University of Virginia Library

OF THE STREET SALE OF BUTTER, CHEESE,
AND EGGS.

All these commodities used to be hawked in
the streets, and to a considerable extent. Until,
as nearly as I can ascertain, between twenty
and thirty years back, butter was brought from
Epping, and other neighbouring parts, where
good pasture existed, and hawked in the streets
of London, usually along with poultry and
eggs. This trade is among the more ancient
of the street-trades. Steam-vessels and rail-
ways, however, have so stocked the markets,
that no hawking of butter or eggs, from any
agricultural part, even the nearest to London,
would be remunerative now. Eggs are brought
in immense quantities from France and Bel-
gium, though thirty, or even twenty years ago
the notion having of a good French egg, at a Lon-
don breakfast-table, would have been laughed
at as an absurd attempt at an impossible
achievement. The number of eggs now annu-
ally imported into this kingdom, is 98,000,000,
half of which may be said to be the yearly con-
sumption of London. No butter is now hawked,
but sometimes a few "new laid" eggs are car-
ried from a rural part to the nearest metropo-
litan suburb, and are sold readily enough, if the
purveyor be known. Mr. M`Culloch estimates
the average consumption of butter, in London,
at 6,250,000 lbs. per annum, or 5 oz., weekly,
each individual.

The hawking of cheese was never a promi-
nent part of the street-trade. Of late, its sale
in the streets, may be described as accidental.
A considerable quantity of American cheese
was hawked, or more commonly sold at a stand-
ing, five or six years ago; unto December last,
and for three months preceding, cheese was
sold in the streets which had been rejected from
Government stores, as it would not "keep"
for the period required; but it was good for
immediate consumption, for which all street-
goods are required. This, and the American
cheese, were both sold in the streets at 3d. the
pound; usually, at fair weights, I am told, for it
might not be easy to deceive the poor in a thing
of such frequent purchase as "half a quarter or
a quarter" (of a pound) of cheese.

The total quantity of foreign cheese con-
sumed, yearly, in the metropolis may be esti-
mated at 25,000,000 lbs. weight, or half of the
gross quantity annually imported.

The following statement shows the quantity
and sum paid for the game and poultry sold in
London streets:

                         

	\cp\
5,000 grouse, at 1s. 9d. each	437
20,000 partridges, at 1s. 6d.	1,500
12,000 pheasants, at 3s. 6d.	2,100
5,000 snipes, at 8d.	160
20,000 hares, at 2s. 3d.	2,250
600,000 rabbits, at 7d.	17,500
500,000 fowls, at 1s. 6d.	37,500
20,000 geese, at 2s. 6d.	2,500
80,000 ducks, at 1s. 6d.	6,000
30,000 turkeys, at 3s. 6d.	5,250
10,000 live fowls and ducks, at 1s. 6d.	750
	\cp\75,953

In this table I do not give the refuse game
and poultry, bought sometimes for the mere
feathers, when "undressed;" neither are the
wild ducks nor woodcocks, nor those things of
which the costers buy only exceptionally, in-
cluded. Adding these, it may be said, that
with the street sale of butter, cheese, and eggs,
80,000l. are annually expended in the streets on
this class of articles.