Southdown sheep no longer economical and smaller flocks averaged only 135 ewes apiece. The use of artificial fertilizers had gained ground, and the combine-drill, which sowed grain seeds and fertilizer together, rendered close-folding by sheep unnecessary. Gradually surrendering to basic arable farming changes, the Southdown became largely a grassland breed. During the interwar years, the United Kingdom was known for farm animal breeding, and pedigreed Southdowns were still being exported to most parts of the world, especially New Zealand. In 1937, the number of exported Southdowns reached 459 head. During the Great Depression, a severe and prolonged fall in the prices of
Southdown Motor Services one of four "airport network" service connecting Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton and Stansted with Central London. Southdown celebrated its 70th anniversary in 1985, the year before deregulation, and buses carried a special logo (shown above) which also appeared on publicity. With deregulation, the company adopted "Southdown East & Mid Sussex" and "Southdown West Sussex" fleetnames, while the Brighton & Hove operations became a separate company (Brighton & Hove). The East Sussex division registered a fairly basic network from the outset, linking a number of services together to form trunk services linking the major towns, sometimes by fairly circuitous routes. A version