London Labour and the London Poor, Volume 1
Mayhew, Henry
1861
Of Plantain-Sellers.
PLANTAIN is sold extensively, and is given to canaries, but water-cress is given to those birds more than any other green thing. It is the ripe seed, in a spike, of the "great" and the "ribbed" plantain. leaves of the lastmen- tioned plant used to be in demand as a styptick. Shenstone speaks of "plantain ribbed, that heals the reaper's wound." I believe that it was never sold in the streets of London. The most of the plantain is gathered in the brick-fields, wherever they are found, as the greater plantain, which gives -fourths of the supply, loves an arid situation. It is sold in hands to he shops, about "heads" going to a "hand," at a price, according to size, &c., from to On a private round, or are given for a halfpenny. It is, however, generally gathered and sold with chickweed, and along with chickweed I have shown the quantity used. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The money-value of the several kinds and quantities of "green-stuff" annually purchased in the streets of London is as follows:—
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Of the above amount, it may be said that upwards of are spent yearly on what may be called the bird-food of London. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||