238 EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN FORESTRY 



youths which could be equally well carried out by 

 women and girls in fact, some branches which could 

 not improbably be done better by these latter. 



The employment of women, in forestry operations at 

 any rate, is not the usual practice in Britain ; in fact, it 

 is exceptional. On the Continent, on the other hand, 

 it is quite common. In Germany, for instance, a fair 

 proportion of forestry work is carried out by women, 

 and very excellently it is done and at a greatly reduced 

 cost. In the large commercial nurseries abroad, female 

 labour is made use of to a large extent, with the result 

 that the wage-bill is kept down, and the plants raised 

 can, and do, undersell in our markets those grown in 

 this country. Doubtless, nurserymen with us would 

 be willing to follow their Continental brethren in this 

 respect could they obtain trained women and girls. 

 In some cases this has been done in the past, and the 

 war, with its resultant scarcity of 'male labour, has 

 forced some to try again. In answer to inquiries 

 instituted, the manager of a large Scottish commercial 

 nursery writes (in 1915) on this matter as follows : 



" Up to ten years ago we employed women and girls 

 very largely for weeding and lining out. Since trawl- 

 fishing became such a big industry up here it has been 

 quite impossible to secure women for light nursery 

 work, and we have had to rely more or less on lads 

 from fifteen to eighteen years of age. This spring any 

 amount of female labour is available, but so far we 

 have found it not altogether satisfactory, owing to the 

 want of regular attendance on the part of the women." 



The reasons given for the want of regularity in 

 attendance were the prevalence of bitterly cold, wet 



