NA TURE 



257 



THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1921. 



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Agriculture and Fisheries in the Civil 

 Service Estimates. 



THE vote to complete the sum of 3,211,605!. 

 for the salaries and expenses of the 

 Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries during the 

 year 1921-22 was agreed to by the House of 

 Commons on April 19. The amount of the vote 

 shows a reduction of 2,156,107!. as compared 

 with last year's Estimates; but three-quarters of 

 this is due to the discontinuance of services 

 arising out of the war. We view some of the 

 decreases with mixed feelings ; but before men- 

 tioning them specifically it is of interest to refer 

 to one or two promising aspects of the Ministry's 

 activities to which Sir A. Griflfith-Boscawen 

 directed attention in submitting the Estimates. 



Considerable progress has been made with the 

 Land Settlement Scheme for ex-Service men ; 

 48,580 applications have been received, some of 

 which have been rejected for various reasons, and 

 it is estimated that 30,000 men will ultimately be 

 settled. At the present time about 12,000 men 

 are already provided with holdings of 250,000 acres 

 in the aggregate, and about 160,000 acres more 

 are needed to complete the settlement. The 

 scheme inevitably entails losses, foreseen from 

 the beginning, and these may reach as much as 

 40 per cent. For the first seven years the losses 

 will be made good to the county councils by 

 the State, and after that the capital value will be 

 written down to the then market value, and the 

 holdings handed over on a self-supporting basis 

 NO. 2687, VOL. 107] 



to the county councils. In spite of the loss, it 

 is considered that the settlement of 30,000 ex- 

 Service men on the land will prove a valuable 

 asset to the State. 



Foot-and-mouth disease still provides a 

 great problem, as it has as yet proved to 

 be impossible to determine how the infection 

 is brought into the country. Although no 

 trace of the disease can be found in Ireland, 

 certain animals imported there have developed 

 the disease within the incubating period, 

 so that a quarantine of fourteen days at 

 the ports is essential for some time to come. 

 During 1920 there were ninety-four outbreaks in 

 this country, involving the slaughter of more 

 than 2000 cattle and 8000 sheep, with other 

 animals, the net compensation paid being 

 115,000!. This policy of slaughter as compared 

 with that of isolation and cure seems to be justi- 

 fied. In France, where the latter method is 

 adopted, 855,161 cattle were affected in 1919-20, 

 and the loss in the value of the animals was 

 5,ooo,oooZ. Muzzling against rabies has proved 

 successful in preventing outbreaks for several 

 months, except, for a solitary case at Southamp- 

 ton, and loss through rats has been reduced by 

 the campaign against them vigorously carded on 

 since the passing of the Rats and Mice Destruc- 

 tion Act. 



The project for manufacturing beet sugar at 

 Kelham is so far advanced that it is hoped that 

 the factory will be in running order this year. 

 Meanwhile a further loan of 125^000!. onnoor t- 

 gage is being made to the undertaking to meet 

 the heavy initial costs of working. 



The various councils and committees set up by 

 the Agricultural Acts of 1919 and 1920 are in full 

 working order, and are proving very useful. The 

 policy adopted is that of decentralisation, as it 

 is felt that there should be as little control as 

 possible from Whitehall, but that the powers for 

 insisting on good cultivation should be in the hands 

 of the local committees, the members of which 

 possess that local knowledge and interest which 

 cannot possibly be had at headquarters. Both 

 tenant farmers and labourers now enjoy a greater 

 feeling of security on account of the new clauses 

 dealing with compensation. Apparently, too, the 

 guaranteed prices for wheat and oats are effec- 

 tively checking the tendency to lay down land to 

 grass, as this year the trade in grass seeds has 

 been normal, with no exceptional buying. 



All this is satisfactory enough ; but the same 

 can scarcely be said of the position of agricultural 



