Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/348

300 find that some particular fish is scarce, and that in consequence it is priced far beyond its worth, and quite out of comparison with the prices of other kinds of fish which are plentiful in the market. The average costs, therefore, which will be found appended to each recipe, must be understood as about the average price for the different kinds of fish under normal conditions, and when the various sorts are of an average size and quality. The seasons for fish also slightly vary with the year, it sometimes happening, for instance, that salmon is at its cheapest and best a little earlier or later than usual. Oysters, however, always come in and go out at the same time, for from April and May to the end of July oysters are said to be sick, but by the end of August they become healthy, having recovered from the effects of spawning. When they are not in season the males have a black and the females a milky substance in the gill. The average prices of fresh water fish are not given. They are rarely quoted in the open market, and are entirely influenced by local conditions.