The Washington herald., 1911-12-17
New Market Fad in Gotham for Christmas
Dinner Caused by High Cost of Living.

To market, to market, to buy fat pig
Is New York's Christmas Jingle this year.
in anticipation Of the dinner to be spread
upon the mahogany tree on Christmas
Day. And further, nothing in this shall
be construed as detrimental to the tur-
key or goose, those time and palate hon.
ored institutions which will grace thou
sands OF tables in the city as the choice
of household exploradores after careful
thought expended upon the marketing
for the feast.
The provldential discovery of the succu-
lency of roast pig has been related by
Charles Lamb-let this tell you that New
York, for one reason or another, here
after to be set forth, has redIscovered
thu sucking pig, particularly as Christ
mas dish. Go down to Washington Mar
ket in these days before the holiday sea-
son. and learn from the butchers there
that the sty has been robbed of many a
tender pig to grace the tables of New
York City. Do you stand by the counter
yourself for a time and listen to the in
quiries of those who come to buy.
But, shades of Apicius! What is this
you hear? The pig must be so many
inches long, because the pan or the oven
one of greater size. Eheu. The bravery
Of the Inner is half gone. But good wife
and husbandman from the uptown apart
ment insist. and pig is sold to please the
tape measure stretched from pink snout
to the curly tail Preferment comes by
inches.
SPECTER AT THE FEAST.
Well. let 1t be, and compose yourself for
more humiliation. That ugly specter. high
cost of living, has been the prime cause
-. IL H. . 10
piece de resistance of the Christmas din
ner after all, and not the discernment
and preference of the diners. Since that
national institution of the American holi-
day table, the turkey, has climbed higher
and higher in the scale Of prices, espec-
Cially at the Christmas season, until it
fetChes from go to So cents the pound, the
prudent housekeeper must find a substi-
tute. The goose, never an uncommonly
popular bird for this occasion, in spite of
all to commend it to the palate, has fol-
lowed the turkey to the higher price lev
els. But the sucking pig is cheaper this
year than 1t has been for many Christ
masses, and the Washington Market deal
ers have been booking orders for weeks.
IT'S simply n question Of how much
money a family can pay for its Christ
mas dinner" said one dealer. And the
sucking pig IS the cheapest dish to be
had. 1t wasn't so long ago that you were
hearing about the high price of pigs. The
natural result Of that was that every
body bought a pig or two and kept them
around the backyard. They're no great
trouble to raise. And pigs are plentiful
and cheap.
'As for prices, sucking pigs will run
from 81 to $6 apiece. That is consider
ably lower than last year-a pig that
brought 81 then costs about $3.50 now
A ten-pound turkey might cost from
s. to "A, and a goose comes high, too,
and doesn't last long in the presence OF
4 hungry family. So pig is the cheap
est Christmas roast, and there's many a
family that will sit down to one this
year. We have had so many orders that
the supply OF pigs of the right age, from
four to eight weeks. might not fit the
demand. New YOrk's orders are hard
to fill. too; the pig must be Just so long
and no longer, because the range will not
hold a bigger one.
Pride of the Dinner.
Il remember when the New York peo-
pie came to Washington Market at Chris
mas time and bought a pig or a turkey
and a goose, and often a whole seventy
pound rump of corned beef Prices were
lower then, of course, and the buyers
seemed to have more money to spend.
The rump of beef lasted, perhaps. from
Christmas to New Years. 1t took a good
cook to make it as tasty as it should
be- but when il was prepared right it
was one of the best of the seasons
meats. Nowadays, we never sell a rump
like that"
At all events the pride of the Christmas
dinner, the roast, is to be kept an OBJ
servance to be commended of all men. If