The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1876-07-04 00:00:00

A. PEEP AT B.ILLINGWATIft

It may, p&;lMpe,
_-17Ce niiiresicniToiro—int-Q-tibe localities
from which the different kinds of fish arrive. From Yar-
mouth the supply consista almost entirely of herrings, and
the quantity sent up is perfectly astounding. On some
OCCSISOSIS, nearly 100 tons have been despatched in • single
night. From the North of England and Scotland salmon
Is the staple commodity. The Smith-Western line brings
mackerel, and pilchards come in large numbers from Corn-
wall. The fresh-water fish pour in from all pert., and are
mostly purchased by Jews, who cook and sell them after
their peculiar style. The delicate whitebait is raptured,
during nertain seasons of the year, in the
between Blackwell and Woolwich, and in • part of the
river where the water is particularly dirty. Lobsters
anise in large quantities from Norway, and the Shetland
and Memel Isles 8o many as fifty thousand have been
known to reach the market in one day ; but whatever the
supply, the demand is always equal to it. These fish are
edible at the age of one year and a half, and are supposed
to he in their prime when three years old. Oysters—
precious bivalves I—come from all parts, the 4th of Aurust
being known in the trade as "Oyster Day ' —Cs., the
day on which the oyster season commences. The public,
however, do not wait for August. Oysters in June
and July will suit them just as well. Sprat; humble but
tasty sprats, are caught in vast quantities off most parts of
the English coast, and also in the Firth of Forth, and
mine into season on the 9th of November—Lord Mayor's
Day. Whether his lordship has a dish of these fish at his
Inaugural banquet is • matter of doubt to many minds.
Our impression is that he has not The largest kind GI
eels come from Holland, being well taken care of in water-
teaks, Cod is also brought alive to this country, receiving
the soup de grace on its arrival. Soles, plaice, brill had-
dock, Mate, dabs, turbot, and most of the " bottom fish,
are taken off Denmark and Holland. Costermongers have
a wonderful partiality for haddock, of which they
purehaae very large quantities, curing and drying the fish,
and selling it in the poorer neighbourhoods of London.
This Is the more curittsddriesi haddock is • somewhat
expensive luxury if purchased ate first-class fishmonger's;
perhaps, however, casters porter the secret of pre-
paring in some cheap manner. Flat fish find ready
customers in the Jews, who fry them in oil, and sell them
to those who appreciate such delicacies. In several of
the narrow ISMS adjacent to Billingsgate are boiling
houses," where the crabs and lobsters are sacrificed,aiil
made to acquire that beautiful red which many people
Imagine is their natural colour. The lobster goes into
the boiling water alive—a piece of unnecessary cruelty
to be strongly deprecated ; but the more sensitive nub
14 first of all, despatched by the skilful application
of a needle. The claws and legs would fly of as if
by metric were this not done. Some of the wealthiest
men in the City are fish salesmen. Some deal
to one description of fish only, whilst ethers dealbn all.
The salesman knows perfectly well, by the aid of the
MlMlwhat sort of supply the morning will bring
is therefore able to make arrangements before-
hand To this fact, also, a great deal of his prosperity
may be referred. There are no less than MO regular fish-
mongers in London, and as they all have to make their
through salesmen, and those purchases nearly
every day in the week, it will readily be seen that the
salesman • business is one in which there is always plenty
to do. It is impossible to do MOSS than guess at the daily
or yearly quantity of fish brought to this market, and for
many reasons, the principal being that there are no
customs* duties or excise on fish caught on our coasts, and
consequently no record is kept of the numbers taken. In
• carefully-written article which appeared some years
since in the Qiuirstrip Review, the writer quoted the
opinion of a Billingsgate authority, who estimated the
yearly supply as f01k:m..2 :—Salmon, 99,000 boxes, 7 in a
box; cod. alive, 400,000, averaging IWb. each; ditto.
barrelled, 15,000 barrels, 50 to • barrel ; ditto, salt,
1,690,000, averaging Nix each; haddocks, 2,470,000 at 92b.
each' ditto, smoked, 65,000 barrels, 300 to • barrel ; soles,
91,510,000, at IN. each ; mackerel. 113.990,000 at Ilb. each;
herrings, 250,000 barrels, at 150 each; ditto. red. 100,000
at 500 each; ditto, bloaters, 295,000 baskets, at
150 each ; eels, 5,005,000 at 6 to lib; whiting, 17,920,000, at
6oz. each: plaice, 36.600,000 at Ilb. each ; turbot, 900 0.00.
at 71b. each • lint' and mullet; 1,220,000, at :2 b each;
oysters, 500,90000 at 400 to • peck; crabs, 600,000 ;
lobsters, 1,600,600; prawns, 12 tons, at 1M to Ilb. ;
shrimps, 1910,995 gallons at 399 to a pint.

A &sun' young New York widow says she is in the
honeymoon of her widowhood. What a brute her liege
lord most hare boo.
A Biennials Agirl was asked by • red thin gentlemen
If she didn't think she could learn to love him. " I
might if you was stuffed." wee the laughing reply.
A New Tone dioramas says it is interesting to
observe how many people go to the circus "just to please
the children." and very curious to notice that sometimes
It takes several able-bodied man and motherly women
to look after one little boy or girl on such an occaaion.
A Kuffissor• paper made • young poetess say, " Oh,
tor heart full of sweet yearlings. The poetess wrote
to the editor, declaring that she wrote "yearnings,"
and that the Minter who sat it up yearlings was •
ail .
Rg-OFILNIPIO OF USTI C CATIIIEDILAL Caoll.—After the
tepee of needy Ns years since the work wee commenced,
and by the expouliture—including special gifts—of some
me.ooo, the chief section of the internal restoration of
Rueter Cathedral has been completed, and the choir and
transepts will be reopened on St. Peter's day.
ALUM= Cangt.rr. —At the Rotherham Midsummer
r Notions, on Thur.:toy, Mr. W. Ormo in
nd. g,C.•
rieehafr., the appeal cue of "'Aycock e. Weiby"
of filsedield) came on for hearing. On the
Fserar" the appellant, Mr. George lew
was = a dyer.
Sheikh! under 12 @lda 13 Vic., cap. 92, at the
for having at the Queen's Grounds, Shellieht tortured a
non by severely galvanising it for public exhibition, and
• Ins Si 10e warn indicted in order to enable the defen-
dent to appeal. The animal, it was alleged, quivered
violently as if in great
.pahtl.etreered. pranmlyj her eye.
were distended, her =DES rm, mad she fell to
=d In a partial state of paralysis. Mr. Barker,
ter. staid the cage fir the appellant which was
that there was no craelty involved In the reee. "di that
the patent which had been taken out by the defendant
was a Mae fide attempt to cure vicious animal.. He °ow
waded that the mesas adopted by the appellant formed a
most immune and proper cure for vicious bones, and that
his invention had been approved by Perim+ well aotualnted ,
with ani not only this country_ hut throughout
Ramps. 11 to this elect was th hood. Th. 1
coed were naaaimous in favour of l melting the
coavieMsn.