Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1908-09-25
PARIS IS FRANCE.
Sans Night. Sans Sunday. Sans God,
and no ''Lid."
Editorial Correspondence)

Editorial Correspondence)
Through the fields of France, as in
| Germany. we find hay on all sides.
Nowhere have we seen grass over a
foot high. They cut it here with short
blade scythe or get down on their knees
with the hand sycle. The latter instru-
ment is usually welded by women and
children, who, as elsewhere in Europe,
are found mostly at work. Grass is
profuse and rank over the continent,
but for some reason or other it never
grows tall. The short season is agaipst
it; yet in some places they cut it two or
three times, though seldom over six or
eight inches in height, and the hay is as
short as our lawn grass cuttings. 1t is
very thick, however, and produces more
abundantly than one would think at first
glance. We have never seen in ''the
States such thick sod and growth.
The finger tip could hardly be put down
upon bare spot, either wild o. culti-
waited. Most Of 1T appears 80 be indigi-
nous, though timothy and clover are
sometimes sown.
Cattle are becoming less numerous,
goats taking the place of the milch COW
to large extent. Here and there on
the mountain sides, or in the plains,
| are seen worsen and children minoing
herds of goats. The cattle are driven
to the highest mountains, and the hill
/ sides and valleys reserved for moving.
The horses are not 10 large or wellkept.
We have heard that the Frenchman,
Italian, and Spaniapd (that is, the
Latin races) of all Eurepe are the least
merciful to their beasts. We found it
! true of the Paris cabby and drivers, at
4 any rate. Oxen are much used for
4 blowing and draft. AS throsghout
4 Europe, the roads are almost as smooth
| and hard as billiard table, and ,grest
4 loadssare pulled by a single beast, horse,
bull, as<. goat, or dog, any one of which
! may be seen hooked up single to a pole
4 that runs out from one side of the
wagon like a single prong to shafts. No
4 shafts are used. except for goat or dog;
j just one prong, or pole. on the right
1 side for equine or bovine.
Trees, the poplar 81 Lombardy and
the elm predominating, are becoming
more numerousin the wild state. Vege-
tables especially potatoes, cabbage,
beans and parsnips-some tobacco and
a little corn are raised. The crops
throughout middle and southern Europe
are luxuriant, and evidence wonderful
1 fertility, either natural or applied. In
France we see the first cared corn, just
| beginning the middle of August to
ear On every side and in every
nook and corner are grape vines. No
| wonder Europe exports and consumes
So much wine. 1t is grown on all sides,
kept in every store and in every house;
the. babies cry for it and are given it,
andtSe old as well as young and middle
aged ,Rsen and women drink it in public
and withsss little concern as tapping the
| water coaiss with US. We have not as
yet found aMaser cooler (haven't needed
the cooling tns<t), and when calling
for water, aperiept,or seltzer is handed
you, with ten-cerEpe dun. The
American fat man, the. Vegetable water
drinker, we imagine would haye hard
time here. unless he could be s.tisfied
with beer or the juice of the vine.
| We are just in the fruit season. sad
everything but melons and peaches cam
be bought for "song." Ten eentimes
\ e cents) will buy you hatfull of the
most luscious white or green grapes or
plums or pears. The blue or black
grape is not so palatable; it is used for
! making sour wine. Peaches here are
1 are but little cheaper than in England,
| from to 10 cents each, while canta-
!, loupe is worth so to rs cents a slice
No watermelons are to be seen, though
they may be sent in from the south
Vendors with their push carts sell fruit
\ and vegetables, the latter consisting
| chiefly of squash or cymblins. One
h has got to change his mode of living as
soon as be reaches Europe. For break
fast ,ynr get coffee, butter Tor maybe
honey and bread, as regular bill of
\ fare. If you call for anything else
they stare at you, proceed to get it,
and hand you big bill, even for eggs,
which are comparatively cheap in
England and France. For lunch (our
dinner) you can get almost any,
thing you want but butter and coffee.
The usual lunch rounds out from
five to seven courses, each by piece
meal. and it fairly gives an American
the itch to wait the walters pleasure
No regular lunch or dinner can be hur-
ried through in less than an hour, and
most of these people will while away
two hours at it. slipping their wine or
beer between times. They seem to
think life is of a thousand years. With
4 your lunch, dinner and supper they
supply drinks, sometimes included in
the sixty cents to one dollar charge, and
4 sometimes extra. With your order
they will ask what your drink is to be,
and if you say coffee they think you
il are just little ''off,'' and if you say
milk or water they will believe you
daft" Coffee is drink usually called
for by itself, and at any time of the day
wheresoever you may find yourself
There is no license required in Europe
for selling liquors, so every shack j.
stocked with them. We called fol
Ioysters, once. in gilded cafe in Londor