146

CHEMNITZ.

Verein  Altchemnitz)  having  some  1,300  members  and  four  branch  stores,  in
which  goods  to  the  value  of  £17,000  were  sold  in  the  year  ended
August  31st,  1906.
Groceries  and  other  Commodities.

Appended  is  a  summary  table  showing  the  predominant  retail  prices  of  provisions, ­
  other  than  butcher’s  meat,  as  well  as  of  coal  and  paraffin  oil,  in  Chemnitz
at  October,  1905.  The  consumption  of  tea  among  the  working  classes  is
practically  nil.  The  coffee  most  generally  bought  is  of  South  American  origin
(Santos)  and  costs  11  d.  per  pound  ;  but  the  compound  from  which  the  family
coffee  is  brewed  costs  considerably  less,  as  it  contains  a  large  admixture  of  some
such  substitute  as  roasted  barley  or  chicory  at  less  than  half  the  price.  The
sugar  most  generally  consumed  is  the  white  granulated  variety  known  as  Melis,
at  %\d.  per  pound.  Lump  sugar  at  2fd.  is  frequently  used  to  sweeten  coffee.
Of  bacon,  as  we  know  it  in  England,  very  little  is  eaten.  Smoked  bacon  fat
(Speck),  entirely  devoid  of  lean,  costs  exactly  as  much  as  streaky  bacon,  though
it  is  used  for  frying  or  giving  body  and  flavour  to  other  foods,  and  not  as  an
article  of  diet  in  itself.  The  eggs  bought  by  working-class  families  are  most
frequently  imported  from  Austria  and  were  sold  at  a  price  corresponding  to  17
for  a  shilling.  Margarine  is  seldom  used  as  a  substitute  for  butter,  although
the  quality  of  the  latter  most  in  demand  cost  Is.  2fd.  the  pound,  as  against  7f  d.
for  margarine.  Apart  from  the  breakfast  roll,  no  wheaten  bread  is  eaten.
There  are  three  varieties  of  rye  bread  of  varying  shades  of  grey,  and  sold  at
prices  the  range  of  which  was  equivalent  to  one  of  4¡¡d.  to  5Jd.  for  four  pounds.
The  loaves  are  baked  in  a  great  variety  of  shapes  and  sizes,  and  vary  in  weight
with  the  price  of  rye.  Besides  the  pure  or  "  full  ”  milk,  as  it  is  called,  at  a
price  of  2£d.  per  quart,  a  good  deal  of  skimmed  milk  at  Id.  per  quart  is  used
by  working-class  families.  Coal  is  sold  by  the  hectolitre,  a  measure  of  capacity
the  contents  of  which  vary  in  weight  according  to  the  quality  of  the  coal.
From  enquiries  made  among  dealers  and  others,  it  appears  that  the  hectolitre  is
taken  to  represent  about  1^  centners,  or  165  lbs.  Reckoned  on  this  basis,  a
hundredweight  of  coal  such  as  the  working  classes  consume  cost  from  Is.  3£d.
to  Is.  5£d.  at  October,  1905.  Considering  that  most  of  the  coal  is  mined  no
further  off  than  at  Ölsnitz  and  Lugau  in  the  neighbouring  Erzgebirge,  the  price
is  somewhat  high.  Prices  in  September,  1906,  when  the  town  was  visited  for
the  purposes  of  this  Enquiry,  were  the  same  as  in  October,  1905,  with  the
exception  of  the  price  of  coal,  which  was  slightly  lower  than  at  the  earlier  date.

Predominant  Prices  paid  by  the  Working  Classes  in  October,  1905,
and  September,  1906.

Predominant  Price.

Commodity.

Coffee
Sugar  :—
Loaf  ...  ...
White  granulated
Bacon  :—
Fat
Streaky
Eggs
Cheese  :—
Swiss
Limburg
Butter
Margarine
Potatoes  ...
Flour  :—
Wheat
Ry  e  ...  ...
Bread,  Rye  (Grey)
Milk
Coal  ...  ...
Paraffin  oil

per  lb.

per  Is.
per  lb.
per  7  lbs.

per  4  lbs
per  quart
per  cwt.
per  gallon

October,  1905.

lid.
2#
%\d.
11  d.
11  d.
17
Is.  Id.
6&d.
Is.  2|d.
7|d.
2^d.  to  3d.
Is.  Old.
lOfd.  to  Is.  Old.
4^d.  to  51d.
2|d.
Is.  3\d.  to  Is.  5  Id.
lOd.

September,  1906.

lid.

2#
2W.

lid.
lid.
17
Is.  Id.
§\d.
Is.  2fd.
7#
21d.  to  3d.
Is.  Old.
10fd.  to  Is.  Old.
4  Id.  to  51d.
Is.  2Id.  to  Is.  4|d.
lOd.