at one time have been, it is certainly true no longer. While in England great progress has been made in farming on a large scale, and especially in the improvement of vegetable crops, by steam ploughing and by chemical manure, a still more remarkable progress has been made in France in the breeding and feeding of stock. As to sheep, indeed, we may be said still to hold the pre-eminence. The French, as a rule, are not fond of mutton; nor is the soil of France so suitable for the sheep farmer as are many broad districts of the United Kingdom. But in the rearing of horned cattle, of horses, and even of pigs, there is much that we may learn from our neighbours. Far more of that systematic precision which aims at definite and wellconsidered results will be gathered from Mr. Richardson's book to be familiar to the French breeders than is at all common in England. The study of the points required, whether it be strength and hardihood for labour, abundance of milk, rapidity in producing meat, or delicate flavour as food; and, again, the consideration of the special circumstances of soil or climate, which render either of these different qualifications specially attainable in certain localities, have been carried in France to a

remarkable pitch. The study of pedigree has been as carefully and systematically carried on with regard to certain breeds of cattle as is the case in the English racing stables. And the result is, that while in the yield per acre of cereals and some other crops England is far richer than France, the reverse is the case in the yield per acre of milk and of meat.

One fact, which is at once an

evidence and a result of the excellence attained by the French cattle farmers and dairymen, comes home to us all. Most housekeepers are aware of the extraordinary extent to which French butter is now displacing English butter in our family consumption. But few persons may be altogether prepared to hear that in 1876 we paid between three and four millions sterling for 600,000 cwt. of French butter. Nor is this a question of quantity alone. There is not only an excellence, but a regularity of excellence, about the best brands of French butter which few English dairies can rival. The most famous brands are those of Gournay, in Seine Inférieure, and Isigny, in Calvados. For the latter the prices run from seven to ten guineas per cwt., salted. But this latter price, which is equal to 1s. 103d. per lb., is far from being the highest commanded by the Isigny butter. In Paris, in the winter, this product of the dairy sells for as much as 3s. 6d. per lb. wholesale, in large quantities. The delicate care which is given to the whole process of the manufacture, during which the cream and butter are never touched by human fingers, is the main cause of an excellence which is rewarded by such a price.