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Show vu FRENCH FRIED POTATOES. The street vending of pommes frltes, or French fried potatoes. Is peculiar pe-culiar to the northern part of Franco. Pommes frites take flic place of peanuts pea-nuts and popcorn, and are sold In much the same fashion. Not only is this trade carried on In some lnslnnces as a regularly established business, but workmen wishing to Increase thoir earnings come out on the streets In tho evening and sell these (rled potatoes pota-toes from pushcarts. Their profits often exceed their day's wases The pushcarts ave of tlie ordinary type, but covored ' A coke brazier Is Inserted through tho flooring, over which Is placod the large Iron caldron holding the fat obtained from beef suet. Raw potatoes, aftor being pared, are pressed through a special cutting machine, coming out In long, narrow, four-sided pieces. Those are immediately immed-iately put Into tho boiling fat and in several minutes are thoroughly cooked. cook-ed. They arc then salted and sold In Rmall paper cornucopias holding ono or two cents' worth. Pommes frites have the advantago that they supply a satisfying and nutritive nu-tritive meal for a fow cents. This is especially appreciated by the mill employes em-ployes during tho noon hour, as they are thus enabled to have something hot with their otherwise cold lunches. Rather than go to the trouble of pro-paring pro-paring the dish, to say nothing of filling fill-ing the houso with the odor of boiling fat, many families profer to purchase tho freshly cooked tubers from the nearest vonder These fried potatoes are not sold merely at'meal times, but during tho day, and are eaten llko popcorn. The trade is decidedly profitable, ovon If conducted on a small scale. Tho usual price of potatoes ranges lHJtween $1.40 aud $2 for 220 pounds. Tho bcof snot costs-19 cents for 2.3 pounds, ono kilo, and with that amount of fat It Is estimated that fourteen pounds of potatoes -can bo cooked, the fuel cost for iho'Tiamo amount not exceeding G cents1." Tho quantity of pommes frltos sold for 2 cents, while enough to satisfy an appetite, does not equal two ordinary sized potatoes in amount, and it will, therefore be soon that one ldlo'of cooked potatoes, coBtlhg C to 7 cents to propnre, nnd sold al IS to 28 cents, leaves tho vendor a handsome profit. A license must first bo obtained from the municipal authorities by those who wish to engage in the trndo. Permission Is then securod from somo enfe or eBtamlnet proprietor to allow a cart to bo drawn up In front of his establishment If this Is a good center cent-er tho profits will be considerable, us fifty to a hundrod kilos of potatoes will be sold In an ovoning. As each city and village In tho surrounding sur-rounding region holds an annual fair at Homo period of the year, It Is a regular reg-ular buslnoss of cortaln venders to go from town to town whoro tho fairs are belu held, erect their portablo houses or booths and sell pommes frites with other light refreshments. Those booths are ofton elaborately constructed, with tables, chairs, mirrors, mir-rors, electric lights, otc,, present quite an attractlvo appearance, and sell as much as 800 to 1000 kilos of potatoes a day, special paring machines being used. Consular Reports. oo . |