102 



Changes in SURREY. The increased attention paid to fruit, poultry, &c., 

 System kas in Mr. Wkitley's opinion tended somewhat to stem the tide 



ad Special of depopulation, and should do so to a greater extent in future. 

 les< He adds : " Fruit farming and vegetable growing employ more 

 labour; some remarkable cases of success in this direction are 

 to be seen, also a considerable number of failures. Poultry 

 rearing is too popular with the uninitiated, there being many 

 cases of failure owing to the fascination that it has for the ex- 

 townsman; there is still a considerable demand for any place 

 that can be called by a stretch of the imagination a ' PouHry 

 farm.' While poultry rearing alone is generally a failure, the 

 best farmers are adding to their income by attention to it." 



SUSSEX. In some districts, particularly in East Sussex, fruit, 

 flower, and vegetable growing and poultry rearing have in- 

 creased. Mr. Haviland writes: "Undoubtedly the chicken- 

 fattening industry has done a great deal to check the decline in 

 the agricultural population in Heathfield, Waldron, and War- 

 bleton, and, in a less degree, in the adjoining parishes." 

 Mr. Pullen-Burry writes : " There has been up to the last year 

 or two an immense increase in market gardening and fruit 

 culture under glass, but this has now ceased, chiefly owing to 

 foreign competition, and in a measure to over-production. The 

 earlier produce from abroad undermines our markets so that 

 instead of beginning at a high price we begin at a low and 

 gradually rise as the foreigner is cut out ; this has lowered the 

 value of our early and protected lands. There used to be many 

 onions grown hereabouts, but cheap foreign labour and low 

 carriage have quite settled the trade. Instead of any increase 

 of ' la petite culture ' in this part of the country, there is tak- 

 ing place a throwing up of land, which, I think, will become 

 more marked as years pass under present conditions. Market- 

 garden rents have gone down these last few years by 30 per 

 cent," 



In the west of the county the conditions appear to be un- 

 favourable to development in these directions. Mr. Gran I 

 writes : " The arable land in this district generally is stiff 

 sanely clay, and is adapted for growing wheat and nothing 

 else. Grass and roots even when well grown have little feed- 

 ing value. There has been no increase in any rural industry 

 in the district except the production of milk for the London 

 market, but a corn-growing farm converted to a milk-producing 

 ono would need fewer labourers than before." 



BERKSHIRE. Potato growing has increased in places, but no 

 particular industry has arisen that would tend to check the 

 decline in population. 



HAMPSHIRE. Mr. Perkins writes : " Within the past 20 years 

 there has arisen a flourishing strawberry industry in the dis- 

 trict between Southampton and Portsmouth ; with it are asso- 

 ciated vegetable growing and fruit farming. Women and 

 children turn out in enormous numbers to pick strawberries. 



