AGRICUI.TURE AND THE WAR QI 



should be informed of the real urgenc}' that exists for general service men 

 when he is approached with a view to substitution. The man should be in- 

 structed that he is being sent back to work at agriculture, primarily not for 

 his convenience or advantage but to assist his countr}^ in the war ; and that 

 petty discomforts inseparable from such a scheme are not to be made the 

 subject of frivolous complaints to officers commanding areas, or to be used 

 as an excuse for not rendering the best service possible to his employer ". 

 Dilution of Labour. — Dilution of labour was essential to success in 

 the war. It was not adequate in England as it was in France. To the speaker 

 it had been a ixiiracle to see how French women and children and old French 

 people had succeeded in maintaining the standard of cultivation in France 

 right up to within a few hundred yards of the firing line. It was a marvel- 

 lous tribute to the perseverance and to the courage of that race, and all who 

 had been to France and an}^ soldier who had returned would tell that it 

 filled the British army with respect and admiration. The same thing could 

 not be achieved in England but a great deal could be done towards 

 it. Labour had not been too plentiful at the beginning of the war, and since 

 then the number of labourers had enormously decreased. At the outset 

 only nine per cent, or so of the male population had been engaged in agri- 

 culture. There still remained part of a nucleus, with which the country 

 started when the war broke out, of men under and over military age. At 

 the last census there had been 153,000 persons occupied in agriculture be- 

 low the age of eighteen and 405,000 over the age of forty-one — in other 

 words 558,000 persons out of a total agricultural figure of 971,000 not sub- 

 ject to military duty. Many of these had been lost. Some had since 

 the census attained military age ; others, above military age, had gone 

 elsewhere — perhaps, indeed, joined the army as volunteers or as reservists. 

 But it should not be forgotten that there was that central nucleus around 

 which the diluted labour must be distributed. 



Occasional Soldier Labour. — The speaker thought the fact had been 

 rather overlooked that soldier labour could still be obtained by farmers. 

 Not only for the corn harvest but at any time the Employment Exchanges 

 would send soldiers for occasional labour. A farmer living in the neigh- 

 bourhood of a military' station might apply directly to the commanding offi- 

 cer for military labour which he required at short notice and for a period not 

 exceeding six working days. This might enable the farmer to take advan- 

 tage of fine days or short intervals of fine weather suitable for work. Not 

 more than four consecutive weeks' furlough could be given to any one man 

 obtained through Emplo^-ment Exchanges. 



Convalescent Soldiers. — Convalescent soldiers were another source of 

 labour. The depot at Chichester of the Royal Sussex Regiment— one smalHsh 

 depot in one particular count}'- — had in the last two years sent out conva- 

 lescent soldiers for light agricultural work for the aggregate of 22,000 work- 

 ing days of labour. 



Training of Children in Milking. — The question as to whether chil- 

 dren could be employed and instruction given to them in milking was one 

 primarily for the local Education Authority and belonged to their control 



