LAND AVAILABLE 221 



to apologise for them. A volume in favour of afforesta- 

 tion could be written out of the criticisms of a child on 

 this ill-made box of bricks alone. 



But you will ask. What has that to do with Women 

 and Afforestatioh ? It is admittedly a very small 

 link in the chain, but still it is a link. From it we 

 realise, the women of this country can be shown how 

 to realise, how entirely dependent upon forestry im- 

 ports of all kinds, even down to the child's wooden toy, 

 we were at the outbreak of the war. 



And we, and this is the point, we have in Great 

 Britain and Ireland some 16,500,000 acres of mountain 

 and heath land much of it suitable for afforestation ; 

 in other, words suitable to grow the wood from which 

 our box of bricks could be properly made ; and in- 

 cidentally pitwood, wood pulp and other much needed 

 materials. To take what may really I think be con- 

 sidered a minimum — there are 5,000,000 acres of land 

 in this country which could be more profitably used 

 for growing crops of trees than for any other purpose. 

 How does this affect the women, the bulk of the 

 women in this country ? It affects them in this way, 

 and this is my first point. The air at the present time 

 is full of the thrift crusade. We are told to economise, 

 to save, to refuse to buy or consume imports of all 

 kinds, to do this and that. This is more or less a 

 personal matter, a crusade in the home. It is of the 

 first importance and we are doing our best. But as I 

 see it there is another crusade of equal importance. 

 And this crusade has to do with the conservation of 

 the national resources, with a full utilisation of these 

 national resources. 



