Rearing Chickens in Sussex. 
3 2 3 
the natural weakness of constitution having to be prudently allowed for. In the case of farm or 
market stock, colour is of no importance, and crosses may be freely used, only taking care that 
every cock purchased be a massive and thoroughly healthy bird ; but in breeding for exhibition 
we would take all practicable means of rather repurchasing distantly-related scions of the home 
strain, descended from similarly-coloured parents to the birds it was desired to recruit, than having 
recourse to thoroughly alien blood. We have also good practical reason to believe that the 
judicious use of “ Parrish's Chemical Food,” already so strongly recommended by us, would often 
work wonders in this breed, by imparting both size and stamina. 
We have often been asked to describe the large “Surrey” or “Sussex” fowls which are so 
largely reared for the London market ; but the truth is it is utterly impossible to do so. They are 
of no standard of colour, and even no fixed type of breed, except that a strong dash of Dorking 
blood can be traced in them all, the fifth toe being often observable ; but this and all other features 
vary considerably. They appear in fact to be simply a fine race of barn-door poultry, improved 
by long and careful breeding for the London markets, which are to a large extent supplied by 
Fig. 76. 
these southern metropolitan counties. They are all much like Dorkings in squareness of form, and 
perhaps a colour as general as any may be described to be a whitish ground, freely but irregularly 
covered with black and brown, or other dark-coloured feathers ; some white or nearly white colour 
being observable in a very large proportion of the birds. Very often Dorking cocks or Dorking 
hens are purchased to cross with, which accounts for the strong Dorking type presented ; but a 
proportion of the “ Sussex” blood is always much preferred to pure Dorking, as being hardier and 
less expensive. 
The mortality among these Sussex chickens is usually very small indeed, but this arises in 
great measure from the natural and hardy manner in which they have been reared for generations, 
and strongly corroborates what has been already advanced as to the advantages of keeping the birds 
— young and old — in a natural way* This is the more worthy of remark, as hatching is carried 
on very nearly all the year round, but more especially from January to September ; chickens in the 
latter month being greatly valued for the Christmas markets, but even these having frequently no 
better shelter than a cart-shed. The coop used in Sussex is almost invariably that represented in 
Fig. 76, measuring about thirty inches wide by twenty-four inches in depth and height. It is 
boarded close at the sides and back, and about half-way down the sloping top, so as to give a 
* Another strong testimony to the same fact will be found in Mr. Teebay’s notes on his Spanish, in the next chapter. 
