18 LYTlWDUCTlOiW 



it pays them to bring their birds a distance of 520 

 mUes. 



It might naturally be assumed from these facts that 

 there are special conditions giving the south-eastern 

 district of England an advantage over other parts of 

 the country. It would be folly to question that un- 

 doubtedly the counties of Surrey, Sussex, and Kent 

 are well suited to this work, but they have no excep- 

 tional advantages over other districts which can be 

 named. Probably the origin of the concentration 

 there is explainable by the class of fowl kept, and by 

 contiguity to the metropolis, which at one period, ere 

 the railway era, was a very important matter, but in 

 these days when distance is to a great extent annihi- 

 lated, the special advantages do not apply. For a 

 very long time — longer in fact than we can recall — the 

 best class of poultry for table purposes has been bred 

 more especially in Sussex and West Kent, and thus we 

 see an explanation as to the development of this in- 

 dustry. Or, as stated in Mr. E. H. Eew's report, to 

 be again noted : "It was suggested to me that the 

 existence of a native kind of fowls of superior excel- 

 lence for the table, and having an accommodating pro- 

 pensity to sit early and often, led the inhabitants, on 

 recognising their good qualities, to devote special 

 attention to the rearing and fattening of them. I am 

 bound to say that, apart from actual evidence, it seems 

 quite as probable that the industry developed the fowls 

 as that the fowls originated the industry. In other 

 words, the undoubted adaptabiUty of the fowls to its 

 particular ends may be the effect and not the cause of 

 the attention given to their rearing and breeding.'' 



