November past and present
by llamalady
I have just read through the November 1932 issue of La Prospérité à la Campagne and picked out the following to share with you:
Some sayings:
La Toussaint venue – plus de charrue
_All Saint’s Day has come – no more ploughing.
_
Autant d’heures de soleil le jour de Toussaint-
Autant de semaines à souffler dans ses mains.
For every hour of sunshine you get on All Saint’s Day, you’ll get a week of blowing on your hands to keep them warm during winter.
Après St-Clèment – ne sème plus froment.
After St Clement’s day (23 Nov) don’t sow any more barley.
A la Ste-Catherine, l’hiver s’aberline [s’acheminer]
A la St-André il est aberliné [arrive].
Winter is on its way on St Catherine’s Day (25 Nov). By 30 Nov it has arrived.
Gelée e Saint-Sosthène – d’un mois attarde la graine.
_Frost on St Sosthene’s day (28 Nov)- seeds will be a month late germinating.
_
S’il neige à St-Zacherie – que le paysan rie.
_If it snows on St Zachary’s day, the peasant will laugh!
(- I can’t find out when St Zacherie’s day is I’m afraid.)
_
Bargains:
Here are a few books advertised in the November 1932 edition of La Prosperité à la Campagne:
Le commerce et l’industrie de la plume pour parure 352pp 22 francs
_The Feather Bedding Industry
_
Poules qui pondent, poules qui paient 260 pp 15,50 francs
_Chickens which lay, chickens which pay
_
Lapins, Lapereaux et cie 280 pp 15,50 francs
_Rabbits, baby rabbits and co
_
You could buy a hunting gun for 690 francs (1 euro 4 cents), a sports bike for 195 francs (29 cents), and a breeding pair of 8 month old ragondins (coypus) for 400 francs (60 cents).
The conversions francs to euro above are in today’s actual money values. To give their equivalent purchasing power, a more helpful conversion, then using the fiendishly clever table at http://insee.fr/en/indicateurs/indic_cons/pouvoir_achat.pdf, we come out with prices of 243 euro for the ragondins, 118 euro for the bike and 420 euro for the gun. The books come out at 13.36 euro for the 22 francs book and 9.50 or so euro for the cheaper books.