V 



AFFORESTATION AND LABOUR 



In previous articles the question of the labour supply 

 has been touched upon. The war has brought about 

 such a complete change in labour problems generally 

 that old-time ideas upon this subject are now anti- 

 quated shibboleths. The whole question of employ- 

 ment and labour is undergoing revision in our minds, 

 slow it may be, but still revision. And perhaps in no 

 direction is this revision of pre-war ideas more promi- 

 nent than in the question of the employment of women 

 on the land. It is for this reason that I have included 

 in this book articles I have published on this subject 

 with reference to the employment of women in 

 forestry. It has been pointed out to me that these 

 articles, if left without their complement, may seem 

 to give an undue prominence to this question and seem 

 to convey an idea that forestry work and operations 

 could be chiefly undertaken by women. This is far from 

 my meaning. Forestry is pre-eminently a man's work 

 — necessitating as it does in all its varying branches 

 an open-air life and considerable exposure, in fact, a 

 life of " roughing it." For this very reason it proves 

 an ideal existence for those of good physique who are 

 at the same time lovers of nature in some of its finest 



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