82 THE GREAT WAR 



country must, of course, be very crude and 

 fairly open to criticism. Some approximate 

 figures, however, may be given for critics to 

 deal with. Taking Mr. A. D. Hall's estimate on 

 page 59 the cost of reclaiming heath land and 

 peat land, and the profit accruing from such re- 

 clamation per 1000 acres would be as follows : 







Cost of 1000 acres of bare heath, at 6 an acre . 6,000 

 Cost of reclaiming the same at 5 10s. an acre . 5,500 



11,500 



Sale of 1000 acres to occupying owners of this re- 

 claimed land at 25 an acre .... 25,000 

 This shows a profit 1 to the State of 2 . . . 13,500 



1 A yeoman farmer friend told the writer that he had 

 a stretch of 15 acres of moorland at the edge of his holding 

 which was all covered with furze. He reclaimed it at a 

 cost of 30s. an acre. He then cropped it with potatoes, 

 followed by other crops, and 'it is now among the most 

 profitable parts of his farm. The actual work of the re- 

 clamation was done by old soldiers returned from the Boer 

 war. The writer's yeoman friend added that he did not 

 enter on the work for the sake of adding to his farm, but 

 solely to relieve the distress which followed the conclusion 

 of the Boer war a distress which follows every war the 

 present one included. 



2 It is evident that Mr. Hall, in the above calculations, 

 does not include cottages and buildings. These, however, 

 where wanted, can be provided by loans from the Govern- 



