202
DRESDEN.
number of representative dealers in such articles once a month and to ascertain
from each the prices of the day. The information thus collected is tabulated
and published in the Monthly Statistical Bulletin issued by the Municipality,
which shows the highest, lowest and predominant price of each article.
Groceries and other Commodities.
The following table shows the predominant retail prices of groceries and
other commodities (other than butchers’ meat) in Dresden at October, 1905.
It is to be noted that each price quotation in the table is based upon the verbal
statements of a number of different dealers with a large working-class custom,
and relates to that quality of the article which workpeople are most in the habit
of buying.
Predominant Price.
Commodity.
October, 1905.
June, 1906.
Coffee
Sugar :—
Loaf ... .
White granulated
Bacon :—
Fat
Streaky
Eggs
Cheese, Limburg
Butter
Margarine ...
Potatoes
Flour
Wheaten ...
Rye
Bread, Rye ...
Milk
Coal ...
Paraffin Oil ...
per lb.
per Is.
per lb.
per 7 lb.
per 4 lb.
per quart
per cwt.
per gallon
lid.
2W., 2M.
9fd. to lid.
9|d. „ lid.
14
&\d.
Is. 2fd. to Is. 3fd.
8§d.
2d. to 2|d.
Is. 3\d.
Is. Cqd. to Is. l|d.
4|d. „ 5|d.
2#d.
Is. Id.
9\d. to lOd.
lid.
2|d., 2fd.
2W.
9|d.
9%d. to lid.
lid.
17 „ 18
6^d.
Is. 2\d.
8#
2d. to 2fd.
Is. 3f d.
Is. 0fd. to Is. lfd.
5d. „ 6d.
2gd.
Is. Id.
9f-d. to lOd.
With regard to the above Table, the following observations may be of
interest.
Coffee.—The kind most usually consumed by working-class families is of
Brazilian origin and costs lid. per lb. Partly for economy and partly as a
matter of taste it is usual to mix a certain proportion of malted barley with the
■coffee, usually two parts of coffee to one of barley. The latter costs from 2jd.
to 3\d. per lb. according to quality.
Sugar.—The kind most commonly bought is a fine-grained quality of
white crystallised sugar known as Gemahlener or ground sugar. At October,
1905, this cost 2^d. per lb. It does not appear that lump sugar is largely
consumed by the working classes, even for sweetening coffee.
Eggs.—The kinds most consumed by working-class families are Russian
and Austrian, and when bought singly, as they most frequently are, cost, in
October, 7pf. each, which would represent from 14 to 15 for a shilling.
Cheese.—The popular cheese is “ Limburg,” costing about Gjd. per lb.
Bacon.—Only flank or belly pieces are made into bacon. The back, from
which the best and dearest cuts are obtained in the United Kingdom, has the
whole of the fat cut away from the lean, and the two are sold as separate
articles.. The fat, which fetches from 9fd. to lid. per lb., is used either as lard
or dripping, or else it is cut into dice and boiled with cabbage or other green
vegetables as a means of flavouring the latter ; for in Germany green vegetables
when boiled are considered tasteless unless flavoured with fat or vinegar. The
remaining portion of the back, consisting of pure lean, is sold fresh as pork
chops at lid. to Is. Id. the lb. (October, 1905), but is hardly an article of
working-class consumption. The great bulk of the bacon sold in Dresden is
German produce. A certain amount of American bacon was also in the market
at October, 1905, and fetched the same price as the native produce.
