The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1895-07-19
BLLINGSGATE.
a VIEW OF LONDON'S GREAT
FISH MARKET.
An Enormous Annual Output OF
Marine Food-The COstermongers'
Work of observation-disclosures
cites of Fish Sold.


TN London the annual consumption
of fish does not fall far short Of
| that of meat, being nearly 160,-
900 tons. Even this amount,
large as it is, would be much in
creased had London the wharfage and
storage conveniences of this city, but
that great metropolis is sixty miles
from the sea, with her sole dis
tributive market situated upon mar
row and crowded river, with street
approaches equally cramped and
choked.
Thousands of tons of fish are an
nually wasted at this market-the
famous Billingsgate that has existed
upon its present site since the time of
the Normans. It is the largest fish
market in the world, and, like our
Fulton Market, supplies wide extent
of exterior territory, shipping fresh
as well as sailed fish to Germany,
France, and other foreign countries.
This pre-eminence is largely due to
Great Britain's immensely-productive
fisheries, that in amount greatly ex-
coed those Of any other country. Her
eastern boundary is the North Sea, by
far the richest portion of the globe in
edible fish, its annual product being
valued at $125, 900, 900.
Under careful and thorough cult
walton an acre of land may be induced
once year to yield a ton of wheat,
l,,k lc rf
acres in the North Sea capable of yield
ing more than that weight of edible
fish every week. Its average depth is
only ninety feet, one-ffth of it's area
being occupied by banks which are the
resort of the fish.
It is from this wonderfully produc-
tive quarter that three-fourths of Lon
don's annual supply is derived, the
waters of the Channel and of the At
lantic furnishing the remainder. The
shipments of fish to the metropolis are
maintained throughout the year in
tolerably even volume. Different fish
are present at different seasons, and
the presence of some is almost constant
upon some point or another Of the
coast.
The larger portion of the supply OF
Billingsgate arrives by rail- and is
brought to the market in VANS, which
choke the narrow streets and greatly
embarrass as we'll as limit the traffic.
The increase of the metropolitan sup
ply by the railroads would not have
attained its present proportions but
for the efforts OF the humble coster.
mongers, to whose industry and enter
prise the general distribution of the
fish is largely due.
The market opens at 5 a. M, and
the various auction sales at once be-
gin. The larger costers often divide
their purchases with their humber
brethren, some of whose stock is SO
limited that it is carried in large baskets
upon their backs; others rise to the
dignity of barrows, and still others to
the afiuence of a donkey cart.
The skate, dogfsh, and other So
called offa1 in this country find at Bill
ingsgate ready market.
Some of the choice but to us IN
familiar fish at Billingsgate are turbot,
brill, soles, dories, and mullet-the
last is summer fish from the Chan.
mel, the others from the North Sea.
The sprat, winter fish, is most abun-
dant in December and January, when
Billingsgate is besieged by an army OF
frantic costers, who handle nine-tenths
of the supply, and who in the DISPOSE.
ton of this as well as all other fish ma.
terially undersell the shops.
The sole, another winter fish, is very
popular, from -, 900 to $4,000 tons
being sold annually. OF fresh salmon,
London takes every year about 5000
tons, all of which, save about $50 tons
from Norway, is the yield of British
waters. In addition, nearly one-hali
of our product of canned salmon is
exported to England, where this royal
fish meets with its fullest measure OF
appreciation. Eels, ranking equally
high in food value as salmon, and for
the same reason, are also largely con-
sumed, the supply coming mainly
from Holland, although the best are
from Ireland.
Mackerel, another oily fish, is
brought from Devon and Cornwall, of
whose shores enormous shoals an
nually appear. HOLSTERS are furnished
chief y by Norway and Scotland. As
with ourselves, the supply has much
abated of late years, and the English
public are large consumers of our
canned lobster. The English edible
crab is much larger than our far more
common and abundant blue crab, and
is most frequent off Cornwall and
Scotland. Oysters are much dearer
than here, and are mainly the product
of the Channel waters. Shrimp are
caught in immense quantities in the
estuary of the Thames, and are peddled
by the costers the year through, often
as low as four cents pint. The tooth
some and succulent clam is q stranger
to British waters, and Eillingsgate
knows him not.
Herring is the fish Of largest con-
sumption, plaice, cod, soles, and
mackerel following in their respective
order. At Fulton Market New York),
cod stands at the head Of the list,
bluefsh, mackerel, weakfsh, and hall
but following successively.-NeT York
Times.