202 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES. 



But though the pubUc lost in one direction it gained in another, 

 and the reduction of the soft-fruit acreage meant — reckoned in terms of 

 potatos — an augmentation of supphes to the extent of over 100,000 

 tons. Equally notable was the contribution to food production made 

 by the florists and nurserymen in response to our appeals. An indication 

 of their effort is supplied by figuras which, as president of the British 

 Florists' Federation, Mr. George Munro — whose invaluable work for 

 food production deserves public recognition — caused to be collected. 

 They relate to the amount of food production undertaken by 100 leading 

 florists and nurserymen. These men put 1,075 acres, out of a total of 

 1,775 acres used previously for flower-growing, to the purpose of food 

 production, and they put 142 acres of glass out of a total of 218 acres 

 to like use. I compute that their contribution amounted to considerably 

 more than 12,000 tons of potatos and 5,000 tons of tomatos. 



The market gi'owers of Evesham and other districts famous for inten- 

 sive cultivation also did their share by substituting for luxury crops, 

 such as celery, those of greater food value, and even responded to our 

 appeals to increase the acreage under that most chancy of crops — ^the 

 onion, by laying down an additional 4,000 acres and thereby doubling 

 a crop which more than any other supplies accessory food substances 

 to the generality of the people. 



In this connection the yields of potatos secured by Gennany and 

 this country during the war period are worthy of scrutiny. 



The pre-war averages were: Germany 42,450,000 tons, United 

 Kingdom 6,950,000 tons; and the figures for 1914 were: Germany 

 41,850,000 tons, United Kingdom 7,47B,000 tons. 



Germany's supreme effort was made in 1915 with a yield of 

 49,570,000 tons, or about 17 per cent, above average. In that year our 

 improvement was only half as good as that of Germany : our crop of 

 7,540,000 tons bettering our average by only 8 per cent. In 1916 

 weather played havoc with the crops in both countries, but Germany 

 suffered most. The yield fell to 20,650,000 tons, a decreass of more 

 than 50 per cent., whilst our yield was down to 6,469,000 tons, a 

 falling off of only 20 per cent. In the following year Germany could 

 pixxiuce no more than 39,600,000 tons, or a 90 per cent, crop, whereas 

 the United Kingdom raised 8,604,000 tons, or about 24 par cent, better 

 than the average. Finally, whereas with respect to the 1918 crop in 

 Germany no figures are available, those for the United Kingdom indi- 

 cate that the 1917 crop actually exceeded that of 1918. 



There is much food for thought in these figures, but my immediate 

 purpose in citing them is to claim that of the million and three-quarter 

 tons increase in 1917 and 1918 a goodly proportion must be put to the 

 credit of the intensive cultivator. 



I regret that no statistics are available to illustrate the war-time food 

 production by professional and amateur gardeners. That it was great 

 I know, but how great I am unable to say. This, however, I can 

 state, that from the day before the outbreak of hostilities, when, with 

 the late Secretary of the Eoyal Horticultural Society, I started the in- 

 tensive food-production campaign by urging publicly the autumn sowing 

 of vegetables — a practice both then and now insufficiently followed — the 



