INTRODUCTOKY. 11 



the question of the supply of fish to the English and 

 Scotch markets in particular. 



Direct means of ascertaining what quantity of fish is 

 caught by any particular method of fishing or by all 

 of them combined, at the present time or in former 

 years, are unfortunately wanting. Ingenious news- 

 paper correspondents have before now made estimates 

 of the quantity or number of each kind of fish sold at 

 Billingsgate in the course of a year ; but the fact is, that 

 unless every salesman in the market will take the trouble 

 to make up under each head an account of his total sales 

 for the twelve months, hardly an approximate idea of 

 what is annually disposed of there can be obtained. 



The amount of market tolls received by the City will 

 not give much help, for they are paid on the convey- 

 ance, not on the weight of fish delivered ; and whether 

 the contents of a waggon be five or fifty packages, the 

 dues are nearly the same. An increasing proportion 

 of fish is now brought to Billingsgate by either sailing 

 or steam carriers ; but here again, whatever may be 

 the size of the vessel, the toll is on either a full 

 or a half cargo, and the quantity of fish is unknown 

 except to those who are immediately concerned in its 

 sale. Billingsgate, however, is only one of the im- 

 portant markets wliich are now supplied direct from 

 the coast ; and the quantity of fish annually car- 

 ried by the great system of railways is only known 

 to the several companies composing it ; and, with few 

 exceptions, they object to furnish information on the 

 subject. Then there is the fish which is consumed where 

 it is landed, and this is unquestionably a very large 

 quantity, although probably much less than was the 

 case twenty or thirty years ago on many parts of Our 

 extensive coast line. Whatever it may be, there are 



