GROSS VALUE OF THE FRUIT AND VEGETABLES SOLD ANNUALLY IN THE LONDON STREETS.
To complete the present account of the costermonger’s trade, we must now estimate the money value of the fruit and vegetables disposed of by them throughout the year. The money annually spent in fish by the humbler portion of the metropolitan population comes to, as we have seen, very nearly one million five hundred thousand pounds sterling--the sum laid out in fruit and vegetables we shall find is but little more than a third of this amount.
377,500 bushels of apples, at six a penny or 4_s._ per bush. (288 to the bushel) £75,500 193,700 bushels of pears, at 5_s._ per bushel 48,400 1,215,360 lbs. of cherries, at 2_d._ per lb. 10,000 11,700 bushels of plums, at 1_d._ per half pint 6,240 100 bushels of greengages, at 1-1/2_d._ per half pint 80 548 bushels of damsons, at 1-1/2_d._ per half pint 430 2,450 bushels of bullace, at 1-1/2_d._ per half pint 1,950 207,500 bushels of gooseberries, at 3_d._ per quart 83,000 85,500 sieves of red currants, at 1_d._ per pint (three half-sieves to the bushel) 15,200 13,500 sieves of black currants, at 1_d._ per pint (three half-sieves to the bushel) 2,400 3,000 sieves of white currants, at 1_d._ per pint (three half-sieves to the bushel) 530 763,750 pottles of strawberries, at 2_d._ per pottle 6,360 1,760 pottles of raspberries, at 6_d._ per pottle 40 30,485 pottles of mulberries, at 6_d._ per pottle 760 6,000 bushels of hazel nuts, at 3/4_d._ per half pint 2,400 17,280 lbs. of filberts, at 3_d._ per lb. 200 26,563 lbs. of grapes, at 4_d._ per lb. 440 20,000 pine apples, at 6_d._ each 500 15,400,000 oranges, at two for 1_d._ 32,000 154,000 lemons, at two for 1_d._ 320 24,000 bushels of Spanish and Barcelona nuts, at 6_d._ per quart 19,200 3,000 bushels of Brazil nuts (1500 to the bushel), at fifteen for 1_d._ £1,250 6,500 bushels of chestnuts (1500 to the bushel), at fifteen for 1_d._ 2,700 24,000 bushels of walnuts (1750 to the bushel), at ten for 1_d._ 17,500 400,000 coker-nuts, at 3_d._ each 5,000 -------- Total expended yearly in green fruit £332,400
7,000 lbs. of shell almonds, at 20 a penny (320 to the lb.) £460 37,800 lbs. of raisins, at 2_d._ per lb. 300 24,300 lbs. of figs, at 2_d._ per lb. 200 4,800 lbs. of prunes, at 2_d._ per lb. 40 ------ Total expended yearly on dry fruit £1,000