Evening star., 1922-12-10

to which the market people pay rent
for their stalls.
The business of supplying the
Halles begins at 9 or 10 o'clock every
night. when heavily laden wagons.
carts and trucks. containing all sorts
of eatables. begin coming into the
city. Not 30 long ago many of the
farmers brought in their produce on
wheelbarrows and small donkey carts.
They had also huge carts holding one
or two tons. hauled by percheron
horses. hitehed tandem. The latter
are still to be seen, but they are
rapidly being replaced by motor
trucks and by steam locomotives
which haul box cars through the city.
Our visit to the Halles is made at
6 o'clock IN the morning. We get
there in time to see them selling At
wholesale. which lasts only from ;
until 8 am. Tho sales are BY auc-
tion. meat, vegetables and fish being
knocked down in lots to the highest
bidders. As we enter the Halles We
pass porters carrying all sorts OF
things in and out Some have on
hats On big around ~ q parasol. and
resting upon them crates OF sucking
i':sS. fowls and rabbits. Some carry
ii whole sheep or hog on their hacks.
The po.ters wear the ed-stockinH
caps Of their profession. and also long
butchers aprons. once white. but now
stained and bloody. Others bring in
srea: baskets Of vegetables. Every
one is pushing this way and that, and
We are hustled and jostlcd about as
wa make our way through.
II X Il =
WYE stop first at tho fowl hall.
w where chickens. ducks and rab-
bits are sold by the crate. There are
thousands OF cartridges and pheas-
ants and other game of all sorts.
About each auctioneer stands a crowd
of French peasants, the men wearing
short coats and long. bagEy corduroy
trousers and the women black shawls
and long. full. black skirts. All bid
loudly for the various lots The auc-
tioneers knock down the goods rap
idly. l. takes thirty seconds to sell
crate Of sucking pigs. and less for
one Of chickens Or ducks.
auct.onins off butter and eggs. The
eggs come in great boxes. which are
stacked on the floor. Each box con-
tains 1000 eggs. and the stock on
hand this morning totals millions.
stopped later at one Of the retail
stands and asked tho prices OF eggs.
They bring or cents and upward
apiece. or 20 or so cents a dozen.
In a farm eighty miles from Paris I
recently bought some for half that
amount.
These French know how to use
eggs. They make delicious egg dishes
which are hardly known in America,
and as a result the egg consumption
of Paris is enormous. The eggs nre
usually good. l have yet to get bad
one. and most of them have the OBJ
lection that the newsboy made when
he refused his first fresh egg served
during trip in the country. He said:
"'Tain't right. 1t don't smell and
amt got no taste.
1t is the same with the butter. It
Ia made without salt and must there
fore he good to keep long. Here in
the market it is sold at wholesale in
balls Of twenty-five pounds.
What is that small waited to our
nostrils from over the way? 1t has a
Cheesey nature. although not of the
limberger kind. We cross over and
enter another great pavilion where
the auctioneers are selling cheeses Of
every description. They have some
made from sleeps milk and goats
milk; Camembert. Roquefort, Gorgon-
zola and Brie, and the little rolls of
Petite-Suisses. which are as soft as
butter unworked. There are also the
white wogan wheels OF Gruyere, and
the red. round balls of Edam cheese
from Holland.
Our next walk is among the fish
wives. There is whole pavilion de-