AGRICULTURE 



sufficiently forward are taken back to be finished on the farm. The cattle in 

 the marsh are placed under the care of * lookers,' who take charge of them 

 and the land at so much per acre. The ' lookers ' and the men under them 

 live on the spot, look after the cattle, cut thistles, see to small repairs, bring 

 the cattle to market, &c.; and, in fact, in many cases the farmer leaves his 

 cattle to the looker and hardly sees them from the time they leave the farm 

 until they are for sale in the market. Similar land is to be found near 

 Lewes and between this and Newhaven, known as the Lewes and Laughton 

 Levels, and again near the other Sussex rivers, such as the Arun and Adur. 



Such marshes and levels are under the management of Commissioners 

 of the Levels, owners of land in the level and their agents, who carry out all 

 the work necessary to maintain the main watercourses, generally known 

 as main sewers, the expenditure being charged to owners and occupiers in 

 proportion, the charge being known as ' water scot.' 



In the extreme east of the county, near Rye and Winchelsea, are again 

 marsh lands. On these marsh lands, and, in fact, generally on the farms east 

 of Battle, large numbers of Romney Marsh or Kent sheep are reared. The 

 lambs of this breed are, as a rule, sent up into the Weald, and are kept 

 during the winter by the small farmers in the Weald ; these lambs, known 

 as ' keepers,' are driven up through the country at Michaelmas and remain 

 in the Weald till the following Lady Day, the Weald farmers receiving about 

 8j. per head for the keep. 



Another change in the Weald of Sussex may be noted in recent years 

 in the increase of small holdings. Large farms are split up into smaller 

 holdings, and probably revert to what they were some hundred years ago. 

 This division is on the increase, though it must be a matter of time, as few 

 landlords can afford, in these bad times, the outlay of providing additional 

 houses and buildings. The number of farmers in East Sussex by the returns 

 was: In 1867 7,903 ; and in 1905 8,951. 



On these smaller holdings are now reared a large number of chickens, 

 an industry which is spreading every year all over the county, particularly in 

 East Sussex. Heathfield is in the centre of the district, which has long been 

 famous for its poultry fattening. In the Heathfield district a very large 

 number of birds are reared, whilst many are purchased from Ireland, Wales, 

 and many English counties. The businesses of breeding and fattening are, as a 

 rule, kept distinct, although combined on some farms, generally on the larger 

 ones. The fattener buys from the breeder, or from a local collector known 

 as a ' higgler,' and keeping the birds shut up in a barn or outhouse, feeds 

 them by machinery, a man and a boy working the ' crammer.' The food, 

 grit, &c., is taken round by a merchant in a traction engine. The birds when 

 ready for the market are dispatched by train to London to a salesman, or in 

 some cases direct to a shop. At Heathfield station a special truck is provided 

 for the purpose, and in a busy week no less than 80 tons are sent off from this 

 station alone. From Uckfield and other stations heavy consignments are 

 sent, and it may be easily understood that this industry is a valuable one 

 from the following figures : 



In Mr. Rew's report to the Royal Commission on Agriculture in 1894, 

 the annual output of fattened fowls from Heathfield and Uckfield stations 

 was stated to be 840 tons (estimated to represent 1,030,400 chickens) ; 



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