London is the greatest seat of trade and commerce in the world. Its
commercial greatness is evidenced by its greatness of population. Its
inhabitants number over 6,000,000. The houses in which this vast
population lives, would, if placed end to end, make a continuous
street that would stretch across all Europe and Asia. The mere effort
of providing food for this vast population necessitates an enormous
commerce. Half a million of beeves are required every year to supply
its meat market; also 2,000,000 sheep and 8,000,000 fowls. To supply
its fish market 400,000,000 pounds of fish are required, and
500,000,000 oysters. Grain, flour, fruit, butter, eggs, cheese, sugar,
tea, and coffee, are brought to London daily in such quantities that
the prices of these commodities all the world over are based upon what
they will fetch in London. Whole nations and provinces and districts
get their subsistence from industries that have for their end the
supplying of some of this enormous food demand. Denmark, for example,
owes its entire prosperity of recent years to its profitable
manufacture of butter for the London market. Brittany and Normandy, in
France, are almost wholly occupied in supplying that market with
poultry and eggs. The islands of Jersey and Guernsey derive their
principal wealth, not, as might be supposed, from the sale of milk and
butter, but from the supplying of London with potatoes. Canada during
the last six or eight years has built up with London an immense trade
in cheese, a trade that exceeds in importance any other that Canada
has, while even our own home States--Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin,
for example--have found new sources of wealth in catering to the
London dairy trade. "Elgin" and "Ames" creamery butters are products
well known to the London consumer.