West Indian pine-apples are, as regards the street sale, disposed of more in the city than elsewhere. They are bought by clerks and warehousemen, who carry them to their suburban homes. The slices at 1/2_d._ and 1_d._ are bought principally by boys. The average price of a “good street pine” is 9_d._
Peaches are an occasional sale with the costermongers’, and are disposed of to the same classes as purchase strawberries and pines. The street sale of peaches is not practicable if the price exceed 1_d._ a piece.
Of other fruits, vended largely in the streets, I have spoken under their respective heads.
The returns before cited as to the quantity of home-grown and foreign green fruit sold in London, and the _proportion_ disposed of by the costermongers give the following results (in round numbers), as to the absolute quantity of the several kinds of green fruit (oranges and nuts excepted) “distributed” throughout the metropolis by the street-sellers.
343,000 bushels of apples, (home-grown) 34,560 „ apples, (foreign) 176,500 „ pears, (home-grown) 17,235 „ pears, (foreign) 1,039,200 lbs. of cherries, (home-grown) 176,160 „ cherries, (foreign) 11,766 bushels of plums, 100 „ greengages, 548 „ damsons, 2,450 „ bullaces, 207,525 „ gooseberries, 85,500 sieves of red currants, 13,500 „ black currants, 3,000 „ white currants, 763,750 pottles of strawberries, 1,762 „ raspberries, 30,485 „ mulberries, 6,012 bushels of hazel nuts, 17,280 lbs. of filberts, 26,563 „ grapes, 20,000 pines.
In Houndsditch there is a market supported principally by costermongers, who there purchase their oranges, lemons, and nuts. This market is entirely in the hands of the Jews; and although a few tradesmen may attend it to buy grapes, still it derives its chief custom from the street-dealers who say they can make far better bargains with the Israelites, (as they never refuse an offer,) than they can with the Covent-garden salesmen, who generally cling to their prices. This market is known by the name of “Duke’s-place,” although its proper title is St. James’s-place. The nearest road to it is through Duke’s-street, and the two titles have been so confounded that at length the mistake has grown into a custom.