§ 15. Mr. Westwoodasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware that the peat lands of the Western Highlands and the Hebrides can be made 9 suitable for the carrying on of a livestock industry at a cost of, approximately, £2 5s. per acre; what area is suitable for such treatment; and whether, in view of the extent of our dependence on overseas sources for livestock, he will consider the possibility of a scheme of large-scale development with a view to the establishment of a substantial cattle-raising industry in those parts?
Mr. WedderburnI assume that the question has reference to an experiment carried out on a small scale by the Macaulay Institute for Soil Research. The hon. Member will see from the particulars relating to it which I am communicating to him that it is too early to judge of the permanence of the results obtained, or of the extent to which the methods employed could be economically used as a means of increasing the already substantial numbers of cattle and sheep raised and maintained in the Western Highlands and the Hebrides.