342 



The Vegetable Trade of London, [july, 1910. 



and until the top is shrivelled up and perfectly diy, the crop cannot be 

 harvested with any degree of confidence. The harvest of 1909 was in 

 consequence very trying, and the earliest onions to reach the market 

 were in indifferent condition, and realised poor prices. Until these 

 were disposed of trade was depressed and prices low, but with the 

 beginning of the current year an improvement set in, and from ^4 

 to jQ$ per ton was about an average for best quality, which, con- 

 sidering the extent of outside competition, was satisfactory. 



Peas.— This vegetable is imported in baskets and bags from Guern- 

 sey and France long before the pods are filled in this country. Guern- 

 sey sends produce in handle baskets of superior quality to those of 

 French origin. Some from Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne), about thirty- 

 one miles from Toulouse, France, were sold in Covent Garden Market 

 early in June at 45. 6d. per bag of 40 lb. weight. These peas were 

 mostly shelled in the market, and sold to restaurant proprietors. 

 English peas were worth at the close of June about 2s. 6d. or 35. 6d. 

 per bushel, or 55. to 6s. per sack. Growers often pack peas in bushel 

 baskets, while jobbers or dealers who purchase from farmers often have 

 the peas picked by roving gangs ; these wandering pickers pack them 

 in bags or sacks, but they do not usually gather the pods with 

 the care necessary to secure an even sample. Thus bag peas are 

 purchased by small retailers and costermongers, while sieve peas of 

 superior class are secured by West End shopkeepers for better class 

 customers. 



Asparagus. — Trade has been on the whole fair, and prices maintained 

 better than in some years. Best bundles, or Ware, of 100 or 120 buds 

 have fetched prices from 2s. 6d. to 35., while middling quality, or Sprue, 

 which is generally green in colour, have ranged from is. to is. 6d. per 

 bundle. 



Cauliflowers. — Cauliflowers and White Broccoli, formerly considered 

 distinct vegetables, now arrive in a continuous stream throughout the 

 year. At present home-grown ones are worth 2s. to 35. per dozen 

 heads, which is a satisfactory price to the grower. Doubtless the fact 

 that cabbages were not quite so abundant as usual has helped their 

 sale this season. A short time ago there were consignments of fine 

 cauliflowers from Roscoff, in Brittany, which realised high prices. 



Cornish broccoli, called cauliflower, is cultivated successfully near 

 Penzance, and dispatched to London to some extent, while Bristol, Bir- 

 mingham, and South Wales also get a proportion of the trade. Italy 

 sends cauliflowers to London in small chip baskets containing i| dozen, or 

 18 heads, and these come in the winter months, though in severe weather 

 they are liable to be touched by frost and of little value. They some- 

 times fetch 55. or 6s. a basket, but this winter many baskets were sold 

 at is. 6d. or 2s. , and the season was a poor one for the growers. 



Cabbages. — On account of a cold spring cabbages were slow to 

 mature, and really fine ones are only now coming in. The price has 

 varied between 6d. and 15., according to size and substance, which is 

 better than in many years. On the whole markets have been well 

 supplied during the first six months of the current year. 



