§ MR. FELL (Great Yarmouth)To ask the President of the Local Government Board if the afforestation work undertaken near Leeds to provide work for the unemployed last year is being continued; and, if so, how many men are now employed; and how much money will be devoted to it this winter.
(Answered by Mr. John Burns.) The afforestation work on the Leeds Corporation 704 Waterworks estate is being continued. I learn that some of the unemployed are already engaged on the work, and that it is intended to expend £600 this winter in the wages of unemployed, and a similar amount in the wages of experienced men.
§ MR. FELLTo ask the President of the Local Government Board if any Report or statement can be laid before the House giving the result of the afforestation experiment at Leeds, so far as it has gone, with the number of unemployed who were engaged, the acreage and number of trees planted, and the cost of the experiment.
(Answered by Mr. John Burns.) The waterworks engineer of the Leeds Corporation has made a report on the result of three seasons' afforestation work on the corporation's waterworks estate. The following are the totals of the figures for the three years 1905–6, 1906–7, and 1907–8—
| Number of unemployed engaged | 476 |
| Area planted | 514 acres |
| Number of trees planted | 1,514,300 |
| Cost of the experiment, including £1,043 spent in 1904–5 for barracks | £7,194. |