Wilmington daily gazette., 1873-12-24
MERRY CHRISTMASl !

PREPARING ThE FhASA--c AN'H ~
Ers-TURNoUT OF TuRKETs-A GATHERING
OF oEEsE--A coSeREoATioN OF CHICK
KNs- CROWDS OF PsUYERs--THE NEAT
MARKET.
Al nine O'Clock, this morning, King street was
literally jammed with people, who edgeu tnelr
way along crab fashion, stopping al every stand
TO examine the poultry and produce displayed,
and inquire the pilee of tho sqTne.
Never before has spch All extensive assortment
of poultry appeared In our market, as that which
was exhibited this morning. Every stand fur
nished its quota, aud the aggregated amount
seemed shficIcnt 10 furnish Chrsimas dinners
Tor all tho good people OF Wilmington, ,ior month
TO come. Turkeys of the largest SIZE, evidently
attcned expressly for the Occasion, swung eide 10y
side Wuh premium geese, plump ducks, and fat
yellew ehiekbns X Bat, while the greater poEtion
OF the poultry ia market, Wus perfectly splendid
in appearance, we must confess that we saw some
of the meanest looking bipeds that ever suffered
martyrdom for the cause of Christmas. Indeed
we wondered that the owners Of such poultry had
the hardhood to offer 1t tor sale, by the side OF
other poultry which possessed such n fresh and
inviting appearance.
MBut there they were, all sTGss, shapes, coudi-
lions and--prices. Ihe highest priced turkey we
saw, was at Second and King, where great big
fellow wss ticketed $500 Others ranged from
81 GO to $4o5. By tliepound, 10, lssant Is cents.
This seems pretty steep, bus In Baltimore, yester-
day, the prices peF pound were 20, 2j, ard even
80 cents, which made big turkies cost from So to
50 each. Later in the day few turkies were
offered here, as low as II cents per pound,
Geese came next, aud sold from S125 to SI.75
each The supply was quite large, and most of
The supply of ducks was very good; They sold
| from so cents to 81 so per pair.
Chickens were abundant; We don't remember
ever 10 have seen SO many in market before, at
one time Some few were sold by weight, at II
cents per pound, but the greater portion were Of
feredlb the pair, at prices ranging from % cents
to $3.50 Real good pairs ceu ID be Obt4ined far
Butter sold at Al cents, generally, with few
instances OF sale al 40 cents. Roll butter was 50
and 36 cents Eggs sold at 35a4O cents, the sup
ply being unuspally large, the sellers probably eX
pecting an increased demand for the purpose of
making egg nogg," "TOm and Jerry, and other
| Chrintmas drinks. ..
| Other markatproduce sold as fellows: Potatoes,
and Is halt peck; sweet potatoes &c and 80; tuT
nips, 8 and 80 do; cabbage and 10 per head car
rots, IL and Is per halt peck; celery, per bunch
| beets, 8 and dO apples, 10 and 80 per half peck
beans, 10 per quart lima beans, Is and 20 do hon
| ey, 20 and 20 per pound: apple butter l0cts do.
Corn 65 cents per bQShe; oats 30 Ceuts DO, pota-
toes, Wholesale 80 and 81.
In the meat market the butchers were complain.
ing bitterly of dull trade. They dsClared that peO-
pie wanted no OtheI meat than poultry. Ii this
| was 70 it was not the fault of the butchers, tOE
ne meats were displayed on their stalls in Tempt
ing array. Choice cuts of beef 2Oa25 cents pet
pOuuu, veal lEl@U ulult0u 1OdAOl uo-s pOih ~
aI2 do, sausage ~ do, lard 12al4, do, scTapple
aS do; corn beet, Sal2 pigs tect 20 cents per set
| Wcalso observed hqe lot Of Christmas trees
moss and eveTgreens. The trees sold from > tC
25 cents each, aud the moss iron to . cents
per piece garlands, from TO 10 cents per yard
and Wreaths and crosses from to 25 cents each.
People hurried along with big Christmas trees on
their shoulders, looking for all the world like the
IsoldeTs of MRcduf 3 army, OF the time when the
guilty Macbeth heard the ominous announcement
ss ntrpoun WOOd doth Dim ain .
We noticed one strong minded female, Who crea
ted quite q sensation by hrting through the crowd
with big Christmas Tree in her hand, occasion
ally switching the passsrs by ID the face, and ap
parently utterly nneonsciOus of the mischief she
was doing. As n fitting close to our article, W,
append a description ofa similar scene, in BIlti
more, the other day, which aviVaclops reporter o
the Nea0s lotted down, in the following style -
A portly female this morning created quite
stir ia Lexington Market by an exhibition Of he
high pressure temper and the manner in whicl
she firted ChTistmasbush through the market
To purchase a Christmas bush appeared TO b'
the sole thought Oi the female In question. HaC
there ,cCn bui "A half dozen bushes in the maTke
10 select IRON she would have had no trouble il
making selection, bat to make choice from
the entire woodland OF Baltimore and Anne ATun
del counties was 1oetlc too much for her ThTic
did she tragers Lexington street, from Liberty 4
Pine street, aud thrice was she disappointed. Sh
. was not exactly dishOlTtened, but was far from
l being satished. Alter calling cOlored man
fool for pres esumingtO ask seVenly-1Ve cents for
scraggy 6ush, she bsoughtupat tho corner OF Pac
and Lexington streets and succeeded In purchas
ing acedar bush for twenty-five cents.
! She was now happy, aud felt as spruce an
! girl OF siKt0en. After paying for the bush, sh
, tucked the BalhIn0rc county delegate under be
arm add started Tor home. In passing down I'll
= market tOWAtds EatAW street she forgot tha
scores of ladies aud gentlemen followed In be
: wake, and that every Time Lhe halted at 10Y
cake or other stand, tha. the extreme tip of he
a Christmas bush waS Interviewing the eyes Of som
y person In the rear Once, when the woman wat
i The bush suddenly made n right wheel movemen
d the buSh swept siik hat from OF the head of a
irIasclble gent, and when he regained the tile il
crushed appearance caused him 10 indulge in el
, plftivgs that would shock Burriel, the Spanis
o butcher.
by the time the woman had reached Eura
street she had knocked on fully one dozen hat
dlslodRed any number Of chignOns and complst
D. ly wrecked one duck of bonnet, but what care
Y the bukh whacker, She started after Chrisinn
H. tree and had secured It, and if persons complains
Of heE way OF carrying bush, Uhy didn't th'
stay out Uf the market until she had gOtten aWi
with her purchase.