AGRICULTURE 



this Act was passed the tenant usually paid the tithe ; but by this Act the 

 payment of tithe was thrown on the landlord, and in many cases, particularly 

 in new lettings, the rent has remained the same, the tenant escaping the 

 payment of tithe. 



The burdens on the land in the shape of rates have increased, and 

 notwithstanding the enormous increase in the rateable value of the county 

 caused by building, railways, &c., the rates are about double what they were 

 thirty years ago. 



Some relief has been given by the Agricultural Rates Act ; but this is 

 largely discounted by the fact that the buildings on the farm, on which the 

 full rate is paid, are assessed out of proportion to the farm as a whole ; what 

 benefit there is has been in almost every case entirely reaped by the tenant 

 and not by the landlord. 



Labourers' wages have increased generally all over the county, particu- 

 larly where the farm is near a big town or populous centre. The ordinary 

 farm labourer in East Sussex receives from 14^. to 15^. a week, which, 

 with hay and harvest money, &c., brings him in an average wage of i 

 a week. A really good man, who can do thatching, &c., probably earns 

 25.?. a week. Carters, ijs. to i8s. a week with cottage; cowmen, ijs. to 

 i8j. a week ; shepherds, i8j. a week, with cottage and extras. Cottages are 

 rented at is. 6d. or 2s. a week and as a rule have a good garden. In West 

 Sussex labourers' wages run about 13.;. to 14^. a week, or through the year 

 average 19.;. a week ; carters, 15*. to \js. with cottage; shepherds, i6/. to i8j. 

 a week with cottage and extras. Where a farm is near a town, however, these 

 wages are exceeded, although probably the cottage rent may be higher. 



Allotments can be had in many places and especially on the large 

 estates, but as a farm hand gets better off the desire for an allotment seems to 

 fail, and on some of the large estates allotments cannot be let and have to be 

 added to the adjoining farm or be made use of in some way or other. Near 

 the large seaside towns a considerable acreage is farmed as allotment gardens 

 with apparently considerable success. 



Many of the cottagers and small holders keep bees, and in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the Downs, especially, delicious honey can be obtained, to 

 which the various flowering herbs give a delicate flavour. The old-fashioned 

 and picturesque straw skep is still in favour with many, but knowledge has 

 come, and when it is realized that the old straw skep will yield perhaps 

 10 Ib. of honey while the bar frame will yield its 50 Ib. or 60 lb., then the old 

 way naturally gives place to the new idea. 



Bee-keeping associations' lectures, &c., have done much to spread 

 knowledge, and bee-keeping, which may be made a profitable business, is on 

 the increase, and should be encouraged in a county so well adapted for bees 

 as Sussex undoubtedly is. 



Farm buildings generally throughout the county have improved, and 

 the fact that the sanitary authorities inspect cowsheds, &c., has led to the 

 cattle, especially dairy cows, being better housed. This improvement has 

 certainly been at the expense of beauty, and the old-fashioned thatched roof 

 has largely disappeared. 



Where tiles are used instead of thatch they soon ' take the weather ' and 

 show many tints of colour ; but, alas ! slate, quite foreign to the county, has 



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