Prices for 110.23 pounds at the bonded warehouse were:

The commerce in hides during the year 1897 was on the whole satisfactory. Although the importations were not as large as those of 1895, they were greater than those of 1896. The demands from the tanneries were such as to enable the prices to be sustained, a rise of 10 per cent taking place at the end of the year. The following table gives the statistics of importations, deliveries, and stocks for the last three years:

Total..

95, 131 31,062 36, 649 17, 416 400, 611 103, 798 103, 975 16,848 82, 645 6,925 17,047 6,664 271, 786 46, 444 37, 343, 28, 381 21, 703 10, 263 8,800 821 5,869

154, 979
45, 034

401,543 30,821 14,859 29,556

1,566, 520 1, 249, 947 1, 316, 989 1, 430, 779 1, 265, 516 1, 451, 729 241, 574 226, 005 107, 665

85,369 433,339

27,713 256,059 138, 163 91, 868 398, 258

49, 188 293, 136 24, 418 248,283

143, 362 133,700

373, 429

a Year ending Dec. 31.

The movement of the hide market for the first eight months of 1898 and 1897, given in the table below, indicates that there was more activity during this period in 1898 than in 1897. The importations were in excess by nearly 300,000 hides, and the amount of deliveries was also greater.

Movement of the Harre hide market, first eight months of 1897 and 1898.

WOOL.

The importations of wool into the port of Havre during the year 1897 amounted to 19,291 bales-about 7,000 bales less than the previous year. The market was active, however, and at the end of the year the prices were 10 per cent higher than at the beginning, and the stocks much reduced.

During the first eight months of 1898, the importations of wool amounted to 17,122 bales; the stock on hand August 31, 1898, was 6,620 bales, and the prices were 15 per cent higher than those of January 1.

WOOD FOR CABINETMAKING.

The port of Havre is an important market for wood for cabinetmaking purposes. The importations for the year 1897 reached a total of 24,126 tons of 2,200 pounds each, an increase of 7,200 tons as compared with 1896 and of 14,199 tons compared with 1895. There is always a good demand for wood of the best quality.

There was a diminution in the importation of dyewoods in 1897 as compared with the three previous years, owing to the large stock on hand at the end of 1896 and the small demand from the extract manufacturers.

The port of Havre is also an important market for wood for building purposes, although in keen competition with the neighboring ports. In the following table, giving the importations of wood for the past three years, it will be seen that there was an increased importation of wood of all kinds, especially in oak staves. There is a demand for good American pitch pine, which is usually brought here in Norwegian or Swedish vessels. The dealings in wood for building purposes are made directly with the consumer, and not through brokers.

In the values of declared exports to the United States, given earlier in this report, it will be seen that the increase of the exportations of crude rubber to the United States from this port in 1897, were $362,253 over those of 1896. The following table shows the importations and exportations of crude rubber and gutta-percha in the whole of France for the first eight months of 1898, 1897, and 1896, together with the values:

Rubber statistics of France for first eight months of 1898, 1897, and 1896-General

A diminution of the wine crop of France in 1897 caused an increase in the importations of wines and spirits of nearly 1,000,000 gallons, as compared with the previous year. The bulk of the ordinary wine brought into France came from Algeria, one of the French colonies. About 500,000 gallons, however, were imported from Spain. The low price to which the Spanish peseta has fallen enables the French importer to buy Spanish wines very cheaply.

The countries from which ordinary wine was imported for mixing purposes, and the number of gallons imported, were as follows: Spain 500,500, Turkey 172,020, Greece 25,363, Algeria 5,426,130, and Tunis 123,460 gallons.

CEREALS.

In 1894, the duty on wheat was raised by the French Government to 37 cents a bushel, since which period the importance of Havre as a market for the importation of cereals depends upon the abundance of the home grain crops. There were but slight changes in the prices of wheat during the first six months of the year 1897, but owing to the predictions of a poor harvest in 1897, which were afterwards realized, the prices began to rise and the volume of importations of all cereals increased. The following tables show the importations of the principal

grains into Havre for the last seven years, and the range of prices of wheat during the year 1897:

The wheat crop of France in 1897 being the smallest which has been harvested for the past ten years, with the exception of that of 1891, it was found necessary, in order to supply the wants of the country for bread making and industrial purposes, to import large quantities of foreign wheat. Owing to the high prices of this grain prevailing throughout the world, and to prevent the price of bread becoming too high, on May 3, 1898, the French Government issued a decree removing the entire duty on wheat. The terms of this act remained in force till June 30, 1898. To show the volume of the increased importations of wheat, in the following table will be found the number of bushels brought into France during the first eight months of the years 1898, 1897, and 1896, together with the values and the countries from which the wheat was exported:

Wheat imports into France for the first eight months of 1896, 1897, and 1898.