50 THE BRITISH FISH TRADE. 



Kingdom, and its fisheries are more productive than many- 

 countries. If it be recollected, indeed, that in addition to 

 British fishermen, its waters are fished by Norwegian, 

 Danish, German, Dutch, Belgian and French fishermen, 

 some idea will perhaps be formed of the fertility of this sea. 

 It is probable that fishermen extract from its waters every 

 year fish worth ;^ 2 5,000,000. 



It must not be supposed that the whole of the fish brought 

 to London are consumed in the Metropolis. On the con- 

 trary, London is the central source of the supply of a district 

 which every year tends to become larger. One of the most 

 certain consequences of improved locomotion is the con- 

 centration of trade. It is found practically more convenient 

 for buyers and sellers to meet in one place than to scatter 

 themselves among a great many places. In nothing is this 

 tendency more perceptible than in the fish trade. London 

 and Birmingham, and, to a lesser extent, Manchester and 

 Liverpool, are the markets from which nearly the whole of 

 England is supplied with fish ; and London is annually 

 becoming to a greater extent the centre of the supply. 

 Gentlemen residing in distant counties have their dish of 

 fish regularly sent to them by a London tradesman : fish- 

 mongers in provincial towns receive their fish uniformly 

 from Billingsgate ; and Billingsgate is thus becoming a 

 central fish exchange for the whole country. 



This state of things could not have arisen except from 

 two circumstances. In the first place, the development of 

 the railway system has enabled large and small parcels of 

 goods to be despatched at a comparatively slight cost to 

 distant places ; and, in the next place, the importation and 

 the manufacture of ice have made it possible to keep 

 perishable goods from decay during transit. As distributors 

 of fish, the railways would have lost half their utility without 



