IV 



no sale owing to the fact that public appreciation is lacking, 

 and that the vendor is unable to convince his customers of 

 the good quality of his wares. In such localities it is no 

 uncommon occurrence to see such valuable species as Red 

 and Grey Mullet, John Dorv, Grey Gurnard, and others, 

 offered at a price which can be but slightly above the cost 

 entailed in bringing them to market. 



Another point which may, to a certain degree, account 

 for such conservatism of taste lies in the fact that certain 

 varieties of fish suffer less at the hands of a poor cook than 

 others, and the customer naturally looks with favour upon 

 those which in process of cooking are not rendered unpala- 

 table in the kitchen of the ordinary middle-class household. 

 The proper preparation of fish for the table undoubtedly 

 requires the exercise of a certain amount of skill, but it is 

 an art easily acquired, and once mastered it can render 

 even what are regarded as inferior varieties both whole- 

 some and palatable. The great demand and almo;-t 

 universal advance in price generallv which has occurred 

 within the last few years is to be largely accounted for 

 by the growing popularity of fish as an article of diet 

 amongst the working classes, as indicated by the material 

 increase of the fried-lish trade a trade which fulfils a 

 doubly utilitarian object in not only providing wholesome 

 food at a modest cost to the masses, but also in finding an 

 outlet for certain kinds of fish which, owing solely to 

 popular prejudice, were until recently a drug upon the 

 market. 



But there is every prospect that in years to come many 

 of the species which are now so utilised will of necessity 

 form part of the usual stock of the ordinary fishmonger, 

 and it is with a view to familiarising the reader with the 

 appearance of such varieties, in addition to those better 

 known, and giving as far as possible a just appreciation of 

 their edible dualities, that the present small volume has 

 been compiled. 



The illustrations have in all cases been reproduced from 

 photographs of the actual fish. 



