[95] As is so often the case with the Frenchman, as compared
with the Englishman of corresponding social status, he had his
information cut and dried, and poured it out without hesitation.
Silkworms' eggs cost 15, 20, or 25 francs an ounce, according to
quality; and an ounce of good seed should produce from two to three
hundred francs' worth of cocoons. A man who 'makes' an ounce of seed
requires six tables, 8 feet by 4, for his cages; and as some men make
thirty-five ounces, chambers of great size are necessary for the
accommodation of their worms; but breeders to so large an extent as this
are the princes of the trade. As we passed a farmhouse surrounded by
mulberry trees and vineyards, my companion informed me that the farmer
was his partner in worms and wine both, and that the wine promised to be
the better speculation this year, for the fruit was in immense
abundance. I saw afterwards that, at the time of vintage, grapes sold
for pressing at from 6 to 10 francs the hundred kilos, while 12 and 13
francs was the price in 1863, and that in some districts of the Drome
the owners of the presses had not barrels enough for even the first
pressing.
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