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Aesop's Fables - Tales with Morals . Mother Goose . Mother Goose in Prose
FISH MARKETS OF SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE.
There are one or two matters in connection with this subject which
deserve having attention called to them. In the first place the method
adopted in our Woolloomooloo Fish Market of placing the fish in little
heaps on the floor itself, when put out for sale, is not satisfactory.
In the Redfern Fish Market they are placed in small divisions or
receptacles--each lot by itself--and raised above the floor, where
they are protected from injury. In the new Melbourne Fish Markets,
there are elevated platforms for the fish, and they are thus quite
above the cemented floor. Not only are they prevented from being
damaged, but it seems to me that the buyers have a better chance of
seeing the fish when it is raised a little distance above their feet.
The size of the fish lots for sale in the Sydney and Melbourne Fish
Markets varies, and this opens up a somewhat debatable point. with us
the lots are comparatively small, both at the Woolloomooloo and at the
Redfern Market; while at Melbourne, on the other hand, the lots are
much larger. When the lots are small it gives private buyers a chance
of purchasing (but how many private buyers are there before
breakfast?), and is said in this way to raise the price for the
dealers. But with the larger lots the latter are said to be able to buy
to more advantage, and thus supply the public with cheaper fish. To say
which is the better of the two plans is very much like being
asked to solve the query in the story of "The Lady or the Tiger."
But before leaving this matter I should like to refer briefly to the
new markets in Flinders Street, Melbourne. They are called the City of
Melbourne Meat, Fish, and Farm Produce Markets, and are most extensive
in area. The viaduct which connects the two railway systems of Victoria
pierces the very centre of these new markets. They are replete with
every modern appliance for the storage and disposal of the food supply
of a large city. There are numerous chambers for the frozen meat, and
by means of what is called a "lock," a whole train can be received into
a long covered gallery. The two gates are then closed at either end,
and the meat is thus received directly into the freezing chambers,
without the slightest loss of any cold air. The fish and game are
treated exactly in the same way, except that the receiving and delivery
"locks" are not quite so large as in the former case. Still, there is
just the same facility for their reception into the freezing chambers
set apart for the purpose. The whole arrangements of these new fish
markets are very perfect, and leave nothing to be desired.
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