56 THE BRITISH FISH TRADE. 



fish is cheap at BiUingsgate and dear when it reaches the 

 consumer's hands ; and it is plain, therefore, that if the 

 complaint is well founded the cause must be sought outside 

 of the market. 



It may, under the circumstances, be worth while to 

 consider what are some of the causes which legitimately 

 raise the price of fish to the consumer. It has hitherto 

 been assumed in this paper that the fishermen on an 

 average receive i^20 a ton, or rather less than id. a lb. 

 for the fish which they catch ; but it must be recol- 

 lected that this average price is computed from a great 

 many items. The average price of salmon for instance 

 exceeds \s. per lb. ; the average price of sprats on the 

 coast is represented by a fraction of i^. a lb. It cannot, 

 under such circumstances, be possible to state the average 

 value of all fish with anything like precision ; but the esti- 

 mate of 2d. a lb. is perhaps sufficiently accurate. It 

 requires very little reflection to perceive that this sum must 

 be largely increased before the fish reach the hands of the 

 consumer. In the first place the fish are sold on the coasts 

 by a salesman ; they are packed in the railway vans ; in 

 hot weather they are packed in ice ; the railway freight 

 from the ports to London has to be paid ; the carriage 

 from the railway terminus to Thames Street has to be 

 charged ; the porterage from the van to the market has to 

 be added ; market dues at Billingsgate raise the price still 

 further ; the salesman at Billingsgate necessarily expects 

 his own profit ; and, lastly, the retailer has to charge his 

 own expenses in driving to the market to buy his fish, the 

 rent of his shop, and the cost of distributing the fish to the 

 consumer. In addition to all these expenses, a certain loss 

 must be experienced in dealing with a perishable article 

 like fish in hot weather. The price which the consumer 



