sation and lack of facilities for conserving or placing in . 

 cold storage, these commodities are simply dumped on 

 to our markets, with the result that the market becomes 

 " glutted " and prices offered for them fall to a compara- 

 tively unattractive figure. The result is that it no longer 

 pays to produce the meat or to pick and market much 

 soft fruit. This in itself is a loss to the nation and further, 

 the very fact that it is available in excess of present require- 

 ments, means that economy in its use and consumption will 

 not be observed as it would be if these " Gluts " were pre- 

 vented. Hence the loss to the Nation is increased. 



Food Gluts inevitably mean waste of food, which in 

 peace times is very undesirable and in wartime is quite indefen- 

 sible. 



We cannot possibly hope to make our supply of Home 

 grown food carry us through till the succeeding harvest, 

 without a National system of cold storage, and on such a 

 scale as to accommodate several months supply. The same 

 thing applies to various methods of Food preservation 

 and -'conservation: v , ,\ 



The loss of Grain and other foods to the Nation caused 

 through wood pigeons, rabbits, rats, mice, sparrows, &c. 

 must amount to very many thousands of pounds a year, if 

 not millions : but this is now more or less realised and the 

 numbers of most of these pests are being very considerably 

 reduced. 



Another point demanding wide publicity in the 

 interests of the Nation, is the loss indirectly sustained by sow- 

 ing weak-strawed varieties of wheat. In the wheat variety 

 trials carried out by the Herefordshire County Council, the 

 general result has been that varieties which stood more or 

 less erect at cutting time gave higher yields, while varieties 

 which were laid at Harvest time gave lower yields than was 

 anticipated from the growing crops. 



To put this statement into figures one would be fairly 

 safe in calculating the extra "cast" on thrashing outthegrain 

 from good standing varieties, at a sack (4 bush.) per acre, 

 although this quantity may often be increased. The Wheat 

 acreage of England in 1915 and 1916 averaged about 

 2,000,000 acres, consequently any small increased yield 



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