438 Agkicultural Executive Committees. [Aug., 



finding purchasers suitable to his dient. The Bench imposed a 

 fine of £25, with £10 10s. costs. 



(iv.) A prosecution for disregard of Cultivation Orders issued 

 by the Surrey Committee resulted in the occupjdng owner of the 

 land being fined £50 and his agent £10. The Orders in question 

 were issued in October and November, 1918, and required that 

 certain arable fields should be cleaned and cultivated in prepara- 

 tion for food crops for the harvest of 1919. Practically nothing 

 was done, however, to carry out these Orders up to the end 

 of 1919. 



(v.) An occupier of a field of 2B acres in Kent was recently 

 prosecuted for failure to comply with a Cultivation Order. The 

 field contained a large quantity of thistles, brambles, gorse and 

 anthills, which the occupier was instructed to remove and 

 destroy. The thistles were dealt with, but very little action 

 was taken to remove the other rubbish which encumbered a 

 large proportion of the field. The defendant was fined £20 and 

 £5 5s. costs, and has been served with a further Order to carry 

 out the necessary work. 



The problem of farms bought bv speculators presents great 

 difficulty, as Cultivation Orders have to be served on the 

 "occupier," and in cases where the land changes hands fre- 

 quently it is not, always easy to ascertain who is legally the 

 occupier at a particular time, in order to serve him with the 

 notice. 



Several prosecutions for failure to clean ditches have taken 

 place in Norfolk. In one case the Order was served in May, 

 1919, and had not been complied with by March, 1920, and the 

 defendant was fined £10 and costs. In another case the 

 neglected ditch contained poison in the form of deadly night- 

 shade, by which a horse and two young cattle were killed. A 

 fine of £5 4s. was imposed. 



There is no record of the total number of Cultivation Notices 

 served by Agricultural Executive Committees, but it amounts 

 to many thousands, leaving out altogether " Grass-ploughing 

 Orders," which were served with the express object of increasing 

 the arable acreage as a war measure. 



Determination of Tenancies— Under Article (1) (/) of 

 Regulation 2M, the Ministry may determine the tenancy of an 

 occupier of land who by reason of incompetence or persistent 

 neglect shows that he cannot make proper use of his land. This 

 drastic step is only taken after repeated warnings, and usually 



