is sold as often by the pound cut
into thin slices, and then the price usually charged is 16 pfennige, which works
out at a price of Gd. for 4 lbs. avoirdupois. The next quality of black bread
consists of pure rye, twice ground, with part of the husk removed. It is baked
in loaves weighing either 4J or 2£ German pounds costing 70 and 35 pfennige
respectively, that is to say, about 6£<i. for 4 lbs, avoirdupois. This bread is only
sold by the loaf. Next comes what is known as Mang-brot, which consists of twothirds
rye and one-third wheat ; the loaf weighs some 3§ pounds German, and
costs 70 pfennige, or a little over Sd. per 4 lbs. avoirdupois. Then comes Feinbrot,
or fine bread, consisting of one-third rye and two-thirds wheat flour more finely
ground. The loaves weigh 3^ lbs. and cost 60 pfennige, that is to say, 7hd.
per 4 lbs. avoirdupois. The next variety of bread is that called Graubrot (grey
bread) and is mostly eaten with cold meat or some kind of sausage or cheese.
It is made in loaves of 3 or of 1^ German pounds costing 50 and 25 pfennige
respectively, or about l\d. per 4 lbs. avoirdupois. It consists of three-fifths
wheat and two-fifths rye flour. A fifth variety of bread is that known as
Stuten. The Stute weighs one German, or 11 of an English pound, and consists
entirely of wheaten flour with an admixture of sugar and frequently with a few
currants thrown in. One such loaf costs 25 pfennige or 3d. Lastly there are
the rolls of fine wbeaten flour costing two pfennige each and weighing 10 or 11
to the German pound. The exact proportion in which these various kinds of
bread are consumed by the working classes cannot be determined. In the opinion
of those most competent to judge (including the President of the Bakers’ Guild)
it may, however, be assumed that, excluding the Stuten or sweet loaves and the
rolls, the proportions would be about equal, so that the average price which the
working classes in Barmen pay for their bread per 4 lbs. may be calculated as
follows : —
1.
o.
4.
o.
Black bread, heavy variety :—
Pure rye, sold by the loaf
Do. do. pound (sliced)
Black bread, superior (rye twice ground)
“ Mang Brot,” two-thirds rye and one-third wheat
" Fein Brot,” one-third rye and two-thirds wheat'
Grey bread, two-fifths rye and three-fifths wheat
4£(/.
6d.
61 d.
8d.
l\d.
7\<l.
Average
6U.
With regard to statistics of retail prices in Barmen, it may be mentioned
that, since January, 1906, the Municipal Statistical Office has been collecting,
at the end of each month, returns of retail prices of meat, fish, groceries, bread,
and coal. The data are supplied on forms filled in regularly by 22 grocers,
22 butchers, and 5 coal dealers, and the averages calculated from these returns
are published in the monthly bulletin issued by the Statistical Office.
Meat.
As in Elberfeld and Düsseldorf, the whole of the meat supply is in the
hands of local butchers of the “ family ” type and the great bulk of the meat
consumed is of German origin. The town also resembles Elberfeld and Düsseldorf
in the fact that it possesses no municipal retail market for the sale of meat
K 2
29088
