1906.] Establishment of Markets for Fruit. 431 



liminary cleaning of the oats, which are then fed to the hoppers 

 at the rate of about four bushels per hour, and passing through 

 the hole in the centre of the upper millstone come between the 

 two, where they are ground and thrown out at the sides as meal 

 by centrifugal force. 



i\lthough the process is so simple, yet as it depends upon 

 the use of specially and frequently dressed stones, it is slow 

 and laborious : Sussex Ground Oats are, therefore, relatively 

 expensive, but the fatteners of Sussex consider no other meal 

 or mixture so economical, even at a considerably lower price. 



Sussex Ground Oats measure four bushels to the sack, but 

 the weight of the bushel varies — being weighed as 30 lb. in the 

 Heathfield district, and as 32 lb. in the Uckfield district. The 

 average local price ranges from ;;^8 to £g per ton. Many of 

 the large chicken fatteners use as much as one hundred sacks 

 per week. 



J. W. Hurst. 



The Departmental Committee appointed by the Board of 



Agriculture to inquire into the fruit industry refer in their 



Report to the question of the provision of 



markets, and make three recommendations: 

 of Markets , ^ , , , 



for Fruit. (0 that it is desirable that more local 



markets, similar to that of Kew Bridge, 



be established in the suburbs of London ; (2) that as regards 



the large distributing markets in provincial centres, it is desirable 



that certain of these be extended and improved ; and (3) that 



the provision of retail markets in many country towns is urgently 



needed, and that very good results would be likely to follow 



if the Councils of other towns followed the example set by 



Hereford in establishing a market under their own authority. 



The origin of the Kew Bridge Market, mentioned above, 



shows that the formation of a fresh market at a new centre 



may supply a decided local want, and create a fresh demand. 



The Kew or Brentford Market originated six or seven years ago. 



The carters on the journey from the country to Covent Garden 



used to stop at Kew Bridge to bait their horses. The practice 



arose of selling some of the goods while waiting. An informal 



