1921.] Revival of Sussex Table Poultry Industry. 



935 



classes has been built up upon the broadly selective work of the 

 breeders, who for many generations had been maintaining a 

 distinctive type of bird especially suited to the requirements of 

 the Sussex table poultry industry. 



It is worthy of note, moreover, that the beneficial influences 

 of this localised industry had, before the War, extended not only 

 to other English counties but more especially to Ireland and 

 Wales, whence the fatteners of East Sussex drew considerable 

 and regular supplies of lean live chickens to supplement the 

 large numbers reared in and around the home districts, to enable 

 them to maintain both output and employment. 



Such, in brief, was the general condition of affairs in this 

 industry before the War. Some idea of the extent of the opera- 

 tions may be conveyed by reference to a few statistical records. 



Statistical Records. — In 1895 the Koyal Commission on 

 Agriculture issued a report by an Assistant Commissioner (Mr. 

 (now Sir) R. Henry Eew) on " The Poultry Rearing and Fatten- 

 ing Industry of the Heathfield District of Sussex."* The area 

 dealt with comprised the parishes of Eotherfield, Buxted, May- 

 field, Uckfield, Heathfield, Burwash, Brightling, Framfield, 

 Waldron, DalHngton, East Hoathley, Warbleton, Chiddingley, 

 HelKngly, and Ashburnham ; the trade lying within an easy 

 radius of Heathfield and Uckfield railway stations, from whence 

 the bulk of the produce was (and has been since) sent to London, 

 the former station receiving at that time about five-sixths of the 

 total quantity. 



The report states that in the year 1893 the total quantity of 

 dead poultry sent from both stations amounted to 1,840 tons ; or, 

 assuming the average weight to have been 4 lb. per bird, a total 

 of more than one milKon (1,030,400) chickens. 



According to information given to the writer by the Piailway 

 Company and the local carriers, and recorded in the issue of this 

 Journal for March, 1906. the output had at that period increased 

 by some 360 tons; in other words, 200.000 more chickens were 

 being handled per annum than twelve years earher. 



With regard to the inward traffic, in the year 1893 there 

 arrived at Heathfield from Ireland 1.014 '' tops " or crates of 

 50 chickens each, or a total of 50.700 birds ; but in the one month 

 of March in 1904, no less than 863 tops were received at that 

 one station. At the latter period (September, 1903 to October, 

 1904) there were received at Uckfield 18.576 lean chickens from 

 Ireland and 20,304 from Wales. 



*C— 7623. 



